The Future of the University: Reflections from New Zealand

Over the past two decades, references to "crises" in tertiary education – and in universities in particular – have appeared with increasing frequency in popular and academic texts. Some commentators have concentrated on shortfalls in funding and the exploitation of staff; others have focused on the "moral collapse" of the university, or on issues of curriculum reform and "political correctness" in the classroom. In New Zealand, as in many other countries of the Western World, serious concerns have been raised about the commodification, marketisation and privatisation of education at the university level. This paper provides a concise overview of recent changes in the tertiary sector in New Zealand, and considers possible futures for higher education in the 21st century. Special attention is paid to three themes: the emergence of the "perpetual chooser"; potential changes in conditions of work for academics; and the reconfiguration of academic priorities in the age of the market. The prospects for resistance against elements of the marketisation process are briefly assessed.     

Behavior Problems of African American Boys and Girls Attending Head Start Programs in Violent Neighborhoods

This article examined behavior problems exhibited by African American children attending Head Start centers in violent neighborhoods. Children's scores on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)/parent form were compared to the mean scores for the CBCL's non-clinical standardization sample on the internalizing, externalizing, and total problem scales. The Head Start children's scores were not significantly different from the standardization sample on the internalizing scale, but both boys and girls in the study sample had significantly higher scores on the externalizing and total problem scales than their respective gender group in the standardization sample. There were no significant differences in the T scores of boys and girls in this study on any of the three behavior problem scales. The study also examined percentages of boys and girls with behavior problems in the more severe ranges. Higher percentages of boys than girls had severe internalizing problems, while higher percentages of girls than boys had severe externalizing problems. Analyses of total behavior problem scores revealed no significant differences between boys and girls in the severe ranges. Implications of findings for research, practice, and policy are discussed within the sociocultural contexts of the families and communities in the study.     

Neoliberalism, Performativity and Research

This paper provides a critical analysis of New Zealand’s Performance Based Research Fund (PBRF). The first section sketches the development and implementation of the PBRF. The second section evaluates the scheme, concentrating on three themes: the relationship between privatization, competition and research performance; the standardization of research; and motivations for research. The paper acknowledges the thorough work completed by the Tertiary Education Advisory Commission and other policy groups in laying the foundation for the adoption of performance-based research funding in New Zealand. It is argued, however, that when viewed in its larger context, the PBRF constitutes a continuation of neoliberal trends already well established in New Zealand’s tertiary education system.     

Towards a reframing of student support: a case study approach

This paper reports on a study that investigated the range of institutional support needs of international students at one Australian university with a view to increasing understanding of their needs and the ways in which support was provided. The study involved a number of data collection methods including focus groups, key informant interviews and a larger scale survey, undertaken in an inductive and sequential process. The results indicated that the levels of awareness about services differed, that lack of knowledge of how to access a service and finding information about it were key reasons for non-use, and that the helpfulness of staff impacted on the perception of services as useful. The paper concludes by recommending a reconsideration of current practices to move towards a model of student support service provision in which the student is at the centre.     

Quality of Center Child Care and Infant Cognitive and Language Development

The relations between quality of center-based child care and infant cognitive and language development were examined in a sample of 79 African-American 12-month-old infants. Both structural and process measures of quality of child care were collected through interviews with the center director and observation of the infant classroom. Results indicated that quality of infant care positively correlated with scores on standardized assessments of cognitive development ( Bayley Scales of Infant Development ), language development (Sequenced Inventory of Communication Development), and communication skills (Communication and Symbolic Behavior Scales). In addition, quality of care in child care centers and at home was positively related. Analyses that adjusted for this association between quality of care at home and in child care suggested that the process measure of quality of child care independently related to the infant's cognitive development, and one structural measure, the infant-adult ratio, independently related to the infant's overall communication skills. Neither child nor family factors was found to moderate the association between child care quality and infant development. These findings, in conjunction with the growing child care literature, suggest that researchers and policymakers should focus on how quality of child care can be improved to enhance, not impair, infant development.     

