This study investigated whether 9-month-olds used phonotactic cues to segment words from fluent speech. Results suggested that 9-month-olds use probabilistic phonotactics to segment speech into words, and that high- probability between-word clusters are interpreted as both word onsets and word offsets. (Author/KB)

Examined the degree of specificity encoded in early lexical representations by presenting 18- to 23-month-olds with object labels either correctly or incorrectly pronounced and analyzing children's eye movement. Found that children recognized the spoken words in both conditions but recognition was poorer when words were mispronounced, with effects…

Discusses the relationship between health promotion and academic achievement at the middle school level. Considers three reasons to promote wellness, noting that poor health practices drain educational resources, students in poor health do not learn well, and youthful choices affect health. Describes ways to promote health in middle schools. (JPB)

Studied the multivariate predictors of timely permanence for children served by Colorado's Expedited Permanency Planning (EPP) Project. Used qualitative interviews with child welfare and court personnel to identify critical barriers to and supports for effective permanency planning focusing on the areas of: (1) concurrent planning practice and…

Two studies addressed whether preschoolers consider speakers' knowledge states when establishing initial word-referent links. Children showed better learning from a speaker knowledgeable of novel words' referents than from an ignorant speaker. Four-year-olds, but not 3-year-olds, learned words better when speaker said the object was made by…

Three experiments examined how 4- to 10-year-olds' domain knowledge and observation of exemplars interact during concept acquisition and how exposure to novel exemplars causes knowledge revision. In all experiments, prior knowledge and exemplar observation independently influenced children's categorization judgments. Use of prior knowledge was…

Explored whether source-monitoring training (SMT) would help 3- to 8-year-olds report only experienced events during a target interview. Found that SMT reduced 7- and 8- year-olds' false reports in response to direct questions but had no impact on younger children's performance. Findings suggest a transition between 3 and 8 years in strategic use…

Examined the nature of numerical knowledge in 5-month-olds to inform the debate whether numerical abilities result from capacities dedicated to numerical cognition or to more general perceptual capacities. Found that 5-month-olds could determine the number of collective entities, moving groups of items, when non-numerical perceptual factors such…

This article reviews research on positive and negative effects of verbally or mentally rehearsing a memory of an abuse incidence on the length, accuracy, and structure of children's reports of a particular incident. Implications for interviewing children in sexual abuse investigations are discussed and a set of recommendations is provided.…

A study involving 20 Australian adults with severe hearing loss and 14 adults with severe-to-profound hearing loss investigated performance on a range of speech-recognition measures using hearing aids. Vowels were well perceived compared with consonants, and scores for sentences presented in quiet were higher than when there was background noise.…

The effect of optional retesting on the achievement of 1,314 college students in an individualized algebra course was studied. A performance improvement was found for about 90% of students who had earned a "B" or lower. Optional retesting appears to affect initial mastery, but not cumulative mastery. (SLD)

Discusses personal mastery for organizational change based on experiences used by Learning as Leadership at Fairchild Semiconductor. Topics include individual change leading to more accountability in workplace performance improvement; examining the past to uncover behavioral and communication patterns; creating goals for the future; and taking…

The purpose of the standards described in this article are to provide guidance and a common set of values for human resource development/human performance training (HRD/HPT) professionals. General Standards; Research and Evaluation; Advertising and Other Public Statements; Publication of Work; Privacy and Confidentiality; Teaching and…

Two studies determined the extent to which feedback could improve eighth graders' and adults' decision-making. Results showed that neither benefited from verbal feedback in choosing between easy and hard questions to earn points. Adults benefited more than adolescents from outcome feedback. Adults also benefited more than adolescents in context of…

Discusses the need for performance improvement consultants to demonstrate the effectiveness of work the field performs. Presents suggested guidelines related to responsibility and consequence, planning and results, using scientific literature, needs assessment, and resistance to change. Concludes with likely disclaimers that should be faced. (AEF)