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South African Journal of Education
On-line version ISSN 2076-3433
Print version ISSN 0256-0100
S. Afr. j. educ. vol.34 n.3 Pretoria Mar. 2014
Factors that affect South African Reading Literacy Achievement: evidence from prePIRLS 2011
Surette van StadenI; Roel BoskerII
IDepartment of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, University of Pretoria, South Africa email@example.com
IIFaculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, University of Groningen, Netherlands
This study aims to identify factors that predict reading literacy achievement among Grade 4 learners in South Africa by utilising aspects of Carroll's model of school learning. The study draws on the preProgress in International Reading Literacy Study (prePIRLS) 2011 data, which places South African Grade 4 learners' results substantially below the international centre point of 500 at 461 (SE = 3.7). Selected items from the prePIRLS 2011 learner, parent and teacher questionnaires were used in a two-level model to determine the effect of learner aptitude, opportunity to learn and quality of instructional events on reading literacy achievement. The results point to the statistical significance of engaged reading and cultivating motivation for reading among learners from an early age, specifically through parental involvement in introducing early literacy activities as foundation of reading literacy by school-going age. Other results provide evidence for the importance of the value of reading across the curriculum not confined to formal reading lessons only. The teaching of reading comprehension skills and strategies is identified as a significant predictor of reading literacy achievement, instruction of which should form an integral part of teaching reading in the classroom.
Keywords: Carroll's model of School Learning, contextual factors, prePIRLS 2011, reading literacy achievement.
In this study, an attempt is made to identify specific factors associated with reading literacy achievement among Grade 4 learners in South Africa by utilising aspects of Carroll's Model of School Learning (1963:723-733). Reading literacy can be regarded as one of the most important abilities learners acquire as they progress through their early school years. As a foundation for learning across all subjects, literacy can be used for recreation and personal growth, while simultaneously providing young children with the ability to participate more extensively in their communities and societies. For purposes of this study, reading literacy refers to
...the ability to understand and use those written language forms required by society and [or] valued by the individual. Young readers can construct meaning from a variety of texts. They read to learn, to participate in communities of readers and for enjoyment (Mullis, Martin, Kennedy, Trong & Sainsbury, 2009:11).
With this definition, as it applies to prePIRLS 2011 (Mullis et al., 2009:11) reading literacy is regarded as a constructive and interactive process. According to Binkley and Kelly (2003), the reader is regarded as actively constructing meaning and as knowing and applying effective reading strategies. Such readers have positive attitudes towards reading and read for the purposes of information acquisition as well as recreation. Meaning is constructed in the interaction between reader and text, in the context of a particular reading experience. Reading implies that readers bring with them and apply a repertoire of knowledge, skills, cognitive and metacognitive strategies during reading.
The current study aims to identify factors that are associated with learner achievement in order to ensure that transformational goals facilitate the move beyond policy status to those being achieved at both learner- and school levels. The study is reported against a background of a South African national education system that has been characterised over the last decade by transformation at various levels. At the curricular-level, change was aimed at transforming a system that predominantly consisted of mere transmission of information to a system that supports constructivist paradigms of teaching and learning (Rambuda & Fraser, 2004). In moving to such a system, the traditional pedagogical style of rote learning needed to be transformed to that of a learner-centred style that prepares all learners as democratic citizens, able to compete in an increasing competitive global economy. Some of the elements of the conceptual framework against which transformation was to take place as described by Beets and Van Louw (2005) include learning as an active process of sense making, learning as socially and culturally determined activity and classroom expectations and social norms that should foster the development of important dispositions, such as learners' willingness and persistence in solving problems. Similarly, changes to assessment now include assessment as an on-going, integral part of the learning process, which is appropriately aimed at the knowledge, skills or attitudes to be assessed (Beets & Van Louw, 2005). The aim of assessment as agent of transformation is not only as instrument against which progression is measured, but rather serves as evidence for progress in achieving outcomes to identify areas for learner support or further intervention.
Factors at learner, classroom and school level that affect reading literacy achievement have been the topic of many research studies. Nationally, the work of Mji and Makgato (2006) and Maree, Aldous, Hattingh, Swanepoel and Van der Linde (2006) among others, have focused on factors that affect learner performance in Science and Mathematics. Internationally, Scheerens and Bosker (1997) investigated factors that contribute to educational effectiveness, while secondary analyses of large scale, international comparative studies (Netten, Droop & Ver-hoeven, 2011, Van Staden, 2010, Wallner-Paschon, 2009, Geske & Ozola, 2008a, Van Petegem, Creemers, Aelterman & Rosseel, 2008, Bos, Schwippert & Stubbe, 2007; Gonzalez-DeHass, Willems & Holbein, 2005) have utilised a variety of predictors and theoretical frameworks in attempts to isolate those factors that are best capable of predicting reading literacy achievement, specifically among primary school learners. For purposes of this study, selected factors from Grade 4 learners, their home and classroom environments are applied as predictors of reading literacy achievement.
Factors related to learner reading achievement are centred on reading motivation and reading-related self-perception. For children who experience initial or continued success or difficulty in reading, relationships between reading achievement and self-perception (referring to those perceptions, values, knowledge, and beliefs individuals have about themselves as learners) arise within the first year of schooling. This timing means that the learner's self-perception forms in response to emerging patterns of accomplishment or difficulty with learning tasks (Chapman & Tunmer, 2003); so, for example, learners with a low sense of efficacy for completing reading tasks tend to give up more easily, engage in off-task activities or avoid the task altogether. Resonant with research that associates learnerrelated factors with low achievement is the work of Wallner-Paschon (2009), who refers to the process of 'reading socialization'. Important fields of socialisation for the learner are the school, family and peer group, all of which in turn affect the learner's motivational characteristics, such as reading attitude and reading self-concept, as well as reading achievement.
Gambrell, Palmer, Codling and Mazzoni (1996) refer to the work of inter alia Veenman (1984), who reported that teachers ranked motivating learners to read and creating interest in reading as amongst their primary and overriding concerns. Turner (1995) refers to motivation and cognitive engagement interchangeably as voluntary uses of high-level, self-regulated strategies, such as planning, paying attention, connecting ideas, judging and monitoring. Motivation is crucial to reading at any level and beliefs about reading have an important relation to understanding and engagement during reading. Schraw and Bruning (2000) state that positive beliefs about reading translate into higher levels of motivation and better understanding of what is read. This in turn is a positive consequence of cognitive engagement (Turner, 1995).
Literacy can be viewed as a cultural practice and young children begin to learn about reading and writing initially in their homes. It is apparent that the home environment affects children's literacy and the difference between parents of good readers and those of poorer readers has been noted in the literature as associated with literacy levels achieved in a common age grade. Martin, Mullis and Gonzalez (2004) report that for every country participating in the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) of 2001, a strong relationship was found between Grade 4 reading achievement and parents' reports of levels of engagement in literacy activities before their children started school.
South African learners generally perform poorly in international comparative assessment studies such as PIRLS, the Trends in International Maths and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Southern and Eastern African Consortium for the Monitoring of Educational Quality (SACMEQ). Howie (2003) reports a number of factors specifically related to learners' poor performance in South African classrooms in Mathematics specifically, but also in general. These factors include inadequate subject knowledge of teachers, inadequate communication ability between learners and teachers in the Language of Learning and Teaching (LOLT), lack of instructional materials, difficulties for teachers to manage classroom activities effectively, pressure to complete examination driven syllabi, heavy teaching loads, overcrowded classrooms, poor communication between policy makers and practitioners and lack of support due to shortage of professional staff in the ministry of education. Such findings are reflected in the work of Passos (2009), who carried out a comparative analysis of teacher competence and its effect on Grade 6 learner performance in upper primary schools in Mozambique and other SACMEQ countries. According to Passos (2009), the relationship between teacher competence and learner performance in reading and mathematics is influenced by cognitive, affective and behavioural factors.
Sailors, Hoffman and Matthee (2007), in their evaluation of schools that promote literacy learning in low-income communities, summarise the work of a number of researchers, such as Weber (1971) and Hoffman and Rutherford (1984), who identified common themes across effective schools that could guide reform efforts in the failing schools operating in resource-poor environments. The common themes in these schools that influenced learner achievement positively included among others effective instructional leadership and practices, high expectations for learners to achieve and perform at their best, ongoing curriculum improvement, maximum use of available instructional time and frequent monitoring of learner progress.
Conceptualisation of the study
For purposes of this study, Carroll's Model of School Learning (1963) is used as a well-established and critically reviewed model specifically in studies of educational effectiveness. The model explains variations in school learning with reference to five classes of variables, three of which relate to time (aptitude opportunity to learn and perseverance), with the remaining two related to achievement (quality of instruction and ability to understand instruction) (Carroll, 1989). In his original work, Carroll (1963) states that the degree of learning is a function of the learner's motivation to learn, aptitude, ability to learn and quality of instructional events. Carroll relates motivation and availability of resources to a broader category called "time spent in learning", while aptitude, ability to learn and quality of instructional events resorts under a category he refers to "time needed to learn" (Carroll, 1989:27). The time needed to learn is increased when quality of instruction and ability to understand is less than optimal (Carroll, 1989). The structure of Carroll's model (1963) is represented in Figure 1.
Carroll's model explains why learners perform differently in handling a given task (Creemers & Kyriakides, 2006) attempting to explain the role of the time variable and its relationship to learning rate and achievement. As a time based model, Carroll (1963) describes aptitude as the capability to reach desirable levels of academic achievement provided that there is enough time, while opportunity to learn is defined as the amount of time available for learning within a school curriculum (Berliner, 1990). Opportunity to learn is also turned into an instructional time concept, where school learning is seen as deliberate attempts to teach or the duration of time allocated for instruction (Berliner, 1990).
Figure 2 illustrates how aspects of Carroll's model (1963) are utilised in the current study. With the absence of proxy measures in the prePIRLS 2011 data for perseverance (or the time a learner is willing to spend on learning), the current study's focus is on factors of aptitude, opportunity to learn and quality of instructional events as predictors of reading literacy achievement in particular.
Research questions
This study is a secondary analysis of the prePIRLS 2011 South African Grade 4 data. The main research question is: Which factors from Carroll's Model of School Learning (1963) can be associated with South African Grade 4 learner performance in reading literacy?
Using aspects of Carroll's Model of School Learning (1963), in conjunction with factors emanating from contextual questionnaires of Grade 4 learners, their home and classroom environments were analysed in relation to learner achievement scores on the prePIRLS 2011 reading tests. The main research question comprises the following sub-questions:
1. Which learner aptitude factors affect performance in reading literacy in the overall South African model as measured by parental reports of what learners could do before Grade 1, learners' motivation to read and learner engagement in reading?
2. To what extent does the opportunity to read (as measured by teacher reports of time spent on reading instruction in the language class as well as across the curriculum) affect reading literacy performance of Grade 4 learners?
3. What is the effect of the quality of instructional events on Grade 4 learner reading achievement as indicated by learner responses to aspects of the reading lesson, types of reading activities undertaken by teachers, strategies they use to develop reading skills and activities they undertake after reading lessons?
PrePIRLS 2011 is an international comparative assessment of reading literacy conducted with Grade 4 children. Run under the auspices of the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), prePIRLS 2011 offers developing countries the opportunity to test reading literacy at an easier level than PIRLS while utilising the same conception of reading literacy. A nationally representative sample of 15,744 Grade 4 learners from 342 schools participated in the prePIRLS 2011 study in South Africa. The sample consisted of 7,548 girls and 8,196 boys. Learners were assessed across all 11 official languages and were assessed in the LoLT to which they were exposed in Foundation Phase. This means that learners were not necessarily tested in their home language, but rather in the language they were exposed to at school. The stratification by language resulted in the assessment of 1,463 Afrikaans learners, 2,205 English learners, 1,393 isiNdebele learners, 1,090 isiXhosa learners, 1,209 isiZulu learners, 1,099 Sepedi learners, 1,431 Sesotho learners, 1,293 Setswana learners, 2,186 siSwati learners, 1,187 Tshivenda learners and 1,188 Xitsonga learners.
Data collection instruments Achievement tests
The prePIRLS 2011 assessment consisted of a reading literacy test in the form of two types of texts, namely reading for literary experience (or literary texts) and reading to acquire and use information (or informational texts). Reading texts were followed by a range of multiple choice questions and open response questions to a maximum of three points. All questions corresponded to any one of the four types of reading comprehension process, namely (1) focus on and retrieve explicitly stated information, (2) making straightforward inferences, (3) interpret and integrate ideas and information and (4) examine and evaluate content, language and textual elements. Reporting of reading achievement results in prePIRLS 2011 are presented in terms of achievement above or below the fixed international centre point of 500 through the use of five overall Plausible Values as derived from Item Response analyses.
Background questionnaires
Grade 4 learners, their parents, teachers of the Grade 4 learners and school principals responded to contextual background questionnaires that addressed a wide range of topics on aspects such as reading behaviour, attitudes, teaching reading and school organisation. Learner and parent questionnaires were administered in all 11 official languages to suit the language preference of learners and parents optimally, while teachers and school questionnaires were administered in English.
Selection of variables
A number of variables were selected from the prePIRLS 2011 learner, parent and teacher questionnaires. Scales were created from these variables to form factors to test the selected aspects of Carroll's model (1963).
Aptitude: The aptitude scale was constructed from items from the learner and parent questionnaires. With regard to reading motivation, learners responded to the following statements (variables ASBR09A-Fthat form the 'Students motivated to read' scale in the international database called ASBGSMR)::I like to read things that make me think, it is important to be a good reader, my parents like it when I read, I learn a lot from reading, I need to read well for my future, and I like it when a book helps me imagine other worlds.
Learner engagement was captured by responses to statements like I like what I read about in school, my teacher gives me interesting things to read, I know what my teacher expects me to do, I think of things not related to the lesson, my teacher is easy to understand, I am interested in what my teacher says, and my teacher gives me interesting things to do (variables ASBR05A-G that form the 'Students engaged in reading lessons' scale in the international database called ASBGERL). All the variables were measured on a Likert scale with options varying from Agree a lot, Agree a little, Disagree a little and Disagree a lot. Parental responses to learner aptitude included responses to statements of what their child could do when they started Grade 1 and included aspects such as recognising most letters of the alphabet, reading some words, reading sentences, writing letters of the alphabet and writing some words (variables ASBH06A-E). Parental responses to these items were indicated as Very well, Moderately well, Not very well and Not at all.
Opportunity: Measures of opportunity was construed as time spent by the teacher on reading and reading instruction. Variables taken from the prePIRLS 2011 teacher questionnaire therefore included questions to teachers about the reported formally scheduled reading time spent in hours in the language class only (variable ATBR02A) and across the curriculum (variable ATBR02B).
Quality of instructional events: Proxy measures for quality of instructional events were taken from the learner and teacher questionnaires. Grade 4 learners were asked to respond to aspects of their lessons about reading, including attitudes to liking what they read, being given interesting things to read, being aware of teacher expectations, the extent of thinking about things not related to the lesson, finding the teacher easy to understand, finding reading lessons interesting, and being given interesting things to do (variables ASBR05A-G). Grade 4 learners responded to these variables on a Likert scale with options varying from Agree a lot, Agree a little, Disagree a little and Disagree a lot. Teachers were asked about the types of reading activities they do with the learners, including reading aloud to the class, asking learners to read aloud, asking learners to read silently on their own, giving learners time to read books of their own choosing, teaching learners decoding strategies and new vocabulary and modelling skimming or scanning strategies (variables ATBR08A-G). Teachers were also asked about their use of strategies to develop reading comprehension skills, which included strategies of locating, identifying, explaining, comparing and describing information,
as well as making predictions and generalisations about text and forming own opinions (variables ATBR09A-I). Lastly, quality of instructional events comprised teacher responses to reports of activities undertaken with learners after reading was complete (variables ATBR10A-D) and included writing something about what was read, answering oral questions, talking amongst themselves about what was read, and taking a quiz or test about what was read. Variables from the teacher questionnaire were measured on a Likert scale with options varying from Every day or almost every day, Once or twice a week, Once or twice a month and Never or almost never.
