NEW YORK (AP) ? Stocks are falling after the Federal Reserve gave a slightly more optimistic outlook for the U.S. economy, which investors took as a hint that the bank was nearer to a decision to reduce its economic stimulus program.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell as much as 87 points shortly after the Fed's statement came out at 2 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. It was down 33 points, or 0.2 percent, at 15,284 as of 2:15 p.m.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index was down three points, 0.2 percent, to 1,649.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.26 percent from 2.21 percent earlier. That was a sign investors were selling the bonds.
Reading wordless storybooks to toddlers may expose them to richer languagePublic release date: 29-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Nick Manning nmanning@uwaterloo.ca 519-888-4451 University of Waterloo
WATERLOO, Ont. (Monday, April 29, 2013) Researchers at the University of Waterloo have found that children hear more complex language from parents when they read a storybook with only pictures compared to a picture-vocabulary book. The findings appear in the latest issue of the journal First Language.
"Too often, parents dismiss picture storybooks, especially when they are wordless, as not real reading or just for fun," said the study's author, Professor Daniela O'Neill. "But these findings show that reading picture storybooks with kids exposes them to the kind of talk that is really important for children to hear, especially as they transition to school."
The study, by Professor O'Neill of the Department of Psychology at Waterloo, and Angela Nyhout, a graduate student, recorded 25 mothers while they read to their toddlers both a wordless picture storybook and a vocabulary book with pictures.
"What we found was that moms in our study significantly more frequently used forms of complex talk when reading the picture storybook to their child than the picture vocabulary book," said Professor O'Neill.
The researchers were especially interested in looking at the language mothers use when reading both wordless picture storybooks and picture vocabulary books to see if parents provided extra information to children like relating the events of the story to the child's own experiences or asking their child to make predictions.
"So, when reading the picture story, we would hear moms say things such as 'where do you think the squirrel is going to go?' or 'we saw a squirrel this morning in the backyard.' But we didn't hear this kind of complex talk as often with vocabulary books, where mentioning just the name of the animal, for example, was more common, " said Professor O'Neill.
The results of the study are significant for both parents and educators because vocabulary books are often marketed as being more educational. "Books of all kinds can build children's language and literacy skills, but they do so perhaps in different ways," said Professor O'Neill. "It's exciting to find that even short wordless picture books provide children with exposure to the kinds of sophisticated language that they will encounter at school and that lay the foundation for later reading development."
A Research Development Initiative grant, which the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada awarded to Professor O'Neill, supported this research.
###
Journal Reference:
Nyhout, A., & O'Neill, D. K. Mothers' complex talk when sharing books with their toddlers: book genre matters. First Language, 33(2), 115-131, 2013.
About the University of Waterloo
In just half a century, the University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada's technology hub, has become one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities with 35,000 full- and part-time students in undergraduate and graduate programs. Waterloo, as home to the world's largest post-secondary co-operative education program, embraces its connections to the world and encourages enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. In the next decade, the university is committed to building a better future for Canada and the world by championing innovation and collaboration to create solutions relevant to the needs of today and tomorrow. For more information about Waterloo, please visit http://www.uwaterloo.ca
Media Contact:
Nick Manning
University of Waterloo
519.888.4451
226.929.7627
nmanning@uwaterloo.ca
http://www.uwaterloo.ca/news
Attention broadcasters: Waterloo has facilities to provide broadcast-quality audio and video feeds with a double-ender studio. Please contact Nick Manning on 226.929.7627 or Pamela Smyth on 519.888.4777 for more information.
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Reading wordless storybooks to toddlers may expose them to richer languagePublic release date: 29-Apr-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Nick Manning nmanning@uwaterloo.ca 519-888-4451 University of Waterloo
WATERLOO, Ont. (Monday, April 29, 2013) Researchers at the University of Waterloo have found that children hear more complex language from parents when they read a storybook with only pictures compared to a picture-vocabulary book. The findings appear in the latest issue of the journal First Language.
"Too often, parents dismiss picture storybooks, especially when they are wordless, as not real reading or just for fun," said the study's author, Professor Daniela O'Neill. "But these findings show that reading picture storybooks with kids exposes them to the kind of talk that is really important for children to hear, especially as they transition to school."
The study, by Professor O'Neill of the Department of Psychology at Waterloo, and Angela Nyhout, a graduate student, recorded 25 mothers while they read to their toddlers both a wordless picture storybook and a vocabulary book with pictures.
"What we found was that moms in our study significantly more frequently used forms of complex talk when reading the picture storybook to their child than the picture vocabulary book," said Professor O'Neill.
The researchers were especially interested in looking at the language mothers use when reading both wordless picture storybooks and picture vocabulary books to see if parents provided extra information to children like relating the events of the story to the child's own experiences or asking their child to make predictions.
