bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Torture, Terror, and the Inversion of Moral Principle
Authors: Haque Adil Ahmad
Published: March 2008

Extremists on either side of the War on Terror increasingly argue that torture and the deliberate killing of noncombatants are not merely morally permitted but frequently morally required. Both factions have found unlikely allies in leading scholars whose recent work provides intellectual support for the proposed upheaval of moral thought. This article provides new interpretations of the doctrines of double effect and noncombatant immunity which escape traditional criticisms, withstand contemporary challenges, and provide moral bases for rejecting torture and terrorism with equal force. The article also shows that refusal to torture does not make one complicit in the acts one could have thereby prevented, that deontological constraints retain their conceptual coherence and moral relevance when applied to states, and that threshold deontology does not support institutionalized torture.
Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3β Inhibition Preserves Hematopoietic Stem Cell Activity and Inhibits Leukemic Cell Growth
Authors: Holmes Tiffany , O'Brien Tracey A. , Knight Robert , Lindeman Robert , Shen Sylvie , Song Emma , Symonds Geoff , Dolnikov Alla
Published: March 2008

Ex vivo expansion of cord blood cells generally results in reduced stem cell activity in vivo. Glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) regulates the degradation of β-catenin, a critical regulator of hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). Here we show that GSK-3β inhibition activates β-catenin in cord blood CD34+ cells and upregulates β-catenin transcriptional targets c-myc and HoxB4, both known to regulate HSC self-renewal. GSK-3β inhibition resulted in delayed ex vivo expansion of CD34+ cells, yet enhanced the preservation of stem cell activity as tested in long-term culture with bone marrow stroma. Delayed cell cycling, reduced apoptosis, and increased adherence of hematopoietic progenitor cells to bone marrow stroma were observed in these long-term cultures treated with GSK-3β inhibitor. This improved adherence to stroma was mediated via upregulation of CXCR4. In addition, GSK-3β inhibition preserved severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) repopulating cells as tested in the nonobese diabetic/SCID mouse model. Our data suggest the involvement of GSK-3β inhibition in the preservation of HSC and their interaction with the bone marrow environment. Methods for the inhibition of GSK-3β may be developed for clinical ex vivo expansion of HSC for transplantation. In addition, GSK-3β inhibition suppressed leukemic cell growth via the induction of apoptosis mediated by the downregulation of survivin. Modulators of GSK-3β may increase the range of novel drugs that specifically kill leukemic cells while sparing normal stem cells.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.
BAF250B-Associated SWI/SNF Chromatin-Remodeling Complex Is Required to Maintain Undifferentiated Mouse Embryonic Stem Cells
Authors: Yan Zhijiang , Wang Zhong , Sharova Lioudmila , Sharov Alexei A. , Ling Chen , Piao Yulan , Aiba Kazuhiro , Matoba Ryo , Wang Weidong , Ko Minoru S. H.
Published: March 2008

Whether SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes play roles in embryonic stem (ES) cells remains unknown. Here we show that SWI/SNF complexes are present in mouse ES cells, and their composition is dynamically regulated upon induction of ES cell differentiation. For example, the SWI/SNF purified from undifferentiated ES cells contains a high level of BAF155 and a low level of BAF170 (both of which are homologs of yeast SWI3 protein), whereas that from differentiated cells contains nearly equal amounts of both. Moreover, the levels of BAF250A and BAF250B decrease during the differentiation of ES cells, whereas that of BRM increases. The altered expression of SWI/SNF components hinted that these complexes could play roles in ES cell maintenance or differentiation. We therefore generated ES cells with biallelic inactivation of BAF250B and found that these cells display a reduced proliferation rate and an abnormal cell cycle. Importantly, these cells are deficient in the self-renewal capacity of undifferentiated ES cells and exhibit certain phenotypes of differentiated cells, including reduced expression of several pluripotency-related genes and increased expression of some differentiation-related genes. These data suggest that the BAF250B-associated SWI/SNF is essential for mouse ES cells to maintain their normal proliferation and pluripotency. The work presented here underscores the importance of SWI/SNF chromatin remodeling complexes in pluripotent stem cells.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.
The effects of nocturnal dipping on cardiovascular outcomes and proteinuria in essential hypertensive patients
Authors: Selcoki Yusuf , Uz Burak , Baybek Nuket , Akcay Ali , Eryonucu Beyhan
Published: March 2008

