Further evaluation of prompt density,rate of reinforcement,and the persistence of manding

Previous research has evaluated the effects of prompt rates on the rate of communicative behavior. More recent research has suggested that dense prompting can result in communicative behavior that is more resistant to change. However, existing research has not considered the impact that higher response rates had on reinforcement rate, a variable known to impact response persistence. The current study systematically replicated previous research by evaluating communicative responding in contexts associated with dense- and lean-prompt schedules and extended existing research by (a) holding reinforcement rates similar across the two prompting schedules (lean and dense), and (b) evaluating the persistence of communicative responding in the contexts associated with each prompting schedule. The results for Experiment 1 clearly replicated and extended previous research. The results for Experiment 2 were equivocal and suggested that previous reinforcement history and response class size impacted outcomes.     

Discrimination of circles and squares with and without knobs by goldfish

Different groups of goldfish were trained to discriminate between a circle and either a square, a diamond, a square with a knob added at the top or a diamond with a knob. All subjects readily mastered the discrimination, and there was no significant difference between the groups in the number of trials taken to criterion. In transfer tests it was found that: (i) while there was no transfer from square to diamond or vice versa, the presence of knobs on these shapes did mediate transfer from one to the other, provided the knob remained in the top part of the shapes; (ii) all groups learned much more about the tops of the shapes than about the bottom halves; (iii) animals discriminated the square from the circle largely by detecting the presence of a strong horizontal edge at the top of the figure; (iv) two features of the diamond were discriminated--the presence of oblique contours and the existence of a point in the upper half of the shape. The results are discussed in terms of a proposed model of shape recognition.     

Grading the ‘cultural literacy’ project

The essay examines the argument advanced by E.D. Hirsch, Jr., for instituting ‘cultural literacy’ as a fundamental priority of schools. A number of confusions and equivocations in Hirsch's reasoning are identified, and the propensity of his project to indoctrinate is exposed. Among the features of Hirsch's argument shown to be troubling are his shifting construal of ‘language’, his inconsistency about the requirements of cultural literacy, and his uncritical relation to traditional images of the American past and present. The upshot is to raise the question why Hirsch's project has elicited wide support and praise.     

Referenzsemantik in der Partnermodellierung

How can we explain that an assertion on something perceived can be understood in the same manner by somebody who cannot perceive that scene? This problem bases the interest in computational linguistics in how listener modeling could possibly be harmonized with reference semantics. Mental images substituting real perception appear as a way out. The architecture of the listener model has to be adapted to the creation and use of such pictorial data structures. Furthermore, the relation between the latter and a verbal (i. e., propositional) representation must be understood. The resulting architecture of a listener model with reference semantics can be employed to solve communicational problems from three general classes in a better way, as is demonstrated by an example implementation.     

DIRECT AND COLLATERAL EFFECTS OF RESTRAINTS AND RESTRAINT FADING

Mechanical restraints are commonly used to reduce the risks associated with severe self-injurious behavior (SIB), but may result in movement restriction and adverse side effects (e.g., bone demineralization). Restraint fading may provide a method for decreasing SIB while increasing movement and reducing these side effects. In the current investigation, rigid arm sleeves and restraint fading (gradually reducing the rigidity of the sleeves) were used with 3 clients who engaged in hand-to-head SIB. Restraints and fading reduced the hand-to-head SIB of all clients. However, for 1 client, the addition of a water mist procedure further reduced SIB to near-zero levels. For a 2nd client, another form of SIB developed that was not prevented by the rigid sleeves. For a 3rd client, a topography of SIB that was not physically prevented by the rigid sleeves was also reduced when restraints and fading were introduced.     

The noble savage and the global village: Cultural evolution in new age and neo‐pagan THOUGHT

This article examines some of the assumptions underlying cultural evolution and such concepts as the Noble Savage and the Golden Age. Looking briefly at the influence and inference of these ideas in the past, their use and appearance in certain aspects of contemporary Pagan and New Age thought are then explored. The notion of the Noble Savage has recurred in various guises since at least classical times, and people have looked longingly to a lost Golden Age in history, myth or religion throughout recorded history. The theory of cultural evolution has had ramifications for both concepts, while in some respects seeming inimical to them. Now aspects of these three ideas are having spiritual implications for a large number of people. Examining the connections between them and contemporary religiosity can therefore provide useful insights towards our understanding of the present phenomena.