Are there constraints on learned responses to odors from rewarded and nonrewarded rats?

This study determined if test rats could utilize biological odors, generated from donor rats receiving reward (R) and frustrative nonreward (N) treatments, to predict reward and nonreward goal events equally well. In Phase 1, two groups of test rats were exposed to R and N odors that signaled, respectively, either R and N goal events (“same” condition) or N and R goal events (“opposite” condition). Rats demonstrated significant discriminative use of these odors under both conditions. Subjects in the “opposite” condition, however, were slightly slower to learn the discrimination. Reversal learning was readily accomplished in Phase 2, regardless of the same-opposite factor. Thus, little evidence for a constraint on learning was found, and an interpretation in terms of interfering response tendencies and their habituation seemed favored.     

Attitudes of Business Faculty Towards Two Methods of Collecting Teaching Evaluations: Paper vs. Online

Business professors were surveyed to determine their attitudes towards two methods of collecting students' teaching evaluations of faculty--the traditional paper-and-pencil method conducted in class and the online method conducted via the Internet. Faculty preferred the traditional paper method, mainly because they believed it would produce a higher and more accurate response than the online method. Faculty characteristics were examined to determine whether they were related to attitudes towards the online method of collecting teaching evaluations. No characteristics were found to be significantly associated with attitudes towards the online method. Suggestions for future researchers are offered.     

Against the current: A grounded theory study on the estrangement experiences of a select group of Filipino gay older persons

According to Healthy People (2011), in order to understand the health concerns of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT), the oppression and discrimination that they have faced must be scrutinized. Among the many issues they face, their estrangement experiences are one of the most understudied. However, little is known about how it is experienced by the gay elderly population, hence, this investigation. This grounded theory purports to describe the process by which estrangement is experienced among the Filipino gay older adults. Strauss and Corbin’s Grounded Theory (1990) design was utilized. A total of 10 gay older persons were purposively chosen to participate in semi-structured interviews. Field texts were subjected to thematic analysis involving open, axial, and selective coding. The study generated The Sailing Model of Estrangement. Remarkably, three phases relative to estrangement emerged, namely: sequestering, striving, and surviving. Primarily, the sequestering phase involves the gay persons’ need to express self, search for acceptance, and its subsequent reactions. The striving phase typifies the struggle in dealing with estrangement leading to either feelings of depression, remorse and shame or positivity, hopefulness, and motivation. Finally, in the surviving phase, gay persons may either feel contented and fulfilled or sad, lonely, and remorseful as they acquiesce aging with estrangement. Findings of the study offer an understanding of how Filipino gay older adults employ coping strategies in response to estrangement.     

Relationship between R&D expenditures and publication output for U.S. colleges and universities

Two large independent sources of data, NSF's University Science Statistics Program Integrated Data Base and CHI Research's bibliometric data base, are brought together in a comprehensive study of the relationships among research resources, as measured by R&D expenditures, and research output, as measured by the quantity and visibility of scientific journal articles. The study is based on approximately 500 U.S. colleges and universities. For each of 11 fields of science, there is strong indication of a linear relationship between R&D expenditures and number of papers. The evidence also indicates a positive relationship between number of cites received per paper and number of papers published, but only for papers published in the basic research journals of the fields of chemistry, physics, and biology.     

Teachers’ technology adoption and practices: lessons learned from the IWB phenomenon

The twenty-first century has seen unprecedented investment from governments around the world in educational technologies in schools. This paper investigates Australian teachers’ adoption and use of a popular technology that has been extensively supported by governments and school systems: the interactive whiteboard (IWB). The study suggests that a number of the barriers identified in the early days of adoption and use of this technology, such as professional support and access, still remain for many teachers, thereby impeding effective practices. The research also found that primary school teachers were using the technology in diverse ways, in contrast to secondary teachers who were using the IWB mainly for instructionist, presentational purposes. We conclude by considering various ways of reducing the effect of the identified barriers to support implementation of educational technologies in the classroom, especially the next generation of technologies promoted by governments and systems.     

The Performance of the Mantel-Haenszel Procedure Across Samples and Matching Criteria

This study examined the reliability of the Mantel-Haenszel indexes across different samples of test takers as well as across sample sizes and investigated whether these indexes are robust to item context effects. Mathematics data from the Second International Mathematics Study (SIMS; 1985) for U.S. eighth-grade students were analyzed. The results suggest that the MH D-DIF is robust to item context effects. However, larger sample sizes than those used in this investigation (N = 141-167 for the focal group) may be necessary to obtain stable estimates from the Mantel-Haenszel procedure.