Reading between the lines : an ecosystemic description of a therapeutic relationship around dyslexia

This is a descriptive study of the therapeutic relationship between Thando, who has been diagnosed with dyslexia and Ilze, an intern counseling psychologist. During our therapeutic relationship Thando’s view of herself and her diagnosed dyslexia improved remarkably. The improvement came without any specifically planned strategies or interventions. This study attempts to describe what happened in the therapeutic relationship to bring about the changes that occurred and attempts to give meaning to the changes. The study describes the impact that a diagnosis can have on the life of the diagnosed individual. It also suggests that the discovery of the person behind the label may be a therapeutic antidote to the negative affects that may result from such a diagnosis. A qualitative approach is taken and the data is presented through a case study and unstructured interviews. The interviews provide valuable information about Thando’s experience of the changes that occurred in her as well as her experience of someone who lives with a diagnostic label like dyslexia.Dissertation (MA (Counselling Psychology))--University of Pretoria, 2006.Psychologyunrestricte

Active Learning

In the context of globalization changes in educational systems, it is important to modify approaches to the educational process and introduce learning technologies that allow for maximum involvement in learning. One such technology is the technology of active learning, which engages learners through participation in the cognitive process and certain tasks as well as through the collective activities of the subjects of the educational process. This book discusses the theoretical analysis of active learning and contains practical recommendations for its implementation

Change blindness: eradication of gestalt strategies

Arrays of eight, texture-defined rectangles were used as stimuli in a one-shot change blindness (CB) task where there was a 50% chance that one rectangle would change orientation between two successive presentations separated by an interval. CB was eliminated by cueing the target rectangle in the first stimulus, reduced by cueing in the interval and unaffected by cueing in the second presentation. This supports the idea that a representation was formed that persisted through the interval before being 'overwritten' by the second presentation (Landman et al, 2003 Vision Research 43149–164]. Another possibility is that participants used some kind of grouping or Gestalt strategy. To test this we changed the spatial position of the rectangles in the second presentation by shifting them along imaginary spokes (by ±1 degree) emanating from the central fixation point. There was no significant difference seen in performance between this and the standard task [F(1,4)=2.565, p=0.185]. This may suggest two things: (i) Gestalt grouping is not used as a strategy in these tasks, and (ii) it gives further weight to the argument that objects may be stored and retrieved from a pre-attentional store during this task

The Role of Information and Communiication Technology Combating Crime in Nigeria in The Post Covid 19 Era: A Study of the Nigeria Police Force, Lagos State Command

The study seeks to examine the impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on combating crime by the security forces in the wake of corona virus pandemic with special reference to the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). Within the framework of cybernetic theory, this study adopts the descriptive survey method to examine the relationship between the two variables under investigation. Multi stage sampling technique was used to draw a sample size of three hundred (300) participants for the study. Data were collected from the sampled population, and formulated hypotheses were tested using Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (PPMCC) statistical tool. The finding of the study reveals that there is a significant relationship between the use of ICT and the effort by the police force to effectively combat crime in Nigeria. The study also discovers that the use of ICT in the fight against crime by the NPF is faced with some challenges, which includes among others; lack of infrastructure, lack of adequate training, uncooperative attitude of ICT service providers and lack of inter-agency cooperation. The paper in conclusion, recommends that the NPF should improve on the usage of ICT especially during this post COVID-19 era by providing a robust training program for her personnel on the usage of ICT in combating crime, the government should provide adequate infrastructure to enhance effective application of ICT in crime fighting and an effective collaboration between ICT service providers and the NPF in fighting crime in Nigeria

Assessing Learning Efficiency In Narrative Simulation Delivered Through Interactive Multimedia

