4. PROPAGANDA

RESIDENTIAL BROADBAND by George Abe (Indianapolis: Macmillan Technical Publishing “Cisco Press Design and Implementation Series,”; 1997—$55.00, ISBN 1–57870–020–5, 500 pp., charts, graphs, acronyms list [inside covers], appendix directory of companies, index)

INTRODUCTION TO TELECOMMUNICATIONS NETWORK ENGINEERING by Tarmo Anttalainen (Norwood, MA: Artech House “Communications Library,”; 1998—price not given, ISBN 0–89006–984–0, 297 pp., diagrams, chapter problem and review sets, references, index)

MOBILE TELECOMMUNICATIONS: STANDARDS, REGULATION, AND APPLICATIONS by Rudi Bekkers and Jan Smits (Norwood, MA: Artech House “Mobile Communications Series,”; 1998—$95.00, ISBN 0–89006–806–2, 467 pp., diagrams, tables, glossary, bibliography, notes, index)

HIGH PERFORMANCE NETWORKS, PERSONAL COMMUNICATIONS AND MOBILE COMPUTING by Dimitris Chorafas (Basingstoke: Macmillan “Business,”; 1997—£45.00, ISBN 0–333–66683–6, 340 pp., figures, tables, charts, list of contacts, index)

DIGITAL VIDEO BROADCASTING: TECHNOLOGY, STANDARDS, AND REGULATIONS by Ronald de Bruin and Jan Smits (Norwood, MA: Artech House “Digital Audio and Video Library,”; 1999—$73.00, ISBN 0–89006–743–0, 315 pp., diagrams, references, glossary, index)

FROM TALKING DRUMS TO THE INTERNET: AN ENCYCLOPEDIA OF COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY by Robert Gardner and Dennis Shortelle (Santa Barbara, CA: ABC‐Clio, 1997—$65.00, ISBN 0–87436–832–4, 355 pp., photos, diagrams, references, bibliography, index)

COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY UPDATE edited by August E. Grant and Jennifer Harman Meadows (Woburn, MA: Focal Press, 1998 [6th ed.]—$35.00, paper, ISBN 0–240–80326–4, charts, diagrams, tables, notes, chapter bibliographies, glossary)

ISDN EXPLAINED: WORLDWIDE NETWORK AND APPLICATIONS TECHNOLOGY edited by John M. Griffiths (Chichester, England and New York: John Wiley, 1998 [3rd ed.]—$74.95, ISBN 0–471–97905–8, 291 pp., charts, tables, notes, glossary, index)

DICTIONARY OF COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY: TERMS, DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS by Gilbert Held (New York: John Wiley, 1998 [3rd ed.]—$160.00, paper, ISBN 0–471–97517–6, 672 pp., tables, charts, appendices)

RESIDENTIAL BROADBAND: AN INSIDER'S GUIDE TO THE BATTLE FOR THE LAST MILE by Kim Maxwell (New York: Wiley, 1998—$39.99, paper, ISBN 0–471–25165–8, 390 pp., diagrams, tables, bibliography, index)

MAKING MICROCHIPS: POLICY, GLOBALIZATION, AND ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING IN THE SEMICONDUCTOR INDUSTRY by Jan Mazurek (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press “Urban and Industrial Environments,”; 1999—$30.00, ISBN 0–262–13345–8, 245 pp., charts, references, index)

UNDERSTANDING MODERN TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND THE INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY by John G. Nellist and Elliott M. Gilbert (Norwood, MA: Artech House, 1999—$49.00, ISBN 0–89006–322–2, 285 pp., photos, diagrams, charts, chapter bibliographies, glossary, index)

WORLD‐CLASS TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICE DEVELOPMENT by Ellen Ward (Norwood, MA: Artech House “Telecommunications Library,”; 1998—$59.00, ISBN 0–89006–922–0, 260 pp., diagrams, acronyms list, index)

UNDERSTANDING CELLULAR RADIO by William Webb (Norwood, MA: Artech House “Mobile Communications Series,”; 1998—$59.00, ISBN 0–89006–994–8, 283 pp., diagrams, glossary, index)     

Dogmatism Updated: A Scale Revision and Validation

Dogmatism represents an individual difference in cognitive style characterized by closed-mindedness. The concept of dogmatism has received a great deal of research attention in such topics as information selection, information processing, message selection, and source-message distinction. Previous dogmatism scales, however, have psychometric problems, and item wordings have become outdated. The present study updates the scale items based on a simplified conceptualization of dogmatism and assesses the validity of the new scale. Factor analyses and item analyses were employed to assess the unidimensionality of the scale. Two validation studies (N = 165 for study 1; N = 175 for study 2) were conducted. Both studies provided evidence consistent with construct validity. The updated dogmatism correlated positively with dominance and submission and negatively with perspective-taking and empathic concern. The predictive validity of the scale was only partially consistent with the data.     

The urgent need for new approaches in school evaluation to enable Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence

This paper presents observations on the nature of school audit methods in light of the implementation of Scotland’s incoming Curriculum for Excellence and the major normative, technological, and cultural changes affecting schools. It points to a mismatch between the concepts and structures of the incoming curriculum and that of the universalistic yet atheoretical grading schemas used in Scottish school inspections. The analysis demonstrates how school inspection with its basis in specifications and fixed measures conflicts with the formative agenda of the incoming curriculum, causing a barrier to its creative realisation in schools. An alternative framework of school developmental engagement is presented via interpretative processes, theoretically grounded purposes and systems thinking.     

