Long-term habituation is produced by distributed training at long ISIs and not by massed training or short ISIs inCaenorhabditis elegans

To begin an investigation of the cellular processes that underlie long-term memory in the nematodeCaenorhabditis elegans, it is first necessary to determine thatC. elegans is capable of retention over 24 h, and to investigate the factors that may influence the expression of long-term memory. In the present study, the effects of stimuli number, interstimulus interval (ISI), and training procedure on long-term retention of habituation were tested inC. elegans. At a long (60-sec) ISI, distributed training sessions produced long-term habituation retained for 24 h, whereas massed training sessions or training with few stimuli did not. When training was performed at a short (10-sec) ISI, long-term habituation was not detectable with testing at either a 10- or a 60-sec ISI. The long-term habituation observed after distributed training sessions at a 60-sec ISI was consistently expressed when the training procedures were varied. Thus it is clear thatC. elegans can reliably express long-term retention for distributed training sessions at a 60-sec ISI, making the system a candidate for further investigations into the cellular processes supporting memory.     

Interaction between conflicting memories in the rat: Contextual pretest cuing reverses control of behavior by testing context

Two experiments were run in order to investigate the influence of external contextual cues on the interaction between two conflicting memories. Rats were trained, in the same apparatus, on a passive-avoidance task and, 10 min later, on an active-avoidance task, then submitted to a 24-h delayed test (without reinforcement). When contextual cues remained unchanged throughout these three phases, the animals exhibited proactive interference, as shown by longer response latencies than those of control animals that had learned only the active-avoidance task (Experiment 1). When training contexts were made slightly different from one task to the other (by the presence of a continuous tone during either the first or the second task), the animals behaved at subsequent testing in accordance with the response contingencies present in the context exactly similar to the test context; this control of behavior by testing context was demonstrated both when the tone was absent (Experiments 1 and 2) and present (Experiment 2) at testing. A cuing procedure—a 90-sec exposure to the tone in the experimental room 5 min prior to testing—led the animals to behave in accordance with the response previously acquired in the presence of the tone (Experiments 1 and 2), exactly in the same way as animals tested in the presence of the tone (Experiment 2). The same cuing treatment was ineffective when administered 1 h before testing (Experiment 2). These results are interpreted in terms of a dual function of contextual cues at the time of retrieval: the general contextual information present during testing or during pretest cuing is assumed to induce concurrent reactivation of both memories. Consequently, the experimentally manipulated contextual cue (the tone) would have a discriminative function, leading the animals to choose between the two equally available representations.     

Advocacy for gender minority students: recommendations for school counsellors

Abstract

Research shows that teachers’ and educators’ responses to gender diversity issues in schools either improves or limits the experiences of students. The school counsellor has an important role to play in this process by working closely with other stakeholders to advocate for transgender, intersex and genderqueer (TIG) students. Following a review of recent developments in the USA, recommendations are made and resources identified to assist school counsellors in validating TIG students, and improving school systems in pursuit of their academic, social and emotional success.     

Compound-component differentiation as a function of CS-US interval and CS duration in the rabbit’s conditioned nictitating membrane response

The acquisition of the rabbit’s nictitating membrane response to a tone + light compound and its components was examined as a function of the CS-US interval (Experiment 1) and CS duration (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, responding to the compound attained high levels in all groups, but responding on component test trials declined to low levels as the CS-US interval increased across values of 300, 800, and 1,300 msec. Further disparities between the compound and components appeared when the animals were shifted to a positive patterning schedule. In Experiment 2, disparities between the compound and components increased as the duration of the CS was increased across values of 50, 200, and 800 msec within a fixed CS-US interval of 800 msec. The results are discussed with respect to distributive processes, configuration, and speed-accuracy tradeoffs.     

A model for the evaluation of bilingual education

In this article a model is proposed to deal with bilingual education that maps relevant factors on a single, multitiered and integrated structure. Around the circumference of each tier we place factors that may have an influence on or may be affected by a specific bilingual education program, grouped according to general category (psychological, sociological, economic, political, religious, cultural, geographical, demographic, historical, Linguistic, and so on). In the center of the circle are located educational factors. The first tier represents the situation of the community (any relevant socio-educational entity, ranging from a village to a nation or larger) before a bilingual program is established. The second tier sets out all the possible rationales for a bilingual program, including the explicit or unstated goals of those who have planned or who control the program, and it allows for several layers in cases where various people might have different or competing goals for the same program. The third tier incorporates the factors under the control of those administering the program: it consists of the operations in whatever area that affect the program: it goes beyond educational factors, and includes for instance language development activities, new political structures, and changes in socio-economic situation. The fourth tier is similar to the first, but represents the situation in the community after the program has been in operation for some time.The paper concludes with a brief sketch of the situation of bilingual education on the Navajo Reservation and in Micronesia. It is argued that only a model as complex as this will make it possible to recognize the features underlying the many different bilingual programs in the world today.

