101
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Foley AE, Herts JB, Borgonovi F, Guerriero S, Levine SC, Beilock SL. The Math Anxiety-Performance Link. CURRENT DIRECTIONS IN PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2017. [DOI: 10.1177/0963721416672463] [Citation(s) in RCA: 124] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Demand for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals is on the rise worldwide. To effectively meet this demand, many governments and private organizations have revamped STEM education and promoted training to enhance math and science skills among students and workers. Education and training programs typically focus on increasing individuals’ math and science knowledge. However, data from laboratory studies and large-scale international assessments suggest that fear or apprehension about math, math anxiety, should also be considered when trying to increase math achievement and, in turn, STEM career success. This article reviews findings that shed light on antecedents of math anxiety, the bidirectional math anxiety-performance relation, underlying mechanisms, and promising routes to mitigating the negative relation between math anxiety and math performance.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Sonia Guerriero
- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Paris, France
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102
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Szkudlarek E, Brannon EM. Does the approximate number system serve as a foundation for symbolic mathematics? LANGUAGE LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT 2017; 13:171-190. [PMID: 28344520 PMCID: PMC5362122 DOI: 10.1080/15475441.2016.1263573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
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103
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Hart SA, Ganley CM, Purpura DJ. Understanding the Home Math Environment and Its Role in Predicting Parent Report of Children's Math Skills. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0168227. [PMID: 28005925 PMCID: PMC5179117 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2016] [Accepted: 10/31/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
There is a growing literature concerning the role of the home math environment in children’s math development. In this study, we examined the relation between these constructs by specifically addressing three goals. The first goal was to identify the measurement structure of the home math environment through a series of confirmatory factor analyses. The second goal was to examine the role of the home math environment in predicting parent report of children’s math skills. The third goal was to test a series of potential alternative explanations for the relation between the home math environment and parent report of children’s skills, specifically the direct and indirect role of household income, parent math anxiety, and parent math ability as measured by their approximate number system performance. A final sample of 339 parents of children aged 3 through 8 drawn from Mechanical Turk answered a questionnaire online. The best fitting model of the home math environment was a bifactor model with a general factor representing the general home math environment, and three specific factors representing the direct numeracy environment, the indirect numeracy environment, and the spatial environment. When examining the association of the home math environment factors to parent report of child skills, the general home math environment factor and the spatial environment were the only significant predictors. Parents who reported doing more general math activities in the home reported having children with higher math skills, whereas parents who reported doing more spatial activities reported having children with lower math skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara A. Hart
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
- Florida Center for Reading Research, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Colleen M. Ganley
- Department of Psychology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
- Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math, Learning Systems Institute, Florida State University, Tallahassee, Florida, United States of America
| | - David J. Purpura
- Human Development and Family Studies, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, United States of America
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104
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Morsanyi K, Mammarella IC, Szücs D, Tomasetto C, Primi C, Maloney EA. Editorial: Mathematical and Statistics Anxiety: Educational, Social, Developmental and Cognitive Perspectives. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1083. [PMID: 27493636 PMCID: PMC4954845 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2016] [Accepted: 07/01/2016] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Kinga Morsanyi
- School of Psychology, Queen's University Belfast Belfast, UK
| | - Irene C Mammarella
- Department of Developmental Psychology, University of Padova Padova, Italy
| | - Dénes Szücs
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Cambridge Cambridge, UK
| | - Carlo Tomasetto
- Department of Psychology, University of Bologna Bologna, Italy
| | - Caterina Primi
- Neurofarba-Section of Psychology, University of Florence Florence, Italy
| | - Erin A Maloney
- Department of Psychology, University of Chicago Chicago, IL, USA
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105
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Chang H, Beilock SL. The math anxiety-math performance link and its relation to individual and environmental factors: a review of current behavioral and psychophysiological research. Curr Opin Behav Sci 2016. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cobeha.2016.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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106
