Ambivalence and the politics of knowledge: The struggle for change in German higher education

This article argues (a) that universities are profoundly ambivalent institutions; (b) that this ambivalence explains a great deal about their behavior that would otherwise remain inexplicable; (c) that one of the most striking manifestations of this ambivalence can be found in universities’ attitudes towards change; and (d) that this ambivalence has its roots in a fundamental tension in modern society about the university’s purposes. There is good reason to believe that this set of observations holds true for universities everywhere, albeit to different degrees and in different ways. As a case in point, this article focuses on the process of change (and non-change) in German higher education over the past ten years.     

What's wrong? Understanding beginners' problems with Prolog

This paper reviews psychological research on programming and applies it to the problems of learning and teaching Prolog. We present a psychological model that explains how a certain class of errors in programs comes about. The model fits quite well with the results of a small sample of students and problems. The problems that underlie these and other errors seem to be (a) the complexity of the Prolog primitives (unification and backtracking) and (b) the misfit between students' naive solutions to a problem and the constructs that are available in Prolog (e.g. iterative solutions do not map easily to recursive programs). This suggests that learning Prolog could be helped by (1) coherent and detailed instruction about how Prolog works, (2) emphasis on finding recursive solutions that do not rely on primitives such as assignment and (3) instruction in programming techniques that allow students to implement procedural solutions.     

A subgroup analysis of working memory in children with reading disabilities: domain-general or domain-specific deficiency?

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether changes in working memory (WM) of children with reading disabilities (RD) were related to a domain-specific or a domain-general system. Based on Daneman and Carpenter's (1980) Sentence Listening Span task, children were subgrouped into a group of high executive processing (high listening span) children without RD, a group of low executive processing (low listening span) children with RD, and a group of children with and without RD matched on executive processing (moderate listening span). Subgroups were compared on phonological, visual-spatial, and semantic WM tasks across initial (no probes or cues), gain (cues that bring performance to an asymptotic level), and maintenance conditions (asymptotic conditions without cues). The results showed that (a) children without RD high in executive processing ability outperformed all other subgroups, (b) the RD subgroup low in executive processing performed poorly relative to all other subgroups across task and memory conditions, (c) children with and without RD matched on executive processing were comparable in WM span and changes in WM for all tasks, and (d) WM performance of children with RD was a strong linear function of the high executive processing group, suggesting that the nature or the specific componential makeup of the tasks are not the main contributors to WM performance. Taken together, the results suggest that a domain-general system may partially contribute to poor WM in children with RD, and that this system may operate independently of their reading deficits.     

非游荡集Ω与混沌子集

本文构造了一个Ω(f)≠Ω(f2 ) ,但Ω(f2 ) =Ω(f2× 2 )的动力系统 ,并证明了映射f2 在非游荡集Ω(f2 )上有混沌子集 .从而得到一个推论 ,如果彐l∈ 1N ,使得Ω(fl) =Ω(f2l) ,就能在动力系统的研究中 ,克服由于Ω(f)≠Ω(f2 ) ,所带来的棘手问题     

Student Team Reading and Writing: A Cooperative Learning Approach to Middle School Literacy Instruction

The goal of this project was to create a middle school literacy program that was more responsive to the needs and abilities of early adolescents in urban middle schools. The program components included: (a) cooperative learning classroom processes; (b) a literature anthology for high interest reading material; (c) explicit instruction in reading comprehension; (e) integrated reading, writing, and language arts instruction; and (f) a writing process approach to language arts. The study was conducted in 5 schools in a large urban school district, 2 implementing Student Team Reading and Writing (STRW) and 3 comparison schools. The results indicated that the students in STRW had significantly higher achievement in reading vocabulary, reading comprehension, and language expression. The results suggest that a multifaceted approach to restructuring can effectively improve the achievement of students in urban middle schools.     

关于亚纯函数不动点和微分方程亚纯解几个结果的推广

设ｆ为超越亚纯函数，Ｒ（ｚ）为有理函数，Ｆ．Ｇｒｏｓｓ和Ｃ．ＣＹａｎｇ在［１］中猜测：当Ｒ（ｚ）分子，分母最高次数≥３时，Ｒ（ｆ）有无穷个不动点，并指出附加上条件Ｎ（ｒ，ｆ）＝Ｓ（ｒ，ｆ）时结论是成立的．Ｃ．Ｃ，Ｙａｎｇ在［２］中附加条件Ｎ（ｒ，ｆ）＝Ｓ（ｒ，ｆ）后证明了这一结论的正确性，本文减弱了这一附加条件。本文还改进了Ｃ．Ｃ．Ｙａｎｇ的另些结果和Ｇ．Ｐ．Ｂａｒｋｅｒ，Ａ．Ｐ．Ｓｉｎｇｈ关于微分方程亚纯解的两个结果．     

Self-punitive responding in rats with goal shock and color change

After acquisition avoidance training, rats were assigned on the basis of matched run speed to the following groups: (1) maintenance of avoidance training, (2) extinction procedures with the addition of a brief shock in the goalbox, and (3) regular extinction procedures. Each group was further divided into two minor groups which experienced either change or no change in goalbox color. The results indicated : (1) that self-punitive responding was increased by goal shock, (2) that self-punitive responding was reduced by goalbox color change, and (3) that generalization of goal shock to the startbox and runway areas is a factor in self-punitive responding.     

