Effects of gender role and task content on performance in same-gender dyads: Transactive memory as a potential mediator

This experiment was designed to examine the effects of gender role and task content on performance in learning dyads and to test the potential mediator effect of an intragroup process related to transactive memory. A total of 44 same-gender dyads participated in the study and were asked to collaborate on a stereotypically masculine or feminine task in a laboratory setting. Collective performance and transactive memory were measured. As predicted, the results showed an interaction between group gender and task content on group performance, with male dyads showing poorer performance on a masculine task than female dyads. However, contrary to expectations, this moderation effect was not mediated by transactive memory, which appeared as a simple mediator of the relationship between group gender and performance. The results are discussed in the framework of the social role theory, and implications for future research in small learning groups are proposed.     

进行优化设置提高系统性能

本文介绍了通过对计算机内存及操作系统的优化设置来提高整个系统性能的方法。     

Effects of memory reactivation treatments on postdiscrimination generalization performance in pigeons

In Experiment 1, it was shown that generalization testing following successive discrimination training between two closely spaced wavelengths results in a sharp gradient with a peak of responding shifted from S+ so as to be further removed from S?. Testing after a 24-h delay resulted in a flatter gradient with greater peak (and area) shift. A 5-min pretest exposure to S+, reinforced or unreinforced, or to S? (unreinforced) reinstated immediate test performance; free reinforcement with no discriminative stimulus present had no such effect. Experiment 2 replicated the flattening of generalization gradients and enhanced peak shift in delayed testing. Free feeding in a pretest treatment with a distinctive food uniquely associated with the wavelength discrimination problem failed to reinstate immediate test performance. Experiment 3 tested the hypothesis that free feeding failed as a reactivation treatment because it did not engender keypecking. Subjects were trained to peck a vertical line stimulus before being given wavelength discrimination training. Again, the enhanced peak shift and greater flattening with delayed wavelength generalization testing was found. A pretest exposure to the vertical line stimulus elicited pecking but had no effect on subsequent wavelength generalization. Thus, only a reactivation treatment that included one of the discrimination training stimuli was effective in producing delayed test performance comparable to that obtained in an immediate test.     

Visuospatial working memory in adolescents with poor performance in mathematics: variation depending on reading skills

The first purpose of this study was to investigate whether the visuospatial working memory (VSWM) skills of 15–16‐year‐old pupils with difficulties in mathematics differ from those of their normally achieving peers. The goal was to broaden the view of the complex system of VSWM. A set of passive and active VSWM tasks was used. The study’s second purpose was to investigate whether pupils with mathematical difficulties differed in their VSWM skills based on whether they had signs of reading deficits or not. Results indicate that the pupils with poor performance in maths showed poorer performance on certain VSWM tasks. The group with deficits only in maths had less capacity for storing passive visual simultaneous information, while the group with difficulties both in maths and reading had deficits in both storing (passive visual and visuospatial information) and processing, and had less ability to control irrelevant visuospatial information compared to their peers of the same age. The results indicate a general VSWM deficit in pupils with both mathematics and reading problems and a specific VSWM deficit in pupils with only mathematics problems.     

Effects of goal structures and performance contingencies on the math performance of adolescents with learning disabilities

This study assessed the effects of assigned versus self-selected goals and contingent versus noncontingent gameplay conditions, delivered during computer-assisted math computation drill-and-practice sessions. Participants were 20 high school pupils with learning disabilities who had active Individualized Education Plan (IEP) goals that targeted the improvement of computational skills. Students were assigned randomly to goal conditions and, within goal conditions, to contingency groups. Math computation performance was measured pre-, mid-, and posttreatment. Analyses of variance indicated that students who selected their goals performed better than pupils with assigned goals. No differences existed between the contingency groups. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Arousal and short-term memory: Effects of caffeine and trial spacing on delayed-alternation performance

Two experiments tested the prediction of Kesner’s (1973) parallel memory-stores theory that arousal reduces retention in short-term memory. Using rats as subjects, the effect of caffeine on delayed-alternation performance in a spatial discrimination was investigated. Trial spacing was also manipulated, both alone and in combination with the drug variable. The results showed that, with massed trials, caffeine facilitated alternation at the short delay and inhibited it at the longer delays tested. Using spaced trials, caffeine decreased alternation at all delays. Spaced trials produced overall superior performance as compared with massed trials. This pattern of results is consistent with the view that caffeine reduces short-term retention but, paradoxically, can also increase performance under massed trials by decreasing proactive interference (i.e., retention) from earlier trials.     

