Age Differences in Online Social Networking: Extending Socioemotional Selectivity Theory to Social Network Sites

This article extends socioemotional selectivity theory to online social networking by examining age differences in the size and composition of Facebook networks across a wide age range of Facebook users (18 to 93 years old) in a nationally representative sample. Findings suggest increasing selectivity of Facebook social partners with age. Compared to younger adults, friend networks of older adults are smaller but contain a greater proportion of individuals who are considered to be actual friends. Moreover, a higher proportion of actual to total Facebook friends is associated with lower levels of social isolation and loneliness across the life span.     

俄罗斯Chukchi半岛新生代碱性岩的形成和演化：熔体和流体包裹体证据

Melt and fluid inclusions were studied in the minerals of Cenozoic olivine melanephelinites from the Chukehi Peninsula, Russia. The rock contain several generations of olivine phenocrysts varying in composition at mg=0.88 - 0.77. The phenocrysts bear fluid and melt inclusions recording various stages of melt crystallization in volcanic conduits and shallow magma chambers. Primary fluid inclusions are CO2-dominated with a density of up to 0.93 g/cm^3. All fluid inclusions are partially leaked, which is indicated by haloes of tiny fluid bubbles around large fluid inclusions in minerals. Melt inclusions contain various daughter crystals, which were completely resorbed in thermometric experiments at about 1230~C. Assuming that this temperature corresponds to the entrapment conditions of the CO2 fluid inclusions, the minimum pressure of the beginning of magma degassing is estimated as 800MPa. Variations in the compositions of homogenized silicate melt inclusions indicate that olivine was the earliest crystalline phase followed by clinopyroxene, nepheline and orthoclase. This sequence is in agreement with the mineralogy of the rocks. The melts are strongly enriched in incompatible trace elements and volatiles （in addition to CO2 , high C1, F, and S contents were detected）. There are some differences between the compositions of melts trapped in minerals from different samples. Variations in SiO2 , FeO, and incompatible element contents are probably related to melt generations at various levels in a homogeneous mantle reservoir.     

Continuing vocational training in the space industry: a Siberian case study

The development of a continuing vocational training programme at the Information Satellite Systems Joint-Stock Company (ISS JSC) during the transition from the planned Soviet economy to what is now called the Russian market economy is briefly outlined. How the collapse of a planned economy led to the degradation of engineering higher education (HE) is shown. The present system of engineering HE is criticized as a degraded relic of the Soviet one and an argument is made in favour of continuing vocational training in businesses like the ISS JSC, where the engineers are engaged in innovative activities. The schematic programme of training, retraining and improving the professional skills of the company’s personnel is presented. Some work assignments of the centre for personnel management at the ISS JSC are examined, in particular the preparation of target students along the ‘school–HE–industry’ chain.     

How Much Do the Effects of Education and Training Programs Vary Across Sites? Evidence From Past Multisite Randomized Trials

Multisite trials, in which individuals are randomly assigned to alternative treatment arms within sites, offer an excellent opportunity to estimate the cross-site average effect of treatment assignment (intent to treat or ITT) and the amount by which this impact varies across sites. Although both of these statistics are substantively and methodologically important, only the first has been well studied. To help fill this information gap, we estimate the cross-site standard deviation of ITT effects for a broad range of education and workforce development interventions using data from 16 large multisite randomized controlled trials. We use these findings to explore hypotheses about factors that predict the magnitude of cross-site impact variation, and we consider the implications of this variation for the statistical precision of multisite trials.     

A design study of a multimedia instructional grammar program with embedded tracking

This is a design study meant to demonstrate the feasibility of integrating three rather different theoretical perspectives for future efforts in multimedia instructional design. A multimedia instructional grammar program contextualized within the teaching of English as a Second Language (ESL) was developed and evaluated. The program design was grounded in Mayer’s multimedia learning theory (2001), Sweller’s cognitive load theory (CLT, 2005), and cognitive training theory using an inductive reasoning paradigm (Klauer and Phye, Rev Educ Res 78(1):85–124, 2008). A successful integration of cognitive training theory into program design is expected to facilitate the transition of student’s declarative knowledge of a grammar concept of passive voice to procedural knowledge (Phye, Contemp Educ Psychol 16:87–94, 1991; Phye et al., Empirical methods for evaluating educational interventions, Academic Press/Elsevier, San Diego, 2005). Two studies involving ten and four adult ESL learners were conducted in a Midwest community college. Grammar teaching occurred within the context of history and geography of the USA. Students with low prior knowledge of passive voice grammar concepts, intermediate level of general vocabulary, and adequate basic knowledge of content (basic geography and history) benefited most from the program. Preliminary results are encouraging for the aforementioned integrative efforts.     

Building resilient schools in Russia: effective policy strategies*

The article uses the framework of resiliency to examine the strategies of principals in schools working under challenging socio-economic conditions that show higher-than-expected educational results. We collected a unique set of data within the Russian ‘National monitoring of education markets and organisations’ programme. This work continues the study, begun in 2014, of the peculiarities of the functioning conditions, management and educational strategies of different groups of schools (urban, rural, implementing higher-level programmes, private, etc.), where authors supplement the economic indicators of school performance with socio-economic contextual factors. A contextualisation model was applied to distinguish the resilient schools studied and the socio-economic characteristics for each school. The typical strategies of principals of resilient schools are as follows: recruiting more successful students from other schools, the branding of the school, creating a culture of high expectations for staff and students, and a less bureaucratic management style.