Friday, November 30, 2007

The Recruit

I've never known anyone who's gotten involved in a cult. But I'm getting that kind of vibe with one of my seniors who is planning to join the military - let's call him Pete. Pete had taken the ACT and was the only one to have also taken the SAT, and was planning to apply to college and study criminal justice, when he got a call from a recruiter. Now he's far more motivated to decrease his time running the mile than increase his chance of getting into college.

My political views aside, I actually support going into the military for some of my students. It is a great way to get job training and money for college. If that's what they want to do, I believe it is my job as the career advisor to help them do it. But something about this situation makes me nervous. Pete's gone from a kid who spends his time writing college admissions essays to one who walks around wearing Army paraphernalia and thinking about where he'd like to be based when he's not in Iraq.

The No Child Left Behind Act tied Title I funding to schools handing over students' information for military recruiting. (You can opt out, and many families do, even in my gung-ho military community.) It would be one thing if that information was going to people whose primary concern was teens' best interest, or even national security. Instead, I've learned, military recruiters get paid for filling certain quotas for certain positions, and they can use some questionable means to do so. One of my students' fathers was an Army recruiter for 30 years, and warned me not to let any student speak with a military recruiter without talking to him first.

I don't know what the recruiters say to my students, but obviously it's much cooler than what I or their parents have to say. There's nothing new about teens not wanting to listen to their parents or teachers. But still I get this cultish feeling. I'm nagged by a story of a former student who was contacted by a recruiter. The recruiter was planning to throw him a big 18th birthday party with all of his friends, but told him not to tell his parents. The idea was that they would have him sign all the papers the minute he turned 18. Long story short, a teacher found out about it and told the parents, who put the kibosh on the idea. The recruiter apparently wigged out on the kid, calling him parts of the female genitalia.

Anyway, I had a parent-teacher conference today with Pete and his dad, during which Pete said there is a "100% chance" he will go to Iraq. The parents are against it but Pete will be 18 in a few months. My concern is not to keep Pete from joining the Army, but to help him make a rational decision that will put him on a good career path and minimize his chances of injury.

When Students Throw Crayons At Their Teachers

They get in trouble down in the Sunshine State:(Don't miss the video if you go!)JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A north Florida teenager is facing serious charges Friday morning for throwing a crayon at his teacher.Taewon Little, 14, admitted he threw the crayon at his teacher at the Philip Randolph Academy in Jacksonville, but doesn't believe he should be charged with a crime. Little faced a judge for

Thursday, November 29, 2007

The Teddy Bear That Blasphemed

Did you hear about the British teacher who went to Sudan in order to teach and found herself in a heap of trouble?It probably seemed like the most innocent of ideas to the newly arrived teacher from England, still settling into life in the Sudanese capital Khartoum. She asked her class of six- and seven-year-olds to dress up and name a teddy bear, and keep a diary of his outings. She hoped it

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Let's Carnival!

The 147th edition of The Carnival of Education (hosted this week by Matt-a-matical Thinking.) has opened the midway for your educational pleasure!Don't forget to complete your educational experience by checking out the 100th edition (woot!) of The Carnival of Homeschooling.--------------------------See our latest entries.

Weeklong NCLB Debate

Check out the weeklong NCLB debate between Richard Rothstein and Russlynn Ali at the LA Times:

Weeklong NCLB Debate

Check out the weeklong NCLB debate between Richard Rothstein and Russlynn Ali at the LA Times:

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Why We Don't Give Money To The American Red Cross

As if a cool half-million dollar salary wasn't enough, Red Cross president Mark W. Everson just had to stick his hand up someone's into the moral cookie-jar: Red Cross President and CEO Mark W. Everson has stepped down after revelations he was "engaged in a personal relationship with a subordinate employee," the organization announced Tuesday.The Red Cross Board of Governors asked for and

Carnival Entries Are Due!

Entries for the 147th edition of The Carnival Of Education (Hosted this week by Matt-a-matical Thinking.) are due. Please email them to: mbardoe (at) att (dot) net . (Or, easier yet, use this handy submission form.) Submissions should be received no later than 11:59 PM (Eastern) 8:59 PM (Pacific) Today. Contributions should include your site's name, the title of the post, and the post's URL if

The Militarization of Chicago Schools and Beyond

Posted, too, at Schools Matter.

George Schmidt has been writing in his brave tabloid, Substance, for some time about the growing influence of the military in the public schools of Chicago. Now the mainstream media is starting to notice, and with Congress lifting the cap on such programs, the urban military school offers an unprecedented opportunity for Washington to develop a steady stream of trained recruitment targets for continuing war plans and other follies of empire.

These new military schools are mostly black and brown, and poor, you understand. Who needs a draft when you can starve potential recruits into the Army? Last week 6,000 people showed up in Cleveland to apply for 300 Walmart jobs. And in Chicago, itself?
In Illinois recently, Masten said, 25,000 and 15,000 people applied at two Wal-Mart stores in the Chicago area, and neither of those is a large Supercenter.

Here's another clip on the school militarization from AFP:

CHICAGO (AFP) — Dozens of teens dressed in uniforms provided by the US Marines stand at attention in the gym of a Chicago public high school as a drill sergeant goes through a list of the day's do's and don'ts.

Bring your books to class. Come for extra help if you need it. And wear your uniform with pride.

"Young men, you think you can get a haircut and say I'm done for two or three weeks. WRONG," Sgt. Major Thomas Smith Jr. intones.

"Young ladies. There's been no problem with your uniforms but there is a problem with your ties. Again, I will go through it again. Wear your ties when you come to my class."

One in 10 public high school students in Chicago wears a military uniform to school and takes classes -- including how to shoot a gun properly -- from retired veterans.

That number is expected to rise as junior military reserve programs expand across the country now that a congressional cap of 3,500 units has been lifted from the nearly century-old scheme.

Proponents of the junior reserve programs say they provide stability and a sense of purpose for troubled youth and help to instill values such as leadership and responsibility.

But opponents say the programs divert critical resources from crumbling public schools and lead to a militarization of US society. . . .

The Militarization of Chicago Schools and Beyond

Posted, too, at Schools Matter.

George Schmidt has been writing in his brave tabloid, Substance, for some time about the growing influence of the military in the public schools of Chicago. Now the mainstream media is starting to notice, and with Congress lifting the cap on such programs, the urban military school offers an unprecedented opportunity for Washington to develop a steady stream of trained recruitment targets for continuing war plans and other follies of empire.

