Context Strengthens Initial Misinterpretations of Text

Three self-paced reading experiments examined the effect of context on interpreting subsequent sentences and in the difficulty of revising initial misinterpretations of subsequent temporarily ambiguous sentences. Target sentences containing noun phrase/sentence (NP/S) coordination ambiguities were preceded by contexts that either did or did not support the preferred, incorrect “NP and NP” interpretation. Online reading times and offline comprehension question responses were the dependent variables. Results suggest that when propositional content of incoming text is consistent with propositional content of the context, readers often hang on to the resulting coherent interpretation even when subsequent input contradicts it. Results also suggest that (a) context affects reading times and final interpretation; (b) when context and comprehension questions bias readers toward the incorrect interpretation, even unambiguous sentences are regularly misinterpreted; and (c) both semantic content and syntactic form of context influence how the context and subsequent text are integrated in memory.     

Supporting Programming and Learning-to-Program with an Integrated CAD and Scaffolding Workbench*

Programming is a complex cognitive task for students, because of the difficulty of finding the appropriate elements (the “decomposition” problem) and integrating them correctly into a whole (the “composition” problem). Programming is also hard to learn, because so much of the thinking behind a program is implicit and the process of programming is long and complicated. Our approach is to integrate a computer-aided design tool (CAD) with scaffolding to create a single, cohesive, and coherent workbench for the entire process. Our workbench is called the GPCeditor. We have evaluated its use by high-school students. Our results suggest that students program well in the GPCeditor, they learn good programming practices, and that the learning is occurring through use of the GPCeditor.     

Kawaii Killers and Femme Fatales: A Textual Analysis of Female Characters Signifying Benevolent and Hostile Sexism in Video Games

ABSTRACT

Game developers potentially convey socio-cultural values about gender through design choices. This study interpreted the designs of 11 purposively selected female game characters, developed by studios located in the United States and Japan, through the lens of ambivalent sexism. This social psychological theory posits that sexism consists of hostile and benevolent attitudes about women. Two themes emerged across characterizations: bodies as objects, bodies as weapons and (in)dependence. Both consisted of empowering qualities paired with problematic beliefs about women. This analysis contributes to interdisciplinary literature by using an empirical perspective to interpret gender representations in video games.     

Neoliberal values & queer/disability in Margarita with a Straw

ABSTRACT

Margarita with a Straw is an Indian movie about a queer/disabled woman exploring her sexuality. The article uses textual analysis with a discursive formation approach to analyze how the protagonist’s queer/disabled identity is constituted vis-à-vis intimate partnerships alongside the promotion of neoliberal values. One relationship with an able-bodied white man takes place within a caregiving dynamic that challenges her independence. The other relationship with a disabled South Asian woman creates an interdependence that bifurcates their identities as disabled-and-queer. The article argues that the promotion of neoliberal values in the context of queer/disability is about independence from dependence on sociopolitical systems.     

Using mindfulness to teach perception

Using the philosophy of mindfulness is an innovative way to teach about perception. By participating in a mindfulness awareness practice, engaging in an activity with all your senses and being in the moment without judgment, students learn about the concepts of perception and mindfulness; analyze their personal perception process before and after the activity; and reflect individually and in group discussion on how mindfulness can change the perception process.

Courses: Any course where perception and the perception process are taught including: Introduction to Communication, Interpersonal Communication, Intercultural Communication, and Health Communication.

Objectives: Students will (a) learn about the concepts of perception and mindfulness, (b) apply their knowledge by participating in a hands-on mindfulness awareness practice, (c) analyze their personal perception process before and after the activity, and (d) reflect individually and in group discussion on how mindfulness can change the perception process.     

Self-Determination to Increase Oral Reading Fluency Performance: Pilot and Replication Single-Case Design Studies

We report findings from multiple baseline design studies examining the effects of a program (“Data Mountain”) to improve the oral reading fluency (ORF) performance of 12 third-grade students with significant reading difficulties. The Data Mountain program guided students through self-monitoring, goal setting, and motivation training related to their reading performance. In the pilot study, these components were introduced across two experimental phases (self-monitoring and goal setting, followed by motivation training) to observe potential additive effects. In the replication study, the full Data Mountain program was introduced in one experimental phase. Between-case standardized mean difference effect sizes yielded moderate effects across studies (ES = 0.53, 0.63). Visual analyses of data revealed that students demonstrated increased levels of words read correctly per minute (wpm). In the pilot study, students’ fluency increased to an average of 22 wpm in the self-monitoring and goal-setting phase, and to a further 9 wpm in the motivation training phase. In the replication study, students increased an average of 18 wpm with the Data Mountain program. These results provide evidence to suggest that self-determination and motivation training have the potential to support the ORF performance of students with significant reading difficulties in the elementary grades.     

No Such Thing as a Baby: Responses to Infant Cry Paradigms Are Primarily Influenced by Parents’ Experiences and Behavior

SYNOPSIS

This article builds on our previous work demonstrating that, when exposed to work–family conflict, parents with high levels of attachment anxiety exhibit greater work–family guilt and less tolerance of infant distress. We respond to commentaries suggesting that the theoretical model could be enhanced by better accounting for innate infant differences and parent psychopathology, arguing that it is possible that parents’ experiences of work–family conflict and attachment anxiety precede the development of psychopathology and may influence the development of infant temperament and behavior. We further explore clinical implications of our findings and identify key suggestions for future work, with an emphasis on the roles of parental experiences of childhood maltreatment and insensitive caregiving.     

Shifting Practices,Shifting Selves: Negotiations of Local and Global Cultures Among Adolescents in Northern Thailand

Around the world, adolescents increasingly grow up as members of local and global cultures. Little is known, however, about how precisely adolescents in rapidly globalizing societies blend local and global cultures. Interviews with 40 (16- to 19-year old) Thai adolescents, evenly divided between rural and urban communities, were analyzed alongside participant observation data for the interplay between local and global linguistic and dietary practices. Results revealed that urban adolescents inhabited differentiated selves, alternating between local and global practices based on interactional partner. The activation of each assisted them in navigating—and in some cases, reshaping—hierarchies encountered in everyday relationships. Findings contribute to the developmental science of globalization and point to the utility of interrogating cultural practices as sites of self-negotiation in rapidly changing cultural contexts.