"So, when reading the picture story, we would hear moms say things such as 'where do you think the squirrel is going to go?' or 'we saw a squirrel this morning in the backyard.' But we didn't hear this kind of complex talk as often with vocabulary books, where mentioning just the name of the animal, for example, was more common, " said Professor O'Neill.
The results of the study are significant for both parents and educators because vocabulary books are often marketed as being more educational. "Books of all kinds can build children's language and literacy skills, but they do so perhaps in different ways," said Professor O'Neill. "It's exciting to find that even short wordless picture books provide children with exposure to the kinds of sophisticated language that they will encounter at school and that lay the foundation for later reading development."
A Research Development Initiative grant, which the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada awarded to Professor O'Neill, supported this research.
###
Journal Reference:
Nyhout, A., & O'Neill, D. K. Mothers' complex talk when sharing books with their toddlers: book genre matters. First Language, 33(2), 115-131, 2013.
About the University of Waterloo
In just half a century, the University of Waterloo, located at the heart of Canada's technology hub, has become one of Canada's leading comprehensive universities with 35,000 full- and part-time students in undergraduate and graduate programs. Waterloo, as home to the world's largest post-secondary co-operative education program, embraces its connections to the world and encourages enterprising partnerships in learning, research and discovery. In the next decade, the university is committed to building a better future for Canada and the world by championing innovation and collaboration to create solutions relevant to the needs of today and tomorrow. For more information about Waterloo, please visit http://www.uwaterloo.ca
Media Contact:
Nick Manning
University of Waterloo
519.888.4451
226.929.7627
nmanning@uwaterloo.ca
http://www.uwaterloo.ca/news
Attention broadcasters: Waterloo has facilities to provide broadcast-quality audio and video feeds with a double-ender studio. Please contact Nick Manning on 226.929.7627 or Pamela Smyth on 519.888.4777 for more information.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
YouTube just keeps adding quality content. Last week it was comedy, and this week it's bulking up on its sporting chops with a Major League Baseball partnership. Always among the most tech-savvy of major sports leagues, MLB has beefed up the offerings on its YouTube channel to include highlights from every game of 2013 (two days after they've occurred), and a vast archive of full games from as far back as 1952. Plus, should you reside outside the US, Canada, South Korea, Taiwan and Japan, you'll get to watch two live games every day during the regular season for free. So, seamheads, head on over to the MLB.com YouTube channel -- your digital field of dreams awaits.
BOSTON (AP) - David Ortiz has even run out of ways to talk about his red-hot return.
Ortiz had two hits and three RBIs to extend his torrid start after a long layoff, and Felix Doubront overcame a wild first inning to pitch into the seventh as the Boston Red Sox beat the struggling Houston Astros 8-4 on Saturday night.
"I ain't talking about that anymore," said Ortiz, joking with the media as he dressed quickly in front of his locker. "You make up a new question, I'll answer it. Otherwise, copy what I said yesterday and the day before."
The 37-year old Ortiz made quite a return in his first seven games. He is hitting .519 (14 of 27) with two homers and nine RBIs since getting back into the lineup last Saturday after missing the 71 of the final 72 games last season and all of spring training with a heel injury.
"He's doing things that look to him to be very easy, but its hard to imagine or even script out that he'd have this kind of performance considering the layoff," Red Sox manager John Farrell said.
It was 14th win in 19 games for the surging Red Sox (17-7). Boston can tie a club record for the most wins in April by completing a four-game sweep over Houston (7-17) on Sunday.
The Astros, coming off 56 and 55 wins seasons the last two, respectively, in the National League, are finding their new league just as tough.
"I don't get caught up in the record," Astros first-year manager Bo Porter said. "I deal with each day, each game, one game at a time."
Boston matched its best start since 2002 with its fourth straight win.
The Red Sox went 18-8 in April 1998 and 2003.
Jacoby Ellsbury had a two-run single for the Red Sox. Dustin Pedroia and Daniel Nava each added two hits and an RBI.
Doubront (3-0) walked three in the first, hit a batter, and had a wild pitch before settling down to hold the Astros to three runs, four hits, striking out eight and walking four over 6 2-3 innings.
"Seriously, I don't know what happened in the first inning," Doubront said. "I was feeling like I was using more of my arm than my body. I was frustrated because I was thinking a little too much. But overall, after the first inning, I was really focused and I wasn't thinking about my mechanics at all. I was throwing the ball. I was so happy I did that."
Houston starter Brad Peacock (1-3) gave up five runs on six hits in 3 2-3 innings. He hasn't gone past five innings in each of his five starts.
"I know we've got to start doing better," he said. "I'm just going to keep working and hopefully I can get out of this."
Doubront retired 17 of 19 batters after the rough beginning. He was pulled with a runner on in the seventh. Alex Wilson escaped a bases-loaded, eighth-inning jam and Andrew Miller pitched the ninth.