Background data are available for 15,744 Grade 4 learners, 416 teachers of Grade 4 learners and 15,744 parents of Grade 4 learners. For purposes of generating descriptive statistics for the variables used in this investigation, the International Database Analyser (IDB) was used. The IDB Analyser is a plug-in for the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) and was developed by the IEA's Data Processing and Research Centre. It was developed specifically to combine and analyse data from large scale data sets such as those designed for PIRLS and prePIRLS.
In order for multi-level analysis to be conducted, scales were constructed from the selected variables using SPSS software. For purposes of scale construction, issues of reliability were addressed by means of Cronbach's Alpha. Principal component analysis was used to confirm the underlying structure of scales. The construction of scales was followed by multi-level analysis using MLwiN software (Rasbash, Steele, Browne & Goldstein, 2009) to test for significant effects of aspects of aptitude, opportunity and quality of instructional events on reading literacy achievement. It has to be kept in mind that data preparation issues were dealt with and remains in the background. While reliability coefficients are reported, detailed results of the scale construction as evidenced by principal component analysis are omitted from the discussion of results. The intention of the manuscript was never to provide a technically detailed account of procedures followed, but rather to focus the attention on multi-level analyses results.
A multi-level approach was followed in the data analysis, since prePIRLS 2011 data have a hierarchical structure, where learners are nested in classes and classes are nested within schools.
Summary of Descriptive Statistics for Variables Used
For purposes of aptitude, parental responses to what the child could do before Grade 1 were used alongside learner responses on motivation to read and engagement in reading. According to most parents of Grade 4 learners, their children were very well equipped with basic skills before they began Grade 1. More than a third of parents indicated that their children could recognise letters of the alphabet (46%, SE = 0.9), read some word (35%, SE = 0.9), read sentences (30%, SE =1.0), write letters of the alphabet (42%, SE =1.0) and write some words (34%, SE = 0.9) before they began Grade 1. Learner responses indicate that the majority of Grade 4 learners deem themselves as motivated to read (68%, SE=1.4), while 47% (SE=1.3) regarded themselves to be engaged readers.
In terms of opportunity created by the teachers for reading, a majority of teachers of Grade 4 learners (29%, SE = 3.7) indicated that they spend as little as 2 hours per week on reading across the curriculum. The majority of teachers (34%, SE =3.7) indicated to have spent less than an hour per week on reading during formally scheduled time for reading instruction.
Quality of instructional events was measured by learner and teacher responses to a variety of aspects related to their reading lessons. A majority of learners responded that they liked what they read in school (81%, SE = 0.9), their teachers gave them interesting things to read (67%, SE = 1.1), they knew what the teacher expected of them (66%, SE =1.0), they were able to understand the teacher (66%, SE =1.1), they were interested in what the teacher said (70%, SE = 1.1) and agreed that the teacher gave them interesting things to do (69%, SE =1.0). Only 38% (SE = 1.1) of learners admitted to thinking of other things apart from the reading lesson.
In terms of everyday reading activities undertaken by the teacher, 67% (SE =3.5) of teachers responded that they read to the class, with 64% (SE =3.5) indicating that the learners read aloud daily. Very few teachers undertook activities such as silent reading (37%, SE =3.4), decoding words (35%, SE =3.4) and teaching scanning strategies (22%, SE =3.7). Daily activities undertaken by teachers to develop reading comprehension skills and strategies included locating information in text (43%, SE =3.5), identifying main ideas (50%, SE =3.7), explaining or supporting understanding of text (59%, SE =3.7) and comparing what was read with own experiences (40%, SE =3.2). More complex strategies as reported by teachers were taking place less frequently, for example making generalisations (21%, SE =3.2), determining the author's perspective (24%, SE =3.5) and making predictions about what will happen next in text (31%, SE = 3.5). Daily activities undertaken after reading lessons mostly took the form of learners answering oral questions about what they have read as reported by 57% (SE =3.3) of teachers, followed by talking about what was read (33%, SE = 3.2), writing something in response to what was read (25%, SE =2.7) and taking a written quiz or test about what was read (18%, SE = 2.9).
Scale Construction for Purposes of Multi-Level Analysis Table 1 provides information on the reliability coefficients generated for each of the items to be used in the multi-level analysis.
As indicated by Table 1, a selected number of items from the prePIRLS 2011 learner, teacher and parent questionnaires were chosen as possible predictors of reading outcomes in accordance with Carroll's Model of School Learning (1963).
In order for multi-level models to be built, the individual questionnaire items were re-constructed into scales that corresponded to the factors measured by Carroll's model (1963). The first step in this process was to aggregate all variables with more than one response option (as selected form the prePIRLS 2011 questionnaires) to create a single composite scale per Carroll's factor.
Unrotated principal component factor analysis was performed for each cluster of variables within the data scales corresponding to Carroll's model (1963) in terms of aptitude, opportunity and quality of instructional events. Table 2 shows the results of the factor analysis in terms of component scores for three factors that were extracted.
Aptitude, as used in this analysis with reference to learner motivation and engagement in reading, contributed to 27% of the explained variance. Opportunity, as measured by teacher time spent on reading in the class accounted for 13% of the variance, while quality of instructional events accounted for 22% of the total variance.
Multi-Level Results
Multi-level analysis was used to determine the strength of evidence for the effect of the explanatory variables at learner-and school-level on reading achievement as response or dependent variable. The first overall plausible value from the prePIRLS 2011 data was used as outcome variable. Serving as predictors, statistically significant effects of the constructed scales of aptitude, opportunity and quality of instructional events on reading literacy achievement were tested. Table 3 provides a summary of results.
In the current model, aptitude resulted in significant effects for all measured aspects. In the absence of aptitude, as measured by parental involvement in ensuring children have basic skills when entering Grade 1, reading literacy achievement can be expected to decrease by 14.22 (SE = 1.11) points. Learners' motivation to read increases reading literacy achievement scores by 5.37 (SE = 0.43) points, while learner engagement in reading may show an increased effect on reading achievement by 7.00 points (SE = 0.60).
Opportunity to read showed significant effects for teacher reports on time spent reading during formally scheduled reading time with a predicted increase in reading literacy scores of 6.16 points (SE =1.38). Reading across the curriculum resulted in a coefficient of -0.38 (SE =0.25), which is statistically of little effect. The results from the current model should be interpreted with caution in light of a relatively low reliability coefficient for these items as indicated in Table 1.
Quality of instructional events resulted in no significant effect for learners' experience of the reading lesson (3.28, SE =5.87). However, when aggregating this variable at the classroom-level, a significant effect of 227.09 (SE =48.94) is detected. While this effect could possibly indicate that teachers who are able to present their classes with interesting reading lessons and clear expectations may capitalise on reading achievement scores improving in excess of 200 points, the pooled effect of aggregating data leaves these results to be interpreted with caution. A lack of explicit reading comprehension strategy teaching by teachers decreases reading literacy achievement significantly by as much as 81.19 points (SE = 37.05). Classroom activities associated with reading instruction (as measured by teacher reports of learners reading aloud, reading silently, reading books of their own choosing and teachers modelling skimming and decoding strategies) proved to have no significant effect (37.60, SE =35.20), a finding similar to the lack of effect found for activities undertaken after reading has taken place (-4.97, SE =42.95).
This study utilised the prePIRLS 2011 South African results to test aspects of Carroll's model of school learning (1963). South African learner performance remains persistently poor and below internationally set standards, as evidenced by achievement of 461 (SE =3.7) in the prePIRLS 2011 study compared to the international centre point of 500. In the light of this under-achievement, we aimed to establish statistically significant relationships with reading literacy achievement as measured by the prePIRLS 2011 study. Evidence was provided for the effect of aptitude at learner-level, and opportunity and quality of instructional events at classroom-level and their effect on reading literacy achievement scores of South African Grade 4 learners.
The importance of aptitude factors, as measured by parental involvement, learner motivation and learner engagement in reading has been illustrated. The results of the current study are echoed by Geske and Ozola (2008b) who state that higher reading literacy achievement can be expected where children come from families where reading is valued, children read for their own enjoyment and where parents spend a lot of time reading to their children. A study conducted by Senechal and Young (2008) also found parental involvement to be of pivotal importance in children's reading literacy development and that larger effects could be expected when parents tutored their children using specific literacy activities. Lynch (2002) found significant relationships between parents' self-efficacy beliefs and children's reader self-perceptions. Children's self-perceptions as readers not only show positive links to reading engagement and motivation to read, but are also related to eventual academic achievement in reading. Edmunds and Bauserman (2006) contend that learner motivation to read often makes the difference between learning that is superficial and temporary and learning that is sustained, permanent and internalised.
Opportunities for reading at classroom-level are best utilised when emphasis is placed on reading across the curriculum and not only during formally scheduled reading time for the duration of language lessons. The significant effect found for teachers' teaching of reading comprehension skills and strategies provides evidence that such skills are not mastered through incidental learning, but have to be taught as a very specific learning outcome. Evidence based research by Foorman and Torgesen's (2001) illustrate dramatic reductions in instances of reading failure among primary school children when instruction around issues of word recognition, phonemic awareness, construction of meaning, vocabulary, spelling and text processing are explicitly taught by classroom teachers. For learners at risk of failure, teaching of these reading components should be that much more intensive, comprehensive and supportive in small-group environments or one-on-one formats. According to Applegate and Applegate (2004), the teacher is ideally situated to create a classroom environment that promotes reading engagement and one that ultimately result in learners who enjoy reading as modelled by teachers who themselves enjoy reading. Teachers who are enthusiastic readers are more likely to engage their learners in discussion sessions and literature circles, thereby creating stimulating reading engagement opportunities.
The timeous introduction of reading comprehension skills and strategies plays an important role, as evidenced by PIRLS 2006 results in South Africa. These results (Howie, Venter, Van Staden, Zimmerman, Long, Scherman & Archer, 2009) pointed to the relative late introduction of advanced reading skills and strategies (such as making generalisations, predictions and describing text styles and features) to South African learners. Reading comprehension skills and strategies should therefore not only be taught explicitly, but also be introduced at an early age, thereby providing learners with the best opportunity to successfully progress from 'learning to read' in the Foundation Phase to 'reading to learn' in the Intermediate Phase and beyond. Flowers and Flowers (2008) echo this view by stating that the development of reading interest and aptitude should start as early as possible in attempts to ensure reading proficiency by the end of Grade 3. In this regard, teachers need to bring about change in not only providing opportunities to learn, but opportunities as early as possible across the curriculum where reading is entrenched in all teaching and learning activities. In placing reading at the centre of all curricular activities, learner motivation with increased engagement from parents at home can strengthen and support greater learner achievement in reading literacy.
The current model results can be discussed against transformation as a principal component that characterises educational systems globally in efforts to provide equal, quality education to all. Becker and Luthar (2002) cite evidence of the achievement gap that still pervade patterns of achievement among disadvantaged learners and others, despite concentrated efforts to improve inferior academic outcomes in countries across the globe. While aims for the South African education system's transformation is set out in many policy and curricula documents, no guarantees exist that teachers, parents or learners have implemented the changes needed to successfully implement transformational goals. If learning is still at best regarded as a rote activity, void of the social and cultural space in which it is constructed, little transformation can be claimed to have taken place at classroom level. Where international assessment results (such as prePIRLS 2011 results) remain only as grim reminders of South African learners' poor performance, assessment as integral to learning has failed, especially when assessment results should provide evidence to inform further support or intervention for learners in need. Assessment should provide indicators of those systemic factors that can be changed, adapted or used as leverage against which to ensure transformation. Failing to do so, assessment as agent of transformation, may become powerless in providing such indicators of significant factors that are at work in the home, in classrooms and in schools nationwide. In applying Carroll's model of school learning (1963) as an established theoretical framework against which to test a multi-level model for purposes of this study, factors may be identified to ensure that transformational goals facilitate the move beyond policy status to those being achieved at both learner and school levels.
1 In order to obtain reliability coefficients, items ATBR02A and ATBR02B were recoded to interval items as 1=1-5 hours, 2=6-10 hours, 3=11-15 hours, 4=16-20 hours.
2 Significance values are calculated by dividing the coefficient by the standard error to arrive at a Z test that is significant at >2 (Singer, 1998). For example -14.22/1.11=12.81 (>2), a significant effect for parental involvement in ensuring basic skills before children begin Grade 1. This indicates that the absence of parents who can ensure basic skills before Grade 1, reading achievement can be expected to decrease by 14.22 points as indicated by a negative coefficient value.
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Foorman BR & Torgesen J 2001. Critical elements of classroom and small-group instruction promote reading success in all children. Learning Disabilities Research and Practice, 16(4):203-212. [ Links ]
Gambrell LB, Palmer BP, Codling RM & Mazzoni SA 1996. Assessing motivation to read. The Reading Teacher, 49(7):518-533. [ Links ]
Geske A & Ozola A 2008a. Different influences of contextual educational factors on boys' and girls' reading achievement. Paper presented at the 3rd IEA International Research Conference, Taipei, Taiwan. [ Links ]
Geske A & Ozola A 2008b. Factors influencing reading literacy at the primary school level. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 6:71-77. [ Links ]
Gonzalez-DeHass AR, Willems PP & Holbein MFD 2005. Examining the relationship between parental involvement and student motivation. Educational Psychology Review, 17(2):99-123. [ Links ]
Howie SJ 2003. Language and other background factors affecting secondary pupils' performance in Mathematics in South Africa. African Journal of Research in Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 7:1-20. [ Links ]
Howie SJ, Venter E, Van Staden S, Zimmerman L, Long C, Scherman V & Archer E 2009. PIRLS 2006 Summary Report: South African children's reading literacy achievement. Pretoria: Centre or Evaluation and Assessment, University of Pretoria. [ Links ]
Lynch J 2002. Parents' self-efficacy beliefs, parents' gender, children's reader self-perceptions, reading achievement and gender. Journal of Research in Reading, 25(1):54-67. [ Links ]
Mji A & Makgato M 2006. Factors associated with high school learners' poor performance: A spotlight on mathematics and physical science. South African Journal of Education, 26(2):253-266. [ Links ]
Maree K, Aldous C, Hattingh A, Swanepoel A & Van der Linde M 2006. Predictors of learner performance in mathematics and science according to a large-scale study in Mpumalanga. South African Journal of Education, 26(2):229-252. [ Links ]
Martin MO, Mullis IVS & Gonzalez E 2004. Home environments fostering children's reading literacy: Results from the PIRLS 2001 study of reading literacy achievement in primary schools in 35 countries. Paper presented at the 1 st IEA International Research Conference, Lefkosia, Cyprus. [ Links ]
Mullis IVS, Martin MO, Kennedy AM, Trong KL & Sainsbury M 2009. PIRLS 2011 Assessment framework. Boston College: TIMSS and PIRLS International Study Center. [ Links ]
Netten A, Droop M & Verhoeven L 2011. Predictors of reading literacy for first and second language learners. Reading and Writing, 24:413-425. [ Links ]
Passos AFJ 2009. A comparative analysis of teacher competence and its effect on pupil performance in upper primary schools in Mozambique and other SACMEQ countries. PhD thesis. Pretoria: University of Pretoria. [ Links ]
Rambuda AM & Fraser WJ 2004. Perceptions of teachers of the application of science process skills in the teaching of Geography in secondary schools in the Free State province. South African Journal of Education, 24(1):10-17. [ Links ]
Rasbash J, Steel F, Browne WJ &Goldstein H 2009. A user's guide to MLwiN (Version 2.10). UK: Centre for Multilevel Modelling, University of Bristol. [ Links ]
Sailors M, Hoffman JV & Matthee B 2007. South African schools that promote literacy learning with students from low-income communities. Reading Research Quarterly, 42(3):364-387. [ Links ]
Scheerens J & Bosker RJ 1997. The foundations of educational effectiveness. International Review of Education, 45(1):113-120. [ Links ]
Schraw G & Bruning R 1999. How implicit models of reading affect motivation to read and reading engagement. Scientific Studies of Reading, 3(3):281-302. [ Links ]
Senechal M & Young L 2008. The effect of family literacy interventions on children's acquisition of reading from Kindergarten to Grade 3: a meta-analytic review. Review of Educational Research, 78(4):880-907. [ Links ]
Turner JC 1995. The influence of classroom contexts on young children's motivation for literacy. Reading Research Quarterly, 30(3):410-441. [ Links ]
Van Petegem K, Creemers B, Aelterman A & Rosseel Y 2008. The importance of pre-measurement of wellbeing and achievement for students' current wellbeing. South African Journal of Education, 28:451-468. [ Links ]
Van Staden S 2010. Reading between the lines: Contributing factors that affect Grade 5 learner reading performance. PhD thesis. Pretoria: University of Pretoria. [ Links ]
Veenman S 1984. Perceived problems of beginning teachers. Review of Educational Research, 54:143-178. [ Links ]
Wallner-Paschon C 2009. Home environment, motivational characteristics in reading, reading activities and gender: How do these factors interact and affect reading literacy of primary school students? Findings from PIRLS 2006. Paper presented at the ECER Conference, Vienna, Austria. [ Links ]


