Numerical Training Videos and Early Numerical Achievement: A Study on 3-Year-Old Preschoolers

Early numerical abilities predict later math achievement and could be improved in children by using various training methods. As the literature on the use of training videos to develop numerical abilities is still surprisingly scant, the aim of the present study was to test the efficacy of a numerical training video on the development of counting and number line knowledge in 3-year-old preschoolers. Far transfer effects to cardinality and working memory were also examined. The study involved 86 children randomly assigned to two intervention groups: a numerical training group exposed to videos on counting and number lines; and a control group exposed to videos on colors and animal names in a foreign language. After the video training, there was an improvement in the numerical training group’s counting skills, but not in their number line knowledge, and this improvement persisted six months later. The numerical training group also showed a far-transfer enhancement of cardinality six months after the intervention. Based on our results, numerical training videos could be effective in helping to enhance early numeracy skills in very young preschoolers.

„Mamy dosyć zwierzyny dla nas i sąsiedztwa…” Nazwy zwierząt w nazwach własnych kół łowieckich (przyczynek do badań nad socjolektem myśliwskim)

The aim of the article is the analysis of highly legitimized proper names of hunting associations, with compounds related to animal names. There is also the attempt to establish the reasons of the choices which may indicate the values appreciated by hunters. In total, 1.575 (out of 2.705 collected) names, with one of the compounds having a common animal name, were gathered and analyzed. The names belong to one of the most common types of compounds in the names of hunting associations. Out of 1.575 there are 138 unique ones. 52 compounds were used individually, while 86 were used twice or up to 119 times. The analyzed names not only differentiate the hunting clubs but also reflect passions and interests of hunters and conceptualize their appreciated values. Moreover, the names are the key element which forms the identity of members of hunting associations and builds their affiliations stronger.

Learning positive social information reduces racial bias as indexed by N400 response

The present study used EEG/ERPs to detect the activation of implicit stereotypical representations associated to other-race (OR) people and the modulation of such activation through the previous presentation of positive vs. neutral social information. Electrophysiological signals were recorded in 40 Italian Caucasian participants, unaware of the overall study’s purpose. They were presented with 285 sentences that could either violate, non-violate (e.g., “the Roma girl was involved in a robbery) or be neutral with regard to stereotypical concepts concerning other-race people (e.g. Asians, Africans, Arabic). ERPs were time-locked to the terminal words. Prior to the sentence reading task, participants were exposed to a 10 minutes colourful video documentary. While the experimental group was presented a video containing images picturing other-race characters involved in “prestigious” activities that violated stereotypical negative assumptions (e.g. a black neurosurgeon leading a surgery team), the control group viewed a neutral documentary about flora and fauna. EEG signals were then recorded during the sentence reading task to explore whether the previous exposure to the experimental video could modulate the detection of incongruence in the sentences violating stereotypes, as marked by the N400 response. A fictitious task was adopted, consisted in detecting rare animal names. Indeed, only the control group showed a greater N400 response (350–550 ms) to words incongruent with ethnic stereotypes compared to congruent and neutral ones, thus suggesting the presence of a racial bias. No N400 response was found for the experimental group, suggesting a lack of negative expectation for OR individuals. The swLORETA inverse solution, performed on the prejudice-related N400 showed that the Inferior Temporal and the Superior and Middle Frontal Gyri were the strongest N400 intra-cortical sources. Regardless of the experimental manipulation, Congruent terminal words evoked a greater P300 response (500–600 ms) compared to incongruent and neutral ones and a late frontal positivity (650–800 ms) was found to be larger to sentences involving OR than own-race characters (either congruent or incongruent with the prejudice) thus possibly indicating bias-free perceptual in-group/out-group categorization processes. The data showed how it is possible to modulate a pre-existing racial prejudice (as reflected by N400 effect) through exposure to positive media-driven information about OR people. Further follow-up studies should determine the duration in time, and across contexts, of this modulatory effect.

Końska mięta (Mentha arvensis), kobyli szczaw (Rumex obtusifolius) i krowi mlecz (Taraxacum officinale)

Field Mint [Polish: “Horse Mint”] (Mentha arvensis), Curly Dock [Polish: “Mare Dock”] (Rumex obtusifolius) and Dandelion [Polish: “Cow Dandelion”] (Taraxacum officinale). On the Names of Farm Animals in Folk Phytonyms The subject of the article are folk phytonyms with an animal component. While analyzing the “animal” names of plants in the cultural context, the author reaches for so-called “co-linguistic data” (i.e. folk knowledge, beliefs and practices) related to animals and plants. Also, she arranges the phytonyms according to the semantic criterion, distinguishing the names of plants motivated by: (1) the animal’s appearance and (2) the appearance of the animal’s body parts, (3) animals’ smells, (4) the use of a plant as animal food, (5) the way in which the plant is used in folk magic and (6) in folk veterinary medicine. The analysis of dialectal names of plants in the cultural context makes it possible to consider the status of the animal part of the name. On the basis of her analyses, the author proves that both in the case of complex plant names and noun derivatives, the animal part of the name becomes “independent” in terms of a meaning and adopts qualitative meanings such as “big, great”, “dedicated to an animal (as food or medicine)”, “worse, useless for a human being”.

