Abstract In Jonesboro, AR, two boys, ages 11 and 13, set off their school's fire alarm and shot classmates and teachers as they emptied into the schoolyard. Four were killed and 11 wounded. In Springfield, OR, a 15-year-old opened fire in his school cafeteria, killing two and injuring 23.
From the Paper "Causes of Violence in Schools
In Jonesboro, AR, two boys, ages 11 and 13, set off their school's fire alarm and shot classmates and teachers as they emptied into the schoolyard. Four were killed and 11 wounded. In Springfield, OR, a 15-year-old opened fire in his school cafeteria, killing two and injuring 23. His parents were found dead at home. In Pearl, MS, a 16-year-old killed his mother with a butcher knife and then headed off to school where he shot and killed his ex-girlfriend and another female student. In Paducah, KY, a 14-year-old opened fire on his school prayer group, killing three female students and wounding five others.
This spate of killings has struck horror in the hearts of ..."
Abstract Examines predictive factors. Increase of suicide in young people. Current studies and research into predictors of suicide. Factors that place youth at-risk. Profille of a child or adolescent most likely to commit suicide. Also examines one teenager who committed suicide in front of his classmates & issues of youth suicide in Los Angeles County, 1998-1999.
From the Paper "Suicide in Children: Predictive Factors
Introduction
According to Hill (1998), of the 300,000 people who attempt suicide every year, about 10 percent succeed. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in kids under 15 years of age; and about one in every ten teenagers will attempt to commit suicide before they finish high school.
Moreover, since 1950 suicide among young people has increased by 250 percent and is showing signs of continuing to increase (Hill, 1998). In Los Angeles county alone in one year, youth suicide climbed 80 percent (Rivera 2001). These alarming statistics highlight the importance of the need to fully understand the factors that contribute to suicide among youth.
The first part of this paper examines the current research..."
An in-depth study into the issue of peer editing and collaborative writing - a practice whereby other students assist their classmates in improving their writing skills.
Abstract A study which shows that there has been a vast increase in the use of computer support technology at the college level. It explains how, in the field of composition, this has dove-tailed with an increase in the use of peer editing and collaborative writing projects as a means to improve the quality of student learning. This project explores the question of whether computer technologies facilitate quality student learning through collaborative writing and what process best supports this goal.
From the Paper "Peer editing and collaborative writing as processes have emerged from the post-modernist tradition. This tradition is focused more on the text itself and its construction than on truth claims that the author has portrayed the real world. There is also an emphasis on the relationship between the reader and text, including who reads particular kinds of texts and what happens during that reading process. The reader participates in the construction of the text, which means that the reader, and groups or types of readers, participation in the construction of the consensus concept of reality (Barthes and Howard, 1991). Falch (1994) emphasized that point in his discussion of post-modernism and collaborative writing. For him, language arises specifically from embodiment, or the material nature of human existence. Language helps people to locate their identities in relationship to the physical world. The collaboration is between human physicality and human consciousness, expressed in language. This creates a perception of, and concepts about, reality. Collaborative writing is simply a more conscious, and explicit, process of creating consensus reality."
Abstract Of the 300,000 people who attempt suicide every year in the United States, about 10 percent succeed. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in children under 15 years of age; and about one in every ten teenagers will attempt to commit suicide before they finish high school.
Moreover, since 1950, suicide among young people has increased by 250 percent and the number is climbing. In Los Angeles county alone in one year, youth suicide climbed 80 percent. These alarming statistics highlight the importance of the need to fully understand the factors that contribute to suicide among youth. The first part of this paper examines the current research investigating predictors of suicide in young people. To this end, three categories of suicide predictor research are examined: Studies using clinical samples; studies using non-clinical samples and studies comparing predictors of clinical and non-clinical samples. The second part of this paper examines the story of one tragic youth who committed suicide in front of his classmates, as well as the issues faced by youth suicide in one major county. The review ends with the formulation of several conclusions concerning factors that assist in predicting suicide risk in young people.
