Habits and Study Methods Used by Prairie View State College Graduating Class 1934-1935

The purpose of this thesis is to make a clear analysis of the study methods as used by the students in the class of 1935 over a period of four years. The information regarding the scholastic standard of these students was secured from the Registrar\u27s Office. The information regarding the study methods was secured by personal interview and letters from persons concerned

The effects of lavandula angustifolia on animal and human laboratory models of anxiety

Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) is a popular treatment for stress and mild anxiety. Currently, there are few reliable investigations of its efficacy because cognitive and associative effects of odours can confound pharmacological effects. Some of these problems can be overcome by testing the effects of odours in animals, and by using orally-administered lavender in sealed capsules in human participants. In addition, a criticism of current studies is that most employ short-term administration of lavender, even though humans most often use lavender over longer time-periods. There are two parts to this thesis. The first part addressed two questions; whether lavender odour exhibits anxiolytic effects in animal models of anxiety, and whether chronically administered lavender is more effective than acutely administered lavender. The second part addressed the question of whether, in a randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial, orally-administered lavender exhibits anxiolytic effects in humans. This thesis makes three significant contributions: First, these studies provided a validation of the gerbil elevated plus-maze model of anxiety in both male and female gerbils, a model that has only previously been validated in female gerbils (Varty et al., 2002). Second, the studies on gerbils have shown that both lavender and rose essential oils have anxiolytic effects, which, rather than dissipating following acute odour administration (Cooke & Ernst, 2000), potentiate over time. Lavender’s effects were particularly apparent in female gerbils on measures related to risk-assessment, a behaviour that has been related to the human anxiety trait of worry (Blanchard, Blanchard, Griebel, & Nutt, 2008). Third, lavender had a clear dose response effect in reducing baseline anxiety in humans when tested acutely via oral administration, although there were no effects when more severe anxiety was induced. The route of administration and the fact that iv lavender had dose response effects indicate that lavender’s effects are not caused by psychological qualities of the odour, but are more likely to be due to direct pharmacological effects. Again, and comparable to results in gerbils, lavender’s anxiolytic effects in human females were more noticeable, particularly during the anxiety task and in the recovery phase of the study. In summary, prolonged exposure to lavender odour relieved anxiety in a validated animal model of anxiety, and orally-administered lavender alleviated mild anxiety in humans. In both cases, results were more prevalent in females

How to create shared symbols

Human cognition and behavior are dominated by symbol use. This paper examines the social learning strategies that give rise to symbolic communication. Experiment 1 contrasts an individual-level account, based on observational learning and cognitive bias, with an inter-individual account, based on social coordinative learning. Participants played a referential communication game in which they tried to communicate a range of recurring meanings to a partner by drawing, but without using their conventional language. Individual-level learning, via observation and cognitive bias, was sufficient to produce signs that became increasingly effective, efficient, and shared over games. However, breaking a referential precedent eliminated these benefits. The most effective, most efficient, and most shared signs arose when participants could directly interact with their partner, indicating that social coordinative learning is important to the creation of shared symbols. Experiment 2 investigated the contribution of two distinct aspects of social interaction: behavior alignment and concurrent partner feedback. Each played a complementary role in the creation of shared symbols: Behavior alignment primarily drove communication effectiveness, and partner feedback primarily drove the efficiency of the evolved signs. In conclusion, inter-individual social coordinative learning is important to the evolution of effective, efficient, and shared symbols

Female entrepreneurs from ethnic backgrounds: an exploration of motivations and barriers

The aim of this research is to explore the motivations of ethnic minority women starting up their own businesses and to identify any external and internal barriers they may face during this phase. The research is based upon two groups of women all of whom undertook the New Entrepreneur Scholarship (NES) programme during a similar period. The NES programme is a national scheme developed to reduce barriers to self-employment for disadvantaged people in England. Both groups of women were interviewed at the beginning of the programme and then again at the end. The implications of our research for both theory and practice are the need to understand more clearly the specific needs of particular groups seeking and needing entrepreneurial opportunities and the provision of appropriate programmes of support

Reply to Martens: Various factors may enable large populations to enhance cumulative cultural evolution, but more evidence is needed

