Food aversion learning in kangaroo rats: A specialist-generalist comparison

Two species of kangaroo rat (Dipodomys), varying in their degree of dietary specialization, were compared in a series of food aversion learning experiments to test the hypothesis that rapid aversion learning is an adaptation of relatively generalist feeders. The more generalist species indeed learned better or more rapidly in certain experiments, but species differences were at least partly a function of the specific test foods. Interpretation of results is complicated by differences between the two species in their initial reactions to particular foods, in the relative efficacy of different foods in supporting learned aversions, and perhaps even in their physiological responses to illness-inducing and control procedures.     

Trapped between justified anger and being the strong Black woman: Black college women coping with racial battle fatigue at historically and predominantly White institutions

Using the unique form of a composite counterstory culled from the experiences of 13 Black women at historically and predominantly White colleges and universities in a Western U.S. state, this paper explores the psychological tensions and silencing Black college women face as they navigate social constructions of their selfhood under a White gaze. This study centers these Black women’s voices through a tradition of storytelling and examines the ways they try to carve their own place by often engaging liberating, yet repressive, historically constructed STRONGBLACKWOMAN imagery to counteract equally silencing Angry Black Woman imagery. The historically and predominantly White institutional spaces within which these women study, live, and play exacerbate this tension, propelling them to model and rely upon stereotypically ‘positive’ representations of Black womanhood to deal with the pain of microaggressions. Altogether, these factors create instances of enhanced racial battle fatigue.     

Health sciences librarians' research on medical students' use of information for their studies at the medical school, University of Queensland, Australia

This study reports the findings of research undertaken by health sciences librarians at the University of Queensland Library into how medical students use information for their studies, particularly resources and services provided by the Library. The methods utilized were an online survey and focus groups. Results indicated that students favor print resources over electronic, value accessing resources on a one-stop basis, and prefer training to be delivered flexibly. The implication of these results for future resource selection, service provision, and instructional design and delivery is discussed.     

A theory of action account of an across-school collaboration policy in practice

Journal of Educational Change - Educational systems worldwide promote the use of collaborative networks to foster teacher learning and improve practice in the pursuit of educational change to...     

War-related trauma linked to increased sustained attention to threat in children

Experiences of war and displacement can have profound effects on children's affective development and mental health, although the mechanism(s) underlying these effects remain unknown. This study investigated the link between early adversity and attention to affective stimuli using a free-viewing eye-tracking paradigm with Syrian refugee (n = 31, M_age = 9.55, 12 female) and Jordanian non-refugee (n = 55, M_age = 9.98, 30 female) children living in Jordan (March 2020). Questionnaires assessed PTSD, anxiety/depression, insecurity, distress, and trauma. Refugee children showed greater initial avoidance of angry and happy faces compared to non-refugee children, and higher trauma exposure was linked to increased sustained attention to angry stimuli. These findings suggest that war-related trauma may have differential effects on the early and later stages of affective processing in refugee children.     

More than a master: developing,sharing, and using knowledge in school–university research networks

Postgraduate master’s programs for in-service teachers may be a promising new avenue in developing research partnership networks that link schools and university and enable collaborative development, sharing and use of knowledge of teacher research. This study explores the way these knowledge processes originating from master’s students’ research occurs in the school–university network of a master’s program embedded in the K–12 school environment of a Central Management Organization in the US. Questionnaires, interviews, and logs were used to collect quantitative and qualitative data at four time-points over a 10-month period. Data were analyzed at three network levels: school, dyad, and individual. Findings indicate that the school network context provided both master’s students and research advisors with a supportive context for collaboratively engaging in knowledge processes during research as well as after they graduated. However, the network context was not enough to build sustainable and productive relationships in the partnership network.     

Does self-determination predict the school engagement of four different motivation types in adolescence?

In order to enhance our understanding of inter-individual differences in scholastic motivation, this study examined if self-determination predicts the school engagement of four different motivation types (MT) in a large sample of adolescent students (N = 1088) from Brandenburg, Germany: (1) peer-dependent MT, (2) teacher-dependent MT, (3) peer-and-teacher-dependent MT and (4) peer-and-teacher-independent MT. Using structural equation modelling (SEM), the four types were first compared on latent variables (perceived self-determination and school engagement) and then, a latent multigroup SEM was conducted to test whether self-determination (competence, relatedness and autonomy) would predict emotional and behavioural school engagement separately by MT. The findings underscore the relevance of the typology as well as important inter-individual differences in the association between students’ psychological needs (competence, relatedness and autonomy) and their school engagement.     

Science Letters: Vascular architecture: is it a helpful histopathological biomarker for hepatocellular carcinoma?

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains one of the major public health problems throughout the world. Although originally associated with tumorigenic processes, liver angiogenesis has also been observed in the context of different liver inflammatory, fibrotic, and ischemic conditions. Here we investigate the fractal dimension as a quantitator of non-Euclidean two-dimensional vascular geometry in a series of paired specimens of primary HCC and surrounding non-tumoral tissue, and discuss why this parameter might provide additional information regarding cancer behavior. The application of fractal geometry to the measurement of liver vascularity and the availability of a computer-aided quantitative method can eliminate errors in visual interpretation, and make it possible to obtain closer-to-reality numerals that are compulsory for any measurement process.     

Resistance in the classroom – from dysfunctional to functional: A future necessary skill?

This article reports on resistance in primary schools, more specific grade five learners as perceived by teachers. A qualitative phenomenological interpretative approach was followed utilising focus group discussions and individual interviews. Participants included 14 teachers, purposefully selected from three private and three public schools in Gauteng. Data were thematically analysed. Four main themes were identified: 1) manifestations in the classroom differentiated by active or passive resistance, either positive or negative; 2) a causal model of reasoning; 3) teacher-learner relationships affected by negative and positive perceptions; and 4) constructive suggestions for support holding value for practical application. Findings revealed that resistance in the primary school classroom (the result of the interaction between the learner and contextual factors), is still often assumed as negative and dysfunctional to teaching; however, it can equally be conducive and functional depending on the interaction. Teachers display a more flexible, resilient and positive understanding of contributing factors, and they value resistance if it signifies creativity and independent problem solving, leading to more positive teacherlearner relationships.