Examining the Affective Meanings of Interaction Settings in the Jamband Music Subculture

The meaning that actors give to an interaction setting can affect the definition of the situation and all elements within the setting (the actors involved, the behaviors enacted, and the emotions that are deemed appropriate). Cultures develop shared meanings for identities, behaviors, emotions, interaction settings, and other social elements. Subcultures also develop shared meanings and these can be very different from the meanings that nonmembers give to the same social element. For example, members of the punk and straightedge subcultures might give the term “straight” quite a different meaning than would nonmembers. The implications of this are that when two actors meet in a situation in which they give extremely different meanings to the environment around them, confusion (at best) is likely to ensue. In this study, I explore the extent to which members of a subculture give distinct meanings to interaction settings that are central to their value system. I do this using data collected in the jamband subculture, a modern version of the group that followed the Grateful Dead rock music band

Supplemental Choline During the Periweaning Period Protects Against Trace Conditioning Impairments Attributable to Post-Training Ethanol Exposure in Adolescent Rats

Supplemental choline during early stages of development can result in long-lasting improvements to memory function. In addition, pre- or postnatal choline has been shown to be protective against some of the adverse effects of early alcohol exposure. The present experiment examined whether supplemental choline given to rats would protect against the effects of posttraining alcohol administration on trace fear conditioning. Posttraining alcohol exposure in adolescent rats results in poor performance in this hippocampus-dependent task, although delay conditioning is unaffected. Here, rats were given an s.c. injection of either saline or choline chloride daily on postnatal days (PD) 15-26. On PD 30 subjects were trained in a trace fear conditioning procedure. For the next 3 days animals were administered 2.5 g/kg ethanol or water control, and conditional stimulus (CS)-elicited freezing was measured on PD 34. Results indicated that posttraining alcohol disrupted the expression of trace conditioning and that supplemental choline on PD 15-26 was protective against this effect. That is, choline-treated animals subsequently given posttraining ethanol performed as well as animals not given ethanol. These results indicate that supplemental choline given during the periweaning period protects against ethanol-induced impairments in a hippocampus-dependent learning task. Findings contribute to the growing literature showing improvements in learning and memory in subjects given extra dietary choline during critical periods of brain development

Adolescent and adult rats differ in the amnesic effects of acute ethanol in two hippocampus-dependent tasks: Trace and contextual fear conditioning

Experience-produced deficits in trace conditioning and context conditioning have been useful tools for examining the role of the hippocampus in learning. It has also been suggested that learning in these tasks is especially vulnerable to neurotoxic effects of alcohol during key developmental periods such as adolescence. In five experiments we systematically examined the presence and source of age-dependent vulnerability to the memory-disrupting effects of acute ethanol in trace conditioning and contextual fear conditioning. In Experiment la pre-training ethanol disrupted trace conditioning more strongly in adolescent (postnatal day, PD30-35) than adult rats (PD65-75). In Experiment 1b when pre-training ethanol was accompanied by pre-test ethanol no deficit in trace conditioning was observed in adolescents, suggesting that state-dependent retrieval failure mediated ethanol\u27s disruption of trace conditioning at this age. Experiment 2a and b examined the effect of ethanol pretreatment on context conditioning. Here, adult but not adolescent rats were impaired in conditioned freezing to context cues. Experiment 2c explored state-dependency of this effect. Pre-training ethanol continued to disrupt context conditioning in adults even when ethanol was also administered prior to test. Collectively these findings reveal clear age-dependent and task-dependent vulnerabilities in ethanol\u27s disruptive effects on hippocampus-dependent memory. Adolescents were more disrupted by ethanol in trace conditioning than adults, and adults were more disrupted by ethanol in context conditioning than adolescents. We suggest that adolescents may be more susceptible to changes in internal state (state-dependent retrieval failure) than adults and that ethanol disrupted performance in trace and context conditioning through different mechanisms. Relevance of these findings to theories of hippocampus function is discussed. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

An animal model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorder: Trace conditioning as a window to inform memory deficits and intervention tactics

