The Air‐gap Phenomenon in Young Children's Pictures

In Experiment 1, 221 children aged 5;l‐10;2 were asked to crayon or paint an outdoor scene. The shift from leaving an air‐gap to filling in the sky occurred at approximately 8 years of age whether crayons or paint were used. In Experiment 2 four groups of children (mean age, 6;8) who normally left an air‐gap were asked to draw a photographic slide of an outdoor scene projected onto a screen. We manipulated the amount of exposure to the slide and also the information about it given by the experimenter. More children relinquished their air‐gap response when the experimenter had drawn their attention, verbally, to the full sky. When children received this information and were able to view the slide throughout the drawing session, there was also a tendency for more of them to draw the full sky and for those who left an air‐gap to draw the sky significantly deeper.     

Computer-Assisted Communication for Language Development

This paper argues that educational software should be written in such a way that teachers have access to the program's educational content. One such program, a computer-mediated reading and language development scheme, is discussed. The program allows each word of traditional orthography to be replaced by a graphic symbol if the teacher wishes.     

Keeping friends safe: a prospective study examining early adolescent's confidence and support networks

There is a continued need to consider ways to prevent early adolescent engagement in a variety of harmful risk-taking behaviours for example, violence, road-related risks and alcohol use. The current prospective study examined adolescents’ reports of intervening to try and stop friends’ engagement in such behaviours among 207 early adolescents (mean age?=?13.51?years, 50.1% females). Findings showed that intervening behaviour after three months was predicted by the confidence to intervene which in turn was predicted by student and teacher support although not parental support. The findings suggest that the benefits of positive relationship experiences might extend to the safety of early adolescent friendship groups particularly through the development of confidence to try and stop friends’ risky and dangerous behaviours. Findings from the study support the important role of the school in creating a culture of positive adolescent behaviour whereby young people take social responsibility.     

An Analysis of Degree Results in Geography by Gender

Chi‐square analysis is used to test for differences in the degree results of male and female geography graduates from 42 UK universities between 1973 and 1993. The combined results of these universities (i.e. departments at subject‐specific level) show a persistent and striking overrepresentation of males with thirds and pass degrees together with a less obvious, but statistically significant, overrepresentation of males achieving firsts. Corresponding analyses for individual departments emphasise the need for caution in deriving generalisations from aggregate data. A significant difference (at the 99% level) in the cumulative annual degree results of males and females is found in 10 of the 42 departments. The sources of these differences vary and it is suggested that a distinction is drawn between general factors responsible for the pervasive overrepresentation of males in the third/pass categories and department‐specific factors responsible for gender differences in other degree classes, especially firsts.