Verbal proficiency as fitness indicator: Experimental and comparative research on the evolutionary psychology of language and verbal displays

Summary: Recent research on the evolution of language and verbal displays (e.g., Miller, 1999, 2000a, 2000b, 2002) indicated that language is not only the result of natural selection but serves as a sexually-selected fitness indicator that is an adaptation showing an individual’s suitability as a reproductive mate. Thus, language could be placed within the framework of concepts such as the handicap principle (Zahavi, 1975). There are several reasons for this position: Many linguistic traits are highly heritable (Stromswold, 2001, 2005), while naturally-selected traits are only marginally heritable (Miller, 2000a); men are more prone to verbal displays than women, who in turn judge the displays (Dunbar, 1996; Locke & Bogin, 2006; Lange, in press; Miller, 2000a; Rosenberg & Tunney, 2008); verbal proficiency universally raises especially male status (Brown, 1991); many linguistic features are handicaps (Miller, 2000a) in the Zahavian sense; most literature is produced by men at reproduction-relevant age (Miller, 1999). However, neither an experimental study investigating the causal relation between verbal proficiency and attractiveness, nor a study showing a correlation between markers of literary and mating success existed. In the current studies, it was aimed to fill these gaps. In the first one, I conducted a laboratory experiment. Videos in which an actor and an actress performed verbal self-presentations were the stimuli for counter-sex participants. Content was always alike, but the videos differed on three levels of verbal proficiency. Predictions were, among others, that (1) verbal proficiency increases mate value, but that (2) this applies more to male than to female mate value due to assumed past sex-different selection pressures causing women to be very demanding in mate choice (Trivers, 1972). After running a two-factorial analysis of variance with the variables sex and verbal proficiency as factors, the first hypothesis was supported with high effect size. For the second hypothesis, there was only a trend going in the predicted direction. Furthermore, it became evident that verbal proficiency affects long-term more than short-term mate value. In the second study, verbal proficiency as a menstrual cycle-dependent mate choice criterion was investigated. Basically the same materials as in the former study were used with only marginal changes in the used questionnaire. The hypothesis was that fertile women rate high verbal proficiency in men higher than non-fertile women because of verbal proficiency being a potential indicator of “good genes”. However, no significant result could be obtained in support of the hypothesis in the current study. In the third study, the hypotheses were: (1) most literature is produced by men at reproduction-relevant age. (2) The more works of high literary quality a male writer produces, the more mates and children he has. (3) Lyricists have higher mating success than non-lyric writers because of poetic language being a larger handicap than other forms of language. (4) Writing literature increases a man’s status insofar that his offspring shows a significantly higher male-to-female sex ratio than in the general population, as the Trivers-Willard hypothesis (Trivers & Willard, 1973) applied to literature predicts. In order to test these hypotheses, two famous literary canons were chosen. Extensive biographical research was conducted on the writers’ mating successes. The first hypothesis was confirmed; the second one, controlling for life age, only for number of mates but not entirely regarding number of children. The latter finding was discussed with respect to, among others, the availability of effective contraception especially in the 20th century. The third hypothesis was not satisfactorily supported. The fourth hypothesis was partially supported. For the 20th century part of the German list, the secondary sex ratio differed with high statistical significance from the ratio assumed to be valid for a general population.

