APA public information brochure on racism now available

As part of its National Conversation on Racism, APA's Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs has issued a 12-page public information brochure on "Racism and psychology: what can psychology tell us about prejudice, discrimination and racism?" The brochure, which was written by Mark Feinberg, PhD, includes brief descriptions of pertinent psychological research findings in a question-and-answer format.

The pamphlet clarifies conceptual and behavioral differences between prejudice and racism, and promotes more precise use of language in discussions of race and racism. Not only does the brochure provide important research information to the general public, it also can serve as a supplemental course reading.

Sponsors of events listed as part of the APA National Conversation on Racism can receive up to 100 copies at no cost. Requests for the brochure should be forwarded to Sherry Wynn, (202) 336-6029, e-mail: swynn@apa.org.

Los Angeles psychologists support Reason to Hope program

An APA project aimed at preventing aggressive and violent behavior in young children has received a $10,000 boost from the Foundation of the Los Angeles County Psychological Association (LACPA).

The Reason to Hope project will use local training programs and a national media campaign to educate the parents, caregivers and teachers of children ages 3 to 8 about the importance of positive role models and early interventions for preventing violent behavior.

A joint project of APA and the National Association for the Education of Young Children, Reason to Hope will teach people who work with young children that violence is a learned behavior and can be prevented. Public service announcements will list a national toll-free number and a web site where people can request information on how to prevent violence in young children. The project will also offer local training programs developed by psychologists and early childhood educators that will instruct community residents on how to teach children to solve problems and conflicts without resorting to aggressive or violent behavior.

The president of LACPA's foundation, Helene Feldman, PhD, proposed the LACPA donation when she first heard about the program.

"It's a perfect opportunity for LACPA to participate actively and become a working partner in an antiviolence program," says Feldman, who adds that LACPA members are interested in having Los Angeles County become a pilot project site for the training programs.

LACPA is the first group of psychologists to support Reason to Hope. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation are funding start-up activities for the project, and Reason to Hope is looking for additional funding sources to implement the project.

For information about Reason to Hope, contact Jacquelyn Gentry, APA Public Interest Directorate, at the APA address, (202) 336-6036.

APA participates in Children's Memorial Day

As part of APA's commitment to children and family issues, the association will raise the Children's Memorial Flag on April 30 at the Washington headquarters to remember the children and adolescents killed from violence and neglect.

The event is planned as part of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month, sponsored by the Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) with financial support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Members of the Board of Supervisors in Alameda County, Calif., created the flag to raise public awareness of violence and to end preventable deaths of children. CWLA later adopted the flag and expanded the concept nationwide to remind the public that child abuse and neglect is a growing problem in this country.

APA also encourages state and provincial psychological associations to raise flags. While CWLA hopes every participating organization will raise the flag on Children's Memorial Day, it can be used at any time of the year, and for a variety of purposes. For more information, contact Mary Layton at CWLA, (202) 942-0251, e-mail: mlayton@cwla.org.

APA committee announces PsycLIT donations program

Grants are available to foreign educational and research institutions that seek access to APA's literature database, PsycLIT.

The Journals Donation Review Committee, a subcommittee of APA's Committee on International Relations in Psychology, gives awards to institutions in countries that do not have access to PsycLIT. The database is updated quarterly on CD-ROM. The award does not include computer equipment, and all compact disks must be returned when the lease expires.

Grant applications are judged on the following principles:

* Institutional setting: Donations are made only to institutions where PsycLIT will be administered by a librarian and the service will be readily available to all students and faculty.

* Need: Donations are made only to institutions that cannot afford to purchase the lease for PsycLIT.

* Computer equipment: The minimum requirements to run PsycLIT are an IBM or compatible 80386 personal computer; 640K of RAM; 10 MB available hard disk space; MS-DOS or PC-DOS 3.1 or higher; MS-DOS CD-ROM Extension 2.1 or higher, one floppy disk drive; ISO 9660 compatible CD-ROM drive and controller card; a VGA monitor; and a parallel port for a printer (if desired).

* Commitment to the program: Donations will be made to institutions that will commit to continue to lease PsycLIT. Some leases may be extended for one year, but an institution should demonstrate a long-term commitment to purchasing PsycLIT annually when the grant lease expires.