Individuals who do not have a 10% to 20% reduction in blood pressure (BP) during the night are known as ‘nondippers’. Non-dipping patterns in hypertensive patients have been shown to be associated with an excess of target organ damage and other adverse outcomes. The present study was designed to investigate the relationship between nocturnal BP pattern, defined on the basis of the ambulatory blood pressure monitoring (ABPM) recording, and cardiac and renal target organ damage in a population of at least one year treated essential hypertensive subjects. The present analysis involved 123 patients with treated essential hypertension attending the outpatient clinic of our centre. Each patient was subjected to the following procedures: blood sampling for routine blood chemistry, spot urine for proteinuria, 24-hour periods of ABPM, and echocardiography. In the ABPM period, a dipping pattern was observed in 65 of the 123 patients, and a non-dipping pattern in 58 patients. Body mass index was higher in the non-dippers (26 ± 4 versus 28 ± 4, p<0.05). The proteinuria in spot urine was significantly higher in the non-dippers (10 ± 6 versus 24 ± 48, p<0.03). Left ventricular mass, interventricular septum thickness, posterior wall thickness and left ventricular systolic diameter were significantly higher in the non-dippers compared to the dippers. Left ventricular diastolic function was similar in non-dipper cases, except E-wave deceleration time. In treated essential hypertensives the blunted or absent nocturnal fall in blood pressure can be a strong predictor of cardiac and renal events. Hypertensive patients should be evaluated by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. To prevent patients at risk for morbidity and mortality casualities as a result of hypertension, patients should be evaluated by ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. This method can be utilized for exacting future follow-ups with the patient.
Cross-resistance and associated resistance in Escherichia coli isolates from nosocomial urinary tract infections between 2004–2006 in a Turkish Hospital
Authors: Ozyurt Mustafa , Oncul Oral , Ceylan Suleyman , Haznedaroglu Tuncer , Sahiner Fatih , Ardic Nurittin
Published: March 2008

In this study, antimicrobial resistance profiles were determined for 748 isolates of Escherichia coli from patients with acute nosocomial urinary tract infections (UTIs) at a Turkish Training Hospital. Thirteen antibiotics were included. Resistance to ampicillin alone (45.1%) and ciprofloxacin alone (20.6%) were the most commonly identified ‘single resistances’. Multiple resistance was found in 49.7% of the strains. The most common multiple antibiotic resistance profiles included ampicillin-sulbactam/amoxycilline-clavulonate (4.0%) and ampicillin-sulbactam/trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole/amoxycilline-clavulonate (2.8%). From 2004 to 2006, ampicillin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole and ciprofloxacin resistant strains increased to 76% from 57%, 53% from 43% and 55% from 41%, respectively. The percentage of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producing strains was 7.8% and imipenem resistance was seen in 5.2% of ESBL positive strains. We conclude that clinically important E.coli strains have now emerged with broader multidrug resistance. Periodical evaluation of laboratory results and clinical surveillance are crucially important for optimal antibiotic management of UTIs and infection control policies.
An Information Processing Model of Salary Determination in a Contour of Suburban School Districts
Authors: Gerwin Donald
Published: March 2008

This research discusses a formal model of the wage determination process at the interorganizational level using concepts advanced by Dunlop and Ross. In particular, teachers’ salary increases within a contour of suburban school districts over a nine year period are explained using a computer model of the decision making process. Each district’s salary policy is represented by an explicitly formulated set of rules which processes input information, mainly salary comparisons, into a specified choice. The rules reflect a two stage decision process in which first a school board determines a range within which a choice can be made and then selects a specific point within the range. The model was constructed using protocol data obtained from school board members while they remade past decisions using the same information they had previously employed in the actual situation. From tests of the model it appears that much of the Dunlop-Ross framework is appropriate for the study of teachers’ salaries. Within this framework some theories peculiar to teachers’ salaries are developed.
Meaningfulness and the Recall of Textual Prose
Authors: Johnson Ronald E.
Published: March 2008

Meaningfulness was found to be strongly related to the recall of linguistic subunits in textual prose. The generality of the relationship was evident with two samples of textual prose, with linguistic units of two different sizes, with two different methods of measuring meaningfulness, and at two retention intervals.
Level I and Level II Abilities in Three Ethnic Groups
Authors: Jensen Arthur R.
Published: March 2008

A large battery of various tests of intelligence, scholastic achievement, and short-term memory was administered to some 2,000 white, Negro and Mexican-American pupils in grades, 4,5, and 6 in a largely agricultural school district in the central valley of California. The three grades were used as separate replications of the study. Factor analysis (i.e., principal components) with oblique rotation yielded three main factors, identified as fluid ( g f) and crystalized ( g c) intelligence (both are aspects of Level II ability in Jensen's theory) and a memory factor (a Level I ability). Mean factor scores for the three ethnic groups differed significantly and showed significant interactions with ethnicity largely in accord with expectations from Jensen's two-level theory of abilities. The white and Negro groups differed markedly in g c and g f but not in memory; the white and Mexican groups differed markedly in g c, and much less in g f and memory. The Negro and Mexican groups differed the most in g f but only slightly in g c. There were also systematic ethnic group differences in the pattern of intercorrelations among factor scores, and in the correlations of the factor scores with an index of socioeconomic status. The results are discussed in relation to Jensen's two-level theory of mental abilities and Cattell's theory of fluid and crystalized intelligence.
Causal Models in Educational Research: Recursive Models
Authors: Anderson James G. , Evans Francis B.
Published: March 2008