Formação continuada de professores e melhoria do exercício docente

O presente trabalho teve como ponto de partida os resultados dos rendimentos escolares apresentados pelo SAEB (Sistema de Avaliação da Educação Básica) e o SAEPE (Sistema de Avaliação Escolar de Pernambuco), frente às ações de intervenções promovidas pelas políticas públicas implementadas pelo governo de Pernambuco, através dos programas de formação continuada, direcionados na perspectiva de reverter os baixos índices do rendimento escolar, o que nos possibilitou a delinear objetivos que nos permitissem a identificar a relação entre os indicadores do SAEB, SAEPE e Programas de Formação Continuada no redimensionamento do saber fazer docente e implicações na melhoria do desempenho docente, bem como identificar limites e possibilidades da formação na melhoria do desempenho docente, em razão dos indicadores apresentados. As transformações do mundo têm interferido de forma contundente no campo da educação, bem como nos vários aspectos da gestão educacional, escolar, curricular e particularmente na formação continuada, com vistas no desempenho docente, tendo como objeto crescente a atenção dos pesquisadores com atuação na educação. As políticas educacionais no Brasil vêm demonstrado preocupação com a qualidade do ensino ofertada pela escola pública, decorrente das pressões dos organismos internacionais, que veem na educação a solução dos problemas enfrentados por um mundo cada vez mais globalizado, de transformações e descobertas tecnológicas que caracterizam hoje, a chamada sociedade do conhecimento. Tal contexto, em que a escola pública brasileira se encontrava, mobilizou os gestores a buscarem ações de intervenção no sentido de reverter o quadro tão comprometedor que o ensino público da Educação Básica brasileira se apresentava. O repensar das práticas pedagógicas vivenciadas no contexto escolar, recai sobre o professor, a responsabilidade do resultado que a escola apresenta. Falar da prática pedagógica recai necessariamente na formação inicial e continuada desse professor. Para sua realização utilizou-se uma abordagem quantitativa e qualitativa. As técnicas de coleta de dados foram aplicação de questionários a 100 professores da educação básica da rede pública, entrevistas com cinco formadores e análise dos documentos relacionados com a política de formação continuada. O estudo demonstrou que o modelo proposto, pouco tem contribuído para o desenvolvimento profissional docente, não envolvendo, portanto, o professor diretamente no processo formativo, com exceção dos que participam de alguns programas (SAEB / SAEPE) que visam diretamente à melhoria dos índices de aprendizagem em língua portuguesa e matemática, na perspectiva de que a formação os instrumentalize a aplicar técnicas, que a formação continuada não atende nem suas necessidades, nem da escola. Os demais professores só se encontram uma vez por ano, em estilo de grande evento, enquanto as formações ocorrem de forma desarticulada e fragmentada. Em consequência, foram apresentadas algumas reflexões no intuito de provocar e contribuir na revisão da concepção de formação continuada vivenciada pelos professores da rede pública do ensino de Pernambuco.

The influence of various types of question forms and test directions on the educational achievement of deaf and hearing children

This paper is a review of educational achievement tests and their suitability for hearing impaired children.

The history curriculum and its personal connection to students from minority ethnic backgrounds

Whereas history is seen by some as crucial in developing a sense of identity and fostering social cohesion, it is however, often based around narrowly nationalistic views of the past, and yet little is known about how students relate to the past they are taught. Thus, this paper focuses on the history curriculum and the ways in which students aged 12-14, from different ethnic backgrounds, relate to it. Moreover, the small-scale study which enabled this paper, focused, in particular, on whether students enjoyed and valued history and whether they felt any sense of personal connection to the topics studied. Drawing on survey data collected from 102 students and focus group discussions with 42 students, from two high schools, the findings indicate that although many students enjoy history, they fail to fully understand its value. Additionally most students, especially those from minority ethnic backgrounds, feel a lack of personal connection to the past, as they do not see themselves in the history they are taught.

Cursos de Pedagogia em Universidades Federais brasileiras: políticas públicas e processos de ambientalização curricular

Pós-graduação em Educação - IBRC

Writing Motivation of Students with Specific Language Impairments

This study was designed to compare the writing motivation of students with specific language impairments with their non-disabled peers. Due to the cognitive and linguistic demands of the writing process, students with language impairments face unique difficulties during the writing process. It was hypothesized that students with specific language impairments will be more likely to report lower levels of perceived writing competence and be less autonomously motivated to write. Students in grades 3-5 in 11 schools (33 with specific language impairments, 242 non-disabled peers) completed self-report measures, designed from a Self-Determination Theory perspective, which measured the degree that students are intrinsically motivated to write as well as their perceived writing competence. Statistical analyses showed that (1) students with specific language impairments reported lower levels of perceived writing competence and autonomous writing motivation; (2) SLI status was a significant predictor of perceived writing competence after spelling, grade, and gender were controlled; and (3) when spelling, grade, and gender were controlled, perceived writing competence was a significant predictor of autonomous writing motivation, but SLI status was not. The results of this study are expected to inform the current understanding of the relationship between language ability and writing motivation in students with specific language impairments, as well as the design of future writing interventions.

