Constructing a Joint Story-Writing Space: The Dynamics of Young Children's Collaboration at Computers

This study explored kindergartners' and first graders' collaborative processes to understand the nature of peer collaboration and the learning opportunities afforded by peer discourse. Data were drawn from 6 dyads who participated in a computer writing project for 2 school semesters. Children's videotaped interactions were analyzed with the focus on understanding how children's collaborative roles and patterns changed over time. Examination of video data and children's computer products revealed that (a) children's interaction patterns changed from a more independent style toward a more integrative style, as shown in their distribution of control over mouse and keyboard and in the written outcomes of their collaboration; (b) a shift in role patterns emerged across repeated instances of peer collaboration so that children began alternating the roles of leader and observer, and less competent children began carrying out more important tasks; and (c) the computer served as an object of reference for children to sustain their interaction and stay on task.     

Optimization of some factors affecting the performance of query expansion

This paper examines the factors affecting the performance of global query expansion based on term co-occurrence data and suggests a way to maximize the retrieval effectiveness. Major parameters to be optimized through experiments are term similarity measure and the weighting scheme of additional terms. The evaluation of four similarity measures tested in query expansion reveal that mutual information and Yule's Y, which emphasize low frequency terms, achieve better performance than cosine and Jaccard coefficients that have the reverse tendency. In the evaluation of three weighting schemes, similarity weight performs well only with short queries, whereas fixed weights of approximately 0.5 and similarity rank weights were effective with queries of any length. Furthermore, the optimal similarity rank weight achieving the best overall performance seems to be the least affected by test collections and the number of additional terms. For the efficiency of retrieval, the number of additional terms needs not exceed 70 in our test collections, but the optimal number may vary according to the characteristics of the similarity measure employed.     

Relationship between foot strike pattern,running speed,and footwear condition in recreational distance runners

Compared to competitive runners, recreational runners appear to be more prone to injuries, which have been associated with foot strike patterns. Surprisingly, only few studies had examined the foot strike patterns outside laboratories. Therefore, this study compared the foot strike patterns in recreational runners at outdoor tracks with previously reported data. We also investigated the relationship between foot strike pattern, speed, and footwear in this cohort. Among 434 recreational runners analysed, 89.6% of them landed with rearfoot strike (RFS). Only 6.9 and 3.5% landed with midfoot and forefoot, respectively. A significant shift towards non-RFS was observed in our cohort, when compared with previously reported data. When speed increased by 1 m/s, the odds of having forefoot strike and midfoot strike relative to RFS increased by 2.3 times and 2.6 times, respectively. Runners were 9.2 times more likely to run with a forefoot strike in minimalists compared to regular running shoes, although 70% of runners in minimalists continued to use a RFS. These findings suggest that foot strike pattern may differ across running conditions and runners should consider these factors in order to mitigate potential injury.     

信息化和电子政务发展的战略定位:中国和美国的比较分析

分析比较了中国和美国在电子政务发展的战略目标、管理体制和战略实施三个方面的差异,并详细研究了中美两国在促进电子政务发展中的法律、政策和实施项目三个方面的异同。针对中国的实际,借鉴美国电子政务的经验,提出中国电子政务发展战略的初步建议。     

Executive functioning and word reading in Hong Kong Chinese children: A 1-year longitudinal perspective

This study examined the bidirectionality between kindergarten children's executive functioning (EF) and word reading across two time points. Participants were 523 Hong Kong Chinese-speaking children (mean age at Time 2 = 64.59 months; 52.9% male) and their parents. At Time 1, children were administered the measures of EF skills: inhibitory control, attention shifting, working memory and Chinese word reading. They were reassessed with these measures at Time 2 one year later. Results from the cross-lagged panel model revealed that, controlling for child age, gender and parental education levels, children's word reading at Time 1 was significantly predictive of their working memory at Time 2, but that the three EF skills at Time 1 were not predictive of word reading at Time 2. These findings underscored the role of early word reading in promoting children's working memory.     

Media Literacy Art Education: Deconstructing Lesbian and Gay Stereotypes in the Media

Popular media such as films, television programmes/commercials and magazines have become the dominant source through which children learn about others and their world, develop attitudes and beliefs as manifested in media expressions, and formulate their sense of identity. Popular media have enormous influence on children who are constantly immersing themselves in value‐laden media images that perpetuate over‐generalised representations of cultural groups, in particular, lesbian and gay stereotypes. By critically examining media images in the art room, media literacy art education offers art teachers and their students an opportunity to nurture their aesthetic sensibilities, social awareness and the media literacy necessary to resist and challenge prejudiced, dehumanised or unjust social practices. This article explores issues of lesbian and gay stereotypes in the media, and proposes using media images as a pedagogical device to help students deconstruct them.     

The role of orthographic flexibility in Chinese word reading among kindergarten children

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine the potential importance of orthographic flexibility for Chinese reading acquisition. Orthographic flexibility is a novel concept that represents the ability to manage and switch attention among multiple aspects of orthographic information. A total of 92 Chinese kindergarten children at age 6 were assessed on measures of orthographic flexibility, orthographic knowledge, executive functions (EF) skills (i.e. cognitive flexibility and working memory) and Chinese word reading. Results of hierarchical regressions showed that orthographic flexibility uniquely and significantly contributed to word reading beyond the effects of established predictors, namely orthographic knowledge and EF skills. Path analysis further indicated that orthographic flexibility significantly mediated the contribution of EF skills to word reading. These findings provided theoretical insights into the linkage between domain-general EF skills and domain-specific reading ability. The present study also provided practical implication that training on orthographic flexibility in addition to orthographic knowledge could be beneficial to early acquisition of Chinese word reading.     

The role of socioeconomic status in Chinese word reading and writing among Chinese kindergarten children

Reading and Writing - The number of Chinese children living in poverty has risen steadily in Hong Kong, China. However, little is known on the longitudinal effects of family socioeconomic status...