WCCES 2010

Children’s Weekend Activities and Emotional Outcomes across Cultures

Asil Ali Özdoğru

Out-of-school time is one of the primary developmental contexts in children’s personal and social development. Cultural differences shape not only children’s activity patterns but also emotional outcomes associated with these activities. The purpose of this study is to look at children’s weekend activities in four countries in terms of adult structure and its relation to children's enjoyment and general anxiety. Fourth graders from Bulgaria, Taiwan, Turkey, and the United States reported on their usual Saturday activities, person who chose their activities, and their enjoyment of each activity. The Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale provided a measure of children’s general anxiety levels. Children in four countries showed similarities in the amount of time they spent in watching TV and play but differences in other activities such as academic and sports activities. In overall, more than half of the time children decided their activities, level of enjoyment was higher for self-chosen activities, and anxiety was slightly positively related to activities chosen by adults. American and Bulgarian children reported higher levels of anxiety for adult-chosen activities than Taiwanese and Turkish children. Differences and similarities between four countries draw attention to social, economic, and cultural differences in parenting practices and socialization processes in children’s activity schedules and structures.

Keywords: Out-of-school time, weekend activities, cross-cultural parenting, enjoyment, anxiety

Citation: Özdoğru, A. A. (2010, June). Children’s weekend activities and emotional outcomes across cultures. Paper presented at the 14th World Congress of Comparative Education Societies, Istanbul, Turkey.

FYI 2010

Sensation is unorganized stimulus, perception is organized sensation, conception is organized perception, science is organized knowledge, wisdom is organized life: each is a greater degree of order, and sequence, and unity.

William J. Durant (1926) The Story of Philosophy


Education is … reconstruction or reorganization of experience which adds to the meaning of experience, and which increases ability to direct the course of subsequent experience.

John Dewey (1916) Democracy and Education

Conception of human life during fertilization © 2010 Dr. David Phillips

Times Union

An offshore educational experience
By Scott Waldman Staff Writer
Published: 01:00 a.m., Friday, November 27, 2009

Asil Ozdogru has a lot of company.

The University at Albany doctoral student moved here from Turkey seven years ago to pursue his degree. He's enjoying the small classes and personal attention he gets from the professor as he finishes his Ph.D. in educational psychology. Someday, the 28-year-old will take that experience back to Istanbul.

"In my country, it's prestigious to get a degree from the United States, England and other developed countries," Ozdogru said.

The number of foreign students in the United States reached a record high, 671,616, in the 2008-2009 academic year, according to a new report from the Institute of International Education, a nonprofit group that tracks international enrollments for the State Department. The 8 percent jump is the largest percentage increase in more than 25 years, the report found.

New York state hosts 74,934 foreign students, an increase of 7 percent. New York City accounts for about 60,000 of those students and is the top metro area draw for foreign students, according to the report. The report found that business and management are the most popular fields of study for foreign students, followed by engineering and computer science.

In tuition and living expenses alone, those students contributed nearly $2 billion to the state's economy.

Locally, the University at Albany has the most international students. There were 1,135 foreign students working toward a UAlbany degree last academic year. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute says it had 708 international students last year.

Raymond Lutzky, director of outreach and associate director of enrollment at RPI, wants to see more students from abroad studying upstate.

RPI, which has a total enrollment of about 6,500, has joined a new statewide effort to attract more international students. The school has joined with Study New York, a consortium of private and public colleges and universities, to promote the state as a destination for foreign study. The schools will meet annually and share information on recruitment strategies and research.

"Our students are competing globally and it's important our student body be reflective of the world," said. "It's a cultural exchange."

There were 65 international students in this year's RPI freshman class of 1,300, Lutzky said. He hopes to increase that number in the future.

Lutzky said increasing the number of foreign students at a school also creates a network of alumni and boosters who can promote it in their home countries. He said alumni in South Korea, Switzerland and Venezuela all recruit future RPI students in places where the admissions staff can't reach.

The transition to another country isn't always easy, especially when you're used to the bustle and heat of Istanbul. Ozdogru has struggled to get around town because the bus system is so much better in his home country. He doesn't mind the snow as much as he does living in a town where there are not so many social options for a young man.

Still, Ozdogru said he'll recommend the University at Albany to other students in Turkey. He can envision the advice he'd give another young man if he was curious about studying here.

"If he wants to focus on his studies," Ozdogru said, "if he wants a small program where he can get to know people and be an individual rather than a number."

Scott Waldman can be reached at 454-5080 or by e-mail at swaldman@timesunion.com.

Published in print and online
in Times Union Newspaper
http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/An-offshore-educational-experience-560200.php

AEA 2009

Evaluation of Mental Health Courts: Lessons Learned From a Multi-site Longitudinal Study

Asil Ali Özdoğru and Henry J. Steadman

Mental health courts (MHC) are specialty courts within the legal system to facilitate the processing and diversion of people with mental health problems involved in the criminal justice system. MacArthur MHC evaluation study looked at four courts across the United States for three years in terms of public safety and mental health outcomes of defendants who were processed through MHCs and a similar comparison group who went through the regular court system. Preliminary analyses and our experiences show that adoption of a multi-site longitudinal evaluation strategy involving a wide range of stakeholders in an attempt to create change in multiple systems has methodological and analytical advantages as well as administrative and contextual challenges in the design and implementation of an evaluation study.

Keywords: Multisite evaluation, criminal justice programs, mental health courts, lessons learned

Citation: Özdoğru, A. A., & Steadman, H. J. (2009, November). Evaluation of Mental Health Courts: Lessons learned from a multi-site longitudinal study. Paper presented at the 23rd annual conference of the American Evaluation Association, Orlando, FL, USA.

