Prenatal Risk Predicts Preschooler Executive Function: A Cascade Model

Little research has considered whether prenatal experience contributes to executive function (EF) development above and beyond postnatal experience. This study tests direct, mediated, and moderated associations between prenatal risk factors and preschool EF and IQ in a longitudinal sample of 1,292 children from the Family Life Project. A composite of prenatal risk factors (i.e., low birth weight, prematurity, maternal emotional problems, maternal prepregnancy obesity, and obstetric complications) significantly predicted EF and IQ at age 3, above quality of the postnatal environment. This relationship was indirect, mediated through infant general cognitive abilities. Quality of the postnatal home and child-care environments did not moderate the cascade model. These findings highlight the role of prenatal experience as a contributor to individual differences in cognitive development.     

Mathematics: a female,male or gender‐neutral domain? A study of attitudes among students at secondary level

The aim of the current study is to investigate whether Swedish secondary school students perceive mathematics as a female, male or gender‐neutral domain. A sample of 1300 students in two age groups, 15‐ and 17‐ years, answered a questionnaire and about 50 students participated in interviews. The main part of the inquiry form consists of Who and mathematics, an attitude scale recently developed by other researchers. The results are analysed with respect to gender, school year and study programme. Gendered attitudes were found among considerable minorities. There is a marked tendency to view mathematics as a symbolically male domain: positive aspects are associated with boys and negative aspects perceived as more female. Older students hold more strongly gendered views than younger. Boys in the science programme have the strongest beliefs of mathematics as a male domain.     

The stimulus-response overshadowing phenomenon with VI versus FI schedules of reinforcement

Previous research has shown that response rates on a variable interval (VI) schedule of reinforcement decrease if a brief response-produced signal is given prior to reward. One explanation is that the signal overshadows the response because it is a better predictor of reinforcement. The S-R overshadowing effect does not occur with variable ratio (VR) schedules, however. Tarpy, Lea, and Midgley (1983) explained this fact by suggesting that the signal functions to enhance the salience of the temporal interval offset on the VI schedule (a characteristic not possessed by VR schedules), which then overshadows the response. In this experiment, the salience of the temporal interval was enhanced in another way: signaled or unsignaled reward was provided to rats responding on either a VI or fixed interval (FI) reward schedule. As predicted, rates were lowest for animals receiving signaled reinforcement on an FI schedule and highest for those receiving unsignaled reinforcement on a VI schedule.     

DEVELOPING AND EVALUATING AN INTERDISCIPLINARY CLINICAL TEAM TRAINING PROGRAM: LESSONS TAUGHT AND LESSONS LEARNED

The training of clinicians in working together as an interdisciplinary team has received growing support in geriatrics. Most teamwork training programs have focused on group process and development as the core competencies of team practice necessary to improve levels of team functioning. The experience of the Rhode Island Geriatric Education Center (RIGEC) in developing and implementing an ongoing teamwork training program, including the training of several geriatric teams from a variety of health care settings, suggests that additional objectives should include the empowerment of teams for advocacy in rapidly changing health care settings increasingly shaped by economic forces. The lessons learned by RIGEC for the development and implementation of teamwork training include the importance of defining team membership, dealing with the shifting shoals of the health care system, understanding individuals and systems under stress, and redefining the objectives of teamwork training.     

LINKING MINORITY AND DISADVANTAGED HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH HEALTH PROFESSIONS TRAINING: A WIN-WIN SITUATION FOR STUDENTS AND OLDER ADULTS

This article describes a pilot project designed to encourage career interest by minority high school students in health professions in geriatrics and gerontology. This multifaceted educational program used a contextual training approach and was conducted over a five-week period. Program components included classroom sessions, group as well as independent activities and research, guided field trips, faculty lectures, and the development of a final report directed at health careers in gerontology. The majority of the students were planning or considering a career in geriatrics or gerontology at the completion of the program. Students' evaluative comments revealed a more positive attitude toward the elderly, significant interest in gerontology careers, and strong support for the program. A strategy for longterm follow-up of participants is presented, as well as lessons learned and plans for future programming. This program was implemented by the Rhode Island Geriatric Education Center, in collaboration with the University of Rhode Island Urban Field Center, in response to the "Kids Into Health Careers" initiative established by the U.S. Bureau of Health Professions.     

Medication Adherence in Older Adults: A Qualitative Study

To effectively address medication adherence and improve cardiovascular health among older adults, a deeper understanding is needed of the barriers that this age group faces and of approaches that would be most effective and feasible for improving adherence. We conducted a focus group study (n = 25) in a diverse population of older adults with hypertension recruited from the Cohort Study of Medication Adherence in Older Adults (CoSMO). A structured guide was used to collect feedback on barriers to adherence and acceptability and the feasibility of intervention strategies. The final coding framework outlines factors at the individual, relationship, health care system, and environmental or policy level that affect adherence in older adults. These include memory, knowledge, attitudes and beliefs, side effects, social support, interaction with healthcare providers, and cost and convenience of medication filling. Patient responses highlighted the varied nature of barriers and the need for interventions that are both multifaceted and tailored.     

Bergmann,Jonathan & Sams,Aaron (2014) Flipped learning. ISTE (Washington & Eurospan,London) isbn 978‐1‐56484‐344‐9 227 pp £18.50 https://www.iste.org/resources/product?ID=3014

This deceptively simple book aims to show how flipped learning optimises class time, by delivering direct instruction by video for students to use outside of class, freeing up teachers to individualise their learning in the classroom. It is essentially a “book of stories” for teachers shared by practising teachers who have enthusiastically embraced this model. I strongly recommend that you buy Flipped learning if it is in your area of interest. Marie Martin     

Changes in self-reported academic cheating across the transition from middle school to high school

Changes in early adolescents' self-reported cheating behaviors in mathematics before and after the transition from middle school to high school are examined. Students were surveyed in school regarding their cheating behaviors in math, and the motivational goal structures perceived in their math classrooms. Surveys were completed twice during the eighth grade (during middle school) and once at the end of the ninth grade (at the end of the first year in high school). Results indicated that self-reported cheating did not change in the year prior to the high school transition, but that reported cheating increased after the transition. Additional analyses indicated that across the high school transition, self-reported cheating in math increased for students who moved from high mastery to low mastery-oriented classes after the transition, and for students who moved from low performance to high performance-oriented classes; in contrast, self-reported cheating decreased for students who moved from low to high mastery-oriented math classrooms.