Inquiry-based learning: Emirati university students choose WhatsApp for collaboration

Considerable research has shown the value of Inquiry-Based Learning (IBL) regarding student engagement and motivation, depth of learning, and cognitive flexibility. Student collaboration is one component of this approach, since students must communicate and work together inside and outside of class time when engaging with an IBL project. Choosing a mobile learning tool can benefit student collaboration in so far as the tool enables anytime/anywhere collaborative learning. This study looked at how 118 Emirati undergraduate students in a government-sponsored university in the United Arab Emirates chose to collaborate in an IBL semester-long assignment. Unlike some approaches that dictate the technology selection to students (Barczyk & Duncan, 2013; Prescott, Wilson & Becket, 2013), in this project course instructors gave the students autonomy to choose the best mobile learning tools for their group. The study used a mixed-methods approach to collect data on which tools students perceived as best for IBL. Participants were surveyed three times about which tool they preferred for university work: a pre-project survey, a mid-project survey, and post-project survey. Results show that students changed their preferred tool to WhatsApp over the course of the semester. A focus group with each course section provided qualitative data as to why students preferred WhatsApp. The students also delivered poster presentations as to how WhatsApp helped them complete their community-based IBL projects. This study will show how WhatsApp can be a successful mobile learning tool for student collaboration in IBL. أكدت العديد من البحوث على Ùوائد التعلم القائم على البحث والاستقصاء من حيث المشاركة وعمق التعلم والمرونة المعرÙية. ويعتبر التعلم القائم على البحث والاستقصاء شاملا لمÙاهيم عدة منها التعلم القائم على المشاريع وعلى حل المشكلات والنماذج الشاملة لطرائق التعلم الأساسية لدى الطالب أهمها التعاون الطلابي لما له أثر جيد ÙÙŠ إنجاز المشاريع سواء أكان ذلك أثناء المحاضرة أو خارجها. كما أن استخدام أدوات التعلم الذكي (mobile learning tool) يعزز التعاون الطلابي إذا ما توÙرت خارج الÙصل ÙˆÙÙŠ أي مكان. وللتأكيد على هذه الÙرضية، قمنا بدراسة أداء 118 طالبة ÙÙŠ المرحلة الجامعية حين طلب منهم اختيار Ø£Ùضل أدوات التعلم الذكي لمجموعاتهم للقيام بمشروع قائم على البحث والاستقصاء. واستخدمت الدراسة منهجا يدمج بين جمع البيانات عن الأدوات التي يعتبرها الطلبة الأÙضل لأدء المشاريع القائمة على البحث والاستقصاء. وخضع الطلبة لثلاث مسوحات قبل البدء بالمشروع ÙˆÙÙŠ منتص٠المشروع وبعد الانتهاء منه حول الأداة المÙضلة لديهم للقيام بالمشارع الجامعية وللتواصل الاجتماعي أيضا. وأظهرت النتائج ان برنامج ال WhatsApp هو الأÙضل على مدار الÙصل الدراسي. كما قامت مجموعة تركيز واحدة ÙÙŠ كل Ùصل دراسي بتقديم بيانات نوعية لأسباب الاعتماد على هذا البرنامج ÙÙŠ أداء المشاريع وإنجازها بنجاح من خلاله. كما قدم الطلبة عروضا باستخدام الملصقات لشرح أسباب نجاح المشاريع القائمة على تقديم الخدمات من خلال استخدام برنامج ال WhatsApp. كما تستعرض الدراسة أسباب كون هذا البرنامج أداة تعليمية ناجحة ومعززة لعملية التعاون الطلابي أثناء القيام بالمشاريع القائمة على البحث والاستقصاء

The patron saint of music: Beethoven's image and music in Japan's adoption of western classical music and practices

