A new study published in Child Development by Stephanie Carlson, associate professor in the Institute of Child Development, and her colleagues suggests that infant sleep is related to later increases in executive function. Children who got a greater proportion of their sleep during the night at 12 and 18 months of age performed better on concurrent and later executive function tasks, particularly those involving impulse control. These relations held over and above relations with socioeconomic status, general cognitive ability, and prior executive function.
This research provides new insights about the role of sleep in brain and cognitive development in infancy, suggesting that adequate nighttime sleep in infancy may be essential to fostering the brain development necessary for growth in executive functioning. The research was highlighted in the NY Times Year in Ideas 2009. Visit the Developmental Social Cognitive Neuroscience (DSCN) lab website to learn more about professor Carlson’s research.
Best book of the year in international higher education
Crossing Borders in East Asian Higher Education–co-edited by David Chapman, Birkmaier Professor of Educational Leadership in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development; Gerry Postiglione (University of Hong Kong); and William Cummings (George Washington University)–has been selected as the best book of the year in international higher education by the Comparative and International Education Society (CIES) for the 2009-10 academic year.
The award will be given out at the CIES Annual Meeting (May 1-5, 2011) in Montreal.
Undergrads learn youth studies practice in the field
Social work professor Michael Baizerman, students in the youth studies program, and youth workers in the St. Paul Recreation Centers have been working collaboratively to support youth on the East Side. Baizerman partners with youth workers–including many who came up in the communities–on professional development who then mentor University students on youth practice.
Find out more about such rich field experiences for undergraduate students in the Winter 2011 issue of Connect.
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Child welfare center launches new policy website
As the 2011 session of the Minnesota Legislature moves into full swing, the Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare (CASCW) is pleased to announce a new way to stay up-to-date and uncover resources for following and responding to legislation that impacts public child-welfare practice. CASCW has created a web page featuring resources to educate child welfare practitioners about the latest developments in policy, as well as to inform policy makers about the latest policy-relevant research findings.
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Gewirtz weighs in on parenting and ‘Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother’
Abi Gewirtz, assistant professor in the Department of Family Social Science, spoke with the Los Angeles Times about parenting and Amy Chua’s controversial memoir, “Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother.” “Battle Hymn” describes “Chinese parenting” techniques that, as Chua says, would seem “legally actionable” to many Westerners, but have granted her daughters great success.
Gewirtz agrees that setting challenging goals for children is crucial, but expectations need to be reasonably tailored to each child. “If you push a kid to do well, and they’re good at it, they benefit,” she says, “[but] not every kid can be at the top of the class.”
Read more from professor Gewirtz and the book at the LA Times.
Danish sport literature book reprints Kane chapter
Mary Jo Kane, professor and director of the School of Kinesiology and director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, has had her research on media, sport and gender reprinted in a forthcoming book on Scandinativen sport literature entitled, Literary tales of sport in Scandinavia: Heroes, memories and identity (edited by Vicki Bjerre and Susan Bandy). Kane’s article&emdash;Fictional denials of female empowerment: A feminist analysis of young adult sports fiction&emdash;examines “lone girl” novels in young adult sport fiction and the various ways in which female adolescents engaged in sport are portrayed. Kane found that lone girl novels characterized female protagonists as going against their “true nature” when they engaged in organized, competitive sports, and that when females played team sports the novels’ narratives focused more on their heterosexual desire than on their bonds with their female teammates. Kane argues that these results constitute a fictional denial of sport as a site of resistance and empowerment for athletic females.
Social work Ph.D. candidate named to American Humane post
School of Social Work Ph.D. candidate Suzanne Lohrbach has been named academic director of child welfare for the American Humane Association, a national organization that advocates for the protection of children and animals.
Lohrbach has more than 20 years of child welfare experience as a clinical consultant, mental health professional and professor. Most recently, she has been a community services supervisor for Olmsted County Child & Family Services in Rochester, Minnesota, where she helped to improve family group decision-making programs and field services for the protection of high-risk children. She also had clinical consultation responsibilities for the domestic violence response team and helped to lead the implementation of the child protection practice framework, Signs of Safety.
