Stimulus specificity of concurrent recovery in the rabbit nictitating membrane response

Three experiments demonstrated that, following the extinction of an established conditioned stimulus (CS; e.g., tone), the pairing of an orthogonal stimulus from another modality (e.g., light) with the unconditioned stimulus (US) results in strong recovery of responding to the extinguished CS. This recovery occurred to about an equal degree regardless of whether or not initial training contained unambiguous stimulus—reinforcer relationships—that is, consistent CS—US pairings—or some degree of ambiguity, including intramodal discrimination training, partial reinforcement, or even cross-modal discrimination training (tone vs. light). Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated that this recovery of responding was largely specific to the extinguished CS, but moderate generalization to other stimuli from the same modality did appear. The results are discussed with reference to alternative mechanisms applicable to learning-dependent generalization between otherwise distinct CSs. These models assume that such generalization is mediated by either a shared response, shared reinforcer, shared context, or shared hidden units within a layered neural network. A specific layered network is proposed to explain the present results as well as other types of savings seen previously in conditioning of the rabbit nictitating membrane response.     

Fetters or Freedom: Dual Relationships in Counselling

Dual relationships occur whenever one person assumes more than one role in a relationship with another person. They may be unavoidable and are not necessarily harmful but there is always a potential for a conflict of interest and exploitation; because of this a number of Western professional counselling organisations have prohibited all dual relationships. Whilst this is essential for sexual dual relationships it can be too rigid for non-sexual ones because of the different cultural, social or geographical circumstances. Examples of non-sexual dual relationships such as acceptance of gifts, barter, attendance at social events and the use of touch are all explored to find appropriate and constructive ways to use them.     

A new type of transitional filter based on summation of polynomials

A new transitional filter based on the sum of filter polynomials is proposed and discussed. It shall be shown that the approach allows for greater flexibility in adjusting passband and stopband gain shapes. The sensitivity of the filter transfer function is analyzed and related to the approximation problem. Some new modified classical filters are also derived including maximally flat (Butterworth) and equiripple (Chebyshev) types. Several examples of combining Butterworth, Chebyshev and sync-tuned filters are presented and compared to those obtained using the conventional product method. The new transitional filter provides an alternative to other forms and provides a means for isolating the effects of non-uniformly distributed pole angles.     

Recovery of the rabbit’s conditioned nictitating membrane response without direct reinforcement after extinction

Three experiments demonstrated that, following the extinction of an established conditioned stimulus (CSA—e.g., tone), the pairing of a novel, cross-modal stimulus (CSB—e.g., light) with the unconditioned stimulus (US) results in strong recovery of responding to the extinguished CSA. Experiment 1 demonstrated that the recovery of responding to CSA is not the result of US reinstatement but is attributable to pairings of CSB with the US. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the recovery of responding is specific to CSA and is not the result of cross-modal generalization. Experiment 3 revealed that a large number of CSB-US pairings in Stage 1 significantly reduced the amount of recovery to CSA during subsequent CSB-US trials. Experiment 3 also provided unexpected evidence of cross-modal secondary extinction. The extinction and subsequent recovery of responding seen in the present experiments is discussed with respect to possible contributions from contextual associations, CS processing, US processing, conditioned response expression, and layered excitatory associations.     

Can business schools increase student employability by embedding action learning into undergraduate management education? An account of practice

ABSTRACT

Management education is at a pivotal crossroads. In an increasingly globalized world, where change is the only constant, business school graduates leaving university are faced with ever intensifying competition and complexity. Universities have responded by increasing their emphasis on teaching ‘employability skills’ to graduates. However, undergraduate management curricula still often focus on Programmed Knowledge, which does not adequately prepare graduates for the labour market to which they will inevitably graduate. A Future Search exercise was implemented to help conceptualize new visions of the future of management education, considering the question ‘to what extent does management education impact on management practice?’ This paper asserts that integrating Questioning Insight and a scholarly practice approach into management education will better equip graduates for the world of work. The authors utilize Kotter’s 8-stage model of change to outline a pathway for change and action for business schools to adapt a scholarly practice approach to education into their curricula.     