Immunization to learned helplessness in appetitive noncontingent contexts

We examined immunization against learned helplessness in 36 dogs. The experiment consisted of five phases: (1) appetitive contingent training, (2) immunization training, (3) inescapable noise training, (4) recovery, and (5) an appetitive noncontingent test. There were six groups: (1) a group immunized by controllable and predictable noise, (2) a group immunized by controllable but unpredictable noise, (3) a group immunized by uncontrollable but predictable noise, (4) a group given uncontrollable and unpredictable noise during immunization training, (5) a group not submitted to any treatment during the immunization phase, followed by uncontrollable noise, and (6) a group not submitted to any treatment. The immunization effect was assessed by measuring the acquisition of an appetitive response when food was not contingent upon responding. Our results demonstrate that the immunization effect can be observed in a noncontingent appetitive context. The effects of escapable noises that ensure immunization against the motivational deficit and predictable noises that immunize against the associative deficit seem to be additive.     

A Review of Two Mainline E-Learning Projects in the European Union

This was a survey of the literature regarding the use ofe-learning in two mainline e-learning projects in the European Union: (a) the e-Learning Action Plan and (b) the e-Learning Program. I found evidence that the European Commission (EC) has positively affected European countries that have participated in these projects by (a) providing necessary infrastructures and equipment, (b) implementing teacher training, (c) delivering useful content and services, (d) encouraging cooperation and networking; (e) promoting digital literacy, (f) launching European virtual campuses, and (g) supporting the use of the World Wide Web (WWW) for “e-Twinning” primary and secondary schools. By Huseyin Uzunboylu     

The Relative Merits of Different Types of Overall Evaluations of Teaching Effectiveness

An unresolved issue in student evaluations of teaching effectiveness (SETE) literature is what type of overall evaluation of teaching effectiveness should be used in personnel decisions. The objective of this study is to compare the merits of: (a) an overall evaluation made by students, (b) a weighted average overall evaluation with the weights determined by students, (c) a weighted average overall evaluation with the weights being determined by the individual instructors teaching their respective classes, (d) an unweighted average overall evaluation, and (e) a second-order factor that proxies for an overall evaluation. Our results indicate that: (a) all of these overall evaluations were very highly intercorrelated, (b) the unweighted and weighted average overall evaluations measured virtually the same thing, and (c) the second-order factor that served as an overall evaluation was most highly correlated with the other overall evaluations and had the advantage of being most understandable to the faculty.     

Motivational vulnerability as a challenge for educational interventions

The focus of this study was on the question, `Are there differences among young (third grade) students who are poor learners in their metacognitive (in)competence and motivational vulnerability that are crucial for better self-regulation?’ This question was studied in an intervention context, where an effort was made to mindfully implement teaching methods that have been found to be effective in promoting strategic learning. The subjects were reading comprehension (in environmental science) and mathematical problem solving. The results suggest there is a need for more coordinated, long-term analyses of transactional, strategy-focused instruction that (a) extends over a long period of time, (b) moves from innovative to more conventional settings as students’ cognitive and motivational competence increases, (c) is based on students’ own, personal and meaningful experiences and competencies, and (d) moves from individual to collaborative, shared and multiple transaction. There also is a need to train students in the use of cognitive and metacognitive strategies, emotional coping, and motivation strategies that promote self-regulation.     

Classical conditioning of jaw movements in the pigeon: Acquisition and response topography

Previous studies have shown (1) that the form of the pigeon’s conditioned keypecking response resembles that of its ingestive pecking response, (2) that both ingestive and conditioned pecking in the pigeon are compound responses, including both transport (neck-movement) and gape (jaw-movement) components, and (3) that during operant conditioning or autoshaping of pecking behavior, the gape component comes under the associative control of the CS. In the present study, the gape component was experimentally isolated and a classical conditioning paradigm (water US) was used to bring jaw movements under the control of a CS (light). The results indicate that the topography of the jaw-movement CR is very similar to, though more variable than, that of the UR. They are consistent with the hypothesis that reported similarities in the form of ingestive and conditioned pecking responses reflect, in part, classical conditioning of the gape component.     

