Is tobacco use a problem among deaf college students?

College students' tobacco use poses a significant public health problem. Effective intervention requires understanding of this behavior among race/ethnic, cultural, and linguistic collegiate subgroups, including deaf and hard of hearing collegians. Findings from a first-ever tobacco-related survey among this understudied population are reported. The authors used written questionnaires and the Interactive Video Questionnaire, a multimedia computer technology developed for use with the deaf and hard of hearing, to interview 241 volunteers on seven California college campuses. They found lower self-reported current smoking prevalence (14.5%) relative to collegians in the general population, but considerable ever smoking (65.1%) and multiple types of tobacco use (37.3%). The authors report on factors associated with tobacco use and on students' exposure to cigarette marketing, gaps experienced in receipt of antitobacco messages and services, and students' antitobacco intervention recommendations. Limitations of the research are described, including possible underreporting of participants' tobacco use.     

Infants' developing appreciation of similarities between model objects and their real-world referents

Previous research suggests that model competence does not emerge until relatively late in infancy (20-26 months). Development was systematically analyzed within 3 key areas--count noun learning, dual representation, and categorization-hypothesized to support the emergence of model competence in the second year. In an object-handling preferential looking task, 21- to 26-month-olds matched model objects to referents only when count noun knowledge was high. When dual representation demands were reduced through the use of pictures in place of model objects, 20-month-olds with low count noun vocabularies succeeded in relating symbols to referents. Finally, change in infants' construal of a model object as a member of a category was documented between 14 and 20 months of age.     

Evaluation of the KA24 (Knowledge Access 24) service for health- and social-care staff in London and the south-east of England. Part 1: quantitative

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This two-part paper aims to identify the main transferable lessons learned from both the quantitative and qualitative evaluations of the Knowledge Access 24 (KA24) service of online databases and selected full-text journals for health and social care staff in London and the south-east of England. The quantitative evaluation analysed usage rates and user registration with the objective of measuring uptake by previously disadvantaged staff, and to inform the subsequent qualitative survey. METHODS: User and usage data were analysed by type of NHS Trust, by type of user, and by what was being used. The evaluation assessed development in user registration and usage of both databases and journals over a 2-year period. Data were aggregated and analysed both monthly and quarterly. RESULTS: Usage levels increased, but uptake in both the mental health and primary care sectors was comparatively slow. Nurses and allied professionals used the service more than doctors. The increase in usage of full-text journals over the usage of databases was marked. CONCLUSIONS: Previously disadvantaged staff used electronic resources. A qualitative survey was needed to identify the main enablers and barriers to uptake.     

RDA and China: The Internationalization of Cataloging

RDA以AACR2为基础,建立在《书目记录的功能需求》(FRBR)和《规范数据的功能需求》(FRAD)概念模型以及《国际编目原则声明》(ICP)之上。RDA的主要目标是成为专为数字环境设计的,用于资源描述与研究的新标准。能对所有内容和媒介进行编目、生成的记录可在数据环境中使用、应用于国际化的编目环境也是其重要目标。推动RDA不断发展的机构包括负责人委员会、出版商小组管理基金会和联合执导委员会(JSC)。JSC的主要工作是制定和维护RDA的内容,也负责RDA元素集合各种值词汇表的开发与维护,以及培训、合作与宣传等。RDA正处于不断的完善和发展阶段,对RDA的完善将是持续性的。期待中国参与到未来RDA规则的发展过程中,使RDA具有更广泛的国际性。     

A Breakthrough for Josh: How Use of an iPad Facilitated Reading Improvement

As part of a diagnosis and tutoring project in an elementary education reading course, a pre-service teacher was encouraged to use an iPad as the vehicle for intervention strategies with a fifth grade struggling reader with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. The device not only helped the student focus attention, it facilitated his becoming much more metacognitive in his reading. Comparisons of pre- and post-assessments showed that the student had gained one year’s growth in reading within a sixweeks time period. The student also gained in confidence and sense of being in control of his learning. While generalizations to other struggling readers with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder cannot be made, the success this student experienced suggests that the use of this device is worth serious consideration and research in similar contexts.     

