Explores the relationships of emotion, cognition, and inner speech to each other and to context in a classroom of 24 fifth-grade students. Results of interviews and observations suggest the necessity of understanding adaptive behavior in context, understanding the role of context in determining cognitive and emotional responses, and understanding…

Changes in political and social attitudes during college were studied for 303 Ivy League students in their freshman and senior years. Seniors scored higher on measures of liberalism, social conscience, tolerance of homosexuality, and feminist attitudes; they scored lower on male-dominant attitudes. Of particular interest is the increased tolerance…

The value of the social context present in some specialized education environments to promote the optimal development of children who are gifted and talented is discussed. Issues and variables that might be considered when conducting research on social context in specialized environments are also considered. (SW)

Studies of the relationship between students' propositional knowledge (as measured by concept mapping tasks) and their study strategies (as measured by self-report questionnaires) for electricity in first-year university courses are described. The effect of propositional knowledge and prior knowledge on both conceptual knowledge and study…

Task-related and social behaviors of preschool children (n=21) at risk for behavior problems were examined in two school settings, a structured instructional context and an unstructured free play context. Results indicated that group differences in on-task, aggressive, and prosocial behavior depended on context. (Author/DB)

Argues that false assumptions about user needs implicit in methodologies for building information systems have resulted in inadequate and inflexible systems. Checkland's Soft Systems Methodology is examined as a useful alternative. Its fundamental features are described, and examples of models demonstrate how the methodology can facilitate…

Advocates research on the effectiveness of early intervention programs for disabled children based on scientific method, rather than advocacy of positions. Reviews effective intervention practices. Illustrates use of the biosocial systems research model, examining biological traits in the context of social systems. Discusses benefits of this…

Argues that the shared use of artifacts is supported by latent border resources that lie beyond the canonical artifact. Designers must understand the role border resources play and work more directly to help users develop them. This will require designers to change their understanding of artifacts and users. (Contains 69 references.) (KRN)

Two experiments involving 112 college students, half male and half female, examined the spatial nature of mental-image rotation (MIR) tasks and the use of MIR in stereotypically male or female tasks. Results add to the evidence that instructional and stimulus effects may exacerbate or eliminate sex differences in spatial cognition. (SLD)

This review examines recent developments in research on social-cognitive theories of motivation during adolescence and the ways in which such research can be applied to the reform of middle grade schools. Results suggest that effective reform must consider the multiple contexts in which students interact. (SLD)

Reviews school effects literature concerning student dropouts and critically examines urban principals' viewpoints, focusing on definitions, current practices and proposed solutions, and context considerations. Principals blamed either the individual or the community context for student disengagement from school, relying on support services and…

Four experiments with 128 college undergraduates and 82 Air Force recruits examined the coordination of a verbal component task with a visual spatial and an auditory component task. Results show that ability to coordinate perceptual and visual information differs from ability to deal with either type of information alone. (SLD)

Stresses need for model of career decision making that recognizes both normative and chance influences. Discusses role of chance on adult development, ways in which people attempt to understand impact of chance events, and influence of personal characteristics on coping with chance. Summarizes meaning of chance, effects on client decision making,…

The interaction effect between two process skills (application and interpretation) and two task contexts (scientific and everyday) was investigated. Korean students (n=255), ages 13 and 15, were the subjects of this study. Results reveal that there was an apparent interaction between process skills and contexts. Sex-skill interaction and…

Considers how sociohistorical context affects procedures by which sociologists obtain subject permission for interviews and audiotaping interviews. Reviews a 1950s study involving interviews with institutionalized, schizophrenic women contrasting ethical and institutional implications of informed consent in that context to contemporary informed…