RESEARCHING SITUATED LEARNING AS THE DEVELOPMENT OF PRACTICE FOR COLLEGE ACCESS PRACTITIONERS: A CASE STUDY OF THE COLLEGE ASSISTANCE MIGRANT PROGRAM

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-03

Comics Explosion: Representations of Persecution in Graphic Narrative, 1995-2015

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Recreation and trauma: An exploratory study of how specialized recreation organizations address the needs of their unique clientele

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-06

Unequally Unemployed: Labor Market Stratification After the Great Recession

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Washington, 2016-06

The Paradoxes of Paramountcy: Regional Rivalries and the Dynamics of American Hegemony in East Asia

It has become increasingly commonplace to describe the United States as hegemonic. And yet, despite America's dominant position at a number of levels strategic, political-economic and ideational, there are plainly limits to US hegemony. These limits and the enduring strengths of American hegemony are revealed quite clearly in East Asia. This paper critically assesses a number of theories of hegemony, and argues that the concept continues to provide a useful way of conceptualising America's evolving relationship with East Asia. Theories of hegemony can, with appropriate caveats, also help us to understand the limits to Chinese and Japanese power in the region; two countries that are routinely cited as potential hegemonic rivals

Dopamine and semantic activation: An investigation of masked direct and indirect priming

To investigate the effects of dopamine on the dynamics of semantic activation, 39 healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to ingest either a placebo (n = 24) or a levodopa (it = 16) capsule. Participants then performed a lexical decision task that implemented a masked priming paradigm. Direct and indirect semantic priming was measured across stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) of 250, 500 and 1200 ms. The results revealed significant direct and indirect semantic priming effects for the placebo group at SOAs of 250 ms and 500 ms, but no significant direct or indirect priming effects at the 1200 ms SOA. In contrast, the levodopa group showed significant direct and indirect semantic priming effects at the 250 ms SOA, while no significant direct or indirect priming effects were evident at the SOAs of 500 ins or 1200 ms. These results suggest that dopamine has a role in modulating both automatic and attentional aspects of semantic activation according to a specific time course. The implications of these results for current theories of dopaminergic modulation of semantic activation are discussed.

Movement trajectories in the presence of a distracting stimulus: Evidence for a response activation model of selective reaching

Consistent with action-based theories of attention, the presence of a nontarget stimulus in the environment has been shown to alter the characteristics of goal-directed movements. Specifically, it has been reported that movement trajectories veer away from (Howard & Tipper, 1997) or towards (Welsh, Elliott, & Weeks, 1999) the location of a nontarget stimulus. The purpose of the experiments reported in this paper was to test a response activation model of selective reaching conceived to account for these variable results. In agreement with the model, the trajectory changes in the movements appear to be determined by the activation levels of each competing response at the moment of response initiation. The results of the present work, as well as those of previous studies, are discussed within the framework of the model of response activation.

Correlates of depressive symptoms in a representative sample of young Australian women

This paper presents a descriptive analysis of the prevalence of depressive symptoms among a national cohort of young Australian women, and the characteristics of those who experience them. It explores the associations between demographic and health-related variables and depressive symptoms in a representative sample of 9333 Australian women aged 22-27 years, from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health. Approximately 30% of these young women indicated that they were experiencing depressive symptoms, as indicated by the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CESD-10). After adjusting for age and rurality of residence, depressive symptoms were related to the following demographic variables: low income, low educational qualifications, a history of unemployment, not being in a relationship, and living arrangements other than living with a partner. Those health-related variables that were significantly associated with depressive symptoms included frequent visits to doctors and medical specialists, and a higher number of physical symptoms experienced and diagnoses made. More illicit drug use, higher use of cigarettes and alcohol, and lower exercise status were also significantly associated with depressive symptoms. This analysis supports the view that depression is one aspect of a multifactorial cluster of negative conditions across several domains of functioning, including physical ill-health, risky behaviours, and marginal social status. The complex interactions between these conditions, of which depression is only one, underscore the difficulties that arise in the treatment of depression and support the value of preventive interventions as an important public health strategy.

Images of desire: Cognitive models of craving

Cognitive modelling of phenomena in clinical practice allows the operationalisation of otherwise diffuse descriptive terms such as craving or flashbacks. This supports the empirical investigation of the clinical phenomena and the development of targeted treatment interventions. This paper focuses on the cognitive processes underpinning craving, which is recognised as a motivating experience in substance dependence. We use a high-level cognitive architecture, Interacting Cognitive Subsystems (ICS), to compare two theories of craving: Tiffany's theory, centred on the control of automated action schemata, and our own Elaborated Intrusion theory of craving. Data from a questionnaire study of the subjective aspects of everyday desires experienced by a large non-clinical population are presented. Both the data and the high-level modelling support the central claim of the Elaborated Intrusion theory that imagery is a key element of craving, providing the subjective experience and mediating much of the associated disruption of concurrent cognition.

