The Effects of Motivational Intervention on College Students in Asynchronous Classes

Procrastination is one of the most common behaviors that interfere with student success (Liu et al., 2020). It affects student performance and has long-lasting effects on motivation. Several studies have shown that motivational interventions can reduce procrastination levels (Liu et al., 2020). Goal setting has been particularly successful (Grunschel et al., 2016; Liu et al., 2020; Schwinger et al., 2009). The present study is focused on the evaluation of whether proximal goal setting will affect academic procrastination in an online, asynchronous class. Seventy-eight undergraduate students enrolled in such a class were invited to participate in this study. Participants were randomly assigned to two groups. Group A was the intervention group that received a motivational video and instructions on how to complete a S.M.A.R.T. Goal Worksheet via email prior to the beginning of the semester. Group B was the waitlist control group, and received the same intervention part-way through the semester. Both groups received a procrastination scale to complete prior to the beginning of the semester. Measures included grades, assignments completed on time, S.M.A.R.T. Goal Worksheet completion, and procrastination scale measures. The results indicated no differences between the groups on the number of assignments completed nor on the number of points earned. Additionally, no relationship was found between the procrastination scale and other measures. The authors discuss limitations and suggestions for future research

The impact of higher education for part-time students

This report discusses the findings of a study undertaken by Birkbeck, University of London and the National Institute for Economic and Social Research, commissioned by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills to examine the impact of higher education (HE) on the labour market experiences of graduates who studied part-time and full-time as undergraduates

Trauma and growth in parents of children with chronic illness and brain injury

Background: Parents of children with chronic physical illness (CPI) may experience poor mental health. There has also been a growing focus on posttraumatic growth (PTG): positive psychological adaptation following the struggle with trauma. Method: A systematic review was conducted to develop understanding of variables associated with PTG in parents of children with CPI. Quantitative studies across various CPIs were eligible. A cross-sectional study explored the relationship between post-traumatic stress (PTS) and PTG in parents of children with acquired brain injuries (ABI), considering the influential role of coping. Results: Twenty-nine papers were reviewed. Most had fair methodological rigour and were in oncology samples. Time and social support were positively associated with PTG. Additionally, cognitive factors (illness perception, core belief re-examination, deliberate rumination) may be associated. Anxiety and moderate PTS were also associated with PTG, although several papers failed to find a relationship between PTS and PTG. Interventions may facilitate PTG. In parents of children with ABI (N = 49), PTS and PTG were unrelated. Significant relationships were found between avoidance-coping and PTS, and acceptance-coping and PTG. Conclusions: PTG experiences in parents of children with CPI and ABI largely align with existing research and models of PTG (Tedeschi & Calhoun, 2004). The PTS and PTG relationship in this population is complex: results from this thesis suggest they may be curvilinearly related, or independent, though sharing common variables. This may result from paediatric CPI characteristics, namely, beyond initial CPI onset, re-traumatisation from medical procedures and acknowledgement of loss. Interventions which encourage social support, approach-oriented coping and reduce avoidance may be beneficial. Empirical study results are limited by sample size. Future research should explore the dimensional relationship between PTS, PTG and associated variables. PTG in this population may evolve across time; longitudinal research could strengthen causal inferences and understanding

Hardware-in-the-Loop Reaction Wheel Testbed with Camera Vision

Reaction wheels are widely used in aerospace systems as a method of attitude control. This research was focused on the design, development, and testing of a hardware-in-the-loop reaction wheel testbed that can be used for research and teaching applications related to satellite navigation and control. This project successfully utilized commercial off-the-shelf components to develop a reaction wheel capable of controlling the orientation of a freely rotating platform, as well as tracking objects using computer vision