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Stoet G, Bailey DH, Moore AM, Geary DC. Countries with Higher Levels of Gender Equality Show Larger National Sex Differences in Mathematics Anxiety and Relatively Lower Parental Mathematics Valuation for Girls. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0153857. [PMID: 27100631 PMCID: PMC4839696 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0153857] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2015] [Accepted: 04/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite international advancements in gender equality across a variety of societal domains, the underrepresentation of girls and women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) related fields persists. In this study, we explored the possibility that the sex difference in mathematics anxiety contributes to this disparity. More specifically, we tested a number of predictions from the prominent gender stratification model, which is the leading psychological theory of cross-national patterns of sex differences in mathematics anxiety and performance. To this end, we analyzed data from 761,655 15-year old students across 68 nations who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Most importantly and contra predictions, we showed that economically developed and more gender equal countries have a lower overall level of mathematics anxiety, and yet a larger national sex difference in mathematics anxiety relative to less developed countries. Further, although relatively more mothers work in STEM fields in more developed countries, these parents valued, on average, mathematical competence more in their sons than their daughters. The proportion of mothers working in STEM was unrelated to sex differences in mathematics anxiety or performance. We propose that the gender stratification model fails to account for these national patterns and that an alternative model is needed. In the discussion, we suggest how an interaction between socio-cultural values and sex-specific psychological traits can better explain these patterns. We also discuss implications for policies aiming to increase girls' STEM participation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gijsbert Stoet
- School of Education, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom
| | - Drew H Bailey
- School of Education, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States of America
| | - Alex M Moore
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States of America
| | - David C Geary
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States of America
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107
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Wang JJ, Odic D, Halberda J, Feigenson L. Changing the precision of preschoolers' approximate number system representations changes their symbolic math performance. J Exp Child Psychol 2016; 147:82-99. [PMID: 27061668 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2016.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2015] [Revised: 01/31/2016] [Accepted: 03/07/2016] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
From early in life, humans have access to an approximate number system (ANS) that supports an intuitive sense of numerical quantity. Previous work in both children and adults suggests that individual differences in the precision of ANS representations correlate with symbolic math performance. However, this work has been almost entirely correlational in nature. Here we tested for a causal link between ANS precision and symbolic math performance by asking whether a temporary modulation of ANS precision changes symbolic math performance. First, we replicated a recent finding that 5-year-old children make more precise ANS discriminations when starting with easier trials and gradually progressing to harder ones, compared with the reverse. Next, we show that this brief modulation of ANS precision influenced children's performance on a subsequent symbolic math task but not a vocabulary task. In a supplemental experiment, we present evidence that children who performed ANS discriminations in a random trial order showed intermediate performance on both the ANS task and the symbolic math task, compared with children who made ordered discriminations. Thus, our results point to a specific causal link from the ANS to symbolic math performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinjing Jenny Wang
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
| | - Darko Odic
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Justin Halberda
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
| | - Lisa Feigenson
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA
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108
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Escovar E, Rosenberg-Lee M, Uddin LQ, Menon V. The Empathizing-Systemizing Theory, Social Abilities, and Mathematical Achievement in Children. Sci Rep 2016; 6:23011. [PMID: 26972835 PMCID: PMC4789644 DOI: 10.1038/srep23011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2015] [Accepted: 02/16/2016] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The Empathizing-Systemizing (E-S) theory describes a profile of traits that have been linked to autism spectrum disorders, and are thought to encompass a continuum that includes typically developing (TD) individuals. Although systemizing is hypothesized to be related to mathematical abilities, empirical support for this relationship is lacking. We examine the link between empathizing and systemizing tendencies and mathematical achievement in 112 TD children (57 girls) to elucidate how socio-cognitive constructs influence early development of mathematical skills. Assessment of mathematical achievement included standardized tests designed to examine calculation skills and conceptual mathematical reasoning. Empathizing and systemizing were assessed using the Combined Empathy Quotient-Child (EQ-C) and Systemizing Quotient-Child (SQ-C). Contrary to our hypothesis, we found that mathematical achievement was not related to systemizing or the discrepancy between systemizing and empathizing. Surprisingly, children with higher empathy demonstrated lower calculation skills. Further analysis using the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) revealed that the relationship between EQ-C and mathematical achievement was mediated by social ability rather than autistic behaviors. Finally, social awareness was found to play a differential role in mediating the relationship between EQ-C and mathematical achievement in girls. These results identify empathy, and social skills more generally, as previously unknown predictors of mathematical achievement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Escovar
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Stanford University, Stanford, CA USA
| | - Miriam Rosenberg-Lee
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Stanford University, Stanford, CA USA
| | - Lucina Q Uddin
- Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL USA
| | - Vinod Menon
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences Stanford University, Stanford, CA USA
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109
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Berkowitz T, Schaeffer MW, Rozek CS, Maloney EA, Levine SC, Beilock SL. Response to Comment on “Math at home adds up to achievement in school”. Science 2016; 351:1161. [DOI: 10.1126/science.aad8555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2015] [Accepted: 01/21/2016] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Frank presents an alternative interpretation of our data, yet reports largely similar results to those in our original Report. A critical difference centers on how to interpret and test interaction effects. Frank finds no mistakes in our analyses. We stand by our original conclusions of meaningful effects of the Bedtime Learning Together (BLT) math app on children’s math achievement.
