US inflation with trace and simultaneous fear conditioning

Two experiments with rat subjects in a conditioned punishment paradigm are reported. These experiments attempted to determine if the events entering into association with the CS following conditioning with informative (forward) and noninformative (simultaneous) CSs were comparable. In Experiment 1, exposure to intense shock alone following trace (ISI = 10 sec) conditioning with moderate shock enhanced the suppressive effects of a 2-sec CS. A similar manipulation following explicitly unpaired CS-US presentations (ISI = 2 min) had no effect. These data were taken as evidence that the CS and US were associated during trace conditioning. Experiment 2 showed that exposure to intense shock following simultaneous conditioning also enhanced suppression to the CS. These results suggested that simultaneous and forward conditioning procedures yield similar forms of associative learning.     

Context-sensitive regularities in English vowel spelling

The predictive value of rime spellings in English was compared directly to other types of regularities beyond the level of the single letter. A computer-assisted analysis of a list of twenty-four thousand written words, each paired with its corresponding pronunciation, reveals that only a small number of rime spellings are highly regular in their pronunciations. The conventional division of vowel letter pronunciations into short and long in closed and open written syllables is the most reliable key to English pronunciation. Our findings support the notion that English spelling is based at least in part on syllable structure. In addition, prefixes and suffixes provide very reliable clues to pronunciation, which suggests that their regularity should be exploited in the teaching of reading.     

A Methylome‐Wide Association Study of Trajectories of Oppositional Defiant Behaviors and Biological Overlap With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

In 671 mother–child (49% male) pairs from an epidemiological birth cohort, we investigated (a) prospective associations between DNA methylation (at birth) and trajectories (ages 7–13) of oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), and the ODD subdimensions of irritable and headstrong; (b) common biological pathways, indexed by DNA methylation, between ODD trajectories and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); (c) genetic influence on DNA methylation; and (d) prenatal risk exposure associations. Methylome‐wide significant associations were identified for the ODD and headstrong, but not for irritable. Overlap analysis indicated biological correlates between ODD, headstrong, and ADHD. DNA methylation in ODD and headstrong was (to a degree) genetically influenced. DNA methylation associated with prenatal risk exposures of maternal anxiety (headstrong) and cigarette smoking (ODD and headstrong).     

Can creative destruction be destroyed? Military IR&D and destruction along the value-added chain

We elaborate a supply chain innovation matrix that can be applied to both commercial and military supply chains. By shifting the analysis from a focal firm to industry structure, we argue that the market structure of the entire supply chain functions as a major moderating variable in determining both the timing and adoption of innovations, both for commercial and military markets. We extend work on supply chain resource dependency by drawing a distinction between market-structure-induced resource dependency and supplier over-reliance on a customer in a competitive market. This has policy implications for the organization of military industrial research and development (IR&D). Joint service research and development (Jointness) will certainly bring about innovation, but it will be incremental, reinforcing established military hierarchies. Policy makers may need to add this probable consequence when comparing Jointness and inter-service rivalry. The cost savings inherent in Jointness may unwittingly sustain a military force unready for fighting the next war.     

Journal publishing systems: outsource or in‐house?

This article describes a framework to help publishers decide whether they should develop and host their own proprietary online journal system, or whether they should outsource this activity. We also suggest a practical high‐level checklist for comparing journal systems.     

“This is the Whiteman’s Law”: Aboriginal resistance,bureaucratic change and the Census of Canada, 1830–2006

Census information of some form has been collected in Canada since the 1611 census of New France. Aboriginal people, identified or not, have been included in these enumerations. The collection of this information has had a profound impact on Aboriginal people and has been an element that has shaped their relationship with the dominant society. In response, Canadian Aboriginal people have often resisted and refused to co-operate with census takers and their masters. This article is an examination of this phenomenon focused on the censuses conducted in the post-Confederation period to the present. A census is made to collect information on populations and individuals that can then be used to configure and shape social and political relations between those being enumerated and the creators of the census. However, the human objects of the census are not just passive integers and they have resisted its creation in a number of ways, including being “missing” when the census is taken, refusing to answer the questions posed by enumerators or even driving them off Aboriginal territory. A census identifies elements of the social order and attempts to set them in their “proper” place and those who do not wish to be part of that order may refuse to take part. Archivists and historians must understand that the knowledge gained in a census is bound with the conditions of own creation. This has been noted by contemporary Aboriginal researchers who often state that the archival record of their people often distorts history and reflects the ideas and superficial observations of their Euro-Canadian creators. Changes to the Census of Canada since 1981, have increased the participation rate and therefore changed the nature of the record.

Providing Bottom-Up Support to Middle School Science Teachers’ Reform Efforts in Using Inquiry-Based Kits

Middle grades science teachers need professional support in practice as they implement new inquiry-based science. Professional development schools can provide this bottom-up support through connecting preservice and inservice teacher education programs in classroom practice. In this study, coteaching arrangements with secondary science education majors provided additional teachers in the classroom to support a materials-rich curriculum and the needed associated pedagogies. Science education majors provided needed assistance in troubleshooting difficulties with the new curriculum. They also provided needed content knowledge to support inquiry, along with creating moments and space for teachers to reflect on inquiry practice. Ongoing assistance by preservice teachers allowed inservice teachers to progress from logistical concerns in implementing kit curriculum to concerns regarding student learning and the supporting professional development.

Mobile learning in higher education: A comparative analysis of developed and developing country contexts

The purpose of this paper is to compare and contrast characteristics of use and adoption of mobile learning in higher education in developed and developing countries. A comparative case study based on a survey questionnaire was conducted with 189 students (undergraduate and postgraduate) from Makerere University in Uganda and the University of Adelaide in Australia. The Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) was employed as the theoretical framework. The results indicated that higher education students in developed and developing countries use a range of technologies for learning, with major differences between Uganda and Australia. The study concludes that mobile learning in higher education in developed and developing country contexts is still at an experimental stage with students using mobile devices in pedagogically limited ways.     

Scaffolding learning of language structures with visual-syntactic text formatting

The current study examines the effects of digital scaffolding on the English literacy of fourth- and sixth-grade students. A total of 1085 native English-speaking and language minority students from 25 treatment classes and 20 control classes across three school districts participated in this study for one school year. Treatment students read their English language arts and social studies text in visual-syntactic text format (VSTF) on their laptops and control students read the regular block format of the textbook either on their laptops or in print. Observations and interviews revealed that VSTF reading facilitated instruction processes and student learning in reading activities. The results of California Standard Tests (CST) before and after the treatment revealed that sixth-graders who received syntactic scaffolding outperformed control students on the composite CST score. In particular, reading in VSTF benefited the treatment students in three CST sub-categories: word analysis, written conventions and writing strategies. This study suggests that future research should investigate instructional strategies that support reading and writing development of adolescents, including at-risk students, using syntactic scaffolding.     

The Earlier the Better? Pausing for Thought …

Is earlier intervention always superior? Using two complementary forms of meta-analysis, Gardner and colleagues find no support for the “earlier is better” hypothesis in outcomes of parenting programs for child behavior problems across the 2–11 year age range. This commentary explores possible methodological and substantive reasons for the pattern of their findings. We need additional careful analyses of this kind, assessing age variations in intervention effects across broader age ranges, and in other developmental domains, for strong tests of the “earlier is better” hypothesis. At this stage, however, Gardner et al.'s findings give us some pause for thought.