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The existing performance evaluation methods in robot-assisted surgery (RAS) are mainly subjective, costly, and affected by shortcomings such as the inconsistency of results and dependency on the raters' opinions. The aim of this study was to develop models for an objective evaluation of performance and rate of learning RAS skills while practicing surgical simulator tasks. The electroencephalogram (EEG) and eye-tracking data were recorded from 26 subjects while performing Tubes, Suture Sponge, and Dots and Needles tasks. Performance scores were generated by the simulator program. The functional brain networks were extracted using EEG data and coherence analysis. Then these networks, along with community detection analysis, facilitated the extraction of average search information and average temporal flexibility features at 21 Brodmann areas (BA) and four band frequencies. Twelve eye-tracking features were extracted and used to develop linear random intercept models for performance evaluation and multivariate linear regression models for the evaluation of the learning rate. Results showed that subject-wise standardization of features improved the R[superscript 2] of the models. Average pupil diameter and rate of saccade were associated with performance in the Tubes task (multivariate analysis; p-value = 0.01 and p-value = 0.04, respectively). Entropy of pupil diameter was associated with performance in Dots and Needles task (multivariate analysis; p-value = 0.01). Average temporal flexibility and search information in several BAs and band frequencies were associated with performance and rate of learning. The models may be used to objectify performance and learning rate evaluation in RAS once validated with a broader sample size and tasks.

During their studies, musicians transition to work-readiness, develop a professional persona and graduate from skills acquisition in a traditional master-mentor relationship towards heterarchical collaboration in ensembles. Over the final year of an undergraduate program in performance, students, faculty/industry mentors and course coordinators worked collaboratively to implement a music work integrated learning (WIL) project, culminating in public performance as a capstone experience. This phenomenological case report outlines how a student group with diverse skills formed a complex adaptive system through inclusion, connection, support, and collaboration culminating in a final public performance and this practice report. Through this process, students obtained a broad range of graduate skills as well as professional musical competencies within a functioning heterarchy. In creative and performing arts, WIL can positively produce professional outcomes that appear indistinguishable from professional practice in the industry at large. This can be a model for transformative WIL in other disciplines. In addition, this research and practice report was prepared primarily by students with a faculty mentor, providing yet another set of graduate skills for musicians seeking portfolio careers in the arts.

Special education teachers are essential team members in the provision of services to students with complex communication needs. Professional competencies related to augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) practices have been outlined for special education teachers as part of their professional standards. Yet, it is unclear to what extent these professionals have knowledge and skills in this area. Given existing gaps in the literature, an anonymous, web-based survey was disseminated across the United States to gather information on special education teachers' self-reported knowledge and skills in AAC. A total of 1198 special education teachers from 46 states responded to the survey. Findings indicated that most special education teachers did not receive formal training in AAC during their teacher licensure preparation programs, resulting in low levels of self-reported knowledge and skills. Data also indicated that while influencing factors existed, special education teachers' knowledge and skills in AAC remained minimal. Implications and recommendations for stakeholders are discussed.

Today's post-secondary students are technologically savvy and they expect faculty to use myriad web technologies for course delivery. This includes taking advantage of email, course web sites, and online learning communities. However, expectations now also include RSS, blogs, web- and pod-casting, extending the classroom experience to provide active learning materials anytime, anywhere, and in multiple modalities. This contribution outlines the novel use of RSS technology for a course announcement system at Purdue University. It begins by describing RSS technology and discussing the different possibilities for RSS within classroom. It also describes the specific RSS application for real-time course announcements, detailing its creation and implementation. Initial student feedback is also presented. (Contains 2 figures.)

This contribution presents two major findings from a qualitative investigation into spatial ability. The elicited data suggested that one of the significant differences between individuals identified as high and low in spatial ability was their decomposition skill relative to spatial problems. Also revealing was the impact of frustration and anxiety on spatial functioning. The author discusses an instructional strategy for pictorial drawing that appeared effective for individuals solving pictorial drawing problems. (Contains 9 figures.)

A behaviorally inhibited temperament in early childhood has been identified as a potential risk factor for anxiety disorders in children and adolescents. The purpose of our investigation was the development and evaluation of the factor structure, reliability and validity of the first retrospective parent report measure to assess behavioral inhibition in infants and toddlers. Principal Component Analysis of the Retrospective Infant Behavioral Inhibition Scale (RIBI) supported a three factor solution of the core features of BI in two unselected samples. Internal consistency and inter-rater agreement of both parent judgments were greater than 0.90 and greater than 0.70. Scores of the RIBI were positively correlated with the parent report temperament questionnaire IBQ and a laboratory-based test at age 14 months with the child.

