Exploring the Relation Between Prenatal and Neonatal Complications and Later Autistic-Like Features in a Representative Community Sample of Twins

Prenatal and neonatal events were reported by parents of 13,690 eighteen-month-old twins enrolled in the Twins Early Development Study, a representative community sample born in England and Wales. At ages 7–8, parents and teachers completed questionnaires on social and nonsocial autistic-like features and parents completed the Childhood Asperger Syndrome Test. Correlations between prenatal and neonatal events and autistic-like features were weak, both in the whole sample ( r  = .00–.07) and at the 5% quantitative extreme (phenotypic group correlations = .01–.11), after controlling for socioeconomic status and cognitive ability. Neonatal problems showed modest heritability (13%–14%) and significant shared and nonshared environmental influences (55%–59% and 28%–31%, respectively). Differences in identical twins' neonatal problems correlated weakly with their difference scores on autistic-like features ( r  = .01–.06).     

Cognitive and socio-motivational aspects in learning with animations: there is more to it than ‘do they aid learning or not’

Animations have become a ubiquitous component of computer-based instruction. Despite their widespread use, however, the evidence concerning their effects on learning is rather ambiguous, suggesting that one needs to have a closer look at the conditions under which animations will aid learning. Accordingly, three sets of moderating variables were identified: (1) the degree of processing support that is used to enhance learning with animation, (2) the context in which the animation is being used (e.g., laboratory setting versus classroom), and (3) the domain that is illustrated by the animation. On the one hand, the studies reported in the current special issue investigate manipulations of these variables. On the other hand, the studies vary among each other with respect to these factors, thereby reflecting the enlarged range of current animation research.     

The acquisition of problem-solving skills in mathematics: How animations can aid understanding of structural problem features and solution procedures

In this paper the augmentation of worked examples with animations for teaching problem-solving skills in mathematics is advocated as an effective instructional method. First, in a cognitive task analysis different knowledge prerequisites are identified for solving mathematical word problems. Second, it is argued that so called hybrid animations would be most effective for acquiring these prerequisites, because they show the continuous transition from a concrete, but superficial problem representation to a more abstract, mathematical problem model that forms a basis for solving a problem. An experiment was conducted, where N = 32 pupils from a German high school studied either only text-based worked examples explaining different problem categories from the domain of algebra or worked examples augmented with hybrid animations. Learners with hybrid animations showed superior problem-solving performance for problems of different transfer distance relative to those in the text-only condition.     

“If I knew then what I know now”: Seropositive individuals' perceptions of partner trust,safety and risk prior to HIV infection

The purpose of this study was to examine personal and relational characteristics of HIV positive individuals. Forty HIV positive heterosexuals, who were infected through heterosexual sex, completed an on‐line questionnaire designed to assess perceived risk of HIV, perceived partner safety and trust, and reasons for these perceptions prior to HIV infection. Results indicated that prior to infection, HIV positive heterosexuals reported having similar sexual attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors to those not infected with the virus. Participants reported moderate to high levels of trust for their partners, low levels of perceived risk of infection, and high levels of perceived partner safety. A moderately strong, negative, linear relationship existed between perceived partner safety and partner trust and perceived risk. In addition, women perceived their partners as “safer”; than did men and those in serious relationships perceived their partners as safer than those in casual relationships. Results from this study shed light on the personal and relational characteristics of heterosexuals living with HIV and the utility of social comparison theory in raising awareness about HIV positive and negative individuals.     

The Managerial Turn in Higher Education? On the Interplay of Organizational and Occupational Change in German Academia

The managerial turn in academia is currently broadly discussed. Based on empirical data gathered from a sample that includes all German universities, we can give a broad and fine-grained account of this turn. What we can clearly see is that whole new categories of administrative management positions have been created over the last years. Furthermore, within the non-academic staff we can see a profound restructuration. Lower-level positions like those for clerical work decreased, while higher-level positions in the administration increased. However, and in contrast to studies of countries, we do not observe a general shift from academic to non-academic positions. In addition to the statistical analysis of survey data and personnel data, we conducted seventy in-depth interviews with heads of administrative management units, in particular those being created over the last two decades, for example, on quality control, technology transfer, and career service. Although we clearly see important changes indicating a managerial turn in higher education, core characteristics of a professional organization whose basic processes are ultimately controlled by academics and not by administrators or managers have been retained. These findings call for further cross-national research.     

A Two-Generation Education Intervention and Children’s Attendance in Head Start

Two-generation human capital programs seek to promote the education of parents and children simultaneously. This study examines relations between family participation in CareerAdvance, which recruits parents of Head Start children into a workforce training program, and children’s Head Start attendance. The sample included 293 children (on average 4 years old) and their parents. After one semester, CareerAdvance children demonstrated higher rates of attendance and lower rates of absence and chronic absence (missing 10% or more of school days) than matched comparison children. These associations were similar across a range of high- and low-risk subgroups at baseline. These findings are discussed in terms of the implications of a family systems approach for improving children’s Head Start attendance.     

The effects of realism in learning with dynamic visualizations

Two experiments are reported that investigated the relative effectiveness of a realistic dynamic visualization as opposed to a schematic visualization for learning about cell replication (mitosis). In Experiment 1, 37 university students watched either realistic or schematic visualizations. Students' subjective task demands ratings as well as their performance in a multiple-choice test and a pictorial test clearly demonstrated the superiority of the schematic dynamic visualization. In Experiment 2, 83 students were given the two visualizations in four different orders of presentation. Students showed the same performance irrespective of whether they watched the schematic visualization twice, first saw the schematic and then the realistic visualization or vice versa. Only students, who watched the realistic visualization twice, had far lower learning outcomes. Contrary to our expectations, for both experiments, students' prior knowledge did not moderate the results.     

Origins of individual differences in imitation: links with language, pretend play, and socially insightful behavior in two-year-old twins

Imitation, vocabulary, pretend play, and socially insightful behavior were investigated in 5,206 same- and opposite-sex 2-year-old twin pairs in the United Kingdom. Individual differences in imitative ability were due to modest heritability (30%), while environmental factors shared between twins (42%) and unique to each twin (28%) also made significant contributions to the variance. Imitation correlated significantly, although modestly, with vocabulary, pretend play, and socially insightful behavior, and the strongest relationship was with vocabulary. A model that represented the covariance between the variables as being due to correlated latent genetic and environmental factors fitted the data well, with shared environmental factors influencing most of the covariance. Parents who encourage imitation may also tend to foster the development of language, pretence, and socially insightful behavior.     

Navigating with inner knowing and awakened presence: an approach to leading in a complex world

What are our options if we have to let go of the idea of controllability in our ever more complex world? What tools do we have to navigate in a territory that we can’t ‘manage’ anymore, where the old instruments of command and control have lost their grip? What makes us ‘know’ when intellectual knowing capitulates in the face of complexity? This paper presents an action learning approach in four phases that explores how intuition or other forms of inner knowing can be used as a resource in leadership and organisational change. It looks at what helps us access ways of inner knowing in complex situations and how a learning process could take place in the corporate context. The endeavour aims at exploring and actualising dormant potential to navigate the volatility, uncertainty and complexity of our business environment whilst embodying and radiating our purpose and vision.