Pigeons’ memory for empty time intervals marked by visual or auditory stimuli

In Experiment 1, pigeons were trained to discriminate the duration (2 or 8 sec) of an empty interval separated by two 1325-Hz tone markers by responding to red and green comparison stimuli. During delay testing, a choose-short bias occurred at 1 sec, but a robust choose-long bias occurred at 9 sec. Responding in the absence of tone markers indicated that the pigeons were attending to the markers and not simply timing the total trial duration. The birds were then trained to match short (2-sec) or long (8-sec) empty intervals marked by light to blue/yellow comparisons. For both visual and auditory markers, delay testing produced a choose-short bias at 1 sec and a choose-long bias at 9 sec. In Experiment 2, the pigeons were shifted from a fixed to variable intertrial intervals (ITI) within sessions. On trials with tone markers, the duration of both the empty interval and the preceding ITI affected choice responding. On trials with light markers, only the duration of the empty interval influenced choice responding. Subsequent delay testing in the context of variable ITIs replicated the memory biases previously obtained. In Experiment 3, performance was assessed at various delay intervals on trials in which either the first or the second marker was omitted. The data from these omission tests indicated that the first marker initiated timing but that the second marker sometimes initiated the timing of a new interval. Explanations of these effects in terms of the internal clock model of timing are discussed, and a simple quantitative model of the delay interval data is tested.     

Teaching Chronobiology and Sleep Habits in School and University

ABSTRACT— Early morning school schedules are in the opposite direction to the sleep–wake cycle in adolescence and early adulthood. This conflict leads to sleep deprivation and irregular patterns whose consequences are scarcely explored. This article discusses the effects of three educational experiences with high school students, parents, teachers, and medical students. The first experience was developed with high school students in Natal, Brazil, to determine whether sleep habits would improve with increased awareness. Positive effects were observed in some aspects of sleep knowledge and practices. In the second experience in Atlanta, GA, sleep education activities were presented to middle and high school teachers, parents, and students to emphasize the importance of sleep. In the third program in Murcia, Spain, undergraduate medical students were introduced to chronobiology of sleep by a practical exercise that pointed out to what extent they shared most of adolescent sleep characteristics. Educational chronobiological experiences about sleep are essential to develop healthy sleep habits in the general population, particularly in students.     

A study of digital curator competences: A survey of experts

Abstract

The aim of this research was to define competences for digital curators, and to validate a Delphi process in the context of Library, Archives, Museum curriculum development. The objective for the study was to obtain consensus regarding competence statements for Library, Archives and Museum digital curators.

The Delphi method, a research technique, typically used to develop a consensus of opinion for topic areas in which there is little previously documented knowledge, was used in specifying the digital curator competences in LAM context. Three rounds of questionnaires with controlled feedback with space for comments and/or suggestions were sent to panel members. Five point Likert scale was employed in the questionnaire. Consensus was determined when a competence statement received a mode higher than 3, an average mean more than 3.5, and a standard deviation smaller than 1.0.

Response rates for rounds I, II and III were: 70% (n = 16), 87.5% (n = 14), and 94% (n = 15) respectively. Of the 18 digital curator competences listed in the first round questionnaire, 13 (70%) achieved consensus as being necessary digital curator competences required of advanced level digital curator. Other inputs of respondents like comments and suggestions were also analyzed. An additional 23 digital curator competence statements were also suggested by the panel in round I and further developed in subsequent rounds. In round II, 12 (30%) competence statements achieved consensus. The final round and editing of competence statements led to 20 statements that describe what a well-prepared digital curator trained to participate in digital curation work should be able to do.     

Easing access for lifelong learners: a comparison of European models for university lifelong learning

Easing access to higher education (HE) for those engaging in lifelong learning has been a common policy objective across the European Union since the late 1990s. To reach this goal, the transition between vocational and academic routes must be simplified, but European countries are at different developmental stages. This article maps the development in Denmark, Finland, Germany and England using a case study approach deploying data triangulation from a national and institutional perspective. It explores the extent/commonality of structural factors for easing access for students engaging in lifelong learning. The cases are at widely different stages, but the following factors were considered essential in all countries for opening universities: the establishment of transition paths from secondary education and working life into HE and links between HE, businesses and adult education from a national perspective and the recognition of all forms of learning, the flexibilization of study formats and the design of a curriculum that suits all from an institutional perspective.     

Young children's reasoning about many-to-one correspondences

Young children's understanding of many-to-one correspondence problems was studied to illuminate the developmental transition from additive to multiplicative numerical knowledge. A many-to-one correspondence exists when a fixed number of target objects (greater than 1) is associated with each of a set of referents, as in putting 3 flowers in each of several vases. Two experiments examined effects of a brief training procedure that highlighted the iterative nature of many-to-one mappings. In Experiment 1, 5- and 6-year-old children did not benefit from the training, but a subset of 7-year-olds did. In Experiment 2, 7-year-olds showed training effects that extended to generalization problems. Patterns of performance across experimental and generalization problems suggested that some children had difficulty applying what they learned from training to the experimental problems.     

