The impact of image characteristics on written naming in adults

The present study was aimed at investigating whether and how image characteristics influence written naming performance in adults. In three different sessions, participants had to quickly write down the names of pictured objects on a graphic tablet. Across sessions, the picture format was different, but the to-be-named objects were the same: There were black-and-white pictures (Snodgrass & Vanderwart’s [SV] 1980 drawings), grayscale and colored pictures of the SV drawings as provided by Rossion and Pourtois (2004). Linear-mixed models (LMM) were used to analyze written latencies. The main findings were the following: (1) Colorized pictures yielded shorter written naming latencies than line drawings with the grayscale pictures being situated between the two; (2) Both within- and between-picture format LMM revealed reliable effects of name agreement, objective word frequency, frequency trajectory (the effect was marginal in the grayscale condition), and imageability on written latencies. The influence of image agreement was, however, less stable (reliable only in the colorized condition in the within-picture format LMM analysis; significant with both line drawings and their colorized version only in the between-picture format LMM analysis); (3) None of the interactions with picture format reached significance except the interaction of Image agreement with Picture format. In line with Bonin, Roux, Barry, & Canell (2012b), the findings support a limited-cascading account of written word production.

     

The “complex reality” of research capacity development in mathematics education in Southern African development community countries

This paper explores how an aid-funded Ph.D.-programme in mathematics education instituted in some Southern African Development Community countries measures up to issues related to research capacity development projects. The research capacity development programme is described and reflected against mutual benefit, relevance, sustainability and prioritization of the location of project funding expenditure—some of the constructs in the discourse on research capacity development initiatives. It is found that the benefits of the programme are indeed mutual; the outcomes regarding relevance and sustainability are more uncertain and the location of expenditure of the funding is not overtly in favour of the donor country.     

English,Israeli‐Arab and Saudi Arabian Adolescent Values

This paper compares the results of three surveys. The subjects comprise 96 adolescents in an English comprehensive school, 118 Arab adolescents in three schools in Israel and 89 adolescents in two schools in Saudi Arabia. The first and last groups of subjects have a modal age of 14 years whereas the majority of the second group are 15 years of age. The open‐ended questionnaire comprised 10 prompts designed to elicit responses concerning ideals and least ideals, most and least preferred companions, use of solitude, summum bonum, most and least desired outcomes to life and nascent philosophies. Two methods of analysis were used. First, references to dominant themes were totalled; secondly, responses were assigned to six categories according to the dominant values expressed from materialistic to altruistic. Similarities but also significant differences were found in the dominant themes and significant differences were also apparent in the values that were expressed. Most marked was the high value placed on parents and friendship by the English young people, the importance attached to education by the Israeli‐Arab group and the prominence given to Islam by the Saudi Arabian adolescents.     

The Rroma: Their history and education in Poland and the UK

Rroma, or Gypsies as they are commonly called in almost every part of the world, usually claim the nationality and language of their host country. In Europe, the Rroma, probably because they are a people without an ethnic territory or a national state of their own, frequently qualify for being the most hated of all ethnic groups. Certainly their lack of a territorial base seems to have contributed both to the long-lasting neglect of their rights and to the many acts of persecution and discrimination committed against them. The Rroma's nomadic way of life, which has been part of their identity for over five-hundred years, was forbidden in most Eastern European countries after World War II and has been increasingly penalised in Western Europe by legislative systems designed for and by settled societies. Because of their unique culture and traditions, many Rromani children do not receive any formal education at all while others, as a result of family mobility, eviction from unofficial sites and general lack of interest in imposed education, attend school only sporadically. Consequently, high levels of illiteracy prevail in the adult Rromani population which are rarely reduced when host countries attempt to use education to promote assimilation and settlement but, at the same time, ignore the cultural heritage of the Rroma and their own educational aims of preparing children for the nomadic life. Nevertheless, when host communities take the Rromani lifestyle and values seriously progress can be made.     

Letter coding affects movement production in word writing: an English–Italian cross-linguistic study

Reading and Writing - The present research is a cross-linguistic study indicating that the timing of motor production not only depends on the shape of a letter and the activation of its motor...     

Why are written picture naming latencies (not) longer than spoken naming?

The comparison between spoken and handwritten production in picture naming tasks represents an important source of information for building models of cognitive processes involved in writing. Studies using this methodology systematically reported longer latencies for handwritten than for spoken production. To uncover the origin of this difference across modalities, we compared the latencies of spoken picture naming and two written picture naming conditions: one in which the participants could see and monitor their handwriting (visible-condition), and one in which they could not monitor their production (masked-condition). Previously reported differences between spoken and handwritten naming latencies were replicated in the standard visible-condition. By contrast, production latencies were faster in the written masked-condition than in the visible-condition and did not differ from spoken production latencies. These results suggest that longer handwriting latencies, in comparison with speaking latencies, are due to the delayed onset in handwriting in conditions where the sheet is visible. The implications of these results on both written production models and experimental methods are discussed.     

The Principle Of Likelihood As A Basis For Tests Of Significance

This study was designed to test the hypothesis that a feeling of being in control will make potentially stressful environmental events less so. Subjects were practicing teachers about whom little was known regarding the relationship between locus of control and stress. They responded to the Teacher Locus of Control Scale and the Teacher Occupational Stress Factor Questionnaire. Multivariate and bivariate analyses of their responses showed that locus of control was related to teacher stress. As hypothesized, teachers who felt that they were in control reported less stress in their world of work than did those who did not feel influential in their educational environment. Neither sex nor age moderated this relationship.