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Research shows link between regular physical activity and healthy lifestyle
Maureen Weiss, professor in the School of Kinesiology and co-director of the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport, along with her co-author Lynn Barnett, University of Illinois, published a book chapter in Leisure, Health, and Wellness: Making the Connections. The title of their chapter is “Children’s physical activity and healthy development: Physical, social, emotional, and cognitive benefits.”
The purpose of the book was to pair scholars in physical activity/health with scholars in recreation/leisure to produce a set of papers on how varying physical activity contexts can promote healthy behaviors and lifestyles in children through older adults. In their chapter, Weiss and Barnett review the literature on psychosocial and behavioral benefits afforded children and youth by participating in contexts such as free play, recreation/outdoor leisure, organized sports, and motor development programs.
Using the tagline, “Get up and play an hour a day,” promoted by the Ladies Professional Golf Association for getting children more active, the authors offer take-home messages to parents, educators, and professionals working with children in physical activity contexts. These include providing optimal skill challenges, making sure physical activity experiences are enjoyable, creating a mastery motivational climate, maximizing social support, being a positive physical activity role model, and helping children help themselves by teaching them self-regulating skills and behaviors.
Burns publishes book to help school psychologists with struggling learners
Educational psychologyprofessor Matthew Burns co-authored a book, “Transforming School Psychology in the RTI Era: A Guide for Administrators and School Psychologists” (LPR Publications), with Clayton Cook (University of Washington), Diana Browning Wright (private consultant), and Frank Gresham (Louisiana State University).
The book provides a roadmap to understand the changing field of school psychology to ensure practices are consistent with a Response to Intervention (RTI) model of service delivery. The authors discuss why school psychologists need to adapt their beliefs, knowledge, skills, and procedures — and how to do it.
Kinesiology graduate student participates in head football coach search
Claud Allaire, Kinesiology Ph.D. student in sport management, had the opportunity to be involved in the hiring of new Gophers Head Football Coach Jerry Kill last month. Mr. Allaire, a member of the executive committee of the Minnesota Football Coaches Association and former Simley co-head coach, was one of six current and former high school coaches who met with the U of M’s athletic leadership in November to discuss the transition and search process for a new U of M head coach. Athletic Director Joel Maturi invited the group to participate in the process and help identify the qualities desirable in a new Gophers head coach.
“It was clear that we were invited to this meeting because the university’s leadership recognizes the importance of the relationship between the Gophers staff and the high school coaches,” stated Mr. Allaire. “We had a very productive discussion and were able to highlight what the next Gopher coach should bring to the program.”
Coach Jerry Kill was named the new Gophers head coach on December 6 and the committee was invited to meet with him the next day at TCF stadium. “I’m convinced that Coach Kill brings the strong vision, depth of character, and ability to relate to people that we need for the Gophers program to compete at the Big Ten level,” commented Mr. Allaire.
Dengel publishes with graduate students in two journals
Dr. Don Dengel, associate professor in Kinesiology, has published two articles recently with current and former graduate students:
Draheim, C. C., Geijer, J. R., & Dengel, D. R. Comparison of Intima-media thickness of the carotid artery and cardiovascular disease risk factors in adults with vs. without the Down syndrome. American Journal of Cardiology, published October, 2010
Templeton, D.A., Kelly, A.S., Steinberger, J., and Dengel, D. R. Lower relative bone mineral content in obese adolescents: Role of non-weight bearing exercise. Pediatric Exercise Science, 22, 2010.
Dr. Dengel’s advisees are Aaron Kelly (Ph.D. 2004), Danielle Templeton (Ph.D. 2011), and Justin Geiger, second-year Ph.D.
