Normalization of titles and their retrieval

This paper presents a method of normalizations of English titles and their retrieval. The title expressed by a noun phrase or a noun clause is converted to a function-expression by parsing. For the retrieval with a reasonable recall rate as well as a high precision rate, the function-expression is transformed to a predicate-governor form, and then normalized to a standard form. Therefrom, various items are extracted and recorded in a hierarchical tree-like inverted file.In order to keep the recall rate in a reasonable value, several retrieval stages are implemented based on the key-term and case-label matching. The retrieval is controlled by the preciseness of the specification of case-labels for each key-term.     

Typing Performance and Technique of Higher Education Students with Specific Learning Disorders

Higher education students with specific learning disorders (SLD) often experience difficulties in basic learning skills, including typing on computers, which has become the most common writing mode for academic purposes. This may affect their academic performance. We compared the typing performance, product, and technique (screen gaze, finger use) of 35 SLD and 30 typically developing (TD) students using keylogging software. Compared to TD peers, students with SLD typed more slowly and less accurately, and gazed less at the screen, suggesting a less effective typing technique. They typed slower even after controlling for screen gaze, implying that additional factors may account for their lower typing speed such as language processing. Hence, students with SLD may benefit from typing instruction alongside test accommodations during computer-based exams.     

Active recovery effects by previously inactive muscles on 40-s exhaustive cycling

Abstract

The effects of active recovery using previously active and inactive muscle groups on power output and respiratory responses were examined. Ten male volunteers underwent two exhaustive 40-s bouts of leg cycling (1st Ex and 2nd Ex), separated by a 20-min recovery period. The recovery conditions were leg (Leg-Active) or arm (Arm-Active) cranking at 50% ventilatory threshold (VT), or sedentary control (Passive). The total output work (Total work) during the 2nd Ex in the Leg-Active condition was significantly higher than that in the Passive (299 vs. 282 J · kg body mass^?1 (J · BM^?1)). The values of Total work, peak [Vdot]O₂ and peak heart rate during the 2nd Ex were significantly higher than those during the 1st Ex in both Leg- and Arm-Active. Total CO₂excess after the 1st Ex was significantly higher than that after the 2nd Ex (67.6 vs. 26.0 ml · BM^?1) in Passive. After the 2nd Ex, the Total CO₂excess in the Leg-Active (51.5 ml · BM^?1) was significantly higher than that in both the Passive (26.0) and Arm-Active (36.5), with Arm-Active being significantly higher than Passive. The recovery exercise using previously inactive muscles improved respiratory compensation ability related to performance enhancement.     

ONE TEACHER, TWO LESSONS: THE LESSON STUDY PROCESS

In this paper, we analyze 2 lessons by 1 teacher that took place during a lesson study (LS) cycle for a team of elementary mathematics teachers. We analyze the data on 2 levels: macro-level analysis, dealing with lesson structure and setting; and micro-level analysis, zooming in on mathematical tasks and the quality of whole-class discussion. We analyze teacher participation in LS to identify the main mechanisms leading to changes in teaching observed between the 2 lessons. We argue that collaborative noticing, collaborative awareness, and brainstorming are the core mechanisms of teacher change in the course of LS.     

Implementing a national policy initiative to support education for sustainable development: lessons from Taiwan’s Environmental Education Act

Educational Research for Policy and Practice - This policy ethnography focuses on a nationwide environmental and sustainability education policy that was developed and enacted in response to United...     

Social Competence of Learning Disabled Children: Cognitive and Emotional Aspects

The aim of the study was to investigate the structure of social competence among learning disabled children, as reported by themselves and their teachers, and the cognitive and emotional aspects that mediate its level. The sample consisted of 40 learning disabled children and 37 matched nondisabled children. Within Harter's competence model and Schaefer's spherical model, the learning disabled group demonstrated lower levels of competence and adjustment and a less mature concept of competence than did their peers. The social competence of the learning disabled children was accounted for by emotional and physical aspects of competence, similar to that found in younger and in children with an intellectual disability, whereas the social competence of the nondisabled peers was accounted for by a combination of academic, cognitive and self‐esteem aspects. Teachers rated the social competence of both groups of children as mediated by introversion and general competence. However, teachers added physical competence to the explanation of the learning disabled group's social competence, whereas they added task orientation to the explanation for the nondisabled group. Intervention planning should be geared toward increasing the social competence of LD children, through alerting teachers to their less mature self‐competence concept, with its special emphasis on nonacademic aspects.     

Effects of the inclination of context lines on perception of the Ponzo illusion by pigeons

Pigeons discriminated the length of a bar located between two context lines. Responses to one key were reinforced when the bar was longer than a predetermined length, and those to the other key were reinforced when the bar was shorter. The inclination of the context lines was systematically varied from 54.6° (converging upward) to 125.4° (converging downward). Five out of 6 subjects tended to report “long” when the bars were located near the apex of the context lines, regardless of whether the context lines were oriented upward or downward. The magnitude of the illusion varied almost linearly with the ratio of the length of the stimulus bar to the gap between the bar and the context lines. This relationship held equally for upward- and downward-converging context lines.