These new military schools are mostly black and brown, and poor, you understand. Who needs a draft when you can starve potential recruits into the Army? Last week 6,000 people showed up in Cleveland to apply for 300 Walmart jobs. And in Chicago, itself?
In Illinois recently, Masten said, 25,000 and 15,000 people applied at two Wal-Mart stores in the Chicago area, and neither of those is a large Supercenter.

Here's another clip on the school militarization from AFP:

CHICAGO (AFP) — Dozens of teens dressed in uniforms provided by the US Marines stand at attention in the gym of a Chicago public high school as a drill sergeant goes through a list of the day's do's and don'ts.

Bring your books to class. Come for extra help if you need it. And wear your uniform with pride.

"Young men, you think you can get a haircut and say I'm done for two or three weeks. WRONG," Sgt. Major Thomas Smith Jr. intones.

"Young ladies. There's been no problem with your uniforms but there is a problem with your ties. Again, I will go through it again. Wear your ties when you come to my class."

One in 10 public high school students in Chicago wears a military uniform to school and takes classes -- including how to shoot a gun properly -- from retired veterans.

That number is expected to rise as junior military reserve programs expand across the country now that a congressional cap of 3,500 units has been lifted from the nearly century-old scheme.

Proponents of the junior reserve programs say they provide stability and a sense of purpose for troubled youth and help to instill values such as leadership and responsibility.

But opponents say the programs divert critical resources from crumbling public schools and lead to a militarization of US society. . . .

Monday, November 26, 2007

Online Community Organizing Course: Publicly Available (Community Organizing and Urban Education)

This semester I have been teaching an online course: “Organizing for Social Action in Urban Communities.” I have posted the draft lectures for the entire course here, under a Creative Commons license, so that readers are free to use them they wish.

As I note in the “Overview”:

The course is NOT intended to teach students how to be a community organizer. They don't learn how to work with the media, or run a house meeting, nor other practical skills like that. Instead the course is designed to help students learn how to THINK like an organizer.

The actual lectures represent a first draft effort to figure out how to teach "community organizing" to students for whom this is really an alien perspective. The overall structure of the course has evolved in more than five years of teaching in a face-to-face format.

My only request is that if people do read and use this material they send me comments about their impressions and experiences. You are free to post comments to this announcement post. The course is a work in progress, and I will be updating it periodically with newer drafts.

Online Community Organizing Course: Publicly Available (Community Organizing and Urban Education)

This semester I have been teaching an online course: “Organizing for Social Action in Urban Communities.” I have posted the draft lectures for the entire course here, under a Creative Commons license, so that readers are free to use them they wish.

As I note in the “Overview”:

The course is NOT intended to teach students how to be a community organizer. They don't learn how to work with the media, or run a house meeting, nor other practical skills like that. Instead the course is designed to help students learn how to THINK like an organizer.

The actual lectures represent a first draft effort to figure out how to teach "community organizing" to students for whom this is really an alien perspective. The overall structure of the course has evolved in more than five years of teaching in a face-to-face format.

My only request is that if people do read and use this material they send me comments about their impressions and experiences. You are free to post comments to this announcement post. The course is a work in progress, and I will be updating it periodically with newer drafts.

Beauty School Dropouts Make Nasty

Isn't there anything that these 7 ft tall beauties won't do in order to win a title and later get to marry a multi-millionaire? SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) -- Beauty pageant organizers were investigating Sunday who doused a contestant's evening gowns with pepper spray and spiked her makeup, causing her to break out in hives.Beauty queen Ingrid Marie Rivera beat 29 rivals to become the island's

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Open letter to Tok Pa

Apologies for my silence on the latest THES rankings. Thanks to Tony for his many updates. I've been trying to wait for all the discussion to materialize before putting my thoughts together. Also took a short holiday with my wife to visit one of Frank Lloyd Wright's most famous houses - Fallingwater - during the Thanksgiving break here in the US. I thought that I'd sum up my thoughts by writing an open letter to Tok Pa as a response to his letter in the Star. I'll also send this as a letter to Mkini.

Dear Minister of Higher Education,

I was encouraged by your letter published in the Star on the 14th of November addressing the issue of our public universities falling out of the Top 200 ranked universities in the world, according to the THES.

I was encouraged because you did not dwell on the how changes in the methodology used by QS, the company responsible for compiling these rankings, might have affected the ranking of Malaysian universities in the THES. While understanding the technicalities of why our public universities dropped off in the THES rankings might be important to gain a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of our public universities, I believe that you know, from your many travels to top universities in the world, that our public universities are very far from being anywhere close to the top 200 universities in the world, however measured.

I have also been encouraged by the way your Ministry has been very focused in its approach in attempting to transform our public universities as exemplified by the National Higher Education Strategic Plan and the corresponding National Higher Education Action Plan 2007-2010. The goals set out in these Plans are realistic and if achieved, will certainly make significant improvements in our public university education system.

At the same time, I am aware of how political considerations and restrictions can prevent even the best laid plans from being fulfilled and hinder a politician's ability to speak honestly.

For example, you mentioned that 'Still, massification of higher education was the right choice for a young, developing country that had to ensure its citizens access to education, and thus a brighter future.' Was the indiscriminate expansion of higher education in Malaysia a necessary thing in the context of Malaysia? Is this not one of the reasons why there are a large number of unemployed and unemployable Malaysian graduates currently in the market largely as a result of them not being able to pick up the requisite skills to make them employable in the marketplace? Would not an emphasis on vocational and technical education for those who are not academically inclined have made more sense instead of pushing these students into courses in which they have little interest in and is at least partly responsible for making some of them unemployable? Was the practice of 'awarding' and building universities in every state in Malaysia not a political tool for 'rewarding' voters in these states and as a result lead to a decline in quality in exchange for quantity?

At the same time, I would guess that it was not possible for you to say that the 'massification' of higher education in Malaysia also went together with policies which prevented otherwise qualified Malaysian students who could not get the courses of their choice to leave for universities outside Malaysia and for less qualified candidates to 'flood' the gates of our public universities, so to speak? In addition, a large pool of above average students were also awarded scholarships by the government and government linked companies to study overseas, leaving our public universities almost denuded of our top students.

I am also sure that you realize that the 'massification' of higher education in Malaysia not only decreased the quality of our students in exchange for quality but that the same phenomenon was also taking place among the ranks of the faculty. Lecturers were promoted indiscriminately, more based on 'know-who' than on 'know-how' and that promotion policies were also responsible for driving away many otherwise qualified academics to leave for universities overseas, leaving the ranks of many faculties relatively denuded.

