An Analysis of Efficiency in Equivalence-Based Instruction in Higher Education

Equivalence-based instruction (EBI) is a method of presenting instructional content based on the principles of stimulus equivalence. EBI has been demonstrated to be a successful method of teaching advanced academic content to students in the university setting. EBI procedures have been shown to be efficient when teaching a variety of academically relevant content when compared to an alternative teaching approach. The purpose of this study is to compare the efficiency of an EBI training package, where students will be taught and tested for derived relations to a complete instruction (CI) package, where students will be directly taught all targeted relations. A within-subject counterbalanced experimental design will be used to compare mastery of training outcomes across teaching arrangement, for each participant, and across participants with altered teaching arrangements. We hope to add to the current literature by expanding the parameters in which efficiency is evaluated when comparing EBI to alternative instructional methods in higher education

Nobody’s Perfect! The Effect of Manipulating Perfectionism on Social Anxiety Symptoms

Social anxiety is a common experience that ranges from mild, temporary distress to excessive, persistent, and impairing fear. The current study tested whether perfectionism is causally related to social anxiety symptoms and post-event processing using a contract-based manipulation to shift perfectionism. Participants (N = 67) completed measures of social anxiety and perfectionism prior to delivering a speech. Next, participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 contract conditions: High Personal Standards (High PS), High Personal Standards with Evaluative Concerns (High PS+EC), and Low Personal Standards (Low PS). The following day, participants completed the measures of social anxiety and perfectionism again, as well as a questionnaire on post-event processing related to the speech. In line with hypotheses, results suggest that the contract manipulation significantly altered perfectionism, such that participants in the High PS+EC condition (but not the other two conditions) had an increase in perfectionism over time. Contrary to expectations, the contract manipulation did not affect social anxiety symptoms or post-event processing. Results suggest that focusing on evaluation concerns, rather than personal standards alone, may cause perfectionism. It is possible that a stronger manipulation, or a larger dose of the manipulation, is needed to see effects on social anxiety symptoms

Assessing the Effects of Active Labour Market Policies: A Review of the New Zealand and International Literature

Active labour market policies encompass training programs, wage subsidies, welfare-to-work and placement services. They are used by governments around the world to alter both the level of unemployment and/or the composition of unemployment. Such policies aim: to affect the demand for labour by maintaining or creating jobs; to increase the supply of labour via training and rehabilitation; and to encourage labour mobility via placement counselling and mobility incentives. Most OECD governments have sought to implement effective active labour market policies as part of their response to unemployment. This paper examines the record of different types of active labour market programmes in a number of OECD countries. Through an examination of existing evidence on different kinds of active labour market policies, the paper attempts to determine which programmes best achieve government policy objectives. New Zealand active labour market policies are reviewed in light of the international evidence

"I don't believe that Hindutva is Hinduism" - Dr Shashi Tharoor

Dr Shashi Tharoor was recently in the UK to promote his new book Why I am a Hindu. With a general election coming up in India, the battle between Tharoor's Congress Party and the current government, the Bharatiya Janata Party, provides an interesting backdrop for the release of Tharoor's new book. Anishka Gheewala Lohiya had the opportunity to talk to Dr Tharoor at LSE about the relationship between politics and religion in India

Protein intake, distribution, sources, adequacy and determinants in Māori and non-Māori octogenarians : life and living in advanced age : a cohort study in New Zealand (LiLACS NZ) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Nutrition and Dietetics, Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

