22 research outputs found

    The fivethirtyeight R package: ‘Tame Data’ Principles for Introductory Statistics and Data Science Courses

    Get PDF
    As statistics and data science instructors, we often seek to use data in our courses that are rich, real, realistic, and relevant. To this end we created the fivethirtyeight R package of data and code behind the stories and interactives at the data journalism website FiveThirtyEight.com. After a discussion on the conflicting pedagogical goals of minimizing prerequisites to research (Cobb 2015) while at the same time presenting students with a realistic view of data as it exists in the wild, we articulate how a desired balance between these two goals informed the design of the package. The details behind this balance are articulated as our proposed Tame data principles for introductory statistics and data science courses. Details of the package\u27s construction and example uses are included as well

    Through the eyes of parents: a Singaporean perspective of the importance of cognitive and non-cognitive skills for six-year-old children

    No full text
    This study reports the importance 244 parents of six-year-old children living in Singapore placed on cognitive (problem-solving and creativity) and non-cognitive (practical school skills and conforming) behaviours. Our research team hypothesised that, as the age of the parent increased, the importance placed on each covariant skill (problem solving, creativity, practical, conformity) would differ. It was further hypothesised that the importance placed on cognitive skills compared with noncognitive skills for six-year-old children would decrease. Our results indicate that, when controlling for demographics, as parents aged they did place different levels of importance on each of the cognitive skills but not the non-cognitive skills. Furthermore, older parents placed less importance on cognitive compared with non-cognitive skills. The gap between average cognitive rating and average non-cognitive scores decreased as parents' age increased. This gap was found to be smaller for Chinese than non-Chinese parents. It decreased with age when controlling for child gender and parent ethnicity, gender and occupation.\ud \ud Our results indicate that, when controlling for demographics, as parents aged they did place different levels of importance on each of the cognitive skills but not non-cognitive skills. Furthermore, older parents placed less importance on cognitive compared with non-cognitive skills. The gap between average cognitive rating and average non-cognitive scores decreased as parents’ age increased. This gap was found to be smaller for Chinese than non-Chinese parents. It decreased with age when controlling for child gender and parent ethnicity, gender and occupation.\u

    World population stabilization unlikely this century

    No full text
    Neurogenesis is restricted in the adult mammalian brain; most neurons are neither exchanged during normal life nor replaced in pathological situations. We report that stroke elicits a latent neurogenic program in striatal astrocytes in mice. Notch1 signaling is reduced in astrocytes after stroke, and attenuated Notch1 signaling is necessary for neurogenesis by striatal astrocytes. Blocking Notch signaling triggers astrocytes in the striatum and the medial cortex to enter a neurogenic program, even in the absence of stroke, resulting in 850 +/- 210 (mean +/- SEM) new neurons in a mouse striatum. Thus, under Notch signaling regulation, astrocytes in the adult mouse brain parenchyma carry a latent neurogenic program that may potentially be useful for neuronal replacement strategies
    corecore