Longitudinal Associations of Childhood Parenting and Adolescent Health: The Mediating Influence of Social Competence

The current study examined a process through which parenting during the primary school transition contributes to cardiovascular health in adolescence, a foundational period for adult health trajectories. Using path analyses, social competence was tested as a mediator between parental sensitivity and adolescent health among 884 families. Results indicated that mothers’ and fathers’ sensitivity was associated with increasing social competence from first grade (age 7) to sixth grade (age 12), which was associated with higher awakening cortisol in ninth grade (age 15) and decreasing blood pressure from sixth to ninth grade. Results suggest that social competence mediates associations between childhood parenting and adolescent cardiovascular risk, and may be protective to children's health over time.     

The Changing Role of Teachers of Students Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing: Consultation as an Increasing Part of the Job

ABSTRACT

The majority of deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) students are educated at least part of the day in general education classrooms taught by teachers who may not have any experience working with this population. DHH students make up a unique, heterogeneous group with a wide range of communication modalities, technology utilization, early intervention experiences, and educational placements. In addition to providing direct service to support these students, teachers of students who are deaf or hard of hearing (ToDHH) collaborate and consult with classroom teachers and school staff on classroom accommodations and modifications. However, recent research shows that ToDHH often feel unprepared to engage in the consultative aspect of their role. Since the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was passed 43 years ago, the field of deaf education has increasingly called for research on consultation models to apply to their unique population and to teach in their teacher preparation programs. This article identifies the characteristics of DHH learners and synthesizes current research on consultation in the field of deaf education. Three consultation models are examined to determine their level of fit within the field of deaf education. The author ends with a call for future research that can best be met through an interdisciplinary research approach between the field of deaf education and the fields of educational and psychological consultation.     

Assessment of Marketing Faculty Publications at a Major Research University to Satisfy Information Needs

This paper provides an evidence-based assessment of the University of Arkansas Libraries' collections to determine whether they are adequate to support the research and teaching needs of the marketing department. Specifically, it determined where the marketing faculty published, the characteristics of their publications, and the characteristics of their cited references. The study found that the faculty cited more recent literature and a prevalence of journal articles in their cited references. The results also demonstrate the preference of marketing faculty to work in small groups consisting of two to four collaborators.     

Kinematic comparison of baseball batting off of a tee among various competition levels

Determining and understanding baseball batting mechanics at various competition levels may help players and coaches identify key kinematics crucial to being a successful hitter. The purpose of this study was to compare batting kinematics across competition levels. Kinematic and temporal data were analysed for 170 male batters (youth n = 33; high school n = 69; college n = 22; professional n = 46) using 3D motion capture (480 Hz). The results showed differences in angular positions between competition levels during the five phases of the swing, with the greatest differences seen between the youth and professional batters. At the instant of ball contact, professional batters held the bat farther away from their body, with greater back shoulder abduction (35°) and less back elbow flexion (78°) compared to youth (27° and 89°, respectively). These differences were associated with greater back elbow extension velocity for professionals (1539°/s) compared to youth (1174°/s). Additionally, higher level batters had higher bat angular and linear velocities compared to the youth batters. As batters progress through their career, they should focus on their back arm by keeping their elbow up and their arm extended in front of them.     

Complex patterns for kindergartners

Knowing what kinds of patterns are easy for children to recognize early in their kindergarten year, and what kinds are difficult, can be a useful guide for patterning instruction. Hence, the ability of children to recognize complex patterns early in their kindergarten year was assessed in two experiments. One experiment showed that the children were significantly less accurate on patterns made of progressively higher numbers or of letters that came progressively later in the alphabet than on patterns made of clock faces that showed increasing amounts of time or were made of rotating objects. There was an interaction between the type of element of which the pattern was composed and the pattern’s orientation. A second experiment showed that symmetric patterns were easier than growing patterns, and there were effects of orientation and the elements of which a pattern was composed, as well as interactions. This research indicates that instruction on clock faces and rotating objects should precede instruction on letters and numbers, and that symmetric patterns can also be easily understood.     

One versus two years: Does length of exposure to an enhanced preschool program impact the academic functioning of disadvantaged children in kindergarten?

