Pain-elicited aggression in the squirrel monkey: An implicit avoidance contingency

Squirrel monkeys were given either forward pairings of a bite-tube CS and shock US or backward pairings of these stimuli. Backward pairings produced stronger control of biting by the bite tube alone than did forward pairings. In a second experiment, subjects received backward pairings of US and CS with either a fixed ITI or a random ITI. Conditioned biting was obtained only when trials were presented with a fixed ITI. The magnitude of unconditioned biting was also significantly greater with the fixed ITI. It was argued that these results demonstrate that conditioning in this situation depends upon the degree to which biting predicts a relatively long shock-free period. When trials occur randomly in time, biting predicts no definite shock-free period; hence, it is not learned.     

Towards a personalized task selection model with shared instructional control

Modern education emphasizes the need to flexibly personalize learning tasks to individual learners. This article discusses a personalized task-selection model with shared instructional control based on two current tendencies for the dynamic sequencing of learning tasks: (1) personalization by an instructional agent which makes sequencing decisions on the basis of learner’s expertise, and (2) personalization by the learner who is given control over – final – task selection. The model combines both trends in a model with shared instructional control. From all available learning tasks, an instructional agent selects a subset of tasks based on the learner’s performance scores and invested mental effort (i.e., system-control). Subsequently, this subset is presented to the learner who makes the final decision (i.e., learner control). A computer-assisted instructional program has been developed to put the model into practice and preliminary results are discussed. The model can be used to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of instruction and to make it more appealing by providing the learner an optimal level of control over task selection. This research project is funded by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO, The Hague, project No. 411-02-107-V).     

The effect of normal load force and roughness on the dynamic traction developed at the shoe–surface interface in tennis

During tennis-specific movements, such as accelerating and side stepping, the dynamic traction provided by the shoe–surface combination plays an important role in the injury risk and performance of the player. Acrylic hard court tennis surfaces have been reported to have increased injury occurrence, partly caused by increased traction that developed at the shoe–surface interface. Often mechanical test methods used for the testing and categorisation of playing surfaces do not tend to simulate loads occurring during participation on the surface, and thus are unlikely to predict the human response to the surface. A traction testing device, discussed in this paper, has been used to mechanically measure the dynamic traction force between the shoe and the surface under a range of normal loading conditions that are relevant to real-life play. Acrylic hard court tennis surfaces generally have a rough surface topography, due to their sand and acrylic paint mixed top coating. Surface micro-roughness will influence the friction mechanisms present during viscoelastic contacts, as found in footwear–surface interactions. This paper aims to further understand the influence micro-roughness and normal force has on the dynamic traction that develops at the shoe–surface interface on acrylic hard court tennis surfaces. The micro-roughness and traction of a controlled set of acrylic hard court tennis surfaces have been measured. The relationships between micro-roughness, normal force, and traction force are discussed.     

Library and informatics skills competencies statements from major health professional associations

Every major health profession now provides competency statements for preparing new members for their respective professions. These competency statements normally include expectations for training health professions students in library/informatics skills. For purposes of this article, searches were conducted using various sources to produce a comprehensive 32-page Compendium that inventories library/informatics-related competency statements. This compendium should aid readers in integrating their library/informatics skills training into various health professions education curricula.     

Autonomic Regulation on the Stroop Predicts Reading Achievement in School Age Children

In this study we examined high frequency heart rate variability (HF‐HRV, a parasympathetic index) both at rest and during challenge, to assess if variations in cardiovascular activity measured during a Stroop task could be used to predict reading achievement in typically developing children. Reading achievement was examined using the Peabody Individual Achievement Test–Revised. Results showed that greater HF‐HRV suppression during both the Stroop word and Stroop word–color conflict tasks was associated with better reading achievement. Higher basal levels of HF‐HRV did not predict better reading scores. These results are among the first to show a link between HF‐HRV and reading achievement in a normative school age population, and offer new insight into the association between cognitive activity and autonomic regulation of the heart.     

Accelerated HE digitalisation: Exploring staff and student experiences of the COVID-19 rapid online-learning transfer

Education and Information Technologies - In the UK, the first ‘lockdown’ of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a rapid shift to online learning and digital technologies in Higher...     

Flipped classrooms: implications for K-12 students with learning and behavioural challenges from an international exploratory study of teacher educators

Flipped classrooms represent a new instructional paradigm for presenting K-12 instruction. Whereas in traditional classrooms new content is taught during the school day and application activities are assigned for homework, in flipped classrooms students are expected to acquire new content by working through assigned tasks at home prior to the next day’s class. Subsequently, class time is used for application activities. To date, limited, conflicting analyses of research about the efficacy of the flipped classroom paradigm have been reported. This lack of a clear consensus is of concern for students with serious learning and/or behavioural challenges who have not been the focus of these analyses and whose learning characteristics arguably run counter to what students must do to be successful in flipped classrooms. The investigation reported herein addresses one aspect of the aforementioned void in the literature. Data from an international survey of teacher educators from 33 countries that ascertained their thoughts about the appropriateness of the flipped classroom paradigm for students with serious learning and/or behavioural challenges are reported. Results indicate that teacher educators have reservations about the appropriateness of flipped classrooms, but that their opinions are not fully informed by knowledge about, and experience with, these classrooms.     

Working Memory and Strategy Use Contribute to Gender Differences in Spatial Ability

In this review, a new model that is grounded in information-processing theory is proposed to account for gender differences in spatial ability. The proposed model assumes that the relative strength of working memory, as expressed by the ratio of visuospatial working memory to verbal working memory, influences the type of strategies used on spatial ability tasks. Strategy use, in turn, influences performance on spatial ability tasks. Gender differences in spatial ability can be explained by gender differences in strategy use as a function of the relative strength of visuospatial working memory to verbal working memory.