No description available.

There have been few investigations of sexual coercion in relationships. I conducted several studies to develop a measure of partner sexual coercion and to identify its proximate causes and the relevant personal characteristics of male perpetrators. Community participants’ self-reported propensity to engage in various tactics to obtain sex from a reluctant partner clustered into a subscale relating to sexual coercion and a subscale pertaining to sexual coaxing. These subscales had excellent internal reliability, construct validity, criterion validity, and were used to test predictions in subsequent studies. I tested the application of Lalumière et al.’s (2005) three-path model for the development of sexually coercive behavior in general to sexual coercion in relationships. Self-reported interest in partner sexual coercion in a community sample was significantly related to psychopathy, but not age or neurodeveopmental insults. I confirmed the importance of psychopathy in this model by comparing men who raped their partner to other sex offender groups. Another characteristic of sex offenders, sexual deviance, was tested for its application to partner rapists. Unlike non-partner rapists, men who raped their partner exhibited low sexual arousal to rape scenarios, similar to community controls. Cuckoldry risk, a hypothesized proximate cause of partner sexual coercion, was also tested. Direct cues to cuckoldry risk were related to self-reported propensity for partner sexual coercion, whereas indirect cues of cuckoldry risk were related to sexual coaxing. In a forensic sample, most partner rapists had experienced cuckoldry risk prior to committing their offense, and they experienced more cuckoldry risk events than partner assaulters. A necessary condition of the cuckoldry risk hypothesis is that men should exhibit sexual arousal to cues signaling cuckoldry risk. Men in a community sample exhibited as much sexual arousal to stories depicting partner infidelity as they did to stories depicting consenting sex with their partners, and men who were currently in relationships showed greater arousal to stories of infidelity than consenting sex. Taken together, my results suggest psychopathy and cuckoldry risk are important contributors to partner sexual coercion. / Thesis (Ph.D, Psychology) -- Queen's University, 2008-07-16 11:13:04.26

Until recently, the majority of research in the area of English phonological awareness has centered on segmental phonology as predictors of reading. Current research, however, has expanded the concept of phonological awareness to include prosodic sensitivity⎯the awareness of suprasegmental information. The present study explores the role of five segmental and suprasegmental levels of English phonological awareness as predictors of individual differences in word reading in Korean children learning English. 104 native Hangul speaking children in Grade 3 were assessed on English levels of stress, syllable, rime, simple phoneme, and consonant cluster awareness, as well as, English and Hangul word reading. Hierarchical regression models indicated that awareness of syllables, onset/rime units, and phonemes within consonant clusters were uniquely predictive of individual differences in L2 English word reading after accounting for cognitive ability, English background variables, and L1 word reading. Awareness of stress-timed patterns contributed to common variance in English and Hangul word reading, but was not uniquely predictive in final regression models. No level of phonological awareness was predictive of Hangul word reading. Results support the notion that segmental phonological elements not present in L1 may be predictive of individual differences in L2 word reading. Furthermore, cross-language transfer of PA may be weak in the direction of English (L2) to Hangul (L1). / Thesis (Master, Education) -- Queen's University, 2010-06-30 18:10:10.564

No description available.

No description available.

The purpose of the present study was to assess whether girls with LD were at a greater risk for self-reported depressive symptomatology compared to both boys with LD and girls without LD. Differences in the pattern of responses of girls with LD and boys with LD on the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI) were also evaluated. In order to identify a learning disability, the short-form of the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children and the Wide Range Achievement Test were administered to 204 subjects. Results revealed that girls with LD demonstrated an increased risk for depressive symptomatology as compared to girls without LD. Boys, on the other hand, regardless of a learning disability, manifested a comparable rate of depressive symptomatology. It appears that having a learning disability increases girls' propensity towards depression. Finally, differences in the pattern of responses were found for girls and boys with and without LD.

The present study examined whether children and adolescents develop mental models of peer relations that reflect observed gender differences in size and in density of friendship structures. A total of 278 children and adolescents, ranging from preschool level to CEGEP, participated in the study. Participants were given a questionnaire, consisting of schematic drawings of different forms of peer interactions, to assess their ideas about how friendships are organized for children of their age. Results indicated that both female and male participants at all grade levels judged typical boys to have a greater preference for group than dyadic interactions than did typical girls. Typical girls, however, were not judged to have preference for either dyadic or group interactions. Results also indicated that both female and male participants at all grades judged that the probability of mutual friends also being friends as higher for typical boys than for typical girls. Overall, the findings from the present study demonstrated that children and adolescents of both genders possess internal working models of peer interactions, beginning in early childhood, that are gender differentiated in a way that reflects patterns of behaviour.

