The Transition From Sublexical to Lexical Processing in a Consistent Orthography: An Eye-Tracking Study

We studied the transition in predominant reading strategy from serial sublexical processing to more parallel lexical processing as a function of word familiarity in German children of Grades 2, 3, 4, and adults. High-frequency words, low-frequency words, and nonwords of differing length were embedded in sentences and presented in an eye-tracking paradigm. The size of the word length effect was used as an indicator of serial sublexical decoding. When controlling for the generally higher processing times in younger readers, the effect of length over reading development was not direct but modulated by familiarity: Length effects were comparable between items of differing familiarity for Grade 2, whereas from Grade 3, length effects increased with decreasing familiarity. These findings suggest that Grade 2 children apply serial sublexical decoding as a default reading strategy to most items, whereas reading by direct lexical access is increasingly dominant in more experienced readers.     

Under-threes’ mathematical learning – teachers’ perspectives

This project highlights preschool teachers’ views of toddlers’ learning in mathematics. The Swedish national curriculum covers even the youngest children who are 1–3?years old. Interesting questions are thus: what should mathematics be for this age group and how should preschool teachers work with maths to achieve the curriculum objectives? Data were collected through interviews with six preschool teachers working in four different preschools. The data show that the teachers emphasize the body as very important for the learning process, which means that for these children, it is not a matter of simply talking about mathematical concepts, but experiencing them bodily. The teachers also report that they now pay more attention than previously to what material the children use and how they interact with it. They are more aware of how they organize and offer the various materials in the preschool and how this influences the way children use them and, consequently, their learning processes.     

Teaching Genetics in Secondary Classrooms: a Linguistic Analysis of Teachers’ Talk About Proteins

This study investigates Swedish biology teachers’ inclusion of proteins when teaching genetics in grade nine (students 15–16 years old). For some years, there has been a call to give attention to proteins when teaching genetics as a means of linking the concepts ‘gene’ and ‘trait’. Students are known to have problems with this relation because the concepts belong to different organizational levels. However, we know little about how the topic is taught and therefore this case study focuses on how teachers talk about proteins while teaching genetics and if they use proteins as a link between the micro and macro level. Four teachers were recorded during entire genetics teaching sequences, 45 lessons in total. The teachers’ verbal communication was then analyzed using thematic pattern analysis, which is based in systemic functional linguistics. The linguistic analysis of teachers’ talk in action revealed great variations in both the extent to which they used proteins in explanations of genetics and the ways they included proteins in linking genes and traits. Two of the teachers used protein as a link between gene and trait, while two did not. Three of the four teachers included instruction about protein synthesis. The common message from all teachers was that proteins are built, but none of the teachers talked about genes as exclusively encoding proteins. Our results suggest that students’ common lack of understanding of proteins as an intermediate link between gene and trait could be explained by limitations in the way the subject is taught.     

Inquiry-based learning with young learners: a Peirce-based model employed to critique a unit of inquiry on maps and mapping

Inquiry-based learning (IBL) has become a common theme in both school and higher education in recent years. It suggests a model of curriculum development and practice that moves educational debate beyond teacher or student-based approaches towards a model of teaching and learning in which the endeavour is shared. This paper discusses an investigation into the practice of IBL among primary schoolchildren in the setting of the Primary Years Programme of the International Baccalaureate. Three ideas from the work of the philosopher C.S. Peirce are used to provide an epistemological base for analysing the pedagogical practice of IBL: semiotics, reasoning and community of inquiry. Findings are presented under these three headings to illustrate the potency of Peirce's conceptualisation of learning. Drawing in particular on findings from a unit of inquiry on maps and mapping, it suggests an empirical frame for IBL for the use of teachers in the development and assessment of IBL.     

The Effects of Computer Training and Internet Usage on the Use of Everyday Technology by Older Adults: A Randomized Controlled Study

According to the skill transfer concept, people may use general technological skills to solve new problems. To test this concept, a technological transfer test was included in a randomized controlled-intervention study aimed at the causal relationship between computer use and autonomy of older adults. Older adults with and without exposure to computer training and Internet use and participants without interest in computers were administered this test. On two occasions, participants performed four daily tasks with everyday technological devices. Exposure to a novel technological challenge did not affect the efficiency of, and involvement in, other technological activities.     

Developing Policy for HIV/AIDS in Sport: Separating Fact From Fiction

In recent years, HIV-positive athletes hove increasingly made the headlines. leading to questions and concerns regarding HIV transmission through sport. Based on limited understanding and irrational fear. athletes have been excluded from sport competitions or encouraged to retire prematurely. In other cases. they have been subjected to random, mandatory HIV testing prior to sport competition. Because HIV/AIDS is a medical and social problem, information from health-related sources is included in this analysis, including the modes of HIV transmission. This analysis focuses on further issues related to rights, obligations, risks, privacy, and policy. The growing dilemma for the sport professionals to weigh an athlete's right to privacy against their own duty to warn in the decision-making process is examined, with a discussion on mandatory HIV testing for athletes. Guidelines based on principles of medical ethics are offered to aid sport practitioners in providing all athletes with the best possible service.     

Starting From Ground Zero: Establishing a Collection for a New Doctoral Program

This article reports a librarian's collection development efforts to support her institution's first independent doctoral degree (Ed.D., Educational Leadership) via a citation analysis comparing information usage by education doctorate dissertation authors from six peer institutions nationally. This analysis is part of a long-term examination of library collection use among California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) doctoral students. Key findings include the relative young age among the information resources in educational leadership, which resource formats were cited, what serial titles were cited the most, and where they are available electronically. The ultimate aim is the creation of an essential collection in the subject discipline.     

Public e-services for agency efficiency and citizen benefit — Findings from a stakeholder centered analysis

The main goals of e-government are to increase agency efficiency and offer benefits to citizens. These goals have often been addressed as two interplaying outcomes of public e-service development, which are possible to achieve in parallel. This article shows that the two frequently applied stakeholders of e-government (agencies and citizens) are much too extensive and heterogeneous in order to be meaningfully addressed in public e-service conceptualization and development. We conduct a stakeholder centered analysis of a public e-service development and implementation process in order to identify stakeholder groups and discuss how they differ in their perceptions and, consequently, also in their feelings of relevance and need related to the e-service. By adopting a multi-faceted perspective on stakeholders, public e-service development can be analyzed and understood in a way that takes several stakeholder groups into account. Our study contributes with deeper insights about a situation where stakeholder salience changes over time, while some stakeholder groups have low salience during the entire process. The result of conducting a stakeholder centered analysis is that we, by visualizing the stakeholder groups' differences, are better prepared to meet and combine different needs related to a planned e-service. Thus, we argue that a stakeholder centered analysis of expectations and opinions concerning the e-service help to develop e-services possible to succeed in offering both external service and internal efficiency.