Grading the ‘cultural literacy’ project

The essay examines the argument advanced by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., for instituting ‘cultural literacy’ as a fundamental priority of schools. A number of confusions and equivocations in Hirsch's reasoning are identified, and the propensity of his project to indoctrinate is exposed. Among the features of Hirsch's argument shown to be troubling are his shifting construal of ‘language’, his inconsistency about the requirements of cultural literacy, and his uncritical relation to traditional images of the American past and present. The upshot is to raise the question why Hirsch's project has elicited wide support and praise.     

Simulation and Transfer Results in Modal Logic – A Survey

This papers gives a survey of recent results about simulations of one class of modal logics by another class and of the transfer of properties of modal logics under extensions of the underlying modal language. We discuss: the transfer from normal polymodal logics to their fusions, the transfer from normal modal logics to their extensions by adding the universal modality, and the transfer from normal monomodal logics to minimal tense extensions. Likewise, we discuss simulations of normal polymodal logics by normal monomodal logics, of nominals and the difference operator by normal operators, of monotonic monomodal logics by normal bimodal logics, of polyadic normal modal logics by polymodal normal modal logics, and of intuitionistic modal logics by normal bimodal logics.     

Referenzsemantik in der Partnermodellierung

How can we explain that an assertion on something perceived can be understood in the same manner by somebody who cannot perceive that scene? This problem bases the interest in computational linguistics in how listener modeling could possibly be harmonized with reference semantics. Mental images substituting real perception appear as a way out. The architecture of the listener model has to be adapted to the creation and use of such pictorial data structures. Furthermore, the relation between the latter and a verbal (i. e., propositional) representation must be understood. The resulting architecture of a listener model with reference semantics can be employed to solve communicational problems from three general classes in a better way, as is demonstrated by an example implementation.     

Changes in Newcomers' Person–Climate Fit following the First Stage of Socialization

The development of attitudes and activities of newcomers in the 18 months following the first period of socialization was investigated. At two points in time, persons' preferences for seven work climates were compared with perceived climate. Changes in person-climate fit were assessed, using a squared difference index, after alternative fit-indices were tested with hierarchical regression analysis. Person-climate fit and work attitudes at T1 (eight to ten months after entry) were examined by comparing three groups of respondents who did not change jobs, changed jobs within the organization or changed organizations. Results showed no alpha, beta or gamma changes for the total group of 108 respondents. Alpha changes were only found for respondents who changed jobs. They showed higher ratings for job satisfaction at T2. Finally, work attitudes at T1 were related to turnover. Organizational changers showed higher turnover intentions and higher discrepancies between preferred and perceived risk orientation and work pressure at T1.     

Direct comparisons between residential and community students on school performance measures in a public school setting

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the school performance of residential youth who attended a public school setting. Direct comparisons were made between the residential youth and students in the community on a number of school measures. Results from a multivariate analysis of covariance indicated that the residential students had significantly lower grades, participated in significantly fewer extracurricular activities, and exhibited more problematic behaviors such as tardies and absences. These findings were consistent with previous research which found that many residential youth have a number of behavioral, social, and academic difficulties that interfere with school functioning. A number of recommendations were made regarding educational placement for residential youth.     

The judgment-choice discrepancy: Noncompatibility or restructuring?

The study examines the relative merits of a noncompatibility and a restructuring explanation of the recurrent empirical finding that a prominent attribute looms larger in choices than in judgments. Pairs of equally attractive options were presented to 72 undergraduates who were assigned to six conditions in which they performed (1) only preference judgments or choices, (2) preference judgments or choices preceded by judgments of attractiveness of attribute levels, or (3) preference judgments or choices accompanied by think-aloud reports. The results replicated the prominence effect for choices, but a prominence effect was also found for preference judgments. In accordance with the restructuring explanation, the think-aloud protocols indicated that options were more often restructured in choices than in preference judgments. However, restructuring could not explain the prominence effect observed for preference judgments. A modified compatibility hypothesis is offered as an alternative explanation.     

An Attributional Perspective on African American Adults' Exercise Behavior1

The present study examined attributional patterns for successful and unsuccessful exercise behavior change in a sample of African American adults. Subjects typically reported the primary causes of successful exercise change to be of a motivational and personal nature, whereas attributions for unsuccessful change were primarily concerned with time management. Multivariate analyses indicated successes being attributed to internal, stable, and personally controllable causes, and failures to internal, unstable, and personally controllable causes. Stable attributions in the successful group were significantly correlated with expectations for continued maintenance, and unstable attributions were significantly related with expectations for future behavior change in the unsuccessful group. The findings are discussed with respect to attributional approaches to improving exercise and health behavior change.     

A note on analyzing ordered alternatives

A general method of devising stepwise multiple testing procedures with fixed experimentwise error is applied to the problem of non-parametric randomized block design with ordered alternatives. In addition, the method is applied to other models with ordered alternatives.The author wishes to thank the referees for helpful suggestions.