This research project explored how modern media and the theme of Bedroom Culture could be used to enhance second language learning of preadolescent girls. Most of the girls who participated in this project are first language English speakers. Therefore it is a challenge for them to learn isiZulu. Thus, to kindle an interest an obvious entry point to working with these pre-adolescent girls in a participatory way in terms of language learning, was to capitalize on their interest and expertise. The theme ‘My Bedroom’ was used because girls spend much of their out-of-school time in their bedroom and this is considered a critical interest space for them. This approach focused on using photographs taken by the girls themselves, on digital cameras, of various aspects and spaces in their bedroom. Thereafter a Power Point presentation was created by each girl, using these photographs. The presentations were then carried out by the girls in front of the class and the teacher. Making use of modern technologies and media, and what is familiar to them allowed the girls to work with different modes from the purely written/verbal linguistic mode which has dominated language learning and teaching for some time. These modes of meaning included the visual, audio and gestural. Incorporated into the research were the Multimodal approach together with the idea of Multiliteracies. These Multiliteracies include the understanding and control of meaning-making forms, which are becoming increasingly important in the communications environment, and which lead to a new direction in language learning during the second language lessons. The approach of this work builds on the popular Communicative/Task-Based Approach in language learning. This research showed that allowing the girls to use photographs of their bedrooms, empowered them to take ownership of their project, enabling them to confidently carry out the presentation using modern technology with which they are familiar as well as, using a subject with which they are familiar. At the same time they were able to extend their own knowledge to learn isiZulu. It also revealed much about their Bedroom Culture, Girlhood Studies, Children as Cultural Producers and Children and Visual Studies. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.

This dissertation incorporates a number of ethnographic case studies done within the qualitative paradigm from a feminist stance (Nielsen, 1995). It served to explore and understand the attributions and aspirations of adolescents in relation to their group association from their perspective. It was important that the voice of the adolescent emerged as central to the findings. The significance of individual freedom of choice as opposed to limited personal volition was also explored. Another aspect of the research problem was to try to establish adolescents' awareness, perceptions and beliefs of gender issues. Integral to the success of the research was honesty and ethics. Hence reflexivity was fundamental to continuous re-assessment of interpretation, an awareness of assumptions and manipulation, which could have occurred if the power relations between researcher and participants were not addressed. To ensure validation of the research findings triangulation-between and -within-methods was utilised. Hence a dynamic interaction among sociometric diagrams, participant observation, interviews, document analysis and photographs resulted. The research study incorporated the environs of Greenvale High School, whose multi-faceted dimensions of co-education, multi-culturalism, dual-medium and comprehensive curriculum, proved to be a boon to the nature of the research. I worked within the Grade 10 standard and ultimately isolated three groups and three "loners". The dimension of ethnicity emerged as pertinent to the study of two of the "loners" and it was therefore necessary to include a brief (if somewhat superficial) exploration of two Black girl groups. Contextualisation emerged as most signific4'lnt to the findings. The relationship of the groups to the learning environment and its significance in relation to the values and beliefs of the individuals within groups proved enlightening. Anomalies between gender beliefs and assertions and their actualisation were related to the individuals' experience of gender equality within the class situation, their awareness of gender inequality within the learning environment and their perception ofgender role perpetuation as unproblematic within the broader context of a patriarchal society. Hence this research advocates Hconsciousl1ess-raising" (Payne, in Spender and Sarah, 1988) so that issues regarded as unp1'oblematic, can be addressed in order to change the social order. Awareness can aid educationalists in formulating policy that will ensure that the learning environment can be made more worthwhile and meaningful to the Hmarginalised" adolescent. Methodologically, other researchers would benefit by replicating this study to pursue important aspects, which emerge from ethnographic case studies, particularly within a South African context compounded by race and gender. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 1999.

The purpose of this study was to investigate if there is a seasonal difference in metal concentrations in marine gastropods. Metals that were studied were chromium, copper, nickel and zinc. Gastropods were collected at one contaminated site and one reference site. For the contaminated site Rönnskärsverken, Skellefteå, Sweden, was chosen because of its long history as location for a smelter. Kylören, Umeå, Sweden, was chosen as reference site.  The gastropods were collected on two occasions at each site, the first time in the beginning of June and the second time in the end of August. The gastropods were then removed from their shells and the tissue was analyzed spectrometrically for metal content after acid-digestion. The results from the analysis showed unsurprisingly that metal contamination was higher at the contaminated site than at the reference site. More interestingly, it was also found that there are seasonal differences in almost every metal included in the study. Nickel and chromium concentrations were significantly increased (P<0, 05) in the end of the summer and the zinc concentration had the highest value in June in Rönnskärsverken but the highest value in August for the reference site. As only exception, copper concentration did not show any seasonal variation in snail tissue. In conclusion this study shows that there are seasonal differences in metal concentrations in marine gastropods but the differences are not consistent and differs from metal to metal if the concentration is increased in the beginning or the end of summer.