THE CONTRIBUTION OF SLEEP PROBLEMS TO ACADEMIC AND PSYCHOSOCIAL FUNCTIONING

The current study examined the concurrent and longitudinal relations among sleep problems with academic and psychosocial functioning in a prospective cohort study, the Tucson Children's Assessment of Sleep Apnea study (TuCASA). Children were assessed between the ages of 6 and 11 years and again approximately 5 years later. Sleep disordered breathing was assessed via polysomnography and sleep duration, sleep consistency, excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS), and insomnia symptoms were evaluated via parental and self‐report. Although regression models for sleep problems yielded minimum effect sizes in predicting standardized achievement scores, they jointly related to lower parent‐reported grades and adolescent‐reported school problems. Additionally, hierarchical multiple regression revealed that sleep parameters significantly predicted measures of psychosocial functioning with medium (Behavior Assessment Scales [BASC‐2] Parent Report Form [PRF]‐Behavioral Symptoms Index, Internalizing Behaviors Composite; Self‐Report of Personality [SRP] Emotional Symptoms Index, Internalizing Behaviors, Personal Adjustment Composite) to small‐medium effect sizes (BASC‐2 PRF Externalizing Problems, Adaptive Skills Composites, BASC‐2 SRP Inattention/Hyperactivity Composite) above and beyond sociodemographics and IQ. Similar findings occurred for BASC‐2 subscales. Parent‐reported current EDS and youth‐reported insomnia symptoms were the most consistent contributors. School psychologists should screen for and treat or make referrals for sleep problems, taking into account chronicity and multiple informants' perspectives, to maximize academic intervention benefits.     

Measuring a year of child pornography trafficking by U.S. computers on a peer-to-peer network

We used data gathered via investigative “RoundUp” software to measure a year of online child pornography (CP) trafficking activity by U.S. computers on the Gnutella peer-to-peer network. The data include millions of observations of Internet Protocol addresses sharing known CP files, identified as such in previous law enforcement investigations. We found that 244,920 U.S. computers shared 120,418 unique known CP files on Gnutella during the study year. More than 80% of these computers shared fewer than 10 such files during the study year or shared files for fewer than 10 days. However, less than 1% of computers (n = 915) made high annual contributions to the number of known CP files available on the network (100 or more files). If law enforcement arrested the operators of these high-contribution computers and took their files offline, the number of distinct known CP files available in the P2P network could be reduced by as much as 30%. Our findings indicate widespread low level CP trafficking by U.S. computers in one peer-to-peer network, while a small percentage of computers made high contributions to the problem. However, our measures were not comprehensive and should be considered lower bounds estimates. Nonetheless, our findings show that data can be systematically gathered and analyzed to develop an empirical grasp of the scope and characteristics of CP trafficking on peer-to-peer networks. Such measurements can be used to combat the problem. Further, investigative software tools can be used strategically to help law enforcement prioritize investigations.     

Aspects and the overlap function

It is intuitively clear that putting the cart before the horse is not the same as putting the horse before the cart. It is equally clear that a history of philosophy is different from a philosophy of history. Yet there is no logical relationship, like the AND/OR/NOT functions, which would enable manipulation of these permuted, non-commutative, relationships. In this paper we present a system for automatic handling of ordered sets, states based on these sets, and of differing points of view regarding a Universe of Discourse. We call what we are dealing with aspects and we represent them by means of a new logical function called the Overlap function.     

Coordination between Head Start and Elementary Schools to Enhance Children’s Kindergarten Success

ABSTRACT

Research Findings: This study examines efforts by Head Start programs to coordinate with elementary schools and seeks to better understand how coordination practices may support children’s transition to and success in kindergarten. Data were drawn from a nationally representative sample of Head Start children (N = 2,019) followed through kindergarten. Findings suggest that Head Start programs are engaging in a variety of activities to coordinate with elementary schools around the transition to kindergarten. Results of lagged OLS regression analyzes found that coordination efforts were significantly related to children’s language and mathematics skills in kindergarten for children attending elementary schools engaging in limited school transition practices to support school entry, suggesting that coordination practices initiated by preschools may play a compensatory role for children. In addition, results suggest that direct meetings between Head Start and kindergarten teachers are predictive of higher language skills in kindergarten. Policy or Practice: Efforts by Head Start programs to coordinate with elementary schools may be particularly important for children’s academic skills when their elementary schools are less engaged in transition practices. In addition, meeting in person and having a key person responsible for the kindergarten transition may be key ingredients to coordination that yields better outcomes for children.     

Reciprocal longitudinal relations between nonresident father involvement and adolescent delinquency

Using a representative sample of low-income, primarily minority adolescents (N=647, aged 10-14 years at Wave 1), this study examined bidirectional longitudinal relations between nonresident father involvement, defined as contact and responsibility for children's care and behavior, and adolescent engagement in delinquent activities. Autoregressive and fixed effects models found that higher nonresident father involvement predicted subsequent decreases in adolescent delinquency, particularly for youth with initial engagement in delinquent activities. Adolescent delinquency did not predict subsequent changes in father involvement. However, the two factors covaried: As adolescent delinquency increased, so too did father involvement, suggesting that nonresident fathers may increase their involvement in the face of adolescent problem behavior, with this pattern driven primarily by African American families.     

Research on classroom and school effectiveness and its implications for improving big city schools

Research on effective teaching has produced useful knowledge regarding instructional techniques dealing with classroom management, teacher-centered direct or explicit instruction, student time-on-task, questioning, and cognitive instruction for low-achieving students. Research on effective schools has produced useful knowledge regarding the characteristics or correlates of schools that are unusually successful in enhancing student achievement. Projects that utilize these research findings in working to improve teacher and school effectiveness have been and are being conducted in many big cities. While encouraging results have been registered in some locations, achievement is still unacceptably low in many cities. Efforts in the future should draw systematically on research dealing with effective classrooms and effective schools.