Letter knowledge, phonological processing, and print knowledge: skill development in nonreading preschool children

Development of reading skills was examined in 4-year-old children from low-income homes attending a prekindergarten program. Fall to spring gains in letter identification were examined and compared with skills in phonological processing, rhyme detection, and environmental print, and with performance on a screening tool (Get Ready to Read). It was anticipated that participants might show slow skill development. However, the identification of a large group of children (n = 30) who made little or no gains in letter identification compared to their classmates (n = 27), whose gains averaged 7 letters, was not anticipated. Fall to spring gains in letter identification correlated with phonological processing, rhyme detection, environmental print, and Get Ready to Read! scores. Age and general cognitive skills influenced performance on some tasks. More knowledge of the characteristics of children who show the most variations in skill development may lead to insights on using classroom curriculum to focus on skill development.     

Socialization of coping with community violence: influences of caregiver coaching, modeling, and family context

A socialization model of coping with community violence was tested in 101 African American adolescents (55% male, ages 9-13) and their maternal caregivers living in high-violence areas of a mid-sized, southeastern city. Participants completed interviews assessing caregiver coping, family context, and child adjustment. Caregiver-child dyads also discussed a film clip depicting community violence. Parental coaching (caregivers' strategies suggesting how to cope) and child-reported coping were coded from the discussion. Coaching, modeling (caregivers' own coping), and family context each contributed to children's coping with violence. Children's problem-focused coping in response to violence had the strongest associations with changes in their adjustment 6 months later. Implications for interventions with youth and families are discussed.     

Looking at the keyboard or the monitor: relationship with text production processes

In this paper we explored text production differences in an expository text production task between writers who looked mainly at the keyboard and writers who looked mainly at the monitor. Eye-tracking technology and keystroke-logging were combined to systematically describe and define these two groups in respect of the complex interplay between text production and the reading of one’s own emerging text. Findings showed that monitor gazers typed significantly faster and were more productive writers. They also read their own text more, and they frequently read in parallel with writing. Analysis of fixation durations suggests that more cognitive processing is in use during reading in parallel with writing than during reading in pauses. Keyboard gazers used the left and right cursor keys significantly more. We suggest that this is because they revised their texts in a much more serial mode than monitor gazers. Finally, analysis of the characteristics of the final texts showed no differences between the groups.     

Exploring the feasibility of a classroom‐based vocabulary intervention for mainstream secondary school students with language disorder

Vocabulary knowledge has been shown to be a predictor of academic success, posing a challenge for children and young people with language disorder. Language disorder can persist into adolescence and yet there is limited evidence on how to support the vocabulary skills of adolescents with language disorder in a mainstream setting. This article describes an experimental study aimed at investigating the feasibility of a whole‐class approach to increase the understanding and use of curriculum vocabulary in adolescents with language disorder. Ten curriculum words were taught by the science teacher using a phonological‐semantic approach, and 10 matched same‐topic words were taught using routine teaching practice. Progress was made post‐intervention in word knowledge of both low‐frequency experimental and control words, with significantly greater change in knowledge of the experimental words. Most students, and the teacher, viewed the phonological‐semantic word‐learning approach favourably.     

Transfer of Learning From An Action Reflection Learning™ Program*

Learning transfer from training and development programs to the workplace is a central issue of concern for human resource development specialists. Action Reflection Learning™ (ARL™) is a form of action learning that places emphasis on the development of targeted competencies while teams of participants work on real problems which have been given to them by a sponsor. This article examines the kinds of learning and learning transfer that took place in an international food company that was striving to become a global organization. Data were collected through both field observation and formal interviews and analyzed by a team of researchers. Conclusions about the degree of transfer and the mechanisms and process supporting it are presented.     

The multi-stage fitness test as a predictor of endurance fitness in wheelchair athletes

The aims of this study were two-fold: (1) to consider the criterion-related validity of the multi-stage fitness test (MSFT) by comparing the predicted maximal oxygen uptake (.VO(2max)) and distance travelled with peak oxygen uptake (VO(2peak)) measured using a wheelchair ergometer (n = 24); and (2) to assess the reliability of the MSFT in a sub-sample of wheelchair athletes (n = 10) measured on two occasions. Twenty-four trained male wheelchair basketball players (mean age 29 years, s = 6) took part in the study. All participants performed a continuous incremental wheelchair ergometer test to volitional exhaustion to determine .VO(2peak), and the MSFT on an indoor wooden basketball court. Mean ergometer .VO(2peak) was 2.66 litres . min(-1) (s = 0.49) and peak heart rate was 188 beats . min(-1) (s = 10). The group mean MSFT distance travelled was 2056 m (s = 272) and mean peak heart rate was 186 beats . min(-1) (s = 11). Low to moderate correlations (rho = 0.39 to 0.58; 95% confidence interval [CI]: -0.02 to 0.69 and 0.23 to 0.80) were found between distance travelled in the MSFT and different expressions of wheelchair ergometer .VO(2peak). There was a mean bias of -1.9 beats . min(-1) (95% CI: -5.9 to 2.0) and standard error of measurement of 6.6 beats . min(-1) (95% CI: 5.4 to 8.8) between the ergometer and MSFT peak heart rates. A similar comparison of ergometer and predicted MSFT .VO(2peak) values revealed a large mean systematic bias of 15.3 ml . kg(-1) . min(-1) (95% CI: 13.2 to 17.4) and standard error of measurement of 3.5 ml . kg(-1) . min(-1) (95% CI: 2.8 to 4.6). Small standard errors of measurement for MSFT distance travelled (86 m; 95% CI: 59 to 157) and MSFT peak heart rate (2.4 beats . min(-1); 95% CI: 1.7 to 4.5) suggest that these variables can be measured reliably. The results suggest that the multi-stage fitness test provides reliable data with this population, but does not fully reflect the aerobic capacity of wheelchair athletes directly.     

Intergroup contact and the projection of positivity

Three studies investigated whether intergroup contact reduces prejudice, in part, via the extension of positive attributes that define the self to the outgroup. Study 1 found that positive intergroup contact predicted self-outgroup overlap, and this overlap mediated the contact–attitude relationship. This mediational path was specific to outgroup, but not ingroup, attitudes. In Study 2 we found that it was the attribution of specifically positive, as opposed to negative, traits that mediated the contact–attitude relationship in a model that also included intergroup anxiety. In Study 3 an elaborated model was supported, in which perceived self-other similarity mediated the effects of positive contact on the attribution of positive self-traits. We discuss the findings in the context of recent advances in Intergroup Contact Theory.     

Physical principles and efficiency of salt extraction by poulticing

The crystallization of soluble salts plays a significant role in the deterioration of porous cultural property. A common response to salt damage problems is to undertake treatments aimed at reducing the salt content of the affected object, most typically through the application of poultices. The process of poulticing is in theory relatively simple: the wet poultice material is applied to the surface of the object to be treated, and is kept in place for some period of time before being removed. However, in practice, the efficiency of the salt extraction, or even the location of salt accumulation post treatment is more difficult to predict. This paper examines the physical principles of salt ion and moisture transport by which poultices function, and shows how depending on the application methodology, these treatments can be divided into diffusion and advection-based methods. The maximum salt extraction efficiency, the depth to which this can be achieved, and the time scale required is estimated for each type of poulticing system, to gain a better understanding of their working properties and performance. Finally, the pros, cons and limitations of desalination treatments are discussed.