Effects of repeated testing on short- and long-term memory performance across different test formats

This study examined whether practice testing with short-answer (SA) items benefits learning over time compared to practice testing with multiple-choice (MC) items, and rereading the material. More specifically, the aim was to test the hypotheses of retrieval effort and transfer appropriate processing by comparing retention tests with respect to practice testing format. To adequately compare SA and MC items, the MC items were corrected for random guessing. With a within-group design, 54 students (mean age = 16 years) first read a short text, and took four practice tests containing all three formats (SA, MC and statements to read) with feedback provided after each part. The results showed that both MC and SA formats improved short- and long-term memory compared to rereading. More importantly, practice testing with SA items is more beneficial for learning and long-term retention, providing support for retrieval effort hypothesis. Using corrections for guessing and educational implications are discussed.     

为硬盘"减肥瘦身"

为计算机硬盘“减肥瘦身” ,与人类减肥有异曲同工之妙 :提高整机的启动和运行速度 ,节约磁盘资源 ,减少感染病毒的机会     

基于电脑游戏设计的人工智能A^＊算法

在电脑游戏设计中经常要用到人工智能算法。人工智能A^＊算法是目前最快的一种计算最短路径的人工智能算法。本文论述了A^＊算法的基本原理,并以二维地图的寻径为例对A^＊算法进行了实例分析。     

The use of computer games as an educational tool: identification of appropriate game types and game elements

Playing games is an important part of our social and mental development. This research was initiated to identify the game type most suitable to our teaching environment and to identify game elements that students found interesting or useful within the different game types. A group of twenty students played four commercial games (SimIsle, Red Alert, Zork Nemesis and Duke Nukem 3D). Results suggest that students prefer 3D-adventure (Zork Nemesis) and strategy (Red Alert) games to the other types ("shoot-em-up", simulation) with Zork Nemesis ranked as the best. Students rated game elements such as logic, memory, visualisation and problem solving as the most important game elements. Such elements are integral to adventure games and are also required during the learning process. We present a model that links pedagogical issues with game elements. The game space contains a number of components, each encapsulates specific abstract or concrete interfaces. Understanding the relationship between educational needs and game elements will allow us to develop educational games that include visualisation and problem solving skills. Such tools could provide sufficient stimulation to engage learners in knowledge discovery, while at the same time developing new skills.     

青少年暴力观念对暴力行为的影响——案例分析报告

本文通过对三例不同家庭背景，不同社会环境下发生的典型青少年暴力事件进行分析，探求当今青少年暴力观念对其暴力行为的影响。三例事件具有如下共同特点：第一，青少年对暴力的肯定态度是导致其暴力行为的主要因素之一。而暴力观念不仅受其成长环境的影响，也受青春期本身人格上不稳定因素的影响；第二，社会暴力文化的蔓延直接影响青少年暴力观的形成，是青少年暴力行为不可忽视的社会心理背景；第三，新形势下青少年暴力行为的特点为个体暴力行为增多、暴力程度更残酷。青少年的暴力行为不仅断送自身，更危及社会安定，应该引起包括家庭、学校、社会等多方面的重视。     

Effects of intratrial stimulus change on fixed-interval performance: The roles of clock and memory processes

In two experiments, pigeons were exposed to differentially cued training trials of fixed interval (FI) 30 and 60 sec. In addition, shift trials were presented in which the cue associated with one FI value was presented for a prearranged duration at trial onset, followed by offset of that cue and presentation of the other cue. Response-contingent reinforcement was scheduled during the second cue. During the first shift phase, the FI 30-sec cue was shifted to the FI 60-sec cue; in a second phase, the order of the cue shift was reversed. Inferences about accumulator and memory functions of the internal clock were based upon behavior during both training trials and shift trials. At the end of both shift phases, test-trial FI functions generally superimposed in a manner consistent with accumulator reset on cue shift. Individual differences in clustering of functions were accommodated by variation in reference-memory storage across subjects. This interpretation was tested in Experiment 2 by constraining reference-memory storage on shift trials. These conditions yielded a decrease in between-subject variability and provided data consistent with accumulator reset and control by a single reference-memory value on shift trials.     