The notion that a Malaysia public university can even be in the conversation of being anywhere close to the top 200 universities in the world is somewhat laughable given that less than 50% of most faculties in our public universities have PhDs. While having a PhD is not a necessary prerequisite for doing good research, it is important as an indicator of having received the proper training to do good research, having worked under experienced supervisors and learned from them and having the ability to complete a major piece of research work in the form of a thesis. Is it so surprising that our public universities have such a low peer review and low citation scores when many of the faculty are not trained to publish and produce cutting edge research? When this is combined with a culture which does not reward publications and punish non-publication, it is no surprise that our faculty has and will continue to score low on peer review and citations per faculty.

How can you change this? I think MOHE and the public universities are already taking some steps to address this starting with the push to send more Malaysian faculty to complete their PhDs in overseas universities. But even then, the process by which non-PhD holders currently lecturing in our public universities can obtain funding from MOHE to do their PhDs overseas is still far from transparent. From anecdotal evidence which I've heard from some of our readers, the process is still very much driven by know who rather than know how and sadly, by racial quotas instead of by performance ability. If this practice continues, I would not be surprised if the percentage of sponsored students obtaining their PhDs would be less than 50%, again leaving the MOHE in the quandary of not being able to achieve its 60% target of PhD holders by 2010.

While your strong words of inculcating a 'publish or perish' culture is encouraging, it will have little 'teeth' if not seriously implemented in our public universities. Our public university lectures are in a position of being almost 'unfireable' and hence, a threat of 'publish or perish' is not seen as credible unless real action is taken. Does this mean that you are willing to slowly 'weed out' the non-performers in our public university system (through retirements and such) and replace them with highly motivated and better qualified academics? Only time will tell.

The road ahead is fraught with challenges, both internal and external. As events and trends in the world continue to develop and evolve, our public universities are in danger of being left behind. At the same time, internal political constraints and considerations makes it even more difficult to change from within. Your job is not one which I envy and I applaud you for at least taking positive and concrete steps to effect change, hopefully at a substantive rather than a cosmetic level. But I fear that the restraints that is the Malaysian political system will eventually get the better of your good intentions, at great expense to our country.

Sunday School For Atheists?

Yes indeedy in tony Palo Alto, California:On Sunday mornings, most parents who don't believe in the Christian God, or any god at all, are probably making brunch or cheering at their kids' soccer game, or running errands or, with luck, sleeping in. Without religion, there's no need for church, right?Maybe. But some nonbelievers are beginning to think they might need something for their children. "

Eduwonkette blog theme of the week: Fordham and Ogbu

In the last few weeks, Eduwonkette has been writing her blog entries in themes. Last week was "Test Score Spin Doctors," focused on the distortions of NYC's Board of Education. This week is Signithia Fordham and John Ogbu's "Acting White" Hypothesis. Because Ogbu's arguments about culture and education, and the 1987 article Fordham and he cowrote, are provocative and the most interesting academic equivalents of the culture argument on the achievement gap, I strongly encourage folks in social foundations to read these blog entries. I'll probably add some commentary towards the end of the week here.

A second issue is Eduwonkette's choice of a weekly theme. I don't know if this is the start of a broader pattern, but if so, it's an interesting (and coherent) way to organize a blog. It's not the only education blog to have tried this (Edspresso had occasional weeklong debates for a year, from May 2006 through May 2007), but for an individual blogger, that's a form of blogging moxie. Most of us are more anarchic than that.

Eduwonkette blog theme of the week: Fordham and Ogbu

In the last few weeks, Eduwonkette has been writing her blog entries in themes. Last week was "Test Score Spin Doctors," focused on the distortions of NYC's Board of Education. This week is Signithia Fordham and John Ogbu's "Acting White" Hypothesis. Because Ogbu's arguments about culture and education, and the 1987 article Fordham and he cowrote, are provocative and the most interesting academic equivalents of the culture argument on the achievement gap, I strongly encourage folks in social foundations to read these blog entries. I'll probably add some commentary towards the end of the week here.

A second issue is Eduwonkette's choice of a weekly theme. I don't know if this is the start of a broader pattern, but if so, it's an interesting (and coherent) way to organize a blog. It's not the only education blog to have tried this (Edspresso had occasional weeklong debates for a year, from May 2006 through May 2007), but for an individual blogger, that's a form of blogging moxie. Most of us are more anarchic than that.

Climate change made real

The school of bloggers are back from Atlanta, where we spent Thanksgiving with tons of uncles and aunts and second cousins and so forth. Being in a place with such a threatened water supply left made me acutely aware of how much water I use every hour of the day.

My Uncle Steve (the national hydrographer) and my Uncle Eddie and Aunt Paula, who used to live up there, took a trip up to Lake Lanier. The lake is a major source of water for the northern suburbs, but is said to have less than 80 days worth of water supply left. They took pictures, including this one:



It's sad that this is what it took, but I'm finally forced to think "do I REALLY need to use water right now?" each time I turn on the faucet.

Saturday, November 24, 2007

Ed Links (Between Disciplines)

From Bookforum.com: School Links

From The Economist, from broken windows to broken schools, bringing accountability and competition to New York City's struggling schools, imperfect though it is, New York's attempt to improve its schools deserves applause, while elsewhere in America, school reform is slower and messier, but the pressure for change is coming from parents, which bodes well. Research suggests early academic skills, not behavior, best predict school success. Where students can't hug: Draconian bans on public displays of affection in a growing number of schools have parents and students up in arms. Has the concern about harassment gone too far? A review of The Sandbox Investment: The Preschool Movement and Kids-First Politics by David L. Kirp.

Do-gooders can become the worst cheats

Morally upstanding people are the do-gooders of society, right? Actually, a new study finds that a sense of moral superiority can lead to unethical acts, such as cheating. In fact, some of the best do-gooders can become the worst cheats.

Forty Acres and a Gap in Wealth By HENRY LOUIS GATES Jr.

LAST week, the Pew Research Center published the astonishing finding that 37 percent of African-Americans polled felt that “blacks today can no longer be thought of as a single race” because of a widening class divide. From Frederick Douglass to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., perhaps the most fundamental assumption in the history of the black community has been that Americans of African descent, the descendants of the slaves, either because of shared culture or shared oppression, constitute “a mighty race,” as Marcus Garvey often put it.

The Problem With Youth Activism

The institutionalization of activism on college campuses is a key culprit in the absence of visible youth movements in this country.

Review of: Abigail A. Van Slyck, A Manufactured Wilderness: Summer Camps and the Shaping of American Youth, 1890-1960.

