Assessing alignment between information technology educational opportunities,professional requirements,and industry demands

Information technology (IT) and computing are growing fields, offering far more job opportunities than applicants. Yet, little data are available to indicate how course content, employer needs, and additional learning opportunities work together the prepare graduates to enter the IT workforce. To understand the extent to which learners were prepared to for these highly technical careers, we used text analysis to examine the extent to which course syllabi, job postings, internship postings, and industry certifications from information technology preparation programs at state college and two universities commonly reflected national IT curriculum knowledge areas. Integrated data suggested that while the two-year and four-year programs imparted key technical skills, to qualify employers sought applied, or “soft,” skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, teamwork, and written and verbal communication. These soft skills were more difficult to detect as learning outcomes, but the determination of the extent to which the examined programs foster these skills presents a fertile area for subsequent research.     

Generalization of visual matching and delayed matching by a California sea lion (Zalophus californianus)

Only a limited number of species have been found capable of generalized matching-to-sample (MTS) after exposure to relatively few training exemplars. We trained a juvenile, experimentally naive California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) in MTS, using a pair of three-dimensional objects as samples. Successful matching to a criterion of 90% correct or better over 2 successive sessions was attained in 12 sessions (269 trials and 70 errors). Two subsequent “partial” transfer tests, in which each of the two training objects was paired with a novel test object, and four additional transfer tests, all with novel objects, were presented following training. An 80% performance criterion over 2 successive sessions was reached, or closely approximated, in from 2 to 4 transfer sessions for all transfer tests; errors to criterion tended to be reduced across the successive novel transfer tests and were as few as five during the final two tests; and performance on the first 48 trials of the last two novel transfers was not significantly different from a near-ceiling level baseline performance measure. Neophobic responses of the sea lion to new objects precluded an unbiased evaluation of immediate (Trial 1) transfer. The sea lion’s short-term memory for sample objects was also measured. Matching performance was maintained at a level of 78% correct responses or better for delays through to 45 sec after removal of the sample object. At a 58-sec delay, the longest tested, performance declined to 69% correct responses. These retention levels are only somewhat below levels reported for dolphins and nonhuman primates tested on visual delayed MTS, but they are above levels typically reported for pigeon subjects.     

The Pitfalls of Differentiation in the Financing of Russian Universities

Study objective: To identify the causes and consequences of the growing stratification of universities in terms of the volumes and sources of funding that they have access to as well as in the programs of study that they offer.

Methods: We used statistical and economic analysis to study the outcomes of university activity. We assessed the interrelationships between the resource base of higher education and the production and economic potential of the Russian regions through the application of an econometric model. We also conducted an empirical analysis of the factors that are influencing the increasing public demand for higher education.

Results: We identified trends in how the demand for higher education has structurally changed between 2001 and 2014. We assessed how sources of funding at universities differ from region to region given the transition to the performance-based contract model. We identified the main risks (pitfalls) associated with the structural misalignment of the demand for higher education and the proposed quotas for public scholarship-funded seats in various fields of study. This process is unfolding against a background of increasing regional differentiation, which is contributing to the stratification of Russian universities in terms of the volumes and sources of their financial support and heightened financial obligations caused by raising the salaries of faculty members and leading to a shortage of funds that are available for facilities maintenance as well as supporting the learning process. This latter factor jeopardizes the quality of educational programs.

Findings: We were able to identify trends in how the demand for higher education is structurally changing in Russian higher education on the basis of an empirical analysis that was carried out using an econometric model. We assessed the impact of the global economic crisis and the effective ability of families to pay for higher education. We also identified the risks (pitfalls) that result from the regional differences in university funding .

Practical significance: Specialists may apply the main arguments and conclusions of the article in the field of economics and management when drafting university financial plans and development strategies.     

Enhancing transfer of learning through post-course reflection

This article investigates how a structured post-course follow-up reflection activity affects the depth of reflection and facilitates the transfer of learning. The research is reflective, based on the findings from the Action Learning Management Practicum, a 3^rd year paper at Massey University, New Zealand. The initial reflections at the end of the course generally went no deeper than students “noticing”, or “making sense” of the experiences. With the benefit of distance and time away from the course, the students' reflection was deep and insightful. The findings suggest that the post-course reflection activity enables participants to “make meaning” from their experiences with the benefit of time and distance from the initial post-course reflection, thus enhancing the transfer of learning. The article argues for an extension and adaptation to Kolb's “Experiential Learning Cycle” model in relation to the time of reflection based on the empirical evidence provided.     

Using humour in counselling mentally retarded clients: A preliminary study

The effects of using two types of humour in counselling sessions with mentally retarded clients were examined. Eleven male and eleven female mildly handicapped participants rated the helpfulness of a male counsellor following in vivo counselling sessions where no humour (NH), facilitative humour (FH), and non-facilitative humour (NFH) were used. Results indicated that overall participants' ratings were significantly higher under the FH condition than when either NH or NFH were used. No overall effects were found for gender type, but analysis of intra-individual rating patterns indicated that ratings varied considerably among both male and female participants.     

