Recent experience of the application of a commercial data base management system (ADABAS) to a scientific data bank (ECDIN)

The ECDIN (Environmental Chemicals Data and Information Network) project started in 1973. During the pilot phase of operation the feasibility of the system was demonstrated using a data base of 4000 compounds and the SIMAS information retrieval system. It was quickly realised that for ECDIN data management was as important as information retrieval and in November 1977, after a study of available software, the ADABAS data base management system was installed at JRC Ispra for ECDIN and other JRC data banks. A design exercise for the ECDIN ADABAS data base has been completed and parts of the existing ECDIN data base have been converted to the new system. The problems encountered and the solutions adopted are discussed. The user interface to ECDIN is still under development. When fully operational ECDIN will be available through EURONET to both casual and specialist users and, in consequence, at least two levels of user interface will be required: (a) a user friendly conversational language designed for the casual user and capable of dealing with the more common types of question, (b) a sophisticated query language capable of answering the more difficult questions, producing “one-off” reports and probably requiring both a specialist knowledge of the data base and a programmer oriented background. The first tentative steps in this direction are described.     

Activity and Behavioral Development in Stunted and Nonstunted Children and Response to Nutritional Supplementation

It is frequently assumed that undernutrition in young children leads to poor development through reduced activity. 3 groups of 26 1-year-old stunted children were studied: nutritional supplementation, supplementation with psychosocial stimulation, and controls. 26 nonstunted comparison children were also studied. Activity levels were measured by extensive observations in the homes, and development using 4 subscales of the Griffith's Mental Development Scales. Initially, stunted children were less active than nonstunted ones ( p < .01), but after 6 months they caught up regardless of treatment. The mental ages of the stunted children were lower than those of the nonstunted children initially, and improved with either treatment. Initially, activity levels made a significant contribution to the variance in the locomotor subscale only, but not 6 months later. Activity did not predict change in development over 6 or 12 months, nor did change in activity over 6 months predict change in development over 12 months.     

Don''''t Punish Every Mistake

In one of my assignments as a young infantry(步兵)officer,I was sent tothe 48th Infantry near Frankfurt,Germany.In those days our prize weaponwas a huge 280-mm atomic cannon. One day Captain Tom Miller assigned my platoon to guard a 280.Ialerted my men,loaded my.45 caliber(口径)pistol and jumped into my jeep.I     

Being Subjective about Autistic Thinking and Learning to Learn

In this paper, we discuss the deviant pattern of the development of thinking in autism and outline our thesis that the problem with autistic memory is in developing a personal episodic memory, and that this difficulty arises because of a deficit in the development of an experiencing self, which we have termed (after Brewer, 1986) an ‘ego‐self. We discuss constraints which we suggest result in learnable thinking skills remaining domain specific: difficulties with (i) language, (ii) coding, storage and retrieval of information and (iii) the role of emotions. We discuss what ‘improving the thinking’ of individuals with autism would entail and draw implications regarding fundamental requirements and caveats of teaching thinking for all individuals.     

Design,implementation, and evaluation of a multi-disciplinary professional development program for research mentors

ABSTRACT

Undergraduate research experience has been shown to enhance student learning and improve persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Researchers studying undergraduate research experiences have largely focused on student outcomes and have seldom investigated the outcomes of graduate and postdoctoral mentors. Here, we report a non-credit, year-long mentor professional development program designed for graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and research staff in STEM. Mentors attended a series of six interactive and discussion-based workshops and mentored first-year undergraduate students in independent summer research projects. We report evaluation findings for three mentor cohorts using a combination of qualitative analysis of mentoring philosophies and quantitative assessment of pre- and post-surveys about mentoring objectives and skills. Results indicate that mentors gained self-efficacy in some objectives and skills. However, many other objectives and skills remained unchanged. We explore possible explanations for the lack of more broad-scale gains across survey items and present ideas for program improvement.     

A journey of self‐discovery: an intervention involving massage,yoga and relaxation for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties attending primary schools

This study reports on an intervention involving massage, yoga and relaxation delivered to young children with emotional and behavioural difficulties. Children (n = 126) were invited to participate in the Self‐discovery Programme (SDP) with parental consent. A total of 107 children aged 8–11 years completed the SDP and all measures. Children were allocated to a Control (n = 54) or Intervention (n = 53) group. The results indicate that children in the Intervention group showed improvements in self‐confidence, social confidence, communication and contributions in class. Children in the Intervention group were noted by teachers to use skills learned on the SDP during the school day.     

Students’ perceptions of an interdisciplinary global study tour: uncovering inexplicit employability skills

ABSTRACT

For higher education graduates to be effective in the workplace, they require strong technical skills and the capability to operate across diverse knowledge landscapes to solve real world problems. At an Australian university, an interdisciplinary, short-term study tour programme was utilised to enhance students’ inexplicit employability skills with a focus on managing complexity while developing agility and creativity. To investigate the effectiveness of such a programme, we examined students’ perceptions of an interdisciplinary teamwork assessment task that was undertaken in an international context via a study tour model. We achieved this by, first, introducing a purposely designed interdisciplinary teamwork assessment task, which focused on students presenting innovative ideas to peers and industry members. Second, we elicited student responses via a case study approach that incorporated mixed methods, utilising several data collection instruments prior to, during, and after students participated in a study tour. The findings suggest that integrating a purposely designed interdisciplinary teamwork assessment task, via a short-term study tour model, uncovered certain inexplicit employability skills, namely managing complexity, developing agility and creativity. We make specific recommendations to support this insight, contributing to the mobility teaching and learning research field.