Do pupils at research-informed schools actually perform better? Findings from a study at English schools

Across the globe, many national, state, and district level governments are increasingly seeking to bring about school ‘self improvement’ via the fostering of change, which, at best, is based on or informed by research, evidence, and data. According to the conceptualisation of research-informed education as inquiry cycle, it is reasoned that there is value in combining the approaches of data-based decision-making and evidence-informed education. To put this assumption to test, a data-set based on 1457 staff members from 73 English primary schools (school year 2014/2015) was (re-)analysed in this paper. Not only survey information about trust among colleagues, organisational learning and the research use climate was used (cf. Brown et al., 2016), but also the results from the most recent school inspections and the results from standardised assessment at the end of primary school. Of particular interest was, as to whether the perceived research use climate mediates the association between organisational learning and trust at school on the one hand and the average pupil performance on the other, and whether schools that were rated as ‘outstanding’, ‘good’, or ‘requires improvement’ in their most recent school inspection differ in that regard. Data was analysed based on multi-level structural equation modelling. The originality of this paper lies in challenging common claims that teachers’ engagement with research supports development processes at schools and pupil performance. Our findings indicate that schools with a higher average value of trust among colleagues report more organisational and research informed activities, but also demonstrate better results in the average pupil performance assessment at the end of the school year. This was particularly true for schools rated as ‘good’ in previous school inspections. In contrast, both ‘outstanding’ schools and schools that ‘require improvement’ appeared to engage more with research evidence, even though the former seemed not to profit from it. Accordingly, the conclusion is drawn that a comprehensive model of research-informed education contributes to more conceptual clarity in future research, and based on that, contribute to theoretical development

