Developmental links of very early phonological and language skills to second grade reading outcomes: strong to accuracy but only minor to fluency

The authors examined second grade reading accuracy and fluency and their associations via letter knowledge to phonological and language predictors assessed at 3.5, 4.5, and 5.5 years in children in the Jyv?skyl? Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia. Structural equation modeling showed that a developmentally highly stable factor (early phonological and language processing [EPLP]) behind key dyslexia predictors (i.e., phonological awareness, short-term memory, rapid naming, vocabulary, and pseudoword repetition) could already be identified at 3.5 years. EPLP was significantly associated with reading and spelling accuracy and by age with letter knowledge. However, EPLP had only a minor link with reading fluency, which was additionally explained by early letter knowledge. The results show that reading accuracy is well predicted by early phonological and language skills. Variation in fluent reading skills is not well explained by early skills, suggesting factors other than phonological core skills. Future research is suggested to explore the factors behind the development of fast and accurate decoding skills.     

新媒体联盟地平线报告:2016高等教育版

未来五年高等教育机构将会面临什么形势?有哪些趋势和技术将会驱动教育的变革?有哪些挑战是我们认为可以解决或难以克服的?《新媒体联盟地平线报告:2016高等教育版》揭示了未来五年全球范围内影响高等教育变化的关键趋势、重要挑战和重要的技术发展.图1是报告的内容框架.     

善有善报,恶有恶报

<正>一个女人为家人烤面包并额外拿出一个送给饥饿的路人。她把额外的面包放在窗台上,无论谁都可以拿走。每天当女人向窗台上放面包时,她总是为她出远门寻找财富的儿子做一次祈祷。多少个月了,她一直没有他的消息。她祈祷他平安回家。每天都有一个驼背的人来把面包拿走,     

Effects of muscle-tendon length on joint moment and power during sprint starts

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of muscle-tendon length on joint moment and power during maximal sprint starts. Nine male sprinters performed maximal sprint starts from the blocks that were adjusted either to 40 degrees or 65 degrees to the horizontal. Ground reaction forces were recorded at 833 Hz using a force platform and kinematic data were recorded at 200 Hz with a film camera. Joint moments and powers were analysed using kinematic and kinetic data. Muscle - tendon lengths of the medial gastrocnemius, soleus, vastus medialis, rectus femoris and biceps femoris were calculated from the set position to the end of the first single leg contact. The results indicated that block velocity (the horizontal velocity of centre of mass at the end of the block phase) was greater (P < 0.01) in the 40 degrees than in the 65 degrees block angle condition (3.39 +/- 0.23 vs. 3.30 +/- 0.21 m . s(-1)). Similarly, the initial lengths of the gastrocnemius and soleus of the front leg in the block at the beginning of force production until half way through the block phase were longer (P < 0.001) in the 40 degrees than in the 65 degrees block angle condition. The initial length and the length in the middle of the block phase were also longer in the 40 degrees than in the 65 degrees block angle condition both for both the gastrocnemius (P < 0.01) and soleus (P < 0.01-0.05) of the rear leg. In contrast, the initial lengths of the rectus femoris and vastus medialis of the front leg were longer (P < 0.05) in the 65 degrees than in the 40 degrees block angle condition. All differences gradually disappeared during the later block phase. The peak ankle joint moment (P < 0.01) and power (P < 0.05) during the block phase were greater in the 40 degrees than in the 65 degrees block angle condition for the rear leg. The peak ankle joint moment during the block phase was greater (P < 0.05) in the 40 degrees block angle for the front leg, whereas the peak knee joint moment of the rear leg was greater (P < 0.01) in the 65 degrees block angle condition. The results suggest that the longer initial muscle-tendon lengths of the gastrocnemius and soleus in the block phase at the beginning of force production contribute to the greater peak ankle joint moment and power and consequently the greater block velocity during the sprint start.     

