Articles by author: Brock University

  • Brock researchers to study how parents rate their kids’ memory

    MEDIA RELEASE: R00094 – 28 April 2016
    Brock University — Communications & Public Affairs
     

    How accurate are you in being able to estimate your child’s ability to plan for the future?

    It’s a question Brock University assistant psychology professor Caitlin Mahy and master student Tessa Mazachowsky are aiming to find out.

    The two are researching the development of children’s abilities to think, plan and remember things for the future.

    Mahy’s earlier research has explored when and how prospective memory develops in children. “Prospective memory” is a process in which we remember to carry out a plan we made earlier, such as going to a friend’s birthday party.

    Now, she and Mazachowsky want to add parental perceptions into the mix.

    “This is the first study to look at children’s future thinking from the parents’ perspective,” says Mahy.

    The duo is seeking approximately 200 parents — mothers, fathers or both ¬— to fill out a questionnaire asking them to rate how well their children perform tasks in five categories of future thinking:
    •    Prospective memory: how well does your child remember to do things in the future?
    •    Planning: how good is your child at making a plan and following through with that plan?
    •    Saving: can they save money in their piggy bank? Do they save a picture to show Grandma later?
    •    Delayed gratification: do they wait for two cookies later, or take the one cookie they are offered now?
    •    Future planning: are they able to imagine themselves in future scenarios and plan accordingly? i.e. can they imagine that they need a tent, blanket, cooking materials, etc. for a camping trip

    Of the 200 parents, the researchers would like at least 80 to bring their children to Brock so the children can perform future thinking, planning and prospective memory tasks.

    “We’re looking to compare the parents’ answers on the questionnaire to the child’s actual behavioural performance on the tasks,” says Mazachowsky.

    Mahy explains that, for those parents choosing just to do the questionnaire, the researchers will focus on the parents’ consistency in answering questions from the five different categories of future thinking.

    Mahy says it’s important for researchers to know if parents correctly gauge their children’s future thinking skills.

    A parent who has an accurate picture of their child’s skills will know if the child might need extra encouragement and support for developing memory and planning skills, says Mahy.

    “Maybe your child is a little bit behind with understanding saving so maybe it’s a good time to start introducing concepts of savings and allowance,” she says. “Or maybe it’s way too early. You give your child a quarter and they’re going to want to spend it immediately; they might not have that ability yet.”

    See more about the research in The Brock News.

    To participate in the research, or for more information, contact: Tessa Mazachowsky, tm10nt@brocku.ca

    Brock University assistant psychology professor Caitlin Mahy is available to speak to media. She can be reached at 905-688-5550 x6151 or caitlin.mahy@brocku.ca

    For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:
    * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca,
    905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

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    Categories: Media releases

  • Brock scientist to continue with Mars rover mission studying dust, rocks

    MEDIA RELEASE: R00093 – 28 April 2016
    Brock University — Communications & Public Affairs

    On Earth, dust tends to be nothing more than a cause of frustration for people. But for Mariek Schmidt, dust from another planet is something to be studied and examined.

    The Brock University scientist has been chosen by the U.S. government’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration to continue working on the Mars rover mission.

    “I see the dust as what’s in the way, but at the same time, there’s also this really interesting focus of trying to get at what the composition of the dust is,” says the volcanologist and igneous petrologist.

    “I’m interested in understanding the effects of surface dust on rocks and how that influences rock compositions,” Schmidt says of the next phase of her research.

    Schmidt is among 28 researchers who NASA chose last month to be part of its Curiosity Mars rover mission.

    In her case, Schmidt is being re-selected to participate on the Mars Science Laboratory Project, which built and operates the rover. The Associate Professor of Earth Sciences’ first term on the project began in 2012.

    When the rover Curiosity approaches rocks to examine them, a brush on the rover sometimes clears away dust so that an instrument called Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS) can measure the chemical compositions of rock surfaces.

    When the rover does not brush the dust away, the APXS’s chemical measurement of the rock is influenced by the presence of the dust, which contains sulpher and chlorine.

    Schmidt and her team are developing a technique to separate the dust coating from the surface of the rock, enabling scientists to get a clear chemical measurement of the rock. They will also study the chemistry of the dust itself.

    Analyzing Martian dust is one of four activities within Schmidt’s research program, “Resolving the Igneous, Alteration, and Dust Coating Histories of Rocks in Gale Crater.”

    Schmidt is also:
    •    classifying rocks in Gale Crater
    •    looking for elements – such as zinc or nickel – in sedimentary and igneous rocks and using these elements to infer how these rocks were formed and altered
    •    studying original and altered igneous rocks as a way of better understanding Mars magma – the liquid rock found under the planet’s surface – and how Mars’ mantle – the area between the planet’s core and crust – was formed

    “At this point, we’re still understanding the environmental conditions on Mars and whether or not these might be favourable to life,” says Schmidt. “Understanding Mars’ geologic setting is very important.”

    The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) has awarded Schmidt $200,000 over four years for this research.

    Schmidt’s research team at Brock includes post-doctoral fellow Matt Izawa and graduate students Jeff Berger and Alicia Thomas.

    For more information or for assistance arranging interviews:
    * Cathy Majtenyi, research communications/media relations specialist, cmajtenyi@brocku.ca, 905-688-5550 x5789 or 905-321-0566
    * Dan Dakin, Media Relations Officer, Brock University ddakin@brocku.ca,
    905-688-5550 x5353 or 905-347-1970

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    Categories: Media releases