Presents an evaluation/development method for achieving customer-driven improvement in organizations. Describes the steps to external and internal "mirror analysis," a process for determining if the organization functions as a mirror of customers' needs and expectations. Twelve figures illustrate factors in the process. (AEF)

Two studies investigated whether 10- to 11-month-olds possess skills for parsing ongoing behavior along boundaries correlated with initiation and completion of intentions. Found that infants showed renewed interest in test videos in which motion paused in the midst of an actor's pursuit of intentions; suspended motion at intentional boundary…

Examined whether age-related improvements in children's motor performance result from reduced noise in the output of the sensorimotor system. Found that performance improved with age. The force output signal exhibited increased irregularity and a more broadband frequency profile with increasing age under feedback. There were no age differences in…

Documents the findings of an experiment in which 12th-grade students taking a mathematics assessment were given monetary incentives to see whether such incentives would improve their performance. The study did not find that incentive increases performance. (Author/SLD)

Three experiments assessed the extent to which statistical learning generates novel word-like units, rather than probabilistically-related strings of sounds. Found that 8-month-olds' listening preferences were affected by the context (English versus nonsense) in which items from the familiarization phase were embedded during testing. Confirmed…

This study examined interaction between speech perception and lexical information among good- and poor-reading 7-year-olds. Findings suggest that lexicon may operate as compensatory mechanism for resolving speech perception ambiguities. Statistical correction for group differences in phoneme identification eliminated differences in phoneme…

Analyzed the relative performance of contract agencies providing out-of-home care by examining administrative data on the length of time it took children placed in out-of-home care to return to their families. Found that contract agency performance differs and that "agency effects" leave an independent imprint on a child's out-of-home…

Studied in three experiments the distribution and malleability of visual attention in 5-month-olds while they inspected large geometric designs. Established that infants who were short-lookers had novelty scores above chance, whereas long-lookers demonstrated chance responding. Illuminating different parts of visual display induced long-lookers to…

Examined in 2 studies the ability of 2- and 3-year-olds to learn to use tools via imitation. Found that when shown a correct solution to a tool-using task, all children managed at least a partial solution. When shown an incorrect followed by a correct solution, 2-year-olds produced a partial solution and most 3-year-olds produced a full solution.…

Three experiments examined children's strategic regulation of memory accuracy. Found that younger (7 to 9 years) and older (10 to 12 years) children could enhance the accuracy of their testimony by screening out wrong answers under free-report conditions. Findings suggest a developmental trend in level of memory accuracy actually achieved.…

Integration of technique and imagination is an essential but rarely explicitly discussed topic in music education literature or in the performing arts classroom. Exploring how master teacher Phyllis Curtin puts the two together and how students describe their integrative experiences in her class, the author tackles the paradoxes and complexity of…

The background to this study are the difficulties facing the majority of Greek pupils in understanding chemistry concepts and, therefore, performing well in the National Examinations. The aim was to explore the problems and to suggest ways in which the situation might be improved. Working with 105 Greek pupils aged 15 to 16, the first stage of the…

There is a change in false belief task performance across the 3-5 year age range, as confirmed in a recent meta-analysis [Wellman, H. M., Cross, D., & Watson, J. (2001). Meta-analysis of theory mind development: The truth about false-belief. "Child Development," 72, 655-684]. This meta-analysis identified several performance factors influencing…

Optimal performance is the goal of all athletes, particularly when rewards are high. However, in pressure situations, many athletes perform suboptimally despite a high motivation to succeed. One of the more popular theories addressing performance breakdown under stress implicates self-focused attention. Attention directed to the self may interfere…

This essay explores some of the conflicts faced by the author, a liaison with book-selection responsibilities to a university English Department. These conflicts include: trying to fill gaps missed by profiles set up with our book vendor; trying to achieve a reasonable balance between canonical and non-canonical texts; between primary texts and…