The Effects of Augmented Levels of Stress on Reaction Time in the Peripheral Visual Field

Abstract

Eleven physically conditioned (CS) and 12 unconditioned (US) college women were tested perimetrically while being exposed to augmented levels of stress (ALS) on a bicycle ergometer; conditioning levels were determined by recovery rates of Ss. The Ss performed two tasks while riding; (a) keeping a central light lit, and (b) extinguishing peripheral lights when they were detected. All Ss reacted to a 12-min program of peripheral lights during three sessions: (a) one baseline trial in which Ss were not riding but reacting to the program, and (b) riding trials (RID) in which the Ss pedaled and reacted to the program. During RIDs the Ss pedaled a workload that was automatically altered to maintain a HR of 160 bpm. The data were organized into two groups: (a) reaction time data, and (b) missed light data (MLD). The RT data were analyzed through an ANOVA. It was concluded that: peripheral RT was not significantly affected by ALS; USs were affected more negatively than CSs; and there was not uniform narrowing of the peripheral visual field as expected in the hypothesis. Analyses of MLD resulted in a difference between sides, more lights were missed on the left than on the right: and again the USs were affected more negatively.     

Paths of effects of early childhood intervention on educational attainment and delinquency: a confirmatory analysis of the Chicago Child-Parent Centers

This study investigated the contributions of 5 mechanisms to the effects of preschool participation in the Child-Parent Centers for 1,404 low-income children in the Chicago Longitudinal Study. Based on a matched-group design, preschool participation was associated with significantly higher rates of educational attainment and lower rates of juvenile arrest. LISREL analysis revealed that the primary mediators of effects for both outcomes were attendance in high-quality elementary schools and lower mobility (school support hypothesis), literacy skills in kindergarten and avoidance of grade retention (cognitive advantage hypothesis), and parent involvement in school and avoidance of child maltreatment (family support hypothesis). The model accounted for 58% and 79% of the preschool links with school completion and juvenile arrest, respectively. The maintenance early intervention effects are influenced by many alterable factors.     

College Students' Experiences of Childhood Developmental Traumatic Stress: Resilience,First‐Year Academic Performance,and Substance Use

Developmental trauma—distressing childhood experiences that include mistreatment, interpersonal violence, abuse, assault, and neglect—is associated with substance use and poor academic performance. The authors investigated the links between developmental trauma, grade point average, substance use, and resilience among first‐year college students (N = 169). The results indicate there is a significant relationship between cumulative trauma and self‐reported substance use.     

The celluloid ceiling: women academics,social expectations,and narrative in 1940s American film

This paper examines the portrayal of women university academics in American films from the 1940s. It applies analytical tools from a critical methodology to access the socio‐cultural ideas and values attributed to the female professoriate during what is a period of great change for women in American society. This analysis reveals that the values associated with the professors are aligned with the themes of chastity, sanctuary, and sacrifice in ways which portray them as other in the profession and society. Not only does this analysis illustrate the consequences and conditions of being a woman professor during the 1940s, but it also highlights the implications of these values for today’s female professoriate.     

New assessment process in an introductory undergraduate physics laboratory: an exploration on collaborative learning

A new team learning assessment process was designed and tested in a first-year university physics laboratory class. The assessment process was designed to provide a strong incentive for students to cooperate and feel responsible for each other’s learning and fostering a sense of collaboration rather than competition. Specifically, the new assessment process involves randomly dividing students into teams of four to work on a physics experiment and, at the end of the laboratory session, randomly selecting only one team member to carry out a post-laboratory session performance task. The results indicate that learning outcomes were not compromised in the new assessment process and that peer instruction was employed to a greater extent compared to our standard process. Student responses from a post-assessment survey revealed that 76% of students considered our new assessment process to be fair, whereas 57% of students felt our standard process was fair. The new assessment process used in this study led to a 75% reduction in grading duties – an advantage for large class management.     

The Pathic Model of Disability: Identity,Moral Force and the Politics of Pain

Critics of the ‘strong social model’ of disability developed in the U.K. commonly claim that it focuses too one-sidedly on social oppression, thereby neglecting the role of individual impairment. In this theoretical article, we contrast that model with what we call the ‘pathic model’ of disability, which we characterise through the case of people living with chronic pain in the U.S.A. We argue that the difference between these two models is due to differing socio-political contexts and national policies concerning welfare and addiction as well as normative assumptions regarding the moral force of focusing on individual pain. We conclude that the political goals of proponents of the ‘pathic model’ present a challenge to the presumption that the ‘strong social model’ is the most or only politically effective way to rectify disability-related social oppression.     

CONSER: The Very Model of a Modern Cooperative Program

Abstract

The CONSER Program is the oldest component of the Program for Cooperative Cataloging (PCC) and many elements that made CONSER a success were adopted by the PCC over the past twenty-five years. This article describes how CONSER’s evolution over the years in the areas of membership, leadership, standards, training and documentation influenced the development of the PCC.     

VIOLENCE DIRECTED AGAINST TEACHERS: RESULTS FROM A NATIONAL SURVEY

Teachers in U.S. schools report high rates of victimization, yet previous studies focus on select types of victimization and student perpetrators, which may underestimate the extent of the problem. This national study was based on work conducted by the American Psychological Association Classroom Violence Directed Against Teachers Task Force and is one of the few national studies to examine violence directed at teachers. Participants included 2,998 kindergarten through 12^th‐grade (K‐12) teachers from 48 states who completed an anonymous web‐based survey assessing their experiences with victimization. Results revealed that 80% of teachers reported at least one victimization, and of these teachers, 94% reported being victimized by students. Nearly three‐fourths of all teachers experienced at least one harassment offense, more than half experienced property offenses, and 44% reported physical attacks. Findings suggest that specific teacher and community characteristics are associated with a higher likelihood of victimization, namely, male gender and urban settings; whereas, African American teachers were less likely to report victimization. Implications for teacher training, school interventions, public policy, and future research are discussed.     

Elementary Students Learning Computer Programming: an investigation of their knowledge Retention,Motivation, and perceptions

Educational technology research and development - Students need to learn and practice computational thinking and skills throughout PreK-12 to be better prepared for entering college and future...     

A Partisan Evaluation‐‐John Elliott on school effectiveness

This paper is a response to ‘School effectiveness research and its critics; alternative visions of schooling’ by John Elliott (Cambridge Journal of Education, 1996, 26, pp. 199‐223). It is argued that Elliott knows little of the knowledge base, misinterprets what he knows and fails to support his criticisms with evidence. It is concluded that educational advance and improvement can be furthered by school effectiveness research.