Can squirrel monkeys (Saimiri sciureus) plan for the future? Studies of temporal myopia in food choice

In seven experiments, 2 squirrel monkeys were given choices between arrays of food that varied in the quantity offered. In Experiments 1-5, the monkeys were offered choices between quantities of the same food that varied in a 2:1 ratio. The squirrel monkeys failed to show the temporal myopia effect or a decrease in preference for the larger quantity as the absolute number of food items offered increased. Even when given choices of 8 versus 16 peanuts and 10 versus 20 peanuts, both monkeys significantly preferred the larger quantity. An examination of the monkeys' rates of consumption indicated that 20 peanuts were consumed over a 1- to 2-h period, with eating bouts separated by periods of nonconsumption. In Experiments 6A, 6B, and 7, food was either pilfered or replenished 15 min after an initial choice, so that choice of the smaller quantity led to more total food in the long run. These manipulations caused both monkeys to reduce choice of the larger quantity, relative to baseline choice. The results suggest that squirrel monkeys anticipated the future consequences of their choices.     

Aquatic-Aerobic Exercise as a Means of Stress Reduction during Pregnancy

The goals of this research were to explore the current literature regarding associations between psychological stress and adverse fetal outcome, associations between aerobic exercise and psychological stress reduction, and associations between aerobic exercise and fetal outcome. The published studies that were located provide evidence of the following: 1) Stress reactivity increases physiologically during pregnancy, 2) pregnant women may experience additional stressors that are usually not experienced in a nonpregnant state, 3) psychological stress in pregnancy is associated with adverse fetal outcome, 4) exercise can be a method of stress reduction, 5) exercise in pregnancy is not associated with adverse fetal outcome, and 6) exercise in pregnancy may provide benefit to the fetus. Data were analyzed from an original study and associations were reported between psychological stress-management activities and participation in aquatic aerobic exercise classes. No reports were available investigating an exercise-induced reduction in psychological stress with fetal outcome.     

Reflections on some contemporary educational slogans

Five fashionable ideas in educational theory are here identified as essentially amounting to slogans in which mere rhetoric supplants rational discussion. First, the back-to-basics movement, trading on a preference for what is essential and useful, blurs the point that there is serious dispute about what actually is essential in education. Second, progressive educators favour discovery learning, but ignore the fact that discoveries can grow out of teaching situations. Third, the notion of values clarification is attractive to all who reject authoritarianism in moral education, but it cannot be enough merely to clarify our moral views. We need to ask how far they are defensible. Fourth, the idea of the hidden curriculum is used to denounce subtle indoctrination, but it is too readily assumed that a hidden curriculum is both inevitable and undesirable. Finally, modern educators have succumbed to the apparent security offered by behavioural objectives without noticing that many educational outcomes, including dispositions, cannot be specified with the precision demanded. Slogans offer simplistic solutions, and serve to curtail serious criticism.

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Zusammenfassung Fünf gängige Begriffe aus der erziehungswissenschaftlichen Theorie, die wesentlich zur Schlagwortbildung beitragen, werden hier identifiziert, bei denen das rein Rhetorische die rationale Diskussion ersetzt. Erstens, die Back to Basics (Zurück zu den Grundfertigkeiten)-Bewegung, die mit Vorliebe übernimmt, was daran wesentlich und nützlich ist, jedoch die Tatsache verwischt, daß eine ernsthafte Auseinandersetzung darüber geführt wird, was eigentlich in der Erziehung wesentlich ist. Zweitens, fortschrittliche Erzieher bevorzugen entdeckendes Lernen, übersehen aber die Tatsache, daß Entdeckungen aus Lehrsituationen heraus erwachsen können. Drittens, der Begriff der Werteabklärung ist für alle verlockend, die das Autoritäre in der Moralerziehung ablehnen, aber es ist nicht ausreichend, nur unsere moralischen Standpunkte zu klären. Es muß die Frage gestellt werden, inwieweit sie zu verteidigen sind. Viertens, der Gedanke des verborgenen Curriculums wird angewandt, um die subtile Indoktrination zu entlarven, aber es wäre voreilig anzunehmen, daß das verborgene Curriculum gleichermaßen unvermeidlich und unerwünscht ist. Schließlich glauben moderne Erzieher durch die sich anbietenden Verhaltensweisen eine Garantie zu haben, ohne zu bemerken, daß vielfach Folgen der Erziehung einschließlich der Charakteranlagen, nicht im einzelnen mit der erforderlichen Präzision angegeben werden können. Schlagworte bieten vereinfachende Lösungen und dienen dazu, ernsthafte Kritik einzuschränken.