Single-sex schooling and subject choice: Pattern of enrolment at Monash University

Using data collected from incoming students at Monash University from 1972 to 1990, this study assesses the impact of single-sex versus coeducational schooling on the faculty choice of both female and male students. A clear pattern emerges of students from co-educational schools being over-represented in Science and Engineering and under-represented in Law and Medicine and, in recent years, in Economics and Politics. This is true for both females and males. However, further analysis establishes that this is more likely to be caused by socio-economic factors than by the gender composition of the school attended, since most students from co-educational schools come from the government sector and most students from single-sex schools from the independent sector.     

Embodied encounters with more-than-human nature in health and physical education

ABSTRACT

Despite the importance of interactions with natural environments for personal and social well-being, there is only limited evidence of the relationship between the environment and health as an idea or area of study in school education in Australia. Logically, the place for such a study, at least in Australia, would be within the Health & Physical Education (HPE) key learning area. However, in HPE, alternative ways of considering health beyond the dominant ‘healthism’ discourses which privilege physical activity, fitness, food and nutrition struggle for any kind of existence. Gruenewald (2004. A Foucauldian analysis of environmental education: Toward the socioecological challenge of the earth charter. Curriculum Inquiry, 34(1), 71–107) suggests looking to the margins of a field to see what knowledge is silenced or subjugated in order to open up new conditions of possibility. This challenged us to look beyond taken for granted ways of thinking about health to identify other resources, perhaps unrecognised as yet, that teachers might draw on to constitute their knowledge of health. To do this, we look to interview data collected when teachers were asked to talk about their personal experiences of the relationship between the environment and health. The analysis of the interviews demonstrated how the teachers conceptualised the relationship between the environment and health by drawing on embodied experiences and affective encounters with more-than-human nature. By theorising these encounters through a post-human, new-materialist lens, we demonstrate how their corporeal knowledge, developed through embodied experiences, has the potential to assist teachers in formulating less institutionalised health understandings. We argue that these encounters with more-than-human nature can serve as alternatives to those dominant healthism discourses that invoke problematic risk, fear and crisis responses.     

Pressures and influences on school leaders navigating policy development during the COVID-19 pandemic

The pressures and influences experienced by school leaders as school policymakers, during the first responses to COVID-19 pandemic, made their task of interpreting, translating and implementing school guidance both difficult and stressful. During COVID-19 pandemic, school leaders faced challenges to prioritise and balance ever-changing government policy advice with the limitations of school buildings, the welfare of students and staff, and the needs of communities, a task made complicated by the methods of communication used by government. By surveying and interviewing headteachers, senior leaders and governors, this article identifies the reactions and responses of school leaders who construct and enact policy in the context of COVID-19 pandemic. The article addresses the nature of, and factors affecting, pressures school leaders feel in authoring and implementing policy. These pressures are non-trivial and increase tension in already highly stressful work. The report draws on data collected from a randomised, stratified sample of primary and secondary school leaders from across England in early June 2020, during the time of national lockdown and remote learning. Findings suggest quality, quantity and frequency of top-down communication contributed to school leader stress, while horizontal communication and collaboration between school leaders and across school communities supported leaders during rapid change. We recommend that government and the Department of Education strengthen and streamline stressful communication systems while building cooperative communities, mitigating against the challenges identified by school leaders during the COVID-19 pandemic.     

Top contributors to the school psychology literature: 1996–2005

An erratum has been published for this article in Psychology in the Schools 43(7) 2006, iii‐vi. [ ]. S.G. Little (1997) reported the top contributors to the school psychology literature from 1987 to 1995. The present study represents a follow‐up by examining the top contributors from 1996 to 2005. Similar to Little, a list of the top 50 contributors was developed using a point system that assigned more credit based on fewer coauthors and higher authorship placement. Expanding upon the Little study, we also computed a list of the top 50 contributors in terms of number of articles authored, thus facilitating a comparison of the two methods. Melissa Bray ranked first on both lists. The top 10 authors in terms of articles also were ranked in the top 13 in terms of points. Thus, for the most productive authors, choice of criteria for ranking does not appear important; however, in terms of encouraging versus discouraging collaboration among researchers, criteria choice may be important. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 737–743, 2006.