Perceptual grouping by luminance similarity and by proximity was investigated in infants with Williams syndrome (WS) aged between 6 and 36 months (visit 1, N=29). WS infants who were still under 36 months old, 8 months later, repeated the testing procedure (visit 2, N=15). Performance was compared to typically developing (TD) infants aged from 2…

After becoming a podcasting convert, the author talked with other students at colleges and universities across North America about their iPod and MP3 use, their familiarity with podcasting, and how they see podcasting as part of the classroom. As more and more colleges and universities jump on board the podcasting bandwagon, it's vital that…

In 3 experiments, 9-month-old infants' expectations for what distinct count noun labels refer to were investigated. In Experiment 1, a box was opened to reveal 2 objects inside during familiarization: either 2 identical objects or 2 different objects. Test trials followed the same procedure, except before the box was opened, the contents were…

This study examined the extent to which student engagement is associated with a traditional assessment of student knowledge. In this study, ETS Business Major Field Test (MFT) scores were compared to student's self-reported survey responses to specific questions on the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE). Areas of the NSSE survey such as…

This case study explores the learning experiences of three international students who were enrolled in an online master's program offered by a large university in Canada. The aim of the study was to understand the international students' experiences with, and perspectives on, the online learning environment. Findings indicate that previous…

Safety and security are crucial parts of a functioning educational facility. Despite an apparent slowdown in security threats and particularly dramatic incidents of violence, thanks to heightened vigilance, student safety is still a fundamental concern, made more complex by our times, experts say. According to Kenneth S. Trump, president of the…

Tested hypothesis from Bahrick and Pickens' infant attention model that retrieval cues increase memory accessibility and shift visual preferences toward greater novelty to resemble recent memories. Found that after retention intervals associated with remote or intermediate memory, previous familiarity preferences shifted to null or novelty…

Describes a survey of science faculty and researchers at the University of Michigan that investigated their information needs as well as resource use and preferences in diverse research contexts. Discusses speed, convenience, familiarity, currency, authoritativeness, reliable availability, and barriers in information-seeking. (Author/LRW)

Explored age-related memory differences for performed action events of varying familiarity in 50 adults aged 18-31 and 50 adults aged 55-84. Type of encoding and item familiarity influenced immediate and delayed free recall in both age groups. (RJC)

Studied 4- to 10-year-olds' familiarity judgments of peers. Found that, contrary to adults, external facial features were key. Also found that the switch to adult recognition pattern takes place after the ninth year. (ETB)

Reviews the literature on the effect of prior knowledge and text familiarity on document comprehension and usability. Discusses current methods for assessing subjects' topic familiarity. Presents an empirically based method for effectively assessing topic familiarity. Explains that the method includes use of two subject groups and reliance on…

Children between 7 and 13 years of age were presented with scenarios for which they predicted a result derived from 2 or 3 interacting variables. The effect of the interaction of variables was observed for all ages in familiar scenarios, but the effect diminished in scenarios of unfamiliar activity. (BC)

Examined 18-month olds' intermodal and verbal knowledge about gender. Presented photos of adults or children paired with a female or male voice, or with gender labels. With adult pictures, subjects spent more time looking at pictures with matching voices than at those with mismatched voices. With children's pictures, subjects failed to match faces…

Investigates the effect of orientation of depth cues on the magnitude of perceived depth in pictures. Finds that, for each test drawing, the orientation with the far point above the near point provided greater depth perception than any other orientation. Discusses possible contributions of observer experience and height of visual field. (DSK)

Information presented concurrently and redundantly to 2 or more senses (intersensory redundancy) has been shown to recruit attention and promote perceptual learning of amodal stimulus properties in animal embryos and human infants. This study examined whether the facilitative effect of intersensory redundancy also extends to the domain of memory.…