Summation of undetected excitation following extinction of the CER

The effects of compounding two conditioned stimuli (CSs), each of which had been extinguished to varying degrees in different groups of rats given identical acquisition training, was examined within the conditioned emotional response paradigm. Greater suppression to the compound than to the individual CSs was observed following 6, 12, 48, 72, and 96 stimulus extinction trials, although after only 12 extinction trials suppression to the individual stimuli was no longer observed. The amount of compound suppression decreased progressively as the number of extinction trials increased until, after 120 extinction trials on each stimulus, the compound no longer elicited observable suppression. Control group data indicated that the observed summation effect could not be attributed to disinhibition. The possible role of the summation of undetected excitation in studies examining configurai conditioning, avoidance conditioning and reinstatement is discussed briefly.     

Collaborative bibliography

A bibliography is traditionally characterized by the judgments, bounded by explicit selection criteria, made by a single compiler. Because these criteria concern the attributes ascribed to a work and the needs of readers, bibliographic work is largely conceptual even across technological eras and domains. Yet, the development of networked information services, made possible by WWW infrastructure, has enabled very large numbers of people to discover, organize, and publish information, including bibliographies. Indeed, bibliographies, or at least bibliography-like artifacts, are a common genre of website, often published by people without specialized skills in information organization who follow non-rigorous selection procedures. Nevertheless, even if the items from these lists are poorly selected and described, this publishing activity is fundamentally important because it structures information locally, creating a patchy network of secondary access points. In turn, these access points enable information discovery, the formation and development of communities of interest, the estimation of document relevance by search engines, and so on. In sum, this activity, and the enabling technical infrastructure, invites bibliographies to take on new interactive possibilities. The aim of this article is to extend the traditional view of bibliography to encompass collaborative possibilities for wide, or narrow, participation in the shaping of bibliographies and the selection of items. This is done by examining the nature of bibliography on the Web, by proposing a conceptual model that opens bibliography to participatory practices, and by discussing a case study where a team sought to develop a bibliography of electronic resources. This examination reveals splendid opportunities for expanding the notion of bibliography with participatory policies while remaining true to its ancient roots.     

The Use of the Course Experience Questionnaire as a Monitoring Evaluation Tool in a Problem-based Medical Programme

This paper reports on the use of the Course Experience Questionnaire (CEQ) as an instrument to monitor the medical programme at the University of Sydney and in particular to measure improvements in teaching quality with the introduction of the new graduate-entry problem-based programme. In addition, it raises the more general issue of interpretation of CEQ results in courses designed around problembased learning (PBL). Students' perceptions of teaching quality were sought using a whole class questionnaire survey and small group interviews. Students in the new programme rated their course more highly than did students in the old programme with respect to good teaching, appropriate assessment, generic skills and overall satisfaction. These improvements did not hold with respect to the clarity of goals and standards, nor for perceptions of an appropriate workload. The results are interpreted in context and it is argued that particular items in the CEQ do not reflect the educational philosophy or the instructional processes of PBL programmes.     

Practice and play as determinants of self-determined motivation in youth soccer players

Abstract

Based upon predictions derived from the Developmental Model of Sports Participation, we tested whether hours in domain-specific play (self-led activities) and practice (coach-led activities) during childhood (~5–12 year) in an elite group of youth soccer players from the UK (N = 144) were related to motivation. Independent analysis of three different age groups (Under 13, 15 and 17 year) did not show relations between play and practice activities during childhood and global measures of motivation. However, secondary analysis showed that when controlling for years in soccer, years in the UK Academy system were negatively related to global indices of self-determined motivation (SDI) and positively related to controlled motivation for the oldest players. Despite predictions, there was no evidence that play during childhood was positively related to more SDI. Prospective research is recommended to enable more robust conclusions about the role of early developmental practice activities, especially early specialisation in a high-performance system, on both skill and psychosocial development.     

Variation in clinical placement supervisors’ conceptions of and approaches to supervision in a veterinary internship programme

Good teaching that supports final year students’ learning in clinical placements is critical for students’ successful transition from an academic environment to professional practice. Final year internship programmes are designed to encourage student-centred approaches to teaching and deep approaches to learning, but the extent to which clinical supervisors adopt a student-centred teaching approach is unknown. Survey data (n?=?117) from veterinary supervisors were analysed using phenomenography. The results revealed qualitative differences in supervisors’ conceptions of and approaches to supervision. Quantitative statistical analysis was used to investigate relationships between supervisors’ conceptions and approaches. These analyses identified the types of supervisor experiences more likely to encourage students to participate in clinical practice in ways that will help them transition successfully to independent professional practice. The results have value for clinical educators and administrators seeking to improve the quality of placement supervision in a range of professional education programmes.     

Use of electronic surveys in course evaluation

The growth of e–Universities and flexible delivery in higher education may also lead to increased use of electronic course evaluation methods. The effectiveness and methodology of electronic surveys are discussed. In the graduate–entry, problem–based University of Sydney Medical Program extensive use is made of web technologies for curriculum delivery and evaluation. The design and response rates for web–based "End of Year" student evaluation surveys in the medical program are reported for the period 1997–2001. To be used successfully in course evaluation, online surveys should be infrequent, short, simply designed and free from password access, and de–identified results should be displayed to students on their completion of a survey.