* Geographic distribution: APA wants to make the PsycLIT CD-ROM available in the widest possible geographic area, particularly in the developing world and in countries with currency restrictions.

Interested institutions should submit a letter from their librarian outlining the institution's need based on the donation criteria and describing the computer equipment that will be used to operate the program. Send applications to the Office of International Affairs, International PsycLIT Donations Program, at the APA address, fax: (202) 218-3599, e-mail: sleverty@apa.org.

Students: What is your outlook for the future?

As part of a special feature the APA Monitor is researching for a future issue, we'd like students' answers to the following questions:

* Who among your peers do you believe will be the leaders in your field in the next century, and why?

* What are the greatest opportunities that you foresee in your career?

* What do you believe are the obstacles to your immediate career success?

Students only should mail their answers no later than July 1 to: APA Monitor-APAGS Survey, 750 First St., N.E., Washington, DC 20002-4242, fax: (202) 336-6103, e-mail: smartin@apa.org.

Thanks for your input!

Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools announces convention speakers

Emotional intelligence, gifted children and critical thinking will be some of the topics discussed at the Teachers of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) conference during APA's Annual Convention in Boston, Aug. 20­24. The speakers include:

* Ellen Langer, PhD, professor of psychology at Harvard University, who will present a talk based on her book "The Power of Mindful Learning" (Perseus Books, 1998).

* Robert Sternberg, PhD, a professor of psychology and education at Yale University. He will discuss his recent book "Love Is a Story" (Oxford University Press, 1998).

* William Damon, PhD, professor of education and director of the Center on Adolescence at Stanford University. He has written many books on child and adolescent development. Damon's talk is entitled, "How teaching about human development can promote the development of young minds."

* Diane Halpern, PhD, chair and professor of psychology at California State University at San Bernardino. Halpern is 1997­98 president of Div. 2 (Society for the Teaching of Psychology). Her talk is entitled, "Helping students develop the skills and attitudes of a critical thinker."

* Peter Salovey, PhD, professor of psychology and epidemiology and public health and director of graduate studies at Yale. He has published 115 articles in psychology and was credited as the originator of the concept of emotional intelligence by Daniel Goleman, PhD. Salovey also taught the largest class in the history of Yale--Psychology and Law--with over 1100 students. The title of Salovey's talk is "What's new in emotional intelligence."

* Dodge Fernald, PhD, professor and senior lecturer on psychology at Harvard. Fernald won the Petra T. Shattuck Award for excellence in teaching at Harvard. Fernald's talk is entitled, "Grasping the elephant: on teaching beginners in psychology."

* Ellen Winner, PhD, professor of psychology at Boston College and senior research associate at Harvard. Winner's talk is based on her book, "Gifted Children: Myths and Realities" (HarperCollins, 1997).

* Jerome Kagan, PhD, professor of human development at Harvard. Kagan has written over 11 books and hundreds of articles, and is featured in numerous video series on children. His recent book, "Three Seductive Ideas" (Harvard University Press, 1998), will also be the title of his talk for TOPSS.

Join us at APA's Annual Convention in Boston to hear these outstanding TOPSS presentation speakers. For further information about TOPSS and its convention plans, contact: Peter Petrossian, Education Directorate, (202) 336-5958, e-mail: ppetrossian@apa.org.

APA's Healthy Adolescents Project moves forward

As part of a national multidisciplinary effort to promote adolescent health, APA members are producing materials on adolescent development to distribute to lawyers, judges, dietitians and other professionals who work with teen-agers.

Developed by APA's Healthy Adolescents Project (HAP), the federally funded project promoting adolescent health, the materials will educate these professionals about the positive aspects of adolescence, and teach them how to build relationships and improve communication with teens. The materials should be ready for distribution later this year.

Housed in APA's Public Interest Directorate, HAP was created in 1996 with a five-year grant from the federal Office of Adolescent Health (OAH). Through the project, APA is part of Partners in Program Planning for Adolescent Health (PIPPAH), a partnership of national membership organizations created to develop collaborative programming on adolescent health and increase the visibility of adolescent health issues among their respective memberships.

