Learning to recalibrate the role of dead reckoning and visual cues in spatial navigation

In Experiment 1, hamsters started from their permanent home at the periphery of a circular arena and headed to a food source at the center. They then returned, fully laden with food, along a direct path to their home. On control trials, in which no manipulation takes place, visual cues outside the arena and dead reckoning (i.e., updated internal references generated during the outward journey to the food source) controlled the return journey. On experimental trials, the arena, with the hamster in its nest, was rotated by 90°, putting dead reckoning at variance with the distal visual environment. The animals were rewarded for going with dead reckoning. At first, they favored the distal cues, but later most of the subjects switched to using dead reckoning. Thus, hamsters are flexible enough to recalibrate the relative weight that they normally attribute to different sets of spatial cues. In Experiment 2, the reliance on dead-reckoning was greatly enhanced when a cue card at the nest entrance was rotated along with the arena, pitting one proximal cue plus dead reckoning against distal cues. Hence, dead reckoning and external cues seem to reinforce each other through their mutual correlation.     

The social value of anonymity on campus: a study of the decline of Yik Yak

ABSTRACT

This paper considers the social value of anonymity in online university student communities, through the presentation of research which tracked the final year of life of the social media application Yik Yak. Yik Yak was an anonymous, geosocial mobile application launched in 2013 which, at its peak in 2014, was used by around two million students in the US and UK. The research we report here is significant as a mixed method study tracing the final year of the life of this app in a large UK university between 2016 and 2017. The paper uses computational and ethnographic methods to understand what might be at stake in the loss of anonymity within university student communities in a datafied society. Countering the most common argument made against online anonymity – its association with hate speech and victimisation – the paper draws on recent conceptual work on the social value of anonymity to argue that anonymity online in this context had significant value for the communities that use it. This study of a now-lost social network constitutes a valuable portrait by which we might better understand our current predicament in relation to anonymity, its perceived value and its growing impossibility.     

The influence of the morphological structure of words on the dynamics of handwriting in adults and fourth and sixth grade children

Reading and Writing - Grapheme and syllable units have been shown to influence the dynamics of handwriting in adults and children, but the influence of morphemes remains to be clarified. We tested...     

Exploring Saudi Computer Science Teachers’ Conceptual Mastery Level of Computational Thinking Skills

The Ministry of Education in Saudi Arabia implemented a new computer science curriculum in 2008. There was speculation that many computer science teachers did not possess sufficient knowledge of computational thinking needed to teach this subject. To investigate this topic, a quantitative research study was conducted with 55 male computer science teachers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Results of the study revealed that most of the computer science teachers had a low conceptual level of computational thinking, and some of the teachers had misconceptions about the exact nature of computational thinking. Findings indicated that computer science teachers did indeed need more training in what computational thinking means and how to teach this subject.     

Structural Communications: An Instructional Strategy for the Language Arts

The ranking of the United States in major international tests such as the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) is used as the driving force and rationale for the current educational reforms in the United States. Through current reforms, the United States is preparing to “race to the top” of the international rankings. However, using international test results as the ultimate indicator of a country's educational achievement might not be an appropriate measure. Additionally, replicating some aspects of high-achieving countries’ education systems or standards may not guarantee success for U.S. public schools. In this article, four reasons are presented explaining why there is no guaranteed success in comparing the United States to other countries’ educational standards and to their achievement in international tests. In order to successfully implement reforms in U.S. public schools, educational leaders and reformers should carefully consider the four points discussed in this article and use tests to inform their reforms, rather than to create uniformity.     

Social Activism in Elementary Science Education: A science,technology, and society approach to teach global warming

As part of a large‐scale instructional intervention research, this study examined elementary students’ science knowledge and awareness of social activism with regard to an increased greenhouse effect and global warming. The study involved fifth‐grade students from five elementary schools of varying demographic makeup in a large urban school district in the United States. The study was based on the analysis of students’ responses to a writing prompt addressing an increased greenhouse effect and global warming at the beginning of and at the completion of instruction over the school year. The results indicate that students with adequate science knowledge tended to express activism more frequently, and that their expression of activism increased as they gained better science knowledge after the instruction. The results highlight the importance of effective instruction of this contemporary and controversial issue with K‐12 students, so that they come to be aware of this societal problem, take action in solving the problem, and become socially responsible youth and adults.     

Running intensity as determined by heart rate is the same in fast and slow runners in both the 10‐ and 21‐km races

The aims of this study were to determine (1) whether running speed is directly proportional to heart rate (HR) during field testing and during 10‐ and 21‐km races, and (2) whether running intensity, as estimated from HR measurements, differs in 10‐ and 21‐km races and between slow and fast runners at those running distances. Male runners were divided into a fast (65–80 min for 21 km; n = 8) or slow (85–110 min for 21 km; n = 8) group. They then competed in 10‐ and 21‐km races while wearing HR monitors. All subjects also ran in a field test in which HR was measured while they ran at predetermined speeds. The 10‐km time was significantly less in the fast compared with the slow group (33:15 ± 1:42 vs 40:07 ± 3:01 min:s; x ± s.d.), as was 21‐km time (74:19 ± 4:30 vs 94:13 ± 9:54 min:s) (P < 0.01). Despite the differences in running speed, the average running intensity (%HR_max) for the fast and slow groups in the 10‐km race was 90 ± 1 vs 89 ± 3% and in the 21‐km race 91 ± 1 vs 89 ± 2%, respectively. In addition, %HR_max was consistently lower in the field test at the comparative average running speeds sustained in the 10‐km (P < 0.01) and 21‐km (P < 0.001) races. Hence, factors in addition to work rate or running speed influence the HR response during competitive racing. This finding must be considered when running intensity for competitive events is prescribed on the basis of field testing performed under non‐competitive conditions in fast and slow runners.