Educational Investment, Family Context, and Children’s Math and Reading Growth from Kindergarten through the Third Grade

Drawing on longitudinal data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998–1999, this study used IRT modeling to operationalize a measure of parental educational investments based on Lareau’s notion of concerted cultivation. It used multilevel piecewise growth models regressing children’s math and reading achievement from entry into kindergarten through the third grade on concerted cultivation and family context variables. The results indicate that educational investments are an important mediator of socioeconomic and racial/ethnic disparities, completely explaining the black-white reading gap at kindergarten entry and consistently explaining 20 percent to 60 percent and 30 percent to 50 percent of the black-white and Hispanic-white disparities in the growth parameters, respectively, and approximately 20 percent of the socioeconomic gradients. Notably, concerted cultivation played a more significant role in explaining racial/ethnic gaps in achievement than expected from Lareau’s discussion, which suggests that after socioeconomic background is controlled, concerted cultivation should not be implicated in racial/ethnic disparities in learning.

Making Learning Visible: Peer Review and the Scholarship of Teaching

This is the promotional brochure from the March 2004 national conference, Making Learning Visible: Peer Review and the Scholarship of Teaching. This conference was hosted by the UNL Peer Review of Teaching project and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Looking for silicene: studies of silicon deposition on metallic and semiconductor substrates

Nel presente lavoro espongo i risultati degli esperimenti svolti durante la mia internship all’Institut des NanoSciences de Paris (INSP), presso l’Università Pierre et Marie Curie (Paris VI), nel team "Phisico-Chimie et Dynamique des Surfaces", sotto la supervisione del Dott. Geoffroy Prévot. L’elaborato è stato redatto e in- tegrato sotto la guida del Dott. Pasquini, del dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia dell’Università di Bologna. La tesi s’inserisce nel campo di ricerca del silicene, i.e. l’allotropo bidimensionale del silicio. Il cosidetto free-standing silicene è stato predetto teoricamente nel 2009 utilizzando calcoli di Density Functional Theory, e da allora ha stimolato un’intensa ricerca per la sua realizzazione sperimentale. La sua struttura elettronica lo rende particolarmente adatto per eventuali appli- cazioni tecnologiche e sperimentali, mentre lo studio delle sue proprietà è di grande interesse per la scienza di base. Nel capitolo 1 presento innanzitutto la struttura del silicene e le proprietà previste dagli studi pubblicati nella letteratura scientifica. In seguito espongo alcuni dei risultati sperimentali ottenuti negli ultimi anni, in quanto utili per un paragone con i risultati ottenuti durante l’internship. Nel capitolo 2 presento le tecniche sperimentali che ho utilizzato per effettuare le misure. Molto tempo è stato investito per ottenere una certa dimistichezza con gli apparati in modo da svolgere gli esperimenti in maniera autonoma. Il capitolo 3 è dedicato alla discussione e analisi dei risultati delle misure, che sono presentati in relazione ad alcune considerazioni esposte nel primo capitolo. Infine le conclusioni riassumono brevemente quanto ottenuto dall’analisi dati. A partire da queste considerazioni propongo alcuni esperimenti che potrebbero ulteriormente contribuire alla ricerca del silicene. I risultati ottenuti su Ag(111) sono contenuti in un articolo accettato da Physical Review B.

Evaluation of a date rape prevention program for new students in a university setting

The purpose of this study was to design, implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a date rape prevention program among new students at Rice University. Six-hundred and fifteen new students were randomly assigned to one of eight residential colleges or dormitories. The distribution of students to each of the dormitories was carried out in accordance with a stratified random sampling procedure. The study population was divided into strata based on ethnicity, gender, geographical region, and academic major. The number of students randomly assigned to each of the eight dormitories was approximately 75. After this procedure was completed, each of the colleges was randomly selected to either the intervention or control group. A randomized pretest and posttest control group design was used to assess changes in attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavior with regard to date rape. All participants were given an anonymous pretest and posttest measuring attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavior immediately prior to and following the intervention. The intervention group attended the play Scruples, designed to promote date rape prevention, after which they were immediately posttested. After this initial posttest the intervention group also participated in an interactive group role-playing activity led by trained peer instructors. The control group was pretested and subject to the placebo intervention of a multiculturalism play and was posttested immediately afterwards. Later in the week this group saw the Scruples play only. Both control and intervention groups were sent a two month follow-up survey questionnaire, to measure any changes in attitudes, self-efficacy, and behavior over time. As hypothesized students who saw the play Scruples showed a change in attitudes immediately posttest but no difference in self-efficacy or behavior. The two month follow-up survey showed no change in attitudes, self-efficacy, or behavior. There was a difference at pretest in males and females attitudes, with males showing significantly more rape tolerant attitudes than females. Thus, the proposed research findings will provide a better understanding of the attitudes that perpetuate date rape, and will inform strategies for prevention programs. ^

