Poor Performance in Mathematics: Is there a basis for a self‐worth explanation for women?

The self‐worth theory of achievement motivation holds that in situations in which poor performance is likely to reveal low ability, certain students (known as self‐worth protective students) intentionally withdraw effort in order to avoid the negative implications of poor performance in terms of damage to self‐worth. In this study, evidence of self‐worth protection was sought where it is perhaps least likely to be seen: in women in mathematics, where the negative effects of stereotype threat are suggested. Links between self‐worth protection and performance on three maths tasks (a computational task, an algebraic task, and the Tower of Hanoi, a game‐like task tapping into mathematical skills yet devoid of mathematical signs and symbols) and a verbal task (a remote associates task) were examined in an intellectually evaluative situation (following failure) and in an intellectually non‐evaluative situation (following success). Relative to low maths self‐worth protective students, high maths self‐worth protective students performed poorly on both mathematical tasks, but not on either the Tower of Hanoi or the remote associates test. Collectively, findings are consistent with the conclusion that a self‐worth explanation can be applied to the poor performance of women in mathematics. Critical eliciting conditions appear to be mathematical signs and symbols and the presence of evaluative threat.     

Applications of GSTARS Computer Models for Solving River and Reservoir Sedimentation Problems

GSTARS (Generalized Sediment Transport model for Alluvial River Simulation) is a series of computer models developed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation while the author was employed by that agency. The stream tube concept is used in all GSTARS models which allow us to solve one-dimensional equations for each stream tube independently and obtain semi-two-dimensional variation of the hydraulic conditions along and across stream tubes for rivers and reservoirs. Sediment transport, scour, and deposition processes are simulated along each stream tube independently to give us a semi-three-dimensional variation of the bed geometry. Most sediment transport computer models assume that channel width is given and cannot change during the simulation process. GSTARS models apply the theory of minimum stream power to the determination of optimum channel width and channel geometry. The concepts of channel side stability, and active, inactive, and armoring layers are used in all GSTARS models for realistic long-term simulation and prediction of the scour and deposition processes in rivers and reservoirs. GSTARS models have been applied in many countries for solving a wide range of river and reservoir sedimentation problems. Case studies will be used to illustrate the applications of GSTARS computer models. YANG Chih Ted, Borland Professor of Water Resources and Director of Hydroscience and Training Center.     

Accountability through Systematic Record‐Keeping in a Residential Setting

In 1981, the New Zealand Department of Education and SUPPORT jointly opened Glenburn Centre, which operates residential, school and home programs for assisting families whose young children present severe behaviour problems at home and at school. Time‐out is the most restrictive procedure employed at Glenburn and its use is limited to certain classes of severely disruptive behaviour under specific conditions. As the “bottom line” procedure, for ethical reasons its use is carefully monitored and systematically recorded. Examination of Time‐out data cumulated over two and a half years 1) has showed positive effects coincidental with major changes in program development; 2) unusual shifts in data have pointed to the need for extra attention to staff training at particular times; and 3) the data have proved useful in providing feedback to staff and in evaluating program development. The data demonstrate the value for institutional management and ethical accountability of keeping systematic records of an institution's use of its “bottom line” procedure.     

Water Quality Statistics

Water quality experiments, especially the use of macroinvertebrates as indicators of water quality, offer an ideal context for connecting statistics and science. In the STAR program for secondary students and teachers, water quality experiments were also used as a context for teaching statistics. In this article, we trace one activity that uses virtual streams and repeated sampling to develop the notion of a hypothesis test for one proportion.     

Understanding Collegiality: The Changing Oxbridge Model

With particular reference to theUniversities of Oxford and Cambridge, thispaper analyses interpretations of thecollegiate tradition. It examines pastinterpretations of the tradition, the pressuresthat have led to its reformulation and assessesthe likelihood of its survival in the future. The paper assumes that both academic demos andintellectual collegiality should be centralcharacteristics of any institution that intendsto call itself a university.     

Childcare Workers’ Use of Talking Up and Incidental Teaching Procedures under Standard and Self‐management Staff Training Packages

Two childcare workers in a daycare setting were trained in the use of Talking Up and Incidental Teaching procedures, designed to increase children's language. Training was introduced in two stages. The first was a standard training package comprising oral and written instructions, roleplay, modelling and feedback. The second was a modified package comprising a self‐management component (the formulation by childcare workers of specific plans to implement each procedure, and a correspondence training component in which they received feedback on correspondence between their performance and their plans). Following a baseline period in which rates of child‐initiated language were monitored the standard training package was introduced for both Talking Up and Incidental Teaching. Next, the modified (self‐management) training package was introduced, first for Incidental Teaching, and subsequently for Talking Up. Introducing the standard training package resulted in markedly increased use of Talking Up by one worker and Incidental Teaching by both workers. However there was a concomitant decrease in child‐initiated language (and hence opportunities to use Incidental Teaching). When the modified (self‐management) package was introduced for Incidental Teaching, there was a resultant increase in the use of that procedure as well as a marked increase in child‐initiated language. When the modified (self‐management) package was introduced for Talking Up, there was a resultant increase in the use of that procedure but in contrast, there was a decrease in child‐initiated language. With the introduction of each training package, nevertheless, both workers responded to increased proportions of child initiations over baseline. Results are discussed in terms of the confounding effects of the two procedures in this study and their relative usefulness in improving child language.     

Poison avoidance and patch (location) selection in rats

Thirsty rats were tested on a four-armed radial maze with three water locations and one distinctive taste location (saccharin). Rats that were injected with lithium chloride after drinking a novel saccharin solution visited the saccharin location less than did unpoisoned animals, primarily during the later portions of the test sessions. When saccharin was moved to a different location, previously poisoned rats rapidly avoided the new saccharin location and increased visits to the original saccharin location, now rebaited with water. A similar pattern of learned avoidance and approach was obtained in Experiment 2 with three water locations and one vacant location (no water). These results indicate that: (1) sampling the contents of alternative patches mediates both learning to avoid the location of an aversive substance and returning to a newly viable patch, and (2) avoiding the location of a novel substance after a single poisoning occurs because the location does not contain an edible substance, not because of an aversion conditioned to environmental cues.     

Positive and negative contrast effects obtained following shifts in liquid sucrose reward in thirsty rats

In a repeated shifts experiment four independent groups of thirsty rats received the following treatments: LSLS, LLLS, SSLS, and SSSS, with each letter denoting the magnitude (large or small) of sucrose reward received in each of the four phases of the experiment. While no negative contrast effect (NCE) was obtained in Phase 2, a very reliable positive contrast effect (PCE) was found in Phase 3. Moreover, a significant NCE was obtained in Phase 4. The results were explained in terms of the relative rather than absolute effects of reinforcement.