Getting to Darwin: Obstacles to Accepting Evolution by Natural Selection

Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection is central to modern biology, but is resisted by many people. This paper discusses the major psychological obstacles to accepting Darwin’s theory. Cognitive obstacles to adopting evolution by natural selection include conceptual difficulties, methodological issues, and coherence problems that derive from the intuitiveness of alternative theories. The main emotional obstacles to accepting evolution are its apparent conflict with valued beliefs about God, souls, and morality. We draw on the philosophy of science and on a psychological theory of cognitive and emotional belief revision to make suggestions about what can be done to improve acceptance of Darwinian ideas.     

Factors influencing access students’ persistence in an undergraduate science programme: A South African case study

This paper explores the reasons underlying access students’ decisions on their study programmes as they progress through their extended science degree, including the role of career aspirations in these decisions. Data from semi-structured interviews with 20 third year undergraduates show two groups according to their decision criteria. Programme-focused students are guided by an interest in the science subject and, later, by the possibilities of the study programme. Their main aim is the completion of the degree. Career-oriented students are motivated, initially, by role models and extra-curricular science activities, and subsequently by the career they see themselves pursuing after graduation. There is some indication that career orientation is linked with greater study persistence. The applicability of the Social Cognitive Career Theory is discussed, and recommendations are made for accommodating students’ career aspirations in BSc programmes.     

Brains in Jars: The Problem of Language in Neuroscientific Research

Neuroscience is a rapidly expanding scientific field, and its influence on our perceptions of fundamental aspects of human life is becoming widespread, particularly in the social and behavioral sciences. This influence has many philosophical implications, only one of which will be addressed in this article. For many centuries, philosophers have grappled with the myriad problems presented by consciousness, not the least of which is the so-called “mind–body problem”; now, the gains made in the field of neuroscience promise to answer questions that have been traditionally unanswerable. The richness of neuroscientific data notwithstanding, there are still fundamental philosophical problems in play. This article seeks to answer the question: How do neuroscientists and articles drawing primarily on neuroscience use language to characterize the brain and the mind? Is the same terminology and language used interchangeably, suggesting that the mind and the brain are inherently the same, or does this influential field draw distinctions between the two? We argue that neuroscientific research uses language in a way that does not acknowledge the potential philosophical objections to a mind–brain identity thesis. By doing this, neuroscientific research does not acknowledge the historically problematic discourse about consciousness.     

Different responses of two Mosla species to potassium limitation in relation to acid rain deposition

The increasingly serious problem of acid rain is leading to increased potassium (K) loss from soils, and in our field investigation, we found that even congenerically relative Mosla species show different tolerance to K-deficiency. A hydroponic study was conducted on the growth of two Mosla species and their morphological, physiological and stoichiometric traits in response to limited (0.35 mmol K/L), normal (3.25 mmol K/L) and excessive (6.50 mmol K/L) K concentrations. Mosla hang-chowensis is an endangered plant, whereas Mosla dianthera a widespread weed. In the case of M. hangchowensis, in comparison with normal K concentration, K-limitation induced a significant reduction in net photosynthetic rate (Pn), soluble protein content, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, but an increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration. However, leaf mass ratio (LMR) and root mass ratio (RMR) were changed little by K-limitation. In contrast, for M. dianthera, K-limitation had little effect on Pn, soluble protein content, SOD activity, and MDA concentration, but increased LMR and RMR. Critical values of N (nitrogen):K and K:P (phosphorus) ratios in the shoots indicated that limitation in acquiring K occurred under K-limited conditions for M. hangchowensis but not for M. dianthera. We found that low K content in natural habitats was a restrictive factor in the growth and distribution of M. hangchowensis, and soil K-deficiency caused by acid rain worsened the situation of M. hangchowensis, while M. dianthera could well acclimate to the increasing K-deficiency. We suggest that controlling the acid rain and applying K fertilizers may be an effective way to rescue the endangered M. hangchowensis.     

