Sensory Processing in Rhesus Monkeys: Developmental Continuity,Prenatal Treatment,and Genetic Influences

Neonatal sensory processing (tactile and vestibular function) was tested in 78 rhesus macaques from two experiments. At ages 4–5 years, striatal dopamine D₂ receptor binding was examined using positron emission tomography. At ages 5–7 years, adult sensory processing was assessed. Findings were: (a) prenatal stress exposure yielded less optimal neonatal sensory processing; (b) animals carrying the short rh5‐HTTLPR allele had less optimal neonatal sensory scores than monkeys homozygous for the long allele; (c) neonatal sensory processing was significantly related to striatal D₂ receptor binding for carriers of the short allele, but not for animals homozygous for the long allele; and (d) there was moderate developmental continuity in sensory processing from the neonatal period to adulthood.     

Relationships between the constructs of a theory of curriculum implementation

Planned educational change occurs regularly throughout the world. With the enormous political change the 1994 elections brought to South Africa, a complete change in education policies was called for. The new Curriculum 2005 (C2005; Department of Education, RSA, 1997 ) embraced new teaching and learning approaches such as outcomes‐based education and learner‐centered teaching practices. To explore the progress of the implementation of C2005, a theoretical framework specifically designed to elucidate curriculum implementation in developing countries was applied to 10 case studies. The framework consists of interrelating constructs with subconstructs which impact on curriculum implementation. It enables one to look at the levels of implementation achieved both in terms of the capacity of the school and the extent to which outside support and pressure is provided. The case studies were carried out in a representative sample of schools in Mpumalanga, one of the nine South African provinces. The aim of this article is to investigate the possible interrelationships of the constructs and the subconstructs. Some predictable relationships emerged from the data while other expected relationships failed to materialize. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 313–336, 2005     

University marginal instructional costs: Implications for charges to overseas students

This paper is a summary of a study of the marginal costs of graduate instruction in a large public research university, and draws implications for financing foreign enrollments. The major finding is that because the teaching costs directly facing faculty differ from their budgetary rewards for instruction, faculty have the means to support basic research and to give aid to the most desired students, including foreigners. We also found that faculty members' marginal costs of classroom instruction are generally low. While advising is costly, it has offsetting benefits, especially in the laboratory sciences. The costs of instructing and advising foreign and domestic students are equal.     

Sensory processing disorder in a primate model: evidence from a longitudinal study of prenatal alcohol and prenatal stress effects

Disrupted sensory processing, characterized by over- or underresponsiveness to environmental stimuli, has been reported in children with a variety of developmental disabilities. This study examined the effects of prenatal stress and moderate-level prenatal alcohol exposure on tactile sensitivity and its relationship to striatal dopamine system function in thirty-eight 5- to 7-year-old rhesus monkeys. The monkeys were from four experimental conditions: (a) prenatal alcohol exposed, (b) prenatal stress, (c) prenatal alcohol exposed + prenatal stress, and (d) sucrose controls. Increased D(2) receptor binding in the striatum, evaluated using positron emission tomography neuroimaging, was related to increased withdrawal (aversion) responses to repetitive tactile stimuli and reduced habituation across trials. Moreover, prenatal stress significantly increased overall withdrawal responses to repetitive tactile stimulation compared to no prenatal stress.     

Refugee-Teacher-Train-Refugee-Teacher Intervention Research in Malaysia: Promoting Classroom Management and Teacher Self-Care

ABSTRACT

Given the current refugee crisis, the development of sustainable postconflict refugee education systems and supports is essential. The present study reports Resilient Refugee Education (RRE) intervention effects on refugee teacher confidence and knowledge of classroom management, in addition to refugee teacher self-care in Malaysia. We compared effects on (a) peer trainers, who were refugee teachers trained by consultants (n = 38), and (b) peer trainees, who were refugee teachers trained by peer trainers (n = 78). The sample included teachers who were refugees (n = 97; mean age = 30; 78% Burmese) and nonrefugees (n = 19; mean age = 48; 44% Chinese-Malaysian). Significant effects on teacher knowledge, confidence, and self-care were found for both trainers and trainees, including interactions with gender and education. Implications for sustainable promotion of the emotional context in refugee education are discussed.     

Critical allies and feminist praxis: rethinking dis-ease

In Australian universities, non-Indigenous educators teaching Indigenous studies and/or Indigenous content must engage critically with anti-colonialism, not simply as lip service to syllabus content, but also, as an ethical consideration whereby consultation and collaboration with Indigenous scholars must necessarily direct praxis. Such an engagement might be referred to as a ‘critical alliance’: an engagement with Others about whom we are speaking that forms the basis for an ethical relationship. A ‘critical alliance’ with Others seeks always to undermine the colonial relations of power that discursively position both Indigenous and non-Indigenous subjects. This paper explores what such an alliance might ‘look like’ as a feminist practice, what will sustain it or give it substance so it can be a productive contribution to a more socially just pedagogy that gives emphasis to Indigenous struggles and Indigenous knowledge.     

GERONTOLOGICAL EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS IN NURSING AND SOCIAL WORK: KNOWLEDGE,ATTITUDES, AND PERCEIVED BARRIERS

Most health care and social service providers are routinely required to work with elderly clients and clients’ aging family members. Research suggests that students entering these professions have knowledge deficits and lack positive attitudes toward older people. Few prefer to work with aging clients. Professional curricula are not providing students with adequate training to serve the current needs of this population, much less to meet projected increases in demand for services. To examine this issue, 67 master's students in nursing and social work completed questionnaires assessing (1) knowledge about aging, (2) attitudes toward old people, and (3) perceived barriers to gerontological education. Results confirmed the existence of knowledge deficits among respondents. Attitudes tended to be neutral rather than strongly positive or negative. Knowledge scores were related to attitudes, to respondents’ ages, and to their having lived in households with older relatives. Nursing students identified the greatest barriers in gerontological education as insufficient curriculum time and lack of academic role models. Social work students perceived lower status of work with the elderly and limited experience with healthy older people as the greatest barriers. The two groups agreed that fragmentation of services contributes to inadequate gerontological preparation. Findings suggest a need for didactic and experiential learning opportunities, reinforced by appropriate academic role models, for students in service professions.