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Background: Excessive discounting of future rewards has been observed in a variety of disorders and has been linked both to valuation of the past and to memory of past events., Methods: To explore the functionality of discounting and memory, we examined whether training of working memory would result in less discounting of future rewards. In this study, 27 adults in treatment for stimulant use were randomly assigned to receive either working memory training or control training according to a yoked experimental design. Measures of delay discounting and several other cognitive behaviors were assessed pre- and posttraining., Results: Rates of discounting of delayed rewards were significantly reduced among those who received memory training but were unchanged among those who received control training; other cognitive assessments were not affected by memory training. Discount rates were positively correlated with memory training performance measures., Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating that neurocognitive training on working memory decreases delay discounting. These results offer further evidence of a functional relationship between delay discounting and working memory., (Copyright © 2011 Society of Biological Psychiatry. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The biggest philanthropy in the world sits in an unmarked building next to an industrial dry dock. It does little to attract attention, but everyone knows it's there. And even [...]

TWENTY YEARS AGO, the National Commission on Excellence in Education delivered a thunderbolt in the form of a report called A Nation at Risk. Risk awakened millions of Americans to [...]

PERHAPS NO EVENT REPRESENTED THE TREND IN URBAN SCHOOL politics better than Harold Levy's becoming chancellor of the nation's largest school district, New York City, in May 2000. The previous [...]

A new study published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England reveals that teenagers born in September are 20% more likely to go on to university that those born in August. The study also revealed how entrenched the divisions between the children of poor and affluent neighbourhoods are.

All Else Equal: Are Public and Private Schools Different? By Luis Benveniste, Martin Carnoy, and Richard Rothstein RoutledgeFalmer, 2002, $19.95; 224 pages. All Else Equal's central claim is that privately [...]

MINORITY STUDENTS ARE BECOMING INCREASINGLY CONCENTRATED IN urban school districts, During the 1990-91 school year, 40 of the 57 districts that are members of the Council of the Great City [...]

There is ample evidence, according to Mr. Hill, that universal public school choice would strongly benefit all children, including the disadvantaged, by promoting candid and demanding relationships among teachers, parents, [...]

Nobody is content with the state of urban public schools, least of all the people who work in them. When asked to envision the kind of school they want, teachers [...]

Economic implications of mayoral involvement in education and challenges faced by schools in budget mangement are discussed.

Funding from nonprofit organizations, inequitable competition, unstable rules, and the factors affecting choice of schools is presented. Problems faced during the creation of new schools and the ways to overcome them are discussed.

Cities Need Capacity for Education Reform Americans have reason to worry about the children being educated in the nation's big-city public school systems. Urban minority students who enter first grade [...]

Kathryn Newmark and Veronique de Rugy's brief mention of the comparatively rapid rebound of Catholic schools in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina ('Hope after Katrina,' features, Fall 2006) casts the [...]

David Bell, current Chief Inspector of Schools and an advocate of A-level reform, is to replace David Normington as permanent secretary at the Department for Education and Skills in January 2006. Normington is to take up a position as permanent secretary at the Home Office.

An analysis of the likelihood that more and more universities in the UK will find themselves running into financial difficulties and the implications this could have on university art collections across the country. It is suggested that, while traditionally universities have been loathe to sell off artworks that have been bequeathed to them, an expected contraction of university funding could force universities to sell off their collections.

Education Secretary Ruth Kelly has warned universities that they must identify and confront extremist behaviour on campus and defend the 'moderate majority' of students. Kelly noted that, in the aftermath of the London terrorist bombings of 07 July 2005, universities had a duty to tell the police of they had concerns about criminal acts or 'unacceptable behaviour'.

Universities in the UK are to receive a 60-page guidance document from Universities UK and the Standing Conference of Principals which will provide instructions on how to deal with extreme religious or political activity and on how to promote good race relations. The release of the document, which is expected to be revised in the light of the bombings in London, comes as evidence has mounted relating to the activities of extremists on university campuses.

An analysis of the results of a survey of over 10,000 undergraduates in the United Kingdom which aimed to uncover their opinions of the country's universities. The survey, which the organisers hope will help identify the strengths and weaknesses in the approaches adopted by the various universities, identified Strathclyde University as the best in the UK in the perception of undergraduates.

An analysis of the results of a survey of 10,000 16 to 18-year-olds in England and Wales which aimed to gain an insight into their views on higher education, tuition fees, student debt, and on their own academic interests, abilities and ambitions. Of those surveyed, 48% agreed that it is too expensive to go to university, 44% worried about being in debt and 43% said they were very aware of the plans for top-up fees.

