133 research outputs found
Using a Multi-User Virtual Environment to Research Approaches to Ethical Dilemmas
Resolving ethical dilemmas is difficult because people must select a response from a range of unacceptable options. Ethical position theory states that people will select a response that is consistent with their perspectives on idealism and relativism. Ethical dilemmas are usually presented to learners and research participants in the form of written scenarios or vignettes. This approach has some limitations, including abstraction of the situation and written rather than enacted responses. Multi-user virtual environments (MUVEs) present opportunities for contextualisation and action that may be applied to the simulation of ethical dilemmas. A theoretical framework based on activity theory and ecological psychology will be used to develop and refine a MUVE simulation of a morally toned situation. This paper outlines an ongoing research study that focuses on understanding (a) the possibilities and constraints of the technology in relation to the simulation of ethical issues; and (b) the extent to which the simulation can be used to assess the alignment between participants’ ethical perspectives and their behaviour
The oxidative costs of reproduction are group-size dependent in a wild cooperative breeder.
Life-history theory assumes that reproduction entails a cost, and research on cooperatively breeding societies suggests that the cooperative sharing of workloads can reduce this cost. However, the physiological mechanisms that underpin both the costs of reproduction and the benefits of cooperation remain poorly understood. It has been hypothesized that reproductive costs may arise in part from oxidative stress, as reproductive investment may elevate exposure to reactive oxygen species, compromising survival and future reproduction and accelerating senescence. However, experimental evidence of oxidative costs of reproduction in the wild remains scarce. Here, we use a clutch-removal experiment to investigate the oxidative costs of reproduction in a wild cooperatively breeding bird, the white-browed sparrow weaver, Plocepasser mahali. Our results reveal costs of reproduction that are dependent on group size: relative to individuals in groups whose eggs were experimentally removed, individuals in groups that raised offspring experienced an associated cost (elevated oxidative damage and reduced body mass), but only if they were in small groups containing fewer or no helpers. Furthermore, during nestling provisioning, individuals that provisioned at higher rates showed greater within-individual declines in body mass and antioxidant protection. Our results provide rare experimental evidence that reproduction can negatively impact both oxidative status and body mass in the wild, and suggest that these costs can be mitigated in cooperative societies by the presence of additional helpers. These findings have implications for our understanding of the energetic and oxidative costs of reproduction, and the benefits of cooperation in animal societies.This study was funded by a BBSRC David Phillips Fellowship and a Royal Society Research Grant to A.J.Y. and an NERC studentship to D.L.C. J.D.B. was supported by a Royal Society University Research Fellowship.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Royal Society Publishing via http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2015.203
Immune response in a wild bird is predicted by oxidative status, but does not cause oxidative stress.
The immune system provides vital protection against pathogens, but extensive evidence suggests that mounting immune responses can entail survival and fecundity costs. The physiological mechanisms that underpin these costs remain poorly understood, despite their potentially important role in shaping life-histories. Recent studies involving laboratory models highlight the possibility that oxidative stress could mediate these costs, as immune-activation can increase the production of reactive oxygen species leading to oxidative stress. However, this hypothesis has rarely been tested in free-ranging wild populations, where natural oxidative statuses and compensatory strategies may moderate immune responses and their impacts on oxidative status. Furthermore, the possibility that individuals scale their immune responses according to their oxidative status, conceivably to mitigate such costs, remains virtually unexplored. Here, we experimentally investigate the effects of a phytohaemagglutinin (PHA) immune-challenge on oxidative status in wild male and female white-browed sparrow weavers, Plocepasser mahali. We also establish whether baseline oxidative status prior to challenge predicts the scale of the immune responses. Contrary to previous work on captive animals, our findings suggest that PHA-induced immune-activation does not elicit oxidative stress. Compared with controls (n = 25 birds), PHA-injected birds (n = 27 birds) showed no evidence of a differential change in markers of oxidative damage or enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant protection 24 hours after challenge. We did, however, find that the activity of a key antioxidant enzyme (superoxide dismutase, SOD) prior to immune-activation predicted the scale of the resulting swelling: birds with stronger initial SOD activity subsequently produced smaller swellings. Our findings (i) suggest that wild birds can mount immune responses without suffering from systemic oxidative stress, and (ii) lend support to biomedical evidence that baseline oxidative status can impact the scale of immune responses; a possibility not yet recognised in ecological studies of immunity
Framework for evaluating online assessment in business education: Trade-offs in promoting innovation
The rapid transition to online teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted various challenges in designing and implementing online assessment. As part of a research project commissioned by the Australian Business Deans Council, we have developed a framework to evaluate online assessments against six design considerations and four contextual factors. Assessments must ensure academic integrity, be authentic, allow for the provision of quality feedback, support a positive learning experience for students, assure the integrity of student information and be delivered so that all enrolled students have an equal chance to complete the assessment successfully. Accreditation, resourcing, scale and institutional policies are contextual factors integral to evaluating and creating quality online assessment designs. Our study also revealed the tensions between increased efficiency and introducing innovation.
