Parents’ Experiences, Perceptions, and Responses to Bullying in an Urban Public Elementary School

Parents’ ability to interpret and respond to acts of bullying is a complex issue (Sawyer, Mishna, Pepler, and Weiner, 2011). The current research recommendations stress the need for research to include parents and their responses to bullying. This study examined factors that influenced parents’ experiences, perceptions, and responses to bullying. The sample size consisted of 940 parents with children that attended an elementary school in an urban public school. A triadic reciprocal determinism model was recognized as a proper framework for this study and served to examine the continuous reciprocal interaction between behavior, cognitive, and environment influences (Bandura, 1989). The quantitative methodology was comprised of descriptive, correlation, between groups (MANOVA), and regression analyses. Quantitative results indicated that parents who were not victimized during their K-12 school years were less concerned about their child being bullied at school. Parents who were victimized during their K-12 school years perceived bullying at school were strongly concerned and acknowledged bullying as a problem. However, parents indicated that when they are highly concerned about bullying they gave both passive and proactive advice to their children. In regards to response, parents are advising their children on how to proactively respond to bullying. On average, parents were likely to advise their children to fight back. Furthermore, parents reported themselves to be likely engaged in positive adult coping strategies as a means of intervening when bullying occurs and/or preventing bullying in general

Plasmon-Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition

We introduce a new chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process that can be used to selectively deposit materials of many different types. The technique makes use of the plasmon resonance in nanoscale metal structures to produce the local heating necessary to initiate deposition when illuminated by a focused low-power laser. We demonstrate the technique, which we refer to as plasmon-assisted CVD (PACVD), by patterning the spatial deposition of PbO and TiO_2 on glass substrates coated with a dispersion of 23 nm gold particles. The morphology of both oxide deposits is consistent with local laser-induced heating of the gold particles by more than 150 °C. We show that temperature changes of this magnitude are consistent with our analysis of the heat-loss mechanisms. The technique is general and can be used to spatially control the deposition of virtually any material for which a CVD process exists

The Ransom and Sarah Williams Farmstead: Post-Emancipation Transitions of an African American Family in Central Texas Vol. 1

In conjunction with the proposed construction of the southwest segment of State Highway 45 in southern Travis County, the Texas Department of Transportation sponsored archeological testing and data recovery efforts at the Ransom Williams farmstead. Prewitt and Associates, Inc., conducted an interdisciplinary community-based historic archeological study of the farmstead from 2005 through 2011. Extensive archival research reveals that the 45-acre farm was owned and occupied by Ransom Williams and his wife Sarah, both former slaves, from about 1871 to ca. 1905. The Williams family lived in the predominantly white rural community of Bear Creek, but they had connections to the nearby freedmen communities of Antioch Colony in northern Hays County and Manchaca in southern Travis County. The stories of the Ransom Williams family and their connections to these communities are enhanced by extensive oral history research, with over 46 hours of taped and transcribed interviews with 27 descendant community members. Data recovery investigations focused on a landscape archeological study to define the layout and design of the entire farmstead, including a stock pond and a network of dry-laid rock walls that facilitated water drainage, demarcated property boundaries, and formed livestock pens. Intensive hand excavations were used to examine features associated with the Williams house, outbuildings and activity areas, and a large trash midden. This work recovered more than 26,000 artifacts. They constitute an impressive material culture assemblage that is associated, with few exceptions, with the Williams family tenure on the land. The combined archival data, oral history interviews, and archeological evidence tell the fascinating story of how one African American farm family lived and thrived in central Texas during Reconstruction and into the Jim Crow era

Public Preferences to CCS:How does it Change Across Countries?

AbstractThe aim of this research was to extend an Australian developed large group process which proved effective in engaging the general public on issues related to climate change, energy technologies, and the overall shift towards a low carbon society. The results from Australia, the Netherlands, Canada and Scotland found that in each of the geographic locations the context varied, and participants reported different experiences and understanding of each topic. This paper explores how context may have impacted on the results, the differences that arise and discusses the implications for policy makers and research developers

Contacting the spirits of the dead: paranormal belief and the teenage worldview

A number of previous studies have examined both the overall level of belief expressed by young people in the paranormal and the major demographic predictors of such belief. Building on this research tradition, the present study examines how one specific paranormal belief concerning contact with the spirits of the dead integrates with the wider teenage worldview. Data provided by 33,982 pupils age 13 to 15 years throughout England and Wales demonstrated that almost one in three young people (31%) believed that it is possible to contact the spirits of the dead. Compared with young people who did not share this belief, the young people who believed in the possibility of contacting the spirits of the dead displayed lower psychological wellbeing, higher anxiety, greater isolation, greater alienation, less positive social attitudes, and less socially conforming lifestyles. Overall, paranormal beliefs seem to be associated with a less healthy worldview, in both personal and social terms

Role of Acetaldehyde in Ethanol-Induced Elevation of the Neuroactive Steroid 3α-Hydroxy-5α-Pregnan-20-One in Rats

Systemic ethanol administration increases neuroactive steroid levels that increase ethanol sensitivity. Acetaldehyde is a biologically active compound that may contribute to behavioral and rewarding effects of ethanol. We investigated the role of acetaldehyde in ethanol–induced elevations of 3α-hydroxy-5α-pregnan-20-one (3α,5α-THP) levels in cerebral cortex

Christianity, paranormal belief and personality: a study among 13- to 16-year-old pupils in England and Wales

Studies concerning the changing landscapes of religiosity and spirituality in the lives of young people in England and Wales draw attention to decline in traditional religiosity and to growth in alternative spiritualities. The present study examined whether such alternative spiritualities occupy the same personality space as traditional religiosity. A sample of 2,950 13- to 16-year-old pupils attending 11 secondary schools in England and Wales completed the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity and an index of paranormal belief, alongside the abbreviated-form Junior Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Revised. The data demonstrated that these two forms of belief were related in different ways to Eysenck's dimensional model of personality space. While attitude toward Christianity occupied the space defined by low psychoticism scores (tendermindedness) and high lie scale scores (social conformity), paranormal belief was related to high psychoticism scores (toughmindedness) and was independent of lie scale scores. These findings support the view that alternative spiritualities may be associated with different personalities