Causal modelling procedures developed in economics and biology provide social scientists with powerful methodological tools that permit them to bridge the gap between theory and research. In this paper one type of causal modelling technique involving a structural set of equations that are recursive in form has been used to reanalyze the data from two empirical studies that have appeared in the literature. The paper demonstrates how models of this form broaden the scope of the usual regression analysis.
On the Expressive Potential of Behaviorist Language
Authors: Strike Kenneth A.
Published: March 2008

This article treats two central doctrines of behaviorism, namely, peripheralism and associationism, as doctrines which place semantic and syntactical constraints on acceptable language for the discussion of human beings, and assesses the consequences of these doctrines for the description of educational goals and methods. It is shown that peripheralism and associationism are philosophical doctrines inherited from British Empiricism, and that they are more appropriately treated as part of the philosphy of psychology, rather than as testable empirical claims. It is argued that the constraints that this philosophy places on a language render it incapable of expressing some meaningful educational goals, rule out some meaningful empirical hypotheses, and undermine some important ethical distinctions.
Nominated Samples from Public Schools and Statistical Bias
Authors: Brickell John L.
Published: March 2008

The magnitude and direction of statistical bias from nonrandom samples of specific types was investigated. Samples from school district populations were generated by a multistage sampling technique, with a modification that substituted for random selection the nomination of sample units at each stage. Within these stages, superintendents were asked to nominate samples of “representative” schools, principals to nominate samples of “representative” classrooms, and teachers to nominate samples of “representative” students. Statistics for the nominated samples were compared to the corresponding theoretical sampling distributions, determined by the appropriate population parameters, under the assumption of random selection. As the sampling proceeded from samples of schools, to samples of classrooms, to samples of students, the respective sample statistics increasingly deviated from expectation implying greater degrees of statistical bias.
An Analysis of Teacher Judgments of Reading Level
Authors: Jorgenson Gerald W.
Published: March 2008

Eighty-four elementary school techers estimated the grade level equivalents of reading paragraphs to determine whether skill in making such judgments existed, and whether there were significant differences between the level of judgments of teachers in urban and suburban schools. The results indicated that skill in making accurate judgments varies widely, and that teachers in urban schools make significantly higher estimations of grade level equivalents than suburban teachers. This urban-suburban difference was interpreted as indicating that techers in urban schools may have a lower achievement standard than teachers in suburban schools. The results of the study indicate further research is needed to determine whether the levels of judgment reflect teacher expectations, and whether these operate as self-fulfilling prophecies by moderating the level of a teacher’s reading instruction and thereby the achievement of the students.
Evaluation of Published Educational Research: A National Survey
Authors: Ward Annie W. , Hall Bruce W. , Schramm Charles F.
Published: March 2008

This study is an evaluation of educational research articles published during 1971. It replicates a study conducted in 1962 by a committee of AERA. As in the earlier study, it was found that most published research is of mediocre quality. Articles published in journals of “related professions” were rated higher than those published in education journals. However, the discrepancy between the classes of journals was not as great as in 1962. The most frequently cited shortcomings of re search articles were in the areas of “procedures,” “data analysis,” and “summary and conclusions.”
Enhancing Creativity by Modifying What Subjects Say to Themselves
Authors: Meichenbaum Donald
Published: March 2008

Three conceptualizations of creativity, including a mental abilities approach, an ego-analytic levels analysis approach, and an attitudinal self-concept approach, were each translated into sets of self-statements which could be modeled and then rehearsed by a group of volunteer college students. This self-instructional training group ( N = 7), relative to Gendlin’s focusing training ( N = 7) and to an untreated waiting list control group ( N = 7), manifested a significant increase in originality and flexibility on tests of divergent thinking, an increase in preference for complexity, a significant increase in human movement responses to an inkblot test, and concomitant changes in self-concept. As a result of the focusing training, which emphasized being aware of one’s bodily feelings, the subjects' self-reports indicated that they felt more creative, but this was not reflected in their performance. The implications of enhancing creativity by explicitly training subjects to talk to themselves was discussed.
A Further Consideration of the Effects of Evaluation on Motivation
Authors: Salili Farideh , Maehr Martin L. , Sorensen Richard L. , Fyans Leslie J.
Published: March 2008

