Identification of vowel speech sounds by skilled and less skilled readers and the relation with vowel spelling

Reading and spelling errors of vowels are reported in many studies (Bryson and Werker 1989; Fowler, Liberman, and Shankweiler 1977; Fowler, Shankweiler, and Liberman 1979; Goswami 1993; Landerl, Wimmer, and Frith 1997; Shankweiler and Liberman 1972). The present study tested the hypothesis that spelling errors involving vowels are linked to difficulties in vowel perception. Second to fourth graders (total n=155) were divided into five groups according to reading skill and were tested on a variety of measures involving vowel identification, vowel discrimination, and vowel spelling. Despite little difficulty on the vowel discrimination tasks, participants made many errors on the vowel identification measures. Vowel identification errors were linearly associated with reading skill with least skilled readers having significantly more difficulty with stressed “short” vowels as in dip than with stressed “long” vowels as in deep, presented in identical contexts. Vowel identification errors were also associated with vowel spelling errors. It is hypothesized that errors in vowel spelling may relate to weak access to the phoneme at the oral language level and may indicate a lack of constancy in the representation of vowels by less skilled readers. Weaknesses in vowel perception can be detected with a simple vowel identification test in which phonological similarity of test items is used as linguistic manipulation, and where phonemes must be identified based on presentation of a single test item in a forced choice format.     

Self-perception,self-esteem and life satisfaction in adopted and non-adopted children and adolescents / Autopercepción,autoestima y satisfacción vital en niños y adolescentes adoptados y no adoptados

This paper analyses whether the specific challenges of adolescence and adoption may affect the self-assessment of adopted adolescents. A total of 618 children and adolescents from Andalusia (southern Spain) between eight and 16 years of age (105 adopted and 513 non-adopted) participated in this study. For comparison purposes, different groups of non-adopted children (current classmates, children in residential care and children who have grown up with their biological families in socially disadvantaged areas) also participated. The Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE) and the Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale (SLSS) were utilized. The results reflect positive self-assessments on average at the beginning and during adolescence. There is a decline in self-perception, self-esteem and life satisfaction at around 11 or 12 years, with a slight recovery beginning at the age of 14. This trend occurs in adopted and non-adopted children and adolescents. Adopted children present self-assessments similar to children who live with their biological family. Children in residential care exhibit self-perception, self-esteem and life satisfaction that is well below the rest.     

Update your status: exploring pre-service teacher identities in an online discussion group

A substantial body of research indicates that a teacher’s identity is an essential aspect of their professional practice. As this body of research grows, researchers have increasingly sought to investigate the nature of pre-service teacher identities. This paper reports on a study that examined identities in the context of a pre-service cohort’s online discussion group. By examining the group, this study attempted to address a gap in research knowledge, as research to this date has been unable to investigate pre-service teacher identities in non-course-endorsed or instructor-occupied spaces. A thematic and quantitative analysis of online postings by and interviews with group members provided an insight into how identities performed and related to one another within the online discussion group. The findings indicate that one category of identities emerged from a commitment to the social expectations and values of the group, whilst another emerged out of a personal resistance towards the social norms of group participation and involvement. This study may be useful for teacher educators deliberating the use of online spaces to support pre-service teacher identity development.     

Discriminatory power of water polo game-related statistics at the 2008 Olympic Games

The aims of this study were (1) to compare water polo game-related statistics by context (winning and losing teams) and sex (men and women), and (2) to identify characteristics discriminating the performances for each sex. The game-related statistics of the 64 matches (44 men's and 20 women's) played in the final phase of the Olympic Games held in Beijing in 2008 were analysed. Unpaired t-tests compared winners and losers and men and women, and confidence intervals and effect sizes of the differences were calculated. The results were subjected to a discriminant analysis to identify the differentiating game-related statistics of the winning and losing teams. The results showed the differences between winning and losing men's teams to be in both defence and offence, whereas in women's teams they were only in offence. In men's games, passing (assists), aggressive play (exclusions), centre position effectiveness (centre shots), and goalkeeper defence (goalkeeper-blocked 5-m shots) predominated, whereas in women's games the play was more dynamic (possessions). The variable that most discriminated performance in men was goalkeeper-blocked shots, and in women shooting effectiveness (shots). These results should help coaches when planning training and competition.     