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits - the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants - determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits - almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives.Rest of authors: Decky Junaedi, Robert R. Junker, Eric Justes, Richard Kabzems, Jeffrey Kane, Zdenek Kaplan, Teja Kattenborn, Lyudmila Kavelenova, Elizabeth Kearsley, Anne Kempel, Tanaka Kenzo, Andrew Kerkhoff, Mohammed I. Khalil, Nicole L. Kinlock, Wilm Daniel Kissling, Kaoru Kitajima, Thomas Kitzberger, Rasmus Kjøller, Tamir Klein, Michael Kleyer, Jitka Klimešová, Joice Klipel, Brian Kloeppel, Stefan Klotz, Johannes M. H. Knops, Takashi Kohyama, Fumito Koike, Johannes Kollmann, Benjamin Komac, Kimberly Komatsu, Christian König, Nathan J. B. Kraft, Koen Kramer, Holger Kreft, Ingolf Kühn, Dushan Kumarathunge, Jonas Kuppler, Hiroko Kurokawa, Yoko Kurosawa, Shem Kuyah, Jean-Paul Laclau, Benoit Lafleur, Erik Lallai, Eric Lamb, Andrea Lamprecht, Daniel J. Larkin, Daniel Laughlin, Yoann Le Bagousse-Pinguet, Guerric le Maire, Peter C. le Roux, Elizabeth le Roux, Tali Lee, Frederic Lens, Simon L. Lewis, Barbara Lhotsky, Yuanzhi Li, Xine Li, Jeremy W. Lichstein, Mario Liebergesell, Jun Ying Lim, Yan-Shih Lin, Juan Carlos Linares, Chunjiang Liu, Daijun Liu, Udayangani Liu, Stuart Livingstone, Joan Llusià, Madelon Lohbeck, Álvaro López-García, Gabriela Lopez-Gonzalez, Zdeňka Lososová, Frédérique Louault, Balázs A. Lukács, Petr Lukeš, Yunjian Luo, Michele Lussu, Siyan Ma, Camilla Maciel Rabelo Pereira, Michelle Mack, Vincent Maire, Annikki Mäkelä, Harri Mäkinen, Ana Claudia Mendes Malhado, Azim Mallik, Peter Manning, Stefano Manzoni, Zuleica Marchetti, Luca Marchino, Vinicius Marcilio-Silva, Eric Marcon, Michela Marignani, Lars Markesteijn, Adam Martin, Cristina Martínez-Garza, Jordi Martínez-Vilalta, Tereza Mašková, Kelly Mason, Norman Mason, Tara Joy Massad, Jacynthe Masse, Itay Mayrose, James McCarthy, M. Luke McCormack, Katherine McCulloh, Ian R. McFadden, Brian J. McGill, Mara Y. McPartland, Juliana S. Medeiros, Belinda Medlyn, Pierre Meerts, Zia Mehrabi, Patrick Meir, Felipe P. L. Melo, Maurizio Mencuccini, Céline Meredieu, Julie Messier, Ilona Mészáros, Juha Metsaranta, Sean T. Michaletz, Chrysanthi Michelaki, Svetlana Migalina, Ruben Milla, Jesse E. D. Miller, Vanessa Minden, Ray Ming, Karel Mokany, Angela T. Moles, Attila Molnár V, Jane Molofsky, Martin Molz, Rebecca A. Montgomery, Arnaud Monty, Lenka Moravcová, Alvaro Moreno-Martínez, Marco Moretti, Akira S. Mori, Shigeta Mori, Dave Morris, Jane Morrison, Ladislav Mucina, Sandra Mueller, Christopher D. Muir, Sandra Cristina Müller, François Munoz, Isla H. Myers-Smith, Randall W. Myster, Masahiro Nagano, Shawna Naidu, Ayyappan Narayanan, Balachandran Natesan, Luka Negoita, Andrew S. Nelson, Eike Lena Neuschulz, Jian Ni, Georg Niedrist, Jhon Nieto, Ülo Niinemets, Rachael Nolan, Henning Nottebrock, Yann Nouvellon, Alexander Novakovskiy, The Nutrient Network, Kristin Odden Nystuen, Anthony O'Grady, Kevin O'Hara, Andrew O'Reilly-Nugent, Simon Oakley, Walter Oberhuber, Toshiyuki Ohtsuka, Ricardo Oliveira, Kinga Öllerer, Mark E. Olson, Vladimir Onipchenko, Yusuke Onoda, Renske E. Onstein, Jenny C. Ordonez, Noriyuki Osada, Ivika Ostonen, Gianluigi Ottaviani, Sarah Otto, Gerhard E. Overbeck, Wim A. Ozinga, Anna T. Pahl, C. E. Timothy Paine, Robin J. Pakeman, Aristotelis C. Papageorgiou, Evgeniya Parfionova, Meelis Pärtel, Marco Patacca, Susana Paula, Juraj Paule, Harald Pauli, Juli G. Pausas, Begoña Peco, Josep Penuelas, Antonio Perea, Pablo Luis Peri, Ana Carolina Petisco-Souza, Alessandro Petraglia, Any Mary Petritan, Oliver L. Phillips, Simon Pierce, Valério D. Pillar, Jan Pisek, Alexandr Pomogaybin, Hendrik Poorter, Angelika Portsmuth, Peter Poschlod, Catherine Potvin, Devon Pounds, A. Shafer Powell, Sally A. Power, Andreas Prinzing, Giacomo Puglielli, Petr Pyšek, Valerie Raevel, Anja Rammig, Johannes Ransijn, Courtenay A. Ray, Peter