Do peer Groups Matter? Peer Groups versus Schooling Effects on Academic Attainment

In this paper we estimate an educational production function. Educational attainment is a function of three types of inputs: peer group, parental and schooling. We find that conventional measures of school quality are not good predictors for academic attainment, once we control for peer group effects. Parental qualities also have strong effects on academic atainment. This academic attainment is then a key determinant of subsequent labour market success, as measured by earnings.

Peer feedback content and sender’s competence level in academic writing revision tasks: Are they critical for feedback perceptions and efficiency?

Peer feedback content is a core component of peer assessment, but the impact of various contents of feedback is hardly studied. Participants in the study were 89 graduate students who were assigned to four experimental and a control group. Experimental groups received a scenario with Concise General (CGF) or Elaborated Specific (ESF) feedback by a high or low competent peer. ESF by a high competent peer was perceived as more adequate, but led to more negative affect. Students in CGF groups outperformed ESF groups during treatment. Groups with a low competent peer outperformed groups with a high competent peer during the posttest. Feedback perceptions and performance were uncorrelated

Examining the components of children's peer liking as antecedents of school adjustment

Children’s social interactions with their peers influence their psychosocial adjustment; consequently, the relationship between class-wide peer liking, same-gender peer liking, and school adjustment was explored in two age groups. Peer liking was analysed using the social relations model (SRM). In Study 1, 205 children (103 female and 102 male, Mage = 7.15, SD = 7 months) completed measures of peer liking and school adjustment, and teachers completed the Short-Form TRSSA. In Study 2, 197 children (98 female and 90 male, Mage = 9.87, SD = 5.9 months) completed measures of peer liking and school adjustment. Both studies yielded evidence of reciprocal liking and individual differences in the ratings of liking awarded to, and elicited from, both peer groups. Multigroup path analysis, with groups created according to gender, revealed that elements of liking predicted different aspects of school adjustment with some variation according to age and gender. Together, these findings suggest that the SRM can be used to examine peer liking and underscore the importance of children’s peers for school adjustment

The computer as means of communication for peer-review groups

In a scientific-writing course, 15 of 54 students used a review-supporting computer program, PREP-EDITOR (PREP), to communicate with their peers about drafts. In an exploratory study, 10 students were interviewed regularly: 5 used PREP and 5 met face-to-face to exchange comments on drafts. The study showed that use of PREP did not increase time spent on various writing activities. The PREP group reported a large number of computer-related problems, whereas the non-PREP group reported more difficulties with assignments and course organization. It appeared that the technology was omnipresent in PREP users' perception of the course. The system of computer-mediated peer review has many of the drawbacks of 'distance learning,' but because networks are increasingly used by collaborating authors, we should teach our students how to use them sensibly

On the Margins of Friendship: Aggression in an Elementary School Peer Group

This article uses qualitative data from a larger study of two elementary schools in a rural city of about 15,000 people in the Midwestern United States. Here, I focus on a single peer group and those who are on its margins to provide insight into the intersection of friendship, aggression, and masculinity. In doing so, I address the lack of research examining how aggression functions within peer groups and why those who are victimized choose to remain in these groups

Tree-connected Peer Group Situations and Peer Group Games

A class of cooperative games is introduced which arises from situations in which a set of agents is hierarchically structured and where potential individual economic abilities interfere with the behavioristic rules induced by the organization structure.These games form a cone generated by a specific class of unanimity games, namely those based on coalitions called peer groups. Different economic situations like auctions, communication situations, sequencing situations and flow situations are related to peer group games.For peer group games classical solution concepts have nice properties.auctions;cooperative games;peer groups

Naming Game on Networks: Let Everyone be Both Speaker and Hearer

To investigate how consensus is reached on a large self-organized peer-to-peer network, we extended the naming game model commonly used in language and communication to Naming Game in Groups (NGG). Differing from other existing naming game models, in NGG, everyone in the population (network) can be both speaker and hearer simultaneously, which resembles in a closer manner to real-life scenarios. Moreover, NGG allows the transmission (communication) of multiple words (opinions) for multiple intra-group consensuses. The communications among indirectly-connected nodes are also enabled in NGG. We simulated and analyzed the consensus process in some typical network topologies, including random-graph networks, small-world networks and scale-free networks, to better understand how global convergence (consensus) could be reached on one common word. The results are interpreted on group negotiation of a peer-to-peer network, which shows that global consensus in the population can be reached more rapidly when more opinions are permitted within each group or when the negotiating groups in the population are larger in size. The novel features and properties introduced by our model have demonstrated its applicability in better investigating general consensus problems on peer-to-peer networks.Comment: 11 pages, 6 figure

Early Competitive Game Playing in Same- and Mixed-Gender Peer Groups

Sixty-four kindergarten children participated in a bead-collecting game. Their competitive, noncompetitive, and other moves were measured. Gender and gender composition of the group affected competition in the context of playing this game with known peers. The boys were more competitive than the girls. Girls in the same-gender groups, but not mixed-gender groups, had low levels of competitive moves overall. Similar rates of strategic moves and game understanding suggest that the noted gender differences were not due to lack of game skill. However, the experience of playing the game can differ for boys and girls, and this difference may be emphasized when girls are playing exclusively with other girls

Bars, Nightclubs, and Cancer Prevention: New Approaches to Reduce Young Adult Cigarette Smoking.

IntroductionTobacco contributes to multiple cancers, and it is largely preventable. As overall smoking prevalence in California declines, smoking has become concentrated among high-risk groups. Targeting social/cultural groups (i.e., "peer crowds") that share common values, aspirations, and activities in social venues like bars and nightclubs may reach high-risk young adult smokers. Lack of population data on young adult peer crowds limits the ability to assess the potential reach of such interventions.MethodsThis multimodal population-based household survey included young adults residing in San Francisco and Alameda counties. Data were collected in 2014 and analyzed in 2016. Multivariable logistic regressions assessed smoking by sociodemographic factors, attitudes, self-rated health, peer crowd affiliation, and bar/nightclub attendance.ResultsSmoking prevalence was 15.1% overall; 35.3% of respondents sometimes or frequently attended bars. In controlled analyses, bar attendance (AOR=2.13, 95% CI=1.00, 4.53) and binge drinking (AOR=3.17, 95% CI=1.59, 6.32) were associated with greater odds of smoking, as was affiliation with "Hip Hop" (AOR=4.32, 95% CI=1.48, 12.67) and "Country" (AOR=3.13, 95% CI=1.21, 8.09) peer crowds. Multivariable models controlling for demographics estimated a high probability of smoking among bar patrons affiliating with Hip Hop (47%) and Country (52%) peer crowds.ConclusionsBar attendance and affiliation with certain peer crowds confers significantly higher smoking risk. Interventions targeting Hip Hop and Country peer crowds could efficiently reach smokers, and peer crowd-tailored interventions have been associated with decreased smoking and binge drinking. Targeted interventions in bars and nightclubs may be an efficient way to address these cancer risks