Integrating mind and brain: Warren S. McCulloch,cerebral localization,and experimental epistemology

Recently, historians have focused on Warren S. McCulloch's role in the cybernetics movement during the 1940s and 1950s, and his contributions to the development of computer science and communication theory. What has received less attention is McCulloch's early work in neurophysiology, and its relationship to his philosophical quest for an 'experimental epistemology' - a physiological theory of knowledge. McCulloch's early laboratory work during the 1930s addressed the problem of cerebral localization: localizing aspects of behaviour in the cerebral cortex of the brain. Most of this research was done with the Dutch neurophysiologist J.G. Dusser de Barenne at Yale University. The connection between McCulloch's philosophical interests and his experimental work can be expressed as a search for a physiological a priori, an integrated mechanism of sensation.     

Interference of anti-T3 autoantibodies in the measurement of total and free T3 in serum

A case of anti-trilodothyronine autoantibodies is presented in this report. The thyroid hormone profile of a hypertensive patient, with multinodular goiter and history of exogenous thyroid hormone therapy, was found to be highly ambiguous. The total as well as free T3 levels were consistently high (out of range) whereas the T4 (total and free) values were always within normal limits. The thyrotropin was found to be partially suppressed. Very low T3-Uptake indicated some kind of interference in the immunoassays. We incubated the sera with the radio-iodine labelled T3 and observed that the patient's serum bound about ten times more radioactivity than a control run in parallel. On further resolving the serum proteins on cellulose acetate electrophoresis, the radioactivity was detected in the γ-globulin band. Therefore it was established that the patient's serum carried the antibodies reactive with T3 which were interfering in the immunoassays. Elevated anti-thyroid microsomal antibodies were also present in the patient's serum. The anti-T3 antibodies were highly specific for T3 and did not show any cross reactivity with the T4 or its analogues used in the estimation of free T4.     

Measures of international collaboration in scientific literature: Part I

Research evaluating models of scientific productivity require coherent metrics that quantify various key relations among papers as revealed by patterns of citation. This paper focuses on the various conceptual problems inherent in measuring the degree to which papers tend to cite other papers written by authors of the same nationality. We suggest that measures can be given a degree of assurance of coherence by being based on mathematical models describing the citation process. A number of such models are developed.     

Optimal loan periods

The influence of a library's loan period on user satisfaction is a topic of considerable current interest. In this paper a model is created that is useful for studying this interaction. A policy, possibly appropriate for a reserve book room, is assumed, in which no queues form. Users not able to take out a book either give up or return. Also, the model includes the effect of a patron not being able to use a book for a sufficient length of time. This model yields equations for the value of the loan period that minimizes the number of transactions at the circulation desk consistent with a constant level of real demand. An iterative solution procedure is described and its convergence proven. Other objective functions, and in particular, the probability of a user successfully using a book, are considered.The objective of the paper is not to detail an operating procedure for circulation systems, but to continue the discussion initiated by Philip Morse about how such systems can be modelled. Morse introduces a queuing model for circulating books, but neglects to consider the impact of queue formation on the arrival rate to the system. The intention of this paper is to emphasize the necessity of introducing such considerations and to indicate how such complications can be analytically treated. The specific system modelled is a simplified one, similar to the one discussed by Bruce in a recent article published in L.Q. This model, or variants adapted to local conditions should be useful in assisting decision-making regarding circulation, but it is the modelling process rather than the management aspect that is addressed by this paper.     

Child care quality matters: how conclusions may vary with context

Three studies examined associations between early child care and child outcomes among families different from those in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Early Child Care Research Network study. Results suggest that quality is an important influence on children's development and may be an important moderator of the amount of time in care. Thus, the generalizability of the NICHD findings may hinge on the context in which those results were obtained. These studies, conducted in three national contexts, with different regulatory climates, ranges of child care quality, and a diversity of family characteristics, suggest a need for more complete estimates of how both quality and quantity of child care may influence a range of young children's developmental outcomes.     

Biology Undergraduate Students’ Graphing Practice in Digital Versus Pen and Paper Graphing Environments

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Graphing is an important practice for scientists and in K-16 science curricula. Graphs can be constructed using an array of software packages as well...     

The stratification of Israeli universities: Implications for higher education policy

Despite the growing body of literature on thestratification of the university systems in the US andthe UK, the treatment of all universities in countrieswhere the system of higher education is publiclycontrolled tends to remain monolithic. This iscertainly true of Israel, where all universities andcolleges are regulated by the Council for HigherEducation (CHE), which considers all universitiesthe ``first layer' of higher education versus the``second layer' of degree-granting colleges. We claimthat the six major Israeli universities – the fiveregular universities and the Technion – are highlystratified into three elite institutions, aiming atacademic excellence, versus three ``targetuniversities' aimed at specific or peripheralpopulations. Drawing on periodical university figurespublished by the Central Bureau of Statistics between1985–1996, we show that the growth of various academicfields and of graduate studies has been limited in thetarget universities. Subsequently, their studentcomposition differs from that of the three eliteuniversities. They have larger than expectedproportions of older students, women, and minority students (Sephardic Jews and Arabs). Threeimplications of these stratification patterns forhigher education policy in publicly controlled systemsare discussed: the extent and stability of universitystratification in these systems; the benefits andlimitations of this stratification process; and itsimpact on further developments in higher education,mainly the expansion of degree-granting colleges.     

Stock market response to changes in movies’ opening dates

How does the market react to news regarding large uncertain projects? We analyze stock market reactions to information about changes in opening dates of movies, and present two main findings. First, we find systematic negative stock price responses to the scheduling changes we consider, suggesting that any changes are interpreted as bad news by the market. Second, we find that the market reaction is greater for movies with higher production costs, but is unrelated to subsequent box office revenues. This may point to a limited ability of the market to predict the box office performance of a movie, and to increased sensitivity of the market to cost effects, which are easier to forecast.     

The relationship between affective response to social comparison and academic performance in high school

The goal of the present study was to study the relationship between affective responses to social comparison and test scores among high school students. Our analyses showed that three types of responses to social comparison could be distinguished: an empathic, constructive, and destructive response. Whereas girls scored higher on empathic response, boys scored higher on destructive response. In addition, students who had a high social comparison orientation (SCO) scored higher on all three types of responses than students who expressed a low SCO. Multilevel regression analyses indicated that, after controlling for previous performance, a destructive response was negatively related to performance on tests for reading comprehension and mathematics. An empathic response was positively related to performance on reading comprehension only whereas a constructive response compensated the negative relationship between destructive response and reading comprehension. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.