Investigation was made of the effects of three evaluation conditions (teacher, self, peer-comparison) on anagram task performance and continuing motivation (CM) among Iranian grade five students. While evaluation condition appeared to make little difference in the case of performance, its effect on CM was significant—results which are remarkably similar to those obtained with U.S. samples. In addition, the role of general achieving orientations and causal attributions was considered. The relationships of achievement motivation and causal attribution were roughly parallel to those found in the U.S. Neither achievement motivation nor causal attribution appeared to moderate the subjects’ response to evaluation. However, there was some evidence that when the subjects attributed their achievement to themselves they were more likely to exhibit CM.
The Interaction Between The Internal—External Locus of Control and Two Methods of College Instruction
Authors: Daniels Richard L. , Stevens James P.
Published: March 2008

This aptitude-treatment interaction study classified 68 subjects as external or internal. Approximately half of the externals (internals) were given a traditional, teacher controlled method of instruction, with the remaining subjects being involved in a contract for grade plan. At the conclusion of an eight week course in introductory psychology, all subjects were given a 75 item multiple choice achievement posttest. Analysis of covariance was used to test the hypothesis of an interaction between I-E and method of instruction. A strong disordinal interaction was found, with internals performing better under the contract plan and externals performing better under the teacher controlled method. Implications of the results and the role of moderator variables in aptitude-treatment interaction research were discussed.
Communication and Teaching Effectiveness in Industrial Education
Authors: Roberts Churchill L. , Becker Samuel L.
Published: March 2008

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of how communication relates to teaching effectiveness in an Industrial Education setting. Teaching effectiveness was defined in terms of two criteria: supervisor evaluations of teachers and student evaluations of teachers. Results from the study underscored the importance of communication skills in the teaching/learning process. The most important measures were: teacher dynamism, teacher delivery, time spent with the students, positive reinforcement of the students, and positive attitude toward the students. These measures differentiated “good” from “poor” teaching.
Implicit Theories in Student Ratings
Authors: Whitely Susan E. , Doyle Kenneth O.
Published: March 2008

Identifying generalizable dimensions of teaching from student ratings data has been both practically and theoretically important in the study of teaching. However, an examination of the methods employed reveals that many studies may have identified dimensions which were implicit in the student raters rather than the instructors. The current study compared various methods of identifying teaching factors and found substantive similarity of the dimensions defined from students’ implicit theories and various types of correlational data. The results are interpreted both with respect to the rating process and to the nature of the factors identified in previous student ratings research.
Sex-Related Differences in Mathematics Achievement, Spatial Visualization and Affective Factors
Authors: Fennema Elizabeth , Sherman Julia
Published: March 2008

This study investigated (a) mathematics achievement (Test of Academic Progress) of 589 female and 644 male, predominantly white, 9th-12th grade students enrolled in mathematics courses from four schools, controlling for mathematics background and general ability (Quick Word Test); (b) relationships to mathematics achievement, and to sex-related differences in mathematics achievement, of spatial visualization (Differential Aptitude Test), eight attitudes measured by the Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales, a measure of Mathematics Activities outside of school, and number of Mathematics Related Courses and Space Related Courses taken. Complex results were obtained. Few sex-related cognitive differences but many attitudinal differences were found. Analyses of variance, covariance, correlation, and principal components analysis techniques were used. The results showed important relationships between socio-cultural factors and sex-related cognitive differences.
Temporal Organization in Prose
Authors: Kulhavy Raymond W. , Schmid Richard F. , Walker Carol H.
Published: March 2008

Sixty high school students studied two, five-paragraph text passages in which the content was organized around either a semantic, temporal, or random theme. Half of the learners in each group were instructed to try to organize the material in some fashion which would aid them in remembering it on a later test. All students received free recall, semantically cued and temporally cued tests following reading. In free recall, both the semantic and temporal organization formats yielded superior performance compared to the random condition. For the cued tests, the most words were remembered when the mode of organization matched the type of test cue. There were no effects for the instructions to organize. These data indicate that what people remember from text is strongly influenced by both the structure of the content, and the type of test performance required.
Modeling Effects and Developmental Changes in Dealing with a Formal Operations Task
Authors: Ronning Royce R.
Published: March 2008

A formal operations problem was administered to 64 first-, third-, fifth-, and seventh-grade children to examine problem solving strategy as a function of age and of exposure to an audio-tape cassette of a child model who exhibited the optimal strategy for problem solution. Results were analyzed in terms of strategy where the best strategy was a constraint-seeking one in which each question reduced uncertainty by one-half. Performance improved with age (p < .01); the main effect for the modeling condition was also significant (p < .05). Results were discussed in Piagetian terms and in learning by modeling after the work of Bandura.
Program Evaluation: An Empirical Study of Individualized Instruction
Authors: Leinhardt Gaea
Published: March 2008