Casual Games and Casual Learning About Human Biological Systems

Casual games are everywhere. People play them throughout life to pass the time, to engage in social interactions, and to learn. However, their simplicity and use in distraction-heavy environments can attenuate their potential for learning. This experimental study explored the effects playing an online, casual game has on awareness of human biological systems. Two hundred and forty-two children were given pretests at a Museum and posttests at home after playing either a treatment or control game. Also, 41 children were interviewed to explore deeper meanings behind the test results. Results show modest improvement in scientific attitudes, ability to identify human biological systems and in the children’s ability to describe how those systems work together in real-world scenarios. Interviews reveal that children drew upon their prior school learning as they played the game. Also, on the surface they perceived the game as mainly entertainment but were easily able to discern learning outcomes when prompted. Implications for the design of casual games and how they can be used to enhance transfer of knowledge from the classroom to everyday life are discussed.     

Aye,aye, aye,aye: orthography enhances rapid word reading in an exploratory study

Rapid Word Reading, a novel word‐reading efficiency measure, was used to determine if articulations or processing times associated with reading the word ‘aye’ were enhanced through the phonological or orthographic qualities contained in the preceding word. In the experiment, ‘aye’ followed either an identical ‘aye’, the homophones ‘I’ or ‘eye’ or high‐frequency (HF) unrelated English words. The words that preceded ‘aye’ were chosen to provide a graduated degree of phonological and orthographic information available to enhance the efficiency of recognising the following word. Semantically, phonologically, and orthographically independent high‐frequency words preceded ‘aye’ and served as a baseline measure of the articulation and processing times of ‘aye’. ‘I’ preceded ‘aye’ to provide enhanced recognition through phonological association alone. Phonological and partial orthographic associations were provided by ‘eye’ before ‘aye’, and complete phonological and orthographic associations were provided by ‘aye’ before ‘aye’. Repeated measures analysis showed that ‘aye’ was processed fastest when it followed an identical ‘aye’. The processing time enhancement for this condition was significantly faster than all other conditions. Additionally, the mean articulation duration of ‘aye’ was significantly slower when ‘aye’ followed an identical ‘aye’ than when it followed HF words. The findings documented the importance of separating phonological and orthographic information in English homophones.     

Nuclear power plants? Yes or no? Thank you! The argumentative use of tables and graphs / ¿Centrales nucleares? ¿Sí o no? ¡Gracias! El uso argumentativo de tablas y gráficas

Abstract

The present paper deals with how eleventh grade high school students and university undergraduate students studying environmental science use evidence to write an argumentative text. They were presented with a dilemma with four sets of data (two pro and two anti nuclear energy). Half the sample was given the data in graph format and the other half in table format. The four sets of data differed according to their complexity. We analysed the structure of argument, the use of the evidence (either provided or their own) according to the participants’ position on the dilemma, and the presence of confirmation bias. Our results show a good argumentative competence that does not seem to be affected either by the students’ educational level or data format. We observed an effect of the complexity of the data in relation to the participants’ position.     

The Impact of Corporate Media News on Market Valuation

This article explores the influence of Web-based corporate reporting on the investors' valuation of companies in the information and communications technology industry. This study compiled 8,111 news items issued in the “Press Releases” tab of the firms' Web sites between January 2003 and April 2005, and analyzed what type of news items affects stock returns. The results show a positive price reaction to news regarding new customers, completion of acquisitions, strategic long-term decisions, and non-technological alliances. In contrast, the results show a negative price reaction to news regarding the launch of new or upgraded products.     

Teaching HCI Design With the Studio Approach

The studio-based method of teaching has been used for almost 100 years to teach product and architecture design. With ever increasing pressure on HCI to teach competence in designing interactive objects, new ways of teaching need to be explored. This article begins with a review of the studio-based teaching concept and how it has been used in architecture, science/engineering, and computer science education. We then present and discuss the evaluation of an HCI design studio course which we created and taught in spring 2002 in the Computer and Information Science Department of the University of Oregon. This course was based on our observations and study of studio courses in the School of Architecture. Finally, we review general issues about studio teaching including the promises and challenges that it presents to widespread acceptance in the computer science curriculum.