Many social and cultural histories have examined changes in American attitudes towards gender, race, class, sexuality and the body, often with attention to prescriptive writings advising parents on how to raise children who might approximate these ideals in body and mind. Yet few historians consider how such many of these ideas were put into practice through the physical manipulation of space and the material construction of social realities.

Even babies judge their companions

Even infants can tell the difference between naughty and nice playmates, and know which to choose, a new study finds.

What Makes Us Moral

If the entire human species were a single individual, that person would long ago have been declared mad. The insanity would not lie in the anger and darkness of the human mind—though it can be a black and raging place indeed. And it certainly wouldn't lie in the transcendent goodness of that mind—one so sublime, we fold it into a larger "soul." The madness would lie instead in the fact that both of those qualities, the savage and the splendid, can exist in one creature, one person, often in one instant.

The Morality Quiz

The deepest foundation on which morality is built is the phenomenon of empathy, the understanding that what hurts me would feel the same way to you. And human ego notwithstanding, it's a quality other species share. While it's impossible to directly measure empathy in animals, in humans it's another matter. Here are some of the dilemmas used to study human morality. Take this quiz to see how you compare to other TIME.com readers. Then read how scientists are using these dilemmas to study morality.

Voting By Altruists: Some Electoral Implications of Civic Virtue

The present analysis demonstrates that civic virtue can play a complementary role by increasing support for such [redistributive] programs and by increasing the efficiency of public services. Whether altruistic voters are common or not, the analysis of this paper suggests that the altruistic component of civic virtue can play a significant role in making democratic societies more attractive places in which to live. Even a relatively small number of civil altruists can make a difference.

Just Cool: Cellular Visions: The Inner Life of a Cell

The Inner Life of a Cell, an eight-minute animation created in NewTek LightWave 3D and Adobe After Effects for Harvard biology students . . . illustrates unseen molecular mechanisms and the ones they trigger, specifically how white blood cells sense and respond to their surroundings and external stimuli.

Is The Beauty Of A Sculpture In The Brain Of The Beholder?

Is there an objective biological basis for the experience of beauty in art? Or is aesthetic experience entirely subjective? New research uses fMRI scans to study the neural activity in subjects with no knowledge of art criticism, who were shown images of Classical and Renaissance sculptures.

Simple Retro Toys May Be Better For Children Than Fancy Electronic Toys

Old-fashioned retro toys, such as red rubber balls, simple building blocks, clay and crayons, that don't cost much are usually much healthier for children than the electronic educational toys that have fancier boxes, according to developmental psychologists. Children are creative problem-solvers and benefit from a toy that doesn't command the child, but lets the child command it.

Screening Tests To Identify Children With Reading Problems Are Being Misapplied, Study Shows

Screening tests widely used to identify children with reading problems are being misapplied, landing students in the wrong instructional level and delaying treatment for their true difficulties, says new research. The researchers find that oral reading tests fail to distinguish between children who can't understand words on a page and those who have language problems that make it difficult to prove their reading competence verbally. Children with these so-called "word-finding" difficulties can't manage to say out loud what they read on the page.

Student Facebook, MySpace Use Predicted By Race, Ethnicity, Education

A study finds student use of social network sites such as Facebook and MySpace can be predicted by race, ethnicity and parent education, challenging popular notions of the democratic nature of online communication. The study finds less intermingling of users from diverse backgrounds on these sites than previously believed. White students prefer Facebook; Hispanics prefer MySpace. Asian and Asian-American students use less popular sites including Xanga more than other groups.

Money Motivates -- Especially When Your Colleague Gets Less

The feelings an individual has on receiving his paycheck depend critically on how much his colleague earns. Hard evidence for this comes from a brain scanner experiment conducted by economists and brain scientists.

Even Very Low Levels Of Lead Cause Brain Damage In Children

Even amounts of lead in the blood well below current federal standard are linked to reduced IQ scores in children, finds a new six-year study. In the United States over the last several months, nearly 50 specific products, including millions of toys for young children, have been recalled due to excessive lead in the paint, plastics and metal. Researchers note that this study shows the very real dangers associated with low-level exposures, to which lead in toys can contribute.

Trauma Earlier In Life May Affect Response To Stress Years Later

Researchers report that rapes, sudden deaths of loved ones, life-threatening accidents and other such traumas may result in long-term changes in the stress response in some people, even if they don't have post-traumatic stress disorder.

Eating Disorders In Adolescents

A new study, one of the first to examine trends in adolescent weight control behaviors over a 10-year period, found that the prevalence of these behaviors in male adolescents significantly increased, while black females appear to resist pressure to pursue thinness.

Gender Roles And Not Gender Bias Hold Back Women Scientists

Traditional roles of women in the home and a negative bias in workplace support result in less career success for women versus men at the same stage of their research careers.

Model Explains How Abused Moms Decide To Leave

Scientists have found a way to help health care providers, social workers and abused women's families understand the stages that these women go through when deciding to leave their partners.

Early Academic Skills, Not Behavior, Best Predict School Success

Children entering kindergarten with elementary math and reading skills are the most likely to do well in school later, even if they have various social and emotional problems, say researchers who examined data from six studies of close to 36,000 preschoolers.

Neuroscientists Propose New Theory Of Brain Flexibility

Neuroscientists have put forward a new computational theory of brain function that provides answers to one of the central questions of modern science: How does the human brain organize itself to give rise to complex cognitive tasks such as reading, problem solving and spatial reasoning?

Ed Links (Between Disciplines)

From Bookforum.com: School Links

From The Economist, from broken windows to broken schools, bringing accountability and competition to New York City's struggling schools, imperfect though it is, New York's attempt to improve its schools deserves applause, while elsewhere in America, school reform is slower and messier, but the pressure for change is coming from parents, which bodes well. Research suggests early academic skills, not behavior, best predict school success. Where students can't hug: Draconian bans on public displays of affection in a growing number of schools have parents and students up in arms. Has the concern about harassment gone too far? A review of The Sandbox Investment: The Preschool Movement and Kids-First Politics by David L. Kirp.

Do-gooders can become the worst cheats

Morally upstanding people are the do-gooders of society, right? Actually, a new study finds that a sense of moral superiority can lead to unethical acts, such as cheating. In fact, some of the best do-gooders can become the worst cheats.

Forty Acres and a Gap in Wealth By HENRY LOUIS GATES Jr.

LAST week, the Pew Research Center published the astonishing finding that 37 percent of African-Americans polled felt that “blacks today can no longer be thought of as a single race” because of a widening class divide. From Frederick Douglass to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., perhaps the most fundamental assumption in the history of the black community has been that Americans of African descent, the descendants of the slaves, either because of shared culture or shared oppression, constitute “a mighty race,” as Marcus Garvey often put it.

