Study of the Self-Assessment as а Component of the Model of Self-Regulated Learning for Engineering Students

Report published in the Proceedings of the National Conference on "Education and Research in the Information Society", Plovdiv, May, 2015

The effect of group counseling on the self-esteem, attendance, and counselor utilization of immigrant Hispanic secondary limited English proficient students

As the population of the United States becomes more diverse and the immigrant Hispanic, limited English proficient (LEP) school age population continues to grow, understanding and addressing the needs of these students becomes a pressing question. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of group counseling, by a bilingual counselor, on the self-esteem, attendance and counselor utilization of Hispanic LEP high school students. The design for this study was a quasi-experimental design. The experimental and control groups consisted of one class from each of the four levels of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), I-IV. The counseling intervention, the independent variable, was delivered by a bilingual counselor once a week, for fifteen weeks.^ A total of 112 immigrant Hispanic LEP students selected from the total ESOL student population participated in the study. The experimental and control groups were administered the Culture Free Self Esteem Inventory (CFSEI) Form AD as a pretest and posttest. The Background Information Questionnaire (BIQ) was utilized to gather information on counselor utilization and demographic data. Attendance data were obtained from the students' computer records. At the conclusion of the study the differences between the experimental and control groups on the three dependent variables were compared.^ Statistical analyses of the data were done using SPSS statistical software. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) was utilized to determine if there were significant differences in the self-esteem scores, attendance and counselor utilization. Correlational analyses was utilized to determine if there was a relationship between English language proficiency and self-esteem and between acculturation level and self-esteem.^ The study results indicate that there were no significant differences in the self-esteem scores and attendance of the subjects in the experimental group at the completion of the group counseling treatment. Counselor utilization was statistically significant for the targeted population. A relationship was found between English language proficiency level and self-esteem scores for students in ESOL levels II, III and IV. No significant correlation was found between acculturation and self-esteem.^ Research on the dropout rates of LEP coupled with the results of this study show that students at the intermediate and advanced levels of ESOL (III and IV) exhibit more positive self-esteem and achieve higher graduation rates that levels I and II. LEP students at levels I and II, once they became familiar with the role and function of school counselors through group counseling, utilized their services. ^

A comparison of the self -esteem of freshman community college students enrolled in remedial and regular academic programs

This study examined relationships among self-esteem, remedial academic placement, ethnicity, gender, and enrollment status, using a nonexperimental, ex post facto research design. Participants were 113 freshman community college students attending Broward Community College in South Florida. The Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (Adult Form) was used to measure the self-esteem of the participants. The results of this study indicate a significant difference between the mean self-esteem levels of the students enrolled in remedial academic classes (m = 66.08) and those enrolled in regular academic classes (m = 73.97). An independent samples t-test at the.05 significance level indicated that regular students were found to have higher levels of self-esteem than remedial students (t(112) = 2.14, p =.03). Two-way analyses of variance of placement status by ethnicity, of placement status by gender, and of placement status by enrollment status on self-esteem were also conducted. Interactions between placement status and the other factors were not found to be significant (p $>$.05). However, a significant main effect for ethnicity was found (p $<$.05). The results indicated that white students had a mean self-esteem level (m = 75.30) significantly higher than non-white students (m = 62.76, p =.002).^ The results of this study suggests that many community college students have problems related to self-esteem. Further research should be conducted on remedial and minority college students using a larger sample size and additional variables, such as socio-economic status. ^

A determination of the effects of a ropes course on the self -esteem of undergraduate and graduate students

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of the ropes course on the self-esteem of undergraduate and graduate students. The ropes course provides challenging experiential activities that facilitate personal confidence and group teamwork. The study relates to adult education, experiential education, and program evaluation within the context of hospitality and tourism management education. Quantitative data were based on the assessment of self-esteem through the completion of the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI-C) modified for this study. Qualitative data were based on assessment of participants' reflective papers stating their perceptions of the ropes course. ^ The study compared a treatment group (31 undergraduate and 25 graduate students) which participated in the ropes course, and a control group (31 undergraduate and 25 graduate students) which did not participate. Both groups completed the pre- and post-treatment SEI-C at the same time intervals. The quantitative data were analyzed using a two-way repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). The qualitative data, comprised of reflective papers voluntarily written by 44 (79%) of the treatment group, were coded using four major themes reflecting the students' perceptions about the ropes course. ^ Scores on the pretest and posttest of the SEI-C were not significantly different for the two groups. The qualitative data showed a favorable impact of the ropes course. The discrepancy in the outcomes based on these two measures suggests that the SEI-C self-report paper-and-pencil instrument may not be sufficiently refined to evaluate the complex issue of self-esteem. The SEI-C, if used, should be supplemented by other evaluation measures, since the two measures may be evaluating different components of self-esteem. They may be also differentially affected by bias in scoring, or by statistical characteristics of reliability and validity. ^

