Validation of an Instrument for Assessing Conceptual Change with Respect to The Theory of Evolution By Secondary Biology Students

This pilot study evaluated the validity of a new quantitative, closed-response instrument for assessing student conceptual change regarding the theory of evolution. The instrument has two distinguishing design features. First, it is designed not only to gauge student mastery of the scientific model of evolution, but also to elicit a trio of deeply intuitive tendencies that are known to compromise many students’ understanding: the projection of intentional agency, teleological directionality, and immutable essences onto biological phenomena. Second, in addition to a section of conventional multiple choice questions, the instrument contains a series of items where students may simultaneously endorse both scientifically normative propositions and intuitively appealing yet unscientific propositions, without having to choose between them. These features allow for the hypothesized possibility that the three intuitions are partly innate, themselves products of cognitive evolution in our hominin ancestors, and thus may continue to inform students’ thinking even after instruction and conceptual change. The test was piloted with 340 high school students from diverse schools and communities. Confirmatory factor analysis and other statistical methods provided evidence that the instrument already has strong potential for validly distinguishing students who hold a correct scientific understanding from those who do not, but that revision and retesting are needed to render it valid for gauging students’ adherence to intuitive misconceptions. Ultimately the instrument holds promise as a tool for classroom intervention studies by conceptual change researchers, for diagnostic testing and data gathering by instructional leaders, and for provoking classroom dialogue and debate by science teachers

Preventative or Performative? Assessing the Role and Intention of the UK’s ‘Hostile Environment’ Since 2010

Since coming to power in 2010, the Conservative Party in the UK has been pursuing increasingly harsh policies tackling undocumented migration that have come to be collectively known as the ‘hostile environment.’ These policies seek to make life difficult for anyone living in the UK without regular status, by requiring documentation checks when accessing services such as healthcare, housing, employment, and so forth. The stated goal of the policies is both to encourage undocumented migrants present in the UK to leave, and to deter potential migrants from entering in the first place. By examining the manner in which such policies were designed and implemented, and critiquing the degree to which they were executed in a well-planned and methodical way, this thesis seeks to question the extent to which migrants themselves were the target audience of the hostile environment. It instead suggests that the hostile environment is an example of ‘symbolic policy’, with the primary aim being to appeal to domestic voters

Characterizing the Variability of Kinematic Outcome Measures and Compensatory Movements using Inertial Measurement Units

Cost-effective wearable sensors to measure movement have gained traction as research and clinical tools. The potential to quantify movement with a portable and inexpensive way could provide benefits to patient populations (e.g. amputees) to supplement or replace current clinical evaluations. For example, characterization of frontal plane kinematic outcome measures is a relevant movement pattern to a complex amputee population. The ability to capture such movements could have important therapeutic opportunities. The current research worked towards characterizing frontal plane compensatory movement patterns with kinematic outcome measures described by inertial measurement units (IMU) data in healthy adults. This was an initial step towards developing a future toolkit that could characterize normal and aberrant movement patterns in clinical populations. The thesis is comprised of two related studies. The first study set out to evaluate the numerical accuracy of IMU estimated spatial measures when compared to a gold standard system. Six subjects completed six different movement tasks while instrumented with optical motion capture and IMUs. Each movement task probed the accuracy of specific deviations (e.g. vertical deviation). The hypothesis was that outcome measures would be strongly associated (r>0.8) and mean error would not be significantly different from zero and the coefficient of repeatability would be within priori set limits of agreement (±18 mm). Kinematic outcome measures had small mean error bias compared to gold standard measures and range of subject specific mean errors showed minimal differences. Task specific differences were evident when movement patterns exhibit large transverse rotations. These results showed the devices have a level of accuracy that may be suitable to characterize changes in movement patterns clinically. The second study aimed to utilize the same techniques from study 1 to describe compensatory kinematic outcome measures during a clinical obstacle avoidance task to differentiate between compensatory and normal movement patterns. Twelve subjects wore IMUs bilaterally on the ankles and on the belt above the right hip. An off the shelf orthotic knee brace was used to restrict lower limb knee joint kinematics (reduce range of motion). Participants completed 15 walking trials for three different brace conditions (No Brace, Unlocked Brace, Locked Brace) and two obstacle task conditions (Level Ground Walking and Obstacle Avoidance) to elicit a comparison of normal and compensatory movements. During the walking task, IMUs were able to characterize compensatory movements typical of the amputee population. Lateral deviation of the swinging foot was significantly larger during obstacle crossing with a locked brace compared to no brace. Maximum elevation of the limb was significantly larger while crossing obstacles compared to level ground walking and was precise enough to discern elevation differences of No Brace elevation from both Unlocked and Locked Brace conditions. Hip hiking was also significantly larger in the locked brace obstacle crossing from no brace obstacle crossing. Swing time was longer when the limb was braced and during obstacle crossing when compared to level ground walking. Healthy subjects had no significant changes to double support time compared those exhibited by amputees during walking. Overall, differences between IMU and gold standard measures are present. Mean error differences are present for certain tasks and criteria for agreeability between devices is not satisfied. Descriptive analysis of low subject mean error ranges across the majority of tasks indicate a potential utility in these measures to distinguish between movement patterns. During the clinical task, when knee mobility was manipulated compensatory movements were significantly different across conditions. This study provides evidence for the utility of IMU devices to support clinical gait analysis with quantifiable measures

