Learning to chat: developing a pedagogical framework for facilitating online synchronous tutorial discussion

The adoption of blended learning in higher education has precipitated the use of technology to conduct tutorials through online synchronous discussion (OSD). The review of literature on OSD identifies a lack of pedagogical guidance for facilitating effective tutorials by this means. The research on computer mediated communication (CMC) is critically discussed alongside established literature on socio-constructivist theory and approaches to teaching and learning with technology. The literature identifies several key responsibilities that should be considered when facilitating an online tutorial. These were embedded in the delivery of an online tutorial with first year undergraduate students. The tutorial was critically evaluated through questionnaire and focus group and a transcript of the discussion was subject to content analysis. The study argues that both tutor and student have roles within a tutorial. Furthermore, isolating the pedagogical role from managerial, intellectual and social roles, as argued in existing models, is ineffective. An alternative framework and considerations for facilitating online synchronous tutorial discussion are presented. Tutors should consider the size of the group, the nature of the tutorial and the characteristics of the application

Differential Attributions of the Causes of Subordinate Success and Failure by Aggressive and Non-Aggressive Individuals

This dissertation examined the differential causal attributions of non-aggressive and aggressive individuals responding to incidents of subordinate success and failure. Participants (N = 407) were presented with 16 vignettes (eight describing subordinate success and eight describing subordinate failure) that utilized unique combinations of consensus, distinctiveness, and consistency information. Participants made attributions regarding the cause of the subordinate’s behavior (i.e., person, task, circumstances, or any combination of the three) and indicated their preferred behavioral response (i.e., praise/reward, reprimand/punish, coach/train, redesign the task, or do nothing). When responding to incidents of subordinate success, the causal attributions of aggressive individuals were similar to those of non-aggressive individuals. However, when responding to incidents of subordinate failure, in an apparent attempt to make the subordinate more worthy of hostility, the causal attributions of aggressive individuals deviated from those of non-aggressive individuals for two information patterns (i.e., low consensus, high distinctiveness, and high consistency; low consensus, low distinctiveness, and low consistency). Moreover, for aggressive individuals, the processing of information relating to subordinate failure was considerably less complex than the processing of information relating to subordinate success. Implications, potential limitations, and directions for future research are discussed

Refining reproductive parameters for modelling sustainability and extinction in hunted primate populations in the Amazon

Funding: Collections were made voluntarily by local people as part of a community conservation project. Some materials were paid for by YAVACUS, a Peruvian NGO.Primates are frequently hunted in Amazonia. Assessing the sustainability of hunting is essential to conservation planning. The most-used sustainability model, the 'Production Model', and more recent spatial models, rely on basic reproductive parameters for accuracy. These parameters are often crudely estimated. To date, parameters used for the Amazon's most-hunted primate, the woolly monkey (Lagothrix spp.), come from captive populations in the 1960s, when captive births were rare. Furthermore, woolly monkeys have since been split into five species. We provide reproductive parameters calculated by examining the reproductive organs of female Poeppig's woolly monkeys (Lagothrix poeppigii), collected by hunters as part of their normal subsistence activity. Production was 0.48-0.54 young per female per year, and an interbirth interval of 22.3 to 25.2 months, similar to parameters from captive populations. However, breeding was seasonal, which imposes limits on the maximum reproductive rate attainable. We recommend the use of spatial models over the Production Model, since they are less sensitive to error in estimated reproductive rates. Further refinements to reproductive parameters are needed for most primate taxa. Methods like ours verify the suitability of captive reproductive rates for sustainability analysis and population modelling for populations under differing conditions of hunting pressure and seasonality. Without such research, population modelling is based largely on guesswork.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Developing a pedagogical model for health-based Physical Education