From the Paper "Hutchings (1998) has suggested that another factor that may place children and adolescents at higher risk of suicide is if they witness domestic violence in their homes. In her study of a small sample of adolescents, Hutchings observed that adolescents who witness violence in the home are at an increased risk of trying to handle their own problems using violent methods; probably because their parents have modeled this behavior. Being at increased risk of using violence as a mechanism for coping, Hutchings feels that these teens could well be at increased risk of handling pain via suicide."
Abstract The first part of this paper examines the current research investigating predictors of suicide in young people. To this end, three categories of suicide predictor research are examined: studies using clinical samples; studies using non-clinical samples; and studies comparing predictors of clinical and non-clinical samples. The second part of this paper examines both one tragic youth who committed suicide in front of his classmates as well as the issues faced by youth suicide in one major county. The review ends with the formulation of several conclusions concerning factors that assist in predicting suicide risk in young people.
From the Paper "What variables place children and adolescents at risk for suicide? Some researchers have searched for the answer to this question by investigating clinical samples. In one such study, Lipschitz, Winegar, Nicholoau, Hartnick, Wolfson and Southwick (1999) assessed suicide risk in 34 boys and 37 girls who were inpatients in psychiatric hospitals.
About 51 percent of sample patients had attempted suicide. Findings of the study indicated that those who had attempted suicide were significantly more likely to be female, to report sexual, physical, and emotional abuse, and to, themselves, endorse emotional neglect as a method of rearing children. In an effort to determine the magnitude of the different effects exerted by predictor variables, Lipschitz et. al (1999) conducted a multivariate analysis, which revealed that female gender, sexual abuse, and emotional neglect remained significant predictors of both self-mutilation behavior and suicidal ideation. Based on these findings, Lipschitz and associates concluded that emotional neglect was one of the more powerful predictors of suicidal behavior in hospitalized adolescents than physical abuse, emotional abuse, and physical neglect."
Abstract Perhaps more than any other debate in education, the study of language brings up questions of power and identity. How teachers and classmates view the home language of students and their families plays a major role in teachers' expectations and respect for a student's culture, as well as how easily the student will be able to learn and meet long-term educational goals. The paper shows that solving the complex social and economic problems in the U.S. that limit the educational opportunities of African Americans, particularly males, is not an easy task. Still, many educators are introducing new practices targeted specifically to the unique needs of this group. The paper shows that many researchers agree that one of the first steps that must be taken in advancing the educational level of African-American students is to implement Ebonics into inner city curricula. This paper examines the role of Ebonics in cultural identity in an effort to determine whether or not Ebonics should be implemented in classrooms or curricula.
From the Paper "By implementing Ebonics into school curriculums, teachers are fine-tuning the learning process towards the unique needs of African American students, rather than drilling them on the proper use of grammar and dialect. For example, teachers could use mini-lessons according to the dialect learning needs that students demonstrate. If the students agree that Standard English is appropriate for classroom interaction and for writing, lessons like these would help students reach their language development goals."
Tags: Standard, English, Proficiency, SEP, AAVE, Kwanzaa, Maat
Abstract This paper discusses the different explanations and rationalizations offered in an attempt to understand the horrific events that took place at a high school in Columbine, Colorado. Much of the focus of the paper is devoted to literature concerned with the pain of being unable to articulate or assert the self and how this type of pain is what triggered the Columbine tragedy. The paper continues with a discussion of the gender differences in acting out emotional pain and turmoil and concludes with the admonition that undoing the causes of self-destructive behavior in teens will take a cultural excavation and a reconfiguring of male and female identities.
From the Paper "One does not need to look very far to find individuals who are similarly conflicted in their inability to articulate themselves and find ways to do that are often bizarre and unrewarding to themselves and society as a whole. The tragedy that occurred four years ago, in 1999, at Columbine high school is an example of such a tragedy. A Website erected on the Internet in honor of the event describes the event as such. ?Two students in black trench coats killed twelve schoolmates and a teacher Tuesday at Columbine High School, most of them in the library. The gunmen, Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, then apparently killed themselves. They were called the "Trenchcoat Mafia"? before the incident occurred."