B. Reich, Markus Reichstein, Douglas E. B. Reid, Maxime Réjou-Méchain, Victor Resco de Dios, Sabina Ribeiro, Sarah Richardson, Kersti Riibak, Matthias C. Rillig, Fiamma Riviera, Elisabeth M. R. Robert, Scott Roberts, Bjorn Robroek, Adam Roddy, Arthur Vinicius Rodrigues, Alistair Rogers, Emily Rollinson, Victor Rolo, Christine Römermann, Dina Ronzhina, Christiane Roscher, Julieta A. Rosell, Milena Fermina Rosenfield, Christian Rossi, David B. Roy, Samuel Royer-Tardif, Nadja Rüger, Ricardo Ruiz-Peinado, Sabine B. Rumpf, Graciela M. Rusch, Masahiro Ryo, Lawren Sack, Angela Saldaña, Beatriz Salgado-Negret, Roberto Salguero-Gomez, Ignacio Santa-Regina, Ana Carolina Santacruz-García, Joaquim Santos, Jordi Sardans, Brandon Schamp, Michael Scherer-Lorenzen, Matthias Schleuning, Bernhard Schmid, Marco Schmidt, Sylvain Schmitt, Julio V. Schneider, Simon D. Schowanek, Julian Schrader, Franziska Schrodt, Bernhard Schuldt, Frank Schurr, Galia Selaya Garvizu, Marina Semchenko, Colleen Seymour, Julia C. Sfair, Joanne M. Sharpe, Christine S. Sheppard, Serge Sheremetiev, Satomi Shiodera, Bill Shipley, Tanvir Ahmed Shovon, Alrun Siebenkäs, Carlos Sierra, Vasco Silva, Mateus Silva, Tommaso Sitzia, Henrik Sjöman, Martijn Slot, Nicholas G. Smith, Darwin Sodhi, Pamela Soltis, Douglas Soltis, Ben Somers, Grégory Sonnier, Mia Vedel Sørensen, Enio Egon Sosinski Jr, Nadejda A. Soudzilovskaia, Alexandre F. Souza, Marko Spasojevic, Marta Gaia Sperandii, Amanda B. Stan, James Stegen, Klaus Steinbauer, Jörg G. Stephan, Frank Sterck, Dejan B. Stojanovic, Tanya Strydom, Maria Laura Suarez, Jens-Christian Svenning, Ivana Svitková, Marek Svitok, Miroslav Svoboda, Emily Swaine, Nathan Swenson, Marcelo Tabarelli, Kentaro Takagi, Ulrike Tappeiner, Rubén Tarifa, Simon Tauugourdeau, Cagatay Tavsanoglu, Mariska te Beest, Leho Tedersoo, Nelson Thiffault, Dominik Thom, Evert Thomas, Ken Thompson, Peter E. Thornton, Wilfried Thuiller, Lubomír Tichý, David Tissue, Mark G. Tjoelker, David Yue Phin Tng, Joseph Tobias, Péter Török, Tonantzin Tarin, José M. Torres-Ruiz, Béla Tóthmérész, Martina Treurnicht, Valeria Trivellone, Franck Trolliet, Volodymyr Trotsiuk, James L. Tsakalos, Ioannis Tsiripidis, Niklas Tysklind, Toru Umehara, Vladimir Usoltsev, Matthew Vadeboncoeur, Jamil Vaezi, Fernando Valladares, Jana Vamosi, Peter M. van Bodegom, Michiel van Breugel, Elisa Van Cleemput, Martine van de Weg, Stephni van der Merwe, Fons van der Plas, Masha T. van der Sande, Mark van Kleunen, Koenraad Van Meerbeek, Mark Vanderwel, Kim André Vanselow, Angelica Vårhammar, Laura Varone, Maribel Yesenia Vasquez Valderrama, Kiril Vassilev, Mark Vellend, Erik J. Veneklaas, Hans Verbeeck, Kris Verheyen, Alexander Vibrans, Ima Vieira, Jaime Villacís, Cyrille Violle, Pandi Vivek, Katrin Wagner, Matthew Waldram, Anthony Waldron, Anthony P. Walker, Martyn Waller, Gabriel Walther, Han Wang, Feng Wang, Weiqi Wang, Harry Watkins, James Watkins, Ulrich Weber, James T. Weedon, Liping Wei, Patrick Weigelt, Evan Weiher, Aidan W. Wells, Camilla Wellstein, Elizabeth Wenk, Mark Westoby, Alana Westwood, Philip John White, Mark Whitten, Mathew Williams, Daniel E. Winkler, Klaus Winter, Chevonne Womack, Ian J. Wright, S. Joseph Wright, Justin Wright, Bruno X. Pinho, Fabiano Ximenes, Toshihiro Yamada, Keiko Yamaji, Ruth Yanai, Nikolay Yankov, Benjamin Yguel, Kátia Janaina Zanini, Amy E. Zanne, David Zelený, Yun-Peng Zhao, Jingming Zheng, Ji Zheng, Kasia Ziemińska, Chad R. Zirbel, Georg Zizka, Irié Casimir Zo-Bi, Gerhard Zotz, Christian Wirth.Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry; Max Planck Society; German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig; International Programme of Biodiversity Science (DIVERSITAS); International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP); Future Earth; French Foundation for Biodiversity Research (FRB); GIS ‘Climat, Environnement et Société'.http://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/gcbhj2021Plant Production and Soil Scienc

