Tracking the mind during writing: immediacy, delayed, and anticipatory effects on pauses and writing rate

This study examines the dynamics of cognitive processes during writing. Participants were 5th, 7th and 9th graders ranging in age from 10 to 15?years. They were shown a short silent video composed of clips illustrating conflictual situations between people in school, and were invited to produce a narrative text. Three chronometric measures of word n were analyzed using a Linear Mixed-Effects Model regression procedure: pause duration before word n, pause duration within word n, and writing rate of word n. The predictors were sublexical and lexical properties of word n, i.e., immediacy effects, word n ? 1, i.e., delayed effects, and of word n?+?1, i.e., anticipatory effects. The writing-rate and the intra-word-pause measures show both immediacy and anticipatory effects. However, the between-word-pause durations show only delayed effects, which has not been reported in previous studies. As far as we know, our study is the first investigation which reveals the occurrence of parallel and serial effects in written text production: preprocessing of word n?+?1 occurs when word n is being written, and properties of word n ? 1 still exert their influences while the pen has already moved to the next word.     

Postponement in the completion of the final dissertation: an underexplored dimension of achievement in higher education

Research on academic achievement at a university has mainly focused on success and persistence among first year students. Very few studies have looked at delay or failure in the completion of a final dissertation. However, this phenomenon could affect a substantial proportion of students and has considerable costs. The purpose of the present study is to identify factors which predict postponement in the completion of the final dissertation. Several potential predictors (e.g., background, personality, social support, motivational beliefs, and engagement) were selected through an integrative review of the literature on achievement in higher education. A questionnaire assessing these variables was administered to 341 students a few months before the deadline for their final dissertation. Results indicate that perceived peer support, perceived relatives support, role conflict, and age have an independent and significant effect on whether or not the final dissertation is completed on time. In addition, self-efficacy and behavioral engagement appeared to be mediators of the relationship between the social support and the final dissertation completion.     

DRIVING EDUCATION PROGRAMS FOR THE AGED: THE STATE OF THE ART

The purpose of this study was to collect and organize survey data relating to new driving courses and refresher driver courses for the older driver in the United States and to determine whether training programs were available for the driver who transports elderly citizens to various locations for services. All 50 states and the District of Columbia were surveyed.

The survey was conducted by telephone and utilized a fixed series of questions to be asked of the person in charge of transportation in the office of aging in each of the states.

The principal findings were (1) there are no statewide programs or curricula to assist senior citizens in obtaining driving skills to operate within the highway transportation system and (2) 37% of the states have no training programs for drivers who transport senior citizens. The other states reported that all training is decentralized and is given to the area agencies to conduct. Consequently, there exists a conglomeration of programs, ranging from a single course in American Red Cross first aid to school bus driver training programs.     

Application and Reliability of the Retrospective Interview Procedure to Trace Physical Activity Patterns in Master Athletes and Nonactive Older Adults

This paper reports the results of two studies. The purpose of the first study was to determine if lifestyle variables and past involvement in physical activity was related to current activity levels in master athletes and sedentary older adults. Retrospective interviews were conducted with 12 master athletes and 12 sedentary older adults. Results demonstrated that education level, spouse participation, smoking, and recent physical activity levels were indicators of current involvement. The second study investigated the reliability of the data collected in the retrospective interviews. Similar to results with younger samples, we confirm that lifestyle variables and physical activity involvement could be accurately recalled for a period of 25 years, making this tool a useful addition for the study of physical activity in older adults.     

Development of the profession and qualifications of adult educators in Lithuania in the context of reforms of adult education

The Baltic countries regained their independence from the Soviet Union in the early 1990s and joined the European Union in 2004. This article seeks to explore institutional development and reforms of adult education and lifelong learning in Lithuania with respect to the processes, the actors and the context of socioeconomic change over the past 20 years. It also looks at the implications of these processes for the professionalisation of adult educators, referred to here as “adult learning teachers” (ALTs). The authors begin with an analysis of the historical-institutional and political-economical aspects of the development of adult education and lifelong learning by providing a retrospective of institutional change in Lithuania. They then move on to analyse the existing institutional and legal arrangements of adult education which shape and institutionalise the profession and qualifications of ALTs. Their empirical research reveals the opinions of Lithuanian ALTs on their current professional occupational profile and its future development.     

“Accepting Emotional Complexity”: A Socio-Constructivist Perspective on the Role of Emotions in the Mathematics Classroom

A socio-constructivist account of learning and emotions stresses the situatedness of every learning activity and points to the close interactions between cognitive, conative and affective factors in students’ learning and problem solving. Emotions are perceived as being constituted by the dynamic interplay of cognitive, physiological, and motivational processes in a specific context. Understanding the role of emotions in the mathematics classroom then implies understanding the nature of these situated processes and the way they relate to students’ problem-solving behaviour. We will present data from a multiple-case study of 16 students out of 4 different junior high classes that aimed to investigate students’ emotional processes when solving a mathematical problem in their classrooms. After identifying the different emotions and analyzing their relations to motivational and cognitive processes, the relation with students’ mathematics-related beliefs will be examined. We will specifically use Frank’s case to illustrate how the use of a thoughtful combination of a variety of different research instruments enabled us to gather insightful data on the role of emotions in mathematical problem solving.     

The dynamics of learning engagement and its relationship with teachers’ classroom practices in primary school

The current study was part of a larger project which examined teachers’ classroom practices and relationships with students’ learning engagement in primary-school education in Estonia. The focus was the role of autonomy supportive and structured teaching on learning engagement. Two primary-school teachers and their 46 students were selected for this study. The aim of the study was to explore how teachers’ classroom practices influence students’ learning engagement over two years during grade two and grade four of the educational system. Three trained observers rated classroom practices and students self-reported learning engagement. The results highlight primary students’ high-learning engagement, and did not confirm an expectation that low-autonomy-supportive teaching results in low-learning engagement in primary school.     

An econometric analysis of the effect of collaboration on academic research productivity

Previous studies on collaborative research emphasize industry-university collaboration conducted in a subset of academic disciplines associated with applied engineering. These studies focus on motivations, mechanisms, financial costs and financial benefits of collaborative research while paying little attention to the impact of collaborative research on academic productivity. The purpose of this paper is to attempt to compensate for some of these shortcomings. First, we present a survey which includes responses from academic researchers of all the scientific disciplines. Second, we take into account and compare the collaborative relationships between university researchers, between university researchers and industry, and between university researchers and other institutions, especially government agencies, local governments and organized interest groups. And third, we assess the impact of these collaborative activities on the academic productivity of the university researchers.The results of this paper show that collaboration, whether it be undertaken with universities, industries or institutions, may indeed increase researchers' productivity. We find this to be true whether or not such relationships begin early in a researcher's career. We also find this to be true whether or not the collaborators have an intellectual symmetry. The effect of collaboration on productivity varies according to both the scientists' geographical closeness to their partners and on their field of research. It was found that collaboration between researchers and industry had significantly more impact on productivity than collaborations between researchers and their peers or researchers and other institutions. Scientists in humanities were found to produce less materials in collaboration than scientists in other fields. And, scientists involved in collaboration aimed mostly at producing patented and unpatented products, scientific instruments, software and artistic production were also found to produce less.In sum, given that collaboration contributes to the increase of scientific productivity, government decision makers and university administrators ought to encourage researchers to forge collaborative relationships.