Optically stimulated luminescence dating as a geochronological tool for late quaternary sediments in the Red Sea region

This chapter concerns the use of luminescence methods as geochronological tools for dating Late Quaternary sediments in the Red Sea region. The dating methods all use stimulated luminescence to register signals developed in mineral systems in response to long term exposure to ionising radiation in the environment. The principles of luminescence dating are outlined followed by discussion of its application to the Arabian Peninsula, where, particularly in SE Arabia and parts of the interior, a growing corpus of work is emerging, which is helping to define past arid or humid periods of importance to palaeoclimatology and to archaeology. Turning to the Red Sea, studies conducted within the DISPERSE project are presented both in marine and terrestrial settings. The motivation for much of this work concerns definition of the environmental conditions and chronologies for hominin and human dispersion through Arabia. Data are presented which identify, for the first time, late Pleistocene evidence on the inner continental shelf near the Farasan Islands, using material from the 2013 cruise of RV AEGAEO . Results are also presented from the littoral fringe of southwest Saudi Arabia, identifying units associated with MIS5 which