text:
The book that answers the questions about the Motown nobody knows . . .
• Is there any truth to the rumor that the Mafia grabbed control of Motown after Berry Gordy ran afoul of violent loan sharks?
• Which Motown diva was almost run down by a station wagon after a blowout with a rival?
• How did Hollywood and the film industry sink Motown's film business after the tremendous promise of Lady Sings the Blues?
• What famous star hid from Gordy that he was the father of her first child?
• What was the secret scheme one former executive says the company developed to steal millions of dollars in "suitcases of cash" from artists and songwriters?
• Which Motown star had a violent fight with Gordy on the day JFK was assassinated?
• Was the death of the Temptations' Paul Williams by a single gunshot a suicide, as ruled by coroners, or a murder to silence him, as suspected by some colleagues?

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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Hello everyone!
My name is LeAnn Hall and I'm a retired public music teacher in Ohio and a 4-H volunteer in my county. 4-H is a terrific organization for homeschool families. There are opportunities for both urban and rural families and many hands-on project opportunities for all ages. I just visited a homeschool family in a nearby community and they are hosting a 12 year old Japanese boy this summer through 4-H International Exchange Programs. These kids are part of an English language organization in Japan called Labo. They learn English language conversation through their activities. A home visit and an interview with the family is required. They passed with flying colors. You must have a host sibling the same age and gender as the visiting youth. They may share a room but must have their own bed. Background checks of the host parents are required. You do not have to be a member of 4-H to participate. If you're interested in learning more about this program, contact your local Cooperative Extension Office for more information or you can contact me through this forum.
4-H in your area
Post information about homeschool sports and other extracurriculars here!
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About us
As a parent you can make all the difference to your child's communication skills. Helping your child learn to communicate will help them develop good relationships, do well at school and be confident and happy. You can help your child more than anyone else as you know them best, care about them and want to give them the best start in life.
This new website Words for Life gives you an idea of what communication milestones your baby and child might reach as they grow. There are ideas for fun activities you can do together to help your children develop their skills.
We would really like your feedback on the website and any suggestions for additional content or ways in which we can make it better. Please give us your thoughts by using the form below.
If you are a literacy professional, teacher or librarian, you can download free posters to promote Words for Life here. If you are looking for information on literacy policy and research, try our parent site, the National Literacy Trust.
If you'd like to get in touch please use the form below or write to us at:
National Literacy Trust
68 South Lambeth Road


