Vocational identity of at-risk emerging adults and its relationship with individual characteristics

International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance - Vocational identity is a prerequisite for enhancing societal inclusion of at-risk emerging adults. School curricula and rebound...     

Bragg reflectors based on alternate RHTL-LHTL structures

INTRODUCTION Left-handed materials (LHMs) with negative permittivity and negative permeability, first theo- retically investigated by Veselago (1968), have at- tracted much interest in the past few years (Smith et al., 2000; Pendry, 2000). Such materials were first implemented using a structure which combined pe- riodic arrays of metallic lines and split ring resonators (SRRs) (Shelby et al., 2001). Since then much work has been dedicated to fabricating such materials. These new artif…     

Marital status and birthrate of deaf people in two Swedish counties: the impact of social environment in terms of deaf community

Deafness affects many social interactions. The impact of deafness depends on several factors, e.g., the type of social environment in terms of the particular Deaf community a person lives in. The authors recorded the birthrate and the proportions of married and divorced people among deaf people in two Swedish counties: Narke, which had a strong Deaf community, and Varmland, whose Deaf community was weak. In both counties, the authors found that deafness was associated with low marriage rates and low birthrates. Further, in Narke, 99% of the people in the sample were married to another deaf person; only 10% were in Varmland. In Narke, the divorce rate among deaf people was about the same as that of the reference population (i.e., the county's marriage-age population). In Varmland, deaf people had a relatively low divorce rate. The findings are discussed from medical and social perspectives.     

Data-based decision making in teams: enablers and barriers

ABSTRACT

Data use is becoming more important in higher education. In this case study, a team of teachers from a teacher education college was supported in data-based decision making by means of the data team procedure. This data team studied the reasons why students drop out. A team's success depends in part on whether the team is able to develop and apply new knowledge based on data. To investigate this, we focused on the depth of inquiry within the data team's conversations, because successful teams discuss data in depth. We observed the data team for 2 years, investigating factors that affected the depth of the conversations in the data team. The results show that depth was influenced by factors related to data and data systems (such as access to relevant data), individual factors (such as belief in data use), and organisational factors (guidance from the data coach).     

Classroom Process and Practices in Public Pre-K Programs: Describing and Predicting Educational Opportunities in the Early Learning Sector

Research Findings: The present study used data from 117 publicly funded preschool classrooms within a large, diverse, suburban county to describe teacher practices and child engagement along with classroom activity settings and children’s exposure to instructional content. Practice or Policy: Results from this investigation revealed that children spent the largest share of the day in teacher-directed whole-group instruction and in free play and very little time was spent in individual and small-group settings. Although a 3rd of the school day was dedicated to academic activities, there were few opportunities for socioemotional learning, and children spent roughly a 3rd of the school day in routines/transitions and meals. Few differences emerged in the classroom observations across school- and community-based programs; however, more educated and experienced teachers spent more time teaching and in teacher-directed instruction.     

Longitudinal twin study of early reading development in three countries: Preliminary results

We have initiated parallel longitudinal studies in Australia (Byrne, PI), the United States (Olson, PI), and Norway (Samuelsson, PI) of identical and fraternal twins who are being tested in preschool for prereading skills, and in kindergarten, first grade, and second grade for the development of early reading, spelling, and related cognitive skills. Comparisons of the similarities of identical and fraternal twins will reveal the relative influence of genetic, shared family environment, and nonshared environment on individual differences at and across different stages of development. Family and twin-specific environmental information is also being directly assessed through parent questionnaires and observations by testers. Most of the data collected so far have been from preschool twins (146 in Australia, 284 in the United States, and 70 in Norway). Preliminary analyses for the preschool cognitive measures showed reliable genetic influences on phonological awareness and several measures of memory and learning. In contrast, vocabulary, grammar, and morphology showed significant shared environment and negligible genetic effects. A print knowledge composite showed both genetic and shared environment influence.