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Zusammenfassung In diesem Artikel wird ein Modell für zweisprachige Erziehung vorgeschlagen, das relevante Faktoren in eine einzige, vielschichtige und integrierte Struktur einordnet. Rinks um jede Schicht setzen wir Faktoren, die ein spezifisches zweisprachiges Erziehungsprogramm entweder selbst beeinflussen oder dadurch beeinflusst werden können; diese gruppieren wir nach allgemeinen Kategorien (psychologischen, soziologischen, wirtschaftlichen, politischen usw.). Im Mittelpunkt des Kreises stehen die pädagogischen Faktoren. Mit der ersten Schicht wird die Lage der Gemeinschaft dargestellt (jede relevante Einheit vom Dorf bis zur Nation oder noch darüber hinaus), bevor ein zweisprachiges Programm eingeführt wurde. Die zweite Schicht zeigt alle möglichen Begründungen für ein zweisprachiges Programm, einschliesslich der ausgesprochenen oder unausgesprochenen Ziele der Planer oder Überwacher des Programms, und sieht für den Fall, dass mehrere Menschen mit dem gleichen Programm verschiedene oder konkurrierende Ziele verfolgen, mehrere Unterschichten vor. In die dritte Schicht sind die von den Verwaltern des Programms beherrschten Faktoren eingeordnet; sie besteht aus den Verfahren auf allen Gebieten, die auf das Programm einwirken: über die pädagogischen Faktoren hinausgehend umfasst sie z.B. Aktivitäten zur Sprachentwicklung, neue politische Strukturen und Veränderungen in der sozial-wirtschaftlichen Lage. Die vierte Schicht ist der ersten ähnlich, zeigt aber die Lage der Gemeinschaft, nachdem das Programm eine zeitlang durchgeführt worden ist.Zum Schluss skizziert der Aufsatz kurz die Gegebenheiten für zweisprachige Erziehung im Indianerreservat und in Micronesien. Es wird behauptet, nur mit Hilfe eines so vielschichtigen Modells wie diesem liessen sich die Grundzüge der vielen verschiedenen zweisprachigen Programme in der heutigen Welt erkennen.

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Résumé Dans cet article, Spolsky propose un schéma de l'éducation bilingue où les facteurs susceptibles d'influencer un programme d'éducation bilingue ou, au contraire, d'être affectés par lui, sont groupés en catégories: Psychologie, Démographie, Histoire, Linguistique, etc. et intégrés à une structure circulaire présentant trois niveaux, pour ne plus former ensuite qu'un tout unique. Au centre de cette structure-amphithéâtre sont placés les facteurs éducatifs. Le premier niveau reflète la situation de la communauté avant qu'un programme bilingue ne soit établi. Cette communauté peut être n'importe quelle entité socio-éducative: un village, une nation, ou davantage. Le deuxième niveau expose toutes les causes possibles qui ont déterminé le programme bilingue, que ce soit les raisons explicites ou les mobiles inexprimés des planificateurs ou des contrôleurs du programme. De la place supplémentaire est réservée pour les cas où ce programme serait inspiré par des intentions différentes voire même concurrentes. Le troisième niveau incorpore les facteurs contrôlés par les administrateurs du programme: c'est-à-dire toutes les opérations touchant de près ou de loin au programme, dans quelque domaine que ce soit. Cela dépasse les facteurs éducatifs et englobe par example les activités relatives au développement du language, les nouvelles structures politiques, les changements survenant dans la situation socio-économique. Le quatrième niveau représente la situation de la communauté après que le programme y a été appliqué pendant un certain temps.Spolsky conclut par un bref exposé de la situation relative à l'éducation bilingue dans la réserve des Indiens Navajos et en Micronésie car il estime que seule la situation remarquablement complexe de ces deux cas permet de mieux identifier les caractéristiques fondamentales des nombreux et différents programmes bilingues que l'on peut rencontrer aujourd'hui, de par le monde.

     

Public accountability and the project-grant mechanism

The project-grant mechanism is a major determinant of research styles and the direction and degree of scientific progress. Insofar as such research increasingly serves as the source of technology, and thus of economic, social and political change, the mechanism also influences, if only indirectly, the societal condition. In its current form the mechanism permits the support of significant amounts of research to be determined on the basis of scientific merit. The result has been the substitution of scientific progress for the achievement of tangible technical ends as the measure of public accountability. Given the increased appearance of undesirable social consequences based, in part, on scientific accomplishments this substitution is now seriously questioned. It has given rise to several attempts to make academic research more responsive to public needs while attempting to preserve the essentials of academic freedom.     

Makeover Or Takeover? The strange death of educational autonomy in neo-liberal England

This paper is concerned with the erosion of educational autonomy in Britain in recent years. Employing an analytical framework derived mainly from the recent work of Basil Bernstein, it examines ways in which weakened boundaries between the educational and the economic/political spheres may be linked to attempts by government in Britain to take over, to an unprecedented degree, domains where educators and producers of knowledge have in the past enjoyed significant, although by no means unqualified, autonomy. Implications for changing educational identities are highlighted, as is Bernstein's central contention that we may be witnessing not merely presentational changes, but rather a fundamental redefinition of the relationship between knowledge and the knower. Certain aspects of the political and educational agenda of the present New Labour government are seen as continuing many of the directions of policy set by previous New Right administrations. It is suggested that such continuities at the level of politics and policy indicate the potency of neo-liberal forms of governmentality and the extent to which they have become entrenched. Postmodernist and modernist interpretations of these developments are briefly considered. Obstacles to effective contestation of the new modalities of control are discussed.     

Didactics and the culture of school disciplines: The case of French language arts as taught in France

This article first examines didactics from an epistemological perspective.

Didactic analysis grasps knowledge as something circulated and/or transmitted. It is distinguished from sociological and psychological approaches to the learning act that legitimize the sociology of education, and from cognitive approaches.

Modifying the learner's individual knowledge so that it conforms to institutional knowledge is a scholastic goal that, in our view, defines the field of didactic research.

The second part of the article proposes answers to these questions: What is the status of the notions taught by the discipline? How are these notions constituted? What is the role of values and knowledge in school exercises and school goals? And what is to be understood by literary culture?