GROUP WORK IN A READING STRATEGIES COURSE

This article explores the effect of constant group work in a reading strategies course at the University of Costa Rica. The target group is heterogeneous as it is composed by thirty students who belong to different majors at UCR. To assess the effect of constant group work throughout the course to foster students’ motivation, the writer analyzed the data collected with three instruments during the semester. Finally, the writer explores the notion of group work and lists some recommendations to implement it in such a course. To illustrate the implementation of group work and reading comprehension, the writer includes a sample non-evaluated WebQuest carried out at the computer lab in groups of four students.

Analysis of cash dividend policy in Indonesia stock exchange

Dividend policy has been puzzling for researchers for decades. The level of dividend varies not only across industries, but also across countries. This research analyzes the dividend policy of Indonesian public companies, in particular it examines the partial effect of cash ratio, debt ratio, company size, profitability, and asset growth on cash dividend policy in Indonesia Stock Exchange from 2008 to 2015. A total of 102 companies was used as a sample. The samples are divided into four groups: (1) a group of companies paying changeable dividends (Change group), (2) a group of companies paying continuous dividends, but then stop paying dividend (Omission group), (3) a group of companies that initially do not pay the dividends, but then continuously paying dividend (Initiation group); and (4) a group of companies paying constant dividends (Constant group). Results of hypotheses testing using multiple regression analysis show that profitability and asset growth affect dividend policy in all company groups. Company size affects dividend policy in the Change, Initiation, and Constant groups. Debt ratio influences dividend policy only in the Change group.

Sex and housework: Does perceived fairness of the distribution of housework actually matter?

Recent findings suggest that couples who perceive their housework distribution to be fair have more frequent sexual encounters and are more satisfied with their sex life. However, past research has relied on between-person comparisons and might therefore be biased due to unobserved confounders. By applying fixed effects panel models, this study seeks to eliminate all time-constant, group-specific heterogeneity. Using data from 1,315 cohabiting and married couples from the German Family Panel (pairfam), I have examined how changes in the distribution of housework and the perception of fairness affect sexual satisfaction and sexual frequency. Moreover, I distinguish between core (traditionally female) and non-core (traditionally male) household tasks to verify the hypothesis that a gender-stereotypic distribution of household tasks fosters sexual activity. No effect of the division of labor or the perception of fairness thereof on sexual satisfaction and sexual frequency could be found.

Cohen–Lenstra heuristics for étale group schemes and symplectic pairings

We generalize the Cohen–Lenstra heuristics over function fields to étale group schemes $G$ (with the classical case of abelian groups corresponding to constant group schemes). By using the results of Ellenberg–Venkatesh–Westerland, we make progress towards the proof of these heuristics. Moreover, by keeping track of the image of the Weil-pairing as an element of $\wedge ^{2}G(1)$, we formulate more refined heuristics which nicely explain the deviation from the usual Cohen–Lenstra heuristics for abelian $\ell$-groups in cases where $\ell \mid q-1$; the nature of this failure was suggested already in the works of Malle, Garton, Ellenberg–Venkatesh–Westerland, and others. On the purely large random matrix side, we provide a natural model which has the correct moments, and we conjecture that these moments uniquely determine a limiting probability measure.

Constant and random practice on learning of volleyball serve

The type of practice can influence what is learned from a motor skill. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the constant and random practice on the learning of Generalized Motor Program and parameters of the volleyball serve. The sample was composed of 20 children between 10 and 12 years old. The participants performed a pre-test whose score was adopted to counterbalance two groups (n=10), random practice and constant practice. During the acquisition phase, the random group performed 252 serves from three different positions, always indicated at the end of each serve, and the constant group performed all serves from only a specific position. The retention test showed that both groups learned the Generalized Motor Program, but random practice conducted to higher parameterization learning, resultant from the variable of practice. During practice of a sport motor skills, although the constant and random practice improve the learning of Generalized Motor Program, only the random practice improves learning of parameters of the motor skill.

The side effect of egalitarian norms: Reactive group distinctiveness, biological essentialism, and sexual prejudice

In the context of sexual prejudice, in which group distinctiveness motivation is particularly strong for men, three studies tested the hypothesis that egalitarian norms can intensify reactive distinctiveness motives, and then paradoxically increase intergroup differentiation and prejudice. Depending on the studies, the egalitarian norm was experimentally manipulated or induced and kept constant. Group distinctiveness was manipulated through scientific support for the theory that a person’s sexual orientation is determined by biological factors in terms of the extant biological differences (high distinctiveness) versus biological similarities (low distinctiveness) between heterosexual and gay people. Egalitarian norms increased men’s (but not women’s) intergroup differentiation (Study 1) and prejudice (Study 2) when group distinctiveness was low (as compared to high). This pattern was specific to men with high gender self-esteem, and appeared when the biological theory was framed in terms of intergroup differences rather than the uncontrollability of sexual orientation (Study 3).

Design of a CPW-fed UWB printed antenna with dual notch band using mushroom structure

A coplanar waveguide-fed planar hexagonal monopole ultra-wideband antenna with dual-band rejection characteristics is proposed in this paper. The desired notch frequencies at 3.5 and 5.5 GHz are realized by incorporating mushroom structures. The input impedance and surface current distributions are used for analysis and explanation of the effects of mushroom cells. The prototype and proposed antennas are fabricated and tested. From the measured results, the proposed antenna provides an operating band of 2.81–14.32 GHz for 2 ≤ voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR), while the dual-band stop function is in the frequency bands of 3.3–3.7 GHz and 5.10–5.88 GHz. Moreover, the antenna model also exhibits constant group delay and linear phase in the pass band. The proposed antenna has appreciable gain and efficiency over the whole operating band except the notch bands.