Variations in fathers’ discourse on fatherhood and in family alliances during infancy

The aim of this pilot study is to analyse the discourse of fathers of toddlers concerning fatherhood and the link between some particularities in the discourse and family alliance. The sample consists of 13 Swiss first time fathers (5 fathers of girls and 8 of boys). In order to evaluate the paternal discourse, the fathers were given a semistructured interview, which was later analysed using the research package Alceste. The family alliance, i.e., the degree of coordination among the partners when executing a task together, was assessed through the Lausanne Trilogue Play (Fivaz-Depeursinge & Corboz-Warnery, 1999). The main results indicated an interesting link between classes of paternal discourse grouped around the following themes “affective relationship”, “daily routine” and “educational goals”, and the family alliance (defined in two major categories; functional and problematic alliances). Finally, clinical perspectives on links between paternal representations and family functioning at an interactive level are discussed.     

The Effects of Gender Interaction Patterns on Student Participation in Computer-Supported Collaborative Argumentation

In this study we examined response patterns in exchanges between males and females and their effects on gender participation in five online debates. Students classified messages into arguments, evidence, critiques, and elaborations while posting messages to the debates to facilitate argumentation and the sequential analysis of message-response sequences. The findings revealed no differences in number of critiques posted in response to arguments because females were just as likely as males to critique messages from both males and females, and because females responded to males with critiques at a higher than expected frequency. Posthoc analysis revealed strong indications that females posted fewer rebuttals to the critiques of females than males, and males posted more rebuttals to the critiques of females than females. The methods used in this study illustrate a process-oriented approach to explain and predict gender differences in participation and serve as a framework for future research on gender participation, group interaction, and strategies for facilitating collaborative argumentation and problem solving.     

A new algorithm of brain volume contours segmentation

This paper explores brain CT slices segmentation technique and some related problems, including contours segmentation algorithms, edge detector, algorithm evaluation and experimental results. This article describes a method for contour-based segmentation of anatomical structures in 3D medical data sets. With this method, the user manually traces one or more 2D contours of an anatomical structure of interest on parallel planes arbitrarily cutting the data set. The experimental results showed the segmentation based on 3D brain volume and 2D CT slices. The main creative contributions in this paper are: (1) contours segmentation algorithm; (2) edge detector; (3) algorithm evaluation. Project (No.69931010) supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China     

Visual discrimination of letter-like forms and its relationship to achievement over time in children with learning disabilities

The purpose of this study was to better understand whether visual discrimination abilities are related to reading intelligence and other achievement areas in children with learning disabilities and normally achieving children. Children with visual discrimination problems were identified using the Gibson letter-like visual discrimination task. This task was given to a large sample of children with learning disabilities as well as a sample of normally achieving children. All children were followed throughout elementary school. Results indicated that children with learning disabilities who had visual discrimination problems at 6 or 7 years of age performed more poorly in reading and general achievement over the elementary school years in comparison to the other children with learning disabilities and compared to normally achieving children. Discussion centers around the importance of this skill for reading.     

Onset Entropy Matters – Letter-to-phoneme Mappings in Seven Languages

Alphabetic orthographies vary in the (in)consistency of the relations between spelling and sound patterns. In transparent orthographies, like Italian, the pronunciation can be predicted from the spelling, in contrast to opaque orthographies such as English, where spelling–sound correspondences are often inconsistent. The pronunciation of English vowel letters is in particular very ambiguous. In this paper, we provide a cross-linguistic investigation of orthographic transparency at the word-initial letter–phoneme level, resulting in ranked metrics for the seven languages investigated- Dutch, English, French, German, Hungarian, Italian, and Portuguese, expressed as entropy values. We focus on the contributions of vowels and consonants towards the overall orthographic transparency and provide evidence that deviations from consistent word-initial 1:1 mappings between letters and phonemes influence reaction times in naming tasks. Implications for theories of visual word recognition and speech production will be discussed.     

Afro-Caribbean Immigrant Faculty Experiences in the American Academy: Voices of an Invisible Black Population

Afro-Caribbean immigrants have been an integral part of the history and shaping of the United States since the early 1900s. This current study explores the experiences of five Afro-Caribbean faculty members at traditionally White institutions of higher education. Despite the historical presence and influence of Afro-Caribbean communities and the efforts within education systems to address the needs of Afro-Caribbean constituents, Afro-Caribbean faculty members continue to be rendered indiscernible in higher education and to be frequently and erroneously perceived as African–Americans. The study examines the lived experiences of these individuals in the hegemonic White spaces they occupy at their institutions with both White and Black populations. Through their narratives, issues of stereotyping, microaggression, and isolation are addressed. The participants also offer solutions to address these issues by university administrators, department heads, faculty development professionals, diversity officers, policy makers, and other stakeholders. The voices in this study shed light on an overlooked, misunderstood, and under-researched population within our faculty ranks in the American Academy.