Parental Structuring in Response to Toddler Negative Emotion Predicts Children’s Later Use of Distraction as a Self-Regulation Strategy for Waiting

Structuring is a parental response to young children’s behavior that may foster children’s attempts to use cognitive skills to engage in self-regulation. Using a rural, economically strained sample, parental structuring in response to 127 eighteen-month-olds’ negative emotion was observed during a home visit. Children’s distraction, a useful cognitive strategy when waiting for a reward, was assessed during a laboratory wait task at 18, 24, 36, and 48 months. More frequent parental structuring at child age 18 months predicted more developmental growth in children’s use of distraction between 18 and 48 months, in contrast with parental directives. Consistent with Kopp’s (1989) framework, parental structuring may capitalize on children’s cognitive development to play a unique role in fostering children’s self-regulation of negative emotion.     

Lighthill and his art of mathematical modelling

Lighthill modeled the flow of blood through a narrow capillary involving the passage of individual red blood cells through it in a single file. The study involved the motion of relatively tightly fitting pellets of solid matter forced along distensible tubes. The equations governing the motion and suitable boundary conditions are formulated. The mathematical highlight of Lighthill’s model is the use of the method of matched asymptotic expansion in six layers.     

Arrow’s impossibility theorem

In this article a number of voting models are considered and the drawbacks of each are indicated. The aim is to develop a voting method, which is based on individual preferences and which finally represents the choice of society. Arrow’s theorem addresses this problem.     

Engagement in Academic Work: The Role of Learning Goals, Future Consequences, Pleasing Others, and Perceived Ability

Engagement in academic work was viewed from a multiple goals perspective. Two studies were conducted in which high school math students completed an instrument measuring five goals students might have for doing academic work (learning goals, performance goals, obtaining future consequences, pleasing the teacher, and pleasing the family), perceived math ability, self-regulatory activities, strategies (deep or shallow) used when studying for math, and the amount of effort and persistence expended on the class. Factor analysis indicated that the five goals scales and the perceived ability scale represented unique factors. The correlations among the variables revealed theoretically consistent interrelationships. Multiple regression analyses indicated that various goals (e.g., learning goals, obtaining future consequences, and pleasing the teacher), perceived ability, and some interactions accounted for significant amounts of variance in the task engagement measures (self-regulation, strategy use, effort, and persistence) and achievement. Results are discussed in relation to current theory and their practical implications.     

Techno‐pedagogy and the Conversational Learning Paradigm: Delivering the Curriculum at the Centre for Individual Language Learning

Techno‐pedagogy or the powerful combination of various technologies and pedagogy provides new opportunities to support a range of learning environments. This article describes how the Centre for Individual Language Learning (CILL) at Temasek Polytechnic in Singapore applies techno‐pedagogy to a conversational self‐organised learning (S‐O‐L) environment. The concept of S‐O‐L is explained in terms of conversational constractivist learning events within a social context. We also review the pedagogy of S‐O‐L in terms of delivering task management components within a learning organisation. We then show how the CILL facility functions as a self‐organised conversational learning environment with its adapted working model of S‐O‐L pedagogy. We then discuss the three key technologies available in CILL and explain how the integration of these three technologies provides for a conversational scaffolding learning environment that helps deliver the CILL curriculum. This pedagogic process facilitates in learners the development of independent learning skills through both collaborative and individualized language learning encounters that enables them to take increased responsibility for self‐organising their own learning in both school and the community. The article concludes by discussing the benefits of techno‐pedagogic solutions and how these have shaped learning within a self‐organised conversational learning environment at CILL.     

Evaluation of serum adenosine deaminase and 5′-nucleotidase activities as probable markers in ovarian cancer

Adenosine deaminase (ADA) and 5′-nucleotidase (5′-NT) activities were measured in sera of patients with ovarian cancer and patients with benign ovarian tumour. The results were compared with that of a control group consisting of healthy women. ADA levels were significantly increased (P<0.001) in the ovarian cancer group (n=50) but not in the benign group (n=28) when compared to the controls (n=20). The results indicate that ADA and 5′-NT levels may help to differentiate malignant conditions from benign tumours of the ovary in addition to the existing tests such as serum CA-125 levels and histopathological study.