Asymmetries in Infant Cross-Modal Transfer

3 groups of 12-month-olds were tested for cross-modal and intramodal transfer of information about shape. Infants were given either visual (V) or tactual (T) familiarization and then tested for visual recognition (V-V, T-V) or tactual recognition (T-T, V-T). Transfer was tested after either 15, 30, or 60 sec familiarization. Overall, intramodal transfer was superior to cross-modal transfer. Whereas the V-V condition was easiest of all, the T-T condition proved easier than V-T cross-modal transfer, although it was no more difficult than T-V transfer; cross-modal asymmetries appeared, with T-V easier than V-T. The asymmetry in cross-modal transfer could not be explained by intramodal factors. Possible bases for cross-modal asymmetries were discussed.     

Early childhood family education

If they came with instructions, then you wouldn't need us reads the poster on the classroom door. It is a pleasant morning in early September and my twelve-month-old daughter, Laura, and I are going to our first day of school. Laura and I enter the infant and toddler room with anticipation.Barb Rose is a free lance writer living in St. Paul, MN, and the mother of a 2-year-old named Laura.     

Rhesus monkeys (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Macaca mulatta</Emphasis>) select Arabic numerals or visual quantities corresponding to a number of sequentially completed maze trials

Four number-trained rhesus monkeys were trained to enumerate their sequential responses. After completing a series of computerized maze trials, the monkeys were given a same/different discrimination involving a numerical stimulus (an Arabic numeral or a visual quantity) and the letterD. The goal was to choose the numerical stimulus if it matched the number of just-completed maze trials, and to choose the letterD if it did not. There were large individual differences in performance, but one animal performed above 70% when receiving randomly intermixed series of 1, 3, 5, and 9 maze trials. This indicates that the monkey was keeping track of the approximate number of maze trials completed in each series and using that numerical cue to respond during the same/different discrimination.     

Bending the rules: when deaf writers leave college

On-the-job writing of deaf college graduates at all degree levels was investigated. Institutional databases and questionnaires to alumni and employers were the sources for information. Respondents were asked about editing assistance, sources and types of assistance, and perceptions of such assistance by employers and employees. Results of the study confirmed that deaf employees did considerable writing regardless of degree or type of job. Their self-reports indicated grammar as the major weakness. Additionally, employers stated that clarity, organization, and spelling were serious writing problems. The study also showed that deaf employees asked for and received editing assistance and that employers were willing to support the improvement of writing skills. Because error-free texts are expected in the workplace and editing assistance is sought and received, postsecondary institutions should mimic these practices by providing copyediting services and instruction in the ethics and practices of working with editors.     

Adolescent Journeys: Finding Female Authority in <Emphasis Type="Italic">The Rain Catchers and The House on Mango Street</Emphasis>

This article compares the first-person narratives of two adolescent girls in the novels The Rain Catchers and The House on Mango Street. I propose that adolescent girls can use literacy to read the world around them as a text and therefore help them to form their own identities enough to ultimately find authority in telling their own stories. I use Judith Langer’s theory of envisionment-building as a primary lens through which to interpret the girls’ narrative work and further elucidate the feminist aspects involved through Belenky et al.’s famous work, Women’s Ways of Knowing.

Family disruption and academic functioning in urban,black youth

The purpose of this study was to examine from an ecological perspective the relationships between multiple levels of family disruption and children's academic functioning in a sample of 390 urban, Black adolescents at age 14. Subjects in this cohort have been followed longitudinally since before their birth. Data from previous assessments at birth and age 7 years allowed for control of important correlates in this analyses. Examination of this unique sample, using multisource data collection procedures, provides important information about the many family disruptions among urban, low‐income families and the effects of these disruptions on academic outcomes. Results revealed several consistent findings, the most notable of which is that, when parents were married, adolescents demonstrated significantly higher grades, mediated through paternal involvement. Of all variables studied, the role of fathers in the lives of these adolescents was the most influential on academic outcomes. In this unique sample, even variables such as involvement with child protective services were not significantly related to outcomes after important control variables were factored into analyses. Results of this study have important implications for future research and for prevention and intervention efforts in urban, at‐risk samples. Emphasis is made for work in the school context, particularly for school psychologists. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

A phenomenographic investigation on the use of iPads among undergraduate art and design students

The increasingly widespread use of iPads in higher education (HE) brings to the forefront questions about the contribution of these computer tablets towards teaching and learning. However, there is a noticeable gap of research on the instructional potential of iPads in HE. This paper describes the first stage of a research project on the use of iPads in undergraduate art and design disciplines, and is a collaboration between the research lab “Networked Learning Technologies in Art and Design” at Cyprus University of Technology, and the “Centre for Pedagogic Research” at Falmouth University in England. The participants from both institutions provided a student‐centred perspective, and the qualitative analysis (phenomenography) revealed varied perceptions. Based on the findings of this project, the implication is that there are a number of challenges and obstacles in embedding the use of iPads in art and design education. Further research in the second stage of this collaborative research will investigate the views and motivations of art and design faculty. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZBXnuVJ8eBY     

A Structural Equation Modelling on the Factors Affecting Intolerance of Uncertainty and Worry Among a Select Group of Filipino Elderly

Across the literature, the interest in the phenomenon of intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and worry has increased exponentially. However, limited empirical studies exist about the factors that affect IU and worry among older people. The purpose of the study was to examine the impact of spirituality, self-efficacy, and knowledge about aging on IU and worry. A total of 219 Filipino elderly were recruited from institutionalized and hospital care settings. A multiaspect questionnaire was utilized to measure spirituality, self-efficacy, knowledge, intolerance uncertainty, and worry. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to explore the dimensions of IU and worry. Moreover, structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesized model. Results of EFA identified four factor dimensions of uncertainty, namely: perfection-driven uncertainty, apprehension-driven uncertainty, avoidance-driven uncertainty, negativism-driven uncertainty. Further, three factor dimensions of worry were also distinguished: constant worriers, obsessive-compulsive worriers, and happy-go-lucky worriers. Moreover, results of structural equation modeling (SEM) showed interaction among the variables presented. Additionally, spirituality showed a positive effect on self-efficacy. However, self-efficacy does not have an effect on IU and worry. Nevertheless, an emerging path between knowledge and IU supported the claim of Nuevo, Wetherell, Montorio, Ruiz, and Cabrera (2009). The study was able to determine the positive effect of spirituality to self-efficacy and its existing correlation with knowledge about aging in relation to elderly's IU and worry. The emerging model can serve as a reference for nurses to address the sociopsychological needs of the geriatric clients employing spirituality and psychiatric nursing.     

Schools of the Future

The speaker, Dr. Anna Hyer, considered that it was hardly surprising that developments in education are currently the subject of so much attention, since such changes are at the root of any social development, and opinion in the United States has never looked so frankly at the problems of society.