A study of auditory preferences in nonhandicapped infants and infants with Down's syndrome

11 infants with Down's syndrome (MA 9.2 months, CA 12.7 months) and 10 of 11 nonhandicapped infants (MA 9.6 months, CA 9.3 months) demonstrated that they could operate an automated device which enabled them to choose to listen to 1 of a pair of auditory signals. All subjects showed preferential responding. Both groups of infants showed a significant preference for nursery rhymes sung by a female voice rather than played on musical instruments. The infants with Down's syndrome had much longer response durations for the more complex auditory stimuli. The apparatus provides a useful technique for studying language development in both normal and abnormal populations.     

Scorched Earth: prelude to rebuilding Marxist educational theory

This paper focuses on the internal degeneration of the Marxist educational theory flowing from Bowles & Gintis (1976) and Willis (1977). It explores five interlinked ‘debilitating problematics’ ‐‐ the base/superstructure metaphor, Left functionalism, relative autonomy, resistance theory and the education for autonomy/revolution dilemma ‐‐ which have simultaneously formed the backbone of Marxist educational theory and constituted the roots of its theoretical weaknesses. The general argument is that these weaknesses are so deep‐seated that Marxists interested in theorising capitalist schooling need to start afresh. The paper points towards some possible starting points for new Marxist thinking on capitalist schooling, the preferred option being an analysis of labour‐power. One consequence of taking labour‐power as the starting point for a Marxist analysis of education is that it entails the dissolution of Marxist educational theory’. Instead, educational theory and politics become subordinated to a concern with the social production of labour‐power in capitalism.     

Computer Anxiety and Student Teachers: antecedent and intervention

We argue in this article that student teachers’ anxiety about computers can be properly understood only through an examination of cultural and historical antecedents concerning fears of technology. This perspective provides us with a context to examine the development, implementation and evaluation of a computer education course for student teachers over a 2‐year period. The results of the evaluation indicate that the methods adopted have been successful in promoting computer literacy and reducing computer anxiety. The empirically‐based approach to course development and evaluation adopted in this study provides a model for other tertiary educators.     

Self‐awareness in Young Adults with Down Syndrome: II. Self‐understanding

This study explored the self‐understanding of 77 young people with Down syndrome aged from 17 to 24 years, with verbal mental ages ranging from less than 2 years 6 months to 12 years 4 months. The aim was to determine whether the self‐understanding of these young people followed a typical developmental pathway, whether they were making social comparisons to others, and if these comparisons were downward, upward or lateral. The data came from interviews with the young people and with their parents. Results confirmed the typical developmental progression in so far as relative comparisons to others were only made by those with significantly higher mental ages. These young people made more downward than upward comparisons, whereas parents largely referred to lateral comparisons. This again is similar to findings with people in general who tend to maintain their self‐esteem by making downward comparisons. Aspirations were age appropriate, albeit with relatively low levels of cognitive understanding. Reference groups predominantly consisted of families and other young people with intellectual disabilities.     

Difficulties in Learning and Teaching Programming—Views of Students and Tutors

We have conducted a web-based questionnaire on the various concepts and topics of object-oriented programming that students on introductory courses found most difficult to cope with.A statistical analysis of our results shows that those topics that rely on a clear understanding of pointers and memory-related concepts (such as copy constructors and virtual functions) prove to be the most difficult. In other words, we believe these concepts are only hard because of the student's inability to comprehend what is happening to their program in memory, as they are incapable of creating a clear mental model of its execution.These results would suggest that a clearer approach to teaching these topics would be beneficial to students. We are currently working on a visualization-based approach to address these issues.     

Ensuring the academic library's relevance to stakeholders: The role of the Library Director

This paper presents a substantive grounded theory about how the Library Director can ensure the library's relevance to university and external stakeholders in the face of rapid changes in technology and higher education. A constructivist grounded theory research approach involved 14 semi-structured interviews with 12 Library Directors of publicly funded university libraries in Australia and the United States. The substantive theory and the conceptual model presented in this paper suggest that the Library Director responds to the problem of rapid change by enacting the following strategies: aligning strategic vision with the university; continuously reinventing the library; engaging with stakeholders; building an agile and engaged culture; and demonstrating value to the university. The strategies interact with each other in a cyclical pattern. This is an original theory that emphasizes the important role of the Library Director as the agent and model for library strategy and culture. The theory requires library leaders to be strategic thinkers and to be engaged in strategic planning processes that aim for continuous improvements that make the library agile and engaged with stakeholders. The theory also has a significant impact upon the behaviours required for all library staff members.     

Assessing Error in Behavioral Data: Problems of Sequencing

Both classical test theory and generalizability theory focus on measurement error as a group property. Thus, common estimates o f errors o f measurement are developed for all members o f a group. But with behavioral data, unlike specifically test data, it is sometimes possible to estimate error separately for each individual. This enables one to ask questions about the relationships between error o f measurement and other characteristics o f the individual. Consequently, it also makes possible the use of regression techniques to call upon group data to improve the estimates o f individual measurement error. The focus on the individual also lays bare the possibility o f sequencing effects, and it is shown that, even in the absence o f trend, autocorrelation can cause standard procedures to grossly underestimate the magnitude o f measurement error. Classroom observation data are examined for autocorrelation, and recommendations are made about the scheduling o f data collection so as to minimize its effects.     

Salient and emerging developmental tasks in the transition to adulthood

Drawing on data from a normative sample of 205 children tracked into adulthood, this study examined the predictive links from 3 salient (friendship, academic, conduct) and 2 emerging (work, romantic) developmental tasks during the transition years around age 20 to adult adaptation 10 years later. Results (a) confirm the utility of salient developmental tasks for predicting adult success, (b) suggest that emerging domains have limited long-term predictive significance, and (c) more generally support a view that developmental tasks follow a course through life of waxing and waning salience and organization that has implications for future adaptation.