The Labour Party's pledge to get 50% of 18 to 30-year-olds involved in higher education by 2010 threatens to obscure the wider aim of the Government to encourage people to continue learning from infancy through to retirement, according to Education Secretary Ruth Kelly. Kelly noted that since taking up her job, she has spent quite a bit of time thinking about how the target was come up with in the first place as well as considering how to communicate Labour's aim to create a lifelong learning culture.

An analysis of a survey of some 500 academics in the UK conducted in order to ascertain their opinions of life on campus and the health of higher education ahead of the general election on 05 May 2005. Also included are profiles of the education spokes persons for the various parties, Phil Willis for the Liberal Democrats, Tim Collins for the Conservatives and Ruth Kelly for Labour.

The electoral dominance of the Labour Party on campuses in the UK is set to come to an end on 05 May 2005 as a result of a growth in support from the Liberal Democrats amongst academics and students. Polls reveal that while Labour could count on about 65% of academics voting for them in 2001, the party can now only count on 41% of the academic vote, whereas the Liberals have seen their share of the academic vote grow to 44% from 22%.

The Labour Government watered down its initial plans for the expansion of student numbers as a result of concerns about the cost of the plans, fears that elite universities could go private if grants were squeezed and accusations of dumbing down. Under the initial plans, the Government wanted a target of 50% participation in higher education by 2006-2007, a date that was later moved back to 2010-2011.

An overview of the various incentives and support schemes that universities in the UK intend to offer from 2006, when top-up fees come into effect, in order to attract students. Universities will offer bursaries, ranging from the legal minimum of UKPd300 up to UKPd5,000, as well as other incentives such as rent discounts and help towards the cost of computer equipment.

University heads doubt that the new fee and bursary regime will generate enough additional income to prevent course closures or attract more working-class students to higher education, according to a survey by KPMG and The Times Higher Education Supplement of 72 universities and colleges. While 82% of those surveyed acknowledged that the extra money from variable tuition fees, bursaries and grants would help their financial position, 44% believed that this would not be enough to prevent course closures.

Statistics reveal that students from a poorer background in the UK are more likely to stay in their home area and go to one of the new universities, even if they have received top grades in their A-levels. If these students took up the places that they should have in the leading universities, then 3,000 privately educated students would be denied their places and would have to go to other universities.

An analysis of a study produced by Hefce which reveals that where you were born and where you live will significantly influence your chances of attending university. The study reveals that 18 and 19-year-olds from London are 50% more likely than their counterparts from the North East of England to go to university.

An analysis of the growing imbalance in the UK between the number of male and female university students. Statistics reveal that between 1994 and 2001, the number of women entering university increased to 427,000 from 299,000, while the number of men entering university rose by just 16,000 to 305,000. This disparity between the sexes has led some to argue that entry standards for men should be made easier than those set for women.

Sir Martin Harris, head of the Office for Fair Access, has warned students that they will face a 'volatile market' in scholarships and bursaries in 2006 as the majority of universities in the UK plan to begin charging tuition fees of UKPd3,000/yr. Of the 127 universities and colleges expected to lodge their plans for 2006, so far only one, Leeds Metropolitan University, has announced that it plans to charge less than UKPd3,000.

Kim Howells, newly appointed Higher Education Minister in the UK, outlines what he believes should be the top priorities of academics in 2005. At the top of the list Howells puts explaining to parents and students the impact of variable tuition fees, bursaries and grants.

Some A level subjects are easier than others to get top marks in than others, according to a study by Peter Tymms of Durham University. The finding has led to calls for universities to weight the results of applicants according to the difficulty of the subjects they took. The study revealed that A levels in maths, the sciences or modern languages are harder to get top grades in than the arts or humanities.

An analysis of the results of a survey into the attitudes and lifestyle of 1,000 undergraduates at over 171 universities in the United Kingdom. The survey revealed that the average early 21st-century undergraduate is likely to aspire to a career in advertising or the media, read the Sun newspaper, vote Liberal Democrat, work in a shop part-time and enjoy partying.

Studies by universities in the UK into the levels of literacy and numeracy of their first-year students have revealed that the standards have fallen since 1991, despite constant increases in pass rates and grade levels at A-level. Findings at one university suggest that students from the 2001 intake with a B grade at A-level actually displayed 'slightly lower levels' of competence at mathematics than those that failed the exam in 1991. Ways to deal with the problem of falling educational standards are examined.

Kingdom of Children: Culture and Controversy in the Homeschooling Movement Princeton University Press, 2001, $24.95; 238 pages. by Mitchell L. Stevens Deciding to home school your children is a huge [...]