Non-probative Photos Promote the Truth of Positive Claims

<p>People’s judgments are prone to the influence of feelings, even cognitive feelings such as the ease with which related information comes to mind (Alter & Oppenheimer, 2009; Schwarz & Clore, 2007). In 14 experiments, we¹ found evidence that non-probative photos — ones that relate to what people are evaluating, but that provide no relevant information for their task — produce cognitive feelings that lead people to evaluate claims more positively. In Part 1, we examined the extent to which photos promote the truth of positive and negative claims. People saw the names of several fictitious wines. Some wine names appeared with a photo that depicted the noun in the name; other wine names appeared without a photo. For each wine people decided whether a positive or a negative claim about it was true. Photos selectively promoted the truth of positive claims, did so most when they could help people comprehend wine names, and swayed people’s judgments about the taste of wines. In Part 2, we showed that those findings translated to when people judged claims about their own (and other people’s) experiences. People “interacted” with several unfamiliar animals (on a computer). Later, people saw the animal names again, sometimes with a photo of the animal and sometimes alone, and decided whether it was true that they (or other people) had positive or negative experiences with the animals. Photos selectively led people to think positive claims were true, and exerted their strongest effects when they could most help people bring related thoughts and images to mind². ¹ Although the research in this thesis is my own, I conducted it in a lab and supervised a team comprised of research assistants and honors students. I also received advice and direction from my supervisors. Therefore, I often use the word “we” in this thesis to reflect that fact. As you will also see, I use the word “we” in a different context to refer to what is known (or not known) in the wider scientific community. ² Portions of this thesis were adapted from: Cardwell, Newman, Garry, Mantonakis, & Beckett (manuscript under review). Photos that increase feelings of learning promote positive evaluations. Cardwell, Henkel, & Garry (manuscript in preparation). Non-probative photos lead people to believe positive claims about their recent pasts. But I have expanded on the introduction, results and discussion.</p>

Non-probative Photos Promote the Truth of Positive Claims

<p>People’s judgments are prone to the influence of feelings, even cognitive feelings such as the ease with which related information comes to mind (Alter & Oppenheimer, 2009; Schwarz & Clore, 2007). In 14 experiments, we¹ found evidence that non-probative photos — ones that relate to what people are evaluating, but that provide no relevant information for their task — produce cognitive feelings that lead people to evaluate claims more positively. In Part 1, we examined the extent to which photos promote the truth of positive and negative claims. People saw the names of several fictitious wines. Some wine names appeared with a photo that depicted the noun in the name; other wine names appeared without a photo. For each wine people decided whether a positive or a negative claim about it was true. Photos selectively promoted the truth of positive claims, did so most when they could help people comprehend wine names, and swayed people’s judgments about the taste of wines. In Part 2, we showed that those findings translated to when people judged claims about their own (and other people’s) experiences. People “interacted” with several unfamiliar animals (on a computer). Later, people saw the animal names again, sometimes with a photo of the animal and sometimes alone, and decided whether it was true that they (or other people) had positive or negative experiences with the animals. Photos selectively led people to think positive claims were true, and exerted their strongest effects when they could most help people bring related thoughts and images to mind². ¹ Although the research in this thesis is my own, I conducted it in a lab and supervised a team comprised of research assistants and honors students. I also received advice and direction from my supervisors. Therefore, I often use the word “we” in this thesis to reflect that fact. As you will also see, I use the word “we” in a different context to refer to what is known (or not known) in the wider scientific community. ² Portions of this thesis were adapted from: Cardwell, Newman, Garry, Mantonakis, & Beckett (manuscript under review). Photos that increase feelings of learning promote positive evaluations. Cardwell, Henkel, & Garry (manuscript in preparation). Non-probative photos lead people to believe positive claims about their recent pasts. But I have expanded on the introduction, results and discussion.</p>

24-hour movement behaviour profiles and their transition in children aged 5.5 and 8 years – findings from a prospective cohort study

