Within and beyond the classroom door: assessing quality in child care centers

This study reports data from a multisite study of typical center-based child care and children’s development regarding (a) associations among quality of care defined by structural features, process indicators, and compliance with state regulations, (b) variation in quality based on the stringency of state child care regulations and center compliance, and (c) specific quality indicators that show especially strong links to children’s experiences in child care. Findings confirmed prior evidence regarding the importance of ratios, teacher training, and group size for high quality classroom processes, but demonstrated the more significant contribution of teacher wages and parent fees. Both structural and process measures of quality varied with the location of the center in a state with more or less stringent child care regulations. The results indicate the importance of incorporating economic and regulatory considerations into future studies of childcare quality.     

Directional aiming bias in golf putting

Johnston, Benton, and Nishida (2003, Last but not least - Golfers may have to overcome a persistent visuospatial illusion. Perception, 32(9), 1151–1154) reported that when standing sideways to hit a golf ball, it becomes very difficult to see the veridical line of putt to the target and it creates a bias to misread the direction to the right of target. The purpose of the study was to determine if this perceptual aiming bias also impacts putting. A group of expert (N = 24) and novice (N = 24) players performed a perception task of aligning a line on the golf ball towards the target hole and an action task of putting a ball to the target hole located 1 m and 4 m away. Novice players showed large perceptual aiming bias and small action aiming bias of putting. Yet, expert players showed neither bias in perceptual aiming nor in putting. This replicates earlier work (van Lier, van der Kamp, & Savelsbergh, 2011 Perception action in golf putting: Skill differences reflect calibration. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 33(3), 349–369) and was explained by the two-visual-pathway hypothesis. Despite the results showing some favorable support for the two-visual-pathway hypothesis, possible limitations are discussed.     

Changes in self-esteem across the first year in college: the role of achievement goals

This longitudinal study examined the effects of achievement goals on the growth trajectories of self-esteem during the first-year at a comprehensive public university. College freshmen (N?=?311) were followed for one academic year with three time points. Between-individual differences and within-individual change in achievement goals were distinguished and used as predictors for the growth trajectories of self-esteem. A growth curve analysis revealed that initially high mastery goals and subsequent increases in mastery goals were related to high self-esteem while initially high performance-avoidance goals were related to low self-esteem. The initial levels of performance-approach goals were not related to self-esteem but subsequent increases in performance-approach goals were associated with low self-esteem. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

韩中古代册文比较

册文是韩国古代与中国古代都使用的皇命文书之一,两国古代都有着共同的封建政治文化背景,韩国古代册文与中国古代册文的使用较相近。通过对两国古代册文使用的历史考察,比较两国在册文格式和功用的异同,分析两国之间政治文化的密切关系。     

Multicultural education as an emotional situation: practice encountering the unexpected in teacher education

Juxtaposing the concepts of screen memory, counter-transference and the holding environment within psychoanalytic theory, this essay explores the author’s emotional experience, who begins the exploration by asking several questions. What happens to a teacher’s emotional world and her consciousness in the process of trying to shift students’ consciousness in multicultural education? What is the psychical consequence for teachers of colour who must listen to racist discourse as a precondition to convincing those to do otherwise? How does a teacher’s emotional world influence student learning and development of critical consciousness? In working through her emotional response aroused by the students’ questions in her multicultural education classes, the author discusses the importance of a conversation between psychoanalysis and critical multicultural pedagogies and why the conversation matters.     

Antibody-independent isolation of circulating tumor cells by continuous-flow dielectrophoresis

Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) are prognostic markers for the recurrence of cancer and may carry molecular information relevant to cancer diagnosis. Dielectrophoresis (DEP) has been proposed as a molecular marker-independent approach for isolating CTCs from blood and has been shown to be broadly applicable to different types of cancers. However, existing batch-mode microfluidic DEP methods have been unable to process 10 ml clinical blood specimens rapidly enough. To achieve the required processing rates of 10⁶ nucleated cells/min, we describe a continuous flow microfluidic processing chamber into which the peripheral blood mononuclear cell fraction of a clinical specimen is slowly injected, deionized by diffusion, and then subjected to a balance of DEP, sedimentation and hydrodynamic lift forces. These forces cause tumor cells to be transported close to the floor of the chamber, while blood cells are carried about three cell diameters above them. The tumor cells are isolated by skimming them from the bottom of the chamber while the blood cells flow to waste. The principles, design, and modeling of the continuous-flow system are presented. To illustrate operation of the technology, we demonstrate the isolation of circulating colon tumor cells from clinical specimens and verify the tumor origin of these cells by molecular analysis.     

An economic valuation study of public libraries in Korea

The economic value of public libraries for local residents in Korea was measured. An economic-value measurement model that enables the estimation of diverse types of public library services was designed, using a conditional-value measurement method. Benefits were taken as the value of the main services provided by public libraries, such as accessibility to informational materials, facilities, and programs. Costs included the total amount of expenses at libraries such as personnel expenses, materials purchasing expenses, and other operational costs. Data were collected from 1220 users from 22 public libraries in the province of Seoul/Gyeonggi-do and the other seven Korean provinces. The return on investment (ROI) was calculated to be 3.66.     

Weblog Technology for Instruction,Learning, and Information Delivery*

Ever since Weblog emerged as an infusive online communication tool over the last decade, its impacts have been witnessed by the Internet society at large. Meanwhile, more and more universities and colleges are offering online classes enhanced by Web technology. In this article, we investigate the role of Weblog combined with face‐to‐face lectures through a three‐phase study that examines college students' perception of Weblog used in class. Ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA) techniques are employed to recognize meaningful patterns from collected data. The findings lie in the aspects of: relationship between level of study and the perceived value of Weblog, the relationship between level of Weblog experience and the perceived value of Weblog, and factors contributing to students' perception of Weblog usage. As the first work of its kind examining Weblog adoption from student perspective, this article provides educators, researchers, and practitioners with conceptual and practical references.