This study describes the results of three years of evaluative investigation of lrdc’s program of individualized education. The study was conducted in seven Follow Through sites and three Pittsburgh area schools. Standardized tests were used as input and outcome measures; questionnaires and videotapes were used to gather information about the classroom processes. The results indicate that over the three-year period the implementation of the program continued to move toward ideal goals. Extensive data reduction procedures were used and the rationale of usage discussed. Results also point to input as the primary explanation of student end-of-year performance, though classroom processes contribute a small but consistent amount.
Spontaneous Elaboration in Mexican-American and Anglo-American High School Seniors
Authors: Kennedy Stephen P. , Suzuki Nancy S.
Published: March 2008

Noun-pair learning in twelfth-graders from similar socioeconomic backgrounds was assessed as a function of ethnicity (Mexican- vs. Anglo-American), IQ (low vs. average), and instructional conditions (control vs. instructed). Neither the main effect for ethnicity nor any of its interactions was significant. The main effect for IQ however, was significant such that average IQ learners recalled more noun pairs than low IQ learners. Furthermore, learners instructed to generate sentences performed significantly better than learners in the control condition. The interaction of lQ and instructions revealed that the difference between the instructed and control groups was signifinantly greater for low IQ learners than for average IQ learners.
Dimensions of Children’s Classroom Behavior, as Perceived by Teachers
Authors: Solomon Daniel , Kendall Arthur J.
Published: March 2008

Teachers described the classroom behavior of 205 3rd- and 4th-grade children with a 30-item rating scale. Factor analysis of the scale produced four factors, which were called: democratic, cooperative behavior; autonomous intellectual orientation; responsible perseverant striving behavior; and involvement in class activities. Correlations of factor scores with measures of achievement test performance, creativity, inquiry skill, and various orientations, motives, attitudes and values were investigated. Patterns of correlations with the two achievement-related factors suggested that teachers can validly discriminate between “perseverant” and “autonomous, intellectual” approaches to achievement.
The Effects of Elaboration and Rehearsal on Long-Term Retention of Shape Names by Kindergarteners
Authors: Gallimore Ronald , Lam David J. , Speidel Gisela E. , Tharp Roland G.
Published: March 2008

Two promising instructional paradigms are elaboration and overt rehearsal. In a study with both theoretical and curriculum-development implications, these two instructional paradigms were compared for facilitation of kindergarteners’ retention of shape names. Elaboration refers to the association of two unconnected stimuli (a shape name and a common object) in a meaningful context (a familiar story). Induced overt rehearsal involves repetition of the shape names. A third condition, which held other elements of instruction constant, served as control.

The results indicated that superior long-term retention was produced in the elaboration condition if the effects of initial acquisition (short-term retention) were statistically removed. A similar result was obtained for intermediate-term retention. Analysis of short-term data suggested acquisition was complexly affected by experimental condition, IQ, and task. In general, elaboration promoted better long-term retention even though some IQ groups learned more initially in the rehearsal condition.
Television Access and the Slowing of Cognitive Growth
Authors: Hornik Robert C.
Published: March 2008

Despite recent public furor on the matter, the best research on the effects of home television use on school performance suggests but does not establish a small negative effect. The present research considers the effects of television use on growth in reading skills and general ability as well as on classroom achievement among El Salvadoran children in grades seven to nine. We examined the effects of television access (in particular the effect of recent acquisition of a TV set) on each of three separate cohorts of students over a two- to three-year period. There was no obvious effect on short-term achievement. There were, however, consistent negative effects on reading improvement for all three cohorts, and a significant negative effect on general ability growth for one.
Precision Teaching in the High School Classroom: A Necessary Step Towards Maximizing Teacher Effectiveness and Student Performance
Authors: Breuning Stephen E.
Published: March 2008

