A Methodological Comparison of Interview and Behavioral Techniques for Assessment of Conservation of Length

Piaget (1929) contends that a verbal interview is the only procedure which is flexible enough to follow and examine the development of cognitive processes in children. However verbal methods are inconsistent with the suggestion by Piaget (1951, 1963) and several colleagues (Furth, 1964, 1966; Sinclair-de-Zwart, 1969) that language merely reflects underlying cognitive processes, and is not a source of logical development. In addition verbal methods allow for verbal misunderstandings by both subjects and experimenters, provide for experimenter bias and may foster response sets. To minimize these theoretical and methodological difficulties, several investigations (e.g., Braine, 1959, 1962; Sawda & Nelson, 1968) have employed nonverbal, manipulative techniques. None of these studies made direct comparisons of results from verbal and nonverbal methods; none entirely eliminated verbal interactions between subject and examiner. This study presents a behavioral technique for the assessment of conservation of length based on operant work by Blough (1966) and Bijou and Baer (1966). It was designed to compare nonverbal results with results obtained in a Piagetian-type verbal interview, and to eliminate verbal interactions. Thirty-two first grade children were evaluated individually by both verbal and nonverbal methods in counterbalanced order. First graders were selected to Insure both conservers and nonconservers In the subject population. The verbal condition consisted of a Piagetian-type interview, although standardized questions were used so that every subject received the same interview. Four similar tasks were presented following Piaget’s (Piaget, Inhelder & Szeminska, 1960) example. In the nonverbal conditions, subjects were trained to press one button for stimuli of the same length and another button for stimuli of different length. Following training, subjects were exposed to eight test stimuli in which stimuli of the same length were staggered so that the end points did not coincide. In each condition subjects were required to make appropriate responses on 75% of the items to be considered conservers. It was predicted that (1) nonverbal techniques would distinguish between conservers and nonconservers; (2) that verbal and nonverbal methods would yield similar decisions concerning the conservation ability of any particular subject; and (3) to the extent that the conservation decisions differed for any subject, nonverbal method would yield more and younger conservers than verbal methods. With the exception of the predicted age difference, all hypotheses were supported. Reasons for falling to support the age hypothesis are presented. It was concluded that nonverbal techniques can be applied to Piagetian conservation tasks, and that such techniques are valid for the assessment of conservation. Results support Piaget\u27s conservation of length construct and clinical methodology. The advantages of nonverbal methods are discussed and applications to nonverbal populations suggested. Limitations of the present study and suggestions for future research are presented

Don\u27t Believe Everything You Read: Hoaxes and Satire in the Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym stands out among Edgar Allan Poe\u27s body of work as his only novel. It also stands out in the fact that it has received comparatively little attention from scholars, owing at least in part to the idea that it is a literary failure on Poe\u27s part. Analysis reveals quite the contrary, however, as the novel is not a disjointed narrative masquerading as travel literature, but rather it is a satire of the genre of travel literature. Poe was driven to write the novel at the behest of his publisher, who also encouraged Poe to plagiarize authentic travel literature for his own narrative in order to create a more saleable product. Poe borrowed heavily from Benjamin Morrell\u27s A Narrative of Four Voyages and fashioned his own novel as a satire of Morrell\u27s reportedly true account. I argue that Poe\u27s novel contains elements of hoax, satire, and parody and was written to satirize a genre of literature that Poe originally had no interest in pursuin

A Study of Fringe Benefits Available to Non-Professional Employees of Community Unit School Districts in Illinois

No abstract provided by author

Don\u27t Believe Everything You Read: Hoaxes and Satire in the Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym

The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym stands out among Edgar Allan Poe\u27s body of work as his only novel. It also stands out in the fact that it has received comparatively little attention from scholars, owing at least in part to the idea that it is a literary failure on Poe\u27s part. Analysis reveals quite the contrary, however, as the novel is not a disjointed narrative masquerading as travel literature, but rather it is a satire of the genre of travel literature. Poe was driven to write the novel at the behest of his publisher, who also encouraged Poe to plagiarize authentic travel literature for his own narrative in order to create a more saleable product. Poe borrowed heavily from Benjamin Morrell\u27s A Narrative of Four Voyages and fashioned his own novel as a satire of Morrell\u27s reportedly true account. I argue that Poe\u27s novel contains elements of hoax, satire, and parody and was written to satirize a genre of literature that Poe originally had no interest in pursuin