The Problem With Youth Activism

The institutionalization of activism on college campuses is a key culprit in the absence of visible youth movements in this country.

Review of: Abigail A. Van Slyck, A Manufactured Wilderness: Summer Camps and the Shaping of American Youth, 1890-1960.

Many social and cultural histories have examined changes in American attitudes towards gender, race, class, sexuality and the body, often with attention to prescriptive writings advising parents on how to raise children who might approximate these ideals in body and mind. Yet few historians consider how such many of these ideas were put into practice through the physical manipulation of space and the material construction of social realities.

Even babies judge their companions

Even infants can tell the difference between naughty and nice playmates, and know which to choose, a new study finds.

What Makes Us Moral

If the entire human species were a single individual, that person would long ago have been declared mad. The insanity would not lie in the anger and darkness of the human mind—though it can be a black and raging place indeed. And it certainly wouldn't lie in the transcendent goodness of that mind—one so sublime, we fold it into a larger "soul." The madness would lie instead in the fact that both of those qualities, the savage and the splendid, can exist in one creature, one person, often in one instant.

The Morality Quiz

The deepest foundation on which morality is built is the phenomenon of empathy, the understanding that what hurts me would feel the same way to you. And human ego notwithstanding, it's a quality other species share. While it's impossible to directly measure empathy in animals, in humans it's another matter. Here are some of the dilemmas used to study human morality. Take this quiz to see how you compare to other TIME.com readers. Then read how scientists are using these dilemmas to study morality.

Voting By Altruists: Some Electoral Implications of Civic Virtue

The present analysis demonstrates that civic virtue can play a complementary role by increasing support for such [redistributive] programs and by increasing the efficiency of public services. Whether altruistic voters are common or not, the analysis of this paper suggests that the altruistic component of civic virtue can play a significant role in making democratic societies more attractive places in which to live. Even a relatively small number of civil altruists can make a difference.

Just Cool: Cellular Visions: The Inner Life of a Cell

The Inner Life of a Cell, an eight-minute animation created in NewTek LightWave 3D and Adobe After Effects for Harvard biology students . . . illustrates unseen molecular mechanisms and the ones they trigger, specifically how white blood cells sense and respond to their surroundings and external stimuli.

Is The Beauty Of A Sculpture In The Brain Of The Beholder?

Is there an objective biological basis for the experience of beauty in art? Or is aesthetic experience entirely subjective? New research uses fMRI scans to study the neural activity in subjects with no knowledge of art criticism, who were shown images of Classical and Renaissance sculptures.

Simple Retro Toys May Be Better For Children Than Fancy Electronic Toys

Old-fashioned retro toys, such as red rubber balls, simple building blocks, clay and crayons, that don't cost much are usually much healthier for children than the electronic educational toys that have fancier boxes, according to developmental psychologists. Children are creative problem-solvers and benefit from a toy that doesn't command the child, but lets the child command it.

Screening Tests To Identify Children With Reading Problems Are Being Misapplied, Study Shows

Screening tests widely used to identify children with reading problems are being misapplied, landing students in the wrong instructional level and delaying treatment for their true difficulties, says new research. The researchers find that oral reading tests fail to distinguish between children who can't understand words on a page and those who have language problems that make it difficult to prove their reading competence verbally. Children with these so-called "word-finding" difficulties can't manage to say out loud what they read on the page.

Student Facebook, MySpace Use Predicted By Race, Ethnicity, Education

A study finds student use of social network sites such as Facebook and MySpace can be predicted by race, ethnicity and parent education, challenging popular notions of the democratic nature of online communication. The study finds less intermingling of users from diverse backgrounds on these sites than previously believed. White students prefer Facebook; Hispanics prefer MySpace. Asian and Asian-American students use less popular sites including Xanga more than other groups.

Money Motivates -- Especially When Your Colleague Gets Less

The feelings an individual has on receiving his paycheck depend critically on how much his colleague earns. Hard evidence for this comes from a brain scanner experiment conducted by economists and brain scientists.

Even Very Low Levels Of Lead Cause Brain Damage In Children

Even amounts of lead in the blood well below current federal standard are linked to reduced IQ scores in children, finds a new six-year study. In the United States over the last several months, nearly 50 specific products, including millions of toys for young children, have been recalled due to excessive lead in the paint, plastics and metal. Researchers note that this study shows the very real dangers associated with low-level exposures, to which lead in toys can contribute.

Trauma Earlier In Life May Affect Response To Stress Years Later

Researchers report that rapes, sudden deaths of loved ones, life-threatening accidents and other such traumas may result in long-term changes in the stress response in some people, even if they don't have post-traumatic stress disorder.

Eating Disorders In Adolescents

A new study, one of the first to examine trends in adolescent weight control behaviors over a 10-year period, found that the prevalence of these behaviors in male adolescents significantly increased, while black females appear to resist pressure to pursue thinness.

Gender Roles And Not Gender Bias Hold Back Women Scientists

Traditional roles of women in the home and a negative bias in workplace support result in less career success for women versus men at the same stage of their research careers.

Model Explains How Abused Moms Decide To Leave

Scientists have found a way to help health care providers, social workers and abused women's families understand the stages that these women go through when deciding to leave their partners.

Early Academic Skills, Not Behavior, Best Predict School Success

Children entering kindergarten with elementary math and reading skills are the most likely to do well in school later, even if they have various social and emotional problems, say researchers who examined data from six studies of close to 36,000 preschoolers.

Neuroscientists Propose New Theory Of Brain Flexibility

Neuroscientists have put forward a new computational theory of brain function that provides answers to one of the central questions of modern science: How does the human brain organize itself to give rise to complex cognitive tasks such as reading, problem solving and spatial reasoning?

Friday, November 23, 2007

Today's Non Sequitur: San Fran's Bohemian Intolerance

San Francisco has long touted itself as the sort of Bohemian place where non-conformity isn't just tolerated by the populace, but downright expected. At least as long as the non-conformity meets certain Politikally Korrect expectations. When traditional values are involved, many of those self-styled bohemians who inhabit the City by the Bay can be downright intolerant.For example. These are the

Getting Noosed

Joanne Jacobs has the skinny on how the noose has been affecting several denizens of the EduWorld.Gives new meaning to the term "hang'em high."

The Watcher's Council Has Spoken!