大学计算机基础教学内容改革探索

针对当下大学计算机基础课程教学内容存在的过于专业、过于滞后、不利于自学等问题,以学生发展为本,以信息素养培养为主线,以企业人才需求为目标,探讨能够反映信息快速变化、对学生终身学习有益的大学计算机基础教学内容的改革。     

Domain-specific knowledge and memory performance in children

Developmental studies assessing the impact of domain-specific knowledge on memory are discussed. In the first section of the review, different ways through which domain-specific knowledge relates to strategy use in memory tasks are briefly summarized. Empirical evidence indicating nonstrategic effects of the knowledge base are discussed next. In particular, findings based on the expert-novice paradigm are used to compare the knowledge structure and memory performance of experts and novices of different ages, and to explore how individual differences relate to the acquisition and use of domain-specific knowledge. The review shows that domain-specific knowledge permits children to process and remember domain-related information more efficiently, apply strategies more effectively, and integrate novel information more easily than domains for which they have less detailed knowledge. If the knowledge base is particularly rich, it exerts a greater influence than other sources of memory development (i.e., memory capacity, strategies, and metamemory) combined.     

Development of an effective educational computer game based on a mission synchronization-based peer-assistance approach

In this study, a mission synchronization-based peer-assistance approach is proposed to improve students’ learning performance in digital game-based learning activities. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, an experiment has been conducted in an elementary school natural science course to examine the participants’ learning attitudes, collaboration skills, and learning achievements. From the experimental results, it was found that the educational game with the mission synchronization-based peer-assistance mechanism not only benefited the students in terms of promoting their learning achievements and attitudes, but also improved their collaboration skills via encouraging them to actively provide assistance to their peers during the gaming process. Finally, to further investigate the factors that might affect the performance of the mission synchronization-based peer-assistance approach, the students’ learning behaviors are summarized and discussed.     

Student perceptions in the design of a computer card game for learning computer literacy issues: a case study

The aim of this work was twofold. First, an empirical study was designed aimed at investigating the perceptions that entry-level non-computing majors -namely Physical Education and Sport Science (PESS) undergraduate students- hold about basic Computer Literacy (CL) issues. The participants were 90 first-year PESS students, and their perceptions were elicited through a written questionnaire. The data analysis revealed scientifically acceptable perceptions as well as various empirical, vague, incomplete and erroneous perceptions. Second, those students’ prior knowledge was utilized to design and implement an Educational Computer Card Game (ECCG) aimed at helping PESS students overcome their conceptual difficulties and approach the aforementioned CL issues in a scientifically consistent manner. The ECCG was designed taking into account basic digital game-based learning principles in combination with basic aspects of social and constructivist perspectives to learning. The ECCG was also pilot-tested in the field with real students, and the results were encouraging.     

The impact of metamemory and domain-specific knowledge on memory performance

This paper consists of two major parts. First, research exploring possible interactions between metamemory and domain-specific knowledge in influencing children’s text recall and comprehension is briefly summarized. Overall, the findings indicate that metacognitive knowledge does make a difference even in cases where domain-specific knowledge is rich. Second, a recent experiment conducted in our lab and investigating the generalizability of this conclusion for sort-recall tasks is described in more detail. Third — and fourth-grade soccer experts and novices were first given a comprehensive metamemory questionnaire and then administered a sort-recall tasks using two different picture lists: whereas one list included items from various semantical categories (e.g., animals, clothes), the other list was composed of soccer pictures that could be classified in several categories such as players, kicks, or equipment. The results showed that although domain-specific knowledge had a strong impact on recall of the soccer list, general metacognitive knowledge made an independent contribution, particularly for the group of soccer experts. More specifically, good metamemory positively affected the recall of experts but had no impact on novices’ memory performance.     

The development of nonverbal working memory and executive control processes in adolescents

The prefrontal cortex modulates executive control processes and structurally matures throughout adolescence. Consistent with these events, prefrontal functions that demand high levels of executive control may mature later than those that require working memory but decreased control. To test this hypothesis, adolescents (9 to 20 years old) completed nonverbal working memory tasks with varying levels of executive demands. Findings suggest that recall-guided action for single units of spatial information develops until 11 to 12 years. The ability to maintain and manipulate multiple spatial units develops until 13 to 15 years. Strategic self-organization develops until ages 16 to 17 years. Recognition memory did not appear to develop over this age range. Implications for prefrontal cortex organization by level of processing are discussed.