What does ‘natural capital’ do? The role of metaphor in economic understanding of the environment

At the time of its introduction at the end of the 1980s, the concept of natural capital represented new, more ecologically aware thinking in economics. As a symbol of novel thinking, the metaphor of natural capital stimulated a debate between different disciplinary traditions on the definitions of the concept and research priorities and methods. The concept became a means to control the discourse of sustainable development. In this paper, I focus on the power/knowledge implications of the use of the concept, and I follow the career of the concept of natural capital in ecological economic publications between the years 1988 and 2000. The main interests are: (1) in the use of the concept to affect the rules according to which claims concerning sustainable development can be made and (2) in the constitution of objects of environmental knowledge.     

Cumulative Risk,the Mother–Child Relationship,and Social-Emotional Competence in Latino Head Start Children

Research Findings: Supportive mother–child interactions promote the development of social-emotional competence. Poverty and other associated psychosocial risk factors have a negative impact on mother–child interaction. In spite of Latino children being disproportionately represented among children living in poverty, research on mother–child interactions among economically disadvantaged Latino families remains scarce and results are mixed. The current study used an ecological approach to examine the relationship between maternal cumulative risk, child developmental delay, observed and self-reported quality of the mother–child relationship, time spent in Head Start, and teachers’ and parents’ ratings of social-emotional competence among 106 Latino Head Start children and their mothers. Cumulative risk showed a negative association with observed maternal supportiveness and self-reported quality of the mother–child relationship. Cumulative risk had negative and positive indirect effects, respectively, on child social competence and problem behavior through perceived quality of the mother–child relationship. This association only occurred when parent ratings of child behavior were used. Time spent in Head Start moderated the association between observed maternal supportiveness and social competence. Practice or Policy: Implications for providers and researchers attempting to improve social-emotional competence in disadvantaged Latino children by enhancing positive and supportive parenting practice are discussed.     

硅橡胶反应性杂化材料制备及其性能研究

以六甲基二硅氧烷、双乙烯基四甲基二硅氧烷和硅酸乙酯为主要原料,合成加成反应型单体。红外和电子透镜分析结果表明,该单体中含有乙烯基、羟基和[SiO1/2]等基本结构,单体中的[SiO2]单元以2～10nm的聚集体形式存在。随该纳米单体的加入,硅橡胶拉伸强度提高为增强前的7～8倍,击穿强度增高4kV·(mm)-1左右;相对介电常数增大,介质损耗也相应发生变化。     

Analogical encoding with and without instructions for case comparison of scientific phenomena

The study aimed to extend current research on conditions that better support analogical encoding through mutual alignment. We focused on two variables that have not been examined independently in previous studies: the joint presentations of two cases of a scientific phenomenon and the explicit instructions for comparison. One hundred and sixty-five 5th graders and one hundred and sixty-eight 7th graders were presented with two pairs of scenarios, one about heat flow and the other about the state change of matter. Participants were randomly assigned to three conditions: sequential presentation of scenarios, joint presentation of scenarios and joint presentation of scenarios with explicit instructions to compare analogically. Results show that for both pairs of scenarios, analogical encoding was promoted more in the condition of joint presentation of scenarios with instructions for comparison. In addition, 7th graders benefited more from this condition than 5th graders.     

Children's Understanding of Agriculture as an economic activity: the role of figurative information

This paper presents the results of a curriculum of basic economic concepts given to 5 fourth-grade classes (Ss=95). The main topic of this curriculum was the production and distribution of agricultural produce, which had already proved to be difficult for the children. The proposed curriculum was largely inspired by the idea that familiarity with «social scenes» related to the economic process in question is necessary (although not sufficient) to allow children to understand such concepts. Children's level of understanding was tested before and after the curriculum by means of a semi-structured interview on 3 main topics: farmers' use of produce; farmers' use of earnings; produce distribution. Answers were scored according to their complexity and correctness; variance analyses performed on the scores showed significant improvements, as well as differences between classes. A qualitative analysis of children's answers was also performed, with the aim of interpreting the nature of change in each topic.     

Children with dyslexia show an inhibition domain-specific deficit in reading

Reading and Writing - Children with dyslexia face persistent difficulties in acquiring reading skills, often making guessing errors characterized by the replacement of a word by an orthographic...     

Social marking of cognitive operations. The effect of different social rules

The present study is concerned with assessing whether social marking (i.e. the correspondence between the correct solution of a task and some known social rule) is a mechanism of cognitive progress which depends on specific forms of rule represented in the task material. Results of an experiment on a spatial transformation task (N=sixty-four non-conserving 5–6-year-olds) showed no significantly different levels of cognitive progress for subjects who transformed the spatial arrangement of a classroom or of a theatre. Significant difference emerged only when a deviation from the normally regulated arrangement were represented. In the condition where the deviation concerned the theatre subjects showed the lower level of progress. It was concluded that the beneficial effect of social marking may depend on the form of rule represented. Results were discussed with respect to children’s knowledge of the relative alterability of different types of rules.     

英语非生物主语句探析

英语中有一个不同于汉语的语言现象，即用非生物名词作主语，使句子简洁生动。可以用于非生物主主事句中的名词一般为表示时间或自然现象的名词、表示情感的名词、表示情景的名词以及其它抽象名词。     

Facebook group dynamics: an ethnographic study of the teaching and learning potential for secondary school teachers

ABSTRACT

This study examines the role of social networking sites on the learning processes, teaching practices and professional development of secondary school teachers. By conducting observations and in-depth interviews with active participants, we present an ethnographic study of the Facebook group Teaching ideas secondary education [author’s translation], which is hosted and primarily employed by Flemish teachers. By drawing parallels between the study findings and the theory of affinity spaces we aim to gain greater insight into emerging group dynamics and social informal learning processes. According to respondents, the Facebook group has the potential to address teachers’ needs with respect to the exchange of teaching ideas, experiences and materials. The findings point to a number of emerging developments in the educational landscape, highlighting that social media environments present a new source of inspiration, and combined with a collaborative atmosphere are able to stimulate cross-fertilization, social informal learning processes and self-management and -reflection. We hold these findings up to the light of current education discourses.