ADB–OECD Study on Enhancing Financial Accessibility for SMEs: Lessons from Recent Crises

During the era of global financial uncertainty, stable access to appropriate funding sources has been much harder for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The global financial crisis impacted SMEs and entrepreneurs disproportionately, exacerbating their traditional financing constraints. The financial conditions of many SMEs were weakened by the drop in demand for goods and services and the credit tightening. The sovereign debt crisis that hit several European countries contributed to further deterioration in bank lending activities, which negatively affected private sector development. The global regulatory response to financial crises, such as the Basel Capital Accord, while designed to reduce systemic risks may also constrain bank lending to SMEs. In particular, Basel III requires banks to have tighter risk management as well as greater capital and liquidity. Resulting asset preference and deleveraging of banks, particularly European banks with significant presence in Asia, could limit the availability of funding for SMEs in Asia and the Pacific. Lessons from the recent financial crises have motivated many countries to consider SME access to finance beyond conventional bank credit and to diversify their national financial system. Improving SME access to finance is a policy priority at the country and global level. Poor access to finance is a critical inhibiting factor to the survival and growth potential of SMEs. Financial inclusion is thus key to the development of the SME sector, which is a driver of job creation and social cohesion and takes a pivotal role in scaling up national economies. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have recognized that it is crucial to develop a comprehensive range of policy options on SME finance, including innovative financing models. With this in mind, sharing Asian and OECD experiences on SME financing would result in insightful discussions on improving SME access to finance at a time of global financial uncertainty. Based on intensive discussions in two workshops organized by ADB in Manila on 6–7 March 2013 and by OECD in Paris on 21 October 2013, the two organizations together compiled this study report on enhancing financial accessibility for SMEs, especially focusing on lessons from the past and recent crises in Asia and OECD countries. The report takes a comparative look at ADB and OECD experiences, and aims to identify promising policy solutions for creating an SME base that is resilient to crisis, from a viewpoint of access to finance, and which can help drive growth and development

SPS phase control system performance via analytical simulation

A solar power satellite transmission system which incorporates automatic beam forming, steering, and phase control is discussed. The phase control concept centers around the notation of an active retrodirective phased array as a means of pointing the beam to the appropriate spot on Earth. The transmitting antenna (spacetenna) directs the high power beam so that it focuses on the ground-based receiving antenna (rectenna). A combination of analysis and computerized simulation was conducted to determine the far field performance of the reference distribution system, and the beam forming and microwave power generating systems

Human experience in the natural and built environment : implications for research policy and practice

22nd IAPS conference. Edited book of abstracts. 427 pp. University of Strathclyde, Sheffield and West of Scotland Publication. ISBN: 978-0-94-764988-3