Shifting Boundaries of Book Authorship, Publishing, Discovery, and Audience in an I-Society

This paper reports an empirical exploration of authors who act as publishers for their own books. It is part of a larger effort by a research team at the School of Information Resources and Library Science at the University of Arizona, whose agenda is to study the shifting boundaries book of authorship, publishing, discovery, audience, and roles of libraries in an i-society. In addition to the three team members cited as authors, there are other members who participated in data gathering, acknowledged at the end of the paper, and still others not directly involved in this study but who are or will be working on related projects. We consider the issue of shifting boundaries of book authorship, publishing, discovery, audience, and relevance to libraries as one of the major emerging themes in the iSociety, and one which is sometimes ignored in the face of newer, and also interesting, genres of publishing, such as blogs, ezines and websites for sharing authored materials. It is possible that the team will extend its interest to these genres, at some point, but for now we are focused on understanding these shifting boundaries in relation to the genre we know of as a book, and the changing patterns for its creation, production and movement in society

Anti-Tumor Activity vs. Normal Cell Toxicity: Therapeutic Potential of the Bromotyrosines Aerothionin and Homoaerothionin In Vitro

Novel strategies to treat cancer effectively without adverse effects on the surrounding normal tissue are urgently needed. Marine sponges provide a natural and renewable source of promising anti-tumor agents. Here, we investigated the anti-tumor activity of Aerothionin and Homoaerothionin, two bromotyrosines isolated from the marine demosponge Aplysina cavernicola, on two mouse pheochromocytoma cells, MPC and MTT. To determine the therapeutic window of these metabolites, we furthermore explored their cytotoxicity on cells of the normal tissue. Both metabolites diminished the viability of the pheochromocytoma cell lines significantly from a concentration of 25 µM under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Treatment of MPC cells leads moreover to a reduction in the number of proliferating cells. To confirm the anti-tumor activity of these bromotyrosines, 3D-pheochromocytoma cell spheroids were treated with 10 µM of either Aerothionin or Homoaerothionin, resulting in a significant reduction or even complete inhibition of the spheroid growth. Both metabolites reduced viability of normal endothelial cells to a comparable extent at higher micromolar concentration, while the viability of fibroblasts was increased. Our in vitro results show promise for the application of Aerothionin and Homoaerothionin as anti-tumor agents against pheochromocytomas and suggest acceptable toxicity on normal tissue cells

Do pupils at research-informed schools actually perform better? Findings from a study at English schools

Introduction: across the globe, many national, state, and district level governments are increasingly seeking to bring about school “self improvement” via the fostering of change, which, at best, is based on or informed by research, evidence, and data. According to the conceptualization of research-informed education as inquiry cycle, it is reasoned that there is value in combining the approaches of data-based decision-making and evidence-informed education. The originality of this paper lies in challenging common claims that teachers’ engagement with research supports development processes at schools and pupil performance.Methods: to put this assumption to test, a data-set based on 1,457 staff members from 73 English primary schools (school year 2014/2015) was (re-)analyzed in this paper. Not only survey information about trust among colleagues, organizational learning and the research use climate was used (cf. Brown et al., 2016), but also the results from the most recent school inspections and the results from standardized assessment at the end of primary school. Of particular interest was, as to whether the perceived research use climate mediates the association between organizational learning and trust at school on the one hand and the average pupil performance on the other, and whether schools that were rated as “outstanding,” “good,” or “requires improvement” in their most recent school inspection differ in that regard. Data was analyzed based on multi-level structural equation modelling.Results: our findings indicate that schools with a higher average value of trust among colleagues report more organizational and research informed activities, but also demonstrate better results in the average pupil performance assessment at the end of the school year. This was particularly true for schools rated as “good” in previous school inspections. In contrast, both “outstanding” schools and schools that “require improvement” appeared to engage more with research evidence, even though the former seemed not to profit from it.Discussion: the conclusion is drawn that a comprehensive model of research-informed education can contribute to more conceptual clarity in future research, and based on that, to theoretical development

Non-traditional book publishing

Non-traditional book publishing, prospering on the Internet, now accounts for over eight times the output of traditional publishing. Non-traditional publishing includes books published by their authors and books representing the reuse of content, most of it not covered by copyright. The result is an heterogeneous, hyper-abundant contemporary book environment where the traditional mixes with the non-traditional and finding books that match a reader’s taste is more difficult than previously and may involve new methods of discovery

Presentation_1_Do pupils at research-informed schools actually perform better? Findings from a study at English schools.pdf

