Affective issues in library and information science systems work: A content analysis

Increasing attention to affective issues is evident in human information behavior work in library and information science (LIS) as well as in a wide range of other disciplines. However, it is questionable whether the LIS systems-oriented literature reflects any serious interest in affective issues such as emotion or confidence, as these affect information behavior. This study analyzes systems work in LIS to determine the relative interest in affective issues being shown. Content analysis of articles published between 1999 and 2003 indicates that systems work in LIS pays little attention to affective variables. In addition, insufficient intellectual access to affective issues is provided by the primary indexing services.     

How Big is the Handicap for Disadvantaged Pupils in Segregated Schooling Systems?

The effect of composition may be strong in systems where students are systematically sorted based on their socio-economic background. This paper aims to model the differential effect of class composition on pupils’ achievement in Belgium (French-speaking Community), France, Spain and Portugal. Multilevel models are consequently tested on the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 2011 data (20,830 pupils in 1139 classes). Our results suggest that socio-economic composition does not have an equivalent effect on pupil achievement in the four countries included in our analysis: its effect is strong in the French-speaking Community of Belgium and France but smaller in Spain and Portugal.     

The role of parental expectations in understanding social and academic well-being among children with disabilities in Ireland

This paper draws on longitudinal data to examine the extent to which parents’ educational expectations shape academic development and changes in self-concept among young people with different types of disability. The analysis is based on the Growing Up in Ireland longitudinal study, which tracked 7423 children between the primary to secondary school years, 21% of whom were identified with one of four main disability types. Our conceptual framework assumes that parental expectations at age 9 will be influenced by both the child’s disability and child’s academic achievement at that stage, as well as being influenced by other factors such as parent’s own education, family economic vulnerability, family relationships and family structure. Therefore, we take these factors into account in tracing the consequences of parental expectations at age 9, on academic and social outcomes at age 13 after the transition to secondary education. Among young people with a disability, poorer self-concept at age 13 is partly explained by lower parental expectations, particularly for those with general learning and emotional/behavioural disabilities. Similarly, parental expectations are a significant influence on children’s academic outcomes and partly explain the effects of disability status on academic development. Parents’ beliefs about their children’s abilities have a strong influence on achievement and self-concept, raising important issues around the need to promote equality of opportunity, raising awareness of the educational opportunities available, promoting positive expectations and engagement with school and the importance of promoting a range of opportunities for achievement.     

If You're Happy and You Know It: Positive Moods Reduce Age‐Related Differences in False Memory

When tested in the Deese–Roediger–McDermott paradigm, children typically exhibit fewer false memories than do adolescents or adults. Here, participants’ moods and the valence of word lists were manipulated to explore the mechanism responsible for this developmental reversal in memory performance. Children (7‐ to 8‐year‐olds), adolescents (11‐ to 12‐year‐olds), and young adults (18‐ to 22‐year‐olds; N = 270) were assigned to one of three induced mood conditions and were presented with emotional word lists. In negative moods, adolescents and adults falsely recalled more negative information than did children, showing the typical developmental reversal effect. This effect, however, was eliminated when participants were in positive moods. The findings provide support for associative‐activation theory and have important implications for our understanding of the development of emotional false memories.     

Analysis and synthesis of resistive n-port networks

Various aspects of analysis and synthesis of resistive n-port networks are considered in this paper. Two different characterizations of the network are examined, the Y matrix characterization and the K matrix characterization. Based on these characterizations, a set of equations is derived which relate the edge admittances with the elements of these matrices. When the K matrix is given, these equations are linear and can be solved analytically. When the Y matrix is given, the equations are bilinear and cannot be solved analytically. In this case, the problem is formulated as an optimization problem and techniques of nonlinear programming are used to obtain a realization. Synthesis from the Y matrix is finally extended to include sensitivity considerations.     

Pédagogie and didactique: An incestuous relationship

This article deals with the evolution of pedagogical theory in the Francophone world. At present, two major currents of reflection on education exist in the Francophone world. The first, called didactique – didactics – relates to teacher planning, working chiefly from considerations about the pupil's cognitive characteristics. The second, called pédagogie – pedagogy – relates to the features of pedagogical reflection-in-action. This article analyzes the distinctions between the two currents with a view to determining whether they constitute genuine differences.     

Analysis of a varnish applied by Nicéphore Niépce to make a print used for photographic purpose transparent

Nicéphore Niépce carried out a lot of meticulous experiments that led him to the invention of photography. In particular, in the 1820s, he obtained heliographs by coating a substrate with a light-sensitive substance, which was then exposed to light under a paper print made translucent with the help of varnish. The objective of the work described here is to determine how Niépce made these paper prints transparent. Did he use his experimental knowledge on photosensitive resins, or did he apply commonly used recipes of his time to make paper transparent? To date, no studies have been carried out on the varnish used by Nicéphore Niépce and no previous research has undertaken analytical investigations on Nicéphore's prints, using Attenuated Total Reflection Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). In this paper, we identify the varnishes used by Nicéphore Niépce on four transparent prints, now belonging to the Nicéphore Niépce museum in Chalon-sur-Saône, France. The varnish he used was based on a diterpenic Pinaceae sp. resin (most probably colophony). The finding is supported by historical knowledge about varnishes.