Female odors evoke ultrasounds from male mice

Four experiments investigated the stimulus properties of female mice that influence ultrasound production by adult males. Female urine alone was less effective in evoking ultrasounds than was the female in male-female pairs. Visual cues were not necessary, since there was no difference in the incidence or latency of ultrasounds from male-female pairs when tested in light and dark conditions. A presently unspecified chemical cue produced by females, whose effectiveness is mediated by olfaction, was sufficient to evoke ultrasounds from male mice. The role of this chemical cue in a multimodal sequential communicative chain is discussed.     

Secondary school leavers and the labour market in SwazilandLes jeunes gens en fin de scolarite et le marche de l'emploi au Swazilandes y el mercado de trabajo en Swaziland

Secondary education in Swaziland has rapidly expanded in the decade or so since independence. Alongside this achievement has been a growing apprehension that the modern sector's capacity to generate employment is not commensurate with the rising number of educated young people leaving secondary school. The emergence of a ‘school leaver problem’ as disenchanted educated youngsters remained unemployed was therefore seen as a real possibility towards the end of the 1970s. Such considerations formed the backcloth to tracer surveys conducted in 1979 which investigated the post-school experience of secondary school leavers who left school in the period 1973–1977.Some aspects of these surveys are discussed in this article which covers the experience of school leavers in finding out about jobs and training, waiting time for jobs, and estimates of unemployment. The occupations entered by school leavers are then assessed in relation to demand projections for educated manpower.These observations reveal that institutional arrangements for transferring school leavers from school to work are embryonic and for a large minority of leavers family and other influentiaal contacts are more important than qualifications in securing a job. For Form 3 Junior Secondary School leavers some credence may be given to the popular impression that unemployment is worsening but Form 5 High School leavers are experiencing little difficulty as yet in finding work. More tentatively it would appear that the marginal additions to the skilled labour force stemming from school leavers are not modifying the occupational structure in line with recent manpower projections.     

The Training of Modern Language Teachers in the Netherlands

The article provides a factual account of the present organisation and structure of teacher training in the Netherlands and outlines the content of training for intending teachers of modern languages. Plans for innovation are also discussed.     

Impact of solid / vapour equilibria on conditions of crystallization of pharmaceutical compounds

The influence of solvent (in its gaseous state) on the stability of crystallized organic compounds was investigated. Through two examples of studies on the solid/vapour equilibria made in our lab, several behaviors were highlighted: (i) a new hydrated phase (thermodynamically stable) of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) was detected after the recrystallization starting from a deliquescent state, (ii) a spontaneous resolution of a hydrated racemic compound towards an anhydrous conglomerate can occur during the desolvation under the precise conditions of temperature and humidity. This study illustrates that knowledge about solid/vapour equilibrium is a crucial step during the complete characterization of solid organic compounds.     

Supporting Teachers to Customize Curriculum for Self-Directed Learning

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Guiding teachers to customize curriculum has shown to improve science instruction when guided effectively. We explore how teachers use student data to...     

Head Start Teacher Perceptions on Organizational Support of Adult–Child Interactions

Early Childhood Education Journal - Head Start (HS) teachers are central to providing constructive adult–child interactions that prepare preschool-age students for school and future...     

Student perceptions of peer assessment: an interdisciplinary study

Peer assessment provides students with multiple benefits during their learning process. The aim of our study is to examine students’ perception of peer assessment. Questionnaires were administered before and after the peer-assessment process to 416 students studying 11 different subjects in four different fields taught at the University of Girona. Results suggest that students have a positive predisposition towards this methodology, both before and after its implementation. Students perceive it as a both motivating and recommended methodology that facilitates the acquisition of learning at different levels. As for its limitations, students highlight the responsibility that comes with it and a certain amount of distrust in fellow students’ abilities to peer-assess.     

In a daily time–place learning task,time is only used as a discriminative stimulus if each daily session is associated with a distinct spatial location

It is difficult for rats to acquire daily time–place (TP) learning tasks. One theory suggests that rats do not use time of day as a stimulus signaling a specific response. In the present study, we tested rats’ ability to use time of day as a discriminative stimulus. A fixed-interval procedure was used in which one lever provided reinforcement on a FI-5-s schedule in morning sessions, and the same lever provided reinforcement on a FI-30-s schedule in afternoon sessions. Because only one place was used in this paradigm, the rats could only use time of day to acquire the task. Mean responses during the first 5 s of the first trial in each session indicated that the rats did not discriminate between the two sessions. In Phase II, a different lever location was used for each of the two daily sessions, which meant that both spatial and temporal information could be used to acquire the task. The rats readily acquired the task in this phase, and probe trials indicated that the rats were using a combination of spatial and temporal information to discriminate between the two different trial types. When the spatial cue was removed in Phase III, rats no longer discriminated the two sessions, suggesting that time can only be used as a discriminative stimulus when each daily session is associated with a distinct spatial location.     

Processus de recherche d'un probleme de geometrie chez l'eleve de l'enseignement secondaire

This article describes part of the research done in the IREM of Montpellier, concerning plane Euclidean geometry. Fifty secondary school pupils worked on the following problem: given two circles and a rectangle, what is the largest possible number of points of intersection? The author studies some of the typical trains of thought of the pupils during the course of solving the problem' In this way he introduces and analyses three ideas: elementary thought processes, the bridging of local gaps, the processes of differentiation and integration.     

Developing math readiness through set activities

I thought T-ball would be fun to coach. The game is calledT-ball because five-year-old boys and girls try to hit a baseball that has been placed on a tee. Thetee is much larger but otherwise similar to the peg that supports a golfball. The rationale for T-ball is simple. If neophytes don't have to concentrate on hitting, they can channel all of their attention to fielding, learning rules, and comprehending the game's fundamental principles.Gerard Giordano teaches in the College of Education, New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, NM.