Background Time spent in movement behaviours, including physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviour (SB) and sleep, across the 24-h day may have distinct health consequences. We aimed to describe 24-h movement behaviour (24 h-MB) profiles in children and how profile membership changed from age 5.5 to 8 years. Methods Children in the Growing Up in Singapore Towards healthy Outcomes (GUSTO) cohort were asked to wear an accelerometer (ActiGraph-GT3X+) on their wrist for seven consecutive days at ages 5.5 and 8 years to measure 24 h-MB patterns. Time spent in night sleep, inactivity (proxy for SB), light PA, moderate PA (MPA), and vigorous PA (VPA) per day were calculated using the R-package GGIR 2.0. Using latent profile analyses (n = 442) we identified 24 h-MB profiles, which were given animal names to convey key characteristics. Latent transition analyses were used to describe the profile membership transition from ages 5.5 to 8 years. Associations with sex and ethnicity were examined. Results We identified four profiles, “Rabbits” (very high-MPA/VPA, low-inactivity and average-night-sleep), “Chimpanzees” (high-MPA, low-inactivity and average-night-sleep), “Pandas” (low-PA, high-inactivity and high-night-sleep) and “Owls” (low-PA, high-inactivity and low-night-sleep), among children at both time points. At ages 5.5 and 8 years, the majority of children were classified into profiles of “Chimpanzees” (51 and 39%, respectively) and “Pandas” (24 and 37%). Half of the sample (49%), particularly “Rabbits”, remained in the same profile at ages 5.5 and 8 years: among children who changed profile the predominant transitions occurred from “Chimpanzees” (27%) and “Owls” (56%) profiles to “Pandas”. Sex, but not ethnicity, was associated with profile membership: compared to girls, boys were more likely to be in the “Rabbits” profile (adjusted OR [95% CI]: 3.6 [1.4, 9.7] and 4.5 [1.8, 10.9] at ages 5.5 and 8 years, respectively) and less likely to be in the “Pandas” profile (0.5 [0.3, 0.9] and 0.4 [0.2, 0.6]) at both ages. Conclusions With increasing age about half the children stayed in the same of four 24 h-MB profiles, while the predominant transition for the remaining children was towards lower PA, higher inactivity and longer sleep duration. These findings can aid development and implementation of public health strategies to promote better health. Study registration This study was registered on 4th August 2010 and is available online at ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01174875.

„Po śmierci próżniaka nie zawyje i sobaka”: образ ледаря та трудолюба в зоофразеології (на матеріалі польської, української та російської мов)

The article analyzes the zoophraseologisms to denote a lazy and a hard worker. It was found that the images of a bee, a horse (in all studied languages), a donkey (the Ukrainian language), a bull, a louse (the Russian language), and an ant (the Polish language) were used in the phraseology for a positive description of person. Laziness and idleness in phraseology personify the images of a cat (in all studied languages), a bird, a louse (Polish and Ukrainian languages), a drone (Ukrainian and Russian languages), a donkey (the Russian language), a dog, a hen (the Ukrainian language). Ambivalent connotations in phraseology have images of an ox (in all studied languages), a dog (Polish and Russian languages), a hen, a donkey (the Polish language). Negatively colored phraseologies prevail over positively ones. In most cases, the semantics of phraseology is related to the way of life of animals, which people perceive it, to a lesser extent – the plots of fairy tales, pagan traditions, culinary and hunting practices. Decoding of some phraseologies is complicated by the homonymy of animal names.

A Socio-pragmatic Analysis of Taboo Language Using Animal Names in Facebook Messenger in the Jordanian Setting: A Gender-Based Study

The current paper aimed to investigate taboo language using animal names in Facebook Messenger in the Jordanian setting based on the context where it appeared. A total of (100) male and female university students answered a questionnaire devised to examine the way how students use taboo language. It was noticed that "pig" recorded the highest frequency of occurrence comprising (11.59) of the total number of the taboo words followed by "dog" and "bitch". Important differences were observed in the frequency and use of taboo words by male (68. 8 %) and female (32.2%) students. The study explained the reasons why such words were deemed taboo in the Jordanian setting taking into consideration the socio-cultural and religious norms of the society. The study also concluded that taboo language was used to express different themes such as humor, relaxation, anger and abuse. Keywords: Taboo Language, Gender Differences, Themes, Socio-Pragmatic, Facebook Messenger.

PU SAPI DAN LEMBU AGRA: KAJIAN ANTROPONIMI BERDASARKAN ISI PRASASTI JAWA KUNO (ABAD KE-9–16 M)

<p>Javanese literary works, especially the Panji tales, often feature human characters with animal names, such as Kuda Narawangsa, Kebo Kanigara, and Kidangwalangka. This naming phenomenon can also be found in old Javanese inscriptions. Recent studies generally concluded that such naming tradition occurred during the Kadiri-Majapahit era, and this was closely related to the banner of the army and the identity of <em>makasirkasir</em>. This study aims to reveal the motivation behind the naming tradition and the relationship between personal name, social status, and occupation of the person so named throughout the ancient Javanese era. This study uses Nyström’s onomastical approach, especially the concept of anthroponomics, namely the presuppositional meanings of proper names consisting of categorial, associative, and emotive meanings. This research utilized archaeological methods which involved data collection, data processing, and interpretation. Results show that this naming phenomenon was generally motivated by people’s appreciation of certain animals that had a special place and played an important role in the ancient Javanese society and culture. The correlation between the names and the characters’ social status and occupation has been found to be influenced by the sociocultural development during the Ancient Mataram and Kadiri-Majapahit periods.</p>