Parental Age and Offspring Childhood Mental Health: A Multi-Cohort,Population-Based Investigation

To examine the contributions of maternal and paternal age on offspring externalizing and internalizing problems, this study analyzed problem behaviors at age 10–12 years from four Dutch population-based cohorts (N = 32,892) by a multiple informant design. Bayesian evidence synthesis was used to combine results across cohorts with 50% of the data analyzed for discovery and 50% for confirmation. There was evidence of a robust negative linear relation between parental age and externalizing problems as reported by parents. In teacher-reports, this relation was largely explained by parental socio-economic status. Parental age had limited to no association with internalizing problems. Thus, in this large population-based study, either a beneficial or no effect of advanced parenthood on child problem behavior was observed.     

A probability ranking principle for interactive information retrieval

The classical Probability Ranking Principle (PRP) forms the theoretical basis for probabilistic Information Retrieval (IR) models, which are dominating IR theory since about 20 years. However, the assumptions underlying the PRP often do not hold, and its view is too narrow for interactive information retrieval (IIR). In this article, a new theoretical framework for interactive retrieval is proposed: The basic idea is that during IIR, a user moves between situations. In each situation, the system presents to the user a list of choices, about which s/he has to decide, and the first positive decision moves the user to a new situation. Each choice is associated with a number of cost and probability parameters. Based on these parameters, an optimum ordering of the choices can the derived—the PRP for IIR. The relationship of this rule to the classical PRP is described, and issues of further research are pointed out.

Advocating for a More Effective Critical Pedagogy by Examining Structural Obstacles to Critical Educational Reform

Since a major purpose of critical pedagogy is to change society by changing schools, critical pedagogy must gain an increased presence within K-12 schools. For this to happen, however, critical educators must begin to more fully recognize and appreciate the structural obstacles that schools present to critical educational change. This paper examines three of these obstacles: schools’ nature as public institutions, the fact that schools change reform efforts, and the relationship between ‘first-order’ and ‘second-order’ change and the types of changes for which criticalists often advocate. The paper ends by encouraging a smaller, more practical critical pedagogy that is focused on tangible and meaningful effect.     

Refining a learning progression of energy

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a revised learning progression for the energy concept and initial findings on diverse progressions among subgroups of sample students. The revised learning progression describes how students progress towards an understanding of the energy concept along two progress variables identified from previous studies – key ideas about energy and levels of conceptual development. To assess students understanding with respect to the revised learning progression, we created a specific instrument, the Energy Concept Progression Assessment (ECPA) based on previous work on assessing students’ understanding of energy. After iteratively refining the instrument in two pilot studies, the ECPA was administered to a total of 4550 students (Grades 8–12) from schools in two districts in a major city in Mainland China. Rasch analysis was used to examine the validity of the revised learning progression and explore factors explaining different progressions. Our results confirm the validity of the four conceptual development levels. In addition, we found that although following a similar progression pattern, students’ progression rate was significantly influenced by environmental factors such as school type. In the discussion of our findings, we address the non-linear and complex nature of students’ progression in understanding energy. We conclude with illuminating our research's implication for curriculum design and energy teaching.     

Mother–Child Referencing of Environmental Print and Its Relationship With Emergent Literacy Skills

Research Findings: Environmental print provides children with their earliest print experiences. This observational study investigated the frequency of mother–child environmental print referencing and its relationship with emergent literacy. A total of 35 mothers and their children (ages 3–4 years) were videotaped interacting in an environmental print–rich play setting. The frequency of environmental print referencing of letters and words was measured. Children were assessed on emergent literacy skills (letter name and sound knowledge, print concepts, phonological awareness, name and letter writing, environmental print reading). In all, 69% of mothers referenced environmental print. After child age, home literacy teaching, and maternal education were controlled for, greater maternal referencing of environmental print was positively related to print concepts and name and letter writing. Child environmental print referencing was positively related to name and letter writing as well as to maternal environmental print referencing. Mothers used a range of mediation strategies to support children's interactions with environmental print. Practice or Policy: Maternal referencing of environmental print may be a useful way to scaffold emergent literacy in young children.     

Mit welchem Auflösungsgrad können Kompetenzen modelliert werden? In welcher Beziehung stehen Modelle zueinander,die Kompetenz in einer Domäne mit unterschiedlichem Auflösungsgrad beschreiben?