To encourage the framework application, in this paper we first introduce the participants to the framework. Second, we task them to employ the framework when designing innovative assessments within a set of given contexts. This will open a dialogue among business educators to explore and discuss strategies for designing and implementing innovative online assessments. We therefore aim to uncover productive discourse to help educators manage their challenges with online assessment and embrace new opportunities in today’s online world
CLaS light touch project: Scaling up educational co-design process
Connected Learning at Scale (CLaS) is a significant longitudinal project initiated in 2019 by the University of Sydney Business School aiming to enhance the learning experience for students in large undergraduate and postgraduate classes. Three of us work at Business Co-Design, a team of educational developers, learning designers and media producers, who are among the key drivers of the CLaS project. Before the pandemic, we were working through a co-design process, with eight core subject coordinators for a duration of three semesters, to embed active-learning strategies and connected student participation in relevant and authentic tasks and assessments. Covid-19 and the pivot to online teaching challenged us to scale up our CLaS support system and to develop new codesign strategies that could provide rapid and agile support across more units of study. We were asked to support 36 subjects across five business disciplines within one semester. We termed this the ‘CLaS light touch’project as it offered lighter levels of support, resources, and timeline. The ‘light touch’ checklist functioned as a driver for professional discussions and co-design ideas. The checklist was effective for two reasons: (1) the coordinators could choose or ‘cherry pick’ what they wanted to implement in their units; (2) the checklist provided the teaching team with new ideas to implement in their units
The Phoenix Deep Survey: Extremely Red Galaxies and Cluster Candidates
We present the results of a study of a sample of 375 Extremely Red Galaxies
(ERGs) in the Phoenix Deep Survey, 273 of which constitute a subsample which is
80% complete to K_s = 18.5 over an area of 1160 arcmin^2. The angular
correlation function for ERGs is estimated, and the association of ERGs with
faint radio sources explored. We find tentative evidence that ERGs and faint
radio sources are associated at z > 0.5. A new overdensity-mapping algorithm
has been used to characterize the ERG distribution, and identify a number of
cluster candidates, including a likely cluster containing ERGs at 0.5 < z < 1.
Our algorithm is also used in an attempt to probe the environments in which
faint radio sources and ERGs are associated. We find limited evidence that the
I - K_s > 4 criterion is more efficient than R - K_s > 5 at selecting dusty
star-forming galaxies, rather than passively evolving ERGs.Comment: 14 emulateapj pages, 15 figures, 1 table, accepted for publication in
Astronomical Journal. A version with full resolution figures is available at
http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/~asmith/research/ERGpaper.pd
Cost-effective, scalable online assessment solutions to assure academic integrity, privacy and equity of access: Towards a framework for success
In the context of the rapid transition to fully on line teaching and learning, the ABDC
commissioned a project into online assessment in higher education in Australia. This report
summarises the findings of that project, providing current evidence about the forms of online
assessment in use in undergraduate and postgraduate business courses at Australian ABDC
member institutions, and developing a framework to guide best-practice decision-making about
online assessments.
We based our investigations on five design considerations for online assessments: the
assessments must assure academic integrity, allow for the provision of quality feedback, support
a positive learning experience for students, assure the integrity of student information and be
delivered so that all enrolled students have an equal chance to complete the assessment
successfully. Using input from a comprehensive literature review, the results of a survey of
educators, and focus group discussions, we have extended these considerations to include
authenticity. Our analysis confirmed that scale of delivery and resource limitations are broader
and interrelated contextual factors that influence decisions about assessment design. These
contextual factors also include institution policies and accreditation requirements.
This report contains summary information about the assessment types in use in business
disciplines within Australia. We found that most survey respondents used written assessments
and online exams/ quizzes, with more than half also reporting that they used live or recorded
presentations. The report also summarises the constraints and trade-offs identified in focus
group discussions.
