Search

Aggression in childhood has been linked to short- and long-term negative outcomes. One area of aggression that has gained attention in the literature is the construct of callous/unemotional (C/U) traits, which have also been associated with deleterious outcomes. Theoretical support for associations between C/U traits and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) is largely based on retrospective research conducted in adult populations, while there remains a dearth of research examining these relations in children. This study aimed to evaluate associations between ACEs and C/U traits and the student-teacher relationship (STR) as a moderator of these associations. Participants included male students between the ages of 6 and 14 attending school in a residential treatment setting (N = 86) and their teachers. Cross-sectional data were collected from educational files, child self-report measures, and teacher-report measures. Main and interaction effects were estimated within path models that included callous, uncaring, and unemotional traits as multiple outcomes. Significant interaction effects of both STR conflict and closeness emerged on the association between ACEs and callous traits ([beta] = 0.12; p = 0.03 and [beta] = -0.10; p = 0.04, respectively). At high levels of STR conflict and low levels of STR closeness, there was a significant positive association between ACEs and callous traits. This association was only marginally significant at low levels of conflict and high levels of closeness. Findings highlight how the STR might exacerbate or mitigate callousness in children with a history of ACEs and thereby help to inform clinical and educational practices for high-risk youth.

Virtual reality (VR), as an emerging visualization technology, has introduced an unprecedented communication method for collaborative design. VR refers to an immersive, interactive, multisensory, viewer-centered, 3D computer-generated environment and the combination of technologies required to build such an environment. This article introduces the current status of VR applications in industry and the technologies involved in the low-cost VR systems. The number of companies producing low-cost VR-related hardware and software is continuously increasing. New hardware and software technical terms are confusing or meaningless to people without any prior background in VR. Thus, choosing the right VR tool for a particular application is challenging for potential users. This article introduces different available stereo image rendering techniques, such as anaglyphic, page flipping, and sync doubling, and major low-cost VR hardware and software tools available for CAD model viewing. The purpose of this article is to help CAD users and product designers have a better understanding about VR technology so that they can develop their own VR systems to increase the efficiency of design communication. (Contains 6 figures.)

Due to the now widespread use of the Internet, most companies now require computer aided design (CAD) tools that support distributed collaborative design on the Internet. Such CAD tools should enable designers to share product models, as well as related data, from geographically distant locations. However, integrated collaborative design capability over the Internet has not fully matured. For example, Potter (1997a) found that security and authentication are still major concerns when transferring CAD files over the Internet. Designers or companies need to protect intellectual property. This article determines the Internet-based collaborative design capabilities available in modern CAD tools, outlines the major problems that still need to be addressed (e.g., version control, data translation and repair, and security and legitimacy issues), and recommends directions for future research. (Contains 2 tables.)

Early identification of individuals who will go on to develop schizophrenia is a difficult endeavor. The variety of symptoms experienced by clinical high-risk youth make it difficult to identify who will eventually develop schizophrenia in the future. Efforts are being made, therefore, to more accurately identify at-risk individuals and factors that predict conversion to psychosis. As in most assessments of children and adolescents, however, both youth and parental report of symptomatology and resulting dysfunction are important to assess. The goals of the current study were to assess the extent of cross-informant agreement on the Structured Interview for Prodromal Symptoms (SIPS), a widely-used tool employed to determine clinical high-risk status. A total of 84 youth-caregiver pairs participated. Youth and caregiver raters displayed moderate overall agreement on SIPS-rated symptoms. Both youth and caregiver ratings of youth symptomatology contributed significantly to predicting conversion to psychosis. In addition, youth age and quality of youth-caregiver relationships appear to be related to cross-informant symptom ratings. Despite differences on individual SIPS domains, the majority of dyads agreed on youth clinical high-risk status. Results highlight the potential clinical utility of using caregiver informants to determine youth psychosis risk.

Describes the first-year Introduction to Design course at Iowa State University which incorporates design for manufacturing and concurrent engineering principles into the curriculum. Autodesk Inventor was used as the primary CAD tool for parametric solid modeling. Test results show that student spatial visualization skills were dramatically improved, most were able to perform complex design tasks, and student team projects were enhanced. (Author/NB)

The Passage Comprehension portion of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised/NU was administered to 63 adolescents. Protocols were rescored using the following ceiling criteria: five consecutive errors, five errors in six consecutive responses, and five errors in seven consecutive responses. A strong relationship was determined among scores using all scoring methods. (Contains 10 references.) (CR)