Developing Principals to be Effective Leaders

Issues about leaders arise periodically in societies; currently they seem to be particularly salient (Clark and Clark, 1990, p1). Many scholars and policy-makers believe that leadership represents an important means for understanding and improving organisations such as schools. For example, Thomas (1988) and Day and Lord (1988) present compelling evidence that individual leaders do make a difference in organisational effectiveness. Similarly, in educational settings, Roberts (1985) concludes that leadership has a substantial impact on school organisations. In particular, the effective schools movement in the United States during the early 1980s gave great credence to the speculation that principals are the key to school performance. Leading scholars, eg Sergiovanni (1981) and Clark, Lotto, and McCarthy (1980), essentially endorsed this generalisation. Immegart (1988) was a little more cautious, but opined that leadership and leader behaviour can make a difference.     

对佛教体验的再思考:皈依与神迹--佛教体验的"家族相似性"特征

佛教中的体验与“家庭相似性”关联何在,为之辩护的论题包括两部分：（1）与其他方式相比,把皈依概念和神迹概念纳入体验概念可以使我们对佛教体验形成一种更为恰当的观点,而这一观点能够表明佛教的宣称与科学的经验主义的宣称之间的区别（前提1-10）;（2）关于界定体验之所是的“家族相似性”理念,本文结论是,皈依与神迹是对佛教中的体验所作出的非实在论的“家族相似性”定义中的两个要素（前提11-13）.     

When screens replace backyards: strategies to connect digital-media-oriented young people to nature

Abstract

Children’s connection to nature (CTN) is declining with each generation, a concerning trend given that CTN is positively linked to wellbeing and environmentalism. A primary cause of this decline is that twenty-first-century youth engage with screens for several hours each day, which to a large extent replaces nature-based play. Researchers have proposed that this change represents a transition in human orientation, particularly in Westernized societies, from nature (biophilia) to digital media (videophilia). Interventions promoting nature-based play must acknowledge digital-media use as a competing leisure pursuit, but the literature presents little guidance for designing programs that will attract young people who are more oriented toward digital media than nature. Drawing on a wide breadth of research, we address this gap through (1) exploring the implications of videophilia for nature-based programming and (2) summarizing recommendations from a narrative literature review for designing interventions that appeal to digital-media-oriented youth.     

What if privatising higher education becomes an issue? The case of Chile and Mexico

Over the last 30 years, Chile and Mexico have been implementing neoliberal policies to reform their higher education systems. This report compares the development and impact of those policies within three main areas in both countries, namely: (1) trends and characteristics of the growing private higher education sector, (2) commercialisation and business-like trends that private academia is experiencing and, finally, (3) it discusses how all this has created tensioning situations with assessment and accrediting agencies to ensure quality in their private higher education systems. This study shows that private higher education is facing the following challenges in both nations: (1) an uncritical implementation of neoliberal policies, (2) that there is a very unregulated legislation that has allowed many private institutions to profit within loopholes in the law, (3) that quality has become a central concern and some of the mechanisms applied to correct it have not been effective, showing a lack of a comprehensive system of quality assessment, and (4) that enrolment has grown but with several mismatches that challenge the initial goal of advancing economic development through human resources capacities. Alternative policies are discussed.     

Conceptual coherence,comprehension, and vocabulary acquisition: A knowledge effect?

Previous research has documented the role of readers’ existing topic knowledge in supporting students’ comprehension of text; yet, we know less about how to build students’ knowledge in order to support comprehension and vocabulary learning. In the current study, we test the hypothesis that knowledge can be built and leveraged simultaneously in the interest of students’ literacy development through the use of conceptually coherent text sets. Fourth grade students (N = 59) were randomly assigned to read either a set of six informational texts that cohered around a set of concepts related to the topic birds (CC texts) or a set of texts that addressed a range of topics (NCC group texts). After reading, we assessed students’: (1) knowledge of the concepts in the conceptually coherent text set, (2) knowledge of target concept-related words that appeared in their respective text sets, (3) knowledge of general academic words that appeared in both texts sets, (4) comprehension of a novel text on a related topic, and (5) interest in the topic of the conceptually coherent texts. Results revealed that students who read the conceptually coherent texts demonstrated more knowledge of the concepts in their texts, more knowledge of the target words in their texts, and had better recall of the novel text compared to students who read unrelated texts. Findings suggest that there is potential for knowledge and vocabulary to be built during English language arts through a focus on conceptual coherence in the design of reading experiences for students.     

How to study a matrix

This study investigated how best to study a matrix. Fifty-three participants studied a matrix topically (1 column at a time), categorically (1 row at a time), or in a unified way (all at once). Results revealed that categorical and unified study produced higher: (a) performance on relationship and fact tests, (b) study material satisfaction, and (c) associative strategy use than topical study. A supplemental study examined the benefits of adding signals to the unified matrix. Results showed that signaling produced greater use of global associative strategies and greater learning of global relationships. Findings were explained with respect to cognitive load theory. Implications for studying matrices were as follows: (1) do not just study a matrix topically, (2) study a matrix categorically, and (3) study a matrix in a unified way, but do so in a way that fosters comparative associations across multiple topics and categories.