Distinction on the box: Cultural capital and the social space of broadcasting

The literature on cultural capital has had relatively little to say about television viewing, except insofar as television has served as a negative point of reference in relation to which other cultural practices register their distinctiveness. This article, by contrast, examines the respects in which practices of distinction are operative within the space of broadcast television. Looking first at the ‘internal economy’ of television as expressed in the relations between genre, programme and channel preferences, it then examines how these preferences are related to occupational class, gender, level of education and ethnicity. While showing that divisions within the space of broadcasting are most powerfully articulated in terms of age and gender, the article also shows that occupational class and level of education play important roles in stratifying television audiences along traditional ‘high’/‘low’ lines. A closer analysis of the relations between these variables reveals more complex patterns of distinction, particularly in the place occupied by ‘new drama’ and ‘new comedy’ in the preferences of younger, well-educated viewers.     

Neuroimaging Studies of Reading Development and Reading Disability

Converging evidence from a number of neuroimaging studies, including our own, suggest that fluent word identification in reading is related to the functional integrity of two left hemisphere posterior systems: a temporo-parietal system and a ventral occipito-temporal system. These posterior systems are functionally disrupted in developmental dyslexia. Reading disabled, relative to nonimpaired, readers demonstrate heightened reliance on both inferior frontal and right hemisphere posterior regions, presumably in compensation for the LH posterior difficulties. We propose a neurobiological account suggesting that for normally developing readers the temporo-parietal system predominates at first, and is associated with aspects of processing critical in learning to integrate orthography with phonological and lexical-semantic features of printed words. The occipito-temporal system, by contrast, constitutes a fast, late-developing, word-identification system that underlies fluent word recognition in skilled readers.     

Head injury secondary to suspected child maltreatment: results of a prospective Canadian national surveillance program

Objective

We sought to determine the incidence, clinical features, and demographic profile of head injury secondary to suspected child maltreatment (abuse or neglect) in Canada to help inform the development and evaluation of prevention programs for abusive head injuries.

Methods

From March 1, 2005 to February 28, 2008, an average of 2,545 paediatricians and paediatric subspecialists were surveyed monthly through the established network of the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program. We calculated incidence rates using the number of confirmed cases over the product of the duration of the study (3 years) and population estimates by age group.

Results

There were 220 confirmed cases of head injury from suspected child maltreatment. The annual incidence rate was 14.1 per 100,000 for children less than 1 year of age and 1.4 per 100,000 for those less than 15 years. Seventy three percent (141) of cases involved infants less than 12 months of age and 52% (100) of cases involved infants less than 6 months of age. Seventy-five percent (165) of cases presented to the emergency room. With regard to outcome, 12% (27) of cases resulted in death and 45% (75) of survivors had neurological sequelae at discharge. Thirty percent (67) of all cases, as well as 30% (8) of deaths were previously known to child welfare authorities.

Conclusion

This study provides an estimate of the rate of head injury secondary to suspected child maltreatment in Canada. The young age and poor medical outcomes of those involved highlights the need for prevention efforts that are implemented early in life. Given that a significant percentage of injured infants and children were already known to child welfare authorities, the study also highlights the need to establish and evaluate additional preventive efforts for parents and caregivers already in the child welfare system.     

Effects of manipulating relative and absolute motion information during observational learning of an aiming task.

In the visual perception perspective of observational learning, the manipulation of relative and absolute motion information in visual demonstrations optimally directs learners' search towards appropriate task solutions. We assessed the effect of emphasizing transformational information and removal of structural information using point-light kinematic displays in approximating the model's relative motion patterns. Participants viewed computer-simulated point-light demonstrations or normal video demonstrations before and intermittently throughout 100 acquisition trials with knowledge of results on an underarm modified-dart aiming task. On the next day, all participants performed 20 retention trials without demonstrations. The kinematics of spatial and temporal coordination and control variables were examined relative to the model's action, as well as performance scores. The results indicated that approximation of the model's spatial and temporal coordination and control patterns was achieved after observation of either type of demonstrations. No differences were found in movement outcomes. In a second experiment, the effects of manipulating absolute motion information by slow-motion demonstrations were examined relative to real-time demonstrations. Real-time demonstrations led to a closer approximation to the model's spatial and temporal coordination patterns and better outcome scores, contradicting predictions that slow-motion displays convey intact relative motion information. We speculate that the effect of visual demonstration speed on action perception and reproduction is a function of task constraints--that is, novelty or familiarity of relative motion of demonstrated activities.     

Toys for pre-school children

The age for starting school varies throughout the world, but is usually between the ages of 5 and 7 although nursery education is sometimes provided before then. For the purposes of this article, however, pre-school children are considered to be those up to the age of 5, which is the age at which schooling begins in the United Kingdom.Wherever an age is mentioned, in relation to a suitable toy, it is intended only as a general guide, for children vary to some extent in their rates of development. The differing economic situations, customs, cultures and environments of every country must also affect rates of growth, physical, mental and emotional.Toy designer, Member of the Industrial Society for Artists and Designers. Presenter and adviser on BBC television programmesMaking Toys andParents and Children. Free-lance lecturer and visiting lecturer to Southwark College, on play, toys and toy-making.