Using the newspaper to support children's emerging literacy

Young children's literacy development involves emerging knowledge, skills, and attitudes about both written and oral language. However, until relatively recent years, children's oral language development has received the lion's share of attention in most early childhood programs. What young children know about written language and their natural ability to learn about writing and reading have been underestimated and misinterpreted and so have received little developmentally appropriate support from early childhood program administrators, teachers, parents, and the public.June Rose Richie is Associate Professor of curriculum and instruction, while Janet E. Foster is Assistant Professor and John M. Johnston is Professor of early childhood education, at Memphis State University, Memphis, TN.     

Managing course design

Any complex activity, such as course design, which involves group work must be managed. In universities, where academics are not always familiar with managing, it is often unsystematic. A modest attention to management can help a project, and may pay dividends in the avoidance of waste, conflict, overruns of time or budget or other potential disasters. The author presents a comprehensive framework for the various aspects of managing that may be needed and offers an extended checklist.     

Inclusive instruction and learning for deaf students in postsecondary education

This article explores how students who are deaf and their instructors experience mainstream college classes. Both quantitative and qualitative procedures were used to examine student access to information and their sense of belonging and engagement in learning. Instructors were asked to discuss their approach to teaching and any instructional modifications made to address the needs of deaf learners. Results indicate that deaf students viewed classroom communication and engagement in a similar manner as their hearing peers. Deaf students were more concerned about the pace of instruction and did not feel as much a part of the 'university family' as did their hearing peers. Faculty generally indicated that they made few if any modifications for deaf students and saw support service faculty as responsible for the success or failure of these students. We discuss results of these and additional findings with regard to barriers to equal access and strategies for overcoming these barriers.     

Comparing demand functions when different price manipulations are used: Does unit price help?

Six hens pecked a key (Experiment 1) or pushed a door (Experiment 2) to obtain food reinforcement. In both experiments and as an analogue of price changes, the response requirements were varied in two ways: by increasing the number of responses required and by increasing the required force of each response. The two price manipulations (response number and response force) had different effects on behavior and produced different-shaped demand functions when the rates of consumption were plotted logarithmically against the price analogues. Irrespective of response topography, when the number of required responses was varied, the data paths appeared linear, with slopes close to −1.0. When the required force of each keypeck and doorpush was varied, the data paths were clearly curved, with increasingly steep downward slopes as the force increased. Using the concept ofunit price did not fully remove the different effects of the two price manipulations. Those differences are best attributed to the differing times needed in order to complete each response unit under those price manipulations.     

A comparison of the aversive and female attractant properties of urine from dominant and subordinate male mice

The urine of individual dominant and subordinate male mice was tested for male-aversive and female-attractant properties using dominant and subordinate male donors and Ss and estrous and anestrous female Ss in open-field tests. The results indicate (1) the presence of a factor in the urine of dominant males which proves aversive to both dominant and subordinate Ss, (2) the presence of a female attractant in the urine of dominant males, (3) naive females must be in estrous to respond positively to male urine. The results are discussed in terms of preputial and coagulating gland contents, androgen levels, and possible territorial functions.     

Motivational factors in learning American sign lanquage

This study focuses on factors that motivate and demotivate professionals to learn American Sign Language (ASL). Using a qualitative approach known as the Critical Incident Technique (CIT), faculty and staff were asked to reflect on their sign language learning expericences, and their responses were examined for motivational patterns. Principal motivating factors were intrinsic in nature, including a desire to perform well in one's position, personal goals, and an interest in sign language per se. Integrative factors were also important, especially an interest in social interactions with deaf people. Principal factors that demotivated the respondents were more extrinsic in nature, dealing with workload, scheduling issues associated with the sign language curriculum, instruction, and the attitudes of self and others. We draw implications from the findings for the enhancement of sign language instruction programs.     

Auditory perceptual processing in reading disabled children

One hundred and three children attending Learning Assistance Centres due to reading difficulties and one hundred and three matched, average readers were administered a battery of auditory perceptual processing tasks. The battery was composed of auditory analysis and synthesis, auditory sequential memory, auditory discrimination, and phonemic segmentation tasks. A principal components analysis yielded four factors. These were determined to be advanced phonological awareness, sequential memory, discrimination, and simple phonological awareness. Discriminant analyses, using the factor scores, indicated that three of the four factors were able to discriminate between the able and disabled readers. Most notable among these was advanced phonological awareness. Auditory discrimination could not discriminate between the groups. The results suggest that there may not be one underlying phonological ability implicated in successful reading acquisition. Furthermore, it is clear that two levels of phonological awareness exist and that screening and diagnostic instruments should address both in order to have predictive validity.     

The Value of Reanalysis: TV Viewing and Attention Problems

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth ( N  =   1,159), this study reexamines the link between maternal reports of television viewing at ages 1 and 3 and attention problems at age 7. This work represents a reanalysis and extension of recent research suggesting young children's television viewing causes subsequent attention problems. The nonlinear specification reveals the association between television watching and attention problems exists—if at all—only at very high levels of viewing. Adding 2 covariates to the regression model eliminated even this modest effect. The earlier findings are not robust. This study also considers whether its own findings are sensitive to unobserved confounding using fixed-effects estimation. In general, it finds no meaningful relation between television viewing and attention problems.     

Effect of exercise and nasal splinting on static and dynamic measures of nasal airflow

The main aim of this study was to assess the separate and combined effects of exercise and nasal splinting on static and dynamic measures of nasal airflow. In a randomized crossover design, 12 healthy participants (6 men, 6 women) performed static and dynamic spirometric nasal airflow assessment tests, with or without nasal splinting (Breathe-Right?), before and after a maximal oxygen uptake (VO 2max ) treadmill test. At least 7 days later, the V O 2max and nasal airflow tests were repeated. The results showed that the measured variables were not significantly different with and without nasal splinting. We conclude that the absence of significantly enhanced nasal patency observed for nasal splinting and after exercise suggest that these factors have a minimal impact on nasal airflow volume and rate.     

The relationship between shoulder alignment and elbow joint angle in cricket fast-medium bowlers

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between shoulder alignment and elbow angle during the delivery action of fast-medium bowlers. The elbow and upper trunk alignment were recorded for 13 high-performance bowlers (mean age 20 years) using a 12-camera Vicon motion analysis system operating at 250 Hz. The three highest velocity trials for “good” and “short” length deliveries were analysed. Results showed that bowlers with a more front-on shoulder alignment at back-foot impact and when the upper arm was horizontal to the ground experienced a significantly greater elbow flexion – extension range when compared with those who had a more side-on orientation at the same point in the delivery action. Bowlers with greater shoulder counter-rotation also recorded higher elbow flexion and subsequently extension during the period from upper arm horizontal to ball release. Shoulder alignment and elbow angles were similar for “short” and “good” length deliveries. It was concluded that bowlers with a more front-on shoulder orientation at back-foot impact demonstrated a higher elbow extension from upper arm horizontal to ball release and are therefore more likely to infringe International Cricket Council elbow tolerance levels, compared with those who adopt a more side-on shoulder orientation at back-foot impact.