Author Archives: Brian Hopkins

Also called ethanoic acid, it is a colourless organic acid with a characteristic odor.  The main ingredient of vinegar, it is produced by the oxidation of alcohol and plays an important role in metabolism of carbohydrates and fats. See Cholesterol, Metabolism

Originally called ‘vagusschtuff’ by the physiologist Oscar Loewi (1873-1961), and first discovered by him in the vagus nerve of the frog heart, it is a white crystalline derivative of choline.  As such, it is hormone-like, neurotransmitter protein, produced by cells to create or stimulate central nervous system reactions necessary for life.  While being an important …

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The Accreditation Criteria for Interdisciplinary Studies in General Education published in 2000 is a report by a task force commissioned by the Association for Integrative Studies in response to a request from the Association of American Colleges and Universities.  The report, which deals only with undergraduate interdisciplinary education, classifies the criteria into five categories: goals, curriculum evaluation, …

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Linear acceleration is the rate of change of velocity measured in meters per second per second (ms-²).  It is the first derivative of velocity.  Angular acceleration is the rate of change of angular velocity measured in radians per second per second (ws-²). See Kinematics, Radian, Velocity, Vestibular system

The process of modifying or adjusting an existing scheme or psychological structure in order to act upon or know an object, event, or person.  For example, a child accommodates his grasping scheme when he adjusts his hand movements to fit the contours of a particular object.  In Piaget‘s theory, accommodation must occur in tandem with …

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In Kurt Fischer”s neo-Piagetian skill theory, they constitute the fourth and final tier of skill development.  Abstractions represent generalised or intangible content and stand in contrast to concrete representations, which refer to things that are tangible, concrete and able to be imaged or imitated. See Neo-Piagetian theories of cognitive development, Tiers, Representations (mental)

The precise metric distance of an object or surface relative to the self. See Allocentric search, Relative distance

Sometimes referred to as fluid intelligence or hypothetico-deductive reasoning, it is the ability to go beyond what is perceived directly in discovering higher-order relations among stimuli. See Analogical reasoning, Fluid intelligence, Formal operations, Hypothetico-deductive method, Logical reasoning, Raven’s Progressive Matrices (RPM), Reasoning (psychology), Reasoning (genre theory)

Also known as placenta abrupt, it is premature separation of the placenta from the site of implantation on the inner wall of the uterus before the delivery of the fetus (see figure below).  It is a life-threatening condition for the fetus and occurs about 1 in 500 to 750 deliveries severe cases and 77 to …

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Devised by Jean Piaget (1896-1980) to investigate the development of object permanence in infancy, the task involves hiding a desirable object at location A for several trials and then hiding it at a new location B.  The error is that infants below about 12 months perseverate in searching at A from where they have successfully …

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