Abstract Discusses the goal of early education to promote the successful relating of each student to classmates. Examines the need to develop competencies in social contexts, the effect of peer play on behavior, and cooperation and coping skills.
From the Paper "This paper presents play in the primary classroom. Effects of classroom play on readiness to learn, classroom contextual factors in children's play, peer-play in the family context related to learning readiness..."
Abstract This paper examines how academic dishonesty has existed as long as organized schooling, whether in the form of glancing at a neighboring student's examination, copying a classmate's homework, or plagiarizing source material in written assignments. It looks at how academic dishonesty has increased dramatically over the last several years due to the Internet and recent technological advances in communication technology, which have enabled students to devise clever new strategies to facilitate cheating during in-class examinations.
From the Paper "Instructors have recently begun addressing the problem by availing themselves of Internet services such as Turnitin.com, a subscription service that compares submitted portions of student papers to Internet material and alerts to any suspected instances of inappropriate similarity (Slobogin). Professor Donald M. McCabe of Duke University is an expert on academic dishonesty who founded the Center for Academic Integrity, a consortium of two hundred colleges and universities dedicated to preserving academic integrity. According to McCabe, one of the most important tools in the fight against academic dishonesty (and plagiarism in particular) is well-informed instructors who are equally adept with the relatively new Internet medium as their students."
Abstract This paper, written by a Japanese student studying at an American college, talks about his friendships in the U.S. and his interest in immunology. The paper focuses on a particular friendship and his ultimate goal of receiving his Ph.D. from Stanford Medical School.
From the Paper "Ann said hardly a word to me all year. Although she was in at least two of my classes each semester since I started at UTSA, I think that maybe Ann felt a little intimidated by me. Ann is an all-American college student, a woman from a small town Kentucky who had never left the greater forty-eight. The farthest place she had been to away from her home town was Los Angeles. On the other hand, I hailed from far-off Japan, a country she had probably only read about and seen pictures of on television or books. Because Ann was a science student and not a geography buff, I wondered in fact if she even knew where my home country was on a world map."
Abstract This is a creative writing story about a woman attending her high school reunion. The protagonist of the story was overweight in high school but has shed that extra weight since graduating. In the story she is now at her high school reunion have a very different experience among her classmates than she did in high school.
From the Paper "The Regency Hotel ballroom looked beautiful. The Reunion Committee had done a clever thing. The theme for their class's Senior Prom had been "Under the Sea," although Carole had to take other people's word for it. She hadn't gone to the senior prom. She hadn't gone to much her senior year, or any year in high school. But a picture display told the story by showing pictures from the Prom: the Prom King and Queen (head cheerleader Kimmy and starting quarterback Ken, no surprises there), and the decorations, which at the time had probably looked romantic, but now showed for what they were: fake fish hanging from the ceiling with streamers floating in the air (seaweed? waves? Carole didn't know)."
Abstract This paper describes the author's personal experience of being unjustly accused of behaving improperly in school. It discusses the author's experience at a school for girls in Taiwan and how she was accused of throwing something at her teacher when the real culprit was the girl who sat next to her in class.
From the Paper "Unfortunately, almost everyone experiences at least one incident during the course of their life when they believed that they were the victims of injustice. An individual in authority may mistakenly accuse someone of a sin he or she did not commit. The accusation may be based on a stereotype or a personal dislike. It may even be the result of poor investigative work in discovering the actual person who committed the offense. Whether it was a significant experience involving the law or a tiny accusatory glance, the pain and frustration is sharp and unyielding. When one only has truth to prove his or her innocence and actual evidence is lacking, it is a difficult challenge to convince your accuser that he or she is mistaken about your guilt. Sometimes, it is impossible to prove one's innocence, thus, magnifying the intensity of the frustration. I, like so many others, have experienced injustice when an individual in authority believed I did something that I did not do."
