A mechanical method for graphical solution of polynomials

A mechanical synthesizer with thirty harmonic elements (fifteen sine components and fifteen cosine components) may be used to graph a polynomial in a complex plane. The sum of the sine components is recorded by a tracing point which moves vertically. The sum of the cosine components is recorded by horizontal motion of a drawing board.     

The limits of tolerance in assessing the competence of counselling trainees

At a time when there is intense demand for counselling training in Britain, at considerable cost in terms of time and money for students, the pressure for successful outcome weighs heavily on course tutors. At the same time the pressure to ensure that professional standards of competence in counselling are upheld make the process of continual and final assessment critical.As part of a study investigating the assessment of competence of counsellors in training, trainers were asked a series of questions about the ethical difficulties they have encountered in assessing students. Four case scenarios were presented highlighting various dilemmas that can face trainers when aspects of a student's personal development or self awareness potentially pose a threat to the counselling relationship they have with clients. Trainers were also asked whether they had ever passed students studying on their courses against their better judgement or with reservations about their capacity to fully engage with their clients in a competent and professional manner. If so they were also asked how this came about. The response to these questions was varied and interesting. The majority of respondents reported that students had graduated from their courses about whom they had reservations. The response to the varied scenarios produced valuable qualitative data that reflects both differing frames of reference and value systems of trainers and training courses.The information gathered in this enquiry is discussed with reference to recent sparse literature on counselling training, professionalism and ethics. This paper addresses the concerns that counselling trainers agonise over in private, now open for debate in a public arena, namely how tolerant can they afford to be when assessing the competence of their trainees.     

Parents' views on changing communication after cochlear implantation

We sent questionnaires to families of all 288 children who had received cochlear implants at one center in the United Kingdom at least 5 years previously. Thus, it was a large, unselected group. We received 142 replies and 119 indicated that the child and family had changed their communication approach following cochlear implantation. In 113 cases the change was toward spoken language and in 6 cases the change was toward signed communication. Parents were asked to respond to statements about communication with their deaf child, and their responses indicated that parents wanted the most effective means of communication and one that their child would find most useful in the future. Findings that emerged from parents' comments indicated that the change toward greater use of spoken language was child-led and driven by increased audition. Parents also valued the contribution of signed communication.     

School phobia: understanding a complex behavioural response

School phobia affects about 5% of the school-age population. If left untreated, school phobia can have devastating long-term consequences in children challenged by this condition. Various treatment approaches have been used to explore this complex behavioural response, major among them being the psychoanalytic, psychodynamic, pharmacological and behavioural approaches. Different therapeutic interventions have developed as outgrowths of these approaches; however, the utility of most of these approaches is still controversial. This paper explores current research on school phobia in a North American context and these writers propose extending research on the application of positive behaviour supports (PBS) as a treatment modality for addressing the behavioural support needs of children affected by school phobia.     

Evidence for a shift in the choice criterion of rats in a 12-arm radial maze

Rats were trained in a standard 12-arm radial maze task. Following training, each trial consisted of a sequence of 2, 4, 6, 8, or 10 choices, followed by a 15-min delay, which then was followed by a choice between a single arm and a response manipulandum mounted in the center of the maze. An arm visit was reinforced if the arm had not been visited prior to the delay, whereas a manipulandum response was reinforced if the arm had been visited. It was found that rats are relatively more likely to reject arms by responding to the manipulandum following a delay occurring late in the choice sequence. This indicates that the choice criterion used by rats in the radial maze becomes more strict as the choice sequence progresses. Such a process provides an alternative explanation for some of the data recently reported by Cook, Brown, and Riley (1985).     

Some factors in problem solving: The name of the concept,specific instructions,and the ability to verbalize

Three extrinsic factors were manipulated in a problem-solving task performed by 80 10-year-old children of IQ 90–110. The factors were: The presence or absence of the name of the concept given in feedback, specific instructions, and whether the child was allowed to verbalize. The task was a modification of Vygotsky's experiment on concept formation using concrete material. The performance criteria were: time taken to solution, number of moves, and amount of verbalization. The presence of the name of the concept given in feedback speeded the time to solution and reduced the number of moves required. Specific instruction speeded the solution but did not reduce the number of moves; whereas verbalization reduced the number of moves but increased the time of solution.     

Convergent technologies in distance learning delivery

Conclusion Convergent technologies are beginning to make an impact on the delivery of learning material at a distance in the U.K. The author predicts that as course providers purchase more telematics equipment, two things will happen. First, as has been historically the case with the adoption of new technologies, costs of units will decrease as the user base increases. Second, and perhaps more important, users will discover and develop new and innovative techniques to exploit the capabilities of the technology. The only limits to innovation will be the imagination of the proponents of the new technologies. Time will reveal just how fast these developments occur     

In practice: Partnering with parents and students in alcohol education: How the College of Saint Rose harnesses the influence of prevention specialists

Wendy Neifeld Wheeler introduces the “prevention specialist” philosophy and how including parents in addressing college alcohol abuse is paying off in fewer student alcohol‐related incidents at The College of Saint Rose.