The self-perceived effects on faculty that result from the experience of serving in a residential college

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to examine the effects that faculty who live in residence with college students perceive result from their experience. This study examined the perspectives from current and recent residential faculty members. Data were gathered through structured interviews with current and former residential faculty who gave firsthand accounts of how they felt that experience impacted them. A pilot study had been previously conducted that enabled the researcher to modify and adjust the dissertation methodology accordingly, based upon the findings of the pilot study. The pilot study, in short, found that residential faculty members felt they gained from the experience in terms of relationships with students and other faculty while facing a few small challenges. Literature consistently showed that faculty-student interaction is very important to the development and success of students (Astin, 1993). Research has clearly demonstrated positive outcomes that result for students; the literature review revealed this information is plentiful. There is a dearth of research, however, regarding this impact on the faculty members themselves. Given the importance of faculty-student interaction outside of the classroom, it is crucial to recruit faculty for these communities. Thus, more information regarding this experience will be valuable. The study was conducted at a mid-sized private university in the Southeastern United States. The reason for this choice was the fact that this school has a 25-year history as a residential college system and utilizes 12–15 residential faculty members yearly. The researcher conducted interviews with 13 faculty members and coded and analyzed the data, then prepared the findings of the study based on the results. The data resulting from the study indicated that faculty perceived great benefits from serving as residential college faculty members. Perceived benefits as described by the participants included increased skill in teaching, feeling a sense of community, stronger relationships with other faculty members and students, and an increased affinity toward the university. While there were some challenges such as lack of training, politics, and loss of privacy all participants in the study felt they gained from the opportunity and would do it again in the same situation. This study enhanced the limited formal knowledge available regarding how faculty experience living in residential colleges with students.

A critical discourse analysis on the (self) representation of Hillary R. Clinton in public discourse

El rol de la mujer dentro de la sociedad ha sido y aún es un tema de mucha controversia. Incluso en nuestra sociedad, se suscitan debates sobre si les está permitido a las mujeres ocupar ciertos ámbitos laborales que han estado siempre dominados por una fuerte presencia masculina, como es el caso del ámbito político. Además, en muchos países aún ni siquiera están reconocidos los derechos de las mujeres, y mientras que, en otras culturas, a pesar de que la ley vela por los derechos humanos sin importar la raza, la religión o el género, la realidad es que incluso en las culturas más desarrolladas existe desigualdad de género y estereotipos que afectan el desenvolvimiento de la mujer. Sin embargo, a pesar de que aun la desigualdad de género está presente en la sociedad, es innegable que la situación actual es mucho más positiva para la implicación de las mujeres incluso dentro de ámbitos de la sociedad, que décadas atrás sería impensable, como la política. En esta línea, toda esta situación ha suscitado el interés de muchos investigadores y lingüistas, que han dedicado tiempo a investigaciones sobre las relaciones entre discurso y género, y sobre la representación mediática de mujeres que tienen cierta influencia en el ámbito público, y cómo la desigualdad de género afecta su imagen pública. Si bien es cierto, durante mucho tiempo el ámbito de la política ha estado dominado por presencia masculina, ahora la situación ha cambiado. En las últimas décadas, se ha hecho evidente una gran presencia de mujeres dentro de la política, mujeres que a comparación de la situación vivida décadas atrás, ahora tienen la posibilidad de presentarse incluso como candidatas a la presidencia, como es el caso de Hillary Clinton. En este sentido muchas corrientes feministas han contribuido en gran medida a esta nueva situación. Ahora bien, en vista de toda esta situación, el presente estudio de investigación intentará dar respuesta a las siguientes preguntas. ¿Hasta qué punto los estereotipos de género están aún presentes en la sociedad? ¿La representación mediática de una figura política está realmente basada en su conducta y en su actividad discursiva, o está influida por esquemas e ideas preconcebidas de género? Teniendo en cuenta que hoy en día hay una mayor presencia femenina dentro del ámbito político, una de mis hipótesis iniciales es que la situación de los estereotipos de género ha disminuido. Además, se espera que la forma en la que Hillary Clinton se representa a sí misma como una mujer y como una política esté menos perjudicada por estos esquemas. El objetivo de este estudio es, primeramente, llevar a cabo un análisis sobre diez discursos de Hillary Clinton, desde el 15 de junio de 2015, fecha en la que Hillary Clinton lanzo su candidatura a la presidencia, hasta el 26 de abril de 2016, para a través de este análisis poder identificar como Hillary Clinton se caracteriza a sí misma en sus discursos políticos, y asimismo identificar si los esquemas convencionales sobre género afectan su auto representación. Con este objetivo, el enfoque de este estudio se va a centrar en análisis cuantitativos y cualitativos sobre la frecuencia de palabras, seguido de un análisis crítico del discurso sobre la auto representación de Hillary en sus discursos. Además, siguiendo la línea de investigación de Tannen (1996), se realizará un análisis sobre los usos de los pronombres “nosotros” y “yo”, para adquirir una mayor perspectiva sobre esta situación. Seguidamente, teniendo en cuenta que los medios de comunicación reflejan ideologías sociales, este estudio ha sido también diseñado para analizar diez artículos de noticias sobre los discursos previamente analizados de Hillary Clinton. De esta manera, se examinará si los estereotipos de género están presentes en la representación mediática de Hillary Clinton, para seguidamente analizar si la interpretación mediática de la candidata a la presidencia está realmente relacionada con los discursos analizados o, si por lo contrario están influidos por estereotipos y esquemas de género. Para cumplir con este objetivo, los datos recopilados para este corpus consisten en exactamente diez artículos que reporten sobre los discursos estudiados en el primer análisis, y la actuación de Hillary Clinton. Estos artículos fueron recogidos de cuatro de los periódicos más importantes de los Estados Unidos, que son New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles times y The Washington Post. En este caso el análisis estará centrado en la frecuencia de palabras y en el uso de reporting verbs, siguiendo la línea de investigación de Caldas – Coulthard (1995). Se espera que el presente estudio pueda servir para mayores investigaciones sobre cuestiones de género, y de esta manera contribuir a la creación de teorías que puedan explicar mejor la situación de las mujeres dentro de la política. Para finalizar, aún queda mucho que investigar en esta disciplina, e incluso más por descubrir

