Rückkehr in die Heimat. Zur schulischen und sozialpsychologischen Situation griechischer Schüler nach der Remigration

Dieser Aufsatz berichtet über die Ergebnisse einer umfassenden empirischen Untersuchung zur Schulsituation griechischer Kinder und Jugendlicher, die aus der BRD in ihre Heimat zurückgewandert sind. An Stichproben aus Grundschulen und Sekundarstufen wird überprüft, welche Probleme in den Schulleistungen und im psychosozialen Befinden bei Rückkehrern im Vergleich zu Einheimischen auftreten. Die Informationen über jeden Schüler enthalten mehrere Perspektiven: Lehrerurteil, Einschätzung durch die Mitschüler, Selbstkonzept sowie Schulleistungsindikatoren. Es zeigt sich, daß die Rückkehrerkinder schulisch im Rückstand liegen sowie eine Reihe psychosozialer Belastungen aufweisen, die je nach Remigrationszeitpunkt, Geschlecht etc, unterschiedlich ausgeprägt sind. Unproblematisch verläuft die Rückkehr in die Heimat und die schulische Integration nur, wenn sie vor dem 8. Lebensjahr erfolgt. (DIPF/Orig.)

Schulische Gesundheitsförderung im Kontext von Klassenklima und sozialem Rückhalt durch die Lehrer. Wirkungen eines Präventivprogramms auf gesundheitsrelevantes Wissen und auf Erwartungen und Verhalten

Berichtet wird über die Evaluation eines schulischen Gesundheitsförderungsprogramms, wobei es spezifisch um Wechselwirkungen zwischen Programmeffekten und schulklimatischen Bedingungskonstellationen (Klassenklima/Lehrerrückhalt) auf Wissen über, Erwartungen an und Konsum von Zigaretten geht. An der Untersuchung waren 388 Schüler und Schülerinnen achter und neunter Klassen beteiligt. Im Rahmen eines quasi-experimentellen Untersuchungsdesigns wurde in der Hälfte der Schulklassen ein 28stündiges Unterrichtsprogramm zur Gesundheitsförderung durchgeführt, während die andere Hälfte als Kontrollgruppe ohne Treatment diente. In der Interventionsgruppe zeigten sich Wissenszuwächse sowie positive Veränderungen in den Ergebniserwartungen, zum Teil in Abhängigkeit von den Klassenklimavariablen. Positive Veränderungen im Konsumverhalten als Folge der Intervention ergaben sich bei jüngeren Raucher/innen, und es zeigten sich Zusammenhänge zwischen Veränderungen in den Erwartungen an den Zigarettenkonsum und solchen im Konsumverhalten. (DIPF/Orig.)

Fragebogen zur Erfassung von Störungen im Unterricht: die Faktorenstruktur der Schülerinnen- und Schülerversion

In diesem Beitrag wird ein neu entwickelter Schülerinnen- und Schülerfragebogen zur Erfassung aggressiver und nicht aggressiver Schülerstörungen, aggressiven Lehrerverhaltens, Störungen des methodisch-didaktischen Settings sowie Klassenführung und Beziehung vorgestellt und die testtheoretischen Kennwerte diskutiert. Die faktorielle Struktur wurde an einer Stichprobe von N=1341 Schülerinnen und Schüler der fünften und sechsten Klasse ermittelt. Eine explorative Faktorenanalyse mit Oblimin-Rotation ergab sieben eindeutige, gut interpretierbare Faktoren, welche den theoretisch postulierten Konstrukten entsprechen. Vier Faktoren erfassen Störungen und drei Faktoren umfassen störungspräventive Merkmale des Unterrichts. Die internen Konsistenzen der Skalen liegen zwischen .60 und .88. (DIPF/Orig.)

A Pupil Baseline Study in Northern Ireland: Reported Willingness to Challenge Sectarian Bullying in School

Topic Background: Peace education initiatives in schools are often based on social psychological theories assuming that social identity affects ingroup and outgroup attitudes and, in turn, behaviors relating to relevant outgroups. However, research evidence on the role of children's social identity has often failed to take account of different social identity dimensions or to conceptualise behavior in the context of children's understandings of the social world. While recent research relating to bullying and bystander behavior amongst children has addressed the latter point, this has rarely been considered in conjunction with a differentiated view of social identity. This paper is therefore distinctive as it will address the role of social identity dimensions with regards to reported behavior as captured in bystander scenarios relating to outgroup derogation. This is particularly important in the context of divided societies, where peace education initiatives are crucial in promoting positive community relations for the future and where such initiative may be hampered by communities' concerns about loss of identity. In the context of Northern Ireland, a divided society emerging from conflict, social identity, outgroup attitudes and behaviours have been key concepts addressed by peace educators
for many years.

