Predicting children's externalizing symptoms from dyadic and triadic measures of family systems

textAccording to Family Systems Theory, the whole family system is greater than the sum of its parts. The purpose of this study is to investigate this claim by examining marital, parent-child, and triadic (mother-father-child) interactions as simultaneous predictors of children's externalizing symptoms. Longitudinal data from 108 families were used to investigate three hypotheses: 1) parents' negative responses to their toddlers' negative emotions will predict their children's later externalizing symptoms, 2) marital negativity will relate to both mothers and fathers displaying more negative patterns of emotional socialization, and 3) competitive coparenting -- assessed in triadic family interactions during toddlerhood (age 24 months) -- will predict children's later externalizing symptoms at age 7, after accounting for the effects of significant dyadic family interactions (specifically, mothers' and fathers' emotional socialization assessed at 24 months). Results demonstrated spillover from marital negativity to mothers’ negative emotion socialization. Competitive coparenting predicted children's later emotion socialization after controlling for infant temperament, family income, child gender, and dyadic predictors of children's externalizing symptoms; mothers' negative emotional socialization also remained a significant predictor. This study emphasizes the importance of examining the family holistically and has important implications for designing more effective whole-family interventions to reduce the development of children’s externalizing symptoms.Human Development and Family Science

The reorganization of secondary school mathematics

Thesis (M.A.)--Boston Universit

Girls in the physics classroom: a review of the research on the participation of girls in physics

A review of research spanning the past 15 years into the participation of girls in physics at secondary school level. The review was commissioned by the Institute of Physics in order to inform policy setting agendas for the Institute and to reveal important messages about participation in physics which the Institute could use to develop plans for action

Moving from theory to practice in the design of web-based learning from the perspective of Constructivism

This paper describes the design of a web-based learning module according to a framework drawing on constructivist theories. The aim was to operationalize concepts such as authenticity, collaborative knowledge sharing, sense-making and viewing multiple perspectives as they relate to the design of e-learning opportunities. The prototypical module was designed for practitioners such as teachers and structured around interpreting and responding to a problem. The module consists of a problem model and relies on use of a discussion forum and a shared workspace to support negotiation of interpretation and experience. Also included are 60 streamable video segments presenting multiple perspectives on the problem. Results of the design process provide insight into ways in which constructivist principles and concepts can be translated into practical solutions for the provision of e-learning content. The module illustrates a way in which learning experiences can inform and be informed by practice

Images of Childhood in Mothers' Accounts of Contemporary Childrearing

This article examines how a sample of first-time mothers in the UK constitute childhood in general, and their own children in particular, in and through their talk about the mundane practices of child-care. The data analysed are drawn from a longitudinal qualitative interview study which followed a sample of mothers from late pregnancy until their babies were two years old. The analysis explores links between mothers’ representations of childhood and the actualities of their child-rearing practices. The extent to which both the representations of childhood and the practices of individual mothers are consistent or contradictory, and change or remain constant over time, is also examined

Delivering core text material electronically: a project management perspective

The Core Text Project at the Library, National University of Ireland Maynooth is a SIF-funded project that aims to give 24/7 access to as much core full-text student reading material as possible. It seeks to address two specific expectations: 1) that there are enough copies of essential reading materials in the Library to provide for the individual needs of each student 2) that access to essential reading material is tailored to suit the specific requirements of distance and part-time students This article outlines the project from conception to implementation, evaluates progress to date and explores its future development into a mainstream service

Responding to student needs in the Library

Electronic Access to Essential Reading Materia

Responding to student needs in the Library

Electronic Access to Essential Reading Materia

Soluble Zwitterionic Poly(sulfobetaine) Destabilizes Proteins

Proteins have proven to have tremendous potential in biological pharmaceuticals and drug targets due to their highly specific and complex set of functions and biocompatibility. In many cases, the key to successfully utilizing proteins for these applications is maintaining conformational stability and desired function. There is widespread interest in the use of water-soluble polymers such as neutral poly(ethylene glycol)and zwitterionic poly(sulfobetaine) (pSB) to stabilize proteins in solution due to their assumed low binding to proteins. However, differences in PEG and pSB-protein interaction mechanisms have yet to be completely understood. For example: despite the existence of complementary charged and polar patches on pSB and proteins, why would pSB not interact with proteins? This research demonstrated that poly(zwitterion) chains in solution can actually interact with proteins directly, reduce the thermal stability, and increase the protein folding cooperativity relative to proteins in buffer solutions. pSB was synthesized using atom transfer radical polymerization and characterized using dynamic light scattering (DLS). Displayed is an inspection light microscope image of 2.5% (w/w) pSB in a sodium phosphate aqueous buffer solution which was analyzed by DLS. DLS confirms that pSB follows the anti-polyelectrolyte effect where polymer solubility, solution viscosity, and polymer network swelling increases with salt concentration.Ope