Multiple-pattern learning by rats on an eight-arm radial maze

Rats were trained over a number of sessions on an eight-arm radial maze with eight trials on each session. Each of four arms on the maze contained a different pattern formed by sequences of reward (two pellets) or nonreward (no pellets) over successive trials within sessions. The patterns were single alternation, double alternation, and two patterns in which four rewards or four nonrewards were preceded and followed by two nonrewards or two rewards, respectively. The other four arms on the maze served as control arms and always contained one pellet. It was found that rats tracked all of these patterns when they were required to climb over barriers to enter and leave arms. However, rats showed no ability to extrapolate patterns beyond the training trials. These findings, and a further analysis of arm-choice stereotypy, led to the conclusion that rats tracked by using a trial-number strategy.     

Retroactive inhibition in rat spatial memory

Two experiments were carried out in which rats first were given four forced choices on an eight-arm radial maze, then were given interpolated maze experiences, and finally were given a free choice retention test on the first maze. In Experiment 1, interpolated experiences consisted of forced choices made on one, two, or three other mazes, each placed in a different room. Retroactive inhibition (RI) was not found with one and two interpolated mazes but was found with three interpolated mazes. In Experiments 2a and 2b, an attempt was made to produce RI within a single context by using two mazes placed side by side or on top of one another and by using interpolated forced choices that were different, random, or the same with respect to forced choices onMaze 1. These conditions failed to yield any evidence of RI. In Experiment 2c, forced choices were followed by interpolated direct placements on the same maze on different, random, or the same maze arms, and retention tests revealed RI under these conditions. It was concluded that rats encode memories of specific places visited in space and that RI will arise only if (1) memory is greatly overloaded with interpolated information or (2) an interpolated visit is made to exactly that position in space to which an animal must travel in order to achieve a correct choice on the retention test.     

Reinforcement expectancy and trial spacing effects in delayed matching-to-sample by pigeons

Four experiments assessed the role of reinforcement expectancies in the trial spacing effect obtained in delayed matching-to-sample by pigeons. In Experiment 1, a differential outcome (DO) group received reinforcement with a probability of 1.0 for correct comparison responses following one sample stimulus and a probability of 0.2 for correct comparison responses following the other sample stimulus. The nondifferential outcome (NDO) group received reinforcement with a probability of 0.6 for correct responses to either stimulus. While matching accuracy was higher for the DO group than for the NDO group, both groups showed an equivalent decline in accuracy as the intertriai interval (ITI) duration was decreased. However, within the DO group, ITI duration affected performance on low-probability-of-reinforcement trials but not on high-probability-of-reinforcement trials. In Experiment 2, delay interval (DI) duration was 5, 10, or 15 sec and accuracy was higher for the DO group than for the NDO group at all DI durations. In addition, accuracy decreased similarly on high- and low-probability-of-reinforcement trials for the DO group as DI was increased. In Experiment 3, all birds were studied under DO conditions and ITI duration was manipulated along with DI duration. At the short DI duration, decreasing ITI duration had a detrimental effect on low-probability-of-reinforcement trials but no effect on high-probability-of-reinforcement trials. At the long DI duration, decreasing ITI duration had detrimental effects on both types of trials. In Experiment 4, unsignaled ITI reinforcers disrupted accuracy when the DI was long and when the ITI was short. The applicability of scalar expectancy theory to these data is discussed.     

Variations in radial maze performance under different levels of food and water deprivation

Four groups of rats were tested on an eight-arm radial maze under a free-choice procedure. The subjects were maintained at either 80% or 100% of their preexperimental free-feeding weights through restricted access to either food or water. Water-deprived subjects received water in the maze; food-deprived subjects received food. Water-deprived subjects learned the task faster than food-deprived subjects. The four groups developed different response patterns. These were measured by themean transition size, the average angular distance (in 45° units) between consecutively chosen arms. Rats foraging for food and water developed different search strategies, with water-deprived subjects exhibiting lower mean transition sizes. When the subjects were given three consecutive trials, 2 min apart, choice accuracy declined across trials, although performance on the last two trials improved across days. The groups’ mean transition sizes remained different, and were constant over trials and days. Thus, the test procedures differentially affected choice accuracy and response patterning.