The predictive validity of the Phelps Kindergarten Readiness Scale

This study assesses the predictive validity of the Phelps Kindergarten Readiness Scale (PKRS) for later academic achievement and explores the utility of a domain‐specific measure of kindergarten readiness. Kindergarten readiness scores were significantly correlated with both math and language arts achievement as measured by New York State fourth‐grade assessments for 148 students in a suburban, northeastern public school. In addition, each of the PKRS domains (Verbal, Perceptual, and Auditory) was correlated with later academic achievement. Two simultaneously calculated regression analyses showed that language arts skills were best predicted by the Verbal and Auditory domains of the PKRS and that math achievement was more complexly determined by all three readiness domains. Structural equation modeling using AMOS‐4 showed that the latent construct readiness, as measured by the PKRS domain scores, was positively and significantly related to the latent construct academic achievement. Finally, this relationship held when age, gender, and behavioral indices at the time of kindergarten screening were used as moderator variables. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 41: 509–516, 2004.     

Context effects and the processing of spoken homophones

This study examined the role of context effects in the processing of homophones in Chinese and Chinese-English bilingual speech. In Experiment 1, Chinese speakers were presented with successively gated portions of a homophone in a sentence context, and they identified the homophone on the basis of its increasing acoustic information. In Experiment 2, Chinese-English bilinguals were presented with a cross-language homophone in a sentence context, and they named a visual probe that had or did not have phonological overlaps with the homophone. Results indicate that prior sentence context has an early effect on the disambiguation of various homophone meanings, shortly after the acoustic onset of the word, in both monolingual and bilingual situations. The results are accounted for by interactive activation models of lexical processing, in which the recognition of a homophone is a result of the interactions among phonological, lexical, and contextual information at an early stage.     

Creating Persuasive Messages Advocating Organ Donation

Most people state that they would be willing to be organ donors, however only a small percentage of the population has actually signed an organ donor card. These studies focused on persuasive messages that encourage people to sign organ donor cards. In the first study, people reported their attitudes and knowledge involving organ donation. Results indicated that donor card signing was related to overall knowledge about donation. When only considering those people with positive attitudes toward organ donation, their overall knowledge about donation explained their willingness to sign organ donor cards. In the second study, people read a message involving organ donation before they were asked to sign an organ donor card. The content of the message (i.e., narrative vs. statistics) and the affect of the message (i.e., humorous vs. sad) were manipulated. Results indicated that narrative messages were more effective than statistical messages. Additionally, humorous messages were more effective than sad messages.     

Unintended consequences on gender diversity of high-tech growth and labor market polarization

There has been considerable media coverage highlighting the lack of gender diversity in Silicon Valley, stressing the relatively low participation of women in the high-tech economy. Austin offers a unique case for testing whether similar gender issues characterized other high-tech regions because the city has historically benefited from the expansion of Silicon Valley’s large high-tech firms since the 1980s. The gender-biased business practices identified in Silicon Valley firms may have been transferred to their branch plants in Austin. Our analysis shows women’s losses in middle-skill occupation employment shares were concentrated in the low-tech industry and were partially offset by job share gains in high-skill occupations in the same sector between 1980 and 2015. Men’s losses in middle-skill occupation job share were also mainly concentrated in the low-tech sector but were partially offset by employment share gains in high-skill occupations only in the high-tech industry during this period. Women made large gains in relative real median wages only in high-skill occupations in the high-tech industry while their relative real median wages in other skill occupations and in the low-tech industry stagnated around zero during this period. Men’s gains in relative median wages were also concentrated only in the high-tech industry but were less than half of women’s and were negative (between ?10 and ?21 percent) in other occupations in the high-tech industry and across all occupations in the low-tech industry. As noted in previous studies, the impact of job polarization is not well understood across sectors and gender. This study finds the high-tech industry in Austin has had unintended consequences in terms of job polarization across gender, providing relatively fewer job opportunities in high-skill occupations to women than men but offering much higher gains in relative real median wages to women than men. Males also found relatively more job opportunities in high-skill occupations in the high-tech industry than women but experienced only half of women’s gains in relative median wages in this industry between 1980 and 2015.     

University-industry relationships in the life sciences: Implications for students and post-doctoral fellows

Growth in the industrial support of university research in the life sciences and more specifically in biotechnology has raised questions concerning its effects, both positive and negative, on the educational experiences of graduate students and post-doctoral fellows. A survey of 693 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows at six research intensive universities in the United States reveals that 19 percent of the responding students and fellows receive direct industry support for their research or training and that another 15 percent work with faculty advisors supported by industrial funds. On average students and fellows in this sample believe that the benefits of relationships with private firms outweigh the risks. In addition, students funded by private firms are more likely than those without industry connections to report patents resulting from their research. No relationship is found between industry support and young scientists' career plans or their rating of the quality of their educational experiences. However, the data suggest the existence of some risks: industry support is associated with fewer or delayed publications, inhibition of scientific communication on the part of some trainees, and some restrictions on students' and fellows' research. In a few cases, students are supported by funds from companies in which faculty advisors hold equity, a situation that creates potential conflicts of interest for students' mentors. To protect students, university administrators must monitor the relationships with industry that give rise to these potential problems. Future research into industrial support of research and training is needed to extend these results.     

Customer participation and new product performance: Towards the understanding of the mechanisms and key contingencies

In a study of 243 firms of varying sizes across 14 different industries, we investigate the effect of customer participation on new product development performance. We confirm that overall customer participation is positively related to new product development performance and that the effect is mediated by innovativeness. We also demonstrate that these effects are contingent upon absorptive capacity of the firm in question such that firms with high absorptive capacity stand to gain more from engaging their customers in new product development than firms with low absorptive capacity, especially at the later stages of the NPD process. The results are robust to alternative estimation techniques, measures employed to operationalize key concepts, and the industrial makeup of the sample. Post hoc analyses provide non-trivial managerial implications for the decision makers at the firm level.     

Expanding opportunities to learn to support inclusive education through drama‐enhanced literacy practices

This study examines how the Early Years Educators at Play (EYEPlay) professional development (PD) programme supported inclusive learning settings for all children, including English language learners and students with disabilities. The EYEPlay PD model is a year‐long programme that integrates drama strategies into literacy practices within real‐classroom contexts. Inclusive education refers to ensuring equal opportunities to access and participation in learning activities for all students. Cultural‐historical activity theory was used to understand and unpack the drama practices. Twelve semi‐structured focus group interviews were conducted with 19 preschool teachers. The data were analysed via constant‐comparative and interpretive methods. The study findings showed that EYEPlay PD practices enhanced inclusive learning settings for diverse groups of students by increasing access and expanding opportunities to learn, and supporting a positive learning environment.     

Can alcohol sponsorship be diluted by health messaging?

Concerns surround the association between alcohol advertising and alcohol consumption amongst audiences. Research has examined the link in broadcast sports, yet limited attention is directed towards newer media. This paper examines whether there is a link between alcohol sponsorship in sports games and alcohol brand recall, recognition and choice, and whether in-game health messages moderate this association. Simulated games designed specifically for this study are used to observe whether in-game alcohol sponsorship combined with embedded health messages affect the player’s brand awareness. Findings highlight the influence of in-game alcohol sponsorship placement on brand awareness, yet embedded health messages do not impact consumer behaviours. This research provides evidence suggesting regulations in games may be warranted and further examination of health messaging in sponsor brand placement necessary.