text:
Microsoft expands $100,000 bug bounty from just security researchers to groups, responders, and forensic experts
Microsoft today expanded the list of who can participate in its $100,000 bug bounty for new mitigation bypass techniques. In addition to security researchers, responders and forensic experts who find active attacks in the wild can now also participate.
Microsoft explains this means it is going from accepting entries "from only a handful of individuals capable of inventing new mitigation bypass techniques on their own" to potentially "thousands of individuals or organizations who find attacks in the wild." Both organizations and individuals are now eligible to submit proof-of-concept code and technical analysis of exploits they find in active use in the wild.
Furthermore, Microsoft notes participants are eligible for up to $50,000 in addition if they also submit a qualifying defense idea. The submission criteria for both programs has not changed; it's only the source of the submission that can be different.
Microsoft says the move is part of a broader strategy to hit criminals hard:
We want to learn about these rare new exploitation techniques as early as possible, ideally before they are used, but we'll pay for them even if they are currently being used in targeted attacks if the attack technique is new – because we want them dead or alive.
This evolution of our bounty programs is designed to further disrupt the vulnerability and exploit markets. Currently, black markets pay high prices for vulnerabilities and exploits based on factors that include exclusivity and longevity of usefulness before a vendor discovers and mitigates it. By expanding our bounty program, Microsoft is cutting down the time that exploits and vulnerabilities purchased on the black market remain useful, especially for targeted attacks that rely on stealthy exploitation without discovery.
There's just one caveat. Participation in the expanded bounty program requires that organizations pre-register with Microsoft before turning in a submission of concept code for bounty consideration. To do so, you'll have to email the company at [email protected] and sign an agreement.
See also: Microsoft launches 3 bounty programs to award security folk up to $100,000 for finding flaws in its code and On Patch Tuesday's 10th birthday, Microsoft awards first $100,000 bounty to security researcher for new exploit
Top Image Credit: AFP/Getty Images
Read next: 30 of the most beautiful and well-designed Android apps
Pssst, hey you!
Do you want to get the sassiest daily tech newsletter every day, in your inbox, for FREE? Of course you do: sign up for Big Spam here.