This thesis explores the factors that led to the enduring popularity of Beethoven's music in Japan. Early in the Meiji Period (1868-1912) when Japan embraced Westernization, German artists and educators instilled respect for the tradition of German art music in their Japanese students. Beethoven's music became the most valued source of material for education and performance in Japan in the years before the Second World War. During the war, Western music faced opposition from a nationalist government which reversed course, calling for the development of a native Japanese musical style untainted by Western oppression. However, Beethoven's music still found a ready place in concert halls and schools. Many teachers and performers came to its rescue, defending the music's masculinity, German origins, and associations with Beethoven's Romantic determination and unyielding spirit. After the war, his music escaped censorship because of its widespread popularity and the belief that Beethoven transcended his nationality

Female teat size is a reliable indicator of annual breeding success in European badgers: Genetic validation

Assessing which females have bred successfully is a central requirement in many ecological field studies, providing an estimate of the effective female population size. Researchers have applied teat measurements previously to assess whether females, in a variety of mammalian species, have bred; however, this technique has not been validated genetically. Furthermore, several analytical techniques are available to classify individuals, but their misclassification rates have not been compared. We used 22 microsatellite loci to assign maternity, with 95% confidence, within a high-density population of European badgers Meles meles, as plural and subterranean breeding means that maternity cannot be inferred from behavioural observations. The teat lengths and diameters of 136 females, measured May–July 1994–2005, from social groups in which all offspring were assigned a mother, were reliable indicators of recent breeding success. A Generalised Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) classified both breeding and non-breeding females with lower error rates than discriminant analyses and crude teat-size criteria. The GLMM model logit probability = −20 + 1.8 month + 1.6 mean teat length + 1.0 mean teat diameter can be applied quickly in the field to assess the probability with which a female badger should be assigned maternity. This is a low-cost measure which, after validation, could be used in other badger or mammalian populations to assess the breeding success of females. This may be a particularly useful welfare tool for veterinary practitioners, especially during badger culls

Making meaning from student evaluations of teaching: Seeing beyond our own horizons

Within postsecondary education, the assessment of effective teaching has largely relied upon student evaluations of teaching. However, the process through which teachers make sense of their student evaluations is unclear. A research team of six undergraduate nursing students and four nursing educators explored the research question: How do nursing educators make meaning from their student evaluations of teaching? Gadamerian hermeneutics guided unstructured interviews with nursing educators working at a Middle East campus of a Canadian university. The interview transcripts were interpreted through a process of naïve readings, rereadings, interpretive dialogues, and interpretive writing that generated the following hermeneutic interpretations: Teachers make meaning of their student evaluation through generalized subjective characterizations of students and through their expressed intentions for their teacher-student relationships. Some of these characterizations and expressed intentions obscured what truths could be learned from the student evaluations of teaching. The experience of receiving critical student feedback invoked a personal response, at the same time, paradoxically, teachers worked hard to “not take it personally.” We suggest the practice of deep listening as a way to understand students’ feedback. The main takeaway message from this research is that teachers need a supportive and sustaining community of peers who are also open to listening deeply to the truths embedded in student evaluations of teaching

In their own voices: a nationwide study of students’ attitudes towards the implementation of smart learning environments in UAE schools

A smart learning environment (SLE) encompasses the use of advanced technology and smart pedagogical teaching skills tailored to suit students with diverse learning needs. In recent years, some countries, such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), have formulated policies to implement SLE in their education systems. Since students are the intended beneficiaries of SLE policy, it is crucial to explore their perceptions of its implementation in a novel context. Therefore, this study explored the attitudes of students towards the implementation of SLE in the UAE. To conduct this investigation, 1857 secondary school students (grades 7 and 12) were recruited nationwide. A newly developed instrument was employed to collect data, which were then subjected to exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to understand its dimensions and validate the factor structure, respectively. Subsequently, the mean scores were calculated and multivariate variance analysis, structural equation modelling, and moderation analysis were conducted to test three specific hypotheses. The results identified ambivalence among students regarding the implementation of SLE and significant differences between them based on their school location and study grade. Additionally, this study discussed the need for nationwide stakeholder engagement to deliberate on the scope, innovation of technological devices and necessary teacher development for efficient SLE implementation

