Ponctuation et Connecteurs: Une Approche Textuelle et Génétique

Two experiments were carried out in order to study the development of textual punctuation use in children from 7 to 13. Four unpunctuated stories (following Mandler & Johnson’s narrative grammars 1977) involving or not a connective (et/alors/après) at different places were submitted to subjects who had to write them down in adding punctuation marks. The results show a strong textual impact on the frequency of punctuation which is higher at the beginning and at the end of the stories. We found also a strong impact of connectedness: the frequencies and types of punctuation marks varied in relation to connectives:et was rarely punctuated;alors was mainly associated with commas whereasaprès was more often associated whith periods. These effects were significant mainly from 11 years of age on, except for the impact ofet already observed at 7 years of age.     

Social utility, social desirability and scholastic judgments: Toward a personological model of academic evaluation

The aim of this article is to gain further insight into the determinants of scholastic judgments. On the basis of a previous study (Dompnier, Pansu, & Bressoux, 2006), we propose a model of the processes underlying teachers’ judgments. In addition to taking into account some of these determinants, the proposed model grants to pupils’ social utility, as perceived by their teacher, the status of central mediator between scholastic judgments and their determinants (pupils’ actual academic achievement, pupils’ scholastic history, classroom context, and internality perceived by teachers). The initial model was tested on a first sample of 250 pupils (3rd grade) and their teachers, and then improved. Next, the modified model was validated on a second sample of 249 pupils (3rd grade) and their teachers. The results obtained on this sample indicated that the modified model fit the data to a satisfactory extent, and that it is more parsimonious that alternative nonhierachical models.     

A tale of two logics: social reproduction and mobilisation in university access in Quebec, 1945–2000

The 2012 Quebec students’ protests against university tuition fees fostered a debate on access to higher education in Quebec, and specifically on the Quebec ‘educational lag’. Using census data, we show that degree-holding is the same among Quebec French-speaking and Ontario English-speaking populations. Using event history analysis, we show that, during the second half of the twentieth century, university access increased at a different rhythm in each province and, within each province, within socio-linguistic groups. Quebec current education policy should not focus on the ‘educational lag’, which past policies have helped make up for, but on inequality in university access.     

Student teachers’ knowledge about children with ADHD and depression and its relations to emotions

Student teachers’ knowledge about children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depression and its relations to reporting experiencing emotions during teaching practice were studied. The participants were 186 teacher education students in Estonia. Student teachers’ general knowledge and confidence in knowledge varied a lot. Knowledge about children with ADHD was generally limited. Knowledge and confidence in knowledge were negatively related to reporting negative emotions (anxiety, anger, shame) experienced during teaching practice. Findings are discussed, taking into account recent changes in scientific knowledge about ADHD and depression and democratic changes in schools. As knowledge of special educational needs has become important due to applying inclusive education, the findings also refer to the need for modifications in teacher education curricula.     

Private tutoring lessons supply: insights from online advertising in the Czech Republic

In many parts of the world, shadow education has become a major enterprise. Such is the case of the countries of the former Eastern Bloc, including the Czech Republic, which is in scope of this article. The study analyses the Internet supply of private tutoring lessons in academic subjects and assesses the micro- and macro-factors influencing the offered lesson price as set by private tutors. Based on the quantitative content analysis of 2058 individual tutor profiles advertising online, the author found a very unequal distribution of tutors within the country and a considerable proportion of mainstream schoolteachers acting as private lesson providers. The higher the formal education and age of the tutor, the higher the price they offer per lesson. Male tutors set higher prices than female tutors, and tutoring in foreign languages is generally more expensive than in any other subject. The results suggest that the features of private tutoring supply have implications for equity in education.     

Using genetic markers in unpedigreed populations to detect a heritable trait

Before a breeder invests selection pressure on a trait of interest, it needs to be established whether that trait is actually heritable. Some traits may not have been measured widely in pedigreed populations, for example, a disease or deformity may become more prevalent than previously, but is still relatively rare. One approach to detect inheritance would be to screen a commercial population to obtain a sample of "affecteds" (the test group) and to also obtain a random control group. These indi- viduals are then genotyped with a set of genetic markers and the relationships between individuals within each group estimated. If the relatedness is higher in the test group than in the control group, this provides initial evidence for the trait being heritable. A power simulation shows that this approach is feasible with moderate resources.     

Use of stochastic simulations to investigate the power and design of a whole genome association study using single nucleotide polymorphism arrays in farm animals

This paper presents a quick, easy to implement and versatile way of using stochastic simulations to investigate the power and design of using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays for genome-wide association studies in farm animals. It illustrates the methodology by discussing a small example where 6 experimental designs are considered to analyse the same resource consisting of 6006 animals with pedigree and phenotypic records: (1) genotyping the 30 most widely used sires in the population and all of their progeny (515 animals in total), (2) genotyping the 100 most widely used sires in the population and all of their progeny (1102 animals in total), genotyping respectively (3) 515 and (4) 1102 animals selected randomly or genotyping respectively (5) 515 and (6) 1102 animals from the tails of the phenotypic distribution. Given the resource at hand, designs where the extreme animals are genotyped perform the best, followed by designs selecting animals at random. Designs where sires and their progeny are genotyped perform the worst, as even genotyping the 100 most widely used sires and their progeny is not as powerful of genotyping 515 extreme animals.     

Controlling parenting and physical aggression during elementary school

The goal of the present study was to examine whether controlling parenting contributes to the problem of physical aggression. Developmental trajectories of children's physical aggression were modeled from yearly teachers' ratings, from ages 6 to 12. Multinomial logistic regressions (N = 1,508) served to identify risk factors that distinguish children who display different levels of physical aggression throughout grade school. Results revealed that being a boy and having a reactive temperament were important child predictors. Parental separation and an early onset of motherhood were also significant risk factors. Finally, mothers' controlling parenting increased the odds of following the highest trajectory of physical aggression, above and beyond the previous risk factors.     

Understanding Seniors' Perceptions and Stereotypes of Aging

Research suggests there is a connection between stereotypes, beliefs, and behavior in older individuals. To explore this link of stereotypes affecting beliefs and beliefs affecting behavior, we interviewed young (age 60 to 75) seniors in an effort to further examine these relationships. Semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 seniors. Questions focused on the broad themes of aging stereotypes and attitudes towards active living. Responses from the participants indicated the variety of opinions and beliefs seniors hold about the aging process. Intriguing results emerged on the topic of role models. Participants often had someone in their lives who represented what it means to age successfully. Generally, this was an individual older than themselves, active, vigorous, and illustrative of the high quality of life that is possible into a very late age. In addition, these individuals provide a direct contrast to the most negative stereotypes of aging.     

Child Care in Infancy and Cognitive Performance Until Middle Childhood in the Millennium Cohort Study

This study used a British cohort (n = ～13,000) to investigate the association between child care during infancy and later cognition while controlling for social selection and missing data. It was found that attending child care (informal or center based) at 9 months was positively associated with cognitive outcomes at age 3 years, but only for children of mothers with low education. These effects did not persist to ages 5 or 7 years. Early center‐based care was associated with better cognitive outcomes than informal care at ages 3 and 5 years, but not at 7 years. Effect sizes were larger among children whose mother had low education. Propensity score matching and multiple imputation revealed significant findings undetected using regression and complete‐case approaches.