Each and every week, Watcher of Weasels sponsors a contest among posts from the Conservative side of the 'Sphere. The winning entries are determined by a jury of 12 writers (and The Watcher) known as "The Watchers Council."The Council has met and cast their ballots for last week's submitted posts. Council Member Entries: In a tie vote in which the Watcher cast the deciding ballot, Cheat Seeking

Thursday, November 22, 2007

Thanksgiving 2007

Another Thankgiving has rolled around at last.We've a lot to be thankful for.Every day above ground is good.Sure beats the alternative.We hope that you and yours are well this Thanksgiving Day.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

EduDecision 2008: Obama's $18 Billion EduFix?

Presidential contender (and would be She-Dragon Hillary slayer) Barack Obama is making some noise regarding public education: MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) — Presidential contender Barack Obama on Tuesday called for a $18 billion education plan that he said would fix mistakes his chief Democratic rivals made when they approved President Bush's "No Child Left Behind" effort.The Illinois Democrat

Non Sequitur: Oily Men

Yesterday, the price of oil closed at a record high of $98.03 per barrel. It is trading for over $99.00 as of this morning.Just in time for the holidays.With a so-called "Texas" Oil Man in charge, should anybody find this surprising in Today's America?Where's the accountability?Come to think of it, while we're on the subject of holding people accountable... when was the last time any of

Please Pass The Thanksgiving Carnival!

The 146th edition of The Carnival of Education (hosted this week by NYC Educator) has reserved a place at the table especially for you. Enjoy your EduMeal!Don't forget to complete your educational experience by checking out this week's edition of The Carnival of Homeschooling.--------------------------See our latest entries.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Prof Khoo Not Optimistic

tWell, the debate over the quality of higher education in Malaysia isn't going to abate any time soon judging from the continual media coverage on the issue, in the light of Malaysian universities crashing out of the Top 200 universities in the world. The latest is published in the Singapore Straits Times, written by its Malaysian correspondent, Chow Kum Hor.

Both Kian Ming and I have written regularly on our concerns that the current administration appears to be more interested in boosting quantity at the expense of quality in our education system from various angles.

Most recently, there has been plans of increasing the number of PhD holders in our local varsities. On the surface, this is critical for our academia to increase its standards. Kian Ming who was quoted in the article, "blamed the slide on the quality of academics, as only one-third of them have doctorate degrees".

However, with the criteria set on the "quantity" over "quality" of PhD holders, cynicism has clearly set in as to whether our local universities are just going to accept PhD holders from less academically reputable colleges - and we are certainly not alone in thinking so.
...eminent academician Khoo Kay Kim felt there was too much emphasis on increasing the number of PhD holders, instead of producing quality doctorate graduates. 'If this goes on, next year I expect the rankings to slip further,' he said.
Kian Ming added that "many lecturers were promoted based on their administrative know-how and know-who, rather than on works published in respected journals."

As highlighted by my earlier post, and now confirmed by The Times Higher Education Supplement, the slide of Malaysian universities was largely due to the fact that our local academics can now no longer vote for their own universities in the surveys (this type of no-integrity blow-own-trumpet shameless culture amongst our local academia is really quite shocking!)
Mr Martin Ince, who coordinated the survey, said this year, academics were not allowed to rate their own universities. This affected the Malaysian universities' ranking, he told The Straits Times in an e-mail.
Can things get worse? By the looks of things, very likely as long as the administration refuses to recognise some of the core causes of the decline in academic standards of our local universities, such as a leadership with a denial syndrome as well as a clear lack of transparency in the student admission and the academic recruitment and promotion process.

As Associate Professor Azmi Sharom of University Malaya's law faculty put it succintly:
Quality will suffer as long as there is the dual entry system. It's time to have meritocracy in the proper sense.
Will they listen? Or continue to wear the Emperor's new clothes?

I (Never) Saw Elvis!

Even though some of us here in EduLand may doubt that the King is dead, what is certain is that his museum is alive and well!

Administrative Buffoonery: Test Company Gets An "F"

When I learned that these test results had to be set aside because some (undoubtedly) well-paid test gurus had forgotten to proof read their work, I didn't know whether I should laugh or cry: WASHINGTON (AP) — The reading scores of U.S. students on an international test are being tossed out due to a problem with how the test was printed, federal officials said Monday.Scores on the Program for

Carnival Entries Are Due!

Entries for the 146th edition of The Carnival Of Education (Hosted this week by NYC Educator.) are due. Please email them to: nyceducator [at] gmail [dot] com . (Or, easier yet, use this handy submission form.) Submissions should be received no later than 6:00 PM (Eastern) 3:00 PM (Pacific) Today. Contributions should include your site's name, the title of the post, and the post's URL if possible

The Watcher's Council Has Spoken!

Each and every week, Watcher of Weasels sponsors a contest among posts from the Conservative side of the 'Sphere. The winning entries are determined by a jury of 12 writers (and The Watcher) known as "The Watchers Council."The Council has met and cast their ballots for last week's submitted posts. Council Member Entries: Joshuapundit earned the most votes with 'Land For Peace', American Style.

Monday, November 19, 2007

More on Malaysian Higher Education

The standards of our universities are of greatest concern to all Malaysians who care for the country. And certainly, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, arguably the most respected amongst the UMNO Ministers and MPs, despair at the state of "continued decline of Malaysian universities in the world rankings" as per his recent published letter in Malaysiakini.com.

He's probably even less optimistic about its future than I am, if I were to take his comments at face value:
Even Indonesian and Thai universities appear to have faired much better than the universities here in Malaysia, once the pride of this region. By this time next year, we may have to resign ourselves to having all these universities out of the first 500.
He blames the current predicament on several factors.

1. The English Medium
Thirty years of trying to re-engineer the educational medium of instruction has brought us to this. Almost every major textbook, citation and publication is in English.

The minister must be pragmatic and muster the administrative and political will to enforce the usage of English if we are not to be left behind by countries like Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia. Even newsreaders from China today appear to be able to present news better than our local newsreaders.
2. Student quality
The minister may be stuck with the quota system for his own political survival, but surely he can help improve standards here by trying to keep at least good bumiputera students at our universities. Currently, the good ones are shipped off to very expensive overseas universities and the less capable ones are placed in local universities. Common sense indicates that this is a recipe for disaster in terms of trying to maintain or improve the standards of our local universities.
3. Appointment of lecturers
For far too long, the minister has been giving independence to our local universities to choose their lecturers. This policy must change. The dismal standards may require the ministry to step in directly to ensure that good lecturers are appointed.
4. Publications
The ministry must set up its own audit team to ensure continuous publications. Without this most important criteria, Malaysian universities cannot hope to climb the ladder again and may be stuck in the doldrums for years to come.

