Producing Whiteness: An exploration of working-class white men in two contexts1

In this essay we enter the terrain of 'whiteness' studies, drawing upon data gathered in two ethnographic investigations conducted in a large northeastern city in the United States. In the first study we focus on the ways in which whiteness among working-class men emerges in relation to a constructed 'other', in this case a black/Latino other who is held to have unpleasant characteristics. In the second, we problematize the idea that the white European self emerges necessarily in relation to that of a constructed 'dark other' by focusing on white working-class Irish adults who frequent an Irish community centre in the same city. We explore the ways in which the presence of particular spaces within which ethnic identities can flourish may blunt the effects of possible intergroup violence based on the production of a white identity and at the same time potentially encourage a multi-racial set of political coalitions.     

Orthographic processing and visual sequential memory in unexpectedly poor spellers

Does unexpectedly poor spelling in adults result from inferior visual sequential memory? In one experiment, unexpectedly poor spellers performed significantly worse than better spellers in the immediate reproduction of sequences of visual symbols, but in a second experiment, the effect was not replicated. Poor spellers were also no worse at the immediate recognition of symbol sequences. Overall, the results indicate that inferior visual memory is not characteristic of unexpectedly poor spellers. However, they do have less efficient orthographic processing skill: they were significantly slower and more error prone than better spellers at classifying both regularly and strangely spelt words, as well as at detecting letter transpositions in long words. They can thus be considered as subtly worse word readers than better spellers. While the findings question the notion of unexpectedly poor spelling in relation to normal adults, they provide confirmation of the intimate relationship between reading and spelling processes.     

Development and Implementation of a Food Safety Knowledge Instrument

ABSTRACT:  Little is known about the food safety knowledge of young adults. In addition, few knowledge questionnaires and no comprehensive, criterion-referenced measure that assesses the full range of food safety knowledge could be identified. Without appropriate, valid, and reliable measures and baseline data, it is difficult to develop and implement effective education efforts. Thus, the purpose of this study was to develop a comprehensive, valid, reliable food safety knowledge questionnaire. Questionnaire development followed this process: 1) use of published reports and input from experts in food safety and sanitation (n = 7) to identify key food safety concepts; 2) development of a question bank (n = 101) assessing knowledge of key concepts (i.e., cross contamination prevention'disinfection procedures; safe times/temperatures for cooking/storing foods; groups at greatest risk for foodborne disease; foods that increase risk of foodborne disease; and foodborne disease pathogens); 3) refinement of initial questions by experts; 4) questionnaire pretest with young adults (n = 180) and refinement; 5) questionnaire pilot test (n = 126) and refinement; 6) final expert review and refinement; and 7) conversion into an online survey. Young adults (n = 4343, mean age 19.9 ± 1.7SD years) from 21 universities and colleges across the country completed the questionnaire. Item analysis was used to determine the overall quality of the test and identify improvements needed. Livingston's coefficient of reliability for criterion-referenced tests was 0.92. The questionnaire met or exceeded generally recognized standards of reliability and validity. This questionnaire could be useful in baseline assessment of food safety knowledge and measurement of knowledge gained after an educational intervention in adults.     

Phonological awareness,speech development,and letter knowledge in preschool children

Phonological awareness has been shown to be one of the most reliable predictors and associates of reading ability. In an attempt to better understand its development, we have examined the interrelations of speech skills and letter knowledge to the phonological awareness and early reading skills of 99 preschool children. We found that phoneme awareness, but not rhyme awareness, correlated with early reading measures. We further found that phoneme manipulation was closely associated with letter knowledge and with letter sound knowledge, in particular, where rhyme awareness was closely linked with speech perception and vocabulary. Phoneme judgment fell in between. The overall pattern of results is consistent with phonological representation as an important factor in the complex relationship between preschool children’s phonological awareness, their emerging knowledge of the orthography, and their developing speech skills. However, where rhyme awareness is a concomitant of speech and vocabulary development, phoneme awareness more clearly associates with the products of literacy experience.     

Young Children's Understanding of Changes in Their Mental States

3-year-old children have difficulty reporting their past false beliefs. We investigated their ability to remember and report other types of past mental state, in particular, pretenses, images, perceptions, desires, and intentions. In a series of tasks, children were placed in one mental state, that state was changed, and they were asked to report the initial state. 4-year-olds were generally able to report all their past mental states, including beliefs. 3-year-olds were able to report past pretenses, images, and perceptions extremely well. They had great difficulty reporting past beliefs. Reporting past desires and intentions was more difficult than reporting pretenses, images, and perceptions, but slightly less difficult than reporting beliefs. The evidence suggests that 3-year-olds have difficulty understanding the nature of representation.     

Steps to Implementing Technology in Inclusive Early Childhood Programs

Twenty-first-century preschool children, with and without disabilities, may be found using technology, including assistive technologies, on a daily basis in their homes, schools, and communities. Early childhood educators are exploring opportunities to integrate technology and interactive media into the present-day curriculum. The authors suggest implementing the following five-step process to support using technology in early childhood inclusive programs: (a) assessing technology knowledge of young children, (b) developing technology rules with young children, (c) applying professional judgment and program policy, (d) implementing technology into the curriculum, and (e) collecting data for decision making. Through this process, early educators may define children's background knowledge and subsequently design a curriculum approach, including instructional methods and strategies, to engage young children while fostering creative learning experiences.     

The association between and development of school enjoyment and general knowledge

Learning environments can support the development of foundational knowledge and promote children's attitudes toward learning and school. This study explores the relation between school enjoyment and general knowledge from preschool (2016–2017) to kindergarten (2017–2018) in 1359 children (M_age = 55, 61 months, female = 50%; 58.5% Hispanic, 17% Black, 10% Asian, 10% White, 5% multiracial/other; linguistically diverse). Cross-lagged panel models showed significant bidirectional associations between preschool enjoyment and change in general knowledge from preschool to kindergarten with a standardized coefficient of β = .21 (p < .001) and associations between preschool general knowledge and change in enjoyment, β = .09 (p = .015). Exploratory analyses with teacher characteristics and demographic subgroup comparisons are discussed. These associations suggest the potential intervention strategy of promoting early school enjoyment to support broader academic development.     

Partnering through training and practice to achieve performance improvement

This article presents a partnership effort among managers, trainers, and employees to spring to life performance improvement using the performance templates (P‐T) approach. P‐T represents a process model as well as a method of training leading to performance improvement. Not only does it add to our repertoire of training and performance management methods, it assists trainers and managers to promote change, achieve flexibility in performance, and enhance the fluency of skill application with regard to critical performance events.