Development of single-session driving simulator-based and computer-based training for at-risk older drivers

A possible path towards preserving and remediating driving skills while aging is driver training. Previous studies have yielded mixed results with respect to various types of interventions, such as classroom-based training, on-road driving classes and functional abilities training. The present study-incorporated training features found to be effective in previous older driver training studies, into both a computer-based and driving simulator-based intervention. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of both training formats on general driving ability and specific aspects of driving in older drivers at risk of reduced driving abilities. Additionally, the effect of training on perceived task demand was studied, and learning capacity was considered as an influencing factor on training effectiveness. A total of 31 older drivers were randomly assigned to three groups: driving simulator-based training, computer-based training, and an active control group. The participants completed a cognitive assessment including evaluation of learning capacity and a self-assessment of task demand in various traffic situations. Additionally, participants took a driving simulator assessment. Knowledge of road signs, general driving and specific aspects of driving (i.e., average speed, response time to hazards) improved with training, although improvement was found to be evenly strong in all groups. Learning capacity did not influence training effectiveness, and no difference was found in perceived task demand before and after training. The proposed methodology to evaluate training effectiveness, focusing both on clinically relevant and detailed transfer effects can serve as an example for further studies in the field of driver training.     

Between Education and Opinion-Making

The fields of science education and science communication are said to have developed as disparate fields of research and practice, operating based on somewhat different logics and premises about their audiences. As the two fields share many of the same goals, arguments have been made for a rapprochement between the two. Drawing inspiration from a historical debate between the scholars John Dewey and Walter Lippmann, the present article is a case-oriented theoretical contribution applying models from science education and science communication in relation to a current socio-scientific issue (SSI), the COVID-19 pandemic. The main question of interest is how selected didactic (didaktik) models from science education and science communication can contribute to shed light on the present situation of an ongoing pandemic specifically and socio-scientific issues in general. Three models are synthesised to give a new composite model that may help communicators and educators understand, discuss, and analyse complex socio-scientific issues. The model is subsequently applied on the apparently contradictory issue of Norwegian and Swedish governments’ very different responses to the pandemic, despite grounding their decisions on largely the same scientific evidence and advice. Contrast is made by comparison with another SSI, anthropogenic global warming (AGW). It is argued that the exchange and combination of didactic models from the two fields may open new spaces for cross-pollination and cross-fertilisation to the mutual benefit of both science education and science communication.

     

The function of annotations in the comprehension of scientific texts: Cognitive load effects and the impact of verbal ability

Students participated in a study (n=98) investigating the effectiveness of three types of annotations on three learning outcome measures. The annotations were designed to support the cognitive processes in the comprehension of scientific texts, with a function to aid either the process of selecting relevant information, organizing the information in memory, or integrating information with prior knowledge. Learning outcomes were measured by assessing student recall of facts, comprehension of the text, and mental model construction. Results show that different types of annotations facilitate different learning outcomes. In addition, we found that, compared to having only one type of annotation available, multiple types of annotations resulted in a higher cognitive load that resulted in lower performance, especially in tests of higher-level processing. This effect was stronger for low-verbal-ability learners, who showed lower peformance in treatments with multiple types of annotations than high-verbal-ability learners.     

Education of the deaf in Australia and Norway: a comparative study of the interpretations and applications of inclusion

Inclusion is a term and process that is culturally, politically, medically, philosophically, and historically relative in its interpretations in the education of the deaf. The present study is a comparative analysis of two substantially different education systems for deaf students, those of Norway and Australia. The study objective was to elucidate the sources of some of these differences and to examine the interpretations and applications of inclusion that are inherent in the two countries' policies and practices, and in recent research evaluations. Significant differences exist in the national contexts and in the manner in which inclusion is understood and applied in Norway and Australia; the study reports on recent research examinations of inclusion in the two countries and finds that the transitions from policy to practice seem questionable.     

