Pigeons’ memory for empty time intervals marked by visual or auditory stimuli

In Experiment 1, pigeons were trained to discriminate the duration (2 or 8 sec) of an empty interval separated by two 1325-Hz tone markers by responding to red and green comparison stimuli. During delay testing, a choose-short bias occurred at 1 sec, but a robust choose-long bias occurred at 9 sec. Responding in the absence of tone markers indicated that the pigeons were attending to the markers and not simply timing the total trial duration. The birds were then trained to match short (2-sec) or long (8-sec) empty intervals marked by light to blue/yellow comparisons. For both visual and auditory markers, delay testing produced a choose-short bias at 1 sec and a choose-long bias at 9 sec. In Experiment 2, the pigeons were shifted from a fixed to variable intertrial intervals (ITI) within sessions. On trials with tone markers, the duration of both the empty interval and the preceding ITI affected choice responding. On trials with light markers, only the duration of the empty interval influenced choice responding. Subsequent delay testing in the context of variable ITIs replicated the memory biases previously obtained. In Experiment 3, performance was assessed at various delay intervals on trials in which either the first or the second marker was omitted. The data from these omission tests indicated that the first marker initiated timing but that the second marker sometimes initiated the timing of a new interval. Explanations of these effects in terms of the internal clock model of timing are discussed, and a simple quantitative model of the delay interval data is tested.     

Finding without seeking: the information encounter in the context of reading for pleasure

This paper examines nongoal oriented transactions with texts in order to investigate the information encounter in the context of daily living. Findings are reported from a larger research project based on intensive interviews with 194 committed readers who read for pleasure. The paper analyses interview responses that illuminate two aspects of the readers' experience of reading for pleasure: (1) how readers choose books to read for pleasure; and (2) books that have made a significant difference in readers' lives. The paper concludes with five themes emerging from this analysis that have implications for the information search process: the active engagement of the reader/searcher in constructing meaning from texts; the role of the affective dimension; ‘trustworthiness’; the social context of information seeking; and the meta-knowledge used by experienced readers in making judgments about texts.     

An overview of information ethics issues in a world-wide context

This article presents an overview of significant issues facing contemporary information professionals. As the world of information continues to grow at unprecedented speed and in unprecedented volume, questions must be faced by information professionals. Will we participate in the worldwide mythology of equal access for all, or will we truly work towards this debatable goal? Will we accept the narrowing of choice for our corresponding increasing diverse clientele? Such questions must be considered in a holistic context and an understanding of the many levels of information inequities is requisite. Beginning with an historical perspective, Buchanan presents Mustapha Masmoudi's seminal review of forms of information inequities. She then describes qualitative forms of inequities, such as information imperialism and cultural bias embedded in such practices as cataloging and classification. Following, a review of quantitative inequities is presented. Such issues as the growing commoditization of information and information services demand attention from the ethical perspective. And, finally, the Internet and implications surrounding the world-wide dissemination of information is discussed. The article concludes with an extraction form Richard Sclove's Democracy and Technology, and asks that we as information professionals actively examine the information industry around us and demand a more democratic process within which to work.     

The Me in Memory: The Role of the Self in Autobiographical Memory Development

This article tests the hypothesis that self-development plays a role in the offset of childhood amnesia; assessing the importance of both the capacity to anchor a memory to the self-concept, and the strength of the self-concept as an anchor. This research demonstrates for the first time that the volume of 3- to 6-year old's specific autobiographical memories is predicted by both the volume of their self-knowledge, and their capacity for self-source monitoring within self-referencing paradigms (N = 186). Moreover, there is a bidirectional relation between self and memory, such that autobiographical memory mediates the link between self-source monitoring and self-knowledge. These predictive relations suggest that the self-memory system is active in early childhood.     

The Home Play of Toddlers with Disabilities: Contexts and maternal perspectives

A multiple case‐study design was used to explore the spontaneous play of three toddlers with disabilities as it emerged in the course of everyday activity in the home. Children were observed at home playing independently and with their mothers. Data consist of videotaped naturalistic observations in the children’s homes and mothers’ perspectives of their child’s play obtained in semi‐structured interviews. There was a great deal of similarity in the playful behaviour of toddlers and their mothers. Toddlers were active players throughout all daily routines and their play reflected their developmental level. Mothers actively supported their children’s initiative and engagement in play and they spoke of play as a highly valued behaviour. Some qualitative differences were noted in child and mother–child play, which seemed to relate to the nature of the child’s disability and developmental level. Further study of the play of young children with disabilities in naturalistic settings and ways that mothers and other caregivers value and support child play is recommended.     

Teaching structured troubleshooting: integrating a standard methodology into an information technology program

Troubleshooting skills are integral for the Information Technology professional. In order to address faculty concerns that students were not effectively learning required troubleshooting skills, a standardized troubleshooting methodology (the DECSAR Method) was created and integrated into the standard curriculum of a college information technology program. Components of troubleshooting were measured using a pre-/post-testing approach with the Social Problem Solving Inventory—Revised. Testing indicated improvement in several areas of troubleshooting reinforced by DECSAR. The context in which the troubleshooting methodology was applied was associated with post-test change.