Early Childhood Educators’ Use of Language-Support Practices with 4-Year-Old Children in Child Care Centers

The importance of encouraging language skills in early childhood has been well documented. Educators who are responsible for children in daycare services have many opportunities to use rich and stimulating educational practices that support language acquisition. The purpose of this study was to assess the language-support practices used by 22 educators in ECE centers with 174 children (87 girls and 87 boys) aged 55.7 months on average (SD = 4.2). The Teacher Interaction and Language Rating Scale developed by Girolametto et al. (Teacher interaction and language rating scale, Hanen Centre, Toronto, 2000) was translated and adapted for use in French. Analyses reveal the heterogeneity of language support provided to 4-year-old children attending early childhood education centers in Québec (Canada). Results are discussed in relation to the importance of the educational setting and specific training on language skill development provided to educators around promoting language skills in children, a fundamental prerequisite for educational success.     

Student‐centered integrated anatomy resource sessions at Alfaisal University

Alfaisal University is a new medical school in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that matriculates eligible students directly from high school and requires them to participate in a hybrid problem‐based learning (PBL) curriculum. PBL is a well‐established student‐centered approach, and the authors have sought to examine if a student‐centered, integrated approach to learn human structures leads to positive perceptions of learning outcomes. Ten students were divided into four groups to rotate through wet and dry laboratory stations (integrated resource sessions, IRSs) that engaged them in imaging techniques, embryology, histology, gross anatomy (dissections and prosections), surface anatomy, and self‐directed learning questions. All IRSs were primarily directed by students. During two second‐semester organ system blocks, forty students responded to a structured questionnaire designed to poll students' perceptions of changes in their knowledge, skills, and attitudes as a result of IRS. The majority (60%) of students felt that the student‐centered approach to learning enhanced their medical knowledge. Most students also felt that the IRS approach was advantageous for formulating clear learning objectives (55%) and in preparing for examinations (65%). Despite their positive feelings toward IRS, students did not view this learning approach as an adequate replacement for the knowledge gained from lectures and textbooks. Students' performance on objective structured practical examinations improved significantly for the two curricular blocks that included IRS compared with earlier non‐IRS blocks. A student‐centered approach to teach human structure in a hybrid PBL curriculum may enhance understanding of the basic sciences in first‐year medical students. Anat Sci Educ 3:272–275, 2010. © 2010 American Association of Anatomists.     

Processing of derived forms in high-functioning dyslexics

We report on an experiment designed to evaluate processing of derived forms in high-functioning dyslexics, defined as university students with a history of reading difficulties who have age-appropriate reading comprehension skills. We compared high-functioning dyslexics with a group of normal adult readers in their performance on a lexical decision task with derived items (such as cloudy and ably) and pseudo-derived items (such as belly and gravy). Some items contained an orthographic change (such as able-ably and gravy) and others did not (such as cloud - cloudy). The results indicated that although control participants’ response times varied systematically as a function of morphological complexity, those of high-functioning dyslexics did not. Further, there was some evidence of a relationship between derivational processing and reading. It seems that high-functioning dyslexics have persistent difficulties in processing one particular aspect of morphology; that of derived forms.     

Structure of expert players' activity during competitive interaction in table tennis

This study analyzed the activity of expert table tennis players during a match, in reference to course of action theory (Theureau, 1992). Matches were videotaped, and the players' verbalizations as they viewed the tapes were collected a posteriori. The data was analyzed by (a) transcribing the players' actions and verbalizations, (b) decomposing their activity into elementary units of meaning, and (c) grouping the elementary units into larger sets. The results showed that the matches began with an inquiry into the specific features of the opponent's play. This was followed by reproducing the actions identified as effective during the inquiry. The results are discussed in relation to the role of training in expert performance.     

Hollywood studio filmmaking in the age of Netflix: a tale of two institutional logics

Journal of Cultural Economics - Online streaming services are challenging long-standing decision-making processes in the traditional motion picture industry, thus placing Hollywood major studios at...     

