Rock With Me: The Role of Movement Synchrony in Infants' Social and Nonsocial Choices

Matching the timing of one's movements to the movements of others has been proposed to increase affiliation and prosociality. Although coordinated movements facilitate early social interactions, not much is known about the mechanisms and effects of movement synchrony throughout development. Two studies investigated 12‐month‐olds' (Study 1, N = 40) and 9‐month‐olds' (Study 2, N = 41) preferences for synchronous others in a social as opposed to a nonsocial context. It was found that movement synchrony exclusively guides infants' social choices at 12 months. In contrast, 9‐month‐olds did not show any preferences for synchronous movements in social or nonsocial contexts. Results suggest that movement synchrony is important in guiding infants' social preferences and its effects emerge toward the end of the 1st year of life.     

The Importance of “Focusness”: Focus Groups as a Means of Collection Management Assessment

ABSTRACT

In order to assess the Library's collection, the Collection Development Assessment Team at Cleveland State University used focus groups to complement the information gathered in LibQUAL+?. Groups of undergraduates, graduates, and faculty participated in four separate focus groups. All groups reported they were essentially satisfied with the collection but also wanted better local collections and used OhioLINK to supplement their research; fewer users also utilized the rich resources of the public library systems. In keeping with previous surveys, all groups wanted more full-text available electronically, faster access to materials, and a more navigable website. It appeared that the more sophisticated the user, the more satisfied they were with the collection. The Special Collections focus group would like to have more materials digitized, improved accessibility to the collection and website, and increased interaction with the community to heighten awareness of the collection and in order to gather more primary materials for the collection.     

Outcomes Assessment and Legal Research Pedagogy

This article explores application of a taxonomic approach in legal research pedagogy to outcomes assessment based on Prof. Paul Callister's adaptation of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives which integrates instructional design and learning activities compatible with formative assessment during the learning process and summative assessment at its conclusion. It reviews the development of outcomes assessment initiatives by legal educators and the development of outcomes assessment standards by the American Bar Association for the accreditation of law schools.     

A Round-Up of French Language Media Publications

François Archambault & Jean François Lemoine, Quatre milliards de journaux: La presse de province (Paris: A. Moreau, 1977—55 FF, 484 pp.)

Alain Besson, La Presse locale en liberté surveillée (Paris: Editions Ouvrières, 1978—38 FF, 256 pp.)

Jean Cluzel, Télé-Violence (Paris: Plon, 1978—35 FF, 251 pp.)

Jean Egen, Le Canard Enchainé (Paris: Seghers, 1978—19.50 FF, 187 pp.)

Francis Hamon, Liberté et responsabilité de la presse en Grande-Bretagne: le Press Council; and Claude-Jean Bertrand, Les Conseils de presse dans la monde (Paris: Notes et etudes documentaires, La Documentation francaise, December 26, 1977—10.50 FF, 79 pp.)

Denis Perier-Daville, La Liberté de la presse nest pas à vendre (Paris: Le Seuil, 1978—42 FF, 254 pp.)

Jean Bruno Renard, Clefs pour la bande dessineé (Paris: Seghers, 1978— 25 FF, 256 pp.)

Pierre Schaeffer, Les Antennes de Jéricho (Paris: Stock, 1978—49 FF, 333 pp.)     

Toddlers Use the Number Feature in Determiners During Online Noun Comprehension

Function words support many aspects of language acquisition. This study investigated whether toddlers understand the number feature of determiners and use it for noun comprehension. French offers an ideal “test case” as number is phonetically marked in determiners but not in nouns. Twenty French‐learning 24‐month‐olds completed a split‐screen experiment. Looking times to target pictures were measured under 3 trial types varying in the degree to which the determiner matched the number displayed in the object(s). Children looked longer when the determiner matched the object(s), and were confused in trials of clear mismatch. Importantly, their processing resembled that of French adults ( D. Dahan, D. Swingley, M. K. Tanenhaus, & J. S. Magnuson, 2000 ). Thus, children understand the determiner number feature early in acquisition and use this knowledge to constrain online comprehension.     