Currently, PIPPAH is examining ways that national, state and community efforts can combat negative perceptions about adolescents and help professionals and others in the community to focus on the positive aspects of this developmental stage.

Other members of PIPPAH include the American Bar Association, the American Medical Association, the National Association of Social Workers, the American Nurses Association, the American Dietetics Association and the National Assembly on School-Based Health care.

In addition to putting together informational materials for PIPPAH members, HAP has developed a brochure on dating violence, titled "Love Doesn't Have to Hurt Teens," which is currently being advertised in local newspapers and on radio stations across the United States. Aimed at teen-agers, the brochure explains the causes and dangers of dating violence and informs teens how they can find help and support to end it.

HAP has also established the Adolescent Psychology Network--a database of more than 400 APA members with expertise in adolescent mental health issues. With the database, HAP can identify experts who may be useful to other OAH programs and other organizations. Members of the network receive a newsletter called "Letter to the Field" that reports news about adolescents and offers feature articles on youth programs in the United States and abroad.

For more information on HAP, PIPPAH and the Adolescent Psychology Network, contact Isadora Hare, HAP Project Manager, at the APA address, (202) 336-6057, e-mail: ihare@apa.org.

Lesbian, gay and bisexual concerns committee seeks new members

The Committee on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Concerns (CLGBC) requests nominations for two new members to serve staggered three-year terms beginning Jan. 1, 2000.

The committee is particularly interested in nominees with expertise and experience in:

* APA governance.

* International issues and psychological concerns.

* Issues of ethnicity and human diversity.

* Public policy or legislative work at the local, state or national levels.

The committee strives to:

* Study and evaluate the best way to research the issues and concerns of lesbian, gay male and bisexual psychologists.

* Encourage objective and unbiased research in areas relevant to lesbians, gay men and bisexual people, and the social impact of such research.

* Examine the consequences of stereotypes about lesbian, gay male and bisexual adults and youths in clinical practice.

* Develop educational materials for distribution to psychologists and others.

* Recommend ways to integrate these issues into APA's activities to further the cause of the civil and legal rights of lesbian, gay male and bisexual psychologists within the profession (APA Association Rule 150-4).

The committee consists of six members, three women and three men, who report to APA's Council of Representatives through the Board for the Advancement of Psychology in the Public Interest.

Committee members are required to attend two committee meetings a year in Washington, D.C., with expenses reimbursed by APA. Service on the committee also involves a substantial time commitment beyond the meetings themselves.

A statement of the nominee's qualifications and interest in the committee, and a current curriculum vitae should accompany the nomination. CLGBC welcomes nominations of ethnic-minority psychologists and other psychologists who are members of underrepresented groups. Self-nominations are encouraged. Send all nomination materials by Sept. 1 to CLGBC Nominations, Public Interest Directorate, at the APA address.

APF Husted winner works for the mentally ill and homeless

Matthew D. Shepherd has been selected as the recipient of the 1999 American Psychological Foundation's Todd E. Husted Memorial Dissertation Award. June R. Husted established the dissertation award in 1997 to honor her late son, Todd.

The award grants $1,000 to a student whose dissertation contributes to the development of improved outreach and delivery of mental health services, especially for those with severe and persistent mental illness.

Shepherd, an advanced doctoral student in the department of psychology and the Clinical Psychology Program at Wichita State University, is analyzing data that he helped to collect for a federal research project funded by the university's Center for Mental Health Services.

The center, a part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administra-tion, receives project funding from a national research coordination team at Yale University and the Veterans Administration in New Haven, Conn.

Shepherd received his BA from Wichita State University in 1989 and his MS from Fort Hays University in 1994, and became a member of American Psychological Association Graduate Students in 1996.

Shepherd's work experience in the early 1990s included serving as a primary counselor at the St. Francis Academy in Ellsworth, Kan., house manager of Connect Care (an AIDS home in Wichita), and research assistant and Kansas site coordinator for the Sheps Center for Health Services Research of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

From 1994, he served as a research associate for Project ACCESS, a federal research demonstration project. He conducted more than 1,000 personal interviews with agency personnel and homeless mentally ill individuals. Much of the ensuing data that he gathered has been used by service providers for project maintenance, local project evaluation and social marketing.