text:
Partitioning using gdisk
Notes Before We Begin
These install instructions assume you are installing Funtoo Linux to an empty hard disk using GUID partition tables (GPT). If you are installing Funtoo Linux on a machine where another OS is installed, or there is an existing Linux distribution on your system that you want to keep, then you will need to adapt these instructions to suit your needs.
Using gdisk
The first step after booting SystemRescueCd is to use gdisk to create GPT (also known as GUID) partitions, specifying the disk you want to use, which is typically /dev/sda, the first disk in the system:
root # gdisk /dev/sda
You should find gdisk very similar to fdisk. Here is the partition table we want to end up with:
Command (? for help): p
Disk /dev/sda: 234441648 sectors, 111.8 GiB
Logical sector size: 512 bytes
Disk identifier (GUID): A4E5208A-CED3-4263-BB25-7147DC426931
Partition table holds up to 128 entries
First usable sector is 34, last usable sector is 234441614
Partitions will be aligned on 2048-sector boundaries
Total free space is 2014 sectors (1007.0 KiB)
Number Start (sector) End (sector) Size Code Name
1 2048 206847 500.0 MiB 8300 Linux filesystem
2 206848 272383 32.0 MiB EF02 BIOS boot partition
3 272384 8660991 4.0 GiB 8200 Linux swap
4 8660992 234441614 107.7 GiB 8300 Linux filesystem
Command (? for help):
Above, you'll see that we have a 500 MiB boot partition, a 32 MiB "BIOS boot partition" (also known as the GRUB boot loader partition), 4 GiB of swap, and the remaining disk used by a 107.7 GiB root partition.
For new gdisk users
These partitions were created using the "n" command from within gdisk. The gdisk commands to create the partition table above are as follows. Adapt sizes as necessary, although these defaults will work for most users. The partition codes entered below can be found in the Partitioning Recommendations table below, in the GPT Code column.
Within gdisk, follow these steps:
Create a new empty partition table
This will erase all data on the disk when saved!
Command: o ↵ This option deletes all partitions and creates a new protective MBR. Proceed? (Y/N): y ↵
Create Partition 1 (boot):
Command: n ↵ Partition Number: 1 ↵ First sector: ↵ Last sector: +500M ↵ Hex Code: ↵
Create Partition 2 (GRUB):
Command: n ↵ Partition Number: 2 ↵ First sector: ↵ Last sector: +32M ↵ Hex Code: EF02 ↵
Create Partition 3 (swap):
Command: n ↵ Partition Number: 3 ↵ First sector: ↵ Last sector: +4G ↵ Hex Code: 8200 ↵
Create Partition 4 (root):
Command: n ↵ Partition Number: 4 ↵ First sector: ↵ Last sector: ↵ (for rest of disk) Hex Code: ↵
Along the way, you can type "p" and hit Enter to view your current partition table. If you make a mistake, you can type "d" to delete an existing partition that you created. When you are satisfied with your partition setup, type "w" to write your configuration to disk:
Write Partition Table To Disk:
Command: w ↵ Do you want to proceed? (Y/N): Y ↵
The partition table will now be written to disk and gdisk will close.
Now, your GPT/GUID partitions have been created, and will show up as the following block devices under Linux:
- /dev/sda1, which will be used to hold the /boot filesystem,
- /dev/sda2, which will be used directly by the new GRUB,
- /dev/sda3, which will be used for swap space, and
- /dev/sda4, which will hold your root filesystem.
All Done!
Now, you can return to the main Funtoo Linux Installation instructions. Please note that your root filesystem is on
/dev/sda4, and your swap partition is
/dev/sda3. You will need to adjust your
/etc/fstab accordingly when you edit it.


