Gender labels and early sex role development.

A series of tests was designed for 24-, 30-, and 36-month-old children to measure their ability to apply various gender labels to the appropriate sexes, their capacity to place themselves in their own gender category, and their usage of labels to guide preference behavior. Also, the child's awareness of sex role stereotyping and the relationship of the above measures to parental SES and sex role attitudes were examined. In general, unlike the younger children, the oldest children consistently applied gender labels properly, were certain of their own gender, used same-sex gender labels to guide behavior, and were aware of sex role stereotyping. There was no relation between these measures and demographic variables.     

Genetics with Jean: the design,development and evaluation of an affective tutoring system

This paper details the design, development and evaluation of an affective tutoring system (ATS)—an e-learning system that detects and responds to the emotional states of the learner. Research into the development of ATS is an active and relatively new field, with many studies demonstrating promising results. However, there is often no practical way to apply these findings in real-world settings. The ATS described in this paper utilizes a generic affective application model to infer and appropriately respond to the learner’s affective state. This approach brings several advantages, notably the potential direct support for re-use and retrospective addition of affect sensing functionality into existing e-learning software. Skin conductivity and heart rate variability measurements were used to infer affective activation and valence. The evaluation involved an experiment in which the effectiveness of the fully functional ATS was compared with that of a non-affective version, and was conducted with 40 adult participants. The evaluation of the effectiveness of this tutoring system showed that measurable improvements in perceived learning may be obtained with a modest level of software development.     

SUPPORT NEEDS OF CHILDREN WITH INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES: AGE‐RELATED IMPLICATIONS FOR ASSESSMENT

The Supports Intensity Scale–Children's Version (SIS‐C) was developed to assess the support needs of children and youth aged 5 to 16 years with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Data from the standardization sample of the SIS‐C were analyzed to evaluate the impact of the age cohorts (5–6, 7–8, 9–10, 11–12, 13–14, and 15–16 years) used to stratify the sample on the measurement model, as well as the latent means, standard deviations, and correlations. The findings confirmed measurement invariance across age cohorts, but suggested that at the latent level, younger children, generally, have more intensive support needs and that as students with intellectual disability age, their support needs decrease. In addition, the 15‐ to 16‐year‐old cohort displayed differences in terms of the strength of correlations between support need domains, with stronger correlations than the other age groups. Implications for future research and practice are described.     

Initial hydration status, fluid balance, and psychological affect during recreational exercise in adults

There is little information on the impact of hydration status on the psychological response to exercise despite potential implications for adherence to an exercise programme and for overall health and fitness. We investigated initial hydration status, fluid balance, and psychological responses associated with a typical recreational exercise session in healthy adults. Fifty-two participants performed a freely chosen gymnasium-based exercise session at a fitness centre, with ad libitum access to fluids. Urine samples were collected on arrival for analysis of osmolality. Sweat loss was estimated from the change in body mass after correction for fluid intake and urinary losses. Subjective psychological ratings were recorded before and after exercise. Pre-exercise urine osmolality was above 900 mOsmol · kg(-1) (used as a threshold for hypohydration) in 37% of participants. Fluid intake during exercise was 390 ± 298 mL, while estimated sweat loss was 794 ± 391 mL. The percentage change from pre-exercise body mass was -0.62 ± 0.20%. Physically active adults who arrived to take part in exercise hypohydrated reported more negative changes in psychological affect in response to their subsequent freely chosen recreational exercise session than those classified as euhydrated prior to exercise (-0.2 ± 0.7 vs. 0.8 ± 0.7; P < 0.005).     

Is undergraduate debt an impediment to postgraduate enrolment in England?

Changes to undergraduate student funding arrangements in England have prompted concerns that increased indebtedness will deter graduates from postgraduate study. While it is clear that student debt has increased substantially in recent years, international evidence is equivocal on whether such debt is a deterrent to further study and there is hardly any prior research on this topic in the UK context. Using a large‐scale survey of 2009 and 2012 graduates from six selective English universities, we investigate the association between undergraduate debt, other graduate characteristics and progression to postgraduate study. We find some association of higher debt levels with lower rates of progression to postgraduate study, although this reduces when controlling for other factors, such as degree‐level attainment and subject discipline. Within a multivariate logistic regression model predicting progression to postgraduate study we find that debt is not a statistically significant predictor, although other characteristics are important. This indicates, we suggest, that underlying financial resources, rather than debt per se, are critical in enabling access to postgraduate study. We consider the implications of recently announced loans for postgraduate study in England given these findings.     

A design study of a multimedia instructional grammar program with embedded tracking

This is a design study meant to demonstrate the feasibility of integrating three rather different theoretical perspectives for future efforts in multimedia instructional design. A multimedia instructional grammar program contextualized within the teaching of English as a Second Language (ESL) was developed and evaluated. The program design was grounded in Mayer’s multimedia learning theory (2001), Sweller’s cognitive load theory (CLT, 2005), and cognitive training theory using an inductive reasoning paradigm (Klauer and Phye, Rev Educ Res 78(1):85–124, 2008). A successful integration of cognitive training theory into program design is expected to facilitate the transition of student’s declarative knowledge of a grammar concept of passive voice to procedural knowledge (Phye, Contemp Educ Psychol 16:87–94, 1991; Phye et al., Empirical methods for evaluating educational interventions, Academic Press/Elsevier, San Diego, 2005). Two studies involving ten and four adult ESL learners were conducted in a Midwest community college. Grammar teaching occurred within the context of history and geography of the USA. Students with low prior knowledge of passive voice grammar concepts, intermediate level of general vocabulary, and adequate basic knowledge of content (basic geography and history) benefited most from the program. Preliminary results are encouraging for the aforementioned integrative efforts.     

Modeling and Diagnosing Domain Knowledge Using Latent Semantic Indexing

A Latent Semantic Index (LSI) was constructed from arguments made by navy officers concerning events in an anti-air warfare scenario. A model based on LSI factor values predicted level of domain expertise with 89% accuracy. The LSI factor space was reduced using MDS to five dimensions: aircraft route, aircraft response, kinematics, localization, and an unclassifiable element. Arguments in the localization category were reliably more common among officers with the greatest expertise. Automated classification of arguments into these elements achieved 84% accuracy. LSI may be a useful tool for automating aspects of modeling expertise and diagnosing knowledge deficiencies.     

A confirmatory factor analysis of the hendrick‐hendrick love attitudes scale: We may not yet have an acceptable model

Loving is a fundamental aspect of being human. Freud himself argued that the inability to love leads to illness, and some empirical research appears to support his view. Yet our knowledge of the nature of love remains primitive, because until recently it was not considered scientifically respectable to investigate love phenomena. This study used confirmatory factor analytic methods to test the fit of various models to data provided by 499 subjects on the 1990 version of the Hendrick and Hendrick Love Attitudes Scale. The results suggest that counselors and researchers should not treat the love styles delineated by Lee as discrete or uncorrelated entities. The results also suggest that the traditional model regarding this measure, positing (a) six factors (b) that are uncorrelated, may not provide a very good fit to data from the Love Attitudes Scale.