On the homotopy groups of the self-equivalences of linear spheres

Peer reviewed

On the homotopy groups of the self-equivalences of linear spheres

Peer reviewed

Identity Change Impacts Autobiographical Reconstruction of Identity-Relevant Events: Influences of the Self-System on Remembering

The focus on how one is behaving, feeling, and thinking, provides a powerful source of self-knowledge. How is this self-knowledge utilized in the dynamic reconstruction of autobiographical memories? How, in turn, might autobiographical memories support identity and the self-system? I address these questions through a critical review of the literature on autobiographical memory and the self-system, with a special focus on the self-concept, self-knowledge, and identity. I then outline the methods and results of a prospective longitudinal study examining the effects of an identity change on memory for events related to that identity. Participant-rated memory characteristics, computer-generated ratings of narrative content and structure, and neutral-observer ratings of coherence were examined for changes over time related to an identity-change, as well as for their ability to predict an identity-change. The conclusions from this study are threefold: (1) when the rated centrality of an event decreases, the reported instances of retrieval, as well as the phenomenology associated with retrieval and the number of words used to describe the memory, also decrease; (2) memory accuracy (here, estimating past behaviors) was not influenced by an identity change; and (3) remembering is not unidirectional – characteristics of identity-relevant memories and the life story predict and may help support persistence with an identity (here, an academic trajectory).

The Worsening of the employment and work conditions and its relationship to the self-perceived health in European working population. Relevance and effects of the latest socioeconomic crisis

The recent crisis of the capitalistic economic system has altered the working conditions and occupations in the European Union. The recession situation has accelerated trends and has brought transformations that have been observed before. Changes have not looked the same way in all the countries of the Union. The social occupation norms, labour relations models and the type of global welfare provision can help underline some of these inequalities. Poor working conditions can expose workers to situations of great risk. This is one of the basic assumptions of the theoretical models and analytical studies of the approach to the psychosocial work environment. Changes in working conditions of the population seems to be important to explain in the worst health states. To observe these features in the current period of economic recession it has made a comparative study of trend through the possibilities of the European Working Conditions Survey in the 2005 and 2010 editions. It has also set different multivariate logistic regression models to explore potential partnerships with the worst conditions of employment and work. It seems that the economic crisis has intensified changes in working conditions and highlighted the effects of those conditions on the poor health of the working population. This conclusion can’t be extended for all EU countries; some differences were observed in terms of global welfare models.