Competence models are supposed to structure a competence into different sub-competencies and to describe different levels of competence with respect to these sub-competencies. In developing a competence model (and measuring the respective competence) the following questions need to be answered: How many sub-competencies can be meaningfully differentiated and at which grain size should different levels of competence be measured. The number of sub-competencies and the grain size of the competence levels define the level of detail of a competence model. Previous research in the field of competence modeling suggests that the same competence can be modeled at different levels of detail. This raises the question which relation such competence models have to each other. The following article presents the results of a discussion of these questions in scope of the priority program “Competence Models for Assessing Individual Learning Outcomes and Evaluating Educational Processes”.     

Analyzing the Spell of War: A War/Peace Framing Analysis of the 2009 Visual Coverage of the Sri Lankan Civil War in Western Newswires

The goal of this study was to analyze the extent to which the visual coverage of the final stages (April/May 2009) of the long-lasting Sri Lankan Civil War relied on war and peace frames. Based on the revolutionary conceptual work of Norwegian scholar Johan Galtung, who viewed war and peace journalism as two competing frames in covering conflicts and wars, we examined news photographs available from Associated Press (AP), Reuters, and Getty/Agence France-Press (AFP). To date, this topic has been discussed from mostly normative viewpoints, and only little research combined the peace journalism concept with visual framing and/or the role of newswires as gatekeeper of information. We tested this concept empirically by using content analysis of editorial news photographs of the conflict in the three leading Western newswires. By and large, our results suggest that overall visual coverage of the conflict waxed and waned over time, but was primarily driven by visuals originated in the Sinhalese-dominated regions of Sri Lanka. Further, newswires are serving very different purposes and news markets: the AP–and to a lesser extent also Getty/AFP–with their focus on external events (therefore qualifying for peace journalism) and Reuters with a stronger focus on the conflict itself (thus qualifying for war journalism). Overall, the stock photo agency Getty/AFP was found to be the newswire that is most likely to provide media outlets with photographs highlighting peace frames, with the most balanced coverage between the two conflict parties and a particular emphasis on peace demonstrations worldwide, negotiations and summit meetings.     

5. BOOKS AND LIBRARIES

THE HIGHWAYMEN: WARRIORS OF THE INFORMATION SUPER‐HIGHWAY by Ken Auletta (New York: Random House, 1997—$27.50, ISBN 0–679–45378–0, 346 pp., index)

THE BARRY DILLER STORY: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF AMERICA'S GREATEST ENTERTAINMENT MOGUL by George Mair (New York: John Wiley, 1997—$24.95, ISBN 0–471–13082–6, 348 pp., notes, photos, index)

MONOPOLY TELEVISION: MTV'S QUEST TO CONTROL THE MUSIC by Jack Banks (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1996—$22.00, ISBN 0–8133–1820–3, 291 pp., notes, references, index)

BE SEEING YOU ...DECODING THE PRISONER by Chris Gregory (Luton, England: John Libbey Media/University of Luton Press, 1997—$24.00, paper, ISBN 1–86020–521–6, 228 pp., bibliography and filmography, index)

GLOBAL SPOTLIGHTS ON LILLEHAMMER: HOW THE WORLD VIEWED NORWAY DURING THE 1994 WINTER OLYMPICS edited by Roel Puijk (Luton, England: John Libbey Media/ University of Luton Press, 1997— $40.00, ISBN 1–86020–520–8, 285 pp., appendix)

BROADCAST/CABLE PROGRAMMING: STRATEGIES AND PRACTICES by Susan Tyler Eastman and Douglas A. Ferguson (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing, 1997 [5th ed.]— $58.95, ISBN 0–534–50744–1, 471 pp., abbreviations and acronyms, glossary, annotated bibliography, bookmarks for the world wide web, index to program titles, general index)

TV DRAMA IN TRANSITION: FORMS, VALUES AND CULTURAL CHANGE by Robin Nelson (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997—$55.00, ISBN 0–312–17276–1, 277 pp., notes, references, index)

GLUED TO THE SET: THE 60 TELEVISION SHOWS AND EVENTS THAT MADE US WHO WE ARE TODAY by Steven D. Stark (New York: Free Press, 1997—$17.50, ISBN 0–684–82817–0, 340 pp., appendix, bibliography, index)

GEN X TV: THE BRADY BUNCH TO MELROSE PLACE by Rob Owen (Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 1997—$24.95, ISBN 0–8156–0443–2, 240 pp., photos, bibliography, index)