Learning mathematics in a classroom community of inquiry

This article considers the question of what specific actions a teacher might take to create a culture of inquiry in a secondary school mathematics classroom. Sociocultural theories of learning provide the framework for examining teaching and learning practices in a single classroom over a two-year period. The notion of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) is invoked as a fundamental framework for explaining learning as increasing participation in a community of practice characterized by mathematical inquiry. The analysis draws on classroom observation and interviews with students and the teacher to show how the teacher established norms and practices that emphasized mathematical sense-making and justification of ideas and arguments and to illustrate the learning practices that students developed in response to these expectations.

Civil-Military Relations in Croatia: Politicisation and Politics of Reform.

This article argues that since 2000 successive Croatian governments have shown themselves increasingly dedicated to reforming civil-military relations. However, their efforts have been hampered by four key obstacles. First, the need to implement defence reforms in the context of an unwieldy set of civil-military relationships, political and institutional rivalries, a lack of civil and military defence expertise and a continuing legacy of politicisation. Second, the need to cut defence spending as a proportion of the overall budget whilst taking on new military roles and improving the capability of the armed forces. Third, the need to balance the demands of the NATO accession process while implementing a balanced and fundamental reform of the armed forces as a whole. Finally, the need to implement root and branch personnel reforms and downsizing in the OSRH while simultaneously recruiting and retaining quality personnel and addressing the wider social issue of unemployment.

The employment of people with mental illness

People with a mental illness are among the most socially and economically marginalised members of the community. They experience high levels of unemployment and nonparticipation in the labour force. Unemployment has a number of negative effects including the loss of purpose, structure, roles and status and a sense of identity which employment brings. Employment enables social inclusion in the wider community and is an important way that people with a mental illness can meaningfully participate in the wider community. Australia has a mental health strategy, which guides the ongoing reform of mental health services. However, specific strategies to address the social and economic marginalisation of people with a mental illness have not been addressed. A recovery-oriented approach is recommended, which integrates the key sectors involved. To date there has been little intersectoral collaboration between the various sectors such as mental health services, housing, and vocational services. People require more role-specific assistance to enable them to participate in socially valued roles implicit with citizenship. There is a need to formulate improved pathways to assistance and more evidence-based forms of assistance to re-establish career pathways. This report aims to: 1) collect relevant overseas and Australian evidence about the employment of people with mental illness; 2) identify the potential benefits of employment; 3) describe patterns of labour force participation in Australia among people with mental illness; 4) identify how mental illness can cause barriers to employment; 5) outline the type of employment restrictions reported by people with mental illness; 6) identify the evidence-based ingredients of employment assistance; 7) identify relevant policy implications; and 8) suggest strategies to improve employment outcomes and career prospects for people with mental illness.

Degrees of freedom and motor planning in purposive movement

This paper presents empirical evidence suggesting that healthy humans can perform a two degree of freedom visuo-motor pursuit tracking task with the same response time delay as a one degree of freedom task. In contrast, the time delay of the response is influenced markedly by the nature of the motor synergy required to produce it. We suggest a conceptual account of this evidence based on adaptive model theory, which combines theories of intermittency from psychology and adaptive optimal control from engineering. The intermittent response planning stage has a fixed period. It possesses multiple optimal trajectory generators such that multiple degrees of freedom can be planned concurrently, without requiring an increase in the planning period. In tasks which require unfamiliar motor synergies, or are deemed to be incompatible, internal adaptive models representing movement dynamics are inaccurate. This means that the actual response which is produced will deviate from the one which is planned. For a given target-response discrepancy, corrective response trajectories of longer duration are planned, consistent with the principle of speed-accuracy trade-off. Compared to familiar or compatible tasks, this results in a longer response time delay and reduced accuracy. From the standpoint of the intermittency approach, the findings of this study help make possible a more integral and predictive account of purposive action. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Research in leadership, self, and identity: A sample of the present and a glimpse of the future

Researchers in leadership effectiveness are paying increasing attention to the role of follower self-concept and identity as a mediator and moderator of the effectiveness of leadership. In this introductory article, we provide a short outline of this rapidly growing field of research, briefly introduce the articles presented in this special issue on leadership, self, and identity, and highlight key themes for future research that we feel emerge from these studies. These themes include greater attention to the dynamic interplay between leaders and followers, the incorporation of theories of fairness, and the role of leader self-concept. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Perceptions of the intergroup structure and anti-Asian prejudice among white Australians

Subjective intergroup beliefs and authoritarianism were assessed in a field study (N=255) of White Australians' anti-Asian stereotyping and prejudice. A social identity analysis of intergroup prejudice was adopted, such that perceptions of the intergroup structure (instability, permeability, legitimacy and higher ingroup status) were proposed as predictors of higher prejudice (blatant and covert) and less favorable stereotyping. Consistent with the social identity approach, both independent and interacting roles for sociostructural predictors of Anti-Asian bias were observed, even after demographic and personality variables were controlled. For example, perceived legitimacy was associated with higher prejudice when White Australians' status position relative to Asian Australians was valued. Moreover, when participants evaluated Whites' position as unstable and high status or legitimate, perceptions of permeable intergroup boundaries were associated with anti-Asian bias. The present findings demonstrate status protection responses in advantaged group members in a field setting, lending weight to the contention that perceptions of sociostructural threat interact to predict outgroup derogation. Implications for theories of intergroup relations are discussed.