Response-independent habituation of the orienting response in the preweanling rat

The effect of pattern of stimulus presentation on habituation of the cardiac component of the orienting response to an auditory stimulus was investigated in four experiments. The duration of stimulus presentation was held constant, but some animals were given six 10-sec stimulus presentations and others were given a single 60-sec stimulus. During the first 10 sec of the auditory stimulus, heart rate (HR) decreased approximately 40 beats per minute (bpm) in both groups, but during subsequent 10-sec epochs, the changes in HR were markedly different in the two groups. For those animals given a single 60-sec stimulus, the cardiac orienting response did not habituate; that is, HR either continued to decrease or remained approximately 40 bpm below baseline. In contrast, those animals given six 10-sec stimulus presentations showed smaller decreases in HR with each successive stimulus presentation, and after approximately four presentations, no detectable change in HR was observed. Despite these dramatic differences in habituation of the cardiac component of the orienting response, neither group oriented to the auditory stimulus when it was presented again following a short retention interval. Moreover, with increasing retention intervals, both groups showed the same forgetting function (reappearance of the orienting response). The implications of these findings for theories of the orienting response as well as theories of habituation are discussed.     

Young adult outcomes of the Abecedarian and CARE early childhood educational interventions

Adult benefits for participants in Project CARE were compared with those of the Abecedarian Project, a closely related randomized study of early childhood educational intervention for children from low-income families who were at risk of developmental delays and school failure. CARE replicated Abecedarian's young adult treatment-related educational and vocational attainment gains. CARE data also supported the Abecedarian reduction in marijuana use. Treated individuals in both studies reported adopting a more active life style. The average age at birth of a first child, the number of children, and the proportion of teen parents were positively affected in the Abecedarian sample but not in CARE. Finding significant educational and vocational gains lasting into young adulthood in the CARE study reinforces Abecedarian young adult findings and strengthens the case for early childhood intervention for children from low-income families.     

The Future of Professional Photojournalism

The work practices of the professional photojournalist are currently undergoing rapid change in the digital era. New technologies, new platforms and new methods of visual storytelling are exerting a range of pressures and influences that require photojournalists to adapt and respond in different ways. The changes provoke a number of questions that are critical to the future of professional photojournalism: What are the new risks being faced by photojournalists? How are the transformations in the media economy affecting photojournalists’ employment? What does this mean for image quality? How do photojournalists think about the manipulation of images or the staging of events? Given the rise of citizen journalism, digital technology and social media, will there even be professional photojournalists in the future? This paper presents some of the results and new analysis from the first international study into the current state and future of professional photojournalism, with a specific focus on risk and on perceptions of risk among photographers. The results indicate a high degree of risk is experienced among professional photographers with a very strong correlation to the country in which they are based.     

Effects of Academic Discipline and Teaching Goals in Predicting Grading Beliefs Among Undergraduate Teaching Faculty

Prior research reveals that differential grading patterns exist among the academic disciplines. One explanation may lie in discipline-related differences in teaching goals and beliefs about the meaning grades should convey. This study examined the effects of academic discipline and teaching goals on grading beliefs. A national sample (n = 442) of undergraduate teaching faculty provided responded to a survey measuring the importance of various teaching goals and orientations toward norm-referenced or criterion-referenced grading (Frame of Reference), and beliefs about using grades to sort and select students on the basis of achievement (Gatekeeping). Both teaching goals and academic discipline were significantly related to gatekeeping beliefs, but not to beliefs about frames of reference for grading. Higher gatekeeping scores were associated with faculty in the paradigmatic fields and those who emphasized analytic skills and time management. Lower gatekeeping scores were associated with the preparadigmatic disciplines and teaching goals of synthesis and integration and developing respect for others. Faculty who identified their primary teaching role as subject matter oriented were more gatekeeping than those who identified themselves primarily as being student/personal development oriented.     

Problem Solving in a Middle School Robotics Design Classroom

Little research has been conducted on how students work when they are required to plan, build and evaluate artefacts in technology rich learning environments such as those supported by tools including flow charts, Labview programming and Lego construction. In this study, activity theory was used as an analytic tool to examine the social construction of meaning. There was a focus on the effect of teachers’ goals and the rules they enacted upon student use of the flow chart planning tool, and the tools of the programming language Labview and Lego construction. It was found that the articulation of a teacher’s goals via rules and divisions of labour helped to form distinct communities of learning and influenced the development of different problem solving strategies. The use of the planning tool flow charting was associated with continuity of approach, integration of problem solutions including appreciation of the nexus between construction and programming, and greater educational transformation. Students who flow charted defined problems in a more holistic way and demonstrated more methodical, insightful and integrated approaches to their use of tools. The findings have implications for teaching in design dominated learning environments.     

Constructing a new KS3 curriculum at Brooke Weston CTC: a review and commentary

This paper reviews changes to the key stage 3 curriculum at a leading comprehensive school. The nature and practical concerns of the changes are described. These move beyond a fresh approach to content; they include issues about engaging students actively in learning for the future, planning around the school's distinctive ethos and expertise in ICT, and using curriculum as a vehicle for providing energy for new staff and heads of department to engage in learning leadership. Theoretical models of curriculum are examined to locate thinking at Brooke Weston CTC in a conceptual framework. The paper suggests that futuristic curriculum development resonates with some classical curriculum models that have been ignored over the past two decades of the National Curriculum.     

The Influence of Career Beliefs and Socio-Economic Status on the Career Decision-Making of High School Students in India

This paper responds to current discussions in career psychology that emphasise the importance of understanding how socio-economic backgrounds and social-cognitive environments influence career development. Located in India, this study examines the interaction between career beliefs and socio-economic status within a sample of Indian high school students. Significant socio-economic status differences were observed, with the lower SES groups showing higher levels of negative career beliefs. The relevance of these findings to career psychologists who work in multi cultural contexts is discussed within the framework of the Social Cognitive Theories of Career Decision Making. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Secondary school educational practitioners’ experiences of school attendance problems and interventions to address them: a qualitative study

School attendance problems are associated with a range of adverse consequences, and educational practitioners play a role in identifying and responding to attendance problems. This qualitative study explored educational practitioners’ experiences of working with students with attendance problems and interventions to address them. Focus groups were conducted with sixteen practitioners across three secondary schools. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. Attendance problems were considered resource-intensive and emotionally challenging. Practitioners expressed difficulty understanding causes, although individual/family factors were emphasised over school factors. A range of interventions were described, including adaptations to school context and providing emotional support. Views on punitive approaches were mixed. Individualised interventions implemented at the first sign of problems, and a team approach, were considered important. Findings highlight the important role of educational practitioners in identifying attendance problems and implementing interventions. Recommendations include early intervention, team-work, and emotional support for students with, and staff responding to, attendance problems.     

Beliefs about the Nature of Science and the Enacted Science Curriculum

This interpretive study of the teaching and learning of chemistry in an Australian high school examines the beliefs about the nature of science of a teacher and his class in relation to the enacted curriculum. Although the teacher and students tended to see science as an evolving discipline that was uncertain and changed over time, the manner in which the curriculum was implemented was a direct contrast. In the enacted curriculum science was represented as a catalogue of facts to be memorised and as algorithmic solutions to problems. The beliefs that had greatest impact on shaping the curriculum were the teachers beliefs about the nature of student learning, his beliefs about the distribution of power between himself and the students, and the extent to which restraints were accepted by the teacher as reasons for maintaining a traditional approach to teaching and learning chemistry.