The outputs of this project include a summary diagram to assist future educators and accreditors
in applying our framework of design criteria for online assessment solutions, and a description of
our online portal that will enable our project to be current beyond 2022, as academics access
our framework and share their best practice assessment designs. We conclude this report with
our recommendations as to the way forward for future educators, researchers and peak funding
bodies
Relation Between Stellar Mass and Star Formation Activity in Galaxies
For a mass-selected sample of 66544 galaxies with photometric redshifts from
the Cosmic Evolution Survey (COSMOS), we examine the evolution of star
formation activity as a function of stellar mass in galaxies. We estimate the
cosmic star formation rates (SFR) over the range 0.2 < z < 1.2, using the
rest-frame 2800 A flux (corrected for extinction). We find the mean SFR to be a
strong function of the galactic stellar mass at any given redshift, with
massive systems (log (M/M(Sun)) > 10.5) contributing less (by a factor of ~ 5)
to the total star formation rate density (SFRD).
Combining data from the COSMOS and Gemini Deep Deep Survey (GDDS), we extend
the SFRD-z relation as a function of stellar mass to z~2. For massive galaxies,
we find a steep increase in the SFRD-z relation to z~2; for the less massive
systems, the SFRD which also increases from z=0 to 1, levels off at z~1. This
implies that the massive systems have had their major star formation activity
at earlier epochs (z > 2) than the lower mass galaxies.
We study changes in the SFRDs as a function of both redshift and stellar mass
for galaxies of different spectral types. We find that the slope of the SFRD-z
relation for different spectral type of galaxies is a strong function of their
stellar mass. For low and intermediate mass systems, the main contribution to
the cosmic SFRD comes from the star-forming galaxies while, for more massive
systems, the evolved galaxies are the most dominant population.Comment: 34 pages; 8 figures; Accepted for publication in Ap
Gene expression analysis of flax seed development
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Flax, <it>Linum usitatissimum </it>L., is an important crop whose seed oil and stem fiber have multiple industrial applications. Flax seeds are also well-known for their nutritional attributes, viz., omega-3 fatty acids in the oil and lignans and mucilage from the seed coat. In spite of the importance of this crop, there are few molecular resources that can be utilized toward improving seed traits. Here, we describe flax embryo and seed development and generation of comprehensive genomic resources for the flax seed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We describe a large-scale generation and analysis of expressed sequences in various tissues. Collectively, the 13 libraries we have used provide a broad representation of genes active in developing embryos (globular, heart, torpedo, cotyledon and mature stages) seed coats (globular and torpedo stages) and endosperm (pooled globular to torpedo stages) and genes expressed in flowers, etiolated seedlings, leaves, and stem tissue. A total of 261,272 expressed sequence tags (EST) (GenBank accessions <ext-link ext-link-id="LIBEST_026995" ext-link-type="gen">LIBEST_026995</ext-link> to <ext-link ext-link-id="LIBEST_027011" ext-link-type="gen">LIBEST_027011</ext-link>) were generated. These EST libraries included transcription factor genes that are typically expressed at low levels, indicating that the depth is adequate for <it>in silico </it>expression analysis. Assembly of the ESTs resulted in 30,640 unigenes and 82% of these could be identified on the basis of homology to known and hypothetical genes from other plants. When compared with fully sequenced plant genomes, the flax unigenes resembled poplar and castor bean more than grape, sorghum, rice or Arabidopsis. Nearly one-fifth of these (5,152) had no homologs in sequences reported for any organism, suggesting that this category represents genes that are likely unique to flax. Digital analyses revealed gene expression dynamics for the biosynthesis of a number of important seed constituents during seed development.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We have developed a foundational database of expressed sequences and collection of plasmid clones that comprise even low-expressed genes such as those encoding transcription factors. This has allowed us to delineate the spatio-temporal aspects of gene expression underlying the biosynthesis of a number of important seed constituents in flax. Flax belongs to a taxonomic group of diverse plants and the large sequence database will allow for evolutionary studies as well.</p
The International Surface Pressure Databank version 2
The International Surface Pressure Databank (ISPD) is the world's largest collection of global surface and sea-level pressure observations. It was developed by extracting observations from established international archives, through international cooperation with data recovery facilitated by the Atmospheric Circulation Reconstructions over the Earth (ACRE) initiative, and directly by contributing universities, organizations, and countries. The dataset period is currently 1768–2012 and consists of three data components: observations from land stations, marine observing systems, and tropical cyclone best track pressure reports. Version 2 of the ISPD (ISPDv2) was created to be observational input for the Twentieth Century Reanalysis Project (20CR) and contains the quality control and assimilation feedback metadata from the 20CR. Since then, it has been used for various general climate and weather studies, and an updated version 3 (ISPDv3) has been used in the ERA-20C reanalysis in connection with the European Reanalysis of Global Climate Observations project (ERA-CLIM). The focus of this paper is on the ISPDv2 and the inclusion of the 20CR feedback metadata. The Research Data Archive at the National Center for Atmospheric Research provides data collection and access for the ISPDv2, and will provide access to future versions
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