Divergent Perspectives: Exploring a Multiple Informant Approach to Cyberbullying Victimization and Perpetration

The present research adopts a multiple informant approach to identify victims and perpetrators of cyberbullying. Similar approaches have been successfully applied in the field of traditional bullying, and they are highly relevant for studying cyberbullying as well. Three informants can provide key perspectives on cyberbullying incidents: victims, perpetrators, and bystanders. To collect data on these actors, all eighth-grade students in 11 secondary schools were invited to participate in a survey. In total 1458 respondents completed peer-nomination questions on cyberbullying involvement. The results indicated that the prevalence of cyberbullying varied depending on the type of informants that was consulted. In addition, limited overlap was observed between the reports of different informants, resulting in different profiles of victims and perpetrators, depending on the informants that identified them. In sum, different informants tended to have divergent views on cyberbullying, which has important implications. It warrants accurate reporting and critical reflection on the sources of data in cyberbullying research. Moreover, it demonstrates the need to study a more diverse set of informants to advance the understanding of cyberbullying and to enhance prevention efforts.     

Universities and Technology Transfer in Japan: Recent Reforms in Historical Perspective

The Japanese government has embarked on a series of reforms aimed at stimulating technology transfer from universities to industry. As a result, technology licensing offices are springing up at many national universities. Advocates hope that these reforms will increase the level of university patenting and licensing, which historically has not been a common mode of technology transfer in Japan. Their model is the technology licensing process in the United States, which acquired its present form after passage of the Bayh-Dole Technology Transfer Act of 1980. Such changes face serious historical and institutional barriers. Academic researchers, especially in engineering and physical science, have a long record of collaborative research with industry. Decisions about patenting, however, were usually left to the corporate partner; universities rarely filed for patents under their own name, nor have they, until recently, encouraged or assisted faculty researchers in doing so. Consequently, we believe that current reforms, by going against the grain of past practices, will take time to achieve the hoped for results.     

Relationship to Perpetrator and Posttraumatic Symptomatology Among Sexual Abuse Survivors

This study investigated the association of several dimensions of relationship to perpetrator of childhood sexual abuse to posttraumatic symptomatology in adulthood. A structured clinical interview, the Impact of Event Scale, and the TSC-40 were administered to 67 women survivors seeking psychotherapy. The t-tests for significant differences indicated that subjects whose perpetrators were not caretakers experienced higher levels of posttraumatic symptomatology (PTS) in adulthood than those abused by caretakers. No significant differences were found in traumatic symptomatology between those whose perpetrators were family members and those whose perpetrators were not or between those abused by someone in the home and those abused by someone outside the household. Implications for future research and clinical practice are explored.     

Dawns, Twilights, and Transitions: Postmodern Theories, Politics, and Challenges

The postmodern turn which has so marked social and cultural theory also involves conflicts between modern and postmodern politics. In this essay, we articulate the differences between modern and postmodern politics and argue against one-sided positions that dogmatically reject one tradition or the other in favor of partisanship for either the modern or the postmodern. Arguing for a politics of alliance and solidarity, we claim that this project is best served by drawing on the most progressive elements of both the modern and postmodern traditions. Developing a new politics involves overcoming the limitations of certain versions of modern politics and postmodern identity politics in order to develop a politics of alliance and solidarity equal to the challenges of the new millennium.