Automatic Activation of Sounds by Letters Occurs Early in Development but is not Impaired in Children With Dyslexia

The automatic letter-sound integration hypothesis proposes that the decoding difficulties seen in dyslexia arise from a specific deficit in establishing automatic letter-sound associations. We report the findings of 2 studies in which we used a priming task to assess automatic letter-sound integration. In Study 1, children between 5 and 7 years of age were faster to respond to a speech-sound when primed by a congruent letter, indicating that automatic activation of sounds by letters emerges relatively early in reading development. However, there was no evidence of a relationship between variations in the speed of activating sounds by letters and reading skill in this large unselected sample. In Study 2, children with dyslexia demonstrated automatic activation of sounds by letters, though they performed slowly overall. Our findings do not support the theory that a deficit in automatic letter-sound integration is an important cause of reading difficulties but do provide further evidence for the importance of phonological skills for learning to read.     

Relationship of Reaction Time to the Speed of a Softball

Abstract

Reaction time of the batter in Softball is important because of short pitching distance and the speed of the pitcher. Nine pitchers were tested for speed and had an average velocity of 59.95 mph and a mean reaction time of .215 sec. was found for 258 students tested. With these averages, the ball would be 29.33 ft. from home plate before 116 of these students began their swing and in 41 cases the ball would be less than 20 ft from the plate. Pitchers with greater velocity would decrease the success of the batter if the reaction time remains the same.     

Institutional branding: a content analysis of public service announcements from American universities

American universities receive millions of dollars worth of media exposure every year via Public Service Announcements (PSAs) broadcast during their respective school's athletic competitions. This research explores the message strategies and executional devices used by NCAA FBS (National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Bowl Subdivision) classification schools during the 2010 football season. This study is the most comprehensive content analysis of this subject matter to date. 115 PSAs were examined, representing 111 of the 120 schools which comprise this tier of American higher education institutions. 51 variables were operationalised and are detailed in this article. These variables include messaging specific to institutional communications, as well as common creative approaches used within television advertising. Findings suggest that there is indeed a ‘sea of sameness’ across these communications and that few schools are creating unique messages. This article continues the theoretical work in this field by refining extant models for communication messages employed by higher education institutions.     

The Usefulness of Time Lines in Learning Chronological Relationships in Text Materials

Methodological problems, have limited the usefulness of findings from experiments into learning by discovery. By using programmed instruction materials, a within-class design, and other controls, an attempt was made to remove confounding. Two tasks were used: concept learning and principle learning. For each task, a separate 2x2x2 factorial design containing sixteen Ss in each cell was used. Independent variables were instructional method (egrule and ruleg), school grade (9 and 5), and intelligence (high and average). A set of eight different measures, involving retention, transfer, and ease of relearning, was used for each task. It was found that the egrule and ruleg methods did not differ significantly, and that interaction between instructional method and the other variables was low.     

Seven aspects of democracy as related to study circles

Despite a number of relevant longitudinal studies carried out in Sweden, Finland, Norway and the United States of America, there is a relative paucity of research into the long-term outcomes of adult return to learning. This paper uses data from the first survey in Scotland into the longterm outcomes of adult learning (in this case, formal education/training) in order to explore the potential of adult learning for enhancing social citizenship,by facilitating labour market insertion and progress. The paper focuses particularly on an analysis of gender patterns. The issues addressed are: the extent to which respondents expected participation in adult education to benefit them in the labour market; whether labour-market-orientated participation in adult education brought positive occupational outcomes; the extent to which unintended labour market outcomes arose from participation in adult education; how women who undertook adult education did in labour market terms compared to men; to what extent personal perception of labour market progress was related to income; the kind of adult education which appeared to bring the most beneficial labour market outcomes; and any differences between men and women in this respect.     

You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him learn: Smartphone use in higher education

Smartphone technology is penetrating world markets and becoming ubiquitous in most college settings. This study takes a naturalistic approach to explore the use of these devices to support student learning. Students that had never used a smartphone were recruited to participate and reported on their expectations of the value of smartphones to achieve their educational goals. Instrumented iPhones that logged device usage were then distributed to these students to use freely over the course of 1 year. After the study, students again reported on the actual value of their smartphones to support their educational goals. We found that students' reports changed substantially before and after the study; specifically, the utility of the smartphone to help with education was perceived as favorable prior to use, and then, by the end of the study, they viewed their phones as detrimental to their educational goals. Although students used their mobile device for informal learning and access to school resources according to the logged data, they perceived their iPhones as a distraction and a competitor to requisite learning for classroom performance.     

Inclusion in Norway: a study of ideology in practice

The purpose of this research was to examine how Norway's ideology of inclusion is realized in Norwegian schools and school systems, and what factors work to support or hinder its implementation. Using semi-structured interviews, we obtained data from our informants at multiple levels in the Norwegian educational system in one municipality. Our data analyses focused on identifying themes that were shared by multiple informants, as well as retaining important points or perspectives from individuals. Generally all of the informants were positive towards the ideology of inclusion. The biggest difficulty facing its implementation seemed to be that of social integration. This was much more of a concern than curricular integration. Probably because of such challenges, schools still placed students in separate settings. Factors that affected inclusion included: characteristics of teachers, classroom environment, school climate, cooperation, support from people with competence, attitudes and resources.     

On Widening Participation in Higher Education Through Positive Discrimination

Notwithstanding an ongoing concern about the low representation of certain groups in higher education, there is reluctance on the part of politicians and policy makers to adopt positive discrimination as an appropriate means of widening participation. This article offers an account of the different objections to positive discrimination and, thereafter, clarifies and criticises the view that universities ought to select those applicants who are expected to be most successful as students. It distinguishes arguments from meritocracy, desert, respect, and productivity and shows how these arguments are compatible with the use of positive discrimination in higher education.     

A Study on the Impact of GPA on Perceived Improvement of Higher‐Order Cognitive Skills*

Colleges of Business (COBs) have experienced high growth rates in the past decade and many colleges are imposing minimum grade point average (GPA) requirements for students to enter or remain in the college. A primary reason for this requirement may be the belief that students with high GPAs are more inclined to demonstrate higher‐order cognitive skills (HOCS) than students with low GPAs. It is not clear whether the link is valid. This study hypothesizes that students with high GPAs who are taught in the same way as students with lower GPAs will have higher perceptions of improved HOCS. We conducted an experiment in which students, with varying GPAs, at three large universities primarily used multimedia instructional materials. We obtained the students' perceptions of their improved HOCS from their responses to a survey. A regression analysis of the data reveals that the relationship between GPAs and students' perceived improvement in HOCS is significant (p < .001). We conclude the study by recommending that (a) it is critical to use research methodologies to evaluate perceived and actual learning improvements, (b) COB policies to implement GPA restrictions on admission are worthwhile, and (c) case studies need to be used much more frequently in undergraduate COB classes.