Animal models of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) afford the unique capacity to precisely control timing of alcohol exposure and alcohol exposure amounts in the developing animal. These models have powerfully informed neurophysiological alterations associated with fetal and perinatal alcohol. In two experiments presented here we expand use of the Pavlovian Trace Conditioning procedure to examine cognitive deficits and intervention strategies in a rat model of FASD. Rat pups were exposed to 5 g/kg/day ethanol on postnatal days (PD) 4-9, simulating alcohol exposure in the third trimester in humans. During early adolescence, approximately PD 30, the rats were trained in the trace conditioning task in which a light conditioned stimulus (CS) and shock unconditioned stimulus (US) were paired but separated by a 10-s stimulus free trace interval. Learning was assessed in freezing behavior during shock-free tests. Experiment 1 revealed that neonatal ethanol exposure significantly impaired hippocampus-dependent trace conditioning relative to controls. In Experiment 2 a serial compound conditioning procedure known as \u27gap filling\u27 completely reversed the ethanol-induced deficit in trace conditioning. We also discuss prior data regarding the beneficial effects of supplemental choline and novel preliminary data regarding the pharmacological cognitive enhancer physostigmine, both of which mitigate the alcohol-induced cognitive deficit otherwise seen in trace conditioning controls. We suggest trace conditioning as a useful tool for characterizing some of the core cognitive deficits seen in FASD, and as a model for developing effective environmental as well as nutritional and pharmacological interventions. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Time Spent Shopping by 210 Two Parent Two Child Families in Utah

The purpose of this study was to analyze the amount of time spent shopping by family members. The researcher also intended to identify factors that influence the amount of time devoted to shopping. Data for the study came from the Utah portion of the Interstate Comparison of Urban/Rural Families\u27 Time Use which involved 210 two-parent/two-child families in Utah. Data were collected through interviews with the homemakers in each family using diaries and an information questionnaire. Shopping time of the homemaker, spouse, and children were analyzed. The factors considered included employment status of the homemaker, place of residence, family income level, age of younger child, and the number of family members 16 and elder. Statistical analysis W3S done using a Pearson product moment correlation, a t test, and analysis of variance. Findings revealed that shopping is an activity that consumes approximately 10% of total housework time of all family members. The homemaker spends more minutes per day shopping than any other family member. Time spent in paid employment by the homemaker seems to be the major factor influencing her time spent shopping. The more time spent in paid employment, the less time the homemaker spent shopping. The factors influencing the shopping time of children are level of family income and age of child. As level of family income increases, the amount of time spent shopping by the child increases. It was found that as children get older, they spend less time shopping. The shopping time of the wife was the only factor related to the shopping time of the husband. As the wives\u27 shopping time increased, the amount of time spent shopping by husbands also increased

Community oriented policing: addressing problems past and present

Suggests that government increase law enforcement budgets rather than decrease them in difficult financial times

Linked-Class Problem-Based Learning In Engineering: Method And Evaluation

Problem-Based Learning (PBL) is a problem-centered teaching method with exciting potential in engineering education for motivating and enhancing student learning. Implementation of PBL in engineering education has the potential to bridge the gap between theory and practice. Two common problems are encountered when attempting to integrate PBL into the undergraduate engineering classroom:  1) the large time requirement to complete a significant, useful problem and 2) the ability to determine its impact on students. Engineering, mathematics, and science professors at West Texas A&M University (WTAMU) have overcome the large time commitment associated with implementation of PBL in a single course by integrating small components of the larger project into each of their classes and then linking these components with a culminating experience for all the classes. Most of the engineering students were concurrently enrolled in the engineering, mathematics, and science classes and were therefore participating in all activities related to the project. This linked-class PBL experience addressed course concepts, reinforced connections among the courses, and provided real-world applications for the students. Students viewed the experience as beneficial, increasing their understanding of content and applications in each discipline. This paper provides details about implementation and evaluation of one PBL project and how difficulties in evaluation of the linked-class PBL experiences are being addressed