The publication culture even in an established university like Universiti Malaya is surprisingly absent. Publications are what make a university and this is seriously lacking in our universities. The minister must again ensure that those lecturers who publish are rewarded and not cold-storaged for being “too clever”.
Of the four points, I'm in total agreement with point (4) on publications. A university that doesn't publish, or one that only writes to lifestyle magazines, make sensationalist claims to local newspapers without peer review or prefers to take part in dog and pony shows in Europe to collect coloured medals doesn't deserve recognition, and is certainly not worth its salt. Without the necessary academic rigour, we become just a degree manufacturing facility without intellectual depth.

I'm in semi-agreement with points (1) and (3). I believe English is of prime importance but I'm not sure if it'll change the standards to drastically at our universities. The university academics will probably argue that because it's not their mother tongue, the standards will drop further after the switch to an English discourse. All hell will of course, break loose at the UMNO General Assembly. While I certainly hope that the standards of English will improve tremendously in the near term, I actually think that there are several other key policies which the Government can undertake to arrest the decline in standards.

With regards to point (3) where it was suggested that lecturers be appointed centrally by the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) - I would agree with the diagnosis that the culture of recruitment of quality lecturers at our local universities are abhorrent, but placing the recruitment process in the hands of the clueless civil servants at the MOHE, will certainly not change things too much.

I would start where I have always proposed vigourously - that is to open the selection and applications of Vice-Chancellors and senior academics to local universities. Have the resumes vetted by an independent senior panel, not inclined to sway to political pressures. Of course, once the "best" is selected, give them the necessary hand to overhaul the university administration to improve standards.

Finally, I'm disagreeable to the suggestion that scholars should not be sent overseas but instead retained in the local universities. I certainly believe that deserving students must be given scholarships to pursue their further education at the top universities overseas. However, the practice of sending mediocre students to 3rd rate universities overseas must be stopped for it's just a waste of the county's precious resources.

I am of the opinion that the standards of the local universities will improve significantly should there be the practice of enrolling the best students for each faculty and university, even without taking into consideration the "better" students who have been given scholarships to go overseas. Currently, it isn't transparent how students are allocated to the respective subjects and universities. There appears to be an unhealthy hidden hand behind the scenes in the above process.

Enrolling the best students for each university and course would also mean that the Government must scrap the unequal entry requirements for Malaysian students i.e., via the matriculation or the STPM system. Hence, the standards at our local universities can easily improve even if the Government continues to send students overseas. They just need to make sure that the remaining cohort of students are given an equal footing to compete for excellence. ;-)

Saturday, November 17, 2007

Book Review of McLaren and Jaramillo...

Here's another review of the new book by Peter McLaren and my new colleague Nathalia Jaramillo. I particularly like the cover art. As I recall, it is a self portrait several times over of the artist.

HT to Peter for the link...

Book Review of McLaren and Jaramillo...

Here's another review of the new book by Peter McLaren and my new colleague Nathalia Jaramillo. I particularly like the cover art. As I recall, it is a self portrait several times over of the artist.

HT to Peter for the link...

Extra Credit Reading: Saturday, November 17, 2007

What's in a last name? Read all about how the all-American last name is undergoing change.This is just tragic: A woman dies in her apartment and days later her twin babies are found alongside their mother's decaying body. But that wasn't the worst...

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Ed Links (Broadly Interpreted)

Do schools kill creativity?

Sir Ken Robinson makes an entertaining (and profoundly moving) case for creating an education system that nurtures creativity, rather than undermining it. With ample anecdotes and witty asides, Robinson points out the many ways our schools fail to recognize -- much less cultivate -- the talents of many brilliant people. "We are educating people out of their creativity," Robinson says. The universality of his message is evidenced by its rampant popularity online. A typical review: "If you have not yet seen Sir Ken Robinson's TED talk, please stop whatever you're doing and watch it now."

[This actually is a pretty fun talk—AS]

Engineers of Jihad

We find that graduates from subjects such as science, engineering, and medicine are strongly overrepresented among Islamist movements in the Muslim world, though not among the extremist Islamic groups which have emerged in Western countries more recently. We also find that engineers alone are strongly over-represented among graduates in violent groups in both realms. This is all the more puzzling for engineers are virtually absent from left-wing violent extremists and only present rather than over-represented among right-wing extremists.

ADULT BRAIN CELLS ARE MOVERS AND SHAKERS

It’s a general belief that the circuitry of young brains has robust flexibility but eventually gets "hard-wired" in adulthood. As Johns Hopkins researchers and their colleagues report in the Nov. 8 issue of Neuron, however, adult neurons aren’t quite as rigidly glued in place as we suspect.

School Choice in Milwaukee: Follow-up Article on Bradley Foundation Funded Study that found Choice a Failed Reform

[Written by a former member of my Department—AS]

The Wisconsin Policy Research Institute's recent study documenting that school choice "isn't a powerful tool for driving educational improvement in Milwaukee Public Schools" is a welcome finding from a conservative think tank that has long championed publicly funded, private school choice.

This report provides profound insight into the obvious.

Findings Could Ease Concerns About Troubled Schoolchildren

Educators and psychologists have long feared that children entering school with behavior problems were doomed to fall behind in the upper grades. But two new studies suggest that those fears are exaggerated.

5 Myths About Art, Age and Genius

"Why do people think artists are special? It's just another job." So said Andy Warhol, one of the greatest artists of the past century. He zeroed in on a myth that lives on in the art world and academia alike. Dazzled by genius, too many people assume that artists are born with mystical abilities unknowable to the rest of us. In fact, many innovations spring not from their creators' innate talent, but from their years of accumulated knowledge. Keep that in mind when you head to an art museum, settle into your seat at a theater or open a new book. Sometimes what looks like creative genius is just regular old hard work.

Social Change Relies More On The Easily Influenced Than The Highly Influential

ScienceDaily (Nov. 13, 2007) — An important new study appearing in the December issue of the Journal of Consumer Research finds that it is rarely the case that highly influential individuals are responsible for bringing about shifts in public opinion.

Enough to Live On: The case for guaranteed income and the end of the growth economy

If we are to move beyond precarious paid employment and ensure a decent standard of living for all, a critical step in this direction would be the introduction of a basic income—a universal, unconditional income granted by the state to all residents of a country that would meet the cost of essential needs and thereby ensure an adequate standard of living for everyone. Redefining work by providing a basic income for all would be an important step towards both social justice and environmental sustainability.

