Effects of electronic outlining on students' argumentative writing performance

This study examined the effect of electronic outlining on the quality of students' writing products and how outlining affects perceived mental effort during the writing task. Additionally, it was studied how students appropriate and appreciate an outline tool and whether they need explicit instruction in order to engage in planning. To answer these questions, the writing products and self‐report data from 34 tenth‐grade students of a Dutch pre‐university school were analysed. Students wrote two similar argumentative texts with or without an outline tool. Results show that electronic outlining improves the quality of students' argumentative texts and decreases mental effort. Answers to a retrospective questionnaire showed that a short instruction on the outline tool was sufficient for students to understand its working and that most students experienced the tool as beneficial. Finally, results indicate that without specific instruction on text planning, students hardly devote any time to this important aspect of writing.     

Write between the lines: Electronic outlining and the organization of text ideas

Writing is an important, complex skill which could be enhanced through the effective use of writing tools that are incorporated in word processors. The main objective of this study was to examine the effect of (repeated) electronic outlining on the quality of students’ writing products and perceived mental effort. The study also investigated how students appropriate and appreciate the outline tool. Data were collected from 58 ninth-grade students who wrote two argumentative texts about a topic they had previously discussed during several class sessions, meaning that ideas were generated and clustered beforehand. Students’ writing products were scored for Total Text Structure, Structure Presentation, and Hierarchical Elaboration of Arguments. Results reveal that first-time tool-use had no significant effect on students’ writing products and perceived mental effort. However, repeated use positively affected Structure Presentation and led to decreased perceived mental effort, but no significant effect was found on Total Text Structure and Hierarchical Elaboration of Arguments. Answers to a retrospective questionnaire showed that students quickly appropriated the tool with tool appreciation increasing with repeated use. This study suggests that in order to profit from electronic outlining, it is important to practice using the outline tool and to use it for complex tasks, requiring idea generation and organization.     

Antiaversive effects of 5HT2C receptor agonists and fluoxetine in a model of panic-like anxiety in rats

Different techniques of stabilometric signal analysis have been used in order to study the adaptation of the fine postural control system to the wearing of corrective glasses with or without prisms. The comparison between the results obtained with conventional techniques and those obtained with non-linear dynamic methods demonstrates the better efficiency of the latter. These results confirm that the postural system behaves as a non-linear dynamical system and may explain the outstanding sensitivity of the fine postural system to small perturbations.     

Stimulus characterization of estradiol applying a crossfamiliarization taste aversion procedure in female mice

In female mice (n = 240), the estradiol stimulus was characterized by studying preexposure effects of sex steroids and sickness-inducing drugs on estradiol-induced (50 micrograms/kg SC) conditioned taste aversion (CTA). It was established that preexposure to estradiol itself (2-50 micrograms/kg SC) attenuates the development of CTA produced by the hormone. Only partial crossfamiliarization effects were found with progesterone (50-200 micrograms/kg SC) and testosterone (250-1000 micrograms/kg SC), steroids that induce CTA themselves. Preexposure to the sickness-inducing drugs lithium chloride (22 mg/kg SC) and apomorphine (0.1-0.2 mg/kg SC) prevented or substantially reduced the development of estradiol-induced CTA, respectively. It was concluded that only a low degree of stimulus resemblance exists between estradiol and the other principal sex steroids, progesterone and testosterone. In addition, it was concluded that the estradiol stimulus resembles the stimuli produced by sickness-inducing drugs.     

Comparison of stimulus properties of fluoxetine and 5-HT receptor agonists in a conditioned taste aversion procedure

Pre-exposure to 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) receptor agonists in conditioned taste aversion experiments was used to characterize the stimulus properties of fluoxetine. The taste aversion induced by fluoxetine (10 mg/kg) was completely prevented when mice were pre-exposed to fluoxetine or when they were pre-exposed to the preferential 5-HT1C receptor agonist MK 212. Pre-exposure to MK 212 also prevented the conditioned taste aversion induced by another serotonin uptake inhibitor, paroxetine. A partial attenuation of fluoxetine-induced conditioned taste aversion was seen after pre-exposure to a high dose of the 5-HT1A receptor agonist (+/-)-8-hydroxy-2-(di-n-propylamino)tetralin (8-OH-DPAT; 1 mg/kg), but not to lower doses. No familiarization for the fluoxetine stimulus was obtained by pre-exposure to treatments with the mixed 5-HT1C/2 receptor agonist (+/-)-1-(2,5-dimethoxy-4-iodophenyl)-2-aminopropane HCl (DOI). With the reversed sequence, pre-exposure to fluoxetine prevented the conditioned taste aversion induced by MK 212 or 8-OH-DPAT and reduced that induced by DOI. It is concluded that the acute stimulus properties of fluoxetine mostly resemble those of a 5-HT1C receptor agonist. This supports the suggestion that the 5-HT1C receptor can play an important role in the therapeutic effect of 5-HT reuptake inhibitors.     

Electromyographical differentiation of the components of perioral movements induced by SKF 38393 and physostigmine in the rat

Facial electromyography (EMG) coupled with visual observation was used to investigate spontaneous and drug induced perioral movements in freely moving rats. Four separate perioral behaviours were identified; facial tremor, purposeless chewing, gaping and yawning. Facial tremor, yawning and gaping but not purposeless chewing produced characteristic EMG signals. Normal rats displayed a low level of purposeless chewing, occasional bursts of facial tremor but not gaping or yawning. Each burst of facial tremor was accompanied by a transient increase in purposeless chewing. Administration of the D1 agonist SKF 38393 induced a dose related increase in bursts of facial tremors and consequently an increase in the total number of purposeless chews. Gaping and yawning were not induced by SKF 38393 administration. Administration of the cholinesterase inhibitor physostigmine (0.1-0.4 mg/kg) induced a dose related increase in the total number of purposeless chews, but primarily these were not associated with facial tremor. Administration of physostigmine also increased gaping and yawning. Administration of the D1 antagonist SCH 23390 almost abolished facial tremor in normal treated rats but only partially reduced that induced by SKF 38393 and physostigmine. SCH 23390 reduced purposeless chewing in SKF 38393 treated rats but not in normal or physostigmine treated animals. Administration of the cholinergic antagonist atropine almost abolished facial tremor in normal and physostigmine treated rats, but only reduced by 46% that induced by SKF 38393. Atropine reduced purposeless chewing in normal, physostigmine and SKF 38393 treated animals. Physostigmine induced gaping and yawning were abolished by atropine administration.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Importance in instructional text: Teachers' and students' perceptions of task demands.

History teachers (N=22) and their 11th-grade students (N=451) rated the relative importance of sections of an instructional text on which teachers would be giving a test. Multilevel analysis revealed only a moderate correspondence between teachers in their importance ratings. This suggested that there were large differences between the task demands of individual teachers; therefore, students needed to attune to the demands their own teacher set. However, only a moderate correspondence was found between ratings of individual students and those of their teacher. Although this correspondence varied between teachers, between students, and between text sections, results suggest that in general, the participating students did not have a very clear or sound perception of task demands. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)