Experiment 1 was designed to compare the effectiveness of precision teaching (PT) with the effectiveness of traditional teaching (TT). The contigent incentive incorporated into the PT procedure was availability of two optional activity days per week. The subjects were 328 high school students from 12 classes at five suburban Chicago high schools. The 12 classes were divided into matched pairs. Courses making up each pair were Algebra, Accounting, Biology, Chemistry, History, and Physics. The same teacher taught both courses in a given pair. During Phase I (12 weeks) all 12 of the classes were taught using the TT procedure. At the beginning of Phase II (12 weeks) one class from each matched pair was randomly selected and shifted to the PT procedure. There were no significant performance differences for the students in the two groups during Phase I. During Phase II the top two-thirds of PT students performed significantly better than the top two-thirds of TT students. The bottom one-third of the PT students performed significantly worse than the bottom one-third of the TT students. On a long term retention test given to the top two-thirds of students in both groups approximately five months after the completion of Phase II, the PT students retained significantly more material than the TT students. At the completion of Phase II, 21 of the PT students were performing poorly in class because of competition from their outside employment. In Experiment 2 the number of hours an employer allowed a student to work was made contingent upon the level of the student’s classroom performance. The mean percentage of total points earned by the students increased from 47.5 to 83.7. The results of the two experiments suggest that the poor academic performance of many students is due to an interaction between teaching procedure and incentive motivation. Implications and advantages of the PT procedure are discussed.
Nonverbal Cues as Indicators of Verbal Dissembling
Authors: Feldman Robert S. , Devin-Sheehan Linda , Allen Vernon L.
Published: March 2008

Sixty-three elementary school-age children in an experimental teaching session provided either genuine or dissembled verbal praise to a student (confederate). Nonverbal behavior of the subjects was analyzed both by trained coders and by naive observers. As hypothesized, nonverbal cues disclosed when the participants were dissembling. Dissembling participants smiled less, showed less pleasant mouth expressions, paused more, and were judged to be less pleased with their students than nondissembling participants.
External Generallzability of Inquiry Involving Artificial Orthography
Authors: Knafle June D. , Legenza Alice
Published: March 2008

Four experiments were conducted to examine the validity of artificial orthography as a research device. Although widely cited studies have used several artificial orthographies to investigate basic reading processes, this study seems to indicate that artificial orthographies are not comparable to each other or to the English alphabet. Two experiments used paired associate tasks with kindergarten, first-grade, and college students; one experiment used a transfer task with first-grade students; one experiment used a visual discrimination task with kindergarten students. Varying results were obtained with the orthographies as a function of (a) the type of task the student was required to perform, (b) the age of the student, (c) the size of the stimuli, and (d) the number of response distractors presented. The results indicate that the use of artificial orthography is not valid when findings are generalized from artificial orthographies to the English alphabet and from various aged individuals to the way young children learn actual letters and words in English.
The Relationship of School Size and Rate of School Plant Utilization to Cost Variations of Maintenance and Operation
Authors: McGuffey Carroll W , Brown Carvin L
Published: March 2008

The effects of school size and school plant utilization on pupil costs of maintenance and operation (M & O) in a large city school system in the South were investigated. School size is significantly and negatively related to pupil costs of M & O. Utilization rate has a similar and stronger cost impact.
Teacher Survival Rates—A Current Look
Authors: Mark Jonathan H , Anderson Barry d
Published: March 2008

Data are examined for the period 1968 to 1976 to provide a current look at public school teacher survival rates, and to update Charters’ findings reported in 1970. Results indicate that the downward sloping survival curve that Charters found still exists, although the curve has shifted up steadily through time. For example, of the cohort of new entrants to teaching in the St. Louis area in 1968, only 64.7% lasted beyond 1 year. Further, the survival rate differential between men and women has decreased over time to a point that the rates are virtually identical.
Self Ratings of College Instruction
Authors: Doyle Kenneth O , Webber Patricia L
Published: March 2008

Within each of three Liberal Arts curriculum areas, this study examined intercorrelations among college instructors’ self ratings and, in addition, various correlates of those ratings. Item pairs that correlated substantially were: “clear” and “approachable,” “got students interested” and “how much students learned,” and “clear” and “overall teaching ability.” Linear composites of specific self ratings significantly predicted general self ratings, and linear composites of instructor characteristics predicted both specific and general self ratings, but the multiple correlations were low. The only instructor characteristics that related substantially to self ratings in all curriculum areas were motivation-related, i.e., their own enjoyment of teaching and liking for the subject matter seem to play an important part in instructors’ definitions of good teaching and good learning.
Characteristics of the Conditional Reasoning of Educable Retardates
Authors: Antonak Richard F. , Roberge James J.
Published: March 2008

A pictorial conditional reasoning test was administered to three cross-sectional groups of educable mentally retarded (EMR) children and adolescents. The test items varied according to principle of inference and type of content. An analysis of variance of the number of correct judgments showed a significant main effect for principle of inference. On the other hand, the expected differences for age group and type of content were not found. An examination of the explanations associated with correct and incorrect judgments revealed that retardates’ reasoning strategies were congruent with those reported for younger normals in previous studies. The results are discussed in terms of contemporary conceptions of mental retardation and education for the retarded.
Teacher Transitions Can Disrupt Time Flow in Classrooms
Authors: Arlin Marshall
Published: March 2008

