46 research outputs found
Control of feeding patterns in the barbary dove (streptopelia risoria)
This thesis reports a study of the temporal patterns
of feeding behaviour in the Barbary dove or Blonde Ring
dove, Streptopelia risoria. The normal diurnal distribution
of feeding in the intact, freely feeding bird is described,
as is the way in which this pattern may be altered by,a.
surgical manipulation which removes much of the sensory
inflow from the trigeminal nerve. On the basis of the observation of the effect of this
sensory trigeminal nerve section in the doves, an alternative
interpretion of the role of this nerve in the control' of
feeding behaviour and food intake in birds to that presented
in the literature, is offered. In line with this interpretation,
it is shown that a manipulation of the physical nature of
an offered food material will produce a change in the
temporal patterning of food intake in a way similar to
that brought about by trigeminal nerve section, and that
the past feeding experience of a bird has an effect on the
probability that nerve section will produce a noticeable
disruption in gross food intake. The fine structure of feeding behaviour is described
to demonstrate the principle that the feeding control
system of these birds acts so that future needs are
anticipated, and it is shown that environmental cues
giving information about future deprivation are used
by them to feed in advance of such deprivation.
In addition, the feeding behaviour of the birds in
a continiousy fixed ratio operant situation is described,
to show how the means of observing a behaviour can
alter the pattern of that behaviour, and also how this
alteration can give information about the operation of
the underlying control system
A response to the critique of gender issues in computerâsupported learning
We find the critique of our paper both interesting and informative. The author raises a number of points as a caution against oversimplification of the issues surrounding gender and computer-supported learning. We fully acknowledge the difficulty of reporting findings from a number of studies and of attempting to define or analyse the complex interaction of already complex concepts such as gender, identity and behaviour within computer-supported learning environments
Learning networks and communication skills
The project work presented in this paper is funded by the Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC) JanuaryâDecember 1999. Our task has been to identify effective communicative practices for different technologies, in relation to the contexts in which they occur, and to feed back information about such practices to the educational community in a contextâsensitive way. The technologies at issue are: video conferencing (oneâtoâone, oneâtoâmany, manyâtoâmany); textâbased communication (email, bulletin boards, conferencing,) and audio conferencing (telephone tutoring, shared workspace plus audio link). The teaching and learning sites that agreed to take part in this research project provide courses to a variety of learners â undergraduate, postgraduate, professional, fullâ and partâtime â in a spread of subject disciplines. The breadth and range of learning environments represented should maximize the chances of teachers in further and higher education recognizing issues and circumstances that are similar to their own and provide a rich comparative framework. The lecturers from the various teaching sites are regarded as collaborators in this research, identifying their own issues and learning needs, and providing feedback to authenticate the interpretative process. This study approach bridges the practiceâtheory gap. We have completed the field work and are midway through analysing and interpreting the data in collaboration with teachers and students involved in the study. This will lead to the production of a flexible resource for individual lecturing staff which can also underpin staff development courses in good practice within networked learning environments. Further details and progress updates can be gleaned from our project web site at http://www.gla.ac.uk/services/tls/ JISC/index.html
Making distance visible: assembling nearness in an online distance learning programme
Online distance learners are in a particularly complex relationship with the educational institutions they belong to (Bayne, Gallagher, & Lamb, 2012). For part-time distance students, arrivals and departures can be multiple and invisible as students take courses, take breaks, move into independent study phases of a programme, find work or family commitments overtaking their study time, experience personal upheaval or loss, and find alignments between their professional and academic work. These comings and goings indicate a fluid and temporary assemblage of engagement, not a permanent or stable state of either âpresenceâ or âdistanceâ.
This paper draws from interview data from the âNew Geographies of Learningâ project, a research project exploring the notions of space and institution for the MSc in Digital Education at the University of Edinburgh, and from literature on distance learning and online community. The concept of nearness emerged from the data analyzing the comings and goings of students on a fully online programme. It proposes that ânearnessâ to a distance programme is a temporary assemblage of people, circumstances, and technologies. This state is difficult to establish and impossible to sustain in an uninterrupted way over the long period of time that many are engaged in part-time study. Interruptions and subsequent returns should therefore be seen as normal in the practice of studying as an online distance learner, and teachers and institutions should work to help students develop resilience in negotiating various states of nearness. Four strategies for increasing this resilience are proposed: recognising nearness as effortful; identifying affinities; valuing perspective shifts; and designing openings
Learning technology in Scottish higher education â a survey of the views of senior managers, academic staff and âexpertsâ
As part of an evaluation of the Scottish Learning Technology Dissemination Initiative (LTDI), a survey was conducted of the views of academic staff, members of computerâassisted learning and staff development units, and senior managers in all Scottish higher education institutions (HEIs). Most respondents across all subject areas and types of institutions (including those who rated themselves as less experienced with use of C&IT in teaching than their colleagues) believed that learning technology (LT) had moderate to very high potential for improving the way in which students learn. Awareness of the various agencies which have been established to promote its use in HEIs was very high, with few staff being unaware of any of them. Senior staff largely agreed that the value of these approaches lay in the improvement or maintenance of quality rather than in creating efficiency gains. Whilst there was a mostly positive view of the value of learning technology there are still significant barriers to its uptake by staff, the most important being lack of time, infrastructure, software and training, plus a failure (perceived or actual) of institutions to value teaching. The rather pessimistic view of âexpertsâ of the willingness of their less committed colleagues to make use of learning technology contrasted with the generally positive responses obtained from a broad group of 1,000 academic staff on their awareness of and attitudes to it. An analysis of the SHEFC's Teaching Quality Assessment reports during 1992â6 revealed substantial variability between and within subject assessments as to whether specific comments were made about IT provision and its use in learning and teaching