Variation in Vocabulary Development as a Function of Birth Order

Several researchers have argued for birth-order differences in the rate and style of children's early vocabulary development. However, the results of those studies that have examined these issues directly have so far proved inconclusive. In the present study, an attempt was made to examine the question of birth-order differences in children's early vocabulary development by comparing the composition and age of acquisition of the first 50 and 100 words of 9 firstborns and their younger siblings using a longitudinal maternal diary methodology. A small but significant birth-order effect was found for the age at which the 50-word milestone was reached. However, there was no significant difference in age at 100 words, and there was a strong correlation between sibling pairs on both of these measures. As regards qualitative differences, second-borns had a significantly higher percentage of frozen phrases in their first 100 words and a significantly higher percentage of deictic personal pronouns in their first 50 and 100 words. However, no differences were found in the percentage of common nouns at either measurement point. It is argued that, on balance, these results are more consistent with a "different" than a "disadvantaged" view of later-borns' early language, and that those differences that do exist may be due, at least in part, to the occurrence of a higher degree of observational learning in second-borns' early language acquisition.     

Teaching in the shadow: operators of small shadow education institutions in Japan

The shadow education sector plays a centrally important role in the Japanese education system. Advocates of Japanese shadow education institutions, or juku, claim that the pedagogy employed in these schools leads to superior results compared to teaching methods used in conventional schools. The lack of value-added testing of juku results suggests that these claims have not been tested. In this article, I examine the background of the owner– operators of small juku and the challenges they face in hiring teaching staff. The small juku examined were mostly founded during the juku-boom of the early 1970s and continue to teach 100–200 students with a staff usually numbering more than 10 part-time or full-time teachers. I find that almost no operators or employees come to the shadow education business by design. Instead, owner–operators “slide into” their role for lack of alternative options, or through early success, or through frustration with previous careers. Subsequently, many of the owner–operators embrace their work as a pedagogical calling. In hiring teaching staff, owner–operators circumvent the larger employment market by hiring their own “graduates”.     

Inside outreach: a challenge for health sciences librarians.

OBJECTIVE: Like medical and health sciences libraries throughout the country, the Lamar Soutter Library (LSL) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School is dealing with ever-increasing outreach needs in times of diminishing funding. With the goal of reshaping the library's outreach program to better serve our patron groups, the Outreach Study Group was formed to investigate existing models of outreach. METHODS: The group initially examined the current literature and subsequently conducted a nationwide survey of medical and health sciences libraries to identify trends in outreach. This article details the methods used for the survey, including establishing criteria for selecting participants, determining the focus, and developing and conducting the survey. RESULTS: Of the 40 libraries invited to participate, 63% completed the survey. An analysis of the data revealed successes, problems, and trends. The group's conclusions led to recommendations for the LSL's future outreach efforts. CONCLUSIONS: Analysis of the data revealed key findings in the areas of strategic planning, funding, and evaluation. A thoughtful definition of outreach ensures that outreach activities are expressions of the library's mission. Funding shifts require flexible programs. Evaluation provides data necessary to create new programs, sustain successful ones, and avoid repeating mistakes.     

Evaluating the validity of the Automated Working Memory Assessment

The aim of the present study was to investigate the construct stability and diagnostic validity of a standardised computerised tool for assessing working memory: the Automated Working Memory Assessment (AWMA). The purpose of the AWMA is to provide educators with a quick and effective tool to screen for and support those with memory impairments. Findings indicate that working memory skills in children with memory impairments are relatively stable over the course of the school year. There was also a high degree of convergence in performance between the AWMA and the WISC‐IV Working Memory Index. The educational implications are discussed.     

How global companies communicate in host country: a glocalization strategy in web space

Corporate web sites have significant roles in building a positive image with stakeholders, particularly in a host market environment with different cultural backgrounds and values. A content analysis was conducted to study the glocalization strategies of corporate web sites and depiction of cultural values of 47 international brands which were identified as having Indonesian web sites. The four types of glocalization strategies of corporate web site content differed in the depiction of cultural values on their web sites. The differences could be found in overall analysis and four of five cultural dimensions such as collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance and high context communication. It integrates the theory of glocalization strategy and cultural values in the context of cyberspace, which represents a pioneering attempt in investigating the aforementioned issue.     

The keyword effect: A conceptual replication,effects on bias,and an optimization

Metacognition and Learning - Prompting learners to generate keywords after a delay is a promising means to enhance relative judgment accuracy in learning from texts. However, to date, conceptual...