Verbal and Behavioral Responsiveness to the Cries of Atypical Infants

A total of 176 subjects (53 male students, 65 female students, and 58 mothers) were exposed to 1 of 6 types of infant cries coming from an adjacent room while their behavioral and affective responses were observed. The cries were the pain cries of 2 normal newborns, 1 infant with maladie du cri du chat, 1 with Down syndrome, 1 asphyxiated infant with brain damage, and one asphyxiated infant without brain damage. Subsequently the subjects rated the overhead cry on a series of affective, attributional, and perceptual dimensions. The results indicated that the 6 cries differentially affected the subjects' affective, self-reported, and behavioral responses, as well as their tendency to report not hearing the cry. In general, the findings suggested that the highest- pitched cries (those of the asphyxiated infants), in comparison to the lowest-pitched cries (those of the normal and Down infants), elicited less optimal responses from the listeners.     

Aspects and the overlap function

It is intuitively clear that putting the cart before the horse is not the same as putting the horse before the cart. It is equally clear that a history of philosophy is different from a philosophy of history. Yet there is no logical relationship, like the AND/OR/NOT functions, which would enable manipulation of these permuted, non-commutative, relationships. In this paper we present a system for automatic handling of ordered sets, states based on these sets, and of differing points of view regarding a Universe of Discourse. We call what we are dealing with aspects and we represent them by means of a new logical function called the Overlap function.     

Assessment of interrater and intermethod agreement in the kinesiology literature

The purpose of this article was two-fold (1) provide an overview of the commonly reported and under-reported absolute agreement indices in the kinesiology literature for continuous data; and (2) present examples of these indices for hypothetical data along with recommendations for future use. It is recommended that three types of information be reported as evidence for agreement because no one type is superior to another. Report one graphical display (bivariate plot of raw scores with identity line or Bland-Altman plot), one scaled index (intraclass correlation coefficient with agreement definition or Lin’s Concordance Correlation Coefficient), and at least one unscaled index (root mean squared deviation, total deviation index, coverage probability, or limits of agreement) when there are two methods/raters with no replication. The amount of information recommended exceeds what has commonly been reported in absolute agreement studies published in the kinesiology literature.     

Quality Child Care: At Whose Expense?

Quality child care is related to the number of adequately prepared practitioners who are available to children on a long-term basis. Unfortunately, child care practitioners subsidize the true cost of quality child care by working for substandard wages, few benefits, and little recognition of their true worth. The need for adequate compensation for qualified caregivers is the most critical issue facing the profession, because adequate compensation enables trained and educated caregivers to remain in the field, invest in professional development, and it also attracts new students into the field. The true cost of quality should be shared by all members of society, for everyone benefits from investing in the citizens of the future.     

Tackling California’s Class Size Reduction policy initiative: an up close and personal account of how teachers and learners responded

This chapter examines some effects of California’s Class Size Reduction (CSR) policy on teachers and pupils in four elementary schools over a two year period using interviews and participant observation. Among the main findings from the interviews, confirmed by the observations, was that while teachers found classes with 20 pupils easier to teach, they did not initially consider the possibility of changing practice in order to maximize the advantages of the smaller classes. In the second year there were slight increases in the amounts of individual attention pupils received, particularly feedback, and teachers expressed greater confidence when making assessments. Pupils’ reactions were generally positive although some expressed the view that in larger classes they got more help from friends. There were several unanticipated effects; for example, some older grade teachers with larger classes expressed resentment because of their higher administrative and marking loads.     

Interactive technology: Can children construct their own technological design briefs?

This paper presents a study of the design questions that children ask as they work technologically in school. Thirty-nine school aged children's technological work on “cubby building” is mapped and discussed. Data sources included video recording, worksamples, photographs with annotations of work in progress and when completed, and ethnographic field notes. The findings support the view that children's design questions and briefs arise at various points throughout the lesson sequence, demonstrating the iterative nature of design, make and appraise within and across lessons. The formulation of design questions evolved as children interacted, negotiated, played and worked in technological ways. For young children, playing with the “product” or “process” was an important part of working technologically. For the older children, the possession of technological skills for joining materials to achieve the desired outcome was a key factor.     

Girl's Education in Zambia: Everyone's Responsibility -- A Policy Framework for Participatory Process

This paper is based on a panel in which the four authors participated at the 10th World Congress of Comparative Education Societies in Cape Town in July 1998. The overall focus of the panel was on how an initiative to promote girl's education in Zambia -- involving governments, NGOs, donor organizations, teachers and girls themselves -- has influenced policy development to the point where the Zambian Ministry of Educaion now has clear directives on girl's education. The authors analyse some of the important factors that contributed to this outcome.