Background: Protein intake and its food sources is important to prevent age related loss of muscle mass and strength. An even protein intake distribution throughout the day has been suggested as necessary to stimulate muscle protein synthesis. This study examined the prevalence and determinants of inadequate protein intake, primary food sources and mealtime distribution of protein in Māori and non-Māori of advanced age. Aim: To examine the intake, food sources, distribution and adequacy of protein among Māori and non-Māori participants in Life and Living in Advanced Age: A Cohort Study in New Zealand. Methods: Dietary intake was assessed in 214 Māori and 360 non-Māori octogenarians with a repeat 24-hour multiple pass recall. Adequate protein intake was determined using the estimated average requirements (EAR) cut-off points of ≤0.75g/kg for women and ≤0.86g/kg for men. Contribution (%) of the primary food groups to protein intake were assessed. Protein intake distribution was determined for the three main meals. A logistic regression model was built to predict meeting the EAR for protein intake per adjusted body weight per day. Results: Total median (IQR) protein intake for women was 0.87 (0.68-1.12) g/kg and for men was 0.97 (0.78-1.21) g/kg. The EAR for protein was not met by a third of both women (30.9%) and men (33.3%). Main food group contributors to protein were beef/veal, fish/seafood, milk, bread and differed by gender and ethnicity. For women and men respectively protein distribution (g/meal) was lowest at breakfast (10.1g and 13.0g), followed by lunch (14.5 and 17.8g) and dinner (23.3 and 34.2). Being a woman and having depressive symptoms were associated with consuming less total protein. Controlling for all other variables the odds of meeting the EAR for protein was higher in participants who had their own teeth or partial dentures (P=0.036). Conclusions: Among advanced age Māori and non-Māori these findings highlight the prevalence of low protein intake, uneven mealtime protein distribution and importance of dentition for adequate protein intake

The Impact of Greenery in the Window View on Visual Sustained Attention with Special Reference to Classrooms of Children with Down Syndrome

One in every 700 babies worldwide is born with an intellectual disability such as Down Syndrome (DS), Autism Spectrum disorders, Cerebral Palsy etc. Architecture significantly enhances users’ development skills by leveraging the environment to fulfill their mental and psychological needs, particularly by boosting sustained attention in learning spaces. Based on existing literature, this research focused on the impact of greenery in window view of the classroom on visual sustained attention (VSA) of children with DS. Data of 19 participants (10 male, 9 female) of a selected school in the ages of 9 – 16 years (mean age – 11.42 years) was collected on existing and introduced levels of greenery in window view using three dimensional simulations and analysed. The study revealed that the introduction of 40% to 60% of greenery at far view depth (Scenario B) has a positive impact on VSA over both the existing window view (Scenario A) and the window view with 80% to 100% greenery (Scenario C). However, scenario C did not show any positive impact over scenario B as assumed. One reason for this could be the inclusion of the sky view in scenario B, and the findings indicate that introduction of greenery in the window view has a positive impact on VSA of children with DS, if the sky view is maintained. These findings can be used towards a design framework for classrooms in the future contexts of education in Sri Lanka

Antimicrobial resistance as a global health threat:the need to learn lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic

The global COVID‐19 pandemic has exacerbated existing health, social, and economic challenges and threatened progress towards achieving the UN sustainable development goals. We discuss lessons learned from the COVID‐19 pandemic for global policymaking for health security governance, with a particular focus on antimicrobial resistance. We identify One Health as the primary foundation of public health risk management owing to the collaborative, multidisciplinary, and multisectoral efforts that underpin the One Health approach and that enhance understanding of the complex interactions at the human–animal–environment interface. We discuss the narrow human‐centric focus of the One Health approach, highlight the underrepresentation of the environmental sector in One Health networks, and encourage greater representation from the environmental sector. Furthermore, we highlight the importance of the social sciences for health security research and the need for effective communication and trust. Finally, we underscore the importance of strengthened and collaborative health, social care, and disaster management systems. The application of these lessons will facilitate holistic, multisectoral, collaborative, and ethical actions on antimicrobial resistance

Can ChatGPT Play the Role of a Teaching Assistant in an Introductory Programming Course?

The emergence of Large language models (LLMs) is expected to have a major impact on education. This paper explores the potential of using ChatGPT, an LLM, as a virtual Teaching Assistant (TA) in an Introductory Programming Course. We evaluate ChatGPT's capabilities by comparing its performance with that of human TAs in some of the important TA functions. The TA functions which we focus on include (1) grading student code submissions, and (2) providing feedback to undergraduate students in an introductory programming course. Firstly, we assess ChatGPT's proficiency in grading student code submissions using a given grading rubric and compare its performance with the grades assigned by human TAs. Secondly, we analyze the quality and relevance of the feedback provided by ChatGPT. This evaluation considers how well ChatGPT addresses mistakes and offers suggestions for improvement in student solutions from both code correctness and code quality perspectives. We conclude with a discussion on the implications of integrating ChatGPT into computing education for automated grading, personalized learning experiences, and instructional support.Comment: Under revie