Consumer's Fresh Produce Food Safety Practices: Outcomes of a Fresh Produce Safety Education Program

ABSTRACT:  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that there are 76 million cases of foodborne disease annually. Foodborne disease is usually associated with beef, poultry, and seafood. However, there is an increasing number of foodborne disease cases related to fresh produce. Consumers may not associate fresh produce with foodborne disease or recognize that these foods require safe handling. To address this learning need, a 1-h educational program was developed and evaluated. Extension agents in 69 Texas counties presented the program to participants. Most participants ( n  = 2651) were female (89.5%), Caucasian (60.5%), and over age 55 (62%). Participants completed a traditional pretest and then a retrospective posttest at conclusion of the program to assess knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to fresh produce safety. Participants' behaviors and attitudes were assessed using a 5-point scale. To measure the longer-term impact of the program, a follow-up telephone survey was conducted among a random sample ( n  = 426) of participants. Repeated measures ANOVA, t -tests, and eta-squared were used to determine significant differences. Immediate posttest results indicated improved knowledge and attitudes regarding specific fruit and vegetable safety recommendations. Long-term improvement was also noted for food safety behaviors, but not for overall food safety attitudes. The results suggest that this educational program is an effective tool to teach consumers about safe handling of fresh produce.     

Counseling Skills Attainment,Retention, and Transfer as Measured by the Skilled Counseling Scale

The purpose of this study was to determine if counseling students acquire counseling skills and transfer those skills to their work with actual clients. Students' skills were measured by the Skilled Counseling Scale at pretest (before training), Posttest 1 (immediately after training), and Posttest 2 (at the end of a master's‐degree program). Eighteen of 19 skills scores showed significant improvement from pretest to Posttest 1, and 15 of 19 skills scores showed significant improvement from pretest to Posttest 2.     

When the home team is not featured: Comparison of two television network commentaries during broadcasts of the 2006 FIFA World Football Cup

Broadcast commentary of sport contests is often seen as biased or “one-eyed” for the “home team”. This study sought to determine if this labelling was correct. Two different broadcasts of the national Dutch team's games during the 2006 Federation Internationale de Football Association's (FIFA) World Cup in Germany were compared. Both the Dutch Nederlandse Omroep Stichting (NOS) and Australian Special Broadcast Services (SBS) networks each televised this team's matches, together providing eight matches for analysis. First, the framing strategies used by each broadcaster were identified through a fourteen category thematic scale derived from the data. Secondly, a Chi-square analysis of the results revealed significant associations for the types of themes employed by the home network (NOS) and those of a neutral broadcaster (SBS). Results also revealed associations for the use of nationalistic themes in the commentary. These results have salience for sport management and sport media studies as audience size and therefore revenue generation is of import.     

Identifying the security risks associated with governmental use of cloud computing

Cloud computing, which refers to an emerging computing model where machines in large data centers can be used to deliver services in a scalable manner, has become popular for corporations in need of inexpensive, large scale computing. Recently, the United States government has begun to utilize cloud computing architectures, platforms, and applications to deliver services and meet the needs of their constituents. Surrounding the use of cloud computing are many risks that can have major impacts on the information and services supported by this technology. This paper discusses the current use of cloud computing in government, and the risks–tangible and intangible–associated with its use. Examining specific cases of government cloud computing, this paper explores the level of understanding of the risks by the departments and agencies that implement this technology. This paper argues that a defined risk management program focused on cloud computing is an essential part of the government IT environment.     

Syntactic complexity as a predictor of adolescent writing quality: Which measures? Which genre?

This study examined the relationship of different measures of syntactic complexity with rated quality for two genres of text produced by middle school students. It was hypothesized that different measures would be associated with distinct aspects of syntactic complexity; words per clause with greater use of structures more typical of expository texts, and clauses per T-unit with structures more typical of conversational or narrative registers. A sample of 41 seventh and eighth grade students from suburban middle schools composed a narrative and persuasive essays. Texts were rated for quality and coded for syntactic features including words per clause and clauses per T-unit. Syntactic complexity as measured in words per clause was positively correlated with quality for essays but not for narratives. Clauses per T-unit was positively correlated with quality for narratives, but negatively correlated with quality for essays. The relationships between syntactic complexity and text quality were thus found to be dependent both on the genre of the text, and the measure of syntactic complexity used.