The Role of Vicarious Reinforcement for Modeled or Alternate Behavior

Research on vicarious reinforcement has answered many questions but whether vicarious reinforcement increases the likelihood that an observer will imitate a model, a social learning theory would predict, or sets the occasion for the observer to perform an alternate response, as a discriminative stimulus interpretation of vicarious reinforcement suggests, seems to depend on (1) the setting, (2) procedure, and (3) reinforcers used. In an effort to better understand the function of vicarious reinforcement, while controlling for subjects; histories and using tangible reinforcers, 47 preschool children participated in two experiments that (1) provided an experimental history of responding on several levers, (2) provided differential reinforcement on the levers during training, and (3) assessed the effects of observing a model respond on a lever and receive tokens. In Experiment I, 18 subjects who were trained to respond on three levers responded during an extinction period and then observed either an adult model respond on a fourth, novel lever or observed a control procedure. Only subjects who observed the model receive tokens responded on the same lever as the model during an additional extinction period. The extinction period was procedurally defined and relatively short in duration. The results of Experiment I supported social learning theory; however, imitation effects were short lived. Another experiment was conducted to evaluate more fully the extinction of the modeled behavior found in Experiment I. In Experiment II, 29 subjects who were trained to respond on three levers responded during an extinction period and then observed an adult model in one of four modeling conditions. The subjects in this experiment were exposed to the model lever during training and had an extensive history of never being reinforced on the modeled lever. Only some of the subjects who observed the model receive tokens responded on the model lever and only for a short period of time. The results of this experiment illustrated the importance of the reinforcement history of the observer and supported previous studied which found an extinction effect for vicarious reinforcement. Taken together, these experiments illustrate the limits of social learning theory because imitation effects were short lived and suggest certain procedures that will enhance the use of vicarious reinforcement in applied setting

AmbieSense: a system and reference architecture for personalised and context-sensitive information services for mobile users

The purpose of AmbieSense is to provide personalised, context-sensitive information to the mobile user. It is about augmenting digital information to physical objects, rooms, and areas. The aim is to provide relevant information to the right user and situation. Digital content is distributed from the surroundings and onto your mobile phone. An ambient information environment is provided by a combination of context tag technology, a software platform to manage and deliver the information, and personal computing devices to which the information is served. This paper describes how the AmbieSense reference architecture has been defined and used in order to deliver information to the mobile citizen at the right time, place and situation. Information is provided via specialist content providers. The application area addresses the information needs of travellers and tourists

Public Preschool Programs in Maine: Program Design Capacity and Expansion Challenges

This study provides an update on the characteristics of public preschool programs in Maine as well as the progress and challenges in expansion of programs

Challenges with Teacher Retention and Staffing and Shortages in Maine School Districts

The purpose of this study is to learn more about the challenges rural school districts in Maine face in hiring and retaining teachers, and the consequences or impacts of staffing shortages or under-qualified staff in certain areas

Strategies for Supporting Student Learning Needs during the COVID Pandemic in Maine and Other States

This study seeks to identify and describe practices that emerged in Maine and elsewhere in the US during the pandemic to support PK-12 students’ learning needs (including academic, social-emotional and mental health needs) through the remote, online or hybrid modalities during this challenging period in education

Challenges with Teacher Retention and Staffing and Shortages in Maine School Districts

The purpose of this study is to learn more about the challenges rural school districts in Maine face in hiring and retaining teachers, and the consequences or impacts of staffing shortages or under-qualified staff in certain areas

Strategies for Supporting Teachers\u27 Instructional and Mental Health Needs during the COVID Pandemic in Maine and Other States

This study focused on identifying and describing practices or strategies that emerged in Maine and elsewhere in the US during the pandemic to support teachers’ delivery of instruction through remote, online or hybrid modalities. Other types of support, such as mental health supports for educators were also investigated

Understanding the experiences of positive life changes during postgraduate study on a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology programme: An Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis

There is a global increase in the teaching of positive psychology at postgraduate level. Anecdotally, it has been suggested that university-based positive psychology programmes can be “life changing”. This exploratory qualitative study aimed to enhance our understanding of the positive life experiences of students registered on a Masters in Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) programme. The researcher interviewed five postgraduate students undertaking a MAPP at the University of East London. Interpretative phenomenological analysis was used to identify emerging themes before these were analysed and clustered into a number of overarching themes. Participants reported experiencing a number of positive life changes as a result of the MAPP programme. Key themes that emerged were the sense that there were “myriad different thoughts and potential opportunities”; that studying positive psychology was “like coming home”; that participants enjoyed having time for reflection; and the sense that “it’s all about the people”. This study raised the question of whether the MAPP programme could, in itself, be considered a positive psychological intervention

Principal and Teacher Percetipons of Performance Evaluation and Professional Growth (PE/PG) System Implementation

A study to investigate the challenges and successes schools are having as they strive to fully implement Maine’s Performance Evaluation and Professional Growth policy since last year