Direct memberships in foreign copyright collecting societies as an entrepreneurial opportunity for music publishers – needs,challenges, opportunities and solutions

Journal of Cultural Economics - In the competitive, increasingly international music business, publishers are developing new ways to increase effectiveness and efficiency of the monetization of the...     

A comparison of students who delay kindergarten entry and those who are retained in grades K−5

Retention has been one way that school personnel have dealt with the problem of school failure. Some authors have proposed delayed school entry as an alternative to retention, especially since there are concerns about the effects of retention on students' self-esteem. It is unclear from the literature whether retention and delayed entry have differential outcomes on measures of school success. This study explored whether there were differences in IQ and achievement (at grades 2, 5, and 7) between students who delayed school entry and those who were retained in later elementary grades, as well as any interactions with gender. There was a significant 6-point difference in IQ, favoring the delayed-entry group. Furthermore, when the achievement test scores were analyzed using an ANCOVA with IQ as a covariate, no significant differences were identified for either group or gender. Implications for school practices are provided.     

Evening electronic device use and sleep patterns in athletes

The present study aimed to investigate pre-sleep behaviours (including evening electronic device use) and sleep quantity in well-trained athletes. Seventy well-trained athletes (44 females, 26 males) aged 21 ± 4 y from a range of team and individual sports were asked to complete an online sleep diary for 7 days. The sleep diary included questions about pre-sleep behaviours (e.g. napping, caffeine intake), electronic device use in the 2 h prior to bedtime (e.g. type of device and duration of use) and sleep (e.g. time in bed, sleep onset latency). On average, athletes spent 8:20 ± 1:21 h in bed each night. Associations between age, time in bed and sleepiness suggested that younger athletes spent more time in bed (B = -0.05, p = 0.001) but felt sleepier (r = -0.32, p < 0.01) than older athletes. On average, athletes mostly used electronic devices for 0–30 min prior to sleep. The use of multiple devices in the evening was associated with more perceived difficulty in falling asleep (B = 0.22, p = 0.03), but no associations existed with other sleep variables. In summary, younger athletes may require later start times or improved sleep quality to resolve excessive sleepiness.     

Developing Culturally Competent Preservice Teachers

An unfortunate, yet persistent, truth in U.S. public schools is the large achievement gap existing between children from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and their White, middle-class counterparts. The potential for cultural dissonance between contemporary teachers and their students necessitates that educators must persistently seek culturally responsive practices. Much has been written regarding strategies for culturally responsive pedagogy; therefore, this article moves beyond a review of culturally responsive pedagogy. Rather than providing teacher candidates with more suggestions for culturally responsive teaching activities, the authors provide teacher educators with specific resources for facilitating the development of cultural competence among preservice teachers.