The Practitioner’s Panacea for Measuring Learner-Centeredness?

The Decibel Analysis for Research in Teaching (DART; Owens et al., 2017), a sound-based metric of learner-centeredness, is highly accessible, requires no training, and can be conducted with minimal classroom observations; yet, DART has not been evaluated in comparison with other validated metrics or in consideration of potentially confounding classroom characteristics (e.g. enrollment, classroom size, number of doors). We analyzed recordings from 42 class sessions of an undergraduate biology course with DART, the Reformed Teaching Observation Protocol (RTOP), and nine classroom characteristics. We found that enrollment was the best single predictor of the DART output of learner-centeredness, percent Multiple Voice

Call of the Wild: A Qualitative Analysis of Goal-Setting among Biology Undergraduates at a Regional Zoo

Free-choice learning at informal settings among undergraduates is relatively understudied. The purpose of the current study was to qualitatively describe what goals biology students set for themselves during an intervention at a regional zoo, and to describe what types of goals students were able to fulfill during this learning opportunity. Based on student responses on this assessment administered in Fall 2018, we aimed to refine the Goal-Setting Assessment, and give context to our initial findings. Specifically, we intended to refine this assessment so that the items are broad enough to be used both in formal classrooms and out-of-school environments

Training Teachers of Children with Moderate to Severe Disabilities to Contingently Respond to Child-Initiated Socially-Desirable Behaviors During Centers

Teachers of young children with moderate to severe disabilities may have insufficient training in implementing naturalistic instructional practices based in evidence. Behavior Specific Praise (BSP) and Incidental Teaching are well researched, but limited studies exist on the use of teacher contingent responses to children with moderate to severe disabilities’ self-initiated socially-desirable behaviors during centers. I used a multiple baseline design across four special education teachers to measure the effects of a training package incorporating Behavior Skills Training (BST) and Emailed Performance Feedback (EPF) on teachers’ contingent responses to their target children with a few self-initiated socially-desirable behaviors during centers. Results indicate that systematic introduction of BST with a checklist and EPF with graphs produced increases in the four teachers’ percentage of contingent responses. Furthermore, teachers maintained their contingent responses to their target child’s self-initiated socially-desirable behaviors after removal of the EPF. Programming common stimuli during BST resulted in all teachers providing contingent responses to at least one other child in their classroom who had a few self-initiated socially-desirable behaviors. Limitations of my study and implications for future research and practice are discussed

Exploring adolescents' experiences with personalized content on social media: A qualitative study

This work-in-progress paper examines adolescents’ experiences with personalized content on social media and how it influences them. Through group interviews with Norwegian students aged 15 to 19 years, we investigated their awareness, comprehension, and emotions towards targeted and personalized content. The sample consisted of 48 participants (20 males and 28 females). The preliminary analysis uncovered three themes: 1) Encounters, awareness, and comprehension, 2) Emotions, and 3) Increasing use and appreciation.publishedVersio

Flying Fatigue in Twentieth-Century Britain: An Uncertain Zone

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries fatigue was a common workplace complaint. As chairman of the Civil Aviation Authority Lord John Boyd-Carpenter put it in 1974, though, it occupied an ‘uncertain zone’. Vague and contestable throughout the century, and linked inextricably to working practices, fatigue proved fertile ground for debate. With a specific focus on civil aviation and aircrew, this thesis traces the shifting explanations of and responses to flying fatigue from the start of the First World War to the formal institution of Crew Resource Management (CRM) training in the mid-1990s. Beginning with a discussion of fatigue as it was constituted and examined in industrial and military settings in the first half of the twentieth century, this thesis then turns to post-war civil aviation. The models of fatigue developed by Flying Personnel Research Committee (FPRC) researchers during wartime framed post-war understandings of fatigue. . It argues that, though in many ways fatigue was increasingly divorced from science in the post-war period, an essential model of fatigue persisted. This was, in a sense, a dual discourse. While framedConceptualised as performance decrement in some instances, in other contexts fatigue was considered in terms of sleep and wakefulness. Regardless of definition, the apparent dangers of aircrew fatigue were agreed upon. Linked to air accidents throughout the century, the fatigue of aircrew was thought to have implications for flight safety. This thesis examines how these various discourses of fatigue informed – and were informed by – military policies, regulatory frameworks, and airline-union negotiations. Drawing on a rich base of oral history interviews with flight deck and cabin crew, it looks, also, at the ways in which fatigue was experienced and given new meaning in quotidian contexts. Examining flying fatigue in relation to broader post-war concerns about productivity, public safety, and the health and welfare of workers, this thesis offers new perspectives on the complex interplay between science, industry, and society in middle and late twentieth-century Britain

Spatial analysis of plague in California: niche modeling predictions of the current distribution and potential response to climate change

