An in-class computer-based system, that included daily online testing, was introduced to two large university classes. We examined subsequent improvements in academic performance and reductions in the achievement gaps between lower- and upper-middle class students in academic performance. Students (N = 901) brought laptop computers to classes and took daily quizzes that provided immediate and p...

Given that the ability to attend to a task without distraction underlies performance in a wide variety of contexts, training one's ability to stay on task should result in a similarly broad enhancement of performance. In a randomized controlled investigation, we examined whether a 2-week mindfulness-training course would decrease mind wandering and improve cognitive performance. Mindfulness tra...

She was quiet awhile and then said, Many a night when I was little, alone in that cabin, I wished I could take that fiddle of his up to the jump-off and pitch it and let the wind fly it away. In my mind I'd just watch it go till it was just a speck , and then I'd think about the sweet sound it would make breaking to pieces on the river rocks way down below. from Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier.1

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Rates of lactate uptake into giant sarcolemmal vesicles were determined in vesicles collected from rat muscles at rest and immediately after 10 min of intense muscle contraction. This contraction period reduced muscle glycogen rapidly by 37-82% in all muscles examined (P < 0.05) except the soleus muscle (no change P > 0.05). At an external lactate concentration of 1 mM lactate, uptake into gian...

Recent high-profile incidents of police misconduct have led to calls for increased police accountability. One proposed reform is to equip police officers with body worn cameras, which provide more reliable evidence than eyewitness accounts. However, such cameras may pose privacy concerns for individuals who are recorded, as the footage may fall under open records statutes that would require the...

For many years, the only way to attain an education in software engineering has been through the school of hard knocks. A common lament among experienced software developers is that colleges don’t teach students the skills they need to perform effectively on the job. What is needed to give software developers a better start? Formal professional education has traditionally been divided into thre...

Great Britain's 1983 "Christmas Crusade" against drunken drivers, during which the police of England and Wales administered an average of 1350 breath tests daily, is discussed. Although not deliberately planned and organized, the campaign, fueled by press reports, was perceived by many observes to be a national organized deterrent effort. To test the hypothesis that the crusade reduced drunken ...