Relationship between eye movement,learning, and picture complexity

Is the number of eye fixations a reliable external indicator of internal cognitive processes when subjects are unaware that their eye movements are being monitored electronically? In this study involving college students, there was a relationship between posttest scores and the number of eye fixations, and intelligence level of the subject was correlated with eye fixations.     

Congratulations or condolences? The role of human capital in the cultivation of a university administrator

Administrative skill is essential to organizational effectiveness. Yet, few studies examine how human capital investments over a career affect selection into administration. We use panel data for economists to estimate the probability of choosing administration over a pure academic track. The results show that, while research-specific human capital reduces the probability of becoming an administrator, general human capital increases it. There are also inferior administrative opportunities for women that have not improved over time and variation in the role of human capital according to institutional research mission. Thus, our results suggest academic leaders are not merely born, but cultivated through their human capital investments.     

Torsten Husén: A case of ethnocentrism in U.S. educational research?

This paper documents and discusses the lack of reference by U.S. educational researchers to the work of noted Swedish social scientist and educational researcher, Torsten Husén. The paucity of U.S. textbook or journal citations of Husén's writings and research is interpreted as an example of cultural ethnocentrism and academic imperialism in U.S. educational and psychological research. Crosscultural perspectives, interdisciplinary analyses, and global learning are proposed as methods of overcoming the methodological parochialism, overspecialization, and international fragmentation Husén describes as characteristic of much educational and social scientific research.     

A predictive validity study of the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children with the California Achievement Test

The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) was administered to 44 4th-, 5th-, and 6th-grade students. Six months later, all students received the California Achievement Test (CAT). Significant positive correlations were obtained between K-ABC variables and CAT scores. CAT subtest scores and total score correlated higher with the K-ABC ACHV scale than with the K-ABC SEQ, SIM, or MPC scales on 8 of the 12 comparisons. The results support the predictive utility of the K-ABC, and also provide support for the differential validity of the K-ABC achievement vs. mental processing scales.     

Scholarship and Research in the Graduate Program

In a report entitled Reshaping the Graduate Education of Scientists and Engineers (National Academy of Sciences, 1995), the Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy proposed a modified PhD training model that retains an emphasis on intensive research experiences, while incorporating additional experiences to prepare graduates for an increasingly diverse job market. The National Science Foundation (NSF) subsequently instituted the Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (IGERT) program to foster interdisciplinary training of doctoral students. Faculty in kinesiology graduate programs are often well positioned to contribute to such interdisciplinary training programs. We highlight an example of such a program, specifically the NSF IGERT program on Musculoskeletal and Neural Adaptations in Form and Function at Arizona State University. Both benefits and challenges of IGERT participation are considered.     

Modified Reciprocal Teaching in a Regular Classroom

This study was designed to increase reading comprehension and academic achievement of students through the use of a modified reciprocal teaching program. Modified reciprocal teaching involved small groups of students working together to read and comprehend a portion of text. The students took turns “teaching” these groups by assisting the rest of the group in selecting key words and phrases, summarizing, questioning, clarifying, and predicting. Students were randomly assigned to one of three seventh-grade regular education social studies classes. One class used modified reciprocal teaching twice a week for 8 weeks. The other two classes received a traditional instructional program. All classes were taught by the same teacher. Significant differences included higher scores on comprehension tests and writing samples, improvement in second-quarter social studies grades, and better conduct records for students who participated in modified reciprocal teaching. Several explanations for the superior performance of the modified reciprocal teaching group are hypothesized.     

Broadcasting

UNIVERSAL TELEVISION: THE STUDIO AND ITS PROGRAMS, 1950-1980, by Jeb H. Perry (1983, 499 pp.---$32.50)

LADIES OF THE EVENING: WOMEN CHARACTERS OF PRIME-TIME TELEVISION by Diana M. Meehan (1983, 202 pp.---$16.00)

TELEVISION DRAMA SERIES PROGRAMMING: A COMPREHENSIVE CHRONICLE, 1980-1982, by Larry James Gianakos (1983, 686 pp.---$45.00)

DUNCAN'S RADIO MARKET GUIDE by James H. Duncan, Jr. (Duncan Media Enterprises, P.O. Box 2966, Kalamazoo, MI 49003---$110, spiral bound)

MAKING IT IN RADIO by Dan Blume (Continental Media Company, 35 Forest Hills Lane, West Hartford, CT 06117---$9.95, paper)