Marist College

Abstract: Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for children (MBCT-C) is a manualized group psychotherapy for children ages 9–13 years old, which was developed specifically to increase social-emotional resiliency through the enhancement of mindful attention. Program development is described along with results of the initial randomized controlled trial. We tested the hypotheses that children randomized to participate in MBCT-C would show greater reductions in (a) attention problems, (b) anxiety symptoms, and (c) behavior problems than wait-listed age and gender-matched controls. Participants were boys and girls aged 9–13 (N = 25), mostly from low-income, inner-city households. Twenty-one of 25 children were ethnic minorities. A randomized cross-lagged design provided a wait-listed control group, a second trial of MBCT-C, and a 3-month follow-up of children who completed the first trial. Measures included the Child Behavior Checklist, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children, and Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children. Participants who completed the program showed fewer attention problems than wait-listed controls and those improvements were maintained at three months following the intervention [F (1, 1, 18) = 5.965, p = .025, Cohen’s d = .42]. A strong relationship was found between attention problems and behavior problems (r = .678, p < .01). Reductions in attention problems accounted for 46% of the variance of changes in behavior problems, although attention changes proved to be a non-significant mediator of behavior problems (p = .053). Significant reductions in anxiety symptoms and behavior problems were found for those children who reported clinically elevated levels of anxiety at pretest (n = 6). Results show that MBCT-C is a promising intervention for attention and behavior problems, and may reduce childhood anxiety symptoms.

Abstract: Web content has been identified as one of the main factors contributing to repeat visits. As content on the web includes text, pictures, graphics, layout, sound, motion and, someday, even smell, making the right web content decisions are critical to effective web design. While an understanding of marketing strategies that attract visitors to websites is beginning to emerge, how to convert web surfers to repeat visitors is a less well-understood phenomenon. Through an empirical study, the authors develop the Website Preference Scale (WSPS) based upon the work in environmental psychology of Rachel Kaplan and Stephen Kaplan. The results identify underlying dimensions of effective website design and provide insight into site design characteristics, which may lead to a higher likelihood of revisit.

Abstract: We present and test a theory on leader emergence in self-managing teams that highlights the emotional and cognitive skills underlying selection as an informal team leader. Existing theory and research reveals that informal leaders are selected because they display constructive task and team management behavior. We contribute to existing theory in two ways. First, by proposing that specific cognitive processes and skills precede the appropriate enactment of those behaviors by facilitating an accurate analysis of the task situation. Second, by proposing that empathy, an aspect of emotional intelligence, precedes and enables those cognitive processes and skills by providing an accurate understanding of team and member emotions and needs. We test our theory in a longitudinal study of 382 team members comprising 48 self-managing teams. Our theory is partially supported and implications are discussed.

Abstract: Views of leadership that focus on the traits and behaviors of the leader are commonly used to develop training programs. Although these leadership training programs have some application, they suffer from several problems. First, there is no reasonable agreement on what traits or behaviors are leadership traits or behaviors. Second, there is no way to differentiate what makes a good leader from what makes an effective manager or an effective person. And third, people who emerge from these training programs rarely become what anyone might define as good leaders. A view of leadership as a community development process is explored as an alternative to traditional leadership approaches, and its implications for training and education are discussed.

Abstract: The Open Academic Analytics Initiative (OAAI) is a collaborative, multi-year grant program aimed at researching issues related to the scaling up of learning analytics technologies and solutions across all of higher education. The paper describes the goals and objectives of the OAAI, depicts the process and challenges of collecting, organizing and mining student data to predict academic risk, and report results on the predictive performance of those models, their portability across pilot programs at partner institutions, and the results of interventions on at-risk students.