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110
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Maloney EA, Converse BA, Gibbs CR, Levine SC, Beilock SL. Jump-Starting Early Childhood Education at Home. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2015; 10:727-32. [DOI: 10.1177/1745691615607064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
By the time children begin formal schooling, their experiences at home have already contributed to large variations in their math and language development, and once school begins, academic achievement continues to depend strongly on influences outside of school. It is thus essential that educational reform strategies involve primary caregivers. Specifically, programs and policies should promote and support aspects of caregiver–child interaction that have been empirically demonstrated to boost early learning and should seek to impede “motivational sinkholes” that threaten to undermine caregivers’ desires to engage their children effectively. This article draws on cognitive and behavioral science to detail simple, low-cost, and effective tools caregivers can employ to prepare their children for educational success and then describes conditions that can protect and facilitate caregivers’ motivation to use those tools. Policy recommendations throughout focus on using existing infrastructure to more deeply engage caregivers in effective early childhood education at home.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Benjamin A. Converse
- University of Virginia, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
- University of Virginia, Department of Psychology
| | - Chloe R. Gibbs
- University of Virginia, Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy
- University of Virginia, Curry School of Education
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111
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Casad BJ, Hale P, Wachs FL. Parent-child math anxiety and math-gender stereotypes predict adolescents' math education outcomes. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1597. [PMID: 26579000 PMCID: PMC4630312 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2015] [Accepted: 10/02/2015] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Two studies examined social determinants of adolescents' math anxiety including parents' own math anxiety and children's endorsement of math-gender stereotypes. In Study 1, parent-child dyads were surveyed and the interaction between parent and child math anxiety was examined, with an eye to same- and other-gender dyads. Results indicate that parent's math anxiety interacts with daughters' and sons' anxiety to predict math self-efficacy, GPA, behavioral intentions, math attitudes, and math devaluing. Parents with lower math anxiety showed a positive relationship to children's math outcomes when children also had lower anxiety. The strongest relationships were found with same-gender dyads, particularly Mother-Daughter dyads. Study 2 showed that endorsement of math-gender stereotypes predicts math anxiety (and not vice versa) for performance beliefs and outcomes (self-efficacy and GPA). Further, math anxiety fully mediated the relationship between gender stereotypes and math self-efficacy for girls and boys, and for boys with GPA. These findings address gaps in the literature on the role of parents' math anxiety in the effects of children's math anxiety and math anxiety as a mechanism affecting performance. Results have implications for interventions on parents' math anxiety and dispelling gender stereotypes in math classrooms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bettina J. Casad
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri-St. LouisSt. Louis, MO, USA
| | - Patricia Hale
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, California State Polytechnic University, PomonaPomona, CA, USA
| | - Faye L. Wachs
- Department of Mathematics and Statistics, California State Polytechnic University, PomonaPomona, CA, USA
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112
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Berkowitz T, Schaeffer MW, Maloney EA, Peterson L, Gregor C, Levine SC, Beilock SL. Math at home adds up to achievement in school. Science 2015; 350:196-8. [PMID: 26450209 DOI: 10.1126/science.aac7427] [Citation(s) in RCA: 236] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
With a randomized field experiment of 587 first-graders, we tested an educational intervention designed to promote interactions between children and parents relating to math. We predicted that increasing math activities at home would increase children's math achievement at school. We tested this prediction by having children engage in math story time with their parents. The intervention, short numerical story problems delivered through an iPad app, significantly increased children's math achievement across the school year compared to a reading (control) group, especially for children whose parents are habitually anxious about math. Brief, high-quality parent-child interactions about math at home help break the intergenerational cycle of low math achievement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Talia Berkowitz
- University of Chicago, Department of Psychology, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | | | - Erin A Maloney
- University of Chicago, Department of Psychology, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Lori Peterson
- University of Chicago, Department of Psychology, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Courtney Gregor
- University of Chicago, Department of Psychology, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Susan C Levine
- University of Chicago, Department of Psychology, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
| | - Sian L Beilock
- University of Chicago, Department of Psychology, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
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113
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Abstract
The United States is currently not producing enough graduates in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields to meet the demands of a technology-dependent society. Although there are many efforts in place to improve STEM education in the United States, most notably, President Obama’s Educate to Innovate campaign, these efforts focus mostly on innovating the teaching of math content and less on the role of affective factors in math achievement. Here we discuss a phenomenon known as math anxiety (i.e., negative feelings of tension and fear that many people experience when engaging in math) and the implications math anxiety carries for math success and STEM engagement. We begin by highlighting the most recent findings from research in psychology, education, and neuroscience on math anxiety. We then discuss the consequences of math anxiety as well as likely causes and promising remediations. We suggest that the initiatives currently underway to improve STEM involvement and achievement would benefit from educating current and future teachers, parents, and even students about math anxiety, its causes, consequences, and possibilities for amelioration.
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114
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Ramirez G, Chang H, Maloney EA, Levine SC, Beilock SL. On the relationship between math anxiety and math achievement in early elementary school: The role of problem solving strategies. J Exp Child Psychol 2015; 141:83-100. [PMID: 26342473 DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2015.07.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 95] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2015] [Revised: 07/20/2015] [Accepted: 07/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Even at young ages, children self-report experiencing math anxiety, which negatively relates to their math achievement. Leveraging a large dataset of first and second grade students' math achievement scores, math problem solving strategies, and math attitudes, we explored the possibility that children's math anxiety (i.e., a fear or apprehension about math) negatively relates to their use of more advanced problem solving strategies, which in turn relates to their math achievement. Our results confirm our hypothesis and, moreover, demonstrate that the relation between math anxiety and math problem solving strategies is strongest in children with the highest working memory capacity. Ironically, children who have the highest cognitive capacity avoid using advanced problem solving strategies when they are high in math anxiety and, as a result, underperform in math compared with their lower working memory peers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerardo Ramirez
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Human Development and Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Hyesang Chang
- Department of Psychology and Committee on Education, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Erin A Maloney
- Department of Psychology and Committee on Education, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Susan C Levine
- Department of Psychology and Committee on Education, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA; Department of Human Development, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
| | - Sian L Beilock
- Department of Psychology and Committee on Education, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
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