Mnemonic-strategy reduction of prose-learning interference

One hundred and sixty college students read three fictitious biographical passages according to either imagery-mnemonic or no-strategy control instructions. In one mnemonic condition, subjects formed separate images involving each biographical name and its associated facts: in another mnemonic condition, the biographical name and its associated facts were integrated within a single composite image. Relative to an interference-control condition, integrated mnemonic subjects recalled more factual information, whereas separate mnemonic subjects did not. In addition, the recall of integrated mnemonic subjects was statistically no different from that of a noninterference control condition, whereas the recall of separate mnemonic subjects was lower. Both theoretical and educational implications of the results are discussed. The first author’s contribution to this work was supported by an Organized Research Grant from the Graduate School of Illinois State University. The second author’s contribution was supported by the National Institute of Education under Grant No. NIE-G-81-0009 to the Wisconsin Center for Education Research and was facilitated by a Romnes Faculty Fellowship from the Graduate School of the University of Wisconsin, Madison.     

Chinese and Canadian Children's Evaluations of Lying and Truth Telling: Similarities and Dfferences in the Context of pro-and Antisocial Behaviors

The present study compared Chinese and Canadian children's moral evaluations of lie and truth telling in situations involving pro- and antisocial behaviors. Seven-, 9-, and 11-year-old Chinese and canadian children were presented 4 brief stories. Two stories involved a child who intentionally carried out a good deed, and the other2 stories involved a child who intentionally carried out a bad deed. When story characters were questioned by a teacher as to who had committed the deed, they either lied or told the truth. Children were asked to evaluate the story characters' deeds and their verbal statements. Overall, Chinese children rated truth telling less positively and lie telling more positively in prosocial settings than Canadian children, indicating that the emphasis on self-effacement and modesty in Chinese culture overrides Chinese children's evaluations of lying in some situations. Both Chinese and canadian children rated trugh telling positively and lie telling negatively in antisocial situations, reflecting the emphasis in both cultures on the distinction between misdeed and truth/lie telling. The findings of the present study suggest that, in the realm of lying and truth telling, a close relation between sociocultural practices and moral judgment exists. Specific social and cultural norms have an impact on children's developing moral judgments, which in turn, are modified by age and experience in a particular culture.     

Operationalizing and validating disciplinary literacy in secondary education

The goal of this study was to define the construct and establish the validity of disciplinary literacy, which has recently gained attention from the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers in Common Core State Standards for English language arts & literacy in history/social studies, science, and technical subjects [PDF]. Authors, Washington, DC, 2010). After defining disciplinary literacy in the four core disciplines of English language arts, science, history and social studies, and mathematics, scales were developed and administered to a snowball sample of professionals nationwide, with 857 respondents. The data showed evidence of disciplinary literacy as a multidimensional construct with three related factors: source literacy, analytic literacy, and expressive literacy. Based on EFA and CFA results, we can conclude that there are at least three types of literacy in operation among the four core disciplines. The three factors of literacy varied significantly by the four core disciplines of English/language arts (ELA), science, history and social studies, and mathematics, supporting the notion that each discipline uses literacy uniquely. This is the first study of its kind to attempt to define, quantify, and validate the construct of disciplinary literacy.     

Statistical Power of the Multiple Domain Latent Growth Model for Detecting Group Differences

The latent growth model (LGM) in structural equation modeling (SEM) may be extended to allow for the modeling of associations among multiple latent growth trajectories, resulting in a multiple domain latent growth model (MDLGM). While the MDLGM is conceived as a more powerful multivariate analysis technique, the examination of its methodological performance is very limited. Hence, the present study compared the power of the MDLGM with that of a set of univariate LGMs for detecting group differences in growth rates over time using a Monte Carlo study with a two-group and two-domain design. The results indicated that there were different scenarios where the power rates for the MDLGM were greater than that of the set of LGMs (and vice versa) due to a joint function of the two domains’ intercorrelation size and the group difference effect size.     

Designing informal learning experiences for early career academics using a knowledge ecosystem model

This article presents a ‘knowledge ecosystem’ model of how early career academics experience using information to learn while building their social networks for developmental purposes. Developed using grounded theory methodology, the model offers a way of conceptualising how to empower early career academics through (1) agency (individual and relational) and (2) facilitation of personalised informal learning (design of physical and virtual systems and environments) in spaces where developmental relationships are formed, including programmes, courses, events, community, home and social media. It is suggested that the knowledge ecosystem model is suitable for use in designing informal learning experiences for early career academics.     

‘The sky is the limit’: higher education,gender and empowerment in the Bedouin community in the Negev in Israel

This article addresses the meaning that female Bedouin from the Negev in Israel give to higher education. I shall focus the discussion on the processes in which personal and social contexts merge into one another. Although there has been an increase in the number of investigations of the ways in which Bedouin women in the Negev in Israel participate in the public sphere, a survey of the literature reveals that no investigations have been conducted on the meaning educated women attribute to higher education during the course of their lives. Through an analysis of ten in‐depth interviews carried out between 1998 and 2001, this article examines issues such as gender, empowerment and social mobility amongst young Bedouin women in Israel.     

Large amplitude free vibration of a flexible panel coupled with a leaking cavity

This paper addresses the effect of leakage on the natural frequencies of a large amplitude vibrating panel backed by a cavity, which has not been considered in many other related studies. The structural-acoustic governing equations are employed to study this nonlinear problem. An elliptical integral method, which was recently developed for the nonlinear panel cavity problem, is introduced here to solve for the structural-acoustics responses. The present results agree reasonably well with those obtained from the classical harmonic balance method. Modal convergences of the nonlinear solutions are performed to verify the proposed method. The effects of vibration amplitude and leakage size are studied and discussed. It is found that (1) the edge leakages in a panel cavity system significantly affect the natural frequency properties, and (2) the edge leakages induce a low frequency acoustic resonance.