Conditions of preexposure and passive avoidance behavior in rats

In the first experiment, rats given a 5-min period of preexposure (simple exploration) to a two-compartment box showed poorer passive avoidance of the compartment where they were subsequently shocked than a control group which was not preexposed to the apparatus. The second experiment involved preexposure to sugared milk (SM), flashing light and loud noise (LN), or simply the apparatus (EC). One group received no exposure to the apparatus (NC). Following one shock trial, the groups were ordered LN > NC > EC > SM from most to least passive avoidance. The results were discussed in the context of latent inhibition and an averaging model of positive and negative events.     

BAYESIAN m‐GROUP REGRESSION APPLIED IN A COMMUNITY COLLEGE DEVELOPMENTAL STUDIES PROGRAM

The purpose of the study was to compare classical multiple regression with Bayesian m‐group regression, complete with cross‐validation of both methods. The context of the study was to predict first‐quarter grade point average in various curricula in a comprehensive community college for those students who had completed developmental studies programs. The major findings were: (1) informal counselor prediction was the largest contributor to the final regression models, and (2) no difference was found between classical multiple regression and Bayesian m‐group regression.     

CONNECTING UNIVERSITY SUPERVISION AND CRITICAL REFLECTION: MENTORING AND MODELING

This study reports on the experiences of supervisors in a university teacher preparation program regarding their critical reflection on their practice. This has an impact on the learning opportunities available for their student teachers. Findings include: (a) an understanding of critical reflection is something that builds over time for student teachers through exposure to their supervisor's practice; (b) explicitly modeling, guiding, and communicating the importance of critical reflection in teaching practice through supervisory stance helps teacher candidates develop critically reflective practices and understandings; (c) developing critical reflection in their individual and shared practices takes time for both parties.     

Conceptual and methodological approaches to the study of leadership

Of the four major approaches to the study of leadership, the functional approach appears to have the most promise for researchers interested in the communication behavior of small groups.     

Film Production

MASTERS OF LIGHT: CONVERSATIONS WITH CONTEMPORARY CINEMATOGRAPHERS edited by Dennis Schaefer and Larry Salvato (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1984---$27.50 hardcover)     

Ideology & the social construction of meaning: A communication perspective

This paper examines the role of ideology in the social construction of meaning. It is argued that while interpretive philosophical frameworks have attributed a constitutive function to the role of communication in meaning construction, little attention has been paid to the ways in which social relations of power mediate in this process of meaning creation. Ideology, however, is a useful heuristic concept which provides a way of contextualizing the communication process within such power relations. It is argued that communication involves not only the process of creating meaning, but is also intrinsic to the means by which relations of domination are produced and reproduced. The notion of ideology is presented as the conceptual link between communication and power.