Perceived Social Support and Early Adolescents’ Achievement: The Mediational Roles of Motivational Beliefs and Emotions

Although a bulk of literature shows that perceived social support (PSS) influences academic achievement, the mechanisms through which this effect operates received little empirical attention. The present study examined the multiple mediational effects of motivational beliefs (competence beliefs and subjective value) and emotions (anxiety and enjoyment) that may account for the empirical link between PSS (from parents, peers and teachers) and mathematics achievement. The participants of the study were 238 grade 7 students (average age = 13.2 years, girls = 54%, predominantly native Dutch middle class socioeconomic status). A bootstrap analysis (a relatively new technique for testing multiple mediation) revealed that the motivational beliefs and the emotions, jointly, partially mediated the effect of PSS on achievement. The proportion of the effects mediated, however, varied across the support sources from 55% to 75%. The findings lend support to the theoretical assumptions in the literature that supportive social relationships influence achievement through motivational and affective pathways.     

Is there a U.S.–China–India triangle? – Beijing’s official views

ABSTRACT

This research examines China’s official perspectives on, and interpretation of, U.S.-China-India relations by surveying official, quasi-official, and some most relevant scholarly publications. China’s official line has always emphasized the bilateral nature of the relationship between China and India fending off any third-party interference, including that from the United States. Neither Chinese leaders nor the regime’s official media outlets would speak of China–India relationship with a triangular framework (with a rare exception of the Russia–India–China triangle). In the context of the rapid evolvement of U.S.-India military cooperation, the Chinese official line remains unforthcoming about whether such developments have direct implication for China’s security or national interests. Chinese core official media has in fact minimized the popularization of the idea that containing China is the driving force behind any cooperation between India and the United States.     

Field Contamination of Skeletonized Human Remains with Exogenous DNA

The Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory reports the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences of over 800 skeletal samples a year for the Joint POW/MIA Accounting Command–Central Identification Laboratory. These sequences are generated from degraded skeletal remains that are presumed to belong to U.S. service members missing from past military conflicts. In the laboratory, it is possible to control for contamination of remains; however, in the field, it can be difficult to prevent modern DNA from being transferred to skeletal elements and being carried forward through the analysis process. Four such cases are described here along with the controls in place in the laboratory to eliminate the possibility of the exogenous DNA being reported as authentic. In each case, the controls implemented by the laboratories prevented the false reporting of contaminant exogenous DNA from remains that were either faunal or human, but lacked endogenous DNA.