Primary school education in the time of covid-19:a literature review

Abstract. The impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic which originated in Wuhan in 2019 has had an unprecedented impact on everyday life over the past year. This is especially true for both students and teachers across the globe, with UNESCO (2020) estimating that school closures had affected over one and a half billion students across the globe at the end of 2020. Due to the pandemic teachers were suddenly forced with little warning, or training to adapt their teaching and pedagogical approaches from face-to-face teaching to distance and hybrid teaching. This thesis examines, via means of a literature review, how well primary school teachers were prepared for this shift, the role of technology in their teaching and the evolution of teaching practises during this shift to distant education. Additionally, support mechanisms available for teachers during this shift to distance teaching were also examined. The theoretical background of the thesis first explores two educational trends, providing a definition, brief history, and different models available. The first educational theory is Computer-Based Education, a framework in which technology serves as a learning tool, facilitating learning through different practices, apps, and multimedia content; the second is distance education, which can simply be defined as “any form of providing education to students who are separated by distance (i.e., who are not physically present in the same space) and in which the pedagogical material is planned and prepared by an educational institution ranging from the first examples of correspondence courses arriving to today’s technology-based synchronous and asynchronous courses. The first research question shows how, despite a very limited number of exceptions, the literature available and the surveys conducted in different areas of the world report a certain degree of insecurity among teachers in switching from face-to-face to distance education for different reasons, such as lack of training, confidence or appliances. The thesis follows with the exploration of the role of technology in distance education and how the teaching practices evolved during social distancing, highlighting how tools such as videoconferencing became widespread in the teaching practices. Concerning changes in teacher education according to the standards of distance education, some pre pandemic frameworks are provided in order to prepare teachers better for ‘emergency remote teaching’ despite the literature on the topic is still limited. In addition to examining the issues facing teachers, several support mechanisms and educational technology solutions were also identified at the regional, national and community level. The private and public sectors have also provided a multitude of Educational technology solutions which teachers have also had the opportunity to utilise in the shift to online teaching

Characteristics and Treatments of Patients with Peripheral Arterial Disease Referred to UK Vascular Clinics: Results of a Prospective Registry

BackgroundPeripheral arterial disease (PAD) is often associated with risk factors including cigarette smoking, hypertension and hypercholesterolaemia, and patients have a high risk of future vascular events. Good medical management results in improved outcomes and quality of life, but previous studies have documented sub-optimal treatment of risk factors. We assessed the management of cardiovascular risk factors in patients with PAD referred to specialist vascular clinics.MethodsThis was a prospective, protocol driven registry carried out in UK vascular clinics. Patients who were first-time referrals for evaluation of PAD were eligible if they had claudication plus ankle-brachial pressure index (ABPI) ≤0.9. Statistical associations between key demographic and treatment variables were explored using a chi-squared test.ResultsWe enrolled 473 patients from 23 sites. Mean age was 68 years (SD 10) and 66% were male. Mean estimated claudication distance was 100m, and ABPI was 0.74. Mean systolic blood pressure (SBP) was 155mmHg, and 42% had a SBP >160mmHg. Forty percent were current smokers and half had tried to give up in the prior 6 months, but there was no evidence of a systematic method of smoking cessation. Mean total cholesterol was 5.4 (SD1.2) mmol/l and 30% had levels >6mmol/l. Antiplatelet therapy had been given to 70% and statins to 44%. Prior CHD was present in 29% and these patients had significantly higher use of antiplatelet therapy, statins and ACE-inhibitors.ConclusionsIn spite of attempts to raise awareness about PAD as an important marker of cardiovascular risk, patients are still poorly treated prior to referral to a vascular clinic. In particular, the use of evidence-based treatments is sub-optimal, while hypertension and cigarette smoking are poorly managed. More work needs to be done to educate health professionals about the detection and optimal medical management of PAD

Exploring the use of rapport in professional information‐gathering contexts by systematically mapping the evidence base

A growing body of research illustrates consensus between researchers and practitioners that developing rapport facilitates cooperation and disclosure in a range of professional information gathering contexts. In such contexts, rapport behaviors are often intentionally used in an attempt to facilitate a positive interaction with another adult, which may or may not result in genuine mutual rapport. To examine how rapport has been manipulated and measured in professional contexts we systematically mapped the relevant evidence-base in this field. For each of the 35 studies that met our inclusion criteria, behaviors associated with building rapport were coded in relation to whether they were verbal, non-verbal, or para-verbal. Methods to measure rapport were also coded and recorded, as were different types of disclosure. A Searchable Systematic Map was produced to catalogue key study characteristics. Discussion focuses on the underlying intention of the rapport behaviors that featured most frequently across studies

Development of an Objective Autism Risk Index Using Remote Eye Tracking

Abnormal eye gaze is a hallmark characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and numerous studies have identified abnormal attention patterns in ASD. The primary aim of the present study was to create an objective, eye tracking-based autism risk index

A compendium and functional characterization of mammalian genes involved in adaptation to Arctic or Antarctic environments

Many mammals are well adapted to surviving in extremely cold environments. These species have likely accumulated genetic changes that help them efficiently cope with low temperatures. It is not known whether the same genes related to cold adaptation in one species would be under selection in another species. The aims of this study therefore were: to create a compendium of mammalian genes related to adaptations to a low temperature environment; to identify genes related to cold tolerance that have been subjected to independent positive selection in several species; to determine promising candidate genes/pathways/organs for further empirical research on cold adaptation in mammals

SEIS: Insight's Seismic Experiment for Internal Structure of Mars.

By the end of 2018, 42 years after the landing of the two Viking seismometers on Mars, InSight will deploy onto Mars' surface the SEIS (Seismic Experiment for Internal Structure) instrument; a six-axes seismometer equipped with both a long-period three-axes Very Broad Band (VBB) instrument and a three-axes short-period (SP) instrument. These six sensors will cover a broad range of the seismic bandwidth, from 0.01 Hz to 50 Hz, with possible extension to longer periods. Data will be transmitted in the form of three continuous VBB components at 2 sample per second (sps), an estimation of the short period energy content from the SP at 1 sps and a continuous compound VBB/SP vertical axis at 10 sps. The continuous streams will be augmented by requested event data with sample rates from 20 to 100 sps. SEIS will improve upon the existing resolution of Viking's Mars seismic monitoring by a factor of ∼ 2500 at 1 Hz and ∼ 200 000 at 0.1 Hz. An additional major improvement is that, contrary to Viking, the seismometers will be deployed via a robotic arm directly onto Mars' surface and will be protected against temperature and wind by highly efficient thermal and wind shielding. Based on existing knowledge of Mars, it is reasonable to infer a moment magnitude detection threshold of M w ∼ 3 at 40 ∘ epicentral distance and a potential to detect several tens of quakes and about five impacts per year. In this paper, we first describe the science goals of the experiment and the rationale used to define its requirements. We then provide a detailed description of the hardware, from the sensors to the deployment system and associated performance, including transfer functions of the seismic sensors and temperature sensors. We conclude by describing the experiment ground segment, including data processing services, outreach and education networks and provide a description of the format to be used for future data distribution.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s11214-018-0574-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Mouse Gestation Length Is Genetically Determined

Background: Preterm birth is an enormous public health problem, affecting over 12 % of live births and costing over $26 billion in the United States alone. The causes are complex, but twin studies support the role of genetics in determining gestation length. Despite widespread use of the mouse in studies of the genetics of preterm birth, there have been few studies that actually address the precise natural gestation length of the mouse, and to what degree the timing of labor and birth is genetically determined. Methodology/Principal Findings: To further develop the mouse as a genetic model of preterm birth, we developed a highthroughput monitoring system and measured the gestation length in 15 inbred strains. Our results show an unexpectedly wide variation in overall gestation length between strains that approaches two full days, while intra-strain variation is quite low. Although litter size shows a strong inverse correlation with gestation length, genetic difference alone accounts for a significant portion of the variation. In addition, ovarian transplant experiments support a primary role of maternal genetics in the determination of gestation length. Preliminary analysis of gestation length in the C57BL/6J-Chr # A/J /NaJ chromosome substitution strain (B.A CSS) panel suggests complex genetic control of gestation length. Conclusions/Significance: Together, these data support the role of genetics in regulating gestation length and present th