Drawing on social identity theory, this study explored the impact of the peer group on childhood bullying. Participants were 351 students, aged 8 to 13 years. Involvement in bullying, friendship group membership, norms of particular groups, and intra-group positions (prototypical vs. peripheral) were determined using peer reports. Results revealed…

The authors investigated whether adversity in a female, before she conceives, will influence the affective and social behavior of her progeny. Virgin female rats were either undisturbed (controls) or exposed to varied, unpredictable, stressors for 7 days (preconceptual stress [PCS]) and then either mated immediately after the end of the stress…

Deficits in attention, communication, imitation, and play skills reduce opportunities for children with autism to learn from natural interactive experiences that occur throughout the day. These developmental delays are already present by the time these children reach the toddler period. The current study provided a brief 12 week, 1 hour per week,…

Women are expected to aspire to norms of femininity that include ideal motherhood, where mothers are positioned as ever available, ever nurturing providers of active, involved and expert mothering--indeed, being a caregiver is a master status for adult women in modernity. While this may be the case for all women, mothers who are disabled can have…

Purpose: Deficient group processes such as conformity pressure can lead to inadequate group decisions with negative social, economic, or environmental consequences. The study aims to investigate how a group technique (called INFO) improves students' handling of conformity pressure and their collective judgments in the context of a…

In this paper a conceptual model of instruction "the six mirrors of the classroom" used as a frame for teaching a learning topic, the microorganisms are depicted. The paper consists of four sections: (a) the six mirrors of the classroom model (SMC); (b) the SMC as implemented in the expository and cooperative modes of instruction in classrooms and…

Understanding what factors influence positive youth development has been advocated by youth development researchers (P. L. Benson, 2006; J. S. Eccles & J. A. Gootman, 2002). Consequently, the purpose of this study was to examine whether perceptions of a caring youth sport context influenced prosocial and antisocial behavior through…

Background: In persons with deafblindness, it is hard to distinguish autism spectrum disorders from several deafblind specific behaviours caused by the dual sensory impairments, especially when these persons are also intellectually disabled. As a result, there is an over-diagnosis of autism in persons who are deafblind leading to unsuitable…

The present study developed a measure to assess citizenship behavior in educational settings and examined its antecedents and consequences in the cultural context. The results of this study provided discriminant validity for the newly extracted two-factor structure, that is, self-regulation and other-orientation. The authors identified both…

"Educator or Bully?" offers a comprehensive approach to classroom management for both novice and veteran teachers who are interested in examining their current classroom management performance, especially with respect to how it reflects the characteristics of the 21st century classroom. Practices presented are based on sound educational theory.…

Background: School safety and corresponding feelings of both pupils and school staff are beginning to receive more and more attention. The social cohesion characteristics of a school may be useful in promoting feelings of safety, particularly in pupils. Aims: To conceptualize theoretically, and check empirically a two-level model of social…

Contemporary thinking seems to be particularly interested in the investigation of the role of culture in socio-political life. This article presents aspects of a research project, undertaken in Greece, looking into whether a cultural product can foster intercultural communication and influence young people's perceptions of and attitudes to…

Purpose: Based in the discipline of applied consultancy-research, this paper seeks to present a synthesis-review of the social dynamics underlying the stalled negotiations of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Its aim is to enhance understanding of the processes involved, to offer a working agenda to the organizational…

This study examines the influence of peer norms on sharing of injection paraphernalia (e.g., indirect sharing behaviors, including sharing of cookers, cotton, rinse water and back/front loading) among Puerto Rican injection drug users (IDUs) in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and East Harlem, New York City. Data were collected from 873 Puerto Rican IDUs…

The article proceeds from the argument that war is a social institution and not a historical inevitability of human interaction, that is, war can be "unlearned." This process involves deconstructing/dismantling war as an institution in society. An important step in this process is to understand the philosophical and cultural bases on…