CUE SYSTEM UTILIZATIONS AMONG OLDER READERS

The effects of writing style upon mature older readers’ reading comprehension are considered. Two narrative historical selections, the first emotive and abstract and the second nonemotive and concrete, were employed. Miscue analysis was used to evaluate the efficiency with which each reader used reading strategies across the five systems that cue meaningful comprehension. Miscues were analyzed at the word, clause, sentence, and intersentence levels. In addition, interview schedules were employed to identify readers’ perceptions of preferred reading strategies and to permit a comparison with actual performance. The findings indicate that mature older readers are consistent in cue system utilization. A preference for the word cue system influenced both the use of cues from other systems and comprehension. Use of the word‐level cue system is inversely related to the use of the other available cue systems. Preference for cues within words also appears to be inversely related to comprehending effectiveness. The subjects’ perceptions of the reading process and their actual reading performance appeared to determine patterns of cue system use more clearly than did the differences in materials. As a result, those developing materials intended for use in programs with older persons should not only be concerned with the content and quality of those materials but also the skills and perceptions of those who will use the materials.     

An orthopedagogical method for children with a depression

ABSTRACT

An orthopedagogical method for teaching children with a depression is presented here. Relatively unknown in the English‐speaking world, orthopedagogy is a pedagogical discipline that is aimed at an entire action field. It does not target the child with handicap, but the entire problematic educational situation (PES). Orthopedagogy is the scientific study of assistance given to those concerned with a PES ‐ namely, the child, parents, brothers and sisters, grandparents, and so on. To break through a PES or to get rid of it, the orthopedagogician has to listen to the orthopedagogical request for help of the child and give an appropriate answer to it. On the basis of a theoretical model of Paul Gilbert, an orthopedagogic request for helping children with a depression was formulated. Gilbert's model offers a perspective derived from evolution theory and argues for the adoption of a bio‐psychological approach. Children with a depression request a warm and loving climate, an attractive and simple education situation and close involvement on the part of the educator. To answer that request, we set orthopedagogical action on two tracks. On track 1 (dialogical action) we try to break through the PES by asking the educator to over‐accentuate the pedagogical climate, the education situation and his/her own presentation. On track 2 (technical action) we designed an approach aimed at children aged between 6 and 12 years with a depression.     

La calidad en la educación abierta y a distancia en México

Abstract

Since 1947, distance education in Mexico has had an important role for nonconventional populations. Considering that distance education is a heterogeneous and dynamic field, it is important to reflect on the need to improve quality as measured by our own standards. With that perspective in mind, a national meeting was organized to start a self‐diagnosis in which quality and access were the main concerns. Five hundred and twenty specialists from fifty‐one institutions participated in a national interactive synchronous meeting held in four regions. As a result of the meeting, thirty‐five criteria and 230 parameters of quality were established. The main conclusion of the meeting refers to the need for the elaboration of our own indicators for open and distance education.     

RIM: A Random Item Mixture Model to Detect Differential Item Functioning

In this paper we present a new methodology for detecting differential item functioning (DIF). We introduce a DIF model, called the random item mixture (RIM), that is based on a Rasch model with random item difficulties (besides the common random person abilities). In addition, a mixture model is assumed for the item difficulties such that the items may belong to one of two classes: a DIF or a non-DIF class. The crucial difference between the DIF class and the non-DIF class is that the item difficulties in the DIF class may differ according to the observed person groups while they are equal across the person groups for the items from the non-DIF class. Statistical inference for the RIM is carried out in a Bayesian framework. The performance of the RIM is evaluated using a simulation study in which it is compared with traditional procedures, like the likelihood ratio test, the Mantel-Haenszel procedure and the standardized p -DIF procedure. In this comparison, the RIM performs better than the other methods. Finally, the usefulness of the model is also demonstrated on a real life data set.     

Patterns of journal publications by staff of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria, 1961-1980

This study analyzes publishing patterns of the staff of the University of Ibadan College of Medicine, Nigeria, based on a bibliography prepared by the authors. Data-gathering for the bibliography is described. An analysis is made of journals staff published in for the period 1961-1980, focusing on changes in journal order rank, publishing locations, and subject spread. A ranked list of the leading journals for the period 1976-1980 is given, showing the importance of local publishing and pointing to the need for local indexing.