Heterogeneity of student perceptions of the classroom climate: a latent profile approach

Student perceptions are a pivotal point of measurement for understanding why classroom learning environments are effective. Yet there is some evidence that student perceptions cannot be reliably aggregated at the classroom level and, instead, could represent idiosyncratic experiences of students. The present study examines whether heterogeneity in student perceptions of the classroom climate has implications for student achievement. We use data from 1428 seventh grade students in 75 mathematics classrooms from the Michigan Study of Adolescent and Life Transitions. Three dimensions of student perceptions of the classroom were measured: emotional support, autonomy support and performance focus. To obtain a measure of heterogeneity, we first reduced the data using latent profile analysis to describe profiles of students’ perceptions of the classroom. Next, we quantified the heterogeneity of student perceptions within classrooms using Simpson’s D. Classroom-level heterogeneity (Simpson’s D) of students’ perceptions was negatively associated with students’ mathematics achievement, even after controlling for individual- and classroom-level previous achievement, student’s prior perceptions and other variables. Findings suggest that measures of heterogeneity in student perceptions might be important for understanding classroom- and teacher-level effects on student outcomes.     

The influence of a distractor during compound preexposure on latent inhibition

Nonreinforced exposure to a nontarget stimulus that was followed by nonreinforced exposure to a target/nontarget simultaneous compound stimulus resulted in enhanced latent inhibition of the target. Conditioning was slower after this treatment than after nonreinforced exposure to the target stimulus alone (Experiment 1). However, a salient auditory stimulus presented immediately after the compound in the second phase reduced levels of latent inhibition, relative to the enhanced latent inhibition produced when no such extracompound stimulus was presented (Experiments 2 and 3). This effect was not noted if the salient auditory cue was presented 10 sec after the termination of the compound stimulus (Experiment 4). In Experiment 5, there was no disruption of simple latent inhibition produced by a salient stimulus. These results are consistent with enhanced latent inhibition’s being produced by the formation of within-compound associations, which are disrupted by the salient extracompound stimuli.     

Review:Protein folding pathology in domestic animals

Fibrillar proteins form structural elements of cells and the extracellular matrix. Pathological lesions of fibrillar microanatomical structures, or secondary fibrillar changes in globular proteins are well known. A special group concerns histologically amorphous deposits, amyloid. The major characteristics of amyloid are: apple green birefringence after Congo red staining of histological sections, and non-branching 7-10 nm thick fibrils on electron microscopy revealing a high content of cross beta pleated sheets. About 25 different types of amyloid have been characterised. In animals, AA-amyloid is the most frequent type. Other types of amyloid in animals represent: AIAPP (in cats), AApoAI, AApoAII, localised AL-amyloid, amyloid in odontogenic or mammary tumors and amyloid in the brain. In old dogs Ap and in sheep APrPsc-amyloid can be encountered. AA-amyloidosis is a systemic disorder with a precursor in blood, acute phase serum amyloid A (SAA). In chronic inflammatory processes AA-amyloid can be depos     

Aggressive versus Withdrawn Unpopular Children: Variations in Peer and Self-Perceptions in Multiple Domains

The present study examines whether subgroups of unpopular children differ in terms of competence in multiple domains. Specifically, subgroups of aggressive unpopular, withdrawn unpopular, and aggressive-withdrawn unpopular and average status children were identified on the basis of peer evaluations. The subgroups were then compared in terms of peer and self-perceptions of competence in various nonsocial and social domains. Results indicated that the 3 subgroups of unpopular children exhibited distinct profiles according to peer perceptions, with aggressive-withdrawn unpopular children being viewed as deficient in virtually every area assessed, and aggressive unpopular and withdrawn unpopular children viewed as exhibiting particular strengths and weaknesses across domains. In terms of self-perceptions, results indicated that withdrawn-unpopular children expressed more accurate, but negative self-evaluations, while children in the aggressive subgroups tended to overestimate their competencies.