The evolution of oscillatory behavior during learning on a ski simulator

Recent experiments on the ski simulator produced ambiguous results and raised unanswered questions concerning the true nature of "novice" behavior and the occurrence of behavioral changes during learning. The aim of the present experiment was to analyze the evolving behavior of three beginners during six practice sessions on a ski simulator The position of the apparatus platform was recorded as time series and used for constructing dynamical models, including stiffness and damping functions. The results showed that novices tended to exploit a Rayleigh damping behavior during the first trials and then transition toward a van der Pol damping. These results replicate previous observations by Nourrit, Delignieres, Caillou, Deschamps, and Lauriot (2003) and suggest the transition to the expert behavior could arise early in practice, when the task is of moderate difficulty. The discussion focuses on the properties of the observed learning dynamics and proposes a global conceptualization for acquiring complex motor skills.     

Fixed versus free-floating stretcher mechanism in rowing ergometers: mechanical aspects

The mechanical responses (i.e. external contact forces and external power) of 25 elite rowers to a race-pace rowing protocol were investigated on the traditional fixed stretcher mechanism and the more recently introduced free-floating stretcher mechanism rowing ergometers. Using a Rowperfect rowing ergometer for both conditions, external contact forces at the handle, stretcher and sliding seat, as well as the displacements of the handle and stretcher, were recorded. The external power was calculated as the product of the force and velocity data from both the handle and stretcher. Significant differences (P < 0.05) between the two conditions for each mechanical parameter were observed. The fixed condition showed larger maximum values for forces and external power and average power throughout the rowing cycle. Moreover, rowing with the fixed mechanism generated higher inertial forces during the transition between the propulsion and recovery phases, especially at the catch of the cycle. The results suggest that: (i) muscular coordination may differ according to the stretcher mechanism used, which could have an impact on the physiological adaptations of muscles; and (ii) the free-floating mechanism may induce lower catch and maximum values for net joint forces and net joint moments that could decrease the risk of injury.     

On passion and sports fans: a look at football

The purpose of the present research was to test the applicability of the Dualistic Model of Passion (Vallerand et al., 2003) to being a sport (football) fan. Three studies provided support for this dualistic conceptualization of passion. Study 1 showed that harmonious passion was positively associated with adaptive behaviours (e.g. celebrate the team's victory), whereas obsessive passion was positively associated with maladaptive behaviours (e.g. risking losing one's job to go to a game). Study 2 used a short Passion Scale and showed that harmonious passion was positively related to the positive affective life of fans during the 2006 FIFA World Cup, psychological health (self-esteem and life satisfaction), and public displays of adaptive behaviours (e.g. celebrate the team's victory into the streets), whereas obsessive passion was predictive of maladaptive affective life (e.g. hating opposing teams' fans) and behaviours (e.g. mocking opposing teams' fans). Finally, Study 3 examined the role of obsessive passion as a predictor of partner's conflict that in turn undermined partner's relationship satisfaction. Overall, the present results provided support for the Dualistic Model of Passion. The conceptual and applied implications of the findings are discussed.     

The cubicle warrior: the marionette of digitalized warfare

In the last decade we have entered the era of remote controlled military technology. The excitement about this new technology should not mask the ethical questions that it raises. A fundamental ethical question is who may be held responsible for civilian deaths. In this paper we will discuss the role of the human operator or so-called ‘cubicle warrior’, who remotely controls the military robots behind visual interfaces. We will argue that the socio-technical system conditions the cubicle warrior to dehumanize the enemy. As a result the cubicle warrior is morally disengaged from his destructive and lethal actions. This challenges what he should know to make responsible decisions (the so-called knowledge condition). Nowadays and in the near future, three factors will influence and may increase the moral disengagement even further due to the decrease of locus of control orientation: (1) photo shopping the war; (2) the moralization of technology; (3) the speed of decision-making. As a result, cubicle warriors cannot be held reasonably responsible anymore for the decisions they make.     

Les six étapes de l'apprentissage des structures

Sans résuméPublié, avec illustrations, sous forme d'un petit livre, par O.C.D.L., Paris.