This qualitative study aimed to study the process of disclosure by examining adolescents from the general population who had experienced child sexual abuse (CSA). Twenty-six sexually victimized adolescents (23 girls, 3 boys; age: 15-18 years) participated in a qualitative face-to-face in-depth interview on different aspects of disclosure. A qualitative content analysis was conducted following Mayring and using the qualitative data analysis program Atlas.ti. In addition, quantitative correlation analyses were calculated to identify factors associated with disclosure. Less than one third of participants immediately disclosed CSA to another person. In most cases, recipients of both immediate and delayed disclosure were peers. More than one third of participants had never disclosed the abuse to a parent. Main motives for nondisclosure to parents were lack of trust or not wanting to burden the parents. Factors that correlated positively with disclosure were extrafamilial CSA, single CSA, age of victim at CSA, and having parents who were still living together. Negative associations with disclosure were found for feelings of guilt and shame and the perpetrator's age. Many adolescent survivors of CSA have serious concerns about disclosure to their parents and consider friends as more reliable confidants. These findings have two main implications for prevention: (1) In order to facilitate disclosure to parents, the strengthening of the child-parent relationship should be given specific attention in prevention programs, and (2) prevention programs should aim at teaching adolescents how they can help a victim if they become a recipient of disclosure. (Contains 4 tables, 2 figures, and 3 notes.)

Online learning critically relies upon good communication between engaged parties in order to convey ideas, meanings, and values. Emerging technologies in collaborative virtual environments are providing new affordances in establishing greater online presence and, in turn, greater abilities to communicate and learn. This study examines how learners perceive, follow, and recall information presented in discussions in both a 2D and a 3D collaborative environment, "Elluminate" (now known as "Blackboard Collaborate") and "Second Life" respectively. This exploratory study shows that learners observing discussions in "Second Life" have a tendency to better organise ideas, better identify who said what, and better recall what information was said throughout the discussion, than with similar discussions in "Elluminate." On average, participants in this small scale study were able to follow and recall conversations in "Second Life" 10-13% better than the discussions in "Elluminate". While findings produced positive trends towards "Second Life," additional testing is required as the scale (n = 42) was small and the frequencies of statistical results in excess of 0.05 were limited. Still, collectively they do point towards valuable insights for online educators in how they choose to deliver content, conduct synchronous class discussions, and communicate with their students. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)

The authors used holistic and structured interviews to examine Chinese student perspectives on their own spatial ability. The results of this study were compared and contrast with a previous study that was conducted by Mohler (2008) of Caucasian student perspectives in United States. Findings of the current study agree with other literature that Chinese student spatial ability may be culturally formed. Their background, experiences, and upbringing may contribute to Chinese student development of spatial ability and appear to differ significantly from students in United States. Recommendations and educational implications are discussed in the following contribution. (Contains 1 table.)

Background: Maternal history of abuse is a postulated risk factor for child maltreatment. However, there have been no case-control studies on maternal impulsiveness in a larger sample of mothers with a history of abuse. Method: Women in the area of Heidelberg giving birth to a child between May 2005 and June 2007 were contacted by mail and presented with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ). Women who reached a cut-off for moderate or severe sexual and/or physical abuse and whose children were term babies with APGAR-Scores greater than 7 were included in the study to form the index group (n=58). Maternal impulsiveness was assessed at 12 months child age. Results: The results show that mothers with a history of physical or sexual abuse--matched for infant gender, maternal education, marital status, number of infants and birth weight--show significantly more impulsiveness. Conclusions: Maternal history of abuse significantly increases maternal impulsiveness, which has been frequently postulated but never empirically shown in a prospective design. These data underline the necessity to intensify early preventive efforts in mothers with a history of abuse and their young children. Practice implications: These findings identify increased impulsiveness in mothers with a history of abuse as a potential risk factor that should be considered in clinical and counselling settings. (Contains 1 table.)

Disadvantaged children--those in poverty, minorities, or whose first language is not English--often come to kindergarten several years behind their more advantaged peers, especially in the areas of literacy and oral language development. A logical place to begin making a difference in children's literate lives is in the years before kindergarten. This study empirically assessed one community's efforts to close this gap for its youngest children. Over a 3-year period, a grassroots venture consisting of business, university and public school personnel provided teachers in 22 California state preschool classrooms with a literacy-rich curriculum, weekly support from a literacy coach and professional development on early literacy acquisition and instruction. Baseline scores collected the year prior to the implementation of this project were compared to end-of-year scores for two experimental condition cohort groups (Year 1 and Year 2 of the project). These data reveal that children exposed to the literacy curriculum and coaching model significantly outperformed the children in the baseline condition for most of the literacy outcome subtest measures. Teacher ratings on child development literacy measures also showed a majority of the experimental condition students had improved significantly by the end of the year. Furthermore, significant differences were also found when 103 children from Year 1 of the project were followed through kindergarten and compared to 665 control children on end-of-year literacy assessments. Implications for early childhood teacher preparation based on these results are discussed. (Contains 3 tables and 3 figures.)