Promoting Student Collaboration in a Detracked, Heterogeneous Secondary Mathematics Classroom

Detracking and heterogeneous groupwork are two educational practices that have been shown to have promise for affording all students needed learning opportunities to develop mathematical proficiency. However, teachers face significant pedagogical challenges in organizing productive groupwork in these settings. This study offers an analysis of one teacher’s role in creating a classroom system that supported student collaboration within groups in a detracked, heterogeneous geometry classroom. The analysis focuses on four categories of the teacher’s work that created a set of affordances to support within group collaborative practices and links the teacher’s work with principles of complex systems.

A case study of teachers' mathematics content knowledge and attitudes toward mathematics and teaching

This study intended to measure teacher mathematical content knowledge both before and after the first year of teaching and taking graduate teacher education courses in the Teach for America (TFA) program, as well as measure attitudes toward mathematics and teaching both before and after TFA teachers’ first year. There was a significant increase in both mathematical content knowledge and attitudes toward mathematics over the TFA teachers’ first year teaching. Additionally, several significant correlations were found between attitudes toward mathematics and content knowledge. Finally, after a year of teaching, TFA teachers had significantly better attitudes toward mathematics and teaching than neutral.

Is family medicine meeting the HIV/AIDS challenge? A national survey of family physicians' beliefs, clinical competence, and experience regarding HIV disease

A national sample of family physicians was surveyed to (1) assess family physicians' beliefs about the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and individuals at risk for infection, their clinical competence regarding HIV-related issues, and their experiences with HIV disease; (2) present conclusions to the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) to effect the development of an early clinical care protocol and a continuing medical education curriculum; and (3) collect base-line data for use in the evaluation of an early clinical care protocol and a continuing medical education curriculum, in the case that such programs are developed and disseminated. After considering retired or deceased respondents, of the 2,660 physicians surveyed, 1,678 (63.7%) responded. The resulting sample was representative of the active members of the AAFP. About 77% of the respondents were unable to accurately identify the universal precautions for blood and body fluids to prevent occupational transmission of HIV or hepatitis B virus (HBV). Residency trained and board certified physicians expressed fewer "external constraints," such as fear of losing patients, obviating them from providing treatment to individuals with HIV disease (p =.004 and p $<$.001, respectively). These physicians also manifested fewer "internal constraints" to the provision of HIV treatment, such as fear of becoming infected (p $<$.001 and p =.012, respectively). Residency trained physicians also expressed a greater comfort with discussing sexually-related topics with their patients than did non-residency trained physicians (p $<$.001). There were 67.1% of the physicians surveyed who reported never providing treatment to an individual with HIV disease. Residency trained and board certified physicians expressed a greater likelihood to provide treatment to HIV-infected patients (p $<$.001) than non-residency trained and non-board certified physicians.^ Among the various primary care specialties, family medicine is especially vulnerable to the current challenges of HIV/AIDS. These challenges are augmented by the epidemiologic pattern that characterizes AIDS. For the past several years, we have seen AIDS in this country assume a similar pattern to that seen in most other countries; HIV is becoming increasingly prevalent in the heterosexual population as well as in locations removed from metropolitan centers. This current phase of the epidemic generates greater pressures upon primary care physicians, particularly family physicians, to become better acquainted with the means to provide early care to HIV/AIDS patients and to prevent HIV/AIDS among their patients. Family medicine is especially appropriate for providing care to HIV patients because family medicine involves treatment to all age groups and conditions; other primary care specialties focus on limited patient populations or specific conditions. Family physicians should be armed with the expertise to confront HIV/AIDS. However, family physicians' clinical competence and experience with HIV is not known. The data collected in this survey describes their competencies, attitudes, and experiences. ^