Einstein, race, and the myth of the cultural icon

The most remarkable aspect of Einstein's 1946 address at Lincoln University is that it has vanished from Einstein's recorded history. Its disappearance into a historical black hole symbolizes what seems to happen in the creation of a cultural icon. It is but one of many political statements by Einstein to have met such a fate, though his civil rights activism is most glaringly missing. One explanation for this historical amnesia is that those who shape our official memories felt that Einstein's "controversial" friends like Paul Robeson and activities like co-chairing the anti-lynching crusade might tarnish Einstein as an icon. That icon, sanctified by Time magazine when it dubbed Einstein "Person of the Century" at the end of 1999, is a myth, albeit a marvelous one. Yet it is not so much the motive for the omission but the consequence of it that should concern us. Americans and the millions of Einstein fans around the world are left unaware that he was an outspoken, passionate, committed antiracist.     

Species-specific defense reactions in escape-from-fear situations

Five experiments are reported in which rats were given CS-shock pairings and then permitted, in the absence of shock, to perform a hurdle-jump response that led to CS offset. In Experiment 1–4, the animals failed to learn the required response. Although several procedural variations were employed, the experimental groups continued to perform no better than backward-conditioned controls. In Experiment 5, some animals were punished for remaining immobile during a single trial at the start of hurdle-jump training. These animals performed significantly better than nonpunished controls and better than any group in Experiments 1–4. The results support the idea that the major role of the CS in escape-from-fear situations is to activate an innate motivational system which chooses between the species-specific defense reactions of freezing and fleeing.     

Evidence for a calorically costly negative consummatory contrast effect in rats

For 2 h prior to their daily meal of Purina Chow, rats (which were 14% below ad-lib weight levels) had access to a sucrose solution. For half (Group 16-4), the solution was alternated daily between 18% and 4%; for the other half (Group 4-4), the solution was always 4%. On 18% days, Group 16-4 consumed significantly more calories and gained significantly more weight than did Group 4-4, because of a greater consumption of sucrose calories (Purina intake was similar for the two groups). On 4% days, however, Group 16-4 consumed both significantly fewer sucrose calories and significantly fewer Purina calories than did Group 4-4. These two contrast effects resulted in a 17% shortfall in total caloric intake for Group 16-4 on 4% days. As a consequence, Group 16-4 showed a significant drop in body weight, compared to Group 4-4, on 4% days. A second experiment was carried out to investigate whether the contrast-induced reduction in Purina intake shown by Group 16-4 on 4% days would be eliminated if (1) a 30-min interval separated sucrose ingestion from Purina ingestion, or (2) a 25-min interval plus 5-mmn exposure to 16% sucrose separated ingestion of 4% sucrose from Purina ingestion. Purina intake was still suppressed in Group 16-4 under both conditions.     

The centrality of Aboriginal cultural workshops and experiential learning in a pre-service teacher education course: a regional Victorian University case study

This paper discusses a cross-cultural pedagogical approach, couched in a theory–practice nexus, used at a Victorian regional university to guide non-Indigenous pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives and cultures. We have drawn on qualitative and statistical data, and current issues in Australian and international literature, to explore the relevance and success suggested by data from this cross-cultural pedagogical approach, in particular the notion of teacher ethnicity in racialised spaces. In doing so, we have addressed recent sentiments about a lack of quantitative and qualitative research that explores inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content and discussions of ways in which tertiary educators construct and influence teachings about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. It is anticipated that this paper will generate further dialogue and research-based evidence on ways in which other tertiary education providers may draw on cross-cultural theories to guide inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content and perspectives in PST education courses.     

The awkward ages,or what shall we tell the children?

Children's Literature in Education -     

Cognitive Illusions as Hindrances to Learning Complex Environmental Issues

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Teaching and learning complex issues is often confounded by the presence of simplistic mental models that are held by students. These simplistic models...     

Memory, maternal representations, and internalizing symptomatology among abused, neglected, and nonmaltreated children

A depth-of-processing incidental recall task for maternal-referent stimuli was utilized to assess basic memory processes and the affective valence of maternal representations among abused ( N  = 63), neglected ( N  = 33), and nonmaltreated ( N  = 128) school-aged children (ages 8–13.5 years old). Self-reported and observer-rated indices of internalizing symptoms were also assessed. Abused children demonstrated impairments in recall compared to neglected and nonmaltreated children. Although abused, neglected, and nonmaltreated children did not differ in valence of maternal representations, positive and negative maternal schemas related to internalizing symptoms differently among subgroups of maltreated children. Valence of maternal schema was critical in differentiating those with high and low internalizing symptomatology among the neglected children only. Implications for clinical intervention and prevention efforts are underscored.