Disruptive pupil behavior (time off-task) was analyzed during teacher-initiated transition time and during nontransitional time. Expectation of disruption during transitions was based upon Kounin’s notions of classroom activity flow and more general notions of classroom time flow. The notion of activity flow centered about smoothness, momentum, and continuity of signal systems. The notion of time flow centered about teachers’ use of steering criterion groups to gauge the timing of activity shifts. Participants were 50 student teachers in grades one through nine in five unobtrusive experiments (one original and four replications). Expectations were confirmed that transitions disrupt time flow and that disruptive pupil behaviors increase during unstructured transitions. Procedures for structuring transitions to increase time-on-task and to maintain smoothness and momentum are described. Tentative observations about teachers’ conceptions of time and classroom time flow are presented.
School Practices That Improve Race Relations
Authors: Slavin Robert E. , Madden Nancy A.
Published: March 2008

This study used questionnaire data collected by the Educational Testing Service in 51 high schools to discover which school practices improved racial attitudes and behaviors in desegregated schools. Data were analyzed at school and individual levels using multiple regressions. Results for whites indicated strong, positive effects on racial attitudes and behaviors of assigning students of different races to work together and through individual participation on a sports team with students of another race. Weaker effects were found for class discussions of race. For blacks, assignment of students of different races to work together and teacher workshops on race relations had effects on one behavioral variable, and individual participation in biracial work groups or sports teams had strong, positive effects on racial behaviors and attitudes. Few effects for either race were found for teacher workshops, use of multiethnic texts, or tracking. Results were interpreted to indicate that programs involving cooperative interaction between students of different races are most likely to improve race relations in desegregated schools.
The Effects of Different Types of Advance Organizers on Classification Learning
Authors: Lawton Joseph T. , Wanska Susan K.
Published: March 2008

The effects of three types of advance organizer lessons containing high-order social studies concept (AO1), high-order rules for hierarchical classification (AO2), or both (AO3), on the learning of social studies concepts and hierarchical classification (as defined by Piaget) were evaluated for a sample of 237 rural children in kindergarten, third, and fifth grades. The overall order of training effect was AO3 → AO2 → AO1 → C. Effects on delayed posttests and or transfer tasks are also presented.
Family Configuration and Mental Ability: Two Theories Contrasted with U. S. Data
Authors: Page Ellis B. , Grandon Gary M.
Published: March 2008

Recent articles have argued that family size and birth order have important cognitive influence, and may partially explain the different performances of social class and ethnic groups. Support for such claims has often depended on the analytic strategy, which has concentrated on the means of aggregated groups with large N’s. For the present analysis, data are reviewed from the massive U. S. National Longitudinal Study of Educational Effects. Results from aggregate analysis are quite similar to those reported by Zajonc and others. When individual variation is explored, however, the effects of family configuration become relatively trivial, and the confluence theory appears untenable. The apparent effects of family size, far from explaining population differences, seem themselves to be better explained as the result of group admixtures. And the small, residual birth-order effects therefore appear to result from other phenomena, still to be explained.
Undergraduate Orientations Toward Scientific and Scholarly Careers
Authors: Phelan William T.
Published: March 2008

This paper studies the impact of university membership and of participation in university roles and tasks on undergraduate orientations toward scientific or scholarly careers. Differences in personal background characteristics are also considered. Subsamples of data were drawn from ACE-Carnegie surveys of (a) freshman entering U.S. colleges and universities in 1968, (b) the same cohort at Christmas, 1969, and (c) faculty teaching at these institutions during Spring, 1969. Respondents for the present study represented 40 universities and six academic departments in these institutions. Findings show that direct contact with faculty, particularly in departments of high research productivity, was influential in the development of female orientations. This did not hold for male respondents, however, for whom involvement with academic work had a greater impact on orientations.
Effects of Cooperative, Competitive, and Individualistic Conditions on Children’s Problem-solving Performance
Authors: Johnson David W. , Skon Linda , Johnson Roger
Published: March 2008

The effects of interpersonal cooperation, competition, and individualistic efforts were compared on a categorization and retrieval, a spatial-reasoning, and a verbal problem-solving task. Forty-five first-grade children were randomly assigned to conditions stratified on the basis of sex and ability, so that an approximately equal percentage of males and females and high, medium, and low ability children were included in each condition. The results indicate that on all three tasks students in the cooperative condition achieved higher than did those in the individualistic condition, and on two of the three tasks students in the cooperative condition achieved higher than did those in the competitive condition. There were no significant differences between the competitive and individualistic condition. Students in the cooperative condition used higher quality strategies on the three tasks than did those in the other two conditions, and they perceived higher levels of peer support and encouragement for learning. High ability students in the cooperative condition generally achieved higher than did the high ability students in the competitive and individualistic conditions.
The Effects of Special Preparation on SAT-Verbal Scores
Authors: Alderman Donald L. , Powers Donald E.
Published: March 2008

