Two studies examined the hypothesis that children rely on name representations, often indexed by shape, in their semantic representations. Results suggest that, although shape plays an important role in children's early naming, other factors are also important, including the mental state of the picture's creator (whether intentional or not).…

Using the theory of planned behavior as the theoretical base, data collected through a semi-annual survey of Web users were used to determine if beliefs about privacy and Internet trustworthiness helped determine attitudes toward the Internet, which were thought to affect intent to make Internet purchases. (Author/LRW)

Surveys of 141 upper/middle managers and 418 university employees demonstrated that higher organizational commitment decreased the link between organizational politics and job tension. For managers, commitment decreased the effect of politics on intention to quit. (SK)

The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) was used to study the factors that influence the intention of public rehabilitation counselors to place consumers living with AIDS into jobs. Participants completed the Rehabilitation Counselor Intention to Place Survey, which was based on 2,089 elicited salient job placement beliefs of 155 public…

The purpose of this experiment was to examine the effect of web page text/background colour combination on readability, retention, aesthetics, and behavioural intention. One hundred and thirty-six participants studied two Web pages, one with educational content and one with commercial content, in one of four colour-combination conditions. Major…

Phillips, Wellman, and Spelke (2002) provided experimental evidence indicating that by the age of 12 months infants use information about an adult's gaze-direction and emotional expression to predict action. We investigate the generality of this ability, using Phillips et al.'s paradigm across different referential gestures. If infants have a rich…

In order to understand ongoing activity, observers segment it into meaningful temporal parts. Segmentation can be based on bottom-up processing of distinctive sensory characteristics, such as movement features. Segmentation may also be affected by top-down effects of knowledge structures, including information about actors' intentions. Three…

Background: Wizards of Motion is a program of curriculum delivery through which experts in Kinesiology introduce grade 7 students to applications of physics for human movement. The program is linked closely to Ministry of Education curriculum requirements but includes human movement applications and data analysis experiences. Purpose: The purpose…

This paper discusses the compilation of an instrument in order to investigate pre-service early childhood teachers' views and intentions about integrating and using computers in early childhood settings. For the purpose of this study a questionnaire was compiled and administered to 258 pre-service early childhood teachers (PECTs), in Greece. A…

This qualitative narrative study examined contraceptive use and non-use in light of the Theory of Planned Behaviour. The purpose of this paper was to understand contraceptive use and non-use among Finnish teenage girls: why do girls use or not use contraception in a sexually motivated situation and how do the determinants of the Theory of Planned…

Many studies point to the importance of social information processing mechanisms in understanding distinct child behaviors such as aggression. However, few studies have assessed whether parenting might be related to such mechanisms. This study considers how aversive forms of parenting (i.e., corporal punishment, psychological control) as well as…

This study explores the extent to which parental and peer behaviors and norms may affect substance use, personal antidrug norms, and intentions to use drugs in a group of Mexican heritage preadolescents in the Southwest United States, and whether these parental and peer influences differ according to gender. Secondary data from a randomized trial…

Although interventions based on cognitive theories can reduce rates of unsafe sexual behavior in adolescents, effect sizes remain small. This study was a qualitative investigation of inner-city adolescents' intentions to use condoms following participation in an intensive safer sex program. In-depth interviews with 26 adolescents were analyzed…

This article presents a phenomenographic study that investigates students' approaches to achieving understanding. The results are based on interviews, addressing physiological phenomena, with 16 medical students in a problem-based curriculum. Four approaches--sifting, building, holding and moving--are outlined. The holding and moving approaches…

A small proportion of deaths result from the use of drugs with the intention to hasten death without an explicit request of the patient. Additional insight into its characteristics is needed for evaluating this practice. In the Netherlands in 2001, questionnaires were mailed to physicians that addressed the decision making that preceded their…