Earthquake: Game-Based Learning for 21st Century STEM Education

To play is to learn. A lack of empirical research within game-based learning literature, however, has hindered educational stakeholders to make informed decisions about game-based learning for 21st century STEM education. In this study, I modified a research and development (R&D) process to create a collaborative-competitive educational board game illuminating elements of earthquake engineering. I oriented instruction- and game-design principles around 21st century science education to adapt the R&D process to develop the educational game, Earthquake. As part of the R&D, I evaluated Earthquake for empirical evidence to support the claim that game-play results in student gains in critical thinking, scientific argumentation, metacognitive abilities, and earthquake engineering content knowledge. I developed Earthquake with the aid of eight focus groups with varying levels of expertise in science education research, teaching, administration, and game-design. After developing a functional prototype, I pilot-tested Earthquake with teacher-participants (n=14) who engaged in semi-structured interviews after their game-play. I analyzed teacher interviews with constant comparison methodology. I used teachers’ comments and feedback from content knowledge experts to integrate game modifications, implementing results to improve Earthquake. I added player roles, simplified phrasing on cards, and produced an introductory video. I then administered the modified Earthquake game to two groups of high school student-participants (n = 6), who played twice. To seek evidence documenting support for my knowledge claim, I analyzed videotapes of students’ game-play using a game-based learning checklist. My assessment of learning gains revealed increases in all categories of students’ performance: critical thinking, metacognition, scientific argumentation, and earthquake engineering content knowledge acquisition. Players in both student-groups improved mostly in critical thinking, having doubled the number of exhibited instances of critical thinking between games. Players in the first group exhibited about a third more instances of metacognition between games, while players in the second group doubled such instances. Between games, players in both groups more than doubled the number of exhibited instances of using earthquake engineering content knowledge. The student-players expanded use of scientific argumentation for all game-based learning checklist categories. With empirical evidence, I conclude play and learning can connect for successful 21st century STEM education

Access to Court Cases from the Supreme Court’s 2020–2021 Term: The New Majority’s Debut

Throughout the Supreme Court’s first term without Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the Court issued only a few major opinions with respect to access to the Court for civil litigants, and it issued none that discarded major precedents. Yet, in several areas, the Court demonstrated an increasingly conservative bent and began to lay the groundwork for major changes. In this Article, we discuss selected opinions from the Court’s 2020–2021 term that may have an impact on access to the courts for individuals seeking to vindicate civil and constitutional rights. In particular, it focuses on cases that may affect access for low-income and marginalized people. These opinions show the work of a Court in transition and foretell major changes to come

The Case of Sherlock Holmes and Linguistic Analysis

Sherlock Holmes complicates the idea of the forensic scientist. Much of the scientific techniques attributed to Holmes are established forms of forensic science utilized by contemporaneous police departments. However, there is one element of forensic science that was truly innovative on the part of Conan Doyle in the Holmes canon: the representation of what we would now call the field of forensic linguistics. This article takes an interdisciplinary approach to the Holmes canon to interrogate Conan Doyle’s engagement with and occasional rejection of the scientific process in his development and representation of forensic linguistics. Five short stories (“A Scandal in Bohemia,” “The Man with the Twisted Lip,” “The Boscombe Valley Mystery,” “The Adventure of the Reigate Squire,” “The Adventure of the Dancing Men”) serve as case studies that in particular illustrate Conan Doyle’s innovation surrounding language and the detective process

New beings

The poems in this manuscript explore the adaptations one makes to sustain life after loss. Through concision and directness, this collection offers a study of the transformative quality of grief. The southern landscape provides a means for introspection and excavation of the speaker's fears, which compound and intervene throughout relationships with others and particularly in regard to the evolution of the self

Hypoxia imaging with [18F]HX4 PET in squamous cell head and neck cancer: a pilot study for integration into treatment planning

Background: Radical chemoradiotherapy is the primary treatment for head and neck cancers in many hospitals. Tumour hypoxia causes radiotherapy resistance, and is an indicator of poor prognosis for patients. Identifying hypoxia to select patients for intensified or hypoxia-modified treatment regimens is therefore of high clinical importance. Patients and Methods: We evaluated hypoxia in a group of patients with newly diagnosed squamous cell head and neck cancer using the hypoxia-selective radiotracer [18F]HX4. Patients underwent a single [18F]HX4 PET/CT scan prior to beginning chemoradiotherapy.Results: Three out of eight patients recruited were scanned with [18F]HX4. Two out of three had pre-treatment [18F]FDGPET/CT scans available for review. [18F]HX4 tumour uptake varied between patients, with tumour to mediastinal ratios ranging from1 to3.5. Conclusions: The spectrum of [18F]HX4 uptake in this small series of patients exemplifies the difference in oxygenation profiles between histologically similar tumours. Performing an additional PET scan with [18F]HX4 prior to chemoradiotherapy treatment was logistically challenging in a routine setting, and therefore validation of its clinical impact should be the focus of future studies