His ongoing self-help and mutual aid research with a nationally recognized clearinghouse, Self-Help Network of Kansas, has enabled him to track a major research project from inception to end. Through his work, he assisted not only in formulating the research question, designing the study and developing instruments, but also in piloting the research, collecting the data, revising the project and disseminating the research.

"My work has not been focused on how to improve the life of a single individual, but on how to improve the life of groups or communities of individuals and, in doing so, to have a very real impact on an individual level," Shepherd says.

"I believe that psychology must move beyond the realm of mental health issues into that of all health-care and well-being issues. We are experts in the behavioral aspect of illness and disease, and as such, we should focus on the psychosocial and lifestyle issues related to these issues."

Shepherd describes his career goal as to be part of the movement that brings the ideas and skills of community and clinical psychology (e.g., prevention, program evaluation and program design) into the managed health care arena.

He hopes to encourage the use of population-based approaches to treat and prevent disease and illnesses.

Two scholarships available for graduate students

The American Psychological Foundation (APF) in conjunction with Div. 40 (Clinical Neuropsychology) seeks applications for the Henry Hécaen and Manfred Meier Neuropsychology scholarships. Both scholarships consist of one-year grants of $2,500, which are made annually to two graduate students who show great promise or achievement in their graduate studies through scholarly or research activity.

Arthur Benton, PhD, has funded the scholarships to honor two esteemed colleagues in neuropsychology. The late Henry Hécaen, a French neurologist, was instrumental in the founding and development of neuropsychology as a science. Manfred Meier, PhD, a former professor at the University of Minnesota, helped to establish the Neuropsychology Laboratory there, where he conducted neuropsychological research on patients with epilepsy, cerebrovascular disorders and Parkinson's disease. He has held appointments as professor in the departments of neurosurgery and psychiatry and an adjunct appointment in the department of psychology at the University of Minnesota.

Students who wish to compete for a scholarship should submit five copies of a letter that documents their scholarly or research accomplishments, their financial need and how they will use the award money. This letter should be co-signed by a faculty mentor or director of training after he or she has certified the accuracy of the student's presented information. The applicant should also submit five copies of supporting materials, such as cited scholarly or research work. All materials must be submitted by June 1 to: Hécaen and Meier Scholarships, APF, at the APA address.

Nominations sought for ethnic-minority committee members

The Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs (CEMA) seeks nominations for two new members to begin three-year terms of service on Jan. 1, 2000.

The committee functions as a catalyst for action on ethnic-minority issues and concerns by interacting with and making recommendations to the various components of APA's governing structure, membership and other groups.

Committee members can expect to:

* Plan, develop and coordinate various activities related to advocacy and promoting an understanding of the cultures and psychological well-being of ethnic-minority populations.

* Monitor and assess institutional barriers to equal access to psychological services and equitable representation in psychology.

To fulfill CEMA's commitment to full diversity in representation, the slates should be filled by an African-American/black male psychologist and a Latino/Hispanic male psychologist.

Selected candidates will be required to attend two committee meetings a year in Washington, D.C., with expenses reimbursed by APA. Members also work on CEMA priorities when necessary between meetings. If possible, CEMA members attend the APA Annual Convention at their own expense to participate in convention programming sponsored by the committee.

Nomination materials should include the nominee's qualifications or curriculum vita and a letter of interest in serving on CEMA. Self-nominations are encouraged.

Nominations and supporting materials should be sent no later than Sept. 1 to OEMA at the APA address.

Free journals for international libraries

In collaboration with APA's Office of Publications and Communications, the Office of International Affairs provides a limited number of three-year subscriptions to international institutions that meet certain qualifications.

Donations are limited to five subscriptions per institution and all APA journals are available for donation except Psychological Abstracts. To receive a copy of the qualifications, please contact Sally Leverty at the International Affairs Office, (202) 336-6025, e-mail: sleverty@apa.org.

1999 President-Elect Nomination ballot

The APA members running for president for the year 2001 are:

Ludy T. Benjamin, Jr., PhD
Alice F. Chang, PhD
Gerald C. Davison, PhD
Norine G. Johnson, PhD
Nathan N. Stockhamer, PhD

The election will be held this fall.

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