Improving self-regulation, learning strategy use, and achievement with metacognitive feedback

Comprehension of science topics occurs when learners meaningfully generate relationships and conceptions about what they read. In this generation process, learners’ cognitive and metacognitive regulation is one of the most critical factors influencing learning. However, learners are not always successful in regulating their own learning, especially in computer-based learning environments (CBLEs) where they are alone. Based on this rationale, the present study was designed to examine the effects of two scaffolding strategies—generative learning strategy prompts and metacognitive feedback—on learners’ comprehension and self-regulation while learning the human heart system in a CBLE. Participants were 223 undergraduate student volunteers. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to conceptualize and empirically test a model that explains mediating processes among variables. Results revealed that the combination of generative learning strategy prompts with metacognitive feedback improved learners’ recall and comprehension by enhancing learners’ self-regulation and better use of highlighting and summarizing as generative learning strategies.     

The effects of globalization phenomena on educational concepts

It is becoming more and more apparent that globalization processes represent, theoretically as well as practically, a challenge for educational sciences and therefore, it must be addressed within the sphere of education. Accordingly, educational conceptions have to adapt to globafization phenomena and focus more on alternative and innovative educational concepts. The observable phenomena that appear as part of globalization then lead to the following question： Is there still space for educational concepts like emancipation, self-determination, equal opportunities and fairness in distribution, democracy and common sense？ The most indispensable tools for the development of equitable and peaceful contemporary education perspectives are a differentiated reflection on globalization phenomena and consequences, an intensive analysis and disclosure to address （global） conflict lines, the questioning of well-established concepts, the formation and embodiment of visions of the global future and the articulation of innovative education concepts. Modern social and political structures and practices have to be reoriented to combat the negative effects of globalization processes through the incorporation of more humane, socially fair and ecological principles. Educational science is sure to make an important contribution in making this a reality.     

Promotion of self-regulated learning in classrooms: investigating frequency, quality, and consequences for student performance

An implication of the current research on self-regulation is to implement the promotion of self-regulated learning in schools. Teachers can promote self-regulated learning either directly by teaching learning strategies or indirectly by arranging a learning environment that enables students to practise self-regulation. This study investigates teachers’ direct and indirect promotion of self-regulated learning and its relation to the development of students’ performance. Twenty German mathematics teachers with their overall 538 students (grade 9) were videotaped for a three-lesson unit on the Pythagorean Theorem. Students’ mathematics performance was tested several times before and after the observed lessons. A low-inferent coding system was applied to assess the teachers’ implicit or explicit instruction of cognitive strategies (e.g., organisation), metacognitive strategies (e.g., planning), and motivational strategies (e.g., resource management). High-inferent ratings were used to assess features of the learning environment that foster self-regulation. Results reveal that a great amount of strategy teaching takes place in an implicit way, whereas explicit strategy teaching and supportive learning environment are rare. The instruction of organisation strategies and some features of the learning environment (constructivism, transfer) relate positively to students’ performance development. In contrast to implicit strategy instruction, explicit strategy instruction was associated with a gain in performance. These results reveal a discrepancy between the usefulness of explicit strategy instruction and its rare occurrence in classrooms.     

Is season of birth related to developmental dyslexia?

Different moderators/mediators of risk are involved in developmental dyslexia (DD), but data are inconsistent. We explored the prevalence of season of birth and its association with gender and age of school entry in an Italian sample of dyslexic children compared to an Italian normal control group. The clinical sample included 498 children (345 boys, mean age 10.3 ± 2.1 years) with DD, the control sample 1,276 children (658 boys, mean age 10.8 ± 2.2 years) from four elementary schools from the same urban area, and with the same socio-economic status level. A prevalence of birth in autumn was found among children with DD compared to controls (34% versus 24%, p < 0.0001). Children with DD were more frequently males (p < 0.0001) and had a lower mean age of school entry (p < 0.0001). Regarding the distribution of ages, 11.4% of children with DD, but none of the subjects in the control group, started school before 5.7 years. Therefore, greater risk of DD was related to age of school entry (OR = 2.72), gender (OR = 2.16), and season of birth (OR = 1.21). Significant interactions between boys with DD born in autumn, and correct school of entry (OR = 2.56) were joint predictors of higher risk of DD. The association between birth in autumn and DD may be explained by the earlier age of school entry, which may be a critical element in the youngest children with DD or at risk to DD. Whether Italian school policy is oriented to anticipate the school entry, a closer detection of early learning disorders and associated risk factors (familial load, specific language disorders, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) should be warranted.