text:
Midwest Haunters Convention
News and Updates December 28, 2008
The Midwest Haunters Convention is a weekend event planned for Haunted
Attraction Producers, Actors, and Home Haunters. Our goal is to provide you
with educational seminars and workshops with experienced presenters, a 75+
vendor tradeshow with the latest in haunt offerings, and place to network
with others in the industry during our fun social activities. If you are
involved in a haunted house in any way then MHC is the place to be
Sponsorship Opportunities
Gain Exposure for your Company!
Promoting your involvement MHC increases your exposure to your target
audience. This target audience should include access to over 2000
Halloween enthusiasts in attendance and thousands of website visits and
advertising impressions.
We appreciate your support and will do everything we can to promote your
business. Please contact us for additional information. Visit our web site
at www.midwesthauntersconvention.com or Kelly Collins at
firstname.lastname@example.com - 614-203-4626.
2 Days, 5 Haunts!
Two stops added to this exciting tour
The MHC pre-convention bustour for 2009 will include overnight haunt
tours departing Wednesday afternoon June 3 and returning Thursday evening
June 4.
In addition to the the previously announced stops at Wells Twp HH, Hundred
Acres Manor, Kennywood, and Moundsville Penitentiary we are very pleased to
announce another haunt has been added - The Demon House! If that was not
enough, we will also be visiting the Castle Halloween Museum.
Pricing and schedule information coming very soon!
Book Your Hotel Room Now
Hyatt provides online booking
We are pleased to announce that our host hotel, the Hyatt Regency, has
once again agreed to a special MHC rate of $115 per night.
Each year MHC increases the block of rooms that we reserve and each year
we blow through that number. Last year we were fortunate enough to have
the ability to increase our block to accommodate everyone. We are not sure
that we will have that luxury again this year so we encourage you to
reserve your room now. To book online please
visit: http://columbusregency.hyatt.com/gro.../cmhrc2009eeek
Vendor Registration Open
Reserve your space now
Registration is now open for the vendor trade show floor. For 2009 we will
be in Hall C of the Greater Columbus Convention Center, at the bottom of
the escalator closest to the Hyatt. The floor plan has been reworked to
allow for more visibility, better traffic flow, and added excitement!
Combined with very affordable booth prices, vending at MHC is the perfect
place to showcase your products! For more information, and to download a
vendor packet, please visit:
Body Artists/Models Wanted
Be featured in the Body Art Fashion Show
The Body Art Fashion is quickly becoming one of our most popular events.
If you are interested in being an artist or model for this event please
contact Neena Collins at firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
After struggling for nearly two years, Oprah Winfrey may have found a way to save the cable television network that carries her initials.
The media mogul on Monday announced an exclusive partnership with TV producer Tyler Perry, the man behind shows such as "House of Payne," "Meet the Browns" and "For Better or Worse."
Under the deal, Perry will create two new shows for the network. They're scheduled to debut next year.
"I have been looking forward to the day when we would be in the position to enter the world of scripted television. That day has come," Winfrey said in a statement.
Since it's Jan. 1, 2011 debut, The Oprah Winfrey Network has consisted solely of unscripted series.
"We are all energized by the opportunity to collaborate with Tyler who has a proven track record for producing highly successful cable series. He has an incredible ability to illuminate life stories and characters in his unique voice and inspires and encourages people all over the world,' said Winfrey.
Perry sounded equally enthusiastic in his statement.
"It's a dream realized to partner with Oprah and bring scripted programming to OWN. She has accomplished so much with the network and I'm excited to work with her to be a part of its continued growth."
There's a lot of room for growth. Five months after the network debuted, Winfrey put on a wrap on her daytime TV talk show after 25 years so she could give her full attention to the new project.
The network has consistently struggled to build an audience, and Entertainment Weekly reported earlier this year that it burned through at least $300 million during its first 15 months on the air. That included the creation, development and ultimate demise of "The Rosie Show," hosted by Winfrey's gal pal Rosie O'Donnell.
"I would say if I was writing a book about [launching a network], I would call the book 101 Mistakes," Winfrey said on "CBS This Morning" earlier this year.
"It's like having the wedding when you know you are not ready and you are walking down the aisle, and you are saying 'I don't know 'maybe we should have postponed it,'" Winfrey said.
Things are looking up at OWN, however. The network had a strong third quarter, generating double-digit growth in total viewers and key demos, Bloomberg reported Monday.
"OWN's growth over the past nine months has been nothing short of phenomenal," said David Zaslav, the president and CEO of Discovery Communications, Winfrey's partner in the network.
He said bringing Perry to the network was a "major coup" and "demonstrates the power of the Oprah brand to attract some of the biggest names in television and film."
Tyler Perry Goes to OWN
Producer to create two unscripted series for the network
After struggling for nearly two years, Oprah Winfrey may have found a way to save the cable television network that carries her initials.


text:
Detroit Tigers Gift Ideas
You're sure to knock it out of the park with a bag of Detroit Tigers Steak Snacks. Crafted from 100% All Natural* beef, our crowd-pleasing beef jerky is the tastiest & most tender ballpark snack you will find.
- A LOW CARB / LOW FAT snack that's made in the USA.
- A good source of protein.
- Re-sealable 2.85 Oz. ZIP PAK bag
*minimally processed, no artificial ingredients.
Additional information
|1 lbs
|3.5 × 2.5 × 1 in


text:
Mexico or Mexico City, Span. Ciudad de México ( Méjico), city (1990 pop. 8,236,960; 1991 met. area est. 20,899,000), central Mexico, capital and largest city of Mexico.
Sections in this article:
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: Mexican Political Geography


text:
Looks like Internet wholesalers will have to play on an even playing field with their resellers. Traditionally companies like Bell or Rogers have throttled or providers slower download speeds to their resellers to maintain an advantage but the jig is up. The CRTC has ruled that they must provide the same speed for the services they provide to their resellers. As well they will only be able to charge a maximum of 10% markup. This is big victory for smaller companies like Teksavvy and others who have been battling the bigger companies. Get ready for more competitive Internet pricing plans. Yahoo
In other Canadian Internet news Bell and Bell Aliant will be teaming up to monopolize the rural market. In Ontario they are planning on building a high speed network to offer faster Internet speeds to those outside of major metropolitan areas. The project is estimated to cost $170 million over 2 or 3 years. This is good news for rural areas and desperate farmers who have been stuck with dial up service. Enjoy the animal porn in glorious high speed! Yahoo


text:
In a major victory for Afghan women, President Hamid Karzai yesterday refused to sign Afghanistan's controversial draft Criminal Procedure Code into law. According to a presidential spokesperson, the President has indicated that he will not sign the bill until the Ministry of Justice amends Article 26.
Article 26 would prohibit relatives from testifying against each other in all criminal proceedings, including in cases of domestic violence, child abuse, and sexual assault. After the law passed the Afghan Parliament, Afghan women's rights groups launched a strong campaign to stop its enactment, including a public protest in Kabul on Friday.
"Our tireless advocacy for the last few weeks paid off," said Manizha Naderi, Executive Director of Women for Afghan Women. "This is what we wanted — for the bill to go back to the Ministry of Justice for revision." Her sentiments were echoed by Samira Hamidi of the Afghan Women's Network, comprised of over 100 women-led organizations: "Who says advocacy and lobbying does not work? It does and we have seen results!"
Media Resources: Amnesty International News 2/17/2014; Associated Press 2/17/2014, 2/13/2014; The Guardian 2/17/2014; Feminist Newswire 2/14/2014
Latest posts by Feminist Newswire (see all)
- Reports Reveal China's Campaign to Forcibly Sterilize Uyghur Women - July 31, 2020
- Acting Director of ICE Announces Retirement - July 31, 2020
- New St. Louis Nonprofit Aims to Support Women on the Edge of Poverty - July 31, 2020


