CHAOTISCHE LÖSUNGEN BEI DER DREIFACHEN FREQUENZTEILUNG

The paper deals with the solution of the model equation for threefold frequency distribution [1] t~ -{I-x:_(~:;YJ:~ +x+h(4xJ-3x)=Bcos3, (1) depending on the equation parameters ε, b and B. The mapping method appears particularly suited in the analysis on non-linear externally excited networks [2] [3]. By means of this stroboscopic method one succeeds to present a clear picture of the different solution structures in the different parameter ranges. Particular attention was paid to bifurcation characterized by qualitative changes in the periodical states and to chaotical solutions. Such stochastic movements will be observed in certain cases precisely in defined systems represented as in the present case by simple differential equations

Playful training of numerical skills in kindergarten for prevention of mathematical disability

In der vorliegenden Evaluationsstudie wurde untersucht, ob numerische Kompetenzen im Vorschulalter durch in den Kindergartenalltag integrierte zahlen- und mengenbezogene Spiele gefördert werden können. Darüber hinaus war es von Interesse herauszufinden, ob Kindergartenkinder mit weniger gut entwickelten numerischen Kompetenzen insofern von dieser Fördermethode profitieren, als dass sie ihren Leistungsrückstand aufholen können. Realisiert wurde ein Prätest-Posttest-Design mit einer Fördergruppe, einer Kontrollgruppe mit Kontrollintervention sowie einer Wartekontrollgruppe. Insgesamt nahmen 142 Kinder im Alter von vier bis fünf Jahren an der Studie teil. Die Ergebnisse kovarianzanalytischer Verfahren mit Messwiederholung sprechen dafür, dass sich die numerischen Kompetenzen von Kindergartenkindern anhand des verwendeten Förderkonzepts steigern lassen. Außerdem konnte gezeigt werden, dass jene Kinder der Fördergruppe, deren numerische Leistung zum Prätestzeitpunkt unter dem Median der Gesamtstichprobe lag, einen höheren Leistungszuwachs aufwiesen als die leistungsstärkeren Kinder, die nicht mit den zahl- und mengenbezogenen Spielen gefördert wurden. Die Ergebnisse weisen somit auch auf eine Eignung des spielerischen Förderkonzepts zur Kompensation von Entwicklungsnachteilen bezüglich der numerischen Kompetenz hin. (DIPF/Orig.)In this study, we investigated if preschool children´s numerical skills can be fostered by playing number- and quantity-related games during children´s daily playtimes. Furthermore, we wanted to find out if preschoolers with poorly developed numerical skills catch up on their developmental delay by playing these games. In order to do so, we used a pretest-posttest-design with (a) an intervention group playing number- and quantity-related games, (b) a control group participating in another intervention with the same basic conditions but other intervention goals and (c) a control group without an intervention. One hundred forty-two children aged 4 to 5 years participated in the study. The results show that preschoolers’ numerical skills can be increased by playing number- and quantity-related games. Furthermore, the numerical skills of children with poorly developed numerical skills increased more significantly than the numerical skills of children with better developed numerical skills who did not play the number- and quantity-related games. Thus, results indicate that playing these number- and quantity-related games might be used to compensate for early developmental disadvantage in numerical skills. (DIPF/Orig.

Development of working memory from grade 3 to 5. Differences between children with and without mathematical learning difficulties

Based on the finding that children with mathematical learning difficulties (MLD) have deficits in working memory (WM), the question arises as to whether these children differ from typical learners only in the level or also in the developmental trajectories of WM functioning. To this end, the WM of 80 children with MLD and 71 typical learners was assessed longitudinally from third to fifth grade. Typical learners outperformed children with MLD in the phonological, visuospatial and central executive WM functioning in third grade. Latent change analyses indicated that both phonological and central executive WM functioning developed in a parallel pattern in children with MLD and in typical learners. In contrast, visuospatial WM functioning revealed a different development in children with and without MLD since the gap between both groups decreased over time. Overall, despite starting at a lower level, the WM functioning in children with MLD did not develop more slowly. (DIPF/Orig.

