A taxonomy and research framework for personalization in children’s literacy apps

This paper reviews the key types of personalization in children’s literacy apps to propose a taxonomy and research framework for future empirical studies Systematic content analysis was used to identify the amount and type of personalization in a hundred most popular children’s literacy apps/digital books. Titles with three and more personalization features were screened qualitatively to identify what can be personalized, how personalization occurs and who personalizes the experience. Similar themes were synthesized into a research framework that outlines how identity, self-evaluation and agency relate to personalization. The discussion sets the agenda for future research, design and evaluation of children’s digital books.     

Building alliance for preschool inclusion: Parents of typically developing children,attitudes and perceptions

The current study investigated perceptions, thoughts, and attitudes of parents of typically developing children enrolled in inclusive 3-year-old and 4-year-old preschool classrooms. Using a qualitative approach, guided by ecological system theory semi-structured interviews with parents (N = 7) were completed. Several common themes related to inclusive preschool interactions were identified. Results indicated that parental perspectives, perceptions, and experiences vary. While parents were supportive of inclusion philosophy in child care centers, they felt less confident in their ability to explain the limitations associated with special needs to their young children. Parental support and involvement within inclusive preschool classrooms may be strengthened through the development of educational programs and family–professional partnerships. The role and involvement of teachers in facilitating parental support of inclusion philosophy is also addressed.     

Relation of field independence and test-item format to student performance on written piagetian tests

In this study we have investigated the relationship between the field-dependence-independence (FDI) dimension as measured by the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) and subject performance on the Longeot test, a pencil-and-paper Piagetian test, through the open or closed format of its items. The sample consisted of 141 high school students. Correlation and variance analysis show that the FDI dimension and GEFT correlate significantly on only those items on the Longeot test that require formal reasoning. The effect of open- or closed-item format is found exclusively for formal items; only the open format discriminates significantly (at the 0.01 level) between the field-dependent and -independent subjects performing on this type of item. Some implications of these results for science education are discussed.     

Voices from the Ground Up: Transfer of Learning within the Context of Research and Study Activities

A mid-sized university library system conducted a large-scale mixed-methods research project intended to understand better the student library experience and ways to enhance it. One aspect of the project included a detailed and iterative analysis of interview data. Using a grounded theory (GT) approach, researchers analyzed empirical data from student interviews and identified patterns of behavior. The results of data analyses suggested that students used knowledge and interactions from library class to inform them of how to study academic content and complete non-research tasks and vice versa. As a result, researchers generated an inductive (emerging from the data) theory that asserts that some research and study activities are mutually informative. The article describes the approach used to develop the theoretical construct in hopes that it will provide a deeper understanding of the relationship between research and studying behaviors and how academic libraries contribute to the greater academic landscape in ways not previously recognized.     

Is Online Learning the Silver Bullet for Men of Color? An Institutional-Level Analysis of the California Community College System

The spread of online courses and programs in community colleges across the nation has contributed to a redefinition of open-access education. Accordingly, the growth in online courses has drawn attention to the value of different instructional modalities, particularly with regard to their effectiveness in learning, retention, and success. As a result, this study sought to determine whether or not there were differences in students’ academic success and course retention for community college men by racial/ethnic affiliation. This study used institutional data on men enrolled in California’s community college system to provide greater insight into the effect of online learning on student success. Findings illustrated that Asian, Black, Latino, and White men were more likely to have higher success outcomes when engaged in face-to-face modalities. There were no clear patterns in which online modality was better than others with regards to success, except for Black men. For these men, asynchronous with multimedia was identified as the second most effective online modality pertaining to success. This research has demonstrated the manifold benefits of face-to-face instruction. As such, face-to-face courses seemed to be the best type of modality for community college men. For that reason, careful consideration must be taken when promoting online learning to Asian, Black, Latino, and White men in community colleges. Though, further research is needed to better understand variation in the presentation of online learning materials and the structure of interactions within online classrooms.     

Differences between skilled and less‐skilled young readers in the retrieval of semantic,phonological, and shape information

This study aimed to determine whether the reading skills of third‐grade schoolchildren are associated with their preferences for semantic, phonological, and shape competitors (images or printed words) after being exposed to a spoken critical word. Two groups of children participated: skilled readers and less‐skilled readers. Through a language‐mediated visual search, children's fixations on the three competitors and a distractor were measured. When looking at images, both groups of readers preferred to look at the semantic competitor. When reading words, both groups showed a preference for the phonological competitor, but only skilled readers were sensitive to semantic information. These results suggest that early reading skills influence access to different types of representations in response to hearing a word, and they confirm the existence of a cascaded activation of information retrieval in childhood.     

The Development of E-Commerce in Mexico: A Business-Led Passing Boom or a Step Toward the Emergence of a Digital Economy?

Since its inception in the early 1990s, e-commerce has grown swiftly in Mexico, making inroads into some of the most dynamic sectors of the Mexican economy. The actual extent of e-commerce use, however, is still very limited, as diffusion is hindered by both the low income levels of most Mexican households and the fact that the overwhelming majority of business establishments are very small, lacking the resources to invest in computers and the business culture to go online. This article examines the emergence of e-commerce in Mexico arguing that the main drivers of the process have been the initiatives of large private firms and the work of specialized organizations. It concludes that this is not just a passing boom but a concrete step toward the rise of an Internet-based economy in Mexico along the lines of the New Economy that took shape in the United States in the 1990s and is assumed to spread into developing nations.     

I. CHILDREN IN INSTITUTIONAL CARE: DELAYED DEVELOPMENT AND RESILIENCE

Children exposed to institutional care often suffer from “structural neglect” which may include minimum physical resources, unfavorable and unstable staffing patterns, and socially emotionally inadequate caregiver‐child interactions. This chapter is devoted to the analysis of the ill effects of early institutional experiences on resident children's development. Delays in the important areas of physical, hormonal, cognitive, and emotional development are discussed. The evidence for and against the existence of a distinctive set of co‐occurring developmental problems in institutionalized children is weighed and found to not yet convincingly demonstrate a “postinstitutional syndrome.” Finally, shared and nonshared features of the institutional environment and specific genetic, temperamental, and physical characteristics of the individual child are examined that might make a crucial difference in whether early institutional rearing leaves irreversible scars.