我国国际职业足球运动员合同违约纠纷解决关涉的主要法律问题 ——以巴里奥斯案为例

近年来,国内频发的国际职业足球运动员合同违约纠纷已成为社会各界关注的热点问题。许多国内俱乐部在国际球员合同违约纠纷中败诉 或赔偿,巴里奥斯案是国内俱乐部第1次在国际球员合同违约纠纷中获胜并得到高额赔偿的案件。通过巴里奥斯案对国际球员合同违约纠纷所涉 及的争议管辖、法律适用、赔偿及裁决的执行等问题进行分析,国际足球职业球员合同违约纠纷受国际足联或国际体育仲裁院管辖;国际足联、国际 体育仲裁院的相关规则和判例都是处理此类纠纷的重要依据;国际足联、国际体育仲裁院对国际球员合同违约赔偿计算有明确的规定,也在判例中 形成了一定的计算原则,并阐述了赔偿金额计算的影响因素;职业足球已形成强大的行业体系,一般来说,国际足联、国际体育仲裁院决定都能得到 很好的执行。因此,国内的国际足球运动员合同违约纠纷一般向国际足联或国际体育仲裁院申诉,掌握和充分运用国际足联和国际体育仲裁院的 规则及判例是国内足球俱乐部解决国际球员合同违约纠纷的关键。赔偿的计算除了需要掌握相关规则及判例外,还要了解赔偿金额的影响因素, 对于国际足联、国际体育仲裁院的决定在国内的执行则无须疑虑。此外,遵守相关法律和规则,并及时有效地处理纠纷也是国内俱乐部在处理合同 违约争议中有效维护自身权益的重要方面。     

Der Einfluss von Bildungs- und Wirtschaftspolitik auf den Ertrag des Hochschulstudiums in 21 OECD-Ländern

Returns to Higher Education in 21 OECD Countries: The impact of economic and university policies. – We present new estimates of the private internal rate of return (IRR) to Higher Education (HE) in 21 OECD countries. In 2001 the IRR varied considerably across countries, ranging from 4 percent for women in Italy (5 percent for men in Spain) to 14 percent in Ireland. IRR are relatively homogeneous across gender. At 6¼ percent the IRR for Germany falls short of the OECD average (8½ percent). The largest contributor to benefits from HE is the educational wage premium; the largest contributor to costs is foregone income while studying. Cross-country differences in IRR are driven by differences in the wage premium (27 percent in Spain versus 91 percent in Hungary and the United States), in the duration of HE, the marginal tax rate, and direct costs of HE. We then simulate the effect of policy reforms on the IRR. An increase in tuition fees equivalent to 15 percent of average national income would reduce the IRR by 0.8 to 1.6 percentage points (Germany: 1.1 percent). Shortening the duration of studies by 10 percent and reducing the progressiveness of the income tax schedule would compensate for the fall in the IRR.     

Utility of icteric index in clinical laboratories: more than a preanalytical indicator

IntroductionTotal bilirubin tests are highly demanded in clinical laboratories. Since icteric index (I-index) has zero cost, we aimed to evaluate its clinical utility and cost-effectiveness to determine if total bilirubin is necessary to be tested. We took into account if haemolysis could interfere to icteric index determination.Material and methodsRetrospectively we reviewed I-index results in two cohorts (43,372 and 8507 non-haemolysed and haemolysed samples, respectively). All determinations were done using Alinity c chemistry analysers (Abbott Diagnostics). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the optimal index cut-off to discriminate between normal and abnormal bilirubin concentration (20.5 µmol/L).ResultsThe ROC curve analysis suggested 21.4 µmol/L as the optimal I-index cut-off but differences in sensitivity and specificity were detected between patient derivation. For rejecting purpose, 15.4 µmol/L and 17.1 µmol/L I-index thresholds were selected based on patient derivation (inpatients and emergency room; and primary care and outpatients, respectively) with 97% sensitivity and 0.25% false negative results. Sensitivity was much lower in haemolysed samples. We selected 34.2 µmol/L I-index as threshold to detect hyperbilirubinemia with 99.7% specificity and 0.26% false positive results, independent of haemolysis. With the icteric index cut-offs proposed, we would save 66% of total bilirubin requested and analyse total bilirubin in around 2% of samples without total bilirubin requested.ConclusionsThis study supports the use of I-index to avoid bilirubin determination and to identify patients with hyperbilirubinemia. This work considers that the economic and test savings could help to increase the efficiency in clinical laboratories.     

Drawing for others: influence of referential intention in early production of drawings / Dibujar para otros: influencia de la intencionalidad referencial en la producción temprana de dibujos

This study examines if and how the presence of an adult as a receptive agent of children’s drawings has an effect on the early production of pictorial symbols by emphasizing the children’s referential intention as drawers. To this end, we compared three-year-old children’s representational drawings with a model in four experimental conditions, three conditions with an adult as a receptive agent and one condition without a receiver. In the conditions with a receiver (Linguistic Feedback, Graphic Demonstration and Graphic Product) children were explicitly asked to draw for an adult, who had to use the children’s pictures to find hidden objects in identical boxes; the conditions differed in the adult’s actions with non-representational drawings. The results indicate that the presence of the receiver had an impact on representational production only when the adult demonstrated how to create the drawings with the intent of communicating the identity of the objects (Graphic Demonstration). Although drawing is typically viewed as a solitary activity, these results suggest that representational drawings may emerge in communicative contexts between drawers and receivers.