Ökologische Tierzucht: Status Quo, Möglichkeiten und Erfordernisse in der Rinder- und Schweinezucht

Die im Rahmen der Status-quo-Analyse durchgeführte Befragung der ökologischen Verbände, der Zuchtverbände und -unternehmen sowie der Verarbeitungs- und Vermarktungsbetriebe ergab, dass die ökologisch wirtschaftenden Betriebe auf vorhandene Rassen zurückgreifen. Die alten und gefährdeten Haustierrassen spielen im ökologischen Landbau eine untergeordnete Rolle, da sie in den Leistungsmerkmalen den übrigen Rassen unterlegen sind. Als Zuchtziele für die Schweinezucht werden neben den ökonomisch wichtigen Merkmalen MFA, TZ und FUA auf der Vaterseite die Merkmale Stressresistenz und Fleischbeschaffenheit und auf der Mutterseite die Merkmale Vitalität und Muttereigenschaften als Zuchtzielmerkmale vorgeschlagen. Darüber hinaus sollte die Grundfutterverwertung aufgrund des geforderten Raufutteranteils beachtet werden. Für das Zuchtziel in einem Zuchtprogramm für ökologisch erzeugte Rinder wird eine stärkere Gewichtung der funktionalen Merkmale und insbesondere der funktionalen Nutzungsdauer gefordert. Von den Zuchtverbänden und -unternehmen wurde betont, dass ein eigenes Zuchtprogramm sowohl in der ökologischen Rinder- als auch in der ökologischen Schweinezucht zu hohe Kosten verursachen würde, da der Absatzmarkt zu klein ist. Die anschließende Evaluierung verschiedener Zuchtplanungsalternativen für die ökologische Rinderzucht ergab, dass der Anteil künstlicher Besamung nicht unter 50 % fallen sollte, da es sonst zu einem starken Abfall des Zuchtfortschrittes und des Züchtungsgewinnes kommt. Die Erhöhung der wirtschaftlichen Gewichte der funktionalen Merkmale um 50 und um 100 % führte zu einer Verbesserung der naturalen Zuchtfortschritte der funktionalen Merkmale allerdings auf Kosten der Produktionsmerkmale. Ebenfalls eine Verbesserung der funktionalen Merkmale kann durch eine Erhöhung der Anzahl Töchter/Testbulle auf 100 und mehr erzielt werden

An RND transporter in the monoterpene metabolism of Castellaniella defragrans

The betaproteobacterium Castellaniella defragrans 65Phen grows on monoterpenes at concentrations toxic to many bacteria. Tolerance mechanisms include modifications of the membrane fatty acid composition and the mineralization of monoterpenes. In this study, we characterized an efflux transporter associated to the monoterpene metabolism. The inner-membrane transporter AmeD (apolar monoterpene efflux) affiliated to the HAE3 (hydrophobe/amphiphile efflux) family within the Resistance-Nodulation-Division (RND) superfamily. RND pumps of the HAE3 family are known for transporting substrates into the periplasm. AmeD is co-expressed with the outer membrane protein AmeA and the periplasmic proteins AmeB and AmeC, suggesting an export channel into the environment similar to HAE1-type RND exporters. Proteins AmeABCD are encoded within a genetic island involved in the metabolism of acyclic and cyclic monoterpenes. The deletion of ameABCD translated into a decrease in tolerance to monoterpenes in liquid cultures. The addition of acetate as cosubstrate in limonene-containing cultures partially alleviated monoterpene toxicity in the deletion mutant. Accumulation of Nile Red in cells of C. defragrans required dissipation of the proton motive force with carbonyl cyanide m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP). Cells lacking AmeABCD accumulated more Nile Red, suggesting an export function of the proteins. Our observations suggest that the tetrapartite RND transporter AmeABCD acts as an exporter during monoterpene detoxification in C. defragrans