Behavioral Sciences & the Law

Alford Pleas in the Age of Innocence

Allison D. Redlich and Asil Ali Özdoğru

In 1970, the Supreme Court handed down a decision in North Carolina v. Alford that has since allowed defendants who do not wish to risk their fates at trial to plead guilty while simultaneously asserting their innocence. Although Alford pleas have remained unexamined by researchers, the increasing number of identified wrongful convictions of those factually innocent highlights the need for an in-depth examination of them. In the present study, using the Department of Justice 2004 State Survey of Inmates in Correctional Facilities dataset, we examined the likelihood of entering Alford pleas over traditional guilty, no contest, and not guilty pleas for those convicted of murder/manslaughter. Although we generally found few differences between the three guilty plea types, interesting differences between Alford and not guilty pleas emerged. Implications for actual innocence are discussed.

Keywords: Alford pleas, plea types, criminal characteristics

Citation: Redlich, A. D., & Özdoğru, A. A. (2009). Alford pleas in the age of innocence. Behavioral Sciences & the Law, 27, 467–488. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bsl.876

FYI 2009

Words ought to be a little wild—for they are the assault of thoughts upon the unthinking.

J. Maynard Keynes (1933) National Self-Sufficiency. The Yale Review


Consciousness is reflected in the word as the sun in a small drop of water. The meaningful word is a microcosm of human consciousness.

Lev S. Vygotsky (1934) Thought and Language

The most famous fractal: Mandelbrot set © 2009 PBS NOVA

NERA 2008

Children’s Weekend Activities across Cultures: A Dissertation Proposal

Asil Ali Özdoğru

Children’s out-of-school time activity patterns and profiles reveal important information about their individual and emotional development. Studying the structure and the schedule of children’s weekend activities across cultures is valuable in the understanding of developmental processes as well as the role of culture in human development. In addition to looking at activity profiles of children from four different cultures, this dissertation will test the relation between adult-structure in activities and specific outcomes of emotional development. Fourth grade students’ adult-structured weekend activities and their relation to enjoyment and anxiety in children from Bulgaria, Taiwan, Turkey, and United States will be discussed.

Keywords: Out-of-school activities, cross-cultural psychology, anxiety, enjoyment

Citation: Özdoğru, A. A. (2008, October). Children’s weekend activities across cultures: A dissertation proposal. Paper presented at the 39th annual conference of the Northeastern Educational Research Association, Rocky Hill, CT, USA.

UAlbany ISSS

Asil Ozdogru awarded International Student Leadership Award for 2008

Congratulations to Asil Ozdogru for winning the International Student Leadership Award for 2008 (shown here with Margaret Reich, Director of International Student and Scholar Services). Asil is a doctoral student in Educational Psychology who has given a large amount time and energy to improving the lives of students here at the University at Albany.

In 2004, he served as an Orientation Assistant in the International Student & Scholar Services program for new international students. He and a group of friends, then, started the Turkish Student Association in the Spring of 2006. They have organized various cultural events open to the entire University, including movie screenings, a painting exhibition, a cooking class and a graduation party, in collaboration with the Graduate Student Organization.

Asil volunteers his time to assist international students in many ways, such as transporting them to and from airports in Albany and New York City, helping to move furniture, and helping them find apartments or roommates. He also advises them on writing papers and introduces them to new friends from different cultures. He has started two email groups, one for people interested in playing pick-up soccer at UAlbany and the other for Turkish people within the University and the local community, both quite successful with 74 and 84 members respectively.

Asil has taken the initiative to develop ways to help people connect here at the University. Although his main concern has been international students, helping to ease their cultural transition to living in Albany, his activities have benefited the larger community by introducing them to Turkish culture and providing an outlet for physical activity.

Published online in the International Student and Scholar Services Web site
http://www.albanyinternationaleducation.com/iss/article.php?articleid=13

TASSA 2008

The Case of “Hurried Child” in Different Cultures: A Dissertation Proposal

Asil Ali Özdoğru

Fast pace of modern times requires effective time management skills. In terms of parenting, it translates into efficient use of children’s time in wide array of activities that are enriching and preparing children for a competitive economic system. Some scholars argue that this form of parenting is harmful for normal child development and label these children as hurried or overscheduled children who are rushed through one activity to another. Some others defend organized activities for their skill-building and protective features. This study proposes to look at fourth grade students’ adult-structured weekend activities in relation to enjoyment and anxiety associated with these activities in Bulgaria, Taiwan, Turkey, and United States. Preliminary findings show that children from these four cultures spend different amount of time in activities like watching television, studying academics, and playing sports. Gender differences also offer valuable insight for parenting and socialization in cultures with different value orientations.

Keywords: Cross-cultural psychology, parenting, out-of-school activities, anxiety

Citation: Özdoğru, A. A. (2008, April). The case of “Hurried Child” in different cultures: A dissertation proposal. Poster presented at the 4th annual conference of the Turkish American Scientists and Scholars Association, Boston, MA, USA.

FYI 2008

The aim of science is, on the one hand, a comprehension, as complete as possible, of the connection between the sense experiences in their totality, and, on the other hand, the accomplishment of this aim by the use of a minimum of primary concepts and relations.

Albert Einstein (1936) Physics and Reality


Perceptions are guided by preconceptions. … [Individuals'] expectations not only channel what they look for but partly affect what features they extract from observations and how they interpret what they see and hear.

Albert Bandura (1986) Social Foundations of Thought and Action

View of Earth from Moon in 1969 © 2008 NASA