On the Distinction between False Belief Understanding and Subscribing to an Interpretive Theory of Mind

2 groups of 5–8-year-olds were examined in an effort to explore the developing relations between false belief understanding and an awareness of the individualized nature of personal taste, on the one hand, and, on the other, a maturing grasp of the interpretive character of the knowing process. In Study 1, 20 children between 5 and 8 all behaved in accordance with hypotheses by proving to be indistinguishable in their already good grasp of the possibility of false beliefs and in their common assumption that differences of opinion concerning matters of taste are legitimate expressions of personal preferences. By contrast, only the 7- and 8-year-old children gave evidence of recognizing that ambiguous stimuli especially allow for warrantable differences of interpretation. Study 2 replicated and extended these findings with a group of 48 5-8-year-old subjects, again showing that while 5-year-olds easily pass a standard test of false belief understanding, only children of 7 or 8 ordinarily evidence an appreciation of the interpretive character of the knowing process.     

Ant colony system algorithm for the optimization of beer fermentation control

Beer fermentation is a dynamic process that must be guided along a temperature profile to obtain the desired results. Ant colony system algorithm was applied to optimize the kinetic model of this process. During a fixed period of fermentation time, a series of different temperature profiles of the mixture were constructed. An optimal one was chosen at last. Optimal temperature profile maximized the final ethanol production and minimized the byproducts concentration and spoilage risk. The satisfactory results obtained did not require much computation effort.     

The effects of compound stimulus preexposure of two elements differing in salience on the acquisition of conditioned suppression

Conditioned attention theory (CAT) of latent inhibition (LI) states that parallel learning processes occur during reinforced and nonreinforced stimulus presentation. The present experiments investigated the effects of nonreinforced preexposure of either a compound CS or elements of that compound which differed in salience. Three predictions were advanced: (1) Both the compound and its elements will show an increase in LI as a function of the number of preexposures; (2) the two elements will show different levels of LI, with more LI accruing to the more salient element; (3) overshadowing will occur during compound preexposure. Two experiments, using rats as subjects and a conditioned suppression test, are reported. In Experiment 1, groups received 0, 20, 40, or 80 nonreinforced preexposures to a compound whose elements differed in salience. The results of the subsequent test confirmed predictions 1 and 2. Experiment 2, in which groups were preexposed to either the elements or the compound, provided evidence for an overshadowing effect, confirming prediction 3 from CAT.     

Effect of prior nonreward on subsequent incentive growth during brief acquisition

Four experiments compared runway extinction or hurdle-jumping from nonreward performance following brief (10 trials) continuous or partial reinforcement acquisition. Some of the partial groups received all nonrewarded trials prior to any rewards. The major findings were that (l) rats receiving all nonrewarded experiences prior to rewarded ones were more persistent during extinction than continuously rewarded subjects; (2) rats receiving nonrewarded placements prior to rewarded ones in one compartment of a two-compartment box, failed to learn a hurdle-jumping response to escape nonreward, whereas rats not receiving the initial nonrewards did learn the escape response; (3) increasing the number of rewarded placements following initial nonrewarded ones offset the effect noted in (2). The results, which are discussed in the context of a frustration analysis of the small-trials partial reinforcement effect, suggest that incentive growth over rewarded trials is retarded when the rewards have been preceded by nonrewards. The similarity of these results to those investigating the phenomenon of latent inhibition is apparent, and possible mechanisms responsible for the present results are suggested in current theoretical accounts of latent inhibition.     

“Doing the Math”: Maternal Beliefs About Early Mathematics Versus Language Learning

Research Findings: Little is known about how parents approach preschoolers' mathematics learning and how this aligns with early mathematics education research and policy. This study examined these questions by contrasting parents' approaches to early mathematics and language and by exploring key themes in parents' talk about mathematics learning and education. Consistent with current research and policy, parents reported helping preschoolers learn mathematics and attempting to connect this learning to children's interests and everyday experiences. However, parents admitted to lacking goals for and knowledge about early mathematics. In addition, compared to language, parents reported that mathematics was taught less often at home, should be emphasized less in preschools, was less interesting to preschoolers, required more direct instruction, and was less of a personal interest and strength. Practice or Policy: Parent interventions could capitalize on parents' beliefs and practices by providing parents with concrete examples of what mathematics preschoolers learn through daily activities, how to maximize children's mathematics interests, and what the similarities are between early mathematics and language. These efforts will also need to help parents overcome their mathematics anxieties and show parents why early mathematics education is important. Similar strategies could be used to help early childhood teachers improve their mathematics practice.