Developmental changes in the understanding of implied motion in two-dimensional pictures.

The power of various pictorial movement cues in eliciting a reading of movement was studied to determine the relationship between the ease with which a picture is interpreted and the degree to which the picture retains the structure of reality. Movement was indicated in 2 ways: pictorial conventions indicated movement by lines, blurs, and vibration marks; and pictorial postures indicated movement by figures which were isomorphic with the postures involved in real movement. Preschoolers, first graders, sixth graders, and college students were asked to label and sort pictures of human figures as "moving" or "still". Members of the 2 young groups did not classify pictures with conventional cues as "moving" as often as they did pictures with postural cues. Members of the 2 older groups classified both types of pictures as "moving". Since postural cues for movement are recognized at an earlier age than conventional cues, those that are more similar to reality may be easier to understand.     

On the optimality of hysteresis operators in signal processing and communication systems

This paper demonstrates that hysteresis operators are the optimal estimators for a large class of estimation and decision problems. This class of problems arises whenever a cost is associated with actions needed to process changes in the estimates or decisions. A simple example related to least-squares estimation is used to illustrate and motivate the developments in this paper. Subsequently, the problem of mean-square estimation with minimal cost of actions is investigated. These results provide a justification for the use of hysteresis in many practical signal processing and communication applications.     

A Pilot Study Examining Religious Organization Affiliation,Sexual Health Information Sources,and Sexual Behaviors Among College Students

We conducted an online survey to examine religiosity, sexual health knowledge, and behavior and sexual health information sources among undergraduate students affiliated with student religious organizations (n?=?45) and unaffiliated students (n?=?82). Analyses included Fisher’s exact tests, t-tests, and exact regression models. Students reporting religious affiliation considered religious sources to be believable (p?=?.004 for sexual health; p?p?=?.0042). Although religiously affiliated students reported fewer sexual partners in the past year (p?=?.020), their reported condom use was not significantly different from that of unaffiliated students. Future research should explore the focus and content of romantic relationship information provided by student religious organizations. Health practitioners and educators should consider strategies for collaborating with religious organizations to meet the information needs of these students.     

Hemispheric processing and cognitive styles in learning-disabled and normal children.

A paradigm of specialized brain hemisphere processing abilities was used to test cognitive skills and cognitive style in "learning-disabled" (LD) and "normal" children. Results indicate that (1) verbal ability is not a unitary factor, and LD children are deficient in only some aspects of verbal ability; (2) the LD group perform as well as the control group on right-hemisphere tests; (3) LD boys are more field sensitive (field dependent) than the control boys; (4) LD children may be attempting to use a nonverbal information processing mode to deal with academic tasks. The need for information on nonverbal processing skills in order to aid verbal processing is discussed.     

Community Education and child-care programs

The Community Education Services (CES) division of the Children's Television Workshop (CTW) is CTW's community-outreach arm. This article describes how CES works with parents, children, experts, and local groups to develop special multimedia products, four of which are discussed. Two of the products—a fire-safety kit and a natural-hazards packet—were designed to teach young children how to protect themselves in life-threatening emergencies. Two other products—CES'sSesame Street preschool education materials and its3-2-1 Contact andSquare One TV after-school materials—are attempts by CTW to respond to societal changes that have increasingly shifted the burden of child care onto preschool and after-school programs.     

Examining the Black-White achievement gap among low-income children using the NICHD study of early child care and youth development

The Black–White achievement gap in children’s reading and mathematics school performance from 4½ years of age through fifth grade was examined in a sample of 314 lower income American youth followed from birth. Differences in family, child care, and schooling experiences largely explained Black–White differences in achievement, and instructional quality was a stronger predictor for Black than White children. In addition, the achievement gap was detected as young as 3 years of age. Taken together, the findings suggest that reducing the Black–White achievement gap may require early intervention to reduce race gaps in home and school experiences during the infant and toddler years as well as during the preschool and school years.     

Deductive and defeasible reasoning on the basis of a unified algebraic approach

Application of a unified classical approach to the modeling and analysis of both deductive and defeasible reasoning developed by the authors on the basis of n-tuple algebra is demonstrated. A method of analysis of defeasible reasoning transferring the “non-classical” component to the semantics and allowing carrying out logical analysis without violating the laws of classical logic is demonstrated.     

Influences on the Construction of Health News: The Reporting Practices of Local Television News Health Journalists

Local television news remains a primary news source for Americans and is a key source of consumer health information. This study explores why local television health journalists cover particular topics and assesses why health journalism newsgathering practices often differ from the normative newsgathering practices of general assignment reporters. Fifteen in-depth telephone interviews were conducted with health journalists from varying geographical regions and media markets. Influence from local hospitals and personal interest in a health topic often determined the health content the journalists produced. Journalists said it was difficult to cover health issues in addition to other newsroom responsibilities.