text:
I just started a new job in Foster City and would like to meet other tennis players in the area. It would be great to find some regular hitting partners to play with in the mornings, evenings or during lunch. Drop me a line if you're interested. I've been playing in USTA 3.5 leagues the past few years.
Thanks -
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text:
The Field of Sociology
What is Sociology?
What Do Sociologists Study?
The Origins of Sociology
The Institutionalization of Sociology
Sociology Today
What is Sociology?
Have you ever wondered why individuals and societies are so varied? Do you ask what social forces have shaped different existences? The quest to understand society is urgent and important, for if we cannot understand the social world, we are more likely to be overwhelmed by it. We also need to understand social processes if we want to influence them. Sociology can help us to understand ourselves better, since it examines how the social world influences the way we think, feel, and act. It can also help with decision-making, both our own and that of larger organizations. Sociologists can gather systematic information from which to make a decision, provide insights into what is going on in a situation, and present alternatives.
Sociology is the scientific study of society, including patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and culture. The term sociology was first used by Frenchman Auguste Compte in the 1830s when he proposed a synthetic science uniting all knowledge about human activity.[1] In the academic world, sociology is considered one of the social sciences.
[1] Dictionary of the Social Sciences,
Article: Sociology. Edited
by Craig Calhoun. 2002.
Sociologists study all things human, from the interactions between two people to the complex relationships between nations or multinational corporations. While sociology assumes that human actions are patterned, individuals still have room for choices. Becoming aware of the social processes that influence the way humans think, feel, and behave plus having the will to act can help individuals to shape the social forces they face.
Sociologists believe that our social surroundings
influence thought and action. For
example, the rise of the social sciences developed in response to social
changes. In the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries, Europeans were exploring the world and voyagers returned
from Asia, the
In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries,
The industrial revolution began in
Capitalism also grew in
Finally, there was enormous population growth worldwide in this period, due to longer life expectancy and major decreases in child death rates. These massive social changes lent new urgency to the deveopment of the social sciences, as early sociological thinkers struggled with the vast implications of economic, social and political revolutions. All the major figures in the early years of sociology thought about the "great transformation" from simple, preliterate societies to massive, complex, industrial societies.
The Institutionalization of Sociology
Sociology was taught by that name for the first time at the University of Kansas in 1890 by Frank Blackmar, under the course title Elements of Sociology, where it remains the oldest continuing sociology course in the United States. The first academic department of sociology was established in 1892 at the University of Chicago by Albion W. Small, who in 1895 founded the American Journal of Sociology.
|The first European department of sociology was
founded in 1895 at the
In 1919 a sociology departme nt was established in Germany at the Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich by Max Weber, and in 1920 by Florian Znaniecki.
International cooperation in sociology began in 1893 when René Worms founded the Institut International de Sociologie, which was later eclipsed by the much larger International Sociological Association (ISA), founded in 1949. In 1905, the American Sociological Association, the world's largest association of professional sociologists, was founded, and in 1909 the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Soziologie (German Society for Sociology) was founded by Ferdinand Tönnies and Max Weber, among others.
is now taught and studied in all continents of the world. Examples from 48 countries in the world have
been collected at
Craig Calhoun (Editor). 2002. Dictionary of the Social Sciences. New York: Oxford University Press.
Giddens, Anthony. 1987. Sociology: A Brief but Critical Introduction. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.
Nisbet, Robert A. 1966. The Sociological Tradition. New York: Basic Books.
Persell, Caroline Hodges. 1990. Understanding Society: An Introduction to Sociology. Third Edition. New York: Harper & Row.
Wikipedia on-line Encyclopedia. 2008. Retrieved March 3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page .


text: At a time when the Spanish indie pop scene tends to favor either retro power pop or Belle & Sebastian-style tweeness, Barcelona-based duo the Pinker Tones pursue their own uniquely rewarding path. Their largely electronic sound blends straightforward bubblegum hooks, dance rhythms, and a magpie-like attitude to all styles and eras of pop music past. Salvador Rey (vocals, guitar, keyboards, flute) and Alex Llovet (keyboards, samples, drums) met at university in the late '90s and formed the Pinker Tones in 2001 when Rey was offered a commission to compose a soundtrack for a television documentary and he approached his neighbor Llovet about using the latter's home studio for the project. Enjoying the collaboration, the pair continued under the name the Pinker Tones, adopting the stage names Mister Furia (Rey) and Professor Manso (Llovet) as part of an overarching concept of incorporating humor and multilingual positivity into their music. Following a pair of introductory singles, the Pinker Tones released their debut album, The BCN Connection, in 2003. While maintaining a strong sideline in producing and remixing other artists and composing soundtracks for television and film, the Pinker Tones recorded their second album, The Million Colour Revolution, over the course of two years, releasing it worldwide in early 2006. A slow-building buzz around the duo — helped along by their half-band, half-DJ live sets and a series of entertaining videos — led to the Canadian label Nettwerk Records picking up the duo's own label, Pinkerland Records, for North American distribution. The first fruit of the deal was the remix album More Colours! (featuring contributions from Kraftwerk's Wolfgang Flür and second-generation Brazilian musician Moreno Veloso, among others), released in the summer of 2007. ~ Stewart Mason


text:
Big Tentacles - Big Ten news & notes.
Friday I'm In Love.
Nebraska and Iowa want the Big Ten to move their games in 2013 and 2014 from the Saturday after Thanksgiving a day ahead to Friday. The Cornhuskers and Hawkeyes have played their first two Big Ten meetings on Black Friday. (ESPN)
We'll Be Together.
Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith expects Ohio St. and Michigan will be in the same division post-Big Ten conference realignment. (The Cleveland Plain Dealer)
Eyes on the Prize.
Michigan is in the running for the top recruiting class in 2013. (The Detroit News)
Showers in the forecast?
Illinois should try to recruit former Texas A&M back-up quarterback Jameill Showers. Because Tom Fornelli said so. (The Champaign Room)
Florida high school senior defensive end Paul James commits to Illinois' 2013 recruiting class. (The Champaign Room)
Misery loves company.
Wisconsin is on Aaron Torres' list of college football teams with disappointing recruiting classes going into this year's National Signing Day. If it makes Badger fans out there feel better, ex-Badger head football coach Bret Bielema's new team at Arkansas is on the list too. (The Crystal Ball Run)
It's just a flesh wound.
The NCAA's banhammering of Penn State over the Sandusky scandal hasn't stopped Nittany Lions HC Bill O'Brien from putting together a "decent" recruiting class in 2013. (The Crystal Ball Run)


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This Hexen multiplayer Total Conversion is our idea of how multiplayer games should be done in the Hexen world, using our famous RPG leveling system, combined with deadly weapons, base abilities for every class and fast paced action in fantasy maps. Korax Arena will feature lots of new gameplay modes besides the classic deathmatch, some of these new gameplay modes will include funny and different experiences for the players involved, from different teams that combine against a single enemy, to enemy monsters fightning against every player, while the players compete against them, a total blast of fast paced action on some known places and new ones to create a whole new experience of multiplayer gaming in the world of Hexen. Korax Arena takes advantage of the advanced features provided by the base engine, Vavoom engine, to create interesting visuals and making each game a different experience, creating advanced gameplay modes and high AI for computer controlled player and a lot more.
This Hexen multiplayer Total Conversion is our idea of how multiplayer games should be done in the Hexen world, using our famous RPG leveling system...
korax arena v1.1 beta full version
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Hello everyone.
I'm still marking.
If I ever finish the marking (though at the moment I'm increasingly convinced I'm trapped in some kind of eternal marking purgatory) I will be writing an abstract on the underworld in film and a paper on gladiatorial combats. So, in order to get all my resources lined up for my own benefit if nothing else, please enjoy these underworld/gladiatorial highlights from the archives.
The Underworld
The Lord of the Rings
Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
Top Five Gladiatorial Combats
Star Trek: Bread and Circuses
Star Trek: The Gamesters of Triskelion
The Hunger Games (books)
The Hunger Games (film)
Main Spartacus: Blood and Sand page
There are many more posts I could add that talk about gladiators, but I do actually have to get back to the marking now!