Research questions: This paper therefore set out to investigate the relationship between social identity, measured as affiliation with the group and exploration of its meaning for the child, sectarian attitudes and pupils' reported willingness to challenge sectarian bullying in their school environment in Northern Ireland.
Research methods: The findings are based on the analysis of a baseline survey, which forms part of a randomised control trial of an intervention aimed at promoting community relations and reconciliation. The trial includes 35 primary and post-primary schools and about 800 pupils from 8-11 years old who completed an online questionnaire at the start of the programme. Main instruments for this study included adapted scales measuring identity affiliation and identity exploration, sectarian attitudes and scenarios capturing pupils' intentions in bystander situations relating to sectarian bullying.

Analytical framework: Results are analysed using regression analysis and additionally investigate gender and religious differences.

Research findings and/or contribution to knowledge: Results are discussed in the light of the role of social identity dimensions and their relationship to outgroup attitudes and willingness to challenge outgroup derogation. The paper concludes with potential implications for peace education initiatives in Northern Ireland and beyond.

A school-based cognitive behavior modification intervention strategy for learned helpless mentally retarded students

This study assessed the usefulness of a cognitive behavior modification (CBM) intervention package with mentally retarded students in overcoming learned helplessness and improving learning strategies. It also examined the feasibility of instructing teachers in the use of such a training program for a classroom setting. A modified single subject design across individuals was employed using two groups of three subjects. Three students from each of two segregated schools for the mentally retarded were selected using a teacher questionnaire and pupil checklist of the most learned helpless students enrolled there. Three additional learned helplessness assessments were conducted on each subject before and after the intervention in order to evaluate the usefulness of the program in alleviating learned helplessness. A classroom environment was created with the three students from each school engaged in three twenty minute work sessions a week with the experimenter and a tutor experimenter (TE) as instructors. Baseline measurements were established on seven targeted behaviors for each subject: task-relevant speech, task-irrelevant speech, speech denoting a positive evaluation of performance, speech denoting a negative evaluation of performance, proportion of time on task, non-verbal positive evaluation of performance and non-verbal negative evaluation of performance. The intervention package combined a variety of CBM techniques such as Meichenbaum's (1977) Stop, Look and Listen approach, role rehearsal and feedback. During the intervention each subject met with his TE twice a week for an individual half-hour session and one joint twenty minute session with all three students, the experimentor and one TE. Five weeks after the end of this experiment one follow up probe was conducted. All baseline, post-intervention and probe sessions were videotaped. The seven targeted behaviors were coded and comparisons of baseline, post intervention, and probe testing were presented in graph form. Results showed a reduction in learned helplessness in all subjects. Improvement was noted in each of the seven targeted behaviors for each of the six subjects. This study indicated that mentally retarded children can be taught to reduce learned helplessness with the aid of a CBM intervention package. It also showed that CBM is a viable approach in helping mentally retarded students acquire more effective learning strategies. Because the TEs (Tutor experimenters) had no trouble learning and implementing this program, it was considered feasible for teachers to use similar methods in the classroom.

School management and sexual behavior of teenagers

This paper asks whether school based management may help reducing risky sexual behavior of teenagers. For this purpose we use student level data from Bogot´a to identify students from Concession School (CS), who are enrolled in public education system with a more school management autonomy at school level, and to compare them with those students at the traditional public education system. We use propensity score matching methods to have a comparable sample between pupils at CS and traditional schools. Our results show that on average the behavior of students from CS do not have a sexual behavior that differs from those in traditional public schools except for boys in CS who have a lower probability of being sexual active. However, there are important differences when heterogeneity is considered. For example we find that CS where girls per boys ratio is higher have lower teenage pregnancy rates than public schools with also high girls per boys ratios. We also find that teachers’ human capital, teacher-pupil ratio or whether school offers sexual education are also related to statistically significant differences between CS and traditional public schools.

Pupillary behavior in relation to wavelength and age

Pupil light reflex can be used as a non-invasive ocular predictor of cephalic autonomic nervous system integrity. Spectral sensitivity of the pupil's response to light has, for some time, been an interesting issue. It has generally, however, only been investigated with the use of white light and studies with monochromatic wavelengths are scarce. This study investigates the effects of wavelength and age within three parameters of the pupil light reflex (amplitude of response, latency, and velocity of constriction) in a large sample of younger and older adults (N = 97), in mesopic conditions. Subjects were exposed to a single light stimulus at four different wavelengths: white (5600° K), blue (450 nm), green (510 nm), and red (600 nm). Data was analyzed appropriately, and, when applicable, using the General Linear Model (GLM), Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD), Student's t-test and/or ANCOVA. Across all subjects, pupillary response to light had the greatest amplitude and shortest latency in white and green light conditions. In regards to age, older subjects (46-78 years) showed an increased latency in white light and decreased velocity of constriction in green light compared to younger subjects (18-45 years old). This study provides data patterns on parameters of wavelength-dependent pupil reflexes to light in adults and it contributes to the large body of pupillometric research. It is hoped that this study will add to the overall evaluation of cephalic autonomic nervous system integrity.

