This training packet is intended to aid educators in planning and effecting positive change within the learning environment through a group problem-solving intervention process. It primarily addresses the concept of "change agentry" and how it can be used to improve the climate for learning, focusing on the role of the change agent and the…

Any effort to change a complex social system should begin by constructing models and simulations of the problem and its social context. These will increase the likelihood of long-term success, decrease the chance of unexpected negative side effects, and help conserve scarce national resources. Models may be of three types: (1) prose models--which…

This article suggested an alternative educational institution - the Learning Foundation - as a model for reorganizing the delivery of educational services in order to provide learning opportunities for all ages and levels of experience at the point of the local neighborhood but supported by the services of central resources units. (Editor/RK)

Based on the premise that the quality of domain-specific knowledge is the main determinant of expertise in that domain, an examination was made of the shift from considering general, domain-independent skills and procedures, in both cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence, to the study of the knowledge base. Empirical findings and…

This paper describes a model, to be adopted or adapted by human services professionals, for overcoming barriers to the detection, intervention, and prevention of elder abuse. The barriers (professional denial of abuse problems, lack of detection, guidelines and intervention procedures, and the absence of community support services) are identified…

The arguments for and against Thomas Kuhn's paradigmatic thesis are presented in this paper as a means of discussing the appropriateness of Kuhn's thesis to the emerging composition discipline. Section one of the paper introduces the topic, noting how the term paradigm is used in composition to define a system of widely shared values, beliefs, and…

A model drawn from recently expanding research literature is presented to clarify the process involved in the development of clinical depression. A body of literature is reviewed that deals with information processing, specifically memory, which relates to the selective recall of negative experiences clinically seen in depressives. A second body…

The effect of certain methodological changes on the fit of the Wyer subjective probability model and the effect of belief change on cognitive structure were investigated. Using syllogistically-related proposition sets of the form "A,""If A then B,""If not A then B,""B," it was found that certain…

Recent research on human memory and cognition with particular emphasis on research that might have some promise for mathematics education is reviewed. The focus is on techniques for analyzing the mind in two areas: (1) the architecture of the human memory system, using the information processing model; and (2) the content and structure of…

Testing the validity of a model incorporating the "threat" factors in crisis decision-making, this study rested on the assumption that the threat of crisis decision-making stems from two sources: perceived effects of the crisis (stimulus threat) and perceived adequacy of capabilities for dealing with the crisis (response threat). Stimulus threat…

A study, involving six students in grades 4 through 6 who exhibited inappropriate or inadequate social behaviors, investigated the effectiveness of the Behavior Rehearsal Intervention Program in promoting social skills for pre-adolescents. Three Ss participated in an initial Placebo-Attention Control Condition followed by the Behavior Rehearsal…

Arguments presented against securing computer programs by copyright are centered on the question of whether computer programs qualify under the U.S. Constitutional meaning as "works of authorship," which may be protected by copyright. The possibility that the protection of computer programs by copyright might have an undesirable impact…

Two major factors have shaped writing research from the cognitive processing viewpoint. The first factor contains the strategic decisions about the course of such research, suggesting what is interesting and how best to proceed. The decisions made in regard to writing as a cognitive process have been to focus on the act of writing, to seek a…

A model of conceptual change, adapted from Posner, is presented. It includes both the replacement of an existing concept (conceptual exchange), and the incorporation of a new concept (conceptual capture). Conceptual exchange occurs only when an existing concept is dissatisfying and a new concept is intelligible, initially plausible, and fruitful.…