Transcoding abilities in typical and atypical mathematics achievers: The role of working memory and procedural and lexical competencies

Transcoding between numerical systems is one of the most basic abilities acquired by children during their early school years. One important topic that requires further exploration is how mathematics proficiency can affect number transcoding. The aim of the current study was to investigate transcoding abilities (i.e., reading Arabic numerals and writing dictation) in Brazilian children with and without mathematics difficulties, focusing on different school grades. We observed that children with learning difficulties in mathematics demonstrated lower achievement in number transcoding in both early and middle elementary school. In early elementary school, difficulties were observed in both the basic numerical lexicon and the management of numerical syntax. In middle elementary school, difficulties appeared mainly in the transcoding of more complex numbers. An error analysis revealed that the children with mathematics difficulties struggled mainly with the acquisition of transcoding rules. Although we confirmed the previous evidence on the impact of working memory capacity on number transcoding, we found that it did not fully account for the observed group differences. The results are discussed in the context of a maturational lag in number transcoding ability in children with mathematics difficulties.     

The Impact of Coping Strategies on the Operations in the Jungle Course of the Brazilian Army

The aim of this study is to investigate which coping strategies can predict success or failure in the Brazilian Army’s Jungle Operations Course. To achieve this, the sample included 36 military volunteers (18 who quit and 18 who completed the course) from a total of 63 candidates (57.14%), all male career officers and sergeants of the Brazilian Army. Results indicate that completers (n = 18) show significantly higher scores in 2 of the 8 different coping strategy factors—self-control and positive reappraisal—than those in the quitters group (n = 18). In general, emotion-focused strategies were prominent in relation to problem-focused ones. The findings of this study suggest that coping strategies focused on emotion, especially self-control and positive reappraisal, can influence individuals’ performance in situations of intensive military training, which possibly makes them more resilient, preparing them for a more successful training.     

The Work of Words: Poetry,Language and the Dawn of Community

Topoi - This essay explores the ontological movement of poetry, its language and words, by establishing a dialogue with the thought of three Japanese thinkers, Ki no Tsurayuki, Motoori Norinaga and...     

Psychometric characteristics of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire in an Argentinean sample: a cross-cultural contribution

Although studies in several populations have provided support for Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSQW) reliability and validity, factor analysis studies carried out on different populations show divergent results. The aim of this article is to contribute with the cross-cultural literature on PSWQ. This report describes two studies examining the psychometric characteristics of a revised Argentinean version of the PSWQ. In the first study, items of original PSWQ were translated into Spanish and then back-translated into English. Then, in order to examine its reliability and factorial structure, the instrument was completed by 400 community participants. The second study included two groups of participants as follows: patients with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and patients with other anxiety disorders (AC). Results revealed appropriated test-retest reliability over a four-week period, high internal consistency, and good convergent and discriminant validity for PSWQ. In concordance with some results reported in previous studies, a single factorial structure was confirmed for the Argentinean version of PSWQ. By the other hand, a receiver operating characteristic analysis was made to evaluate the ability of PSWQ to discriminate GAD from individuals with others anxiety disorders. A total score of 63 simultaneously optimized sensitivity and specificity in discriminating GAD patients from patients with others anxiety disorders.     

Holistic reasoning on the other side of the world: validation of the analysis-holism scale in Mexicans

The universality of cognitive processes has been called into question. Research suggests that individuals from Eastern cultures (e.g., China, Korea) when compared to individuals from Western cultures (e.g., the United States) prefer to reason holistically. This line of research has not been extended to cultural groups far removed from cultures traditionally surveyed in cross-cultural research such as Hispanics. We conducted two studies to understand: 1) the generalizability of the construct of holistic reasoning in Mexicans, and 2) the preferred reasoning style of Mexicans when compared to U.S. Americans. Results support the generalization of the factor structure of holistic reasoning as originally hypothesized by Choi, Koo, and Choi (2007). The results of Study 2 suggest that Mexicans scored higher than U.S. Americans on certain aspects of holistic reasoning.     

BINS validation - Bayley neurodevelopmental screener in Brazilian preterm children under risk conditions

Psychometric researches increase in Brazil. Bayley Infant Neurodevelopment Screener - BINS (Aylward, 1995) is a low cost, fast instrument. In 10’ it classifies children under developmental risk degrees. This research purpose was investigating BINS psychometric properties. 61 low-income Brazilian preterm, were divided in groups: 31 children (12 months) and 30 children (24 months), both sex, birth weight <2000 g. Socio-demographic-psychological profile was previously registered. Neurologists examined them through Amiel-Tison and Gosselin (2001) and physicians with Denver-DDST-II (Frankenburg, Dodds, Archer, &; Bresnick, 1990). Psychologist assessed children at chronological age, with Bayley Scales-BSID-II (Bayley, 1993) and BINS (12 m) and BINS (24 m). Results demonstrated homogeneous characteristics sample. Reliability indexes were over requested standards. Validity evidences based on external variables were positive moderated and BINS (24 m)/BSID-II (mental) presented high correlation. Validity evidences based on content were attested by expertise. High sensitivity was found. So, BINS can be considered an instrument of adequate psychometric properties, able to screen children under risk, according to Psychological Association requests.     

Does Education Influence Ethical Decisions? An International Study

This study examined whether having attended a public, private or religious affiliated grade and/or high school influenced a college student’s ethical decision making process. We also examined whether having taken an ethics course in college influences a student’s ethical decision making process. Our sample included 508 accounting students (237 men and 271 women) from Albania, Ecuador, Ireland and the United States. Our analyses indicated no differences in ethical decision making that associated with either grade-or-high-school education. While our data showed no difference in the reported attitudes between students from Ecuador and the United States after controlling for social desirability response bias, we found significant differences between the attitudes students from the United States and students from both Albania and Ireland. While gender was also significant for six of our seven scenarios, social desirability response bias was significant in all of our scenarios.     

Conceptual Analysis and Empirical Observations of Animal Minds

Philosophia - The relation between conceptual analysis and empirical observations when ascribing or denying concepts and beliefs to non-human animals is not straightforward. In order to reflect on...     

True or False? Keying Direction and Acquiescence Influence the Validity of Socio-Emotional Skills Items in Predicting High School Achievement

What type of items, keyed positively or negatively, makes social-emotional skill or personality scales more valid? The present study examines the different criterion validities of true- and false-keyed items, before and after correction for acquiescence. The sample included 12,987 children and adolescents from 425 schools of the State of São Paulo Brazil (ages 11–18 attending grades 6–12). They answered a computerized 162-item questionnaire measuring 18 facets grouped into five broad domains of social-emotional skills, i.e.: Open-mindedness (O), Conscientious Self-Management (C), Engaging with others (E), Amity (A), and Negative-Emotion Regulation (N). All facet scales were fully balanced (3 true-keyed and 3 false-keyed items per facet). Criterion validity coefficients of scales composed of only true-keyed items versus only false-keyed items were compared. The criterion measure was a standardized achievement test of language and math ability. We found that coefficients were almost as twice as big for false-keyed items’ scales than for true-keyed items’ scales. After correcting for acquiescence coefficients became more similar. Acquiescence suppresses the criterion validity of unbalanced scales composed of true-keyed items. We conclude that balanced scales with pairs of true and false keyed items make a better scale in terms of internal structural and predictive validity.