Assessment,Grade Level and Learning

Researchers have identified assessment as a very crucial influence on the learning strategies adopted by students. The present study carried out on Secondary 2, Secondary 4, and Junior College 2/Pre-University 3 students shows that the Singapore students did not favour the Surface Approach in their learning of English and Mathematics. The nature of the discipline and the cognitive demands of the examinations carried considerable importance for students in their choice of learning strategies. Despite the heavy emphasis on excelling in examinations, students did not rely solely on surface and achieving strategies to attain their goals.     

Project on the Effectiveness of Learning Strategies and Metacognitive Skills

Teachers should not only be concerned with the products of learning but also with the processes of learning as good teaching involves teaching pupils how to learn effectively. The importance of teaching pupils ‘to learn how to learn’ has gained momentum as recent research provides more and more evidence that substantial variance in learning outcomes can be attributed to learning approaches adopted by pupils (Marton, 1976; Marton and Sayo, 1978; Svenssin and Theman 1983; Marton and Saljo, 1984; Biggs, 1987; Chew 1988; Cheng, 1985).     

Journalism

David Halberstam The Powers That Be (New York: Knopf, 1979—$15.00)

Salme Harju Steinberg Reformer in the Marketplace: Edward W. Bok and The Ladies' Home Journal (Baton Rouge, La.: Lousiana State University Press, 1979—$12.95)

John C. Merrill and Ralph L. Lowenstein Media, messages, and Men (New York: Longman, 1979—$7.95, paper)

Frederick Shook and Dan Lattimore The Broadcast News Process (Morton Publishing Co., 2700 East Bates Ave., Denver, Colorado 802l0—price not given, paper)

Donald Kirsch Financial and Economic Journalism: Analysis, Interpretation and Reporting (New York: New York University Press, 1979—$15.00 for the hardback text; $7.95 for the paperback documentary supplement)

Charles Brooks, ed. Best Editorial Cartoons of the Year: 1979 Edition (Gretna, La.: Pelican Publishing Co., 1979—$11.95/5.95)     

Career Choice: An Exploration of Personal Possibilities by Young People in Australia and Singapore

In most cultures, young people begin to think about plans for the future during adolescence. In particular, the question of career choice becomes especially salient. Among the various crises associated with adolescence in Western cultures, that of choosing a career has been singled out by some researchers as the most problematic developmental task facing youth (Grinder, 1975; Connell et al, 1975). Wish-fulfilling fantasies decline and realistic thinking about education and work increases (Lessing, 1968) and the development of the self is accompanied by developing views on the world of work (Pryor, 1983). In developing countries, it has been suggested that the level of development becomes a pressure on the career orientation of youth. For example, to the extent that certain sets of values defined as ‘modern’ are accepted, then the desire for upward mobility, consumerism and enhanced life-style become associated with educational and occupational criteria (Saha, 1981; Chang, 1983).     

The Effect of Implicit Stereotypes on the Physical Performance of Older Adults

The purpose of this study was to explore how stereotypes affect physical performance in older adults. During Experiment 1, older adults were primed with objects representing aging stereotypes to determine whether these objects can activate stereotypes of aging. Results from the first part of this study provide evidence that certain material objects have implicit meaning and can activate stereotypes of aging. During Experiment 2, 96 community dwelling older adults were randomly assigned to one of three groups: exposure to positive stereotypes of aging (n = 32), exposure to negative stereotypes of aging (n = 32), or a neutral condition (n = 31). Gait speed, standing balance, and lower extremity muscle performance were tested before and after exposure to the objects. Results revealed no significant differences between those exposed to positive stereotypes, negative stereotypes, or the neutral condition. Physical performance was not affected by exposure to objects related to stereotypes of aging. Compared to lab settings where stereotypes are activated on a subliminal level, there may be multiple factors competing for the control of behavior when stereotypes are presented as objects, which may lessen the effect of stereotype activation on behavior.     

能量平衡研究的10大问题

摘要：肥胖是较长时间段内热量摄入和消耗失衡导致的结果。两者关系可以用能量平衡方程描述,能量储存的速率等于能量摄入减去消耗的速率。尽管这种基于简单数学运算的关系可能容易理解,但在现实中,各种已知和未知的系统影响能量平衡的各个组成部分（能量储存,能量摄入,能量消耗）。显然,如果对于能量平衡有完整的理解,有效的预防和治疗策略就不会让肥胖在世界范围内大规模流行。目的是针对能量平衡的组成部分进行简要的概述,确定10个关键主题以及悬而未决的问题,如果这些问题得以解决,可以推动整个研究领域。这些主题涉及多个方面,从一般（方法学问题）到特定领域。这个列表并不是详尽无遗,但却为能量平衡领域的科学家制定了研究议程,为公共卫生专家制定肥胖干预的措施提供了建议。     

Intimate partner violence and child maltreatment: understanding intra- and intergenerational connections

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to assess the extent to which intimate partner violence and different forms of child maltreatment occur within and across childhood and adulthood for a high-risk group of women. METHOD: Low-income adult women were interviewed, retrospectively, regarding their experiences with intimate partner violence and child maltreatment in childhood and adulthood, and intra- and intergenerational relationships between multiple forms of family violence were identified. RESULTS: Analyses demonstrated weak to moderate associations between various forms of violence within generations. Only weak support was found for the transmission of violence hypothesis that maltreated children are more likely to grow up to maltreat their own children. Stronger support was found for the theory of learned helplessness, whereby children maltreated or witness to violence during childhood are more likely to be victimized as an adult. CONCLUSION: The results from this study suggest that interventions with children who are identified for one form of victimization should be assessed for other forms of victimization, and interventions should also address learned behaviors or beliefs associated with continued or future victimization.     

Dimensionality of Modernity in Singapore Among Chinese Adolescents

The present study examined the relationships between aspects of individual modernity among Chinese adolescents in Singapore aged fifteen years (N = 250, M = 122, F = 128). The Aspects chosen are those seen by Inkeles (1969), changes that occur in a country's modernization as being required in order to cope with the various need for achievement, efficient time-management, future-planning and autonomous decision-making. While there is strong interdependence among achievement motivation, future-planning and time-management of both genders, autonomy emerges as a separate dimension.     

The Contributions of Enrichment Activities Towards Science Achievement

This study investigated whether enrichment activities would improve achievement in science.

One hundred and eighty subjects took part in the study. They were assigned to two experimental, two control and one Hawthorne control groups. Experimental subjects participated in enrichment activities held outside the school. Control subjects were not given these activities while the Hawthorne control group was taken out on excursions unrelated to their science lessons.

The Cooperative Science Test (COST) was used to assess the acquisition of science concepts while science achievement was based mainly on school science examination scores.

The results indicated that the experimental subjects showed significantly greater improvement in concept attainment and science achievement. Correlations between science concept attainment and science examination scores were positive and significant.

The study concluded that participation in enrichment activities relevant to school science would improve science achievement.