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Features: Covers central topics comprehensively. Provides clearly written and substantive introductions with conceptual tools for critically analyzing methodological issues. Emphasizes the inseparability of sex/gender constructions from other structures of inequality, such as race, class, and nation. Links ethical and political values with epistemic questions of credibility and reliability. Surveys "feminists rethinking" issues such as empiricism, postmodernism, and democratization. Selects key writings by preeminent authors including Lourdes Beneria, Patricia Hill Collins, Stephen J. Gould, Sandra Harding, Naheed Islam, Patricia Maguire, Vandana Shiva, Abigail J. Stewart, Barrie Thorne, Maxine Baca Zinn, among many more-45 authors in all. Book jacket.Jaggar, Alison M. is the author of 'Just Methodologies An Interdisciplinary Feminist Reader' with ISBN 9781594512049 and ISBN 1594512043.[read more]
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The Colosseum proclaimed the greatness of the Roman Empire, and even today its ruins are so impressive we almost forget that the arena was built for a terrible purpose -- as a place where men and animals were slaughtered for the amusement of the crowd.
A majestic sight to this day, the Roman Colosseum stands more than 150 feet high.
See more pictures of the Colosseum.
The Colosseum was a remarkable feat of engineering by people who lived approximately 2,000 years ago. The building itself was 615 feet long and 510 feet wide. With the walls standing 159 feet tall, it held as many as 55,000 spectators.
To efficiently direct the huge throng into the arena, each spectator was given a token indicating which of the stadium's 80 arched entrances to use and which seat to take. The entire crowd could enter and exit very quickly. Spectators were shielded from the roasting Mediterranean sun by the remarkable velarium -- a huge awning roped to masts along the building's upper story. It resembled a ship's sails, and, in fact, sailors worked the canvas.
Beneath the stadium floor a maze of chambers and cages held condemned prisoners and wild animals. Manual-powered elevators lifted the cages to a level where the animals could escape -- but only through a trapdoor into the arena. At the Colosseum's opening in A.D. 80, bloodthirsty spectators enjoyed the slaughter of 5,000 animals.
During the "games," criminals and Christians were regularly thrown to the lions. To absorb the spilled blood, the arena's wooden floor was covered with sand. (Arena means "sandy place" in Latin.) But gladiatorial combat was the main event. Combatants paraded into the arena, bowing before emperors like Julius Caesar to shout: "We who are about to die salute you!" Indeed, half of the gladiators could count on being killed that day.
Since the era of the gladiators, the Colosseum has fallen to ruin. Earthquakes took a toll, Renaissance palace builders used it as a source of building materials, and modern Rome's air pollution is blackening the stadium with soot that eats away at the stone. Recent restorations are helping to preserve the great monument -- an auspicious development, because an old proverb warns: "When the Colosseum falls, Rome also ends, and when Rome falls, the world will end."
Here are links to dozens of other world-famous landmarks:
To learn more about other landmarks and vacation destinations, see:
Jerry Camarillo Dunn, Jr., has worked with the National Geographic Society for more than 20 years, starting as a staff editor, writer, and columnist at Traveler magazine, then writing travel guides. His latest work is National Geographic Traveler: San Francisco. Dunn's Smithsonian Guide to Historic America: The Rocky Mountain States has sold more than 100,000 copies. His travel pieces appear in newspapers such as the Chicago Tribune and The Boston Globe. Jerry Dunn's stories have won three Lowell Thomas Awards from the Society of American Travel Writers -- the highest honor in the field. He also wrote and hosted a pilot episode for a travel show produced by WGBH, Boston's public television station.


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Back when I first started taking photos of carnicerias back in 2005.
I actually started off with what I consider the one that started my fascination with these
special types of murals.
I like to think of it as the Mona Lisa, the Sistine Chapel, nay, The Holy Grail of meat murals.
I'm talking about the city of Vernon.
I'm talking about the Farmer John's processing plant.
Yup, I'm talking about Hog Heaven.
If you live in L.A. and haven't driven by this GARGANTUAN mural called Hog Heaven, I pity you.
I grew up in Bell Gardens and anytime we would be driving back from the old Sears building I'd ask our dad to take us to see "los puercitos."
Or little pigs.
I really didn't know what the building was, but I knew what was on the outside of it.
Pigs, and lots of them.
Everytime we drove by it was a treat.
It seemed like it was alive like the cartoons I would see on television.
Pigs running.
Pigs feeding.
I never forgot that place even after we had moved.
From time to time whenever we would go visit family back in the old hood, we'd drive by it.
Like a good friend, it was always there waiting to be visited.
When I finally decided to start taking pictures, I had realized that I had never gotten out of the car to see it up close and personal. Thats when the mural became something more special.
A pig whistling with little musical notes coming from its mouth.
A fox in a chicken cage.
Baby Jesus in a barn.
Yes, there's even baby Jesus.
I never knew much about the mural until I started my blog. Even so, I've tried not to learn much about it. Like all the murals that I find on our little adventures, I try to keep my sense of childhood fascination about these fantastical paintings.
Magically painted on the streets of L.A.
More next week...


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I wish I had invented blue jeans. They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity - all I hope for in my clothes.Yves Saint Laurent
Most guys aren't that picky. They may have quicker reflexes around large breasts, but they need more to keep them interested. We know plenty of women whose sex appeal makes their breasts exactly the right size.Playboy magazine
Sexiness is all in the eye of the beholder. I think it should be. Absolutely. My sex appeal, whatever it might be, isn't obvious... at least to me.Sharon Tate
Diana had the combination of status and sex appeal which made her more starry than a movie star. Camilla scrubs up well but it takes an army of make-up artists and dress designers. Diana had it naturally.Judy Wade
Increasing your sex appeal can help you in both your personal and professional lives. It can improve your chances of attracting a partner, inspire a more ardent response from your current mate, help you feel comfortable sexually and make you feel good about yourself.Eva Norwind
"It was not her sex appeal but the obvious relish with which she devoured the hamburger that made my pulse begin to hammer with excitement."Ray Kroc
I know I have sex appeal, but I've never felt like an actual sex symbol. Fans sometimes think I am. The majority of them are sweet about it, but occasionally somebody weird becomes totally fixated upon me.Teena Marie
The acute hospital sector does not have the sex appeal that people have been waiting for. Yet, it's a reliable sector that does not have across-the-board saturation.David Menlow
By the worldly standards of public life, all scholars in their work are of course oddly virtuous. They do not make wild claims, they do not cheat, they do not try to persuade at any cost, they appeal neither to prejudice nor to authority, they are often frank about their ignorance, their disputes are fairly decorous, they do not confuse what is being argued with race, politics, sex or age, they listen patiently to the young and to the old who both know everything. These are the general virtues of scholarship, and they are peculiarly the virtues of science.Jacob Bronowski
Nine-tenths of the appeal of pornography is due to the indecent feelings concerning sex which moralists inculcate in the young; the other tenth is physiological, and will occur in one way or another whatever the state of the law may be.Bertrand Russell
Sex and obscenity are not synonymous. Obscene material is material which deals with sex in a manner appealing to prurient interest.William J. Brennan, Jr.
I have often said that I wish I had invented blue jeans: the most spectacular, the most practical, the most relaxed and nonchalant. They have expression, modesty, sex appeal, simplicity - all I hope for in my clothes.Yves Saint Laurent
Sex appeal is the keynote of our civilization.Henri Bergson
There is more to sex appeal than just measurements. I don't need a bedroom to prove my womanliness. I can convey just as much sex appeal, picking apples off a tree or standing in the rain.Audrey Hepburn
It was not her sex appeal but the obvious relish with which she devoured the hamburger that made my pulse begin to hammer with excitement.Ray Kroc
What most people in our culture mean by being lovable is essentially a mixture between being popular and having sex appeal.Erich Fromm
I know of my sex appeal. I know about sexuality, and I know how to use it - tastefully, of course.Rachel Bilson


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Shaun Best / Reuters file
A Via Rail Canada passenger train pulls into Dorval Station in Montreal, in this July 22, 2009 file photo. Canadian police authorities said on Monday they had arrested and charged two men with an "al Qaeda-supported" plot to derail a passenger train.
Canadian security forces say they have thwarted an al-Qaeda-backed plot to blow up a rail line between Canada and the United States, and officials announced two arrests on Monday afternoon.
Canadian authorities hold a press conference after two men were arrested and charged in an alleged "al Qaeda-supported" plot to blow up a U.S.-Canada rain line.
The suspects had sought to attack a passenger train that left from the U.S. bound for Toronto once the train crossed the Canadian border, sources told NBC News. The suspects may have scouted trains departing from New York.
Canadian officials worked closely with the FBI throughout the investigation, which began last year.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police announced the two accused, Chiheb Esseghaier, 30, of Montreal, and Raed Jaser, 35, of Toronto, were conspiring to carry out a terrorist attack against a "VIA Rail Canada" passenger train. VIA runs trains in partnership with Amtrak.
Authorities said the men were planning to attack a route, not necessarily a specific train.
Exactly how the men planned to attack was still unclear, only that it was a threat to kill people, officials said.
The men were receiving support from al-Qaeda elements in Iran, according to officials, who added that there was no information to indicate the support was state-sponsored.
Charges against the pair include conspiring to carry out an attack against, and conspiring to murder persons unknown for the benefit of, at the direction of, or in association with a terrorist group, officials said. Police were searching the suspects homes Monday afternoon.
The men "had the capacity and intent to carry out these criminal acts," but "there was no imminent threat to the public, rail employees, train passengers or infrastructure," James Malizia, assistant commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, said.
The suspects will appear in a Canadian court tomorrow for bail hearings.
In a statement, Amtrak said it was aware of the situation and is working with Canadian authorities during the ongoing investigation.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
NBC's Jon Dienst and Rich Esposito contributed to this report