Despite global support for the role of physical education in health promotion, if we judge the subject against this goal alone, the profession has failed. Whilst multiple goals of the subject are acknowledged, this study positioned valuing a physically active life as the priority. However, physical education is characterised by multi-activity, technique-focused, sport-based curricula. Furthermore, when teachers modify their practice with specific health goals in mind, this often takes a fitness for sport and performance focus, despite a vision of promoting healthy, active lifestyles. This study builds on the groundwork of Haerens et al. (2011) who advocated for and initiated the first steps towards the development of a pedagogical model for Health-Based Physical Education. It aimed to develop a comprehensive evidence-informed pedagogical model, and to support teachers in the design, implementation and evaluation of the first school-based programmes using this model. Taking an eight-stage process to the pedagogical model development, this research drew on practitioner research, and most specifically, participatory action research, as its predominant methodology. Multiple and predominantly qualitative methods drew on Brookfield s (1995) four lenses: self-reflection, the experiences of teachers and students and the theoretical literature. Study participants were nine specialist physical education teachers and 263 students (161 male, 102 female, aged 11-14 years) from two diverse schools in the east of England. The findings present the types of programmes designed and implemented after teachers introduction to a theoretically-informed conceptual framework for Health-Based Physical Education. The impact of the programmes on students is considered against the four main goals of the model the development of habitual, motivated, informed and critical movers. The pedagogical model provides a comprehensive evidence-informed framework to support teachers to effectively promote positive physical activity behaviours in young people. It aims to support young people to be habitual, motivated, informed and critical movers. This model offers a new opportunity for physical education as there is currently no pedagogical model which forefronts valuing a physically active life as its primary goal

The Ecology and Conservation of the Red Uakari Monkey on the Yavari River, Peru

The behaviour, ecology and conservation of the red uakari monkey Cacajao calvus ucaya/ii was studied on the Yavari River in northeastern Peru. The Lago Preto study site has four major habitats comprising terra firme, seasonally-flooded varzea, floodplain aguajal palm-swamp and upland aguajal palm-swamp forests that are very different in tree species composition. Productivity studies demonstrated that varzea and aguaja/ habitats were very seasonal in their fruit production, while terra firme showed less seasonal variation. Uakaris ate mainly unripe seeds for two thirds of the year, but ate large quantities of ripe pulp when Mauritia flexuosa palm fruits were available. Mauritia flexuosa was the most important species for red uakaris, making up 20% of the diet. Mauritia flexuosa was also important because it was available at times when other items were scarce. The abundance of uakaris at different sites on the Yavarf River was not correlated with the abundance of other primates, but was negatively correlated with seed-eating rodents. Uakaris ranged over at least 1200ha at Lago Preto, foraging in terra firme, varzea and aguajal forests depending on the availability of resources in these habitats. Uakari group sizes varied depending on habitat type, and fluctuating group sizes appear to be related to the distribution of food resources. Adult male uakaris were most commonly next to other adult males, and often performed aggressive displays with other males. Uakari calls varied with the context of behaviour. The adaptive significance of the uakari's red face can be explained by both ecological and behavioural adaptations. Uakaris in the Yavarf-Ucayali interfluvium are under threat from logging, hunting and non-timber plantresource extraction. The effects of logging on the Yavarf will depend largely on the tree species extracted. Currently most valuable species are extracted, the impact is expected to be low, but this could change if less valuable timber is felled. The extraction of Mauritia f/exuosa palm fruits for market sale is rare on the Yavarf but on more populous rivers may affect uakari populations. Hunting is the biggest threat to uakari populations on the Yavari and logging operations are likely to lead to an increase in the hunting of primates. Managing hunting is the priority for red uakari conservation throughout their range. The red uakari monkey is being used as a flagship species in a number of new and proposed reserves. The distribution and density of uakari monkeys within these areas is barely known. The ecological behavioural and distributional information obtained in this thesis will help these reserves determine the conservation requirements for the uakari monkeys

Co-designing data labs at the public library: Data literacy with, for, and by teens