JUST BREATHE: MINDFULNESS, SELF-REGULATION, AND CARDIAC REACTIVITY

Dispositional mindfulness is the non-judgmental moment-to-moment awareness of transient thoughts, feelings, and sensations as they arise in the attentional field (Kabat-Zinn, 1990). This phenomenon has been a primary element of various clinical interventions for many years. However, little is known about the active ingredients of mindfulness that promote emotional self-regulation and coping. The aim of this dissertation was to address this gap through three related studies which utilized an undergraduate sample. The first study used a laboratory protocol that required participants to perform several mildly stressful tasks related to emotional recall, mindful breathing, and a recovery condition. The hypothesis that high self-ratings of mindfulness correspond to more adaptive sympathetic and parasympathetic self-regulation relative to these tasks was tested. The second study examined the associations among self-rated emotional regulation strategies, ruminative tendencies, and mindfulness skills to test the hypothesis that mindfulness is negatively related to rumination and emotional dysregulation. Finally, the third study tested the hypothesis that mindfulness skills are associated with more benign perceptions of environmental stress, as well as a more adaptive estimation of the resources available to cope with stress, such as perceived social support and academic self-efficacy. Results suggested that self-rated mindfulness was associated with adaptive emotional self-regulation across task conditions. Results of this triad of studies suggest that mindfulness is associated with a lower likelihood of maintaining a prolonged fight or flight response after the stressor has been removed, and that specific mindful skills may work synergistically to promote effective coping and resilience. Implications for the development of future mindfulness interventions are discussed

The Coupling of Safety and Security

This open access book explores the synergies and tensions between safety and security management from a variety of perspectives and by combining input from numerous disciplines. It defines the concepts of safety and security, and discusses the methodological, organizational and institutional implications that accompany approaching them as separate entities and combining them, respectively. The book explores the coupling of safety and security from different perspectives, especially: the concepts and methods of risk, safety and security; the managerial aspects; user experiences in connection with safety and security. Given its scope, the book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners in the fields of safety and security, and to anyone working at a business or in an industry concerned with how safety and security should be managed

Karakteritega suhestumine ja digikogukondlik praktika: “Halvale teele” multidistsiplinaarne uurimus