IntroductionAcross the globe, many national, state, and district level governments are increasingly seeking to bring about school “self improvement” via the fostering of change, which, at best, is based on or informed by research, evidence, and data. According to the conceptualization of research-informed education as inquiry cycle, it is reasoned that there is value in combining the approaches of data-based decision-making and evidence-informed education. The originality of this paper lies in challenging common claims that teachers’ engagement with research supports development processes at schools and pupil performance.MethodsTo put this assumption to test, a data-set based on 1,457 staff members from 73 English primary schools (school year 2014/2015) was (re-)analyzed in this paper. Not only survey information about trust among colleagues, organizational learning and the research use climate was used (cf. Brown et al., 2016), but also the results from the most recent school inspections and the results from standardized assessment at the end of primary school. Of particular interest was, as to whether the perceived research use climate mediates the association between organizational learning and trust at school on the one hand and the average pupil performance on the other, and whether schools that were rated as “outstanding,” “good,” or “requires improvement” in their most recent school inspection differ in that regard. Data was analyzed based on multi-level structural equation modelling.ResultsOur findings indicate that schools with a higher average value of trust among colleagues report more organizational and research informed activities, but also demonstrate better results in the average pupil performance assessment at the end of the school year. This was particularly true for schools rated as “good” in previous school inspections. In contrast, both “outstanding” schools and schools that “require improvement” appeared to engage more with research evidence, even though the former seemed not to profit from it.DiscussionThe conclusion is drawn that a comprehensive model of research-informed education can contribute to more conceptual clarity in future research, and based on that, to theoretical development.</p

Data_Sheet_1_Do pupils at research-informed schools actually perform better? Findings from a study at English schools.pdf

IntroductionAcross the globe, many national, state, and district level governments are increasingly seeking to bring about school “self improvement” via the fostering of change, which, at best, is based on or informed by research, evidence, and data. According to the conceptualization of research-informed education as inquiry cycle, it is reasoned that there is value in combining the approaches of data-based decision-making and evidence-informed education. The originality of this paper lies in challenging common claims that teachers’ engagement with research supports development processes at schools and pupil performance.MethodsTo put this assumption to test, a data-set based on 1,457 staff members from 73 English primary schools (school year 2014/2015) was (re-)analyzed in this paper. Not only survey information about trust among colleagues, organizational learning and the research use climate was used (cf. Brown et al., 2016), but also the results from the most recent school inspections and the results from standardized assessment at the end of primary school. Of particular interest was, as to whether the perceived research use climate mediates the association between organizational learning and trust at school on the one hand and the average pupil performance on the other, and whether schools that were rated as “outstanding,” “good,” or “requires improvement” in their most recent school inspection differ in that regard. Data was analyzed based on multi-level structural equation modelling.ResultsOur findings indicate that schools with a higher average value of trust among colleagues report more organizational and research informed activities, but also demonstrate better results in the average pupil performance assessment at the end of the school year. This was particularly true for schools rated as “good” in previous school inspections. In contrast, both “outstanding” schools and schools that “require improvement” appeared to engage more with research evidence, even though the former seemed not to profit from it.DiscussionThe conclusion is drawn that a comprehensive model of research-informed education can contribute to more conceptual clarity in future research, and based on that, to theoretical development.</p

Anti-Tumor Activity vs. Normal Cell Toxicity: Therapeutic Potential of the Bromotyrosines Aerothionin and Homoaerothionin In Vitro

Novel strategies to treat cancer effectively without adverse effects on the surrounding normal tissue are urgently needed. Marine sponges provide a natural and renewable source of promising anti-tumor agents. Here, we investigated the anti-tumor activity of Aerothionin and Homoaerothionin, two bromotyrosines isolated from the marine demosponge Aplysina cavernicola, on two mouse pheochromocytoma cells, MPC and MTT. To determine the therapeutic window of these metabolites, we furthermore explored their cytotoxicity on cells of the normal tissue. Both metabolites diminished the viability of the pheochromocytoma cell lines significantly from a concentration of 25 &micro;M under normoxic and hypoxic conditions. Treatment of MPC cells leads moreover to a reduction in the number of proliferating cells. To confirm the anti-tumor activity of these bromotyrosines, 3D-pheochromocytoma cell spheroids were treated with 10 &micro;M of either Aerothionin or Homoaerothionin, resulting in a significant reduction or even complete inhibition of the spheroid growth. Both metabolites reduced viability of normal endothelial cells to a comparable extent at higher micromolar concentration, while the viability of fibroblasts was increased. Our in vitro results show promise for the application of Aerothionin and Homoaerothionin as anti-tumor agents against pheochromocytomas and suggest acceptable toxicity on normal tissue cells