Martens (1) suggests that including model-based bias (e.g., prestige) in our experiment would have enhanced cumulative cultural evolution (CCE) in the larger populations reported in our paper (2). This is a plausible hypothesis, but not one our experiment was designed to test. Given the controversy around the relationship between population size and CCE (3), our experiment was designed to isolate the basic effect of population size on CCE by excluding extraneous factors, including model-based bias. In our experiment increasing population size did not enhance CCE. We do not conclude that larger populations do not enhance CCE but that other factors may be necessary to see this benefit.Output Type: Lette

Increasing population size can inhibit cumulative cultural evolution

The extent to which larger populations enhance cumulative cultural evolution (CCE) is contentious. We report a large-scale experiment (n = 543) that investigates the CCE of technology (paper planes and their flight distances) using a transmission-chain design. Population size was manipulated such that participants could learn from the paper planes constructed by one, two, or four models from the prior generation. These social-learning conditions were compared with an asocial individual-learning condition in which individual participants made repeated attempts at constructing a paper plane, without having access to any planes produced by other participants. Larger populations generated greater variation in plane performance and gave participants access to better-adapted planes, but this did not enhance CCE. In fact, there was an inverse relationship between population size and CCE: plane flight distance did not improve over the experimental generations in the 2-Model and 4-Model conditions, but did improve over generations in the 1-Model social-learning condition. The incremental improvement in plane flight distance in the 1-Model social-learning condition was comparable to that in the Individual Learning condition, highlighting the importance of trial-and-error learning to artifact innovation and adaptation. An exploratory analysis indicated that the greater variation participants had access to in the larger populations may have overwhelmed their working memory and weakened their ability to selectively copy the best-adapted plane(s). We conclude that larger populations do not enhance artifact performance via CCE, and that it may be only under certain specific conditions that larger population sizes enhance CCE

Preference for male risk takers varies with relationship context and health status but not COVID risk

Risk taking is more commonly shown by males than females and has a signalling function, serving to advertise one’s intrinsic quality to prospective mates. Previous research has established that male risk takers are judged as more attractive for short-term flings than long-term relationships, but the environmental and socioeconomic context surrounding female preferences for male risk takers has been overlooked. Using a survey instrument, we examined female preferences for male risk takers across 1304 females from 47 countries. We found preferences for physical risk takers to be more pronounced in females with a bisexual orientation and females who scored high on risk proneness. Self-reported health was positively associated with preferences for high risk takers as short-term mates, but the effect was moderated by country-level health, i.e. the association was stronger in countries with poorer health. The security provided by better health and access to health care may allow females to capitalise on the genetic quality afforded by selecting a risk-prone male whilst concurrently buffering the potential costs associated with the risk taker’s lower paternal investment. The risk of contracting COVID-19 did not predict avoidance of risk takers, perhaps because this environmental cue is too novel to have moulded our behavioural preferences

Developing consensus on the principles and key actions for collaborative working between general practices and community pharmacies: a modified eDelphi study

OBJECTIVES: To develop consensus on the principles and key actions for collaborative working in practice between general practice, community pharmacy and patients and their carers. DESIGN: Three-round modified eDelphi study, starting from an established conceptual model of collaboration between general practitioners (GPs) and community pharmacists. SETTING: Community pharmacies and general practices in England, UK. PARTICIPANTS: A panel of 123 experts: 43% from a community pharmacy background; 36% from a GP background; 13% patients, carers or patient representatives and 8% from academic or commissioner backgrounds. Panellist numbers reduced by approximately 30% in rounds 2 and 3. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Consensus between expert panellists, defined as at least 75% agreement. RESULTS: A high level of consensus (>80%) was achieved on all components of a model of collaboration composed of Fundamental Principles of Collaboration and Key Activities for Action, supported by a series of aspirational statements and suggested practical actions. The fundamental principles and key activities are appended by contextual points. The findings indicate that collaboration in practice involves team members other than just GPs and community pharmacists and recognises that patients often want to know how each professional team is involved in their care. This study also provides insights into how collaboration between general practice and community pharmacy settings appears to have shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic, especially through opportunities for virtual collaboration and communication that can transcend the need for close geographical proximity. CONCLUSION: A consensus-based model of collaboration between general practice teams, community pharmacy teams, and patients and their carers has been developed. It is practically focused, values the patient voice and incorporates general practice and community pharmacy team members. While developed in England, the model is likely to also have applicability to other countries with similar health systems that include general practices and community pharmacies