Commentary: Development of Perception-Action Systems and General Principles of Pattern Formation

Our commentary on this special issue devoted to Developmental Biodynamics: Brain, Body, and Behavior Connections is divided into 3 main sections. The first section is an overview of the individual contributions. 5 major themes are identified: (1) inappropriateness of computational treatments of development and the need for more biologically and physically relevant treatments; (2) significance of tailoring muscular to nonmuscular forces in developing movement coordination; (3) importance of spontaneous movements as exploratory and formative mechanisms; (4) influences of action capabilities on the development of perception capabilities, and vice versa; (5) applications of methods and techniques of nonlinear dynamics to developmental processes. In the second section, we provide a synopsis of current ways of thinking about prototypical developmental processes, namely, pattern formation and pattern differentiation, in various classes of physical and biological systems. It is suggested that efforts to understand the progressive formation and differentiation of patterns in terms of very general principles provide a valuable resource of concepts and methods for students of child development. In the third section, hypotheses about the development of perception-action systems are generated from juxtaposing the themes and conjectures of this special issue with general principles of pattern formation. The hypotheses suggest the possibility of a pattern formation or dynamics approach to child development as an alternative to the conventional approaches emphasizing maturation (nativist), specific learning experiences (empiricist), cognitive stages (Piagetian), and strategies of encoding and retrieval (information processing).     

Individual Differences in Infant Visual Attention: Four-Month-Olds' Discrimination and Generalization of Global and Local Stimulus Properties

Cognitive performance and development is negatively correlated with fixation duration patterns during infancy, and evidence suggests that long-looking infants may process visual information more slowly than short-looking infants. 3 experiments described here tested the possibility that these differences may be due to differential sensitivity to global and local visual information. Infants were administered discrimination and generalization tasks involving global and local information at varying levels of familiarization time. Results indicated that 4-month-olds process visual information in a global-to-local sequence. Both long- and short-looking infants were sensitive to both types of information, although long lookers required additional familiarization time to match the performance of short lookers. Finally, apparent "generalization" of global information at brief familiarization levels was traced to insensitivity to local stimulus properties. The results do not support the hypothesis that long- and short-looking infants are differentially sensitive to global versus local visual information at 4 months of age.     

Goal‐Directed Correlates and Neurobiological Underpinnings of Adolescent Identity: A Multimethod Multisample Longitudinal Approach

This multimethod multisample longitudinal study examined how neurological substrates associated with goal directedness and information seeking are related to adolescents’ identity. Self‐reported data on goal‐directedness were collected across three biannual waves in Study 1. Identity was measured one wave later. Study 1 design and measurements were repeated in Study 2 and extended with structural brain data (nucleus accumbens [NAcc] and prefrontal cortex gray matter volume [PFC]), collected across three biannual waves. Study 1 included 497 adolescents (M_{age T1} = 13.03 years) and Study 2 included 131 adolescents (M_{age T1} = 14.69 years). Using latent growth curve models, goal directedness, NAcc, and PFC volume predicted a stronger identity one wave later. These findings provide crucial new insights in the underlying neurobiological architecture of identity.     

Emeritus professors: Correlates of professional activity in retirement II

Dorfman (1980b) investigated correlates of professional activity in retirement of professors at a major state university who continued to reside in their academic community during the entire year. This follow-up study extends that research to the total population of emeriti by including emeriti who left the University community after retirement and emeriti who continued to live in the University community for part of the year. Interviews were conducted with 113 University of Iowa emeritus professors. There was consistency between level of professional activity during the preretirement career and level of professional activity in retirement for the entire group, with stayers more consistent than leavers. Significant correlates of professional activity in retirement for the entire group included rated importance of consulting and University service, strength of ties to colleagues and professional organizations outside the University, contacts with former students, and perceived rapidity of changes in knowledge in respondents' fields. Multiple regression results showed that the strongest predictors of professional activity in retirement were level of professional activity during the preretirement career and strength of ties to professional organizations outside the University.     

Japanese student activism in the 1970s

Student movements in Japan have, during the 1970s, tended to move from cooperation between various radical sects to bloody conflict among them, from participation by students generally to involvement by only a limited core of committed activists and from a struggle against the universityand society to one against society alone. The end of the war in Vietnam, the economic crisis, and other societal factors have contributed to these changes. The future of the student movement in Japan cannot be accurately predicted but it is unlikely that a powerful and politically effective movement, such as that of the 1960s, will re-emerge in the near future.     

A Case Study of Elementary Science Teaching as Mediated Action: Transformations of Context,Meaning, and Action

The research described in this article is a case study of a fifth grade teacher's (Melissa) efforts to construct a teaching and learning environment within her science teaching. Qualitative research methods were used to examine and analyze Melissa's science teaching practice. Drawing from socio-cultural theories, I argue that her teaching and learning environment was constructed as a form of mediated action through which she articulated and transformed the context, meaning, and action of her science teaching. In particular, she forged links between a number of factors, such as historically recognizable forms of pedagogy, perceptions of her students' socio-economic positions, knowledge of appropriate science teaching, and her experiences in a preservice teacher education program. Through her pedagogical work, the teaching and learning environment was articulated into a complex network of meanings, physical spaces, and concrete actions in which each element transformed the other. I suggest that mediated action is a form of transformation that constitutes context, meaning, and action into a dynamic and constantly-shifting teaching and learning environment. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A Practical Introduction to Authoring for Computer-Assisted Instruction. Part 7: Graphic support

Images provide a useful method of presenting information to an audience. In a learning situation the use of pictorial forms can offer a high-bandwidth mechanism for the transfer of information between an instructor and a student. This paper discusses some ways of providing graphic support in a computer-based learning environment and describes some approaches to the provision of authoring facilities that utilize this technique.     

Becoming a physician: The influence of the undergraduate experience

This study employed a national sample of college students who initially aspired to be, or later became, physicians to determine the influence of precollege characteristics, college origins, and the academic and social experience of college on the likelihood of becoming a physician. Estimates of a 14-variable causal model indicated that the major direct effects on attainment were attributable to college characteristics and the academic experience of college. Net of other causes, the selectivity/prestige of the undergraduate institution attended, collegiate academic achievement, and majoring in the physical or life sciences each had significant direct effects on becoming a physician. The direct positive influence of college quality, however, was partially counterbalanced by its negative indirect effect. Moreover, the greatest advantage in attending an elite institution accrued to those students with relatively high levels of academic performance. As academic performance declined, so did the positive effect of college quality. The effects of precollege characteristics on becoming a physician were largely indirect, mediated by the student's college experience. Net of other factors, women were no less likely than men to become physicians, but being female had a significant negative indirect effect. Conversely, secondary school achievement did not directly influence attainment but did have a large positive indirect influence.An earlier version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the Association for the Study of Higher Education, San Diego, February, 1987.     

Child Schooling in India: A Multilevel Approach

It is been widely established that child schooling has far reaching influence on shaping their subsequent living, in particular, and social and economic development of the society, in general. Although the Constitution of India provides free and compulsory education for all children until they reach 14 years, the schooling of children – enrollment and completion of primary school – still remains far below than the expectations. Using data from National Family Health Survey [NFHS], we attempted to understand primary school enrollment and completion in India. Results reveal that household characteristics play a significant role towards child schooling. The study suggests the importance of adult educational programs and opening of new schools, particularly all-girls schools, in needed areas. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.