Trailing 2-0, Boston scored four runs in the second on Ellsbury's two-run single and Ortiz's two-run double into the left field corner.
Ortiz's sacrifice fly made it 5-2 in the fourth after Nava doubled leading off and advanced on Pedroia's ground out to second.
Jose Altuve's run-scoring ground out cut it to 5-3 in the seventh.
Stephen Drew, Nava and Pedroia each had RBI singles in the seventh.
The Astros took advantage of Doubront's wild first to grab their first lead of the series. Doubront hit Brandon Barnes after a leadoff single before walking Brandon Laird. He then walked Chris Carter, forcing in a run, before Ronny Cedeno's sacrifice fly made it 2-0. The left-hander walked the next batter on four pitches, but got the final two outs easily.
NOTES: Farrell said OF Shane Victorino, sidelined since leaving Wednesday's game with a stiff lower back, has made slight progress, but was out again. ... Farrell also said that LHP Franklin Morales has been shut down for a few days with a strained muscle on his left side. Morales has been on the DL since March 22 with a strained lower back. ... Porter loaded his lineup with right-handed hitters from 1-7, with switch hitters in the final two spots. ... Porter had glowing praise for Boston 2B Pedroia before the game. "I think people should ask, `Why don't more people play the game that way?' I've been a fan of Dustin Pedroia's before I came to Fenway for these four games," he said. "He'll do what he can to beat you." ... Boston RHP Ryan Dempster walked out the player's parking lot and went for a jog on the streets outside the park about 2 hours before the game. Fans that were lined up to get in didn't even seem to notice. ... RHP John Lackey (0-1, 4.15 ERA) is set to make his return from the disabled list Sunday against Houston's Bud Norris (3-2, 4.13 ERA). Lackey went on the DL April 7 with a strained right biceps. ... The Red Sox improved to 13-0 when scoring first.
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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At their best beyond nine
Extra-innings seem to suit the Diamondbacks just fine, as Arizona improved to 6-0 in extra-inning games this season on Saturday.
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It began 40 years ago. A plague which turns man and beast into monstrous beings. Somehow, many humans survived the plague, but it continues to spread. Now, only the Plague Doctors can help.
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The people shouldn't be afraid of their government. The government should be afraid of their people.
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SumUp, one of the many European mobile card reader startups targeting small businesses -- and taking advantage of Square?s continued absence to acquire users and build out a business -- has taken another step designed to expand its reach by announcing a partnership with Revel Systems, a maker of iPad POS software.
Don't hold back on the olive oil, a Spanish study concludes.
hiphoto40/iStockphoto.com
Don't hold back on the olive oil, a Spanish study concludes.
hiphoto40/iStockphoto.com
Pour on the olive oil in good conscience, and add some nuts while you're at it.
A careful test of the so-called Mediterranean diet involving more than 7,000 people at a high risk of having heart attacks and strokes found the diet reduced them when compared with a low-fat diet. A regular diet of Mediterranean cuisine also reduced the risk of dying.
The findings, published online by The New England Journal of Medicine, come from a study conducted right in the heart of Mediterranean country: Spain.
A group of men and women, ages 55 to 80 at the start of the study, were randomly assigned to a low-fat diet or one of two variations of the Mediterranean diet: one featuring a lot of extra-virgin olive oil (more than a quarter cup a day) and the other including lots of nuts (more than an ounce a day of walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts).
The Mediterranean diet is rich in fish, grains, nuts, fruits and vegetables. The diet is low in dairy products, red meat and processed foods.
In this study, funded mainly by the Spanish government, the researchers made sure people got regular training sessions in the particulars of each diet. They also checked people's actual consumption of olive oil and nuts with lab tests.
One thing the researchers didn't do was set any limits on calories or targets for exercise.
While lots of research has found benefits from the Mediterranean diet, many of the studies have observed what people have eaten and looked for associations. One of this study's strengths is that it randomly assigned people at high risk of developing cardiovascular disease to diets that stood to help them.
The study was stopped early (after a median follow-up of 4.8 years) because the benefits from the Mediterranean diet were already becoming apparent. Overall, the people consuming the diets rich in olive oil or nuts had about a 30 percent lower risk of having a heart attack, stroke or dying from a cardiovascular cause.
In absolute terms, there were about 8 of those problems for every 1,000 person-years in the Mediterranean diet groups compared with 11 per 1,000 person-years in the low-fat diet group.
How does the Mediterranean diet work? The prevailing theory is that it lowers bad cholesterol and triglycerides while increasing protective good cholesterol. It may also also help the body's ability to process sugar.
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Public release date: 29-Apr-2013
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SumUp, one of the many European mobile card reader startups targeting small businesses -- and taking advantage of Square?s continued absence to acquire users and build out a business -- has taken another step designed to expand its reach by announcing a partnership with Revel Systems, a maker of iPad POS software.