Students' aptitudes and their reports of cognitive processes during direct instruction.

72 5th- and 6th-grade students were randomly assigned to 1 of 6 classes using a factorial assignment of ability level crossed with attitude. Each class was taught a 2-day unit on probability, using the direct instruction model. Ss were videotaped during the lesson and afterward were interviewed about their thought processes using a stimulated-recall procedure. Independent of ability, Ss' reports of their understanding of the lesson were significantly related to achievement. Also, Ss who reported using specific cognitive strategies, such as relating the information being taught to prior knowledge, did better on the achievement test than those who did not report such strategies. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prajna: Adding Automated Reasoning to the Visual- Analysis Process

Applications and systems can represent knowledge in various ways. Graphic displays might help a data analyst infer new information through interactive visualizations. Knowledge represented as a collection of facts can be used for automatic inference, although it might be represented or stored in various archives, such as databases or formatted files. Developers who create applications for knowledge representation frequently must contend with not only data challenges but also challenges caused by a wide variety of software toolkits, architectures, and standards for knowledge representation. To overcome these obstacles, Vision Systems & Technology, Inc. initiated the Prajna project. The result was a Java toolkit designed to provide various capabilities for visualization, knowledge representation, geographic displays, semantic reasoning, and data fusion. This article is part of a special issue on knowledge-assisted visualization.     

Students' cognitions as mediators of the effectiveness of small-group learning.

Examined 43 2nd- and 3rd-grade students' conceptions of student explanations as possible mediators of the relation of instructional stimuli (i.e., a mathematics seatwork task and observed helping in a small group) to seatwork achievement. Ss were taught a 10-day mathematics unit by their regular teachers. During the last half of each period, Ss worked on seatwork in small groups. Later, Ss were shown videotaped segments of explaining in their particular small group to elicit information on students' cognitions. Results indicate a significant positive relation among cognitions about explaining, small-group behavior, and seatwork achievement. Ss' conceptions of a good explanation as one that provides specific content were significantly positively related to achievement as well as to effective explaining behavior in the small group. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Web-based information visualization

Increasingly, the World Wide Web is being used to help visualize complex relational information. We have developed a number of Web-based information visualization prototypes and applications by adapting several well-known information visualization ideas and techniques for use within Web environments. Before delving into specific examples, we offer some relevant background about the Web and our use of visualization for analysis     

Flodar: flow visualization of network traffic

The author and his colleagues at the National Security Agency designed an application called Flodar (short for Flow Radar) that monitors the flow of network traffic. The techniques and visuals used in Flodar can apply to a variety of applications. While many flow visualizations concentrate on the path of network traffic, this system monitors the status of individual servers within the system. In their particular system, they need to monitor two types of servers: those that send information at semi-regular intervals and those that receive this information and store it temporarily, waiting for users to read or process the information within a certain time. They are not as concerned with the path the data takes to get from the sending server to the storage server. They are more concerned with ensuring the sender transmits regularly and that the information on the storage server is processed before being overwritten. Therefore, monitoring the system's timeliness remains the primary objective for Flodar     

Violent video game effects on aggression, empathy, and prosocial behavior in Eastern and Western countries: A meta-analytic review.

Meta-analytic procedures were used to test the effects of violent video games on aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, aggressive affect, physiological arousal, empathy/desensitization, and prosocial behavior. Unique features of this meta-analytic review include (a) more restrictive methodological quality inclusion criteria than in past meta-analyses; (b) cross-cultural comparisons; (c) longitudinal studies for all outcomes except physiological arousal; (d) conservative statistical controls; (e) multiple moderator analyses; and (f) sensitivity analyses. Social–cognitive models and cultural differences between Japan and Western countries were used to generate theory-based predictions. Meta-analyses yielded significant effects for all 6 outcome variables. The pattern of results for different outcomes and research designs (experimental, cross-sectional, longitudinal) fit theoretical predictions well. The evidence strongly suggests that exposure to violent video games is a causal risk factor for increased aggressive behavior, aggressive cognition, and aggressive affect and for decreased empathy and prosocial behavior. Moderator analyses revealed significant research design effects, weak evidence of cultural differences in susceptibility and type of measurement effects, and no evidence of sex differences in susceptibility. Results of various sensitivity analyses revealed these effects to be robust, with little evidence of selection (publication) bias. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Elaborative and integrative thought processes in mathematics learning.

We investigated the effects on achievement and retention of having students complete mathematics seatwork that required them to engage in elaborative and integrative processing. Fifth-grade students (N?=?121) were assigned randomly within class to a cognitive-process treatment group, a fact-sheet group, or a control group. The seatwork problems of cognitive-process students included "prequestions" that required them to analyze, compare, and define problem information before answering a computational or conceptual exercise or story problem. These questions were designed to facilitate interconnection of the measurement knowledge being learned. Students were taught an 8-day mathematics unit in measurement by their regular teachers. Students completed achievement and retention tests of memory and understanding of measurement and were asked about their thought processes. Results showed that the cognitive process treatment had more beneficial effects on the achievement of higher ability students than of lower ability students. Comparisons involving only students who performed substantial amounts of experimental processing during seatwork provided evidence for the usefulness of elaborative and integrative processing for memory-based performance. Students' reports of processing were related to better memory and understanding scores on the tests. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

未成之海鹰——Bf109T-2战斗机

为了响应德国海军的航空母舰计划,德国航空部提出了数种舰载机的选择,其中战斗机来自当时的主力战斗机Bf109,舰载机称为Bf109T,T是德语tragerflugzeug(航     

Tannic acid modulated the wall compactness of cinnamaldehyde-loaded microcapsules and enhanced inhibitory effect on Aspergillus brasiliensis

The evaluation of antifungal properties in cinnamaldehyde (CA)-loaded microcapsules is significant to clarify potential food applications in various food matrices and systems. The impact of tannic acid (TA) crosslinking on the release and the antifungal properties of CA microcapsules was investigated based on gelatin/gum Acacia complex coacervates. The inhibition zone diameter of microencapsulated CA against Aspergillus brasiliensis was dependent on the TA addition and retained 26.1 ± 0.1 mm after 180-day storage at 25 °C. Specifically, TA enhanced hydrogen bond interactions between the microcapsule wall materials and favoured a sustained release of CA during the incubation with Aspergillus brasiliensis. Meanwhile, confocal laser scanning microscopic observation revealed that the microstructure of multinuclear microcapsules was more compact and intact under the crosslinking of 0.4% TA. The comparation of microscopic morphology and membrane potential of Aspergillus brasiliensis exerted a synergistic antifungal effect between CA and TA crosslinked microcapsules.