Language not auditory experience is related to parent-reported executive functioning in preschool-aged deaf and hard-of-hearing children

Much research has found disrupted executive functioning (EF) in deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children; while some theories emphasize the role of auditory deprivation, others posit delayed language experience as the primary cause. This study investigated the role of language and auditory experience in parent-reported EF for 123 preschool-aged children (M_age = 60.1 months, 53.7% female, 84.6% White). Comparisons between DHH and typically hearing children exposed to language from birth (spoken or signed) showed no significant differences in EF despite drastic differences in auditory input. Linear models demonstrated that earlier language exposure predicted better EF (β = .061–.341), while earlier auditory exposure did not. Few participants exhibited clinically significant executive dysfunction. Results support theories positing that language, not auditory experience, scaffolds EF development.     

Theorizing Community as Discourse in Community Informatics: “Resistant Identities” and Contested Technologies

Community informatics (CI) is a form of activism that involves the application of information and communication technologies in pursuit of community development within localities. This article draws on discourse theory (DT) to re-evaluate activists’ self-interpretations that rely on community, and to make sense of the political struggles at the heart of CI. It is argued that activists’ community discourse constructs, through articulation, locally “resistant” collective identities and an associated collective agency capable of appropriating technology in pursuit of unfulfilled social demands. However DT also suggests that the socially progressive nature of CI is not guaranteed by recourse to the social ideal of community.     

THE STATE POSTSECONDARY REVIEW PROGRAM: IMPLICATIONS FOR THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

The Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate began a series of hearings in 1990 that uncovered an alarming pattern of waste, fraud, and abuse in the Title IV federal student aid programs. To create a stronger and more coordinated evaluation of institutions desiring to participate in these programs, Congress enacted the new Program Integrity Triad, which significantly increases the gatekeep‐ing functions of each member of the triad and establishes a specific set of responsibilities for accrediting agencies, the states, and the Secretary of Education. Under this program, states are directed to set up agencies known as State Postsecondary Review Entities (SPRE) to assist the U.S. Department of Education in reviewing institutions of higher education referred by the Secretary to determine continued participation in federal financial aid programs. The diverse ways in which students use community colleges will make it difficult, at best, to apply the quantifiable standards for withdrawal, graduation, and placement rates established by the SPRE program. The result could have serious implications for community colleges and their continued participation in Title IV federal student aid programs.     

A Meta-Analysis of Morphological Interventions in English: Effects on Literacy Outcomes for School-Age Children

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of morphological instruction on language and literacy outcomes by synthesizing 92 standardized mean differences (d) from 30 independent studies. Findings show a moderate overall effect of morphological instruction ([dbar] = 0.32), suggesting that children receiving morphological instruction performed significantly better on measures of literacy achievement than comparison groups. Moderator analyses showed that intervention effect varied depending on the literacy outcome. There were significant and moderate intervention effects on morphological knowledge ([dbar] = 0.44), phonological awareness ([dbar] = 0.48), vocabulary ([dbar] = 0.34), decoding ([dbar] = 0.59), and spelling ([dbar] = 0.30) but not on reading comprehension or fluency. Results also suggested differences in effectiveness related to age and research design but not unit of intervention, scope, length, and learner type. Effect sizes decrease by school level (e.g., greater for younger students than middle school and upper elementary students). Also, there were larger effects for quasi-experimental than experimental studies and for researcher-designed measures than for standardized measures. Implications for educational settings and research agendas are discussed.     

Validity of the VmaxST portable metabolic measurement system

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess and compare the validity of the portable VmaxST telemetry metabolic measurement device with that of a standard measurement system (Vmax29). Thirty asymptomatic, moderately active males provided written, informed consent and completed two maximal graded treadmill exercise tests (Bruce) using the VmaxST and the Vmax29 metabolic measurement systems. Tests were performed in random order on separate days to obtain peak values for time to exhaustion, heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, oxygen consumption ([Vdot]O₂), carbon dioxide production ([Vdot]CO₂), ventilation ([Vdot] _E), and respiratory exchange ratio (RER). Multivariate analysis of variance revealed no significant main effect (P = 0.88) between the two systems across any variable, suggesting similar measurement capabilities between the two systems. Linear regression analyses revealed moderate to high coefficients of determination for [Vdot]O₂ (r ² = 0.99), [Vdot]CO₂ (r ² = 0.99), [Vdot] _E (r ² = 0.99), and RER (r ² = 0.89). Furthermore, Bland-Altman analyses demonstrated that the VmaxST yielded similar values to the Vmax29, suggesting good agreement between the two systems. Agreement was confirmed when the differences between the methods resulted in a small range as identified by the 95% limits of agreement. Findings from the current study confirm that the VmaxST is a valid device for measuring metabolic and physiological variables during exercise within a controlled laboratory setting.     

A child's cognitive perception of death

Modern technology and health practices of people today have resulted in people living longer than ever before. Also, the institutions of the hospital and funeral home today make death more physically distant from the child's world. It is not uncommon for the past two generations to have grown up to middle adulthood and not to have experienced the death of an immediate family member (Lerner, 1976). As a result, death today is viewed more as an intrusion on normal reality (Gordan & Klass, 1979).Catherine Goodwin is Special Education Coordinator, College of Human Ecology, The University of Tennessee. Phyllis M. Davidson is Associate Professor, School of Home Economics, Tennessee Technological University.