This study evaluated the effects of Narrative Simulation (NS) on learning and cognitive load. Specifically, it measured the potential differences in observed instructional efficiency when comparing a self-paced expository multimedia lesson to a NS lesson which involves a character-focused story with multiple decision inputs at key points. This ex post facto design observed 119 participants consisting of preservice teachers from a large public university in the southeastern United States. They were divided into two sequence groups: (a) Expository Lesson Group; and (b) Narrative Simulation group. The Expository group received Expository Lesson One first, then Expository Lesson Two, and then Narrative Simulation. The Narrative Simulation group received Narrative Simulation, Expository One, and then Expository Two. Upon entering learning management system, participants received the three lessons, each consisting of the following: (a) lesson content, (b) content assessment (c) NASA Task Load Index (TLX), a measure of cognitive load or perceived mental effort. Statistical analysis reported (a) no statistical differences on perceived cognitive load across lessons (b) no statistical differences in the efficiency score across lessons, (c) no statistical differences on assessment score across Expository One and Two, (d) no statistical differences in the number of attempts needed to achieve a passing score when considering all assessments, (e) statistically significant differences from each group’s respective first attempt regarding cognitive load and efficiency, (f) statistically significant differences in the Narrative Simulation assessment score between groups

AI for Inclusive Learning in Higher Education: Diversity, Accessibility, and Mental Health

The paper addresses the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in promoting inclusive and diversity-aware learning environments in higher education. It emphasizes the importance of equal access to education, especially for people with different abilities and backgrounds. The narrative paper explores inclusive learning, personalized learning, adaptive learning through AI, and user models for inclusion. It emphasizes the diversity of learners, study-related disabilities, and the challenges of mental health in higher education. Examples of AI applications in the areas of adaptive learning, improving accessibility, and supporting mental health are presented. In addition, an outlook on future developments is given, highlighting the positive potential of AI in creating inclusive learning environments while pointing out the challenges related to addressing diversity and inclusion.Dieser Beitrag befasst sich mit der Rolle von künstlicher Intelligenz (KI) in der Förderung inklusiver und diversitätsbewusster Lernumgebungen in der Hochschulbildung. Es unterstreicht die Bedeutung eines gleichberechtigten Zugangs zur Bildung, insbesondere für Menschen mit unterschiedlichen Fähigkeiten und Hintergründen. Der Artikel befasst sich mit inklusivem Lernen, personalisiertem Lernen, adaptivem Lernen durch KI und Nutzer*innenmodellen für Inklusion. Betont werden die Vielfalt der Lernenden, studienrelevante Beeinträchtigungen und die Herausforderungen der psychischen Gesundheit in der Hochschulbildung. Es werden Beispiele für KI-Anwendungen in den Bereichen adaptives Lernen, Verbesserung der Barrierefreiheit und Unterstützung der psychischen Gesundheit vorgestellt. Darüber hinaus wird ein Ausblick auf künftige Entwicklungen gegeben, der das positive Potenzial der KI bei der Schaffung inklusiver Lernumgebungen hervorhebt und gleichzeitig auf die Herausforderungen im Zusammenhang mit der Berücksichtigung von Vielfalt und Inklusion hinweist

Audio-visual detection benefits in the rat

Human psychophysical studies have described multisensory perceptual benefits such as enhanced detection rates and faster reaction times in great detail. However, the neural circuits and mechanism underlying multisensory integration remain difficult to study in the primate brain. While rodents offer the advantage of a range of experimental methodologies to study the neural basis of multisensory processing, rodent studies are still limited due to the small number of available multisensory protocols. We here demonstrate the feasibility of an audio-visual stimulus detection task for rats, in which the animals detect lateralized uni- and multi-sensory stimuli in a two-response forced choice paradigm. We show that animals reliably learn and perform this task. Reaction times were significantly faster and behavioral performance levels higher in multisensory compared to unisensory conditions. This benefit was strongest for dim visual targets, in agreement with classical patterns of multisensory integration, and was specific to task-informative sounds, while uninformative sounds speeded reaction times with little costs for detection performance. Importantly, multisensory benefits for stimulus detection and reaction times appeared at different levels of task proficiency and training experience, suggesting distinct mechanisms inducing these two multisensory benefits. Our results demonstrate behavioral multisensory enhancement in rats in analogy to behavioral patterns known from other species, such as humans. In addition, our paradigm enriches the set of behavioral tasks on which future studies can rely, for example to combine behavioral measurements with imaging or pharmacological studies in the behaving animal or to study changes of integration properties in disease models

Progress toward an understanding of cortical computation

The additional data, perspectives, questions, and criticisms contributed by the commentaries strengthen our view that local cortical processors coordinate their activity with the context in which it occurs using contextual fields and synchronized population codes. We therefore predict that whereas the specialization of function has been the keynote of this century the coordination of function will be the keynote of the next