An examination of learning processes during critical incident training: Implications for the development of adaptable trainees

Three experiments are reported that examined the process by which trainees learn decision-making skills during a critical incident training program. Formal theories of category learning were used to identify two processes that may be responsible for the acquisition of decision-making skills: rule learning and exemplar learning. Experiments I and 2 used the process dissociation procedure (L. L. Jacoby, 1998) to evaluate the contribution of these processes to performance. The results suggest that trainees used a mixture of rule and exemplar learning. Furthermore, these learning processes were influenced by different aspects of training structure and design. The goal of Experiment 3 was to develop training techniques that enable trainees to use a rule adaptively. Trainees were tested on cases that represented exceptions to the rule. Unexpectedly, the results suggest that providing general instruction regarding the kinds of conditions in which a decision rule does not apply caused them to fixate on the specific conditions mentioned and impaired their ability to identify other conditions in which the rule might not apply. The theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of the results are discussed.

Costs of learning: the dynamics of mixed-prey exploitation by silver perch, Bidyanus bidyanus (Mitchell, 1838)

Although generalist predators have been reported to forage less efficiently than specialists, there is little information on the extent to which learning can improve the efficiency of mixed-prey foraging. Repeated exposure of silver perch to mixed prey (pelagic Artemia and benthic Chironomus larvae) led to substantial fluctuations in reward rate over relatively long (20-day) timescales. When perch that were familiar with a single prey type were offered two prey types simultaneously, the rate at which they captured both familiar and unfamiliar prey dropped progressively over succeeding trials. This result was not predicted by simple learning paradigms, but could be explained in terms of an interaction between learning and attention. Between-trial patterns in overall intake were complex and differed between the two prey types, but were unaffected by previous prey specialization. However, patterns of prey priority (i.e. the prey type that was preferred at the start of a trial) did vary with previous prey training. All groups of fish converged on the most profitable prey type (chironomids), but this process took 15-20 trials. In contrast, fish offered a single prey type reached asymptotic intake rates within five trials and retained high capture abilities for at least 5 weeks. Learning and memory allow fish to maximize foraging efficiency on patches of a single prey type. However, when foragers are faced with mixed prey populations, cognitive constraints associated with divided attention may impair efficiency, and this impairment can be exacerbated by experience. (c) 2005 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integration of ice-core, marine and terrestrial records for the Australian Last Glacial Maximum and Termination: a contribution from the OZ INTIMATE group

The degree to which Southern Hemisphere climatic changes during the end of the last glacial period and early Holocene (30-8 ka) were influenced or initiated by events occurring in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere is a complex issue. There is conflicting evidence for the degree of hemispheric 'teleconnection' and an unresolved debate as to the principle forcing mechanism(s). The available hypotheses are difficult to test robustly, however, because the few detailed palaeoclimatic records in the Southern Hemisphere are widely dispersed and lack duplication. Here we present climatic and environmental reconstructions from across Australia, a key region of the Southern Hemisphere because of the range of environments it covers and the potentially important role regional atmospheric and oceanic controls play in global climate change. We identify a general scheme of events for the end of the last glacial period and early Holocene but a detailed reconstruction proved problematic. Significant progress in climate quantification and geochronological control is now urgently required to robustly investigate change through this period. Copyright (c) 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Integration of sulphate reduction, autotrophic denitrification and nitrification to achieve low-cost excess sludge minimisation for Hong Kong sewage

An integrated anaerobic-aerobic treatment system of sulphate-laden wastewater was proposed here to achieve low sludge production, low energy consumption and effective sulphide control. Before integrating the whole system, the feasibility of autotrophic denitrification utilising dissolved sulphide produced during anaerobic treatment of sulphate rich wastewater was studied here. An upflow anaerobic sludge blanket reactor was operated to treat sulphate-rich synthetic wastewater (TOC = 100 mg/L and sulphate = 500 mg/L) and its effluent with dissolved sulphide and external nitrate solution were fed into an anoxic biofilter. The anaerobic reactor was able to remove 77-85% of TOC at HRT of 3 h and produce 70-90 mg S/L sulphide in dissolved form for the subsequent denitrification. The performance of anoxic reactor was stable, and the anoxic reactor could remove 30 mg N/L nitrate at HRT of 2 h through autotrophic denitrification. Furthermore, sulphur balance for the anoxic filter showed that more than 90% of the removed sulphide was actually oxidised into sulphate, thereby there was no accumulation of sulphur particles in the filter bed. The net sludge productions were approximately 0.15 to 0.18 g VSS/g COD in the anaerobic reactor and 0.22 to 0.31 g VSS/g NO3--N in the anoxic reactor. The findings in this study will be helpful in developing the integrated treatment system to achieve low-cost excess sludge minimisation.

A sociocultural analysis of learning to teach

This paper addresses the question of how teachers learn from experience during their pre-service course and early years of teaching. It outlines a theoretical framework that may help us better understand how teachers' professional identities emerge in practice. The framework adapts Vygotsky's Zone of Proximal Development, and Valsiner's Zone of Free Movement and Zone of Promoted Action, to the field of teacher education. The framework is used to analyse the pre-service and initial professional experiences of a novice secondary mathematics teacher in integrating computer and graphics calculator technologies into his classroom practice. (Contains 1 figure.) [For complete proceedings, see ED496848.]

Towards more personalized web: Extraction and integration of dynamic content from the Web

Information and content integration are believed to be a possible solution to the problem of information overload in the Internet. The article is an overview of a simple solution for integration of information and content on the Web. Previous approaches to content extraction and integration are discussed, followed by introduction of a novel technology to deal with the problems, based on XML processing. The article includes lessons learned from solving issues of changing webpage layout, incompatibility with HTML standards and multiplicity of the results returned. The method adopting relative XPath queries over DOM tree proves to be more robust than previous approaches to Web information integration. Furthermore, the prototype implementation demonstrates the simplicity that enables non-professional users to easily adopt this approach in their day-to-day information management routines.

The Integration of Rural Households Into Ruminant Livestock Industries in China

A major determinant of rural development in China is the way by which rural households integrate with rural industries. Three forms of integration – market integration, vertical integration and integration through local groups – are investigated. Policy measures that may facilitate household integration, household specialisation and market segmentation are identified. Findings for the ruminant livestock sector are widely applicable to other agricultural industries in China.