ATTENTION AND SCHOOL SUCCESS: The Long-Term Implications of Attention for School Success among Low-Income Children

This study examined the longitudinal associations between sustained attention in preschool and children’s school success in later elementary school within a low-income sample (N = 2,403). Specifically, two facets of sustained attention (focused attention and lack of impulsivity) at age 5 were explored as independent predictors of children’s academic and behavioral competence across eight measures at age 9. Overall, the pattern of results indicates specificity between the facets of attention and school success, such that focused attention was primarily predictive of academic outcomes while impulsivity was mainly predictive of behavioral outcomes. Both facets of attention predicted teacher ratings of children’s academic skills and approaches to learning, which suggests that they jointly influence outcomes that span both domains of school success. Patterns of association were similar for children above and below the poverty line. Implications of these findings for interventions targeting school readiness and success among at-risk children are discussed.sustained attention, academic achievement, behavioral competence, low-income children

Associations among Family Environment, Attention, and School Readiness for At-Risk Children

This study examined the developmental pathways from children’s family environment to school readiness within an at-risk sample (N = 1,701). Measures of the family environment (maternal parenting behaviors and maternal mental health) across early childhood were related to children’s observed sustained attention as well as to academic and behavioral outcomes at age 5 years. Results suggest specificity in the associations among attention and its correlates. Maternal parenting behaviors but not mental health explained individual differences in sustained attention, which in turn were associated with variability in children’s academic school readiness. Mediation tests confirmed that sustained attention partially accounted for the link between parenting behaviors and academic school readiness. While maternal mental health was associated with children’s behavioral school readiness, sustained attention did not play a mediating role. Findings indicate sustained attention as a potential target for efforts aimed at enhancing academic school readiness among predominantly poor and minority children.child development, educational success, parenting behaviors, school readiness, mental health

Yabancı dil olarak İngilizce öğretilen sınıflarda yetişkinlerin bilinçli çalışmayı algılamaları

Language education for adults has traditionally proceeded from the assumption that the student is linguistically and communicatively aware, and furthermore, knows how to learn a language. Language teaching methodology and materials therefore concentrate upon the subject matter without even a passing glance at language, language learning, culture or communication awareness, and include no information about or suggestions for learning. This became apparent in the analysis of data collected in classroom-based research undertaken with adults studying English as a foreign language at the university level in Mexico. The ‘medium’ for the research was an introductory course written specifically for the learners, and was designed with a general-to-specific (or top-down) process which began with awareness training and included suggestions throughout for learning-to-learn strategies. Results from the research as to the adult learners’ perceptions of these aspects of the course are discussed in this article, and clearly indicate that such teaching practice helps to fulfill genuine and pressing adult learner needs.Yetişkinler için dil eğitimi, öğrencinin dilsel ve iletişimsel bilinci  olması ile birlikte bir dili nasıl öğrenmesini bilmesi varsayımdan  geleneksel olarak ileri gelmiştir. Bu yüzden dil öğretim yöntemi ve araçları ne öğrenmede ne de iletişimde rol oynayan bilincin  önemine dayanmaksızın asıl konu üzerinde yoğunlaşır. Bunun eksikliğini yabancı bir dil öğrenmek için üniversiteye döndüğümde ilk defa fark ettim.İngilizceyi  Meksika'da yabancı bir dil olarak öğretmeye başladığımda bu konu benim için daha  baskılayıcı bir hal aldı ki diğer yabancı dilleri öğrenen yetişkinlerin sınıf  içindeki  bilinçli çalışma algılayışları hakkında araştırma yapmaya karar verdim ve bunun yabancı dil öğrenme sürecinde faydalı olabileceğini düşündüm. Bu araştırma, Meksika da iki üniversitenin yabancı dil olarak İngilizce eğitim verdiği on bir sınıfta, birlikte çalıştığım  öğrenenler için bizzat kendim hazırladığım bir giriş dersi ile uygulanmıştır. Bu ders, ayrımsama eğitimiyle başlayan ve öğrenmeyi-öğrenme stratejileri sürecinde tavsiyeler barından genelden özele sıralanmış bir dil öğretim yöntemiyle tasarlanmıştır. Bu makalede, yetişkin öğrenenlerin dersin bu yönlerini algılayışıyla ilgili nitelikli araştırmanın sonuçları  ele alınmıştır. Ayrıca, ayrımsama eğitimi ve yukarıda bahsedilen  öğretim yöntemi yabancı dil öğrenen yetişkinlerin ihtiyaçlarını tamamlamakta yardımcı olduğu  belirtilmiştir

Steps Toward a Socio-Technical Categorization Scheme for Communication and Information Standards

Socio-technical systems continue to grow larger and more complex, comprising increasingly significant portions of contemporary society. Yet systematic understanding of interrelationships between social and technological elements remains elusive, even as computers and information systems proliferate. In this paper, we draw on ethnomethodology to distinguish several different kinds of processes through which communication and information are constituted. We discuss the distinctive properties of each in an effort to develop systematic understanding of basic elements of socio-technical systems. In particular, we offer a basic categorization of communication and information standards, noting the constitutive importance of their accompanying social practices. Implications for theory and practice are discussed

