The structure and optimization of speechreading

Erber (1988) has claimed that one of the reasons for the ascendancy of hearing aids has been the loss of confidence in speechreading. Speechreading can be of value to those suffering from presbyacusis and other hearing disorders, in augmenting hearing aids and cochlear implants, for large numbers of people in developing countries who are unable to afford electronic aids, and for those in advanced countries who are reluctant to wear an aid. I discuss the structure and the optimization of speechreading. New methods to optimize natural speechreading skills are required that must be based on the structure and nature of speechreading. It has been suggested that speechreading is, to some extent, innate, and so 'hard-wired', which would mean that the effect of long-term training is limited. I critique this view and present a macro-analysis of the experimental literature. I suggest that the innate view may be somewhat overstated.     

The nexus between college choice and persistence

Initial student commitments have long been considered an influence on persistence, but the reasons why students choose to attend a college have seldom been considered as dimensions of initial commitments that could influence persistence processes and outcomes. This study used NPSAS-87 to examine the influence of finance-related reasons for choosing a college on persistence decisions. The findings include (1) finance-related choices have direct and indirect influences on whether students persist in college; and (2) market-based, monetary measures of financial aid, tuition costs, housing costs, and other living costs have a substantial direct effect on persistence.     

BOOK REVIEWS

The Politics of Education in the Local Community. Robert S. Cahill and Stephen P. Hencley, Editors.
The Political Power and Educational Decision-Making. By Ralph B. Kimbrough.     

坚持科学发展观 为办好让人民满意的教育作出贡献

伴随着我国教育改革与发展的历史性跨越,教育科研成绩显著,贡献突出,主要表现为:教育科研的组织机制逐步健全和完善,教育科研队伍不断壮大,教育科研的投入趋向多元化,教育科研工作逐步形成多学科、跨领域、综合化的格局。但是,在观念、体制、方法、技术、管理和学术环境等方面,在对教育理论发展的贡献和对教育实践的指导方面还存在不少问题。因此,教育科研要以“三个代表”重要思想和科学发展观为指导,研究与回答新时期我国教育改革与发展中的重大现实问题,不断提高教育科研的水平和质量,为办好让人民满意的教育作出更大的贡献。     

The relation of parenting style to adolescent school performance

This article develops and tests a reformation of Baumrind's typology of authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative parenting styles in the context of adolescent school performance. Using a large and diverse sample of San Francisco Bay Area high school students (N = 7,836), we found that both authoritarian and permissive parenting styles were negatively associated with grades, and authoritative parenting was positively associated with grades. Parenting styles generally showed the expected relation to grades across gender, age, parental education, ethnic, and family structure categories. Authoritarian parenting tended to have a stronger association with grades than did the other 2 parenting styles, except among Hispanic males. The full typology best predicted grades among white students. Pure authoritative families (high on authoritative but not high on the other 2 indices) had the highest mean grades, while inconsistent families that combine authoritarian parenting with other parenting styles had the lowest grades.     

School-based model for preventing teenage pregnancy

Social workers in the schools can take positive and immediate action to address teenage pregnancy through the use of interventive models that help teenagers avoid the risk of unwanted pregnancy. The present article describes and empirically supports 1 such school-based model. The author 1st delineates the major problems associated with teenage pregnancy and then relates the preventive model to prior research and details its implementation in school settings. A discussion of reslults from the model's field evaluation is followed with implications for school social workers. The model reported here is directed to all adolescents rather than focusing on a "high-risk" population. The risk of pregnancy is assumed to be a normal part of adolescent development. Grounded in an intterpersonal conceptualization of teenage pregnancy and in related empirical research, the school-based model helps young men and women acquire the requisite skills for preventing unwanted pregnancy. The program requires school social workers to meet with 12-18 teenage students of both sexes and to provide them with basic information on human sexuality, reproduction and contraception. These topics are covered by lectures, demostrations, discussion and audiovisual presentations. Through instruction, feedback and reinforcement, student learn how to talk about sensitive topics, stand up for their rights and be convincing and effective when carrying out decisions. Homework assignments are designed to develop the students'skills in interactions with dating partners, parents and friends. The clinical applicability and effectiveness of this prevention training model is documented through a study conducted in an urban high school. 36 informed and consenting sophomores of both sexes were randomly assigned either to an interventive group or to a non-treatment control group. Compared to the latter, the former had more accurate knowledge of human reproduction and contraception after the intervention. Buttressing these and other positive results, the students' enthusiastic feedback left little doubt that they enjoyed the group process and were interested in the training. Moreover, analyses of follow-up data on coital activity, the use of contraceptives, and family planning decisions revealed that the training had produced striking effects. Decision making tests, behavioral performance tests, follow-up questionnaires and videotaping of behavior during stressful interpersonal situations were among the evaluation techniques used.     

Failing our Children? The comprehension of younger viewers

Educationalists are failing to help children acquire the skills needed to understand television, despite its importance in our society and schools. The present study examines whether a successful course of television literacy could be developed to cover the entire school age range, based on a common approach. Results indicate that the course was successful at all levels, and suggest that further research might identify factors which influence television comprehension.