The roles of perceived teacher support, motivational climate, and psychological need satisfaction in students' physical education motivation

Research illustrates the positive roles of perceived competence, autonomy, and mastery climate and the negative role of performance climate in student motivation in physical education. Less research has examined perceptions of relationships within this setting (i.e., perceived teacher support and relatedness) and their role in student motivation. The purpose of this study was to test the mediating roles of perceived competence, autonomy, and relatedness in the relationship between social contextual factors and motivation in physical education students (N = 508). Results from structural equation modeling showed that perceived competence, autonomy, and relatedness partially mediated the relationship between perceived teacher support and self-determined motivation and that mastery climate related directly to self-determined motivation. The results highlight the importance of perceived teacher support, mastery climate, and relatedness to motivation in physical education.     

地球有幾歲了

我們的行星存在已有多少年呢?甚麽時候在地面構成了山嶽和海洋呢?這些問题從古以來就引起科學家的興趣,但是就是今天的科學,也不能作出完全正確的答案,這是不足怪的,因為它們是非常複雜的問題。怎樣來確定地球的年齡呢?最早,人們企圖利用沉積物在海洋底沉積的速度來計算,後來又試圖用溶融液態的地球冷却到現在狀態所需要的時間來测定。不同的方法就得到不同的結果:由八千萬到十萬萬年。當時的人們還没有考     

转基因食品很安全——罗伯特.霍尔施博士访谈

过去千百年来,人们是通过自然基因突变来选择具有某种特定基因、特定性状的生物体,而现在的转基因技术则是通过分子生物学手段直接改变基因的结构.转基因技术究竟是农业生产中人类改造自然的伟大创举,还是有可能对生态环境造成难以清除的基因污染的潜在危险?《科学美国人》杂志对分子生物学专家霍尔施博士与梅隆博士的专访,揭示出支持者与反对者对转基因食品截然不同的态度《科学美国人》:请问您为什么对转基因作物感兴趣?霍尔施:我对它的兴趣来自于我对农业学术上的热爱,我有一种本能的想法就是如果将分子生物学技术应用于改良作物,这将非常有助于农业生产.现在我们已经实现了在更少的土地上生产出更多的食品,对水源和生物多样性的危害变得更小.利用生物技术解决农业生产中的问题不但是需要的而且是迫在眉睫的.由于人口的增长和收入的增加,在今后25年的时间里,全球对食品的需求将至少增加50%.《科学美国人》:请问在环境保护方面,转基因技术最重要的好处是什么?     

The similarity of siblings' attachments to their mother

Do siblings develop similar attachment relationships with their mother? Attachment theory suggests that brothers and sisters growing up in the same family are likely to relate in similar ways to their parents, at least when parental attachment representations and interactive styles remain stable across time. In the current study, sibling attachment data from three research groups (from Pennsylvania State University, Leiden University, and the University of Western Ontario) have been pooled to assemble a sufficiently large sample of observations (N = 138 sibling pairs) for a detailed comparison of sibling attachment relationships. Spacing between the births, differences in maternal sensitivity, and gender of siblings were examined as possible sources of concordance of nonconcordance. Attachment security (including disorganized attachment) of each sibling was assessed with the Strange Situation procedure between 12 and 14 months after birth. Maternal sensitivity was observed with the same rating scale in a laboratory play session in one of the studies and in home observations in the others. Sibling relationships were found to be significantly concordant when classified as secure/nonsecure (62% concordance, p < .01, 1-tailed, intraclass correlation = .23) but not when further subcategorized. Maternal insensitivity to both siblings (shared environment) was associated with concordance of sibling nonsecurity. Siblings of the same gender were more likely to form concordant relationships with their mother (68%; p < .01, 1-tailed, intraclass correlation = .37) than those of opposite gender. Same-sex sibling concordance was comparable to the concordance found for monozygotic twins in earlier studies. Genetic factors may, therefore, play a relatively small role in the development of attachment.