Kinesiology researchers publish in Psychological Science
Anthony Mayo, Ph.D. student in Kinesiology, is the first author on an article published in Psychological Science released January 11. “Postural effects of the horizon on land and sea” examines the effects of looking at the horizon as a way to reduce the body’s instability while at sea. Mr. Mayo published the article along with Dr. Michael Wade and Dr. Tom Stoffregen, his adviser:
Postural Effects of the Horizon on Land and at Sea
Anthony M. Mayo, Michael G. Wade, and Thomas A. Stoffregen
Being aboard a ship swaying in the water can result in feelings of instability and can lead to sea sickness. Sea travelers have been told for generations to look at the horizon to help overcome the feelings of instability, but is there any truth to that advice? During a cruise in Mexico, crew members’ body sway was measured as they stood on a platform, both at the dock and on the moving ship, and focused on a near target, a far target, or the horizon. On land, standing body sway was greater when participants looked at the horizon than when they looked at a nearby target. On the moving ship, body sway was the smallest when participants looked at the horizon, thus confirming the advice to look at the horizon to stabilize body posture while at sea.
Stoffregen named to scientific committee for international symposium
Dr. Thomas A. Stoffregen, professor in Kinesiology, has been named to the International Scientific Committee for the 3rd International Symposium on Visual Image Safety. The symposium will be held in Las Vegas, NV, in September 2011.
Stout interviewed on Iowa Public Radio about school lunch as socializing experience
Karen Stout, a Research Associate at the Institute on Community Integration, was interviewed by Iowa Public Radio on December 17, 2010, about school lunch as a socializing experience of schooling. In the interview, she discussed school lunch as an opportunity to teach valued goals of schooling such as sharing, making friends, and taking turns.
Moore receives award to present at Gatlinburg conference
Tim Moore, a Research and LEND Post-doctoral Fellow at the college’s Institute on Community Integration, has received the Theodore Tjossem Post-doctoral Award from the Gatlinburg Conference on Research and Theory in Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. The award covers travel and expenses associated with his March 3 presentation, “Adherence to Treatment in a Behavioral Intervention Curriculum: The Effects of Parent Perception,” at the conference in San Antonio, Texas.
Wade discusses child mobility in parenting.com article
Michael Wade, professor in the School of Kinesiology, talks about the physics of a child’s first steps in a parenting.com article, “Up, Up and Away!,” by Dana Sulivan. Wade, an expert in motor learning and performance, human factors, and lifespan development, with research interests in gerontology, disability studies, and human factors, comments on early pediatric physical development relative to ambulatory potential.
Kinesiology’s Stacy Ingraham publishes chapter on body composition in “FitWell” textbook
Dr. Stacy Ingraham, Ph.D., lecturer in Kinesiology, is co-author of a chapter, “Body Composition,” in a 2011 edited student textbook, “FitWell: Questions and Answers,” by Gary Liguori and Sandra Carroll-Cobb.
Parent Perceptions of Youth Sport and Family Time
The Tucker Center’s Associate Director Nicole LaVoi and Research Assistant Alyssa Norris have released a cutting-edge report on parent perception of how much youth sport interferes with family time. Youth sports can provide a positive, meaningful context for youth development and family engagement. However, little is known about parents’ perceptions of how youth sport interferes with family functioning. The data in this report aims to fill that gap. To read the report click here.
Parent Perceptions of Youth Sport and Family Time
The Tucker Center’s Associate Director Nicole LaVoi and Research Assistant Alyssa Norris have released a cutting-edge report on parent perception of how much youth sport interferes with family time. Youth sports can provide a positive, meaningful context for youth development and family engagement. However, little is known about parents’ perceptions of how youth sport interferes with family functioning. The data in this report aims to fill that gap. To read the report click here.
Research shows toddlers consider the source when learning words
Melissa Koenig, assistant professor at the Institute of Child Development, recently found that 24-month-olds are sensitive to a source’s history of inaccuracy when learning new words. Infants treat prior inaccuracy as a feature of the source, as evidenced by their unsystematic responses to a second speaker who used words previously taught by the inaccurate speaker. The new word-object links also proved to be relatively fragile. This research contributes to an exciting and rapidly growing literature on children’s selective learning in early childhood, and sheds new light on the social mechanisms supporting young children’s language acquisition. These experiments were conducted in collaboration with Amanda Woodward at the University of Chicago and published in a recent issue of Developmental Psychology. Visit the Koenig Lab website to learn more about the research they are currently conducting.