Kuidas suhestab vaataja end narratiivse karakteriga? Kirjandusteadus, folkloristika, narratoloogia, psühholoogia, ja meediauuringud laiemaltki on antud seoses rakendanud käsitlusi samastumisest, empatiseerimisest ja (väljamõeldud maailma) sukeldumisest. Kuna väljamõeldud inimesed, kas kirja- või pildisõnas, polevat rohkemat autori(te) ettekujutuse viljast, siis püüdvat vaataja/lugejagi neis kas ära tunda iseend või siis teisalduda jälgitavasse situatsiooni, end vaadeldava tegelaskujuga samastades. Kui karakteriga suhestumise analüüsis lähtuda aga igapäevasuhtlustasandist, näib olevat ebapiisav eelistada üksnes taaskujutavat ja sissepoole pööratud vaadet inimteadvusele, kuna ideedel inimesest kui „sotsiaalsest olevusest“ ja tähenduse „sotsiaalsest karakterist“ (Võgotskii) on oht jääda tahaplaanile ja „karakteriga suhestumine“ taandub omamoodi sisedialoogiks: vaataja mõistab teist inimest iseenda põhjal kohandatud mudeli kaudu. Ehkki teatud olukordades on see vajalik mõistmis- ja tähendustamisstrateegia, ei saa eirata, et suhestumine kui selline on ometi suunatud. Haaratud ollakse kellestki, „sukeldutakse“ maailma, mida keegi omas-maailmas-iseseisvalt-eksisteerivana asustab. Käesoleva doktoriväitekirja avapeatükk sünteesib väga mitmekesist teaduskirjandust ja töötab välja kohase teoreetilise mõisteraamistiku, mis käsitleb suhestumist teleseriaali tegelaskujudega argiteadvuslikust sotsiaalsest kogemusest lähtuvalt. Keskne on siin käsitlus pärisustamisest: kogukondliku arutelu kontekstis lihtsalt lähenetaksegi tegelaskujudele kui päris inimestele. Narratiivsest tegelaskujust saab persoon. Internetiarutelud opereerivad kolmandas isikus (mina/tema) ja narratiiv-ajalooliselt (väljamõeldud süžee kui narratiivse persooni elu lugu). Individuaalsed kommentaaritekstid on siinjuures mõistetavad kui narrtseptid, s.o. narratiivse teis(t)e-taju tähendusloomelised saadused. Narrtseptid toovad esile narratiivsetele persoonidele suunatud tõlgenduste kogukondlikult jagatud, mitmehäälset mõõdet. Väitekirja teine peatükk tutvustatab originaalmõistet majakas. Majakal on internetikommunikatsiooni analüüsis struktureeriv roll. “Heites valgust“ kommunikatsiooni erinevatele külgedele, majakas kas liigendab narrtseptiivseid looilmu (retseptiivne, „populaarne“ dimensioon) või komponeerib neid reaalajaliselt avalduvateks ’lahtiste otstega’ diskursuseilmadeks (analüütilis-metodoloogiline, „akadeemiline“ dimensioon). Siinkohal pakubki antud peatükk ühtlasi ka kriitilisi kohandusi juba käibelolevatele mõistetele võimalike maailmade ja narratiiviteooriast ning diskursuseanalüüsist, s.o., looilm, kavatsemis-ilm, tekstiloojate-ilm ja diskursuse-ilm. Doktoriväitekirja kolmas peatükk keskendub ameerika teleseriaali “Halvale teele“ (Breaking Bad) internetikommentaaride illustratiivsele lähianalüüsile. Eelkirjeldatud teoreetilisel mõisteaparatuuril on analüüsis keskne roll.How does the viewer engage herself with narrative characters? Literary theory, folkloristics, narratology, psychology, and media studies more widely have generally found guidance in the treatments of identification, empathy, and immersion. For if fictional people, be it by the written or audiovisual depiction, are nothing but the fruits of authors’ imagination, then the viewer or the reader similarly attempts to recognize herself in, immerse herself into the world of, and identify herself with the observed character. While analyzing character engagement from the perspective of everyday communication, however, the exclusively representational and inward approach to the human mind can prove an inadequate preference. For the respective ideas of human as a „social being“ and the „social character of meaning“ (Vygotsky) hazard to become backgrounded due to „character engagement“ becoming proportionate to a kind of inner dialogue: viewer makes sense of the other through the model she has adapted about herself. Although it can be, at times, a necessary strategy for comprehension and sense-making, one cannot disregard the engagement being—even toward “fictional” people—always directed. You are absorbed by someone, you become “immersed” in a world that is inhabitated by someone autonomously-existing-with-their-world. In synthesizing diverse literature, Chapter One of the present dissertation develops appropriate theoretical framework that approaches engagement with the characters of television serials from the stance of common sense social experience. Of focal significance here is the notion of realitization: in the context of communal discussion, characters just are approached as if real people. Accordingly, a narrative character becomes a person. For Internet discussions operate in third person (me/her) and historio-narratively (“fictive” plot as narrative person’s life story). Individual commentary texts become hereby considered as narrcepts; that is, they are the sense-making products of the narrative perception of the other (narrative+precept). Through narrcepts, the distributed and polyphonic dimension of the construals directed toward narrative persons becomes acknowledged. Chapter Two of the dissertation introduces a succeeding original notion: beacon. Beacon enacts a structuring role in the analysis of online communication. Beacon „throws light“ onto the different aspects of Internet discourse, decomposing narrceptive storyworlds (reciprocal, „popular“ dimension) and composing the latter into „open ended“ discourse worlds emerging in real time (analytical-methodological, „academical“ dimension). Consequently, critical adaptations of current terminology in possible worlds theory, narrative theory, and discourse analysis are presented; that is, storyworld, intend-world, text makers’ world and discourse world. Chapter three of the dissertation concentrates on the illustrative close analysis of the online commentaries with regard to the American television serial Breaking Bad. The previously established theoretical apparatus serves a central role in the analysis