Noncanonical orientation without occlusion: Children's drawings of transparent objects

The use of a transparent model in a drawing task allows all the features of the model to remain visible whatever its orientation. N. H. Freeman (1980, Strategies of Representation in Young Children, New York/London, Academic Press) found that when drawing a transparent glass with its handle turned away, children made more canonical errors (drawing the handle at the side) than when drawing a similarly orientated opaque cup. According to Freeman being able to see the handle in a noncanonical orientation “triggers” a canonical representation of the object (N. H. Freeman 1980, p. 252). Two experiments are reported which investigated children's drawings of transparent objects. The drawings obtained from children between 4 and 7 years old produced two major findings. First, the tendency toward canonicality when drawing a glass with its handle turned away was significantly reduced when two glasses in differeing orientations were presented side by side. Second, the number of canonical errors was lower when the glass was filled with milk (thus hiding the handle). This latter finding confirms that of N. H. Freeman (1980). However, the first suggests that children use situationally appropriate information when drawing transparent objects in a way similar to that noted by A. M. Davis (1983, Contextual Sensitivity in Young Children's Drawings, Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 35, 478–486) using opaque objects.     

论现代高科技在中药复方研究中的应用

中药复方是中医临床治疗的重要方法。由于具有多组分、多环节协同作用的特色,因此在某些方面可能优于以单一成分为主的西药。但是这一特点也增加了对其治疗机理进行研究的难度,从而影响到中医药的进一步发展和走向世界。本文认为应用现代高新技术是中医复方研究和发展的必由之路,但是在具体应用时应注意中医药本身所具有的独特的理论框架和思路,不能拘泥于西药药用植物的研究思路和方法。     

Critical thinking skills and reflective judgment development: Redefining the aims of higher education

Educators who agree that critical thinking and intellectual development are appropriate aims of higher education do not always agree on what constitutes good thinking. This study examined the relationship between two constructs that attempt to describe that aim: critical thinking as defined by the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal and a stage model of adolescent and adult intellectual development described as reflective judgment. In a 2 × 4 design, 119 women students at four educational levels were matched on high and low extremes of critical thinking scores and were compared on the basis of their scores on the Reflective Judgment Interview.The results indicate: (a) a significant main effect for educational level: students at higher educational levels achieved higher scores on the reflective judgment measure; (b) a main effect for critical thinking: high critical thinking subjects out-performed low critical thinking subjects on the Reflective Judgment Interview; and (c) while low critical thinking subjects were homogeneously low in reflective judgment levels, high critical thinking subjects had significantly greater variability of Reflective Judgment Interview scores.     

The measurement of perceived opportunity for occupational attainment

Many writers implicate perceptions of the opportunity structure in the labor market as essential components of the formation, stability, and enactment of socioeconomic achievement attitudes. These perceptions of opportunity are thought to be observed structural constraints and reflective of more than just pure motivation. Previous attempts at measuring “perceived opportunity” have no consistent approach or conceptualization. This study evaluates a 10-item scale of perceived occupational opportunity in an attempt to overcome many of these problems. Using panel data covering the period of career decision making and labor force entry (adolescence to young adulthood), the internal reliability and construct validity of the linear composite are assessed. The scale's external validity is then further explored within the context of a structural equation model linking perceived opportunity to social origins, adolescent career plans, and early socioeconomic attainments.     

A review of experiments in explicit bargaining

Bargaining was defined as a situation where: (1) there are two or more parties with divergent interests, (2) the parties can communicate, (3) mutual compromise is possible, (4) provisional offers can be made, and (5) the provisional offers do not fix the tangible outcomes until an offer is accepted by all sides. The typical bargaining paradigm is described. Next the limitations of general theories of bargaining are discussed. The results of relevant experiments are then reviewed and evaluated. Particular attention is given to the effects of general bargaining predispositions, the payoff system, the social relationship between the bargainer, his opponent and significant others, situational factors, and bargaining strategy.