Piecing Together the Puzzle of Pictorial Representation: How Jigsaw Puzzles Index Metacognitive Development

Jigsaw puzzles are ubiquitous developmental toys in Western societies, used here to examine the development of metarepresentation. For jigsaw puzzles this entails understanding that individual pieces, when assembled, produce a picture. In Experiment 1, 3- to 5-year-olds (N = 117) completed jigsaw puzzles that were normal, had no picture, or comprised noninterlocking rectangular pieces. Pictorial puzzle completion was associated with mental and graphical metarepresentational task performance. Guide pictures of completed pictorial puzzles were not useful. In Experiment 2, 3- to 4-year-olds (N = 52) completed a simplified task, to choose the correct final piece. Guide-use associated with age and specifically graphical metarepresentation performance. We conclude that the pragmatically natural measure of jigsaw puzzle completion ability demonstrates general and pictorial metarepresentational development at 4 years.     

Toy libraries

Toys are not just for playing. Toys are the tools of play that help children develop their social awareness, imagination, visual motor capabilities and thinking processes. Play is a very serious activity for children worldwide and often represents a primary and valuable means of learning. Since many toys are important learning instruments, children should have easy access to appropriate toys in order to explore and choose those which interest them. In addition, parents need a place where they can consult with someone about what toys are appropriate for their child's development. Toy libraries provide this service.     

President's Message

Just as medicine often treats symptoms without concern for the whole system, schools break knowledge and experience into subjects, relentlessly turning wholes into parts, flowered into petals, history into events, without ever restoring continuity. (Ferguson, 1980, p. 282)     

A comparison among three experimental education programs

The primary characteristics of the three programs are used to compare participants to each other and to a group of students in the regular curriculum: (1) development of logical thought, (2) broader educational development, and, (3) career development, as well as selected academic characteristics (grades academic aptitude). The programs and their evaluations are described. The outcomes claimed for each program occurred more frequently in that program than in the comparison groups. The absence of differences in grades, despite differences in academic ability and in extent of program involvement, is interpreted as further evidence of the insensitivity of grades. The question of generality of the results is explored briefly.     

Training principles: evaluation of modes and methods of resistance training--a coaching perspective

Current information and evidence indicate that for most activities free weight training can produce superior results compared to training with machines, particularly when the free weight training involves complex, multi-joint exercises. A number of reasons can account for the superiority of free weights; the major factor deals with mechanical specificity. Mechanical specificity is concerned with appropriate movement patterns, force application and velocity of movement. Considering the available evidence that adherence to the concept of specificity of exercise and training can result in a greater transfer of training effect then free weights should produce a more effective training transfer. Therefore, the majority of resistance exercises making up a training programme should include of free weight exercises with emphasis on mechanical specificity (i.e. large muscle mass exercises, appropriate velocity, contraction type etc.). Generally, machines should be used as an adjunct to free weight training and, depending upon the sport, can be used to a greater or lesser extent during various phases of the training period (preparation, pre-competition, competition).     

Advertising

How it Was in Advertising: 1776-1976 ($6.95, paper, 110 pp.)

Vernon Fryburger, The New World of Advertising ($6.95, paper, 129 pp.)

William A. Robinson, 100 Best Sales Promotions (annual, $19.95, about 140 pp. each)

Herbert S. Gardner Jr. The Advertising Agency Business ($19.95, 211 pp.)

Jack Z. Sissors and E.R. Petray Advertising Media Planning ($12.95, 341 pp.)

Arthur Bellaire Controlling Your TV Commercial Costs ($19.95, 166 pp.)

Julie M. Moss '77 Ayer Public Relations and Publicity Style Book (Ayer Press, 210 West Washington Square, Philadelphia, Pa. 19106—$9.95)     

Making IT work for municipalities: Building municipal wireless networks

The lack of widely available, affordable broadband Internet access has spurred a movement in which municipalities are rolling out wireless broadband networks. This movement has raised a number of questions including: Why are municipalities acting as the early adopters of wireless broadband technology? How does increased state regulation of municipal broadband networks affect this trend and how can cities respond? As cities use wireless broadband technology to enhance services to citizens, the growth of municipal wireless deployments has transitioned from linear to exponential. In response, many states have passed laws to regulate and restrict cities' ability to own, operate, deploy, or profit from either telecommunications or information services. Current and pending laws will be examined to understand how cities can deploy a wireless broadband network under these regulations. An analysis of municipal facilities and technology expertise illustrates the opportunity for public–private cooperation in wireless deployments. This paper will show that cooperation is beneficial in many cases. Finally, current business models will be examined for their ability to foster cooperation between the public and private sectors, bridge the digital divide, and create competition among private sector providers.