Control over the Self-Assembly Modes of PtII Complexes by Alkyl Chain Variation: From Slipped to Parallel π-Stacks

We report the self-assembly of a new family of hydrophobic,bis(pyridyl) PtII complexes featuring an extendedoligophenyleneethynylene-derived π-surface appended withsix long (dodecyloxy (2)) or short (methoxy (3)) side groups.Complex 2, containing dodecyloxy chains, forms fibrous assemblies with a slipped arrangement of the monomer units (dPt···Pt… =14 Å) in both nonpolar solvents and the solid state.Dispersion-corrected PM6 calculations suggest that this organizationis driven by cooperative π–π, C-H···Cl and π–Pt interactions, which is supported by EXAFS and 2D NMR spectroscopic analysis. In contrast, nearly parallel π-stacks (dPt···Pt… = 4.4 Å) stabilized by multiple π–π and C-H···Cl contact sare obtained in the crystalline state for 3 lacking longside chains, as shown by X-ray analysis and PM6 calculations.Our results reveal not only the key role of alkyl chain lengthin controlling self-assembly modes but also show the relevanceof Pt-bound chlorine ligands as new supramolecular synthons.

Navigating the Self in Diverse Work Contexts

Navigating the self is critical for working in a diverse world, in which different identities interact in social space. This chapter presents five theoretical perspectives on how individuals navigate the self in diverse organizational contexts—social identity, critical identity, (role) identity, narrative-as-identity, and identity work. We review these five prominent theoretical perspectives on identity processes in diverse contexts to explicate various ways in which individuals actively participate in the co-construction of their identities in diverse contexts. As a next step in research, identity, diversity, and relationship scholars are encouraged to inquire into the generativity of proposed tactics for navigating the self in order to identify pathways for cultivating more positive identities in diverse work settings. The examination of positive relational identities is considered a promising path for further inquiry in this domain.

Validation of the self-regulated online learning questionnaire

Abstract The number of students engaged in Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is increasing rapidly. Due to the autonomy of students in this type of education, students in MOOCs are required to regulate their learning to a greater extent than students in traditional, face-to-face education. However, there is no questionnaire available suited for this online context that measures all aspects of self-regulated learning (SRL). In this study, such a questionnaire is developed based on existing SRL questionnaires. This is the self-regulated online learning ques- tionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on the first dataset led to a set of scales differing from those theoretically defined beforehand. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted on a second dataset to compare the fit of the theoretical model and the exploratively obtained model. The exploratively obtained model provided much better fit to the data than the theoretical model. All models under investigation provided better fit when excluding the task strategies scale and when merging the scales measuring metacognitive activities. From the results of the EFA and the CFA it can be concluded that further development of the questionnaire is necessary.

The Self as a Moral Basis: Do Our Own Patterns of Behavior Affect our Moral Attributions?

To determine which actions are morally acceptable, psychologists typically focus on decision making within existing moral paradigms. However, this fails to comment upon individual and social processes, such as attribution, that determine morality. To address these processes, this study had participants respond to morally-charged scenarios by rating the immorality of an actor who did not tip a waiter (n = 125), was partial to infidelity (n = 128), and texted while driving (n = 128). Participants also completed an empathy measure, and provided their own frequency of engaging in certain behaviors, including those featured in the scenarios. Immorality ratings were compared to the participants’ own frequency of the scenario action (hypothesized to lower ratings), as well as empathy and outcome severity (both hypothesized to increase ratings). Findings were assessed in three regressions, one per scenario. Behavioral similarity predicted immorality ratings in each (p ≤ .03), empathy predicted ratings only for not tipping a waiter (p = .04), while outcome severity was un-predictive in each scenario. Theoretical implications, directions for future research, and limitations of the study are discussed.

Performing masculinity, performing the self: Rudolfo Anaya's Bless me, Ultima and Heart of Aztlan

This article explores how Bless Me, Ultima and Heart of Aztlan, the two earliest novels by acclaimed Chicano writer Rudolfo Anaya, problematise and negotiate Chicano masculinity issues. I will focus on the main characters of the novels, who, at different vital moments of their lives, question the meaning of manhood amidst important socio-economic changes and conflicting cultural traditions. Anaya reveals the complexity of being “mestizo” in American society, and exposes how hegemonic standards of masculinity are Manichean, restrictive and reliant on gender inequality. I will finally examine whether the novels challenge hegemonic gender orders, successfully negotiate non-heterosexist ideals of manhood, and ultimately contribute to the advancement of egalitarian gender relations for the Chicana/o community