Toy Story: Childhood versus Children in Toy Museums

Toys are considered to be children’s cultural objects, yet when placed in a toy museum context they become a collection for adult viewing. This article uses Kress and van Leeuwens’ concept of ‘semiotic landscape’ wherein the exhibit provides a specific context of communication that becomes a mediating device between adults and children. The question then becomes, how does a display of static toys speak to a child’s culture of play? Through interviews with toy museum curators and personal observations it was found that the exhibition was designed to have adults share and reflect stories about the toys with children. Such activity reflects a representation of toys as collections for adults (child’s perspective) rather than the playthings of children (children’s perspectives). Material culture of children was implicitly represented through playful, sensory, and affective engagement.Key words: toy exhibits, material culture of children, semiotic landscape, play, narrative

Toy Story: Childhood versus Children in Toy Museums

Toys are considered to be children’s cultural objects, yet when placed in a toy museum context they become a collection for adult viewing. This article uses Kress and van Leeuwens’ concept of ‘semiotic landscape’ wherein the exhibit provides a specific context of communication that becomes a mediating device between adults and children. The question then becomes, how does a display of static toys speak to a child’s culture of play? Through interviews with toy museum curators and personal observations it was found that the exhibition was designed to have adults share and reflect stories about the toys with children. Such activity reflects a representation of toys as collections for adults (child’s perspective) rather than the playthings of children (children’s perspectives). Material culture of children was implicitly represented through playful, sensory, and affective engagement.Key words: toy exhibits, material culture of children, semiotic landscape, play, narrative

Multimorbidity, frailty and COPD: are the challenges for pulmonary rehabilitation in the name?

The overwhelming majority of people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) have at least one coexisting medical condition often conceptualized as ‘comorbidities’. These coexisting conditions vary in severity and impact; it is likely that for some patients, COPD is not their most important or severe condition. The concepts of multimorbidity and frailty may be useful to understand the broader needs of people with COPD undergoing pulmonary rehabilitation. Multimorbidity describes the coexistence of two or more chronic conditions, without reference to a primary condition. Best care for people with multimorbidity has been described as a shift from providing disease-focused to patient-centred care. Pulmonary rehabilitation is well placed to deliver such care as it focuses on optimizing function, encourages integration across care settings, values input from multidisciplinary teams and measures patient-important outcomes. When designing optimal pulmonary rehabilitation services for people with multimorbidity, the concept of frailty may be useful. Frailty focuses on impairments rather than medical conditions including impairments in mobility, strength, balance, cognition, nutrition, endurance, mood and physical activity. Emerging data suggest that frailty may be modifiable with pulmonary rehabilitation. The challenge for pulmonary rehabilitation clinicians is to broaden our perspective on the role and outcomes of pulmonary rehabilitation for people with multimorbidity. </jats:p

Citing and Reading Behaviours in High-Energy Physics. How a Community Stopped Worrying about Journals and Learned to Love Repositories

Contemporary scholarly discourse follows many alternative routes in addition to the three-century old tradition of publication in peer-reviewed journals. The field of High- Energy Physics (HEP) has explored alternative communication strategies for decades, initially via the mass mailing of paper copies of preliminary manuscripts, then via the inception of the first online repositories and digital libraries. This field is uniquely placed to answer recurrent questions raised by the current trends in scholarly communication: is there an advantage for scientists to make their work available through repositories, often in preliminary form? Is there an advantage to publishing in Open Access journals? Do scientists still read journals or do they use digital repositories? The analysis of citation data demonstrates that free and immediate online dissemination of preprints creates an immense citation advantage in HEP, whereas publication in Open Access journals presents no discernible advantage. In addition, the analysis of clickstreams in the leading digital library of the field shows that HEP scientists seldom read journals, preferring preprints instead.Comment: Version to be published in Scientometric

Human- Animal Interaction to Support Well- Being at University: Experiences of Undergraduate Students in the UK

In the context of increasing concerns about student mental health and the therapeutic value of companion animals for mental health, there is limited understanding of the potential contribution of human- animal interaction in relation to undergraduate well- being. This study aimed to develop an in- depth understanding of the meaning and well- being roles attributed to human- animal interactions by undergraduate students in the UK. Using a qualitative research design, semistructured interviews were conducted with 60 students aged be-tween 18 to 23 years at a UK university of whom 39 implicated the role of companion animals in their well- being and were included in analysis using inductive thematic analysis. The most commonly reported form of human- animal interaction was contact with companion animals who either lived with participants, their families, or other friends and acquaintances. Actual and potential benefits of human- animal interaction for undergraduate students included helping students to manage a felt or experienced pressure to be independent, ameliorating loneliness and boredom, providing connections to support networks on and off campus, imparting emotional support during times of uncertainty and change, and directly facilitating social inter-action. Companion animals were considered an important continuation of and connection to students’ previous lives, which helped them to manage the university transition and maintain a positive sense of self. Barriers attributed to companion animal ownership included the lack of practicability of caring for a companion animal while at university because of living arrangements, financial constraints, and the time pressures associated with being an undergraduate student. As a result, participants described alternative ways in which students could interact with animals, which included regular and frequent service/therapy dog visitations, links to local animal shelters and zoos, and smaller companion animal presence in classrooms and in university halls. This study provides unique and tailored insight into the value of human- animal interactions for undergraduate students’ mental well- being and the ways in which this could be harnessed to promote well-being