Predictors of reading literacy

Two reading literacy/text comprehension tests with different demands (on-line comprehension vs. memory-based comprehension) were administered to 6,104 15-year-old students from all German states and school types. The combined and specific effects of proximal and distal variables from small-scale psychological research as well as from large-scale educational studies on each text comprehension measure were investigated. Metacognitive knowledge, decoding speed, and the number of books at home (as an indicator for family background) were found to have specific and large effects on on-line comprehension and accounted for 46 percent of the variance with the highest effects for metacognition. Metacognitive knowledge was also highly predictive when the effects of specific prior knowledge and thematic interest on memory-based text comprehension were estimated simultaneously. In addition, students who showed relative strength in building up a coherent representation of specific texts (memory-based text comprehension) were characterised by high amounts of prior knowledge and thematic interest thereby underlining the importance of these student characteristics for learning.     

Accuracy of metacognitive judgments as a moderator of learner control effectiveness in problem-solving tasks

A possible explanation for why students do not benefit from learner-controlled instruction is that they are not able to accurately monitor their own performance. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether and how the accuracy of metacognitive judgments made during training moderates the effect of learner control on performance when solving genetics tasks. Eighty-six undergraduate students solved self-selected genetics tasks using either a full learner control or a restricted learner control. Results indicated that learner control effectiveness was moderated by the absolute accuracy (i.e., absolute bias) of metacognitive judgments, and this accuracy was a better predictor of learning performance for full learner control than for restricted learner control. Furthermore, students’ prior knowledge predicted absolute accuracy of both ease-of-learning judgments (EOLs) and retrospective confidence judgments (RCJs) during training, with higher prior knowledge resulting in a better absolute accuracy. Overall, monitoring guided control, that is, EOLs predicted time-on-task and invested mental effort regardless of the degree of learner control, whereas RCJs predicted the total training time, but not the number of tasks selected during training. These results suggest that monitoring accuracy plays an important role in effective regulation of learning from problem-solving tasks, and provide further evidence that metacognitive judgments affect study time allocation in problem solving context.     

Mandatory criteria for the application of variability-based parameters of fluid responsiveness: a prospective study in different groups of ICU patients

Background and objective

Stroke volume variation (SVV) has high sensitivity and specificity in predicting fluid responsiveness. However, sinus rhythm (SR) and controlled mechanical ventilation (CV) are mandatory for their application. Several studies suggest a limited applicability of SVV in intensive care unit (ICU) patients. We hypothesized that the applicability of SVV might be different over time and within certain subgroups of ICU patients. Therefore, we analysed the prevalence of SR and CV in ICU patients during the first 24 h of PiCCO-monitoring (primary endpoint) and during the total ICU stay. We also investigated the applicability of SVV in the subgroups of patients with sepsis, cirrhosis, and acute pancreatitis.

Methods

The prevalence of SR and CV was documented immediately before 1241 thermodilution measurements in 88 patients.Results: In all measurements, SVV was applicable in about 24%. However, the applicability of SVV was time-dependent: the prevalence of both SR and CV was higher during the first 24 h compared to measurements thereafter (36.1% vs. 21.9%; P<0.001). Within different subgroups, the applicability during the first 24 h of monitoring ranged between 0% in acute pancreatitis, 25.5% in liver failure, and 48.9% in patients without pancreatitis, liver failure, pneumonia or sepsis.

Conclusions

The applicability of SVV in a predominantly medical ICU is only about 25%–35%. The prevalence of both mandatory criteria decreases over time during the ICU stay. Furthermore, the applicability is particularly low in patients with acute pancreatitis and liver failure.

     

Reading achievement, metacognition, reading self-concept and interest: A study of German students in grades 3 and 4

This study examined the reading achievement, metacognitive knowledge related to reading and memory, reading self-concept, and interest in reading of 140 German school students in Grades 3 and 4. The results indicated significant correlations between the metacognitive variables, motivational variables, and amongst metacognitive and motivational variables, as well as with reading achievement variables. The examination of good and poor readers showed significant differences in metacognitive knowledge of reading and memory, reading self-concept, interest in reading, and in teacher judgements of reading achievement between the groups. Differences between Grade 3 and 4 students were found in their word decoding skills, metacognitive knowledge about reading and memory, and teacher judgements of reading achievement. Results of the regression analysis indicated that reading achievement was predicted by grade level, word decoding, and teacher evaluations of reading achievement. The causal modelling indicated that motivation and metacognition affect reading comprehension in different ways. The findings are discussed in terms of future research and their educational implications.     

Illuminating the Dark Ages: Pupil Dilation as a Measure of Expectancy Violation Across the Life Span

Mainly for methodological reasons, little is known about the course of development of early cognitive competencies diagnosed with the violation of expectation (VoE) method in infants. The goal of this research was to evaluate the use of pupillometry as a unified approach to assess expectancy violations during and beyond the “dark ages” between 1 and 3 years. We tested children aged 1–6 years and adults (N = 279) with pictures of animals combined with matching or mismatching animal sounds. All age groups exhibited significantly greater pupil dilation in mismatched than matched trials. We conclude that pupillometry is a viable alternative to the VoE method that, by contrast to the latter, can be used throughout the life span.     

Knowledge protection strategies of multinational firms—A cross-country comparison

International knowledge spillovers, especially through multinational companies (MNCs), have recently been a major topic of discussion among academics and practitioners. Most research in this field focuses on knowledge sharing activities of MNC subsidiaries. Relatively little is known about their capabilities for protecting valuable knowledge from spilling over to host country competitors. We extend this stream of research by investigating both formal protection strategies (e.g. patenting) as well as strategic ones (secrecy, lead time, complex design). We conceptualize the breadth of firm's knowledge protection strategies and relate it to the particular situation of MNC subsidiaries. Moreover, we argue that their approaches differ with regard to host country challenges and opportunities. We address these issues empirically, based on a harmonized survey of innovation activities of more than 1800 firms located in Portugal and Germany. We find evidence that MNCs prefer broader sets of knowledge protection strategies in a host country with fewer opportunities for knowledge sourcing (Portugal). In Germany, though, they opt for narrower sets of knowledge protection strategies if they invest in innovation activities themselves. We deduce that these results are due to a need for reciprocity in knowledge exchanges to benefit fully from promising host country knowledge flows.     

Comparisons of observed process quality in early child care and education programs in five countries

In this cross-national study, observed process quality in preschool classrooms was compared across five countries—Austria (n = 37), Germany (n=103), Portugal (n=88), Spain (n=80), and the U.S.A. (n=390). Process quality was assessed using the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) and the Caregiver Interaction Scale (CIS). Both instruments had comparable properties when used in the different countries. A MANOVA found overall ECERS differences between countries, with Austria and Germany scoring higher than Spain, and Austria higher than the U.S.A. CIS Sensitivity scale differences showed Austria and Spain with higher scores than the U.S.A. Tests of homogeneity of variance showed U.S.A. with the highest standard deviations. A discriminant analysis, using countries as groups and ECERS items as criterion variables, revealed differences between countries on two discriminant functions: Personalized Care and Availability and Use of Space and Play Materials. Results are discussed in terms of the early childhood traditions and infrastructures found in the five countries.     

Das hepatozelluläre Karzinom

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