Abstract This paper discusses how the explanatory style is a cognitive personality variable that reflects the habitual manner in which people explain the causes of bad events that befall them. According to the paper, researchers believe that attributional style can help provide a better understanding of behaviors and consequences that affect one's performance and actions. The paper further discusses how tests of this relationship have spanned a wide variety of achievement settings including academic, health, athletic, and work settings, and how some of the problems and stresses affect performance, focusing primarily on academics.
Contents:
Chapter One
Performance
Statement of the Problem
Purpose of the Study
Significance of the Study
Research Hypothesis
Scope and Limitation of the Study
Definition of Terms
Overview of the Study
Chapter Two
Review of Related Literature
Chapter Three
Methodology
Identification of Subjects
Implementing the Study
Gathering and Analyzing Data
Chapter Four
Data Analysis
Chapter Five
Summary, Recommendations, and Conclusions
From the Paper "For African Americans, ethnic identity and cultural racism significantly predict life satisfaction (Utsey et al, 2002). The study conducted by Utsey et al (2002) dealt with how African Americans felt about the culture and ethnicity that they belonged to, whether they felt they had been the victims of racism during their lifetimes, and also looked at how satisfied they were with their lives. Those that were less comfortable with their ethnicity and those that had been victimized by racism had lower quality of life scores than those that were comfortable and did not feel as though they had been victims. The higher the victimization score, the lower the quality of life score for these individuals.
Phinney, Cantu, and Kurtz (1997) state that having a poorly developed racial identity can lead to depression, a lack of comfort with oneself, and many other emotional problems that can be avoided when racial identity development theory is more clearly understood. On the other hand, having a racial identity that is well developed and that one is very comfortable with produces the opposite effects. While this is not an overly surprising insight, it is important that the correlation be noticed and recognized as something that should be studied and understood more clearly. This understanding of the link between racial identity and well-being has its roots in counseling psychology. By understanding the process of the development of racial identity, counselors felt they could begin to better understand pathology among black patients. Similarly, in investigating life satisfaction among African Americans, researchers (Utsey et al, 2002; Phinney et al, 1997) theorized that they must be attuned to cultural differences. There are significant potential dangers when researchers are unable to incorporate culture as a variable. Without a good understanding of cultural differences, it is possible for behavior to be misunderstood and even pathologized."
Abstract This paper discusses and analyzes the actions of Kip Kinkle, the fifteen year old Springfield, Illinois high school student who killed his mother and father with a shotgun and then went to school and opened fire upon his classmates, killing two students in cold blood, and injuring twenty five innocent bystanders. The paper discusses the events as viewed through criminologist Travis Hirschi's social bond theory.
From the Paper "According to Travis Hirschi, every social network holds the individual within its fabric with four types of social bonds. These promote positive and negative opportunities for socialization and positive and negative ways to feel that one is connected to, or conforms to a norm. Hirschi did not see conformity as essentially bad, because he believed that a certain sense of conformity was necessary for appropriate socialization of adolescents. Conformity was necessary to feel that one had a future within one's society, and a social investment in playing by the rules of society and respecting the rights of others."
Abstract The paper examines how, in the book "Odd Girl Out" by Rachel Simmons, applying gender stereotyping to the image of a schoolyard bully conceals the fact that girls are equally capable of injuring their fellow classmates. The paper discusses how, while boys are more likely to use physical methods of dominance against weaker boys, their female counterparts are more apt to make use of more subtle, social methods of bullying, like forming cliques. The paper concludes that if women do not find more effective ways to express their aggression, and to deal with their need to express anger and dominance, then female opportunities of mentorship in business, as well as friendship will be thwarted.
From the Paper "Sadly, for girls who are bullied, the psychological consequences are often far more extensive than simply not going to one's high school prom, or having nasty notes passed around during geometry class. Their idea of positive female friendship may be forever tarnished, and the girls may inhibit their social and academic aspirations, for fear of becoming spectacles in high school and beyond, and hence the targeting of more bullying. Female friendship is not a positive source of energy and comradeship for a bullied girl, instead it becomes a social weapon, or a reward that can be extended or withdrawn, depending on the girl's obedience to a particular social code or deference to a kind of 'alpha female.'"