Data Retention and the Panoptic Society: The Social Benefits of Forgetfulness

Modern information systems not only capture a seemingly endless amount of transactional data, but also tend to retain it for indefinite periods of time. We argue that privacy policies must address not only collection and access to transactional information, but also its timely disposal. One unintended side effect of data retention is the disappearance of social forgetfulness, which allows individuals a second chance, the opportunity for a fresh start in life. We examine three domains in which social policy has explicitly recognized the importance of such a principle: bankruptcy law, juvenile crime records, and credit reports. In each case, we frame the issue in terms of the social benefits of forgetfulness, rather than in terms of individual privacy protection. We examine how different policy approaches to privacy might handle the retention of data and propose a comprehensive policy that includes a variety of strategies. The broad conclusion of the article is that data retention and disposal should be addressed as a part of a broader and comprehensive policy approach, rather than in a piecemeal fashion or as an afterthought.     

Muslim Freedmen in León,Castile and Portugal (1100–1300)

This article examines the social status of manumitted Muslim slaves in the Christian kingdoms of León, Castile and Portugal between 1100 and 1300. Modern historians had largely overlooked this social group of which very little is known. Using both law codes and other surviving Latin and Arabic documents from the period, the author examines the process of manumission. Emancipation did not mean complete freedom. A freedman emancipated conditionally could continue to be bound to serve his owner, depending on the particular terms of the contract. Furthermore, according to the legal codes, even if a freedman or freedwoman was manumitted unconditionally by his or her owner, they would continue to suffer legal disabilities due to their previous condition. The end result was that freedmen formed an intermediate social and legal category, no longer servile but neither completely free.     

Personal and Situational Factors Influencing Intrinsic Interest of Adolescent Girls in School Physical Education: a structural equation modelling analysis

This study assessed the influence of individual and contextual factors on adolescent girls’ interest in school physical education (PE). Specifically, girls (N = 700) were assessed on: (a), perceptions of their PE class climate, using the Perceived Motivational Climate Scale (PMCS, Cury et al., 1994; (b) dispositional achievement goal orientations, using the French version of the Perception of Success Questionnaire (POSQ, Durand et alM in press; and (c) the interest and competence subscales from the French version of the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI, Cury et al., 1994a). Structural equation modelling analysis, using LISREL VII, showed an excellent fit with the hypothesised model. Specifically, situational class climate was found to be more important than individual goals in influencing pupil interest in PE. However, perceived competence also influenced interest, as did a mastery goal orientation. Results are discussed in the context of theoretical propositions of goal perspectives theory and practical issues of enhancing adolescent girls’ interest in physical education.     

Learning from expository texts: Effects of the interaction of prior knowledge and text structure on responses to different question types

The objective of this study was to verify the effects of the interaction between text structures and prior knowledge on memory and learning from expository texts. It examined the effects of two levels of prior knowledge and two types of mixed structures on a post-reading questionnaire. A total of 119 French-speaking, sixth-grade subjects were selected on the basis of a multiple-choice questionnaire. This questionnaire served to distinguish two groups, one possessing a high level of prior knowledge about the topic covered in the text (HP group), and another having a low level of prior knowledge (LP group). The children’s reading ability was evaluated by a cloze test that also served to eliminate children with reading comprehension difficulties from the experimental groups. The subjects in each group were arbitrarily assigned to subgroups. One group read an experimental passage, “The effects of acid rain on maple and pine”, which was organized in a collection inserted in cause/effect structure (SI). The other group read the same information, but which was organized in a comparison inserted in cause/effect structure (S2). The post-reading measure consisted of 24 questions that varied according to three criteria. The statistical analysis revealed that the effects of text structure were dependent on the level of prior knowledge and on the type of questions and confirmed that prior knowledge had a determining influence on knowledge acquisition.