A Prospective Study of Extreme Weight Change Behaviors Among Adolescent Boys and Girls

This study examined changes in extreme weight change attitudes and behaviors (exercise dependence, food supplements, drive for thinness, bulimia) among adolescent boys and girls over a 16 month period. It also investigated the impact of body mass index, puberty, body image, depression and positive affect on these attitudes and behaviors 16 months later. The participants were 847 young adolescents (411 boys, 436 girls). Participants completed questionnaires evaluating the above variables on three occasions, eight months apart. Girls obtained higher scores on exercise dependence, drive for thinness and bulimia. Changes in depression and body image importance were the strongest predictors of changes in these extreme attitudes and behaviors among boys; changes in depression, body dissatisfaction and body image importance were the strongest predictors for girls. The need for gender specific educational and intervention programs for adolescents are discussed.Marita McCabe PhD, Professor in Psychology in the School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne, Australia. She has completed her PhD in 1981 on adolescent development, and has been completing research on various aspects of adolescent adjustment for 30 years. To whom correspondence should be addressed at 221 Burwood Highway, Burwood, Victoria 3125, Australia;Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychology, Deakin University, Melbourne Australia. She completed her PhD in 1990 on Childrens Language Development. In the last 10 years she has been researching body image concerns in adolescents and children     

Impact of positivity and empathy on social entrepreneurial intention: The moderating role of perceived social support

Social entrepreneurship is a growing area of interest among practitioners. Social entrepreneurship meets and satisfies social needs and brings social change through innovative ideas. This study aims to investigate the impact of positivity and empathy of individuals on social entrepreneurial intention. This study considers the mediating role of social entrepreneurial self‐efficacy between the relationship of positivity, empathy, and social entrepreneurial intention. In addition, this study investigates perceived social support as a boundary condition between the relationship of social entrepreneurial self‐efficacy and social entrepreneurial intention. Findings show that positivity and empathy positively influence social entrepreneurial self‐efficacy, which subsequently positively influences social entrepreneurial intention. Furthermore, results show that high perceived social support strengthens the relationship between social entrepreneurial self‐efficacy and social entrepreneurial intention. Discussions and implications based on the study findings are reported.     

Supporting farmer participation in formal seed systems: lessons from Tharaka,Kenya

This article examines contemporary challenges of formal seed sector participation for resource-poor farmers in Tharaka and engages in a wider discussion of national seed policy and formal seed sector development in Kenya. While many farmers reported utilising modern seed varieties developed by the formal seed sector, the majority of these were introduced through seed aid and maintained through seed saving, supporting seed system integration strategies. Building on these findings, the article discusses ways in which national seed policy in Kenya might be refined to better meet national and regional development goals focused on decreasing the incidence of hunger and poverty.     

Bedouin-Jewish Relations in the Negev 1943–1948

On the foundation of the first Jewish settlements in the Negev, at the start of the 1940s, the Bedouins welcomed the Jewish settlers. The local personal connections and mutual acquaintance between them created a feeling of closeness. The symbiosis of daily life and mutual help in the fields of personal needs, from medicine to transport, replaced their mutual fears.

However, two factors quickly changed this attitude. The first was a severe drought, which struck the Negev in the winter of 1947, and brought with it a difficult economic situation, followed by several robberies and disputes, and damage to property. The second factor was the incessant encouragement given by the leaders of the Palestinian National Movement to the Bedouins to join the struggle against the Jewish population, especially after the UN decision in November 1947, that is, after the partition of Palestine and the inclusion of the Negev within the borders of the Jewish state.

Most of the Bedouins joined the Palestinian National Struggle. Friends of yesterday became today's enemies. The years 1947–1949 were a period of anarchy, which continued well into the 1950s. In this period the State of Israel was established. Consequently, the Jewish population in the Negev was no longer the party responsible for the relationship with the Bedouins, as the Israeli government took its place. Also contact between neighbors was reduced after the Bedouins were evacuated toward the ‘fence’ region, in the Beer-Sheva Valley. The freedom the Bedouins enjoyed before the war did not exist anymore.     

Predicting the use of conflict resolution tactics among engaged Arab-Palestinian men in Israel

This article reports one of the first studies of woman abuse in the Arab world. A standardized measurement package was completed by 434 engaged Arab-Palestinian men living in Israel. The study sought to explain men's differential use of conflict tactics with their fiancées using variables representing three frameworks: (1) male dominance, (2) intergenerational learning, and (3) interpersonal skills deficit. Results revealed that a combination of factors from disparate frameworks best explained the variance. Men who used reasoning in conflicts were less likely to have originated from families where they were exposed to violence, more likely to have egalitarian expectations from marriage, and more likely to be characterized as androgynous. Men who were verbally and physically aggressive toward their fiancées, were more likely to have come from homes where they were exposed to violence, were less likely to empathize with their fiancées, and more likely to hold negative and traditional attitudes toward women.     

Relationships between socioeconomic status,locus of control,self-concept,and academic achievement of batswana adolescents

Relationships between socioeconomic status, locus of control, self-concept, and academic achievement were explored in secondary school pupils in the Mmabatho area of Bophuthalswana (Southern Africa). The analyses of data revealed the following: (a) both male and female Batswana adolescents were found significantly more externally oriented when compared against the normative data provided by Nowicki-Strickland (1973); (b) socioeconomic status was significantly positively associated with internality, self-concept, and academic achievement in English; (c) externality was significantly negatively related to self-concept and achievement in English; (d) self-concept was significantly positively correlated to measures of achievement in English and mathematics; and (e) mathematics achievement of male students was significantly higher than female ones.     

Relationships between personal control,moral reasoning,and socioeconomic status of Nigerian hausa adolescents

The Internal-External Locus of Control (I-E) Scale devised by Rotter, the revised Kohlberg's Scale of Moral Judgment, and a socioeconomic background questionnaire were administered to 97 Nigerian Hausa secondary school adolescents. Data were analyzed to find sex differences in locus of control and moral reasoning, and relationships between locus of control, moral judgment level, and socioeconomic status. Significant sex differences were not revealed in either locus of control or moral reasoning. No significant relationships between locus of control, moral judgment, and socioeconomic background were found.