Spatial ability research has been approached from several psychological vantages since its beginnings in the late 1800s. This contribution attempts a summation of spatial ability research, beginning with a historical vignette and a major section on each psychological approach including the psychometric, developmental, differential and information processing approach. Of importance is what each approach has contributed to our knowledge of spatial ability. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

This phenomenological investigation examined the lived experience of technically-oriented students over the course of a single semester, attempting to answer the question, "What was it like for a student to experience the spatial ability phenomenon?" The study included 12 interviewees and 8 focus group freshman participants at a Midwestern university. Data sources included interview transcripts, think aloud transcripts, task solutions, focus group transcripts, researcher journal entries, course performance data, course observation data, and spatial ability test data. This paper provides the holistic, structural description of the spatial phenomenon that emerged from the descriptions of the participants' experience, as well as an expository on four of the five invariant themes that were elicited from the data. the collaborative session. Recommendations were made for future course improvements when a real world project is used in the curriculum. This paper also discusses changes in design process and the role of designers based on the collaborative session feedback. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

As the result of a qualitative investigation into spatial ability, a teaching technique called mentored sketching was found to be effective for teaching visualization skills to freshman engineering students. This contribution describes the technique, how it evolved, and comments made by students as to its effectiveness. While mentored sketching emerged as a novel approach for the advancement of student sketching and spatial ability skills, it appears unhindered by class size and provides few constraints as a teaching methodology. (Contains 2 figures.)

This study examined evidence for the use of the Strong Interest Inventory with diverse populations, including examination of the structure of interests across five racial/ethnic groups, finding similarity in perceptions of the world of work. The study also studied differences in means for the General Occupational Themes and Basic Interest Scales as well as assessed differences in consistency and differentiation across five racial/ethnic groups for career clients. Overall, the pattern of results suggests minimal differences based on racial/ethnic group membership but more meaningful group differences based on gender.

The authors examined changes in college students' illicit drug use, patterns of polydrug use, and the relationship between students' ages of initiation of substance use and later use of marijuana and other illicit drugs between 1993 and 2001. Data from 119 US colleges and universities in the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study were used in the study. They found significant increases in percentages of students' use of marijuana in the past 30 days (from 13% to 17%), past year (from 23% to 30%), and lifetime (from 41% to 47%) between 1993 and 2001, with most of the increase occurring between 1993 and 1997. Past 30-day use of other illicit drugs increased from 4% to 7% and past year use increased from 11% to 14%. More than 98% of marijuana and other illicit drug users used another substance. They also either smoked, were binge drinkers, and/or were users of another illicit drug. Drug prevention programs should emphasize heavy alcohol use and smoking and should start when students are in high school or earlier. (Contains 5 tables.)

Discusses issues related to delivering spatially oriented data to the general public, since communication through computer graphics should be accessible to the masses as well as to specialists. The second half of the paper describes the Purdue University Virtual Visit, a resource being used for visualization and communication at Purdue University and abroad. (SLD)

A study investigated the effects of teaching 24 middle school students with learning disabilities and mild mental retardation to tutor one another in reading comprehension strategies. Performance on reading comprehension tests following reciprocal tutoring yielded significant performance advantages for students involved in tutoring. Students enjoyed tutoring more than traditional instruction. (Contains references.) (Author/CR)

Describes planning, development, implementation, and features of a Web-based "virtual tour" information and marketing resource developed at Purdue University (West Lafayette, Indiana). The result is an interactive campus map that provides information about the various campus buildings using text, photographs, and movie clips. (DB)

For the first time in many years, Massachusetts has an "Education Governor." Swept into the corner office on the strength of an historic grassroots movement and a mission of civic renewal, Governor Deval Patrick has put education at the top of his list of priorities--and it is little wonder why. Like so many who have experienced success in the Commonwealth, and so many more who anxiously await their chance to do great things, Patrick understands the awesome transformative power of education. However, an extraordinary task lies ahead. Massachusetts has little connectivity and sporadic coordination between the three principal segments of the education pipeline. In this article, the author discusses the need for a new kind of conversation with the entire education community and the people of Massachusetts in order to build a coordinated education pipeline and develop policies that will address important educational issues.

Describes an effective computer assisted listening drill workstation used to provide listening practice to students learning a foreign language, which has been created at the University of Tennessee at Martin by interfacing a program-stop cassette recorder with a microcomputer. A description of the interface is included. (Author/MBR)