Improving Communication with People with an Intellectual Disability: The content validation of the Biala-II profile

This study explores the content validity of a profile used to describe the communication behaviour of people with intellectual disabilities. The profile, named Biala-II - a Wiradjuri (an Australian Aboriginal language) word for "I understand you" - makes use of the knowledge of informants who are able to provide specific and detailed information on the ways in which a person communicates. This information can be used by ''communication partners'' to guide their interactions with a person whom they do not know well. Five samples of experts - parents, researchers, residential workers, speech pathologists, and special education teachers - rated 16 "best practice" indicators and then rated Biala-II in relation to these indicators. They also answered questions about specific features of the profile with attention to the methodology employed and the likelihood that its use would improve communication with people with an intellectual disability. The results reveal a high level of support for the profile.     

When a Culture Takes a Trip: Evidence of Heritage and Enculturation in Early Conceptions of Art

This study in social cognition has been focused on exploration of ways in which cultural contexts shape formation of knowledge about art in early childhood years. Focusing of the connotative rather than denotative meanings of the term art, this study was designed to examine how this concept functions in a variety of cultural contexts. The method of structured interviews was used to elicit answers of four- and five-year-old children in Canada, France, and Taiwan to questions regarding the nature of art and its salient characteristics. In particular, this study addressed questions about portability of culture and the effects of heritage and enculturation in the formation of social knowledge among individuals whose cultural identity is negotiated in the context of a ‘transplanted’ culture. Responses of francophone children in the Canadian province of Quebec were contrasted with those of their French counterparts, as well as their Canadian peers from European ancestry other than French living in the province of British Columbia. Similarly, responses of interviewees in Taiwan, ROC were compared to the reported beliefs about art of young Chinese-Canadians. The results of this study bring support to the theory of modified cultural pluralism that emphasizes the interplay between the original cultural beliefs and values and those prevalent in the societies that become new home for a transplanted culture. Implications of the study findings to art education are discussed. Research reported in this paper has been supported by a grant from the Social Studies and Humanities Research Council of Canada and the France-Canada Accord.     

Learning as Participation in Social Practices: Interpreting student perspectives on learning

This article explores a small group of students' observations on their learning as they come to the end of an A-level Politics course. It draws on the insights of Vygotsky and other theorists influenced by him, such as Lave, Wenger, Rogoff and Engestro¨m, who have made important contributions to study of the social and participatory nature of learning, particularly, but not exclusively, in contexts outside the school environment. These ideas illuminate the 'communities of practice' found within educational institutions. The students' perspectives reveal perceptions about the learning process and provide a sense of what they have valued during this phase of their studies. Whilst education in formal environments may be criticised for the constraints on learning, classrooms may promote activity that encourages learners to identify their problems with existing knowledge, to question and speculate in ways that transform understanding. Collaborative practices have enabled students to enhance understanding of subject knowledge and to develop skills.     

Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Croatian solid-organ transplant recipients

IntroductionThe data on the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in solid-organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) in Croatia is unknown. The aim of this study was to analyze the seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in Croatian SOTRs.Materials and methodsFrom 7 September to 27 November 2020 (beginning of the second COVID-19 pandemic wave), a cross-sectional screening for COVID-19 was performed in the adult outpatient liver (LTRs; N = 280) and kidney transplant recipients (KTRs; N = 232). Serum samples were initially tested for SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies using a commercial enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA; Vircell Microbiologists, Granada, Spain). All positive samples were confirmed using a virus neutralization test (VNT). Data on risk exposure and COVID-19 related symptoms were collected using a questionnaire.ResultsThe transplanted cohort’s seroprevalence detected by ELISA and VNT was 20.1% and 3.1%, respectively. Neutralizing (NT) antibodies developed in 15.6% of anti-SARS-CoV-2 ELISA IgG positive SOTRs. The difference in seropositivity rates between LTRs and KTRs was not statistically significant (ELISA 21.1% vs. 19.0%, P = 0.554; VNT 3.6% vs. 2.6%, P = 0.082). Overall VNT positivity rates were higher in patients who reported participation in large community events (5.9% vs. 1.0%; P = 0.027) as well as in patients who reported COVID-19 related symptoms in the past six months. In addition, symptomatic VNT positive patients showed significantly higher (P = 0.031) NT antibody titers (median 128, interquartile range (IQR) = 32-128) compared to asymptomatic patients (median 16, IQR = 16-48).ConclusionsThis study showed that 15.6% of anti-SARS-CoV-2 ELISA positive Croatian SOTRs developed NT antibodies indicating protective immunity. Further studies are needed to determine the dynamic of NT antibodies and COVID-19 immunity duration in immunocompromised populations such as LTRs and KTRs.     

Learning domains and the process of creativity

Creativity is viewed in different ways in different disciplines: in education it is called ‘innovation’, in business it is ‘entrepreneurship’, in mathematics it is often equated with ‘problem solving’, and in music it is ‘performance’ or ‘composition’. A creative product in different domains is measured against the norms of that domain, with its own rules, approaches and conceptions of creativity.     

Teaching critical thinking: an investigation of a task in introductory macroeconomics

This paper is an investigation of understandings of critical thinking from two teaching perspectives: academic staff and tutors. It explores critical thinking as situated within an assessment task in introductory macroeconomics. This study found that while the two academic staff conceptualized critical thinking as a set of concrete cognitive skills, the tutors challenged this notion. Although tutors used the way of understanding critical thinking identified by the academic staff in their teaching and marking, they also discussed broader notions of critical thinking that they saw as a fundamental aspect of the discipline. The paper examines the multiple constructions of critical thinking in this setting and its broader implications.     

Convergent designs in fine fashion: An evolutionary model for stylistic innovation

In this paper we propose and test an evolutionary model of stylistic innovation, that is the change in the aesthetic and symbolic elements of products and services. Style is an increasingly relevant phenomenon in many industries and our goal is to develop a model of how styles get introduced and adopted. We build on existent literature on technological change to frame the dynamics of how style changes across time. In the model we propose, companies face periods of ferment with relevant stylistic variations and periods of convergence on a single trend—that is the stylistic convergent design versus the technologic dominant design. We identify the drivers of convergence in stylistic innovation. We test the model with a longitudinal empirical study (1984-2002) in the fine fashion industry, explaining the main differences between a stylistic and a technological evolutionary model.     

Generalization decrements: further support for flexibility in stimulus processing

Thorwart and Lachnit (2009) found reliable symmetrical decrements in two generalization tasks: Removing an already trained component from a compound did not result in larger decrements than adding a new one did. In two contingency learning experiments, we investigated first whether time pressure during stimulus processing, as well as the degree of perceptual grouping, was effective in controlling the symmetry of the decrements (Experiment 1); and second, whether the symmetry was affected by the causal versus predictive nature of the relationship between the cue and the outcome (Experiment 2). The experiments generated unexpected results, since both revealed asymmetrical decrements independent of the manipulations introduced. They therefore demonstrate that more research is needed in order to understand the variables influencing stimulus representation in human associative learning.