Distance Education in Australia

Distance education in Australia has been an important part of the development of the nation's social, cultural and economic infrastructure since the beginning of this century. This article outlines some of the main features of distance education in Australia from the earliest forms of correspondence education, through to contemporary distance education.     

Archival science and postmodernism: new formulations for old concepts

Process rather than product, becoming rather than being, dynamic rather than static, context rather than text, reflecting time and place rather than universal absolutes—these have become the postmodern watchwords for analyzing and understanding science, society, organizations, and business activity, among others. They should likewise become the watchwords for archival science in the new century, and thus the foundation for a new conceptual paradigm for the profession. Postmodernism is not the only reason for reformulating the main precepts of archival science. Significant changes in the purpose of archives as institutions and the nature of records are other factors which, combined with postmodern insights, form the basis of the new perception of archives as documents, institutions, and profession in society. This essay explores the nature of postmodernism and archival science, and suggest links between the two. It outlines two broad changes in archival thinking that underpin the archival paradigm shift, before suggesting new formulations for most traditional archival concepts.     

Extinction of a taste aversion in the absence of the consummatory response

Rats were initially conditioned to avoid saccharin presented orally and were then given 40 intravenous injections of saccharin or saline. Those injected with saccharin showed more rapid extinction of the aversion to saccharin presented orally. Results are related to studies of shock avoidance using curarized subjects.     

Processing errors in conditional and biconditional problem solving behavior

Students (N = 237) in each of grades 8, 10, 12, and 14 were randomly divided into three groups and administered either a 16-item multiple-choice test of conditional syllogisms, or a 16-item test of biconditional syllogisms, or a 32-item test with both conditional and biconditional syllogisms. Results provided within experiment and within-subjects comparison of responses on conditional and biconditional syllogisms. A comparison of response patterns on conditional items with responses on actual biconditional items provided a direct test of the previously hypothesized biconditional misinterpretation of conditional problems. These analyses confirmed the strong tendency of subjects (across grades) to interpret conditional syllogisms biconditionally. Surprisingly, performance on biconditional problems does not improve systematically with age; in fact, college sophomores perform only slightly better than eighth graders. With regard to conditional syllogisms, results confirmed previously described performance variations across forms of both major and second premises and also replicated an unusual reversed developmental trend on the problem which involves denying the consequent.     

When to say when: Using big data to support mobile communications

As a result of the current mobile phenomenon, many libraries have rushed to provide mobile-compatible services in order to remain relevant in today's quickly evolving information services market. Beginning in 2010, the Laverne and Dorothy Brown Library at the University of St. Francis (USF) launched a data tracking initiative via Google Analytics to determine the extent that mobile-specific library resources were being utilized by students for access to library materials and services. Data analysis has shown that weighing an emphasis toward future development of mobile library resources should be balanced against development costs under a pragmatic anticipation of the longevity and sustainability of any mobile resource.