From Bookforum.com: Science rewriting book on genetics

From Cato Unbound, James Flynn on intelligence and its implications for education and intervention (and reaction essays). From California Literary Review, a review of What is Intelligence? Beyond the Flynn Effect by James Flynn (and more on why dad's not as clever as you). Get Smart(er): You're no genius? Don't worry — you can still beef up your brain with a little effort. Should we talk about race and intelligence? Peter Singer investigates. In DNA era, new worries about prejudice: Research is exploring how DNA explains racial differences, but it could give discredited prejudices a new potency. Science rewriting book on genetics: With better tools for cutting, splicing DNA strands and advances in genome sequencing data, many "certainties" are being overturned. From Graduate Journal of Social Science, Wietse Vroom, Guido Ruivenkamp and Joost Jongerden (WUR): Articulating alternatives: Biotechnology and genomics development within a critical constructivist framework. Getting better all the time: Genetic modification of humanity isn't just possible — it's a moral duty, and vestigial organs seem ripe for transhumanist tweaks. A review of A Life Decoded: My Genome: My Life by J. Craig Venter. More on Avoid Boring People by James D. Watson.

Slide Show of C. Wright Mills’s “Intellectual Craftsmanship

[only works in internet explorer]

Risk Of Disability Rises In States With Income Inequality

A massive survey reveals Americans living in states with high rates of income inequality are significantly more likely to have a disability that limits the completion of daily tasks such as dressing, bathing and mobility at home.

Actions Speak Louder: Why We Use Our Past Behavior To Determine Our Current Attitudes

Sometimes it's difficult for us to remember how we felt about a product. A new study reveals that when memory fails, consumers will use postpurchase actions as a proxy. In other words, if we gab about a terrible dinner and a boring movie with loved ones, we might mistake the positive memory of talking about the experience for positive memories of the experience itself.

[Pamela Moss and I found that this was a critical problem for portfolio assessment efforts—AS]

What's In A Name? Initials Linked To Success, Study Shows

Do you like your name and initials? Most people do and, as past research has shown, sometimes we like them enough to influence other important behaviors. For example, Jack is more likely to move to Jacksonville and marry Jackie than is Philip who is more likely to move to Philadelphia and marry Phyllis. However, if you like your name too much, you might be in trouble. Researchers found that found that liking your own name sabotages success for people whose initials match negative performance labels.


Certain Mature Neurons Can Retain A Youthful Form Of Plasticity

It's a general belief that the circuitry of young brains has robust flexibility but eventually gets "hard-wired" in adulthood. However, it turns out that adult neurons aren't quite as rigidly glued in place as we suspect.

Early Teen Sex May Not Be A Path To Delinquency, Study Shows

A new study by clinical psychologists has found that teens who have sex at an early age may be less inclined to exhibit delinquent behavior in early adulthood than their peers who waited until they were older to have sex. The study also suggests that early sex may play a role in helping these teens develop better social relationships in early adulthood.

[Study conducted and written by teens, of course—AS]

Little Evidence That Binge Drinking While Pregnant Seriously Harms Fetus, Review Of Research Suggests

There is little substantive evidence that binge drinking while pregnant seriously harms the developing fetus, finds a new study. Consistently heavy drinking throughout pregnancy has been associated with birth defects and subsequent neurological problems. But it is not known what impact binge drinking, in the absence of regular heavy drinking, might have. And this drinking pattern is becoming increasingly common, particularly among women, say the authors. They suggest that further research is required, but in the meantime it might be wise to advise women to avoid binge drinking during pregnancy, just in case.

Consider Supplemental Math Programs For Children

Parents of school-aged children might want to think of giving their children an enduring holiday gift this year: enrollment in a supplemental mathematics program. While it can cost anywhere from $80 to $110 a month, the results of practicing mathematics nearly daily is rewarding and builds self-esteem.

Big Ticket: You'll Spend More Thinking About Your Bank Account Than About Your Wallet

It has long been assumed that consumers are good judges of affordability, but a new study reveals that how much you're willing to spend is influenced by whether you think about a larger pool of resources (such as your bank account) or a smaller pool (the cash in your wallet). Counting calories? You're more likely to eat that slice of cake if you think about how many calories you have allotted for the week, rather than just for the day.

Social Change Relies More On The Easily Influenced Than The Highly Influential

Rarely is it the case that highly influential individuals are responsible for bringing about shifts in public opinion. Instead, scientists find that it is the presence of large numbers of "easily influenced" people who bring about major shifts by influencing other easy-to-influence people.

Brain Matures A Few Years Late In ADHD, But Follows Normal Pattern

In youth with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the brain matures in a normal pattern but is delayed three years in some regions, on average, compared to youth without the disorder, MRI scans reveal. The delay in ADHD was most prominent in regions at the front of the brain's outer mantle important for thinking and attention. Both groups showed a similar back-to-front wave of brain maturation with different areas peaking in thickness at different times.

That Friendly Car Is Smiling At Me: When Products Are Perceived As People

A forthcoming study looks at how consumers anthropomorphize products, endowing a car or a pair of shoes with human characteristics and personalities. The researchers find that people are more likely to attribute human qualities or traits to inanimate objects if the product fits with their expectations of relevant human qualities -- and are also more likely to positively evaluate an anthropomorphized item.

Tool-wielding Chimps Provide A Glimpse Of Early Human Behavior

Chimpanzees inhabiting a harsh savanna environment and using bark and stick tools to exploit an underground food resource are giving scientists new insights to the behaviors of the earliest hominids who, millions of years ago, left the African forests to range the same kinds of environments and possibly utilize the same foods.

Men Talk More Than Women Overall, But Not In All Circumstances

A Gallup poll recently confirmed that men and women both believe that it is women who are most likely to possess the gift of gab. Some even believe that women are biologically built for conversation. This widespread belief is challenged by new research. Researchers found a small but statistically reliable tendency for men to be more talkative than women overall. With strangers, women were generally more talkative when it came to using speech to affirm her connection to the listener, while men's speech focused more on an attempt to influence the listener.

Male And Female Adolescents Equally Victims Of Physical Dating Violence, Study Shows

Physical dating violence (PDV) affects almost one in every 11 adolescents, according to new research. The study, which looked at data from the 2005 National Youth Risk Behavior Study, also found that contrary to common general perception, males and females equally report being victims of PDV.

Children's Peer Victimization -- A Mix Of Loyalty And Preference

New research into childhood prejudice suggests that loyalty and disloyalty play a more important role than previously thought in how children treat members of their own and other groups. A study into the 'black sheep effect,' shows that children treat disloyalty in their own group more harshly than disloyalty within different groups.