Students at eight secondary schools were randomly assigned to either a treatment group that was given special preparation for the SAT-V or to a control group whose access to the same preparation was delayed for the purposes of the study. The programs of special preparation were those already in place at the schools. A special administration of the SAT served as the posttest. Special preparation resulted in an overall difference of eight points, on the SAT-V scale of 200–800 points, between the treatment and control groups, corresponding to one additional correct item and stemming primarily from performance on analogy and antonym items.
Cumulative Achievement in a Mastery Instructional System: The Impact of Differences in Resultant Achievement Motivation and Persistence
Authors: Grabe Mark , Latta R. Michael
Published: March 2008

This study developed an approach to evaluating the appropriateness of student effort within a mastery instructional system and then investigated the interrelationship of achievement motivation, effort, and achievement in two college courses. Appropriate effort was strongly correlated with student achievement, even when differences in student aptitude were controlled. In several instances achievement motivation was also shown to be related to the variables assessing student effort and achievement. Path analysis indicated that the influence of achievement motivation on achievement was mostly determined by the relationship of achievement motivation and student errors in expending appropriate effort.
Measurement and Modeling Choices in Studies of Time and Learning
Authors: Karweit Nancy , Slavin Robert E
Published: March 2008

The consequences of using alternative measures of time and achievement are examined in an observational study of 18 elementary school classes. Of the four measures of time used—scheduled time, actual instructional time, engaged time and engaged rate—the engagement measures produced the more consequential effects of time for learning. Nonetheless, measures of allocated time are still important because they provide the constraints within which the results for engagement time must be interpreted. Mathematics achievement, measured as standardized and as chapter specific tests, was not consistently related to the time measures. This paper examines the extent to which the choice of the same model linking time and learning for all students was implicated in these inconsistent results.
Effects of Class Heterogeneity in Junior High School
Authors: Evertson Carolyn M. , Sanford Julie P. , Emmer Edmund T.
Published: March 2008

Classroom process data from 27 junior high school English classes in a large metropolitan school district were analyzed to assess the learning environment, classroom managerial constraints, and general teacher effects associated with teaching in classes with wide ranges of student academic entering level. A series of regression models that accounted for differences in teachers' management skill levels and entering class mean achievement levels was used to evaluate relationships between class heterogeneity (standard deviations of students' entering achievement scores) and a variety of classroom process measures and teacher self-report variables. Results suggest that heterogeneity of students' entering achievement levels in a given class limits teachers' successful adaptation of instruction to individual student academic and affective needs. Higher heterogeneity was also associated with a lesser degree of student task engagement and cooperation. Effects of extreme heterogeneity were greater in classes taught by relatively poor managers.
Building Friendships Between Handicapped and Nonhandicapped Students: Effects of Cooperative and Individualistic Instruction
Authors: Johnson Roger T. , Johnson David W.
Published: March 2008

The effects of cooperative and individualistic learning experiences were compared on interpersonal attraction between handicapped and non-handicapped third-grade students. Forty students were assigned to conditions on a stratified random basis controlling for handicap, ability, sex, and peer popularity. Students participated in an instructional math unit for 25 minutes a day for 16 instructional days. Type of interaction within the instructional situation, interpersonal attraction, and frequency of interaction in a free-choice, postinstructional situation were measured. Three attitude scales were also given. The results indicate that cooperative learning experiences, compared with individualistic ones, promote more cross-handicapped interaction during instruction; promote interaction characterized by involving handicapped students in the learning activities, giving them assistance, and encouraging them to achieve; promote more cross-handicap friendships; and promote more cross-handicap interaction during postinstructional free-time.
Ability × Treatment Interaction Effects on Children's Learning in Large-group and Small-group Approaches
Authors: Peterson Penelope L. , Janicki Terence C. , Swing Susan R.
Published: March 2008

This study investigated ability × treatment interaction effects on students' learning in large-group and small-group teaching approaches. Each of two elementary teachers taught a 2-week geometry unit to two classes of fourth- and fifth-grade students. Each class received one teaching approach. Stratified random assignment was used to assign students to classes. Students completed aptitude measures at the beginning of the study and achievement, attitude, and retention measures at the end. Regression analyses showed a significant curvilinear aptitude-treatment interaction (ATI) for ability that supported previous ATI findings. High- and low-ability students did better in the small-group approach than in the large-group approach. Medium-ability students did slightly better in the large-group approach than in the small-group approach. Analyses of observations of group processes indicated that high- and low-ability students benefited from peer tutoring processes that occurred in the small groups.