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Plague, caused by the bacterium <it>Yersinia pestis</it>, is a public and wildlife health concern in California and the western United States. This study explores the spatial characteristics of positive plague samples in California and tests Maxent, a machine-learning method that can be used to develop niche-based models from presence-only data, for mapping the potential distribution of plague foci. Maxent models were constructed using geocoded seroprevalence data from surveillance of California ground squirrels (<it>Spermophilus beecheyi</it>) as case points and Worldclim bioclimatic data as predictor variables, and compared and validated using area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) statistics. Additionally, model results were compared to locations of positive and negative coyote (<it>Canis latrans</it>) samples, in order to determine the correlation between Maxent model predictions and areas of plague risk as determined via wild carnivore surveillance.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Models of plague activity in California ground squirrels, based on recent climate conditions, accurately identified case locations (AUC of 0.913 to 0.948) and were significantly correlated with coyote samples. The final models were used to identify potential plague risk areas based on an ensemble of six future climate scenarios. These models suggest that by 2050, climate conditions may reduce plague risk in the southern parts of California and increase risk along the northern coast and Sierras.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Because different modeling approaches can yield substantially different results, care should be taken when interpreting future model predictions. Nonetheless, niche modeling can be a useful tool for exploring and mapping the potential response of plague activity to climate change. The final models in this study were used to identify potential plague risk areas based on an ensemble of six future climate scenarios, which can help public managers decide where to allocate surveillance resources. In addition, Maxent model results were significantly correlated with coyote samples, indicating that carnivore surveillance programs will continue to be important for tracking the response of plague to future climate conditions.</p

Barriers to flexible sigmoidoscopy colorectal cancer screening in low uptake socio-demographic groups: A systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: To synthesise qualitative evidence related to barriers and facilitators of flexible sigmoidoscopy screening (FSS) intention and uptake, particularly within low socio-demographic uptake groups. FSS uptake is lower amongst women, lower socio-economic status (SES), and Asian ethnic groups within the United Kingdom (UK) and United States of America. METHODS: A total of 12 168 articles were identified from searches of four databases: EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and Web of Science. Eligibility criteria included: individuals eligible to attend FSS and empirical peer-reviewed studies that analysed qualitative data. The Critical Appraisal Skills Program tool evaluated the methodological quality of included studies, and thematic synthesis was used to analyse the data. RESULTS: Ten qualitative studies met the inclusion criteria. Key barriers to FSS intention and uptake centred upon procedural anxieties. Women, including UK Asian women, reported shame and embarrassment, anticipated pain, perforation risk, and test preparation difficulties to elevate anxiety levels. Religious and cultural-influenced health beliefs amongst UK Asian groups were reported to inhibit FSS intention and uptake. Competing priorities, such as caring commitments, particularly impeded women's ability to attend certain FSS appointments. The review identified a knowledge gap concerning factors especially associated with FSS participation amongst lower SES groups. CONCLUSIONS: Studies mostly focussed on barriers and facilitators of intention to participate in FSS, particularly within UK Asian groups. To determine the barriers associated with FSS uptake, and further understand how screening intention translates to behaviour, it is important that future qualitative research is equally directed towards factors associated with screening behaviour

Phage-Encoded Cationic Antimicrobial Peptide Required for Lysis

Abstract: Most phages of Gram-negative bacteria hosts encode spanins for disruption of the outer membrane, which is the last step in host lysis. However, bioinformatic analysis indicates that ∼15% of these phages lack a spanin gene, suggesting they have an alternate way of disrupting the outer membrane (OM). Here, we show that the T7-like coliphage phiKT causes an explosive cell lysis associated with spanin activity despite not encoding spanins. A putative lysis cassette cloned from the phiKT late gene region includes the hypothetical novel gene 28 located between the holin and endolysin genes and supports inducible lysis in Escherichia coli K-12. Moreover, induction of an isogenic construct lacking gene 28 resulted in divalent cation-stabilized spherical cells rather than lysis, implicating gp28 in OM disruption. Additionally, gp28 was shown to complement the lysis defect of a spanin-null λ lysogen. Gene 28 encodes a 56-amino acid cationic protein with predicted amphipathic helical structure and is membrane-associated after lysis. Urea and KCl washes did not release gp28 from the particulate, suggesting a strong hydrophobic membrane interaction. Fluorescence microscopy supports membrane localization of the gp28 protein before lysis. The protein gp28 is similar in size, charge, predicted fold, and membrane association to the human cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide LL-37. Synthesized gp28 behaved similarly to LL-37 in standard assays mixing peptide and cells to measure bactericidal and inhibitory effects. Taken together, these results indicate that phiKT gp28 is a phage-encoded cationic antimicrobial peptide that disrupts bacterial outer membranes during host lysis and, thus, establishes a new class of phage lysis proteins, the disruptins. Importance: We provide evidence that phiKT produces an antimicrobial peptide for outer membrane disruption during lysis. This protein, designated a disruptin, is a new paradigm for phage lysis and has no similarities to other known lysis genes. Although many mechanisms have been proposed for the function of antimicrobial peptides, there is no consensus on the molecular basis of membrane disruption. Additionally, there is no established genetic system to support such studies. Therefore, the phiKT disruptin may represent the first genetically tractable antimicrobial peptide, facilitating mechanistic analyses