The issue of privacy reviewed

Increasing demands for information about higher education lead the authors to reconsider the issue of privacy from an ethical point of view. Both individuals and institutions, it is argued, should be treated alike as subjects. Threats to privacy include (1) collection of information without consent, (2) unwarranted interpretation of information, and (3) dissemination of information beyond subjects' intent. It is contended that the burdens of justification, gaining cooperation and trust of subjects, and bearing responsibility for protection of subjects' privacy lie with the researcher. Failure on his part to assume these burdens justifies refusal of cooperation on the part of subjects.     

Adolescent Girls' Relationships with Mothers and Best Friends

The present study examined factors associated with harmony in adolescent girls' relationships with their mothers and their best friends. A framework was proposed in which relationship harmony was expected to be related to individual characteristics of each partner and the match between the individual characteristics of each partner. 60 adolescent girls, their mothers, and their best friends participated in self-report and observational tasks. Harmonious mother-daughter partners (vs. disharmonious ones) had more similar needs, felt their needs were better met, perceived their partners as more socially skilled, and had more similar interests. Harmonious friends (vs. disharmonious ones) had more similar needs, and target adolescents perceived partners to be more socially skilled and better at meeting their needs. Observational ratings of attunement, positive affect, and power negotiation were greater in harmonious relationships with both mothers and friends. Discussion focuses on the value of a common framework for studying different relationships.     

Discrimination of individual vocalizations by black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapilla)

The auditory perceptual abilities of male black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapilla) were examined using an operant go/no-go discrimination among 16 individual vocalizations recorded at 5 m. The birds learned to discriminate about equally well among eight male chickadee fee-bee songs and eight female zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) distance calls. These results do not indicate that chickadees have a species-specific advantage in individual recognition for conspecific over heterospecific vocalizations. We then transferred the chickadees to a discrimination of the same songs and calls rerecorded at a moderate distance. These results showed accurate transfer of discrimination from 16 vocalizations recorded at 5 m to novel versions of the same 16 songs and calls rerecorded at 25 m. That is, chickadees recognized individual songs and calls despite degradation produced by rerecording at 25 m. Identifying individual vocalizations despite their transformation by distance cues is here described as a biologically important example of perceptual constancy.     

The Contribution of Domestication Research to In-Home Computing and Media Consumption

This article deals with the contribution made by domestication research to our understanding of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in everyday life, especially in the home. It first provides a sense of the diversity of research in this tradition and how this is evolving. The article then reflects upon and illustrates different elements of research in this tradition, providing examples of how these help to explain patterns of ICT experience, the way people evaluate that experience, and what bearing it has on their lives. To contextualize domestication research further, it considers overlaps with other traditions of research before moving on to the core, and the range of methodologies that have been employed. Finally, the article examines some of the general insights from domestication research, as well as more specific applications to the commercial and policy fields.     

Student observations: Introducing iPads into university classrooms

This paper explores the growing trend of using mobile technology in university classrooms, exploring the use of tablets in particular, to identify learning benefits faced by students. Students, acting on their efficacy beliefs, make decisions regarding technology’s influence in improving their education. We construct a theoretical model in which internal and external factors affect a student’s self-efficacy which in turn affects the extent of adoption of a device for educational purposes. Through qualitative survey responses of university students who were given an Apple iPad to keep for the duration of a university course we find high levels of self-efficacy leading to positive views of the technology’s learning enhancement capabilities. Student observations on the practicality of the technology, off-topic use and its effects, communication, content, and perceived market advantage of using a tablet are also explored.     

The Correlation Between Brain Development, Language Acquisition, and Cognition

There continues to be a debate whether educators should use brain research to their advantage in the classroom. This debate should not prevent educators from using their new found knowledge toward enhancing their students’ learning. By understanding how the brain learns, educators are able to determine what developmental level the child is physically, mentally, socially, and cognitively. The more knowledge an educator has and applies, the better the children will learn, and our future leaders will be better educated.     

Microfluidic blood plasma separation via bulk electrohydrodynamic flows

An effective mechanism for rapid and efficient microfluidic particle trapping and concentration is proposed without requiring any mechanically moving parts. When a voltage beyond the threshold atmospheric ionization value is applied on a sharp electrode tip mounted at an angle above a microfluidic liquid chamber, the bulk electrohydrodynamic air thrust that is generated results in interfacial shear and, hence, primary azimuthal liquid surface recirculation. This discharge driven vortex mechanism, in turn, causes a secondary bulk meridional liquid recirculation, which produces an inward radial force near the bottom of the chamber. Particles suspended in the liquid are then rapidly convected by the bulk recirculation toward the bottom, where the inward radial force causes them to spiral in a helical swirl-like fashion toward a stagnation point. In particular, we show that these flows, similar to Batchelor flows occurring in a cylindrical liquid column between a stationary and rotating disk, can be used for the separation of red blood cells from blood plasma in a miniaturized device.     

The college student grant study: The effectiveness of student grant and scholarship programs in promoting equal educational opportunity

During the last few years there has been an increased emphasis on the use of student scholarships and grants to promote postsecondary access and choice. This study of scholarship and grant programs in California, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania examines the extent to which this goal is being achieved. Highlights of the findings are that these state aid programs (1) induce a substantial number of students from low-income families to attend college, although they fail to have much impact on the very lowest income students; (2) are particularly helpful to women; and (3) overall, are responsible for the postsecondary attendance of nearly one half of the aid recipients.