The Behavior of Hydroxyl Units of Synthetic Goethite and its Dehydroxylated Product Hematite

The behavior of the hydroxyl units of synthetic goethite and its dehydroxylated product hematite was characterized using a combination of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) during the thermal transformation over a temperature range of 180-270 degrees C. Hematite was detected at temperatures above 200 degrees C by XRD while goethite was not observed above 230 degrees C. Five intense OH vibrations at 3212-3194, 1687-1674, 1643-1640, 888-884 and 800-798 cm(-1), and a H2O vibration at 3450-3445 cm(-1) were observed for goethite. The intensity of hydroxyl stretching and bending vibrations decreased with the extent of dehydroxylation of goethite. Infrared absorption bands clearly show the phase transformation between goethite and hematite: in particular. the migration of excess hydroxyl units from goethite to hematite. Two bands at 536-533 and 454-452 cm(-1) are the low wavenumber vibrations of Fe-O in the hematite structure. Band component analysis data of FTIR spectra support the fact that the hydroxyl units mainly affect the a plane in goethite and the equivalent c plane in hematite.

Infra-red pupil detection for use in a face recognition system

This paper presents a new method of eye localisation and face segmentation for use in a face recognition system. By using two near infrared light sources, we have shown that the face can be coarsely segmented, and the eyes can be accurately located, increasing the accuracy of the face localisation and improving the overall speed of the system. The system is able to locate both eyes within 25% of the eye-to-eye distance in over 96% of test cases.

Let's Dance: A Language for Service Behavior Modeling

In Service-Oriented Architectures (SOAs), software systems are decomposed into independent units, namely services, that interact with one another through message exchanges. To promote reuse and evolvability, these interactions are explicitly described right from the early phases of the development lifecycle. Up to now, emphasis has been placed on capturing structural aspects of service interactions. Gradually though, the description of behavioral dependencies between service interactions is gaining increasing attention as a means to push forward the SOA vision. This paper deals with the description of these behavioral dependencies during the analysis and design phases. The paper outlines a set of requirements that a language for modeling service interactions at this level should fulfill, and proposes a language whose design is driven by these requirements.

Multiple-choice versus short-response items: Differences in omit behavior

The overall rate of omission of items for 28,331 17 year old Australian students on a high stakes test of achievement in the common elements or cognitive skills of the senior school curriculum is reported for a subtest in multiple choice format and a subtest in short response format. For the former, the omit rates were minuscule and there was no significant difference by gender or by type of school attended. For the latter, where an item can be 'worth' up to five times that of a single multiple choice item, the omit rates were between 10 and 20 times that for multiple choice and the difference between male and female omit rate was significant as was the difference between students from government and non-government schools. For both formats, females from single sex schools omitted significantly fewer items than did females from co-educational schools. Some possible explanations of omit behaviour are alluded to.

Examining the antecedents and consequences of ritualized fan behavior [Abstract]

One of the features of the sporting industry is the ritualized way in which it is consumed across the world. Fans of every sport have rituals and superstitions to help them enjoy the spectacle, socialize with other like-minded fans, and reduce some of the anxiety of watching their team play. These rituals include dress, barracking styles and pre and post match behaviors. What is not known are the factors that lead fans to engage in ritual behaviors and what relationship rituals have with desirable outcomes such as increased attendance, attitudinal loyalty or satisfaction. Given that some ritual behaviors are clearly undesirable, (e.g., hooliganism), understanding these relationships is important to managers who may be questioning whether rituals should be encouraged. Although ritualized behavior amongst fans is clearly visible, the symbolic and emotional nature of ritual poses challenges to researchers. Most previous ritual research is exploratory and qualitative in nature. This study, however, uses a behavior-based scale to measure fan ritual and relates it to desirable outcomes such as commitment and attendance. Over 2,000 season ticket holders of a football (soccer) team in Australia’s professional A-League competition were surveyed to investigate the antecedents and consequences of fan ritual behavior. Cluster analysis was used to explore the characteristics of respondents, and it revealed that those fans that engage in ritual behavior also differed on many other demographic and attitudinal dimensions. The associations between ritual and psychological commitment, and ritual and attendance are positive and significant. When used in conjunction with other constructs, fan ritual also improves the explanation of attendance behavior. The findings support previous research that found a significant and positive relationship between team identification, involvement and attendance, and extend previous research by finding a significant and positive relationship between rituals and attendance. For sports marketing practitioners, the results indicate the importance of developing and managing consumption rituals tied to game day attendance, with a view to generating uncommon loyalty.