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Résumé Les cinq idées en vogue dans le domaine de la théorie éducative sont identifiées ici essentiellement en tant que slogans dans lesquels la rhétorique supplante le débat rationnel. Tout d'abord, le mouvement pour un retour aux éléments d'apprentissage essentiels de base, en tirant profit d'une préférence pour ce qui est fondamental et utile en éducation, cache la controverse sérieuse qui est soulevée lorsqu'il s'agit de savoir ce qui est vraiment essentiel en éducation. Deuxièmement, les éducateurs progressistes favorisent l'apprentissage par la découverte, mais ignorent le fait que ces découvertes peuvent provenir des situations d'apprentissage. Troisièmement, la notion de clarification des valeurs est attirante pour tous ceux qui rejettent l'autoritarisme dans l'éducation morale, mais il est insuffisant de clarifier nos vues morales. Nous devons nous demander jusqu'à quel point elles sont justifiables. Quatrièment, l'idée du curriculum dissimulé est utilisée pour dénoncer une indoctrinement raffinée, mais on affirme trop facilement qu'un curriculum dissimulé est inévitable et peu désirable à la fois. Enfin, les éducateurs modernes ont cédé à l'apparente sécurité offerte par les objectifs relatifs au comportement sans remarquer que de nombreux résultats éducatifs, y compris les dispositions, ne peuvent être spécifiés avec la précision demandée. Les slogans offrent des solutions simplistes et servent à amputer la critique sérieuse.

     

Extending WHIRL with background knowledge for improved text classification

Intelligent use of the many diverse forms of data available on the Internet requires new tools for managing and manipulating heterogeneous forms of information. This paper uses WHIRL, an extension of relational databases that can manipulate textual data using statistical similarity measures developed by the information retrieval community. We show that although WHIRL is designed for more general similarity-based reasoning tasks, it is competitive with mature systems designed explicitly for inductive classification. In particular, WHIRL is well suited for combining different sources of knowledge in the classification process. We show on a diverse set of tasks that the use of appropriate sets of unlabeled background knowledge often decreases error rates, particularly if the number of examples or the size of the strings in the training set is small. This is especially useful when labeling text is a labor-intensive job and when there is a large amount of information available about a particular problem on the World Wide Web.

The development of temporal metamemory

In two studies of knowledge about the properties and processes of memory for the times of past events, 178 children from 5 through 13 years of age and 40 adults answered questions about how they would remember times on different scales, how temporal memory is affected by retention interval, and the usefulness of different methods. The adults showed quite accurate knowledge about the main properties of memory for time and the processes that underlie it. Different properties and processes were first understood at ages ranging from 8 years to 12 years or later. Knowledge of the roles of reconstruction and impressions of temporal distances appear well after children use them to remember the times of events.     

An Experimental Investigation of Antisocial Lie-Telling Among Children With Disruptive Behavior Disorders and Typically Developing Children

Children's lie-telling is surprisingly understudied among children with significant behavioral problems. In the present study, experimental paradigms were used to examine antisocial lie-telling among ethnically diverse 5- to 10-year-old children with disruptive behavior disorders (DBD; n = 71) and a typically developing (TD) comparison sample (n = 50) recruited from a southeastern state from 2013 to 2014. Children completed two games that measured the prevalence and skill of their lies: (a) for personal gain and (b) to conceal wrongdoing. Children with DBD were more likely to lie for personal gain than TD children. With age, children were more likely to lie to conceal wrongdoing, but the reverse was true regarding lies for personal gain. Results advance knowledge concerning individual differences in children's lie-telling.     

Education,skills and international cooperation: Comparative and historical perspectives

International Review of Education -