Abstract. This poster presents research investigating youth data literacy at the public library. The Data Literacy with, for, and by Youth project is framed by principles of participatory design, and asks, how might an informal STEM learning environment such as the public library, support the development of the skills, knowledge, and dispositions that young people need for them to take charge of their data lives, from data creation to data use – to be, in short, data literate. The problem of how to approach something as complex as data literacy in the voluntary drop-in setting of informal, after-school sites of learning - the public library being one such place - guides this study. The aim of the project is to design, build, test, and evolve theory and practice around informal data literacy education alongside youth, with the goal of building a holistic, humanistic, and youth-oriented model of data literacy which incorporates social-awareness, critical approaches, and “goodness of fit” into STEM learning about data

Risk factors for COPD exacerbations in inhaled medication users: the COPDGene study biannual longitudinal follow-up prospective cohort.

BackgroundDespite inhaled medications that decrease exacerbation risk, some COPD patients experience frequent exacerbations. We determined prospective risk factors for exacerbations among subjects in the COPDGene Study taking inhaled medications.Methods2113 COPD subjects were categorized into four medication use patterns: triple therapy with tiotropium (TIO) plus long-acting beta-agonist/inhaled-corticosteroid (ICS ± LABA), tiotropium alone, ICS ± LABA, and short-acting bronchodilators. Self-reported exacerbations were recorded in telephone and web-based longitudinal follow-up surveys. Associations with exacerbations were determined within each medication group using four separate logistic regression models. A head-to-head analysis compared exacerbation risk among subjects using tiotropium vs. ICS ± LABA.ResultsIn separate logistic regression models, the presence of gastroesophageal reflux, female gender, and higher scores on the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire were significant predictors of exacerbator status within multiple medication groups (reflux: OR 1.62-2.75; female gender: OR 1.53 - OR 1.90; SGRQ: OR 1.02-1.03). Subjects taking either ICS ± LABA or tiotropium had similar baseline characteristics, allowing comparison between these two groups. In the head-to-head comparison, tiotropium users showed a trend towards lower rates of exacerbations (OR = 0.69 [95 % CI 0.45, 1.06], p = 0.09) compared with ICS ± LABA users, especially in subjects without comorbid asthma (OR = 0.56 [95% CI 0.31, 1.00], p = 0.05).ConclusionsEach common COPD medication usage group showed unique risk factor patterns associated with increased risk of exacerbations, which may help clinicians identify subjects at risk. Compared to similar subjects using ICS ± LABA, those taking tiotropium showed a trend towards reduced exacerbation risk, especially in subjects without asthma.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT00608764, first received 1/28/2008

SDSS J141624.08+134826.7: Blue L Dwarfs and Non-Equilibrium Chemistry

We present an analysis of the recently discovered blue L dwarf SDSS J141624.08+134826.7. We extend the spectral coverage of its published spectrum to ~4 microns by obtaining a low-resolution L band spectrum with SpeX on the NASA IRTF. The spectrum exhibits a tentative weak CH4 absorption feature at 3.3 microns but is otherwise featureless. We derive the atmospheric parameters of SDSS J141624.08+134826.7 by comparing its 0.7-4.0 micron spectrum to the atmospheric models of Marley and Saumon which include the effects of both condensate cloud formation and non-equilibrium chemistry due to vertical mixing and find the best fitting model has Teff=1700 K, log g=5.5 [cm s-2], fsed=4, and Kzz=10^4 cm2 s-1. The derived effective temperature is significantly cooler than previously estimated but we confirm the suggestion by Bowler et al. that the peculiar spectrum of SDSS J141624.08+134826.7 is primarily a result of thin condensate clouds. In addition, we find strong evidence of vertical mixing in the atmosphere of SDSS J141624.08+134826.7 based on the absence of the deep 3.3 micron CH4 absorption band predicted by models computed in chemical equilibrium. This result suggests that observations of blue L dwarfs are an appealing way to quantitatively estimate the vigor of mixing in the atmospheres of L dwarfs because of the dramatic impact such mixing has on the strength of the 3.3 micron CH4 band in the emergent spectra of L dwarfs with thin condensate clouds.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa