Revising Jewish History: The Effect of the First Two Centuries of Christian Rule

Book reviewed in this article:
Gunter Stemberger, Jews and Christians in the Holy Land: Palestine in the Fourth Century     

Using an Embedding Strategy to Teach Preschoolers with Significant Disabilities

The purpose of this study was two-fold. First, this study analyzed the effects of using response prompting procedures within an embedded skill approach on skill acquisition by 4 preschoolers with significant disabilities. Two target skills were identified from each student's IEP and taught during three preschool activities. A multiple probe across subjects design assessed the effects of the intervention. All students made progress above baseline performance. More importantly, there was consistency in performance of the target skills across at least two of the three activities for all children. Second, the reliability with which paraprofessionals in the preschool setting implemented response prompting procedures was evaluated. Data indicated that the paraprofessionals implemented the procedures with a high degree of accuracy. The impact of embedded skill instruction is addressed, as well as the impact of using non-degreed personnel to teach students with significant disabilities within inclusive preschool programs.     

Enhanced optic flow speed discrimination while walking: contextual tuning of visual coding

We tested the hypothesis that long-term adaptation to the normal contingencies between walking and its multisensory consequences (including optic flow) leads to enhanced discrimination of appropriate visual speeds during self-motion. In experiments 1 (task 1) and 2 a two-interval forced-choice procedure was used to compare the perceived speed of a simulated visual flow field viewed while walking with the perceived speed of a flow field viewed while standing. Both experiments demonstrated subtractive reductions in apparent speed. In experiments 1 and 3 discrimination thresholds were measured for optic flow speed while walking and while standing. Consistent with the optimal-coding hypothesis, speed discrimination for visual speeds near walking speed was enhanced during walking. Reduced sensitivity was found for slower visual speeds. The multisensory context of walking alters the coding of optic flow in a way that enhances speed discrimination in the expected range of flow speeds.     

The interactive effects of recruitment practices and product awareness on job seekers' employer knowledge and application behaviors

In this article, the author draws on research from the literature on marketing and recruitment to identify how recruitment practices and company product awareness are related to job seekers' application behaviors through 3 aspects of job seekers' employer knowledge. Based on results from a within-subject design with data from 123 recruiting companies and 456 student job seekers, the author's findings suggest that the relationships between recruitment strategies and application intentions and decisions are moderated by product awareness. Specifically, low-information recruitment practices are significantly and positively related to application behaviors through employer familiarity and employer reputation when product awareness is low. In contrast, high-information recruitment practices are related to job seekers' application behaviors through employer reputation and job information when product awareness is high.     

Monaural and binaural audiogenic seizures in mice

The progression of sound-induced seizures was examined in unilaterally or bilaterally sensitized SJL/J mice tested either monaurally or binaurally. An unexpected right-side advantage for becoming susceptible to audiogenic seizure was observed. In addition, two distinct patterns of seizure progression were noted, a uniphasic sequence in which a single burst of running preceded the convulsion and a biphasic pattern with two such bursts. The biphasic progression is viewed to be the result of unilaterally initiated seizures and characteristically reached only a clonic level of severity. Uniphasic seizures are concluded to be the result of bilaterally initiated seizures and, when they occurred after more than 30 s of auditory stimulation, frequently reached a tonic level of intensity. The present results support the view that audiogenic seizures are characterized by precisely timed, sequential processes dependent upon the specific priming and test procedures employed.     

What do bilingual infants actually hear? Evaluating measures of language input to bilingual‐learning 10‐month‐olds

Examining how bilingual infants experience their dual language input is important for understanding bilingual language acquisition. To assess these language experiences, researchers typically conduct language interviews with caregivers. However, little is known about the reliability of these parent reports in describing how bilingual children actually experience dual language input. Here, we explored the quantitative nature of dual language input to bilingual infants. Furthermore, we described some of the heterogeneity of bilingual exposure in a sample of French–English bilingual families. Participants were 21 families with a 10‐month‐old infant residing in Montréal, Canada. First, we conducted language interviews with the caregivers. Then, each family completed three full‐day recordings at home using the Language Environment Analysis recording system. Results showed that children’s proportion exposure to each language was consistent across the two measurement approaches, indicating that parent reports are reliable for assessing a bilingual child’s language experiences. Further exploratory analyses revealed three unique findings: (a) there can be considerable variability in the absolute amount of input among infants hearing the same proportion of input, (b) infants can hear different proportions of language input when considering infant‐directed versus overheard speech, (c) proportion of language input can vary by day, depending on who is caring for the infant. We conclude that collecting naturalistic recordings is complementary to parent‐report measures for assessing infant’s language experiences and for establishing bilingual profiles.     

Monolingual,bilingual, trilingual: infants' language experience influences the development of a word‐learning heuristic

How infants learn new words is a fundamental puzzle in language acquisition. To guide their word learning, infants exploit systematic word‐learning heuristics that allow them to link new words to likely referents. By 17 months, infants show a tendency to associate a novel noun with a novel object rather than a familiar one, a heuristic known as disambiguation. Yet, the developmental origins of this heuristic remain unknown. We compared disambiguation in 17‐ to 18‐month‐old infants from different language backgrounds to determine whether language experience influences its development, or whether disambiguation instead emerges as a result of maturation or social experience. Monolinguals showed strong use of disambiguation, bilinguals showed marginal use, and trilinguals showed no disambiguation. The number of languages being learned, but not vocabulary size, predicted performance. The results point to a key role for language experience in the development of disambiguation, and help to distinguish among theoretical accounts of its emergence.     

Modern psychometrics for assessing achievement goal orientation: A Rasch analysis

Background A program of research is needed that assesses the psychometric properties of instruments designed to quantify students' achievement goal orientations to clarify inconsistencies across previous studies and to provide a stronger basis for future research. Aim We conducted traditional psychometric and modern Rasch‐model analyses of the Achievement Goals Questionnaire (AGQ, Elliot & McGregor, 2001 ) and the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scale (PALS, Midgley et al., 2000 ) to provide an in‐depth analysis of the two most popular instruments in educational psychology. Samples and methods For Study 1, 217 undergraduate students enrolled in educational psychology courses participated. Thirty‐four were male and 181 were female (two did not respond). Participants completed the AGQ in the context of their educational psychology class. For Study 2, 126 undergraduate students enrolled in educational psychology courses participated. Thirty were male and 95 were female (one did not respond). Participants completed the PALS in the context of their educational psychology class. Results Traditional psychometric assessments of the AGQ and PALS replicated previous studies. For both, reliability estimates ranged from good to very good for raw subscale scores and fit for the models of goal orientations were good. Based on traditional psychometrics, the AGQ and PALS are valid and reliable indicators of achievement goals. Rasch analyses revealed that estimates of reliability for items were very good but respondent ability estimates varied from poor to good for both the AGQ and PALS. These findings indicate that items validly and reliably reflect a group's aggregate goal orientation, but using either instrument to characterize an individual's goal orientation is hazardous.