Retroactive interference and rate of forgetting in delayed matching-to-sample performance

Previous evidence suggests that a disruptive stimulus presented during the delay interval of a delayed matching-to-sample trial increases the rate of forgetting by pigeons. However, disruptive events have generally been presented for a period of time proportional to the delay interval. Thus, the observed increase in forgetting may be the result of greater exposure to these events at longer delays than at shorter ones. This possibility was examined by comparing the effects of houselight illumination for the entire delay, half the delay, or a constant 1.5 sec of each delay on pigeons’ delayed matching-to-sample accuracy. Presenting the houselight for a period of time proportional to each delay (i.e., the entire delay or half the delay) impaired accuracy more at longer delays than at shorter delays. By contrast, when the houselight was illuminated for 1.5 sec, irrespective of delay length, there was a greater impairment in accuracy at shorter delays than at longer delays. Thus, the increased rate of forgetting previously reported in the literature may be the result of unequal application of a disrupting stimulus across delays.     

Birth,Bath, and Beyond: The Science and Safety of Water Immersion During Labor and Birth

The 2014 objection to birth in water voiced by both the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) in ACOG Bulletin #594 on immersion in water during labor and birth is nothing new. The Committee on Fetus and Newborn published the very same opinion in 2005, based on a case report that was published in 2002 in the journal Pediatrics. What has changed since 2002 is a growing body of evidence that reports on the safety and efficacy of labor and birth in water. This article reviews the retrospective literature on water birth and explains newborn physiology and the protective mechanisms that prevent babies from breathing during a birth in water.     

IX Social Power and the Limitations of Church Education

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this column is to keep religious educators abreast of the relevant significant research in the general field of psychology. Its implications for methods and materials in religious education are clear. Religious educators may well take advantage of every new finding in scientific research.

Each abstract or group is preceded by an ?evaluation and interpretative comment which aims to guide the reader in understanding the research reported.

All of these abstracts are from PSYCHOLOGICAL ABSTRACTS, and are used by permission of that periodical. The abstract number is Volume 30, Number 2, April 1956.     

Developing communication as a graduate outcome: using ‘Writing Across the Curriculum’ as a whole-of-institution approach to curriculum and pedagogy

Communication is widely recognised as an important capability for university graduates [Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2013). OECD skills outlook 2013: First results from the survey of adult skills. Author. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264204256-en]. Yet, research suggests that it is often not adequately developed by Australian universities, remaining implicit in teaching and assessment. This is in part because Australian universities have historically conceptualised communication not as an outcome of disciplinary study, but as a generic, foundational competency or skill. It has therefore been managed outside the curriculum by establishing academic language and learning units that help students develop written and spoken communication through a range of student services. The services model of communication development is becoming untenable, however, given the increasing cultural and linguistic diversity of students and the recognised importance of communication as a graduate outcome. Whole-of-institution approaches are required to integrate communication into course curricula as a fundamental part of disciplinary learning, and develop the capacity of teaching staff to teach it. This paper explores Writing Across the Curriculum and Writing Inside the Disciplines, two complementary approaches used widely in the US for developing literacy in higher education. They emerged in the 1970s in response to the kind of student diversity now common in Australian universities, and offer institution-wide strategies for developing communication as an essential outcome of study in academic and professional disciplines.     

Leading the way: Inside the experiences of high‐achieving African American male students

More than two‐thirds of all African American males who begin college never finish. This and a legion of other discouraging facts about African American males are the usual headlines. But what about those among this population who beat the odds, make the most of college, and achieve in multiple ways inside and outside of the classroom? Who are they, and what can they teach us?     

主人,来玩!

狗狗的世界很简单,只要有得吃、有得玩、有主人的陪伴.它们就很幸福了。也许我们有时应该向它们学习学习、不要给自己那么大的压力,把自己搞得那么累,人生在世,当及时行乐才不枉走这一遭。现在一定是早上;我饿了。我听到有人洗澡的声音,感到阳光照在我的背上,所以我猜老大已经醒了。我把头伸到床边,朝走廊望去。我也想洗个澡。有时,我会想办法进去,但是他不会让我这样做的。真无趣。现在的早上他不像以前那么开心了,一切都变了。我想这都是因为压力。