While animal assisted therapy (AAT) has been a successful part of treatment plans within the medical field for several decades, AAT has not been quantitatively researched as a viable instructional tool that can be used in conjunction with other reading intervention strategies. With over one-third of elementary school aged children experiencing…

Michael is a 6-year-old boy with an autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). He and the other children in his class have delays in their verbal and nonverbal communication skills and difficulty with social interactions. Higgins and Eliza are two lovable cockapoos who help young children with ASD learn new words, expand the length of their sentences, try…

Reviews "Ethics and Animals" (Miller & Williams, 1983). Maintains that this collection of essays is an excellent example of applied philosophy, showing a profile of philosophy as a force for enlightenment. Reviews the rights of animals and the bases of moral behavior toward them. (JDH)

To examine the effects of vomeronasal deprivation on strike-induced chemosensory searching (SICS) in rattlesnakes we used a newly developed technique to anesthetize the vomeronasal organs. We compared rate of tongue flicking after striking prey in avomic rattlesnakes to vomic controls. Avomic rattlesnakes exhibited significantly fewer tongue…

Key pecking by 3 pigeons was maintained by a multiple fixed-ratio 10, fixed-ratio 30, fixed-ratio 90 schedule of food presentation. Components differed with respect to amount of reinforcement, such that the unit price was 10 responses per 1-s access to food. Acute administration of morphine, "l"-methadone, and cocaine dose-dependently decreased…

The mechanisms by which the mind encodes meaning into words and reconstructs it from them has been the subject of philosophical speculations at least since Plato and Aristotle in the 4th century B.C. Our current understanding of how the brain is involved in these processes, however, only started in the 19 th century, with precise descriptions of…

We report on the advantage of integrating teaching of biology and physics in the 7th grade as compared to the teaching physics and biology as discrete units. Experimental group (EG) had a lesson integrating knowledge of physics and biology, while control group (CG) had discrete lessons in physics and biology, referring each to their specific…

From time immemorial human beings have utilized animals for various needs and purposes, which led societies to debate the justification for using animals and to reflect on the way in which animals are treated. These concerns have also resulted in various contemporary studies aimed to reveal interest groups'--as well as the general publics'--views…

Different views exist about whether anthropomorphic ideas assist or hinder learning in biology. This paper discusses the anthropomorphic and anthropocentric ideas children have about micro-organisms, and whether they affect their understanding. The research was carried out in primary and secondary schools in the South of England and involved 414…

The Natural History Museum's new Darwin Centre fulfils three main roles. It is a state-of-the-art scientific research and collections facility, but it is also an awe-inspiring new public space that allows visitors to explore the natural world in an exciting and innovative way. With its opening, students can experience the relevance of the science…

Man's relationship with the environment is crucial. He can use its natural resources, but not in jest. No damaging or overuse behavior should be the dominant behavior. Religious values and rules play an important role in achieving the balance in the environment. One big goal of Islam is to make the life easy and safe. Moreover, in Islamic…

Biology curricula cover fungi in units on bacteria, protists, and primitive plants, but fungi are more closely related to animals than to bacteria or plants. Like animals, fungi are heterotrophs and cannot create their own food; but, like plants, fungi have cell walls, and are for the most part immobile. Most species of fungi have a filamentous…

Social psychological investigations of hierarchy formation have been almost entirely confined to the case of task-oriented groups and hence have produced theories that turn on the existence of such a task. But other forms of vertical hierarchy may emerge in non-task groups. One form, orderings of dominance, has been studied among animals using…

Clarifying ancient environments millions of years ago is necessary to better understand how ecosystems change over time, providing insight as to the potential impacts of current global warming. This module engages middle school students in the scientific process, asking them to use tooth measurement to test the null hypothesis that horse and tapir…

This article describes the experience of a group of first-grade teachers as they tackled the science process of classification, a targeted learning objective for the first grade. While the two-year process was not easy and required teachers to teach in a new, more investigation-oriented way, the benefits were great. The project helped teachers and…