Rolofylline, an adenosine A1−receptor antagonist, in acute heart failure

Background: Worsening renal function, which is associated with adverse outcomes, often develops in patients with acute heart failure. Experimental and clinical studies suggest that counterregulatory responses mediated by adenosine may be involved. We tested the hypothesis that the use of rolofylline, an adenosine A1−receptor antagonist, would improve dyspnea, reduce the risk of worsening renal function, and lead to a more favorable clinical course in patients with acute heart failure. Methods: We conducted a multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving patients hospitalized for acute heart failure with impaired renal function. Within 24 hours after presentation, 2033 patients were randomly assigned, in a 2:1 ratio, to receive daily intravenous rolofylline (30 mg) or placebo for up to 3 days. The primary end point was treatment success, treatment failure, or no change in the patient’s clinical condition; this end point was defined according to survival, heart-failure status, and changes in renal function. Secondary end points were the post-treatment development of persistent renal impairment and the 60-day rate of death or readmission for cardiovascular or renal causes. Results: Rolofylline, as compared with placebo, did not provide a benefit with respect to the primary end point (odds ratio, 0.92; 95% confidence interval, 0.78 to 1.09; P=0.35). Persistent renal impairment developed in 15.0% of patients in the rolofylline group and in 13.7% of patients in the placebo group (P=0.44). By 60 days, death or readmission for cardiovascular or renal causes had occurred in similar proportions of patients assigned to rolofylline and placebo (30.7% and 31.9%, respectively; P=0.86). Adverse-event rates were similar overall; however, only patients in the rolofylline group had seizures, a known potential adverse effect of A1-receptor antagonists. Conclusions: Rolofylline did not have a favorable effect with respect to the primary clinical composite end point, nor did it improve renal function or 60-day outcomes. It does not show promise in the treatment of acute heart failure with renal dysfunction. (Funded by NovaCardia, a subsidiary of Merck; ClinicalTrials.gov numbers, NCT00328692 and NCT00354458.

Spatio-Temporal Variability of Harbor Porpoise Life History Parameters in the North-East Atlantic

Harbor porpoises exhibit early maturation, relatively short gestation/lactation periods and a faster rate of reproduction as compared to other cetacean species. Intrinsic and extrinsic factors can influence both population vital rates and population structure, which ultimately cause changes in dynamics within and between populations. Here, we undertook a retrospective analysis of mortality data collected over a 24-year period for assessing life history traits of the North-east Atlantic harbor porpoise population. We use time-period specific models for key life history relationships that considered cause of death of individuals (as a proxy for health status), sex and management unit (MU). Sexual variation in asymptotic length, asymptotic age, average length at 50% maturity (L50) and average age at 50% maturity (A50) were observed, with females attaining a larger asymptotic length, larger L50, and delaying attainment of both sexual and physical maturity, compared to males. While females are constrained in their minimum body size due to giving birth to proportionally larger offspring, males exhibited more plasticity in size at sexual maturity, enabling re-allocation of available energy resources toward reproduction. Data were then used to compare biological parameters among two porpoise MUs in United Kingdom waters, both of which in the current study exhibited reduced reproductive rates compared to other geographic regions. In both MUs, females significantly increased their A50 and males significantly declined in their L50. An increase in the age at asymptotic length was also observed in both sexes, along with a significant decline in the Gompertz growth rate parameter that was more apparent in the female data. While availability of suitable prey resources may be a limiting factor, a combination of other factors cannot be ruled out. Porpoises in the Celtic and Irish Seas MU were significantly larger in their maximum length, asymptotic length and L50 compared to porpoises in the North Sea MU throughout the study period, suggesting limited gene flow between these two MUs. These results justify the maintenance of these harbor porpoise MUs or assessment units, as two separate units, within the range of the North-east Atlantic population, and for indicator assessments under the EU’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive