Modifying vocational education curricula to accommodate handicapped learners: combining the efforts of special and vocational teachers

A systems approach to modifying existing vocational curricula to meet the needs of handicapped learners is presented. The roles of both special and vocational educators at each level of the modification process are discussed, together with the process as it is applied to a component of agricultural education. A significant amount of instructional technology is necessary to successfully integrate many handicapped learners into the regular vocational education environment: vocational education for handicapped persons needs to move from the stage of awareness to that of implementation.     

Errors in pigeons’ memory for number of events

In Experiment 1, pigeons were trained in a within-subjects design to discriminate sequences of light flashes (illumination of the feeder) that varied in number, but not in time (2f/4sec and 8f/4sec), and in time, but not in number (4f/2sec and 4f/8sec). Number samples required a response to one of two comparison dimensions (either color or line), whereas time samples required a response to the remaining comparison dimension. Delay testing revealed a significant choose-small bias following number samples and a significant choose-long bias following time samples. In Experiment 2, testing confirmed that in the absence of a sample, there was a bias to respond small to the number comparisons and long to the time comparisons. Additional tests indicated that the birds were discriminating time samples on the basis of the number of light flashes occurring during the last few seconds of the time samples, rather than on the basis of the total duration of the flash sequence. Consequently, the choose-long bias observed for time samples during delay testing was really a choose-small bias. In Experiment 3, the birds received baseline training with a 5-sec delay and were subsequently tested at shorter and longer delays. A choose-large bias occurred at delays shorter than the baseline training delay, whereas a choose-small bias was again observed at delays longer than the baseline delay. These findings provide additional empirical support for the conceptualizing of memory for number and time in terms of a common mechanism.     

Managing and leveraging knowledge for organisational advantage

This paper focuses on two elements of process knowledge that we call sticky and fluid knowledge. Process knowledge, we argue, differs from the more commonly described tacit or explicit knowledge due to its domain specificity. Process knowledge is a potential source of competitive advantage for an organisation and is key to the development of intellectual capital for an organisation. Knowledge management is the operational means of delivering this intellectual capital value. From empirical research conducted, two cases are presented that illustrate process knowledge and its value and exploitation for the development of intellectual capital. The findings emphasise the necessity for a multiplicity of means for process knowledge transfer in order to ensure the widest possible distribution. In particular, in order to ensure that sticky process knowledge is transformed into fluid process knowledge, it is recommended that, communities and face2face discussions supplement knowledge exchanges via electronic networks.     

A study of thyroid status in hyperemesis gravidarum

Study was undertaken to assess thyroid status in hyperemesis gravidarum. 150 women pregnant with <20 weeks of gestation were selected randomly and out of these 100 women presenting with hyperemesis formed study group while 50 normal pregnant women served as controls. 53% of hyperemetic pregnant women were primigravidae and 82% of pregnant women presented with vomiting at less than 12 weeks of gestation. Statistically significant, 22% of hyperemetic women had increased serum T₃ levels while T₄ levels were increased in 67% of women in study group as compared to 8% and 16% respectively in control group. TSH levels were decreased in 18% of hyperemetic women as compared to 8% in control group with decrease in mean TSH level statistically significant. 22% of hyperemetic women had electrolyte disturbances and 7% were ketonuric. In clinically euthyroid women, biochemically altered thyroid function can attribute to vomiting and its prolongation to second trimester     

A Content Analysis of Phonological Awareness and Phonics in Commonly Used Head Start Curricula

Commonly used early childhood curricula were examined to consider the degree to which they support research-based instruction for phonological awareness (PA) and phonics. A content analysis was completed for two types of curricula widely used in Head Start: overarching general curricula and lesson-based curricula, which usually provide more explicit teaching instructions. Both types of curriculum demonstrated the same pattern of findings; while all curricula included some content aligned with standards, programs differed greatly in the number of objectives and instructional strategies included for PA and phonics instruction. Overall, curricula were most likely to address earlier developing PA skills (e.g., rhyming, alliteration) with more limited attention to advanced skills that are closely linked with reading development (e.g., segmenting and blending of phonemes). Phonics instruction was not included often in any of the curricula studied, and opportunities for individualizing instruction were rare, particularly for children with special needs. Results suggest that instructional recommendations for PA and phonics in most of these commonly-used Head Start curricula, even those curricula which typically provide more explicit instruction for teachers, do not align with the instruction provided in effective intervention studies, and therefore may not be powerful enough to influence children’s reading trajectories.     

I still wanna be an engineer! Women,education and the engineering profession

Women's low enrolment in post-school engineering degrees continues to be a problem for engineering faculties and the profession generally. A qualitative interview-based study of Australian women engineers across the range of engineering disciplines showed the relevance of success in math and science at school to their enrolling in engineering at university. However, for a significant number of the women the positive self-image connected with school success was not maintained by their workplace experience. Using a mixed methods approach, further investigations of the attitudes and experiences of working engineers at three large firms suggest that engineering workplaces continue to be uneasy environments for professional women. Particular issues for women working as professional engineers are identified in this paper and some educational strategies are suggested in order to better prepare engineers for an inclusive and participatory professional life.