Experimentation in Psychology--Rationale, Concepts and Issues

An experiment is made up of two or more data-collection conditons that are identical in all aspects, but one. It owes its design to an inductive principle and its hypothesis to deductive logic. It is the most suited for corroborating explanatory theries , ascertaining functional relationship, or assessing the substantive effectiveness of a manipulation. Also discussed are (a) the three meanings of 'control,' (b) the issue of ecological validity, (c) the distinction between theory-corroboration and agricultural-model experiments, and (d) the distinction among the hypotheses at four levels of abstraction that are implicit in an experiment

Towards Intelligent Databases

This article is a presentation of the objectives and techniques of deductive databases. The deductive approach to databases aims at extending with intensional definitions other database paradigms that describe applications extensionaUy. We first show how constructive specifications can be expressed with deduction rules, and how normative conditions can be defined using integrity constraints. We outline the principles of bottom-up and top-down query answering procedures and present the techniques used for integrity checking. We then argue that it is often desirable to manage with a database system not only database applications, but also specifications of system components. We present such meta-level specifications and discuss their advantages over conventional approaches

Religious leaders\u27 perceptions of advance care planning: a secondary analysis of interviews with Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Islamic, Jewish, Sikh and Bahai leaders

Background: International guidance for advance care planning (ACP) supports the integration of spiritual and religious aspects of care within the planning process. Religious leaders’ perspectives could improve how ACP programs respect patients’ faith backgrounds. This study aimed to examine: (i) how religious leaders understand and consider ACP and its implications, including (ii) how religion affects followers’ approaches to end-of-life care and ACP, and (iii) their implications for healthcare. Methods: Interview transcripts from a primary qualitative study conducted with religious leaders to inform an ACP website, ACPTalk, were used as data in this study. ACPTalk aims to assist health professionals conduct sensitive conversations with people from different religious backgrounds. A qualitative secondary analysis conducted on the interview transcripts focussed on religious leaders’ statements related to this study’s aims. Interview transcripts were thematically analysed using an inductive, comparative, and cyclical procedure informed by grounded theory. Results: Thirty-five religious leaders (26 male; mean 58.6-years-old), from eight Christian and six non-Christian (Jewish, Buddhist, Islamic, Hindu, Sikh, Bahá’í) backgrounds were included. Three themes emerged which focussed on: religious leaders’ ACP understanding and experiences; explanations for religious followers’ approaches towards end-of-life care; and health professionals’ need to enquire about how religion matters. Most leaders had some understanding of ACP and, once fully comprehended, most held ACP in positive regard. Religious followers’ preferences for end-of-life care reflected family and geographical origins, cultural traditions, personal attitudes, and religiosity and faith interpretations. Implications for healthcare included the importance of avoiding generalisations and openness to individualised and/ or standardised religious expressions of one’s religion. Conclusions: Knowledge of religious beliefs and values around death and dying could be useful in preparing health professionals for ACP with patients from different religions but equally important is avoidance of assumptions. Community-based initiatives, programs and faith settin

Aligning Mathematics Curriculum to Create Potential for Active Learning in Pre-K Through Eighth Grade Teacher Education

In this paper, we consider some issues surrounding the teaching of mathematics to pre-service teachers. In particular. we look at the possibilities for teaching elementary mathematics from an advanced standpoint and alignments of curriculum that have the capacity to enhance student involvement in the making of the mathematics.The particulars of the James Madison University curriculum are used to illustrate many of the points

Genre approach to teaching formal letter writing

Writing in a foreign language is both complex and fascinating, whether viewed from the perspective of a teacher or a student. My teacher-interest in the writing skill stems from the fact that in my experience it is the most difficult skill to develop successfully. As a non-native user of English and a foreign-language student, on the other hand, I often feel that especially when writing in order to accomplish a specific goal, we have insufficient tools to write successfully. Transmitting information is easier than getting things done. Consequently, in this paper I concentrate on the genre which tends to be most disliked by both teachers and students – formal letters, with the specific focus on letters of complaint. It is this type of letters that each of us may need to write in real life. This type of a letter is interesting as the writer has to combine a number of skills. In order to write successfully it is not enough to master the use of grammar and lexis, a writer has to be aware of the cultural and social context in which the text will function. I believe the genre approach to teaching writing allows students to develop all sub-skills necessary to become proficient writers. In this paper attention will be first given to Common features of formal letters, then to a brief explanation of what genre approach is. The second half of the paper covers some of the of the major problems learners may encounter when writing formal letters (motivation, cultural and linguistic issues). The “problem” section is followed by a number of practical solutions