INSPIRE: Evaluation of a Smart-Home System for Infotainment Management and Device Control

This paper gives an overview of the assessment and evaluation methods which have been used to determine the quality of the INSPIRE smart home system. The system allows different home appliances to be controlled via speech, and consists of speech and speaker recognition, speech understanding, dialogue management, and speech output components. The performance of these components is first assessed individually, and then the entire system is evaluated in an interaction experiment with test users. Initial results of the assessment and evaluation are given, in particular with respect to the transmission channel impact on speech and speaker recognition, and the assessment of speech output for different system metaphors.Comment: 4 page

Die Entwicklung des akademischen Selbstkonzeptes bei Grundschulkindern mit Lernschwierigkeiten

Grundschulkinder mit Lernschwierigkeiten weisen in verschiedenen Studien ein geringeres schulisches Selbstkonzept auf als Kinder ohne Lernauffälligkeiten. Es stellt sich die Frage, ob sich umgrenzte Lernschwierigkeiten im Lesen, Rechtschreiben oder in Mathematik generalisiert auf die schulische Selbstkonzeptentwicklung auswirken oder ob sie sich nur in den spezifischen Bereichen des Selbstkonzeptes niederschlagen. In einem längsschnittlichen Design wurden die selbstkonzeptbezogenen Einschätzungen von insgesamt 236 Kindern mit verschiedenen Lernschwierigkeiten im Lesen, Rechtschreiben und/oder Rechnen sowie 77 Kindern mit unauffälligen Lernleistungen am Anfang und am Ende der vierten Grundschulklasse untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass die Kinder mit Lernschwierigkeiten nur in dem Selbstkonzeptbereich niedrigere Selbsteinschätzungen angeben, in dem auch niedrige Lernleistungen erbracht werden. Die Kinder unterscheiden dabei allerdings nicht sehr stark zwischen ihren Fertigkeiten im Lesen und Rechtschreiben, d. h. auch bei isolierten Schriftsprachschwierigkeiten werden beide Selbstkonzeptbereiche gleichermaßen schwach eingestuft. Dieses Ergebnismuster bleibt trotz abnehmender Selbstkonzeptbeurteilungen im Rechtschreiben und Rechnen über beide Messzeitpunkte konstant bestehen, so dass die Kinder über ein differenziertes Bild ihrer eigenen Stärken und Schwächen zum Ende der Grundschulzeit verfügen. (DIPF/Orig.)Several studies converge on the view that children with learning difficulties (LD) have a lower academic self-concept than children without LD. However, whether the influence of specific learning difficulties on academic self-concept is domain-specific or domain-general it is still at issue. Therefore, this longitudinal study examined the academic self-concept of 77 typically developing children and 236 children with specific learning difficulties in reading, spelling and/or mathematics. The children\u27s self-concept in reading, spelling and mathematics was assessed at the beginning and the end of the children\u27s last year in elementary school. The study revealed three important findings: First, in line with the domain-specific hypothesis, children with LD showed a lower self-perception of academic skills only in those domains in which they were low achieving. Second, children with specific learning difficulties in either reading or spelling exhibited a lower academic self-concept in both verbal domains, which suggests that they did not differentiate between their skills in reading and spelling. Last, children\u27s self-concept in spelling and mathematics decreased significantly in the course of a school year. Overall, the children showed a sophisticated self-perception of their individual strengths and weaknesses at the end of primary school. (DIPF/Orig.

Classification of Local Protein Structural Motifs by Kohonen Networks

Kohonen networks were used for automatic classification of local structural elements derived from a set of 136 non-homologousproteins. A reduced representation of protein backbones based on dihedral phi and psi angles was employedfor construction of training patterns. Segments of nine residues were transformed into a 16-dimensional description by their angular values. Kohonen-mapping yielded a two-dimensional topological map of representative structural motifs. Helical structures and sheets are located on opposite sides of the feature map, and several intermediate forms are found. The map wasusedto trace protein backbones of two proteins, cytochrome bs and y-IV crystallin, leading to characteristic trajectories in the feature map

INSPIRE: Evaluation of a Smart-Home System for Infotainment Management and Device Control

This paper gives an overview of the assessment and evaluation methods which have been used to determine the quality of the INSPIRE smart home system. The system allows different home appliances to be controlled via speech, and consists of speech and speaker recognition, speech understanding, dialogue management, and speech output components. The performance of these components is first assessed individually, and then the entire system is evaluated in an interaction experiment with test users. Initial results of the assessment and evaluation are given, in particular with respect to the transmission channel impact on speech and speaker recognition, and the assessment of speech output for different system metaphors. 1