Extinction with multiple excitors

Four conditioned suppression experiments with rats, using an ABC renewal design, investigated the effects of compounding the target conditioned excitor with additional, nontarget conditioned excitors during extinction. Experiment 1 showed stronger extinction, as evidenced by less renewal, when the target excitor was extinguished in compound with a second excitor, relative to when it was extinguished with associatively neutral stimuli. Critically, this deepened extinction effect was attenuated (i.e., more renewal occurred) when a third excitor was added during extinction training. This novel demonstration contradicts the predictions of associative learning models based on total error reduction, but it is explicable in terms of a counteraction effect within the framework of the extended comparator hypothesis. The attenuated deepened extinction effect was replicated in Experiments 2a and 3, which also showed that pretraining consisting of weakening the association between the two additional excitors (Experiments 2a and 2b) or weakening the association between one of the additional excitors and the unconditioned stimulus (Experiment 3) attenuated the counteraction effect, thereby resulting in a decrease in responding to the target excitor. These results suggest that more than simple total error reduction determines responding after extinction.     

Health-Seeking Preferences of Elderly Filipinos in the Community via Conjoint Analysis

Health-seeking encompasses the activities individuals perform in order to restore wellness when they perceive themselves as ill. Alarmingly, it is apparent that there is a decrease in frequency of health-seeking as one ages. While there have been numerous studies about elderly health-seeking behavior across the globe, the need to know about their preferences remains a research imperative, hence this conjoint analysis investigation. The objective of this study is to identify the health-seeking preferences of a select group of Filipino elderly in the community. To measure preferences for health-seeking, a conjoint analysis survey of 304 Filipino elderly aged 60 years and above was conducted from June to July 2012 using the balanced incomplete block design. Results indicate that the most important attribute in terms of health-seeking behavior is the physician's experience. Elderly clients tend to seek health care from expert private practitioners who provide full information regarding illness and charge professional fees of less than 500 pesos (8–9 British pounds or 12–13 U.S. dollars). Results suggest that there are factors that may impede or promote health care seeking in elderly clients, of which physicians’ experience is deemed most important. These preferences, if integrated into the current practice, can help health care practitioners in improving the quality of care provided.     

Filipino Arts Among Elders in Institutionalized Care Settings

The use of traditional art in recreational therapies is unexplored. This paper, thus, attempts to surface the unique power of traditional Filipino arts (TFA) as synergizing lens in capturing the individual and the collective experiences of a select group of Filipino elderly in an institutionalized care setting relative to their feelings of depression and self-esteem. Three Filipino elderly housed in an institutionalized care setting were chosen for this phenomenological study, a robotfoto and a series of semistructured interviews constitute the main data gathering tool. Field texts were subjected to phenomenological reduction via the repertory grid analysis. Emerged themes were subjected to a series of member checking procedures to ensure the trustworthiness of the reported data. Depression and self-esteem were interpreted via two emerged themes. The themes were Me, Myself, and Melancholy and Will Not Let My Worth Wither. Through recreational therapies in the form of traditional Filipino arts, participants found novel psychological crutches that overcame the challenges of depression and give them hope toward more positive views of themselves and life.     

Ego Integrity of Older People with Physical Disability and Therapeutic Recreation

Ego integrity, the last developmental task in Erikson's psychological theory, develops naturally among older people. However, the presence of loss–like physical disability–can considerably affect the quality of life, interactions, and well being of older adults. Hence, older people with physical disabilities need more assistance in accomplishing tasks of ego integrity. This study aimed to utilize traditional Filipino art to capture the essence of the lived experiences of a select group of older people with physical disabilities in relation to their ego integrity. Four Filipino elderly with physical disabilities were purposely selected for this study. Picture prompting and doodling sessions were held as pretest and posttest to ascertain the effectiveness of puni-making in facilitating ego integrity of participants. A series of interviews were pursued to elicit experiences and feelings of participants regarding their disability and old age. From the analysis of the triangulated set of data, two findings emerged. First, four activators of ego integrity, namely: work, family, belief in self and belief in God, were identified as essentials in the formation of the participants' ego-integrity. Second, shifts related to the activators were identified indicating ego integrity's source, meaning and connection elements have become more grounded, certain and integrated. The influence of puni-making in understanding the ego integrity of older people with disabilities was found to be a sound and novel recreational therapy. It can stimulate a select group of Filipino elderly for openness to share their subjective and yet illuminating life experiences.     