Research on the effects of preschool dosage on children's early academic functioning has been limited despite the substantial policy implications of such work. The present study adds to a growing literature on this topic by examining how the number of years enrolled in an enhanced preschool program impacts the school readiness of primarily low-income children at kindergarten. Multi-level modeling was used to account for nesting of children within classrooms. To control for potential selection bias since children were not randomly assigned to receive one or two years of preschool, propensity score one-to-one matching was used to create the two participant groups. Receiving a second year of preschool led to significant improvements in children's early literacy and numeracy skills. Implications of these results for preschool interventions are discussed.     

Performance factors in associative learning: Assessment of the sometimes competing retrieval model

Previous simulations revealed that the sometimes competing retrieval model (SOCR; Stout & Miller, Psychological Review, 114, 759-783, 2007), which assumes local error reduction, can explain many cue interaction phenomena that elude traditional associative theories based on total error reduction. Here, we applied SOCR to a new set of Pavlovian phenomena. Simulations used a single set of fixed parameters to simulate each basic effect (e.g., blocking) and, for specific experiments using different procedures, used fitted parameters discovered through hill climbing. In simulation 1, SOCR was successfully applied to basic acquisition, including the overtraining effect, which is context dependent. In simulation 2, we applied SOCR to basic extinction and renewal. SOCR anticipated these effects with both fixed parameters and best-fitting parameters, although the renewal effects were weaker than those observed in some experiments. In simulation 3a, feature-negative training was simulated, including the often observed transition from second-order conditioning to conditioned inhibition. In simulation 3b, SOCR predicted the observation that conditioned inhibition after feature-negative and differential conditioning depends on intertrial interval. In simulation 3c, SOCR successfully predicted failure of conditioned inhibition to extinguish with presentations of the inhibitor alone under most circumstances. In simulation 4, cue competition, including blocking (4a), recovery from relative validity (4b), and unblocking (4c), was simulated. In simulation 5, SOCR correctly predicted that inhibitors gain more behavioral control than do excitors when they are trained in compound. Simulation 6 demonstrated that SOCR explains the slower acquisition observed following CS-weak shock pairings.     

Radio Station Innovation and Risk Taking: A Survey of Programmers and General Managers

We conducted a survey of radio station program directors and general managers to explore the perception and role of innovation within radio programming and the key factors that influence this perception. In the study, we found that, in general, programmers and general managers perceive little innovation in programming except at their own stations. Results also indicate perceptions that more risk taking is needed in radio programming, that risk taking is essential for the financial health of a station, that increased artist diversity and an innovative music rotation influence the perception of innovation at the station level, and that too many commercials are being placed within an average hour of programming.     

Student Perceived and Determined Knowledge of Biology Concepts in an Upper-Level Biology Course

Students who lack metacognitive skills can struggle with the learning process. To be effective learners, students should recognize what they know and what they do not know. This study examines the relationship between students’ perception of their knowledge and determined knowledge in an upper-level biology course utilizing a pre/posttest approach. Significant differences in students’ perception of their knowledge and their determined knowledge exist at the beginning (pretest) and end (posttest) of the course. Alignment between student perception and determined knowledge was significantly more accurate on the posttest compared with the pretest. Students whose determined knowledge was in the upper quartile had significantly better alignment between their perception and determined knowledge on the pre- and posttest than students in the lower quartile. No difference exists between how students perceived their knowledge between upper- and lower-quartile students. There was a significant difference in alignment of perception and determined knowledge between males and females on the posttest, with females being more accurate in their perception of knowledge. This study provides evidence of discrepancies that exist between what students perceive they know and what they actually know.     

Agenda Setting and Priming Effects Based on Information Presentation: Revisiting Accessibility as a Mechanism Explaining Agenda Setting and Priming

In three experiments, this investigation evaluated the sufficiency of construct accessibility in explaining individual-level agenda setting and priming outcomes. Participants were exposed to an issue presented within a story from a respected news source (e.g., New York Times), a story from an unknown individual's blog, a story from a respected non-news organization (e.g., National Geographic), a crossword puzzle from a respected news source, or a crossword puzzle from an online game website. Story and crossword content was constant across the different sources. Participants responded either to a measure of implicit priming or to the traditional agenda setting question asking what the most important issue in the nation is. Priming effects were robust across presentation context, indicating a successful increase in temporary accessibility. Agenda setting effects were strongest when information came from news than from non-news sources, regardless of whether the issue was presented within a story or crossword. Findings suggest that issue salience in agenda setting is more appropriately conceptualized as perceived importance rather than top-of-mind awareness. News sources uniquely cue this salience beyond the abilities of other respected organizations.