Who Says there is No Life After Abandonment? A Grounded Theory on the Coping of Abandoned Filipino Elderly in Nursing Homes

Cases of abandoned elderly are increasing worldwide. By and large, this group struggles with the sudden change in living arrangement as well as abandonment by their families. Consequently, many elderly are forced into living in nursing homes for the remainder of their lives. Abandonment among these elderly negatively affects how they view themselves, which is detrimental to their health and well-being. Thus, exploring the feelings of elderly regarding their abandonment and how they cope becomes a major concern in caring for them. Recognizing the dearth of literature, this grounded theory study purported to describe sthe process by which these elderly cope with abandonment. A total of 24 abandoned Filipino elderly respondents were purposively selected to take part in a semistructured in-depth interview. Following the Glaserian approach, a four-part process emerged to describe the layer of human experience under study. The R.O.P.E. to Cope Theory of Abandonment describes how the elderly progress from the resisting, occupying, pondering, and embracing phases toward successful coping. Understanding this process equips health care providers with knowledge of appropriate interventions in the provision of holistic care to the elderly. Ultimately, findings of this study will be helpful in assisting abandoned elderly individuals in their path to achieving an improved quality of life and a happier perspective on it.     

Exploring the dimensionality of teacher professionalization

This article examines the dimensionality of teacher professionalization. Like other recognized professions, teaching deserves a systemic and integral development platform where recruited teachers undergo well-defined transitional stages that would help crystallize their sense of professional identity (Credentialing), professional familiarity (Induction), professional expertise (Specialization), professional security and stability (Compensation), and professional synergy (Professional Development). Model options vis-à-vis the identified stages are comprehensively discussed in this article.     

The University of Santo Tomas viewed from the lens of total quality management: Implications to total quality education

Considered as a major management approach for improving organizational performance and competitive advantage, Total Quality Management (TQM) poses a challenge to dynamic institutions to adopt a systemic philosophy that places emphasis on customer needs and a commitment to a culture of excellence. Higher education institutions (HEIs) as learning organizations are expected to respond proactively to this challenge by examining closely how their educational centerpiece operates in an environment of quality. This inquiry aims to determine how the oldest university in Asia implements TQM as regards its Vision, Involvement, Continuous Improvement, Training and Education, Ownership, Reward, Yearning for Success, and Customer Focus (VICTORY-C). Moreover, it documents the best practices of the institution under study, categorized in the light of TQM principles and identifies implications for total quality education.     

Reforms in Philippine Basic Education Viewed from Key Elements of Successful School-Based Management (SBM) Schools

While it is true that SBM shapes and charts the direction of school operations, it is interesting to discuss how a developing country like the Philippines is influenced by this reform strategy as a structural and procedural framework in managing its system of education, particularly, its basic education sector which through the years has been criticized for its alarming state as shown by its performance indicators rates. This paper purports to provide a panorama on how school-based management as a restructuring framework is viewed and interpreted by the basic education sector which constitutes the largest portion of the country’s educational system. Specifically, the eight key elements of successful SBM schools, namely: (1) an active vision; (2) meaningful decision-making authority; (3) distribution of power; (4) development and use of knowledge and skills; (5) collecting and communicating information; (6) rewards for progress; (7) shared leadership; and (8) cultivating resources, were used to serve the purpose of this discourse.     

A system within a system: the Philippine schools overseas

The Philippine school system is considered as one of the largest in the world with 41,989 public elementary and secondary schools and 7,790 private schools under the supervision and regulation of the Department of Education [DepEd Fact Sheet, 2005]. On top of this statistics are 40 duly-registered educational institutions called the Philippine Schools Overseas, which operate in nine countries such as Bahrain, China, Greece, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates. This paper presents the context and background of the proliferation of Philippine schools, specifically in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. To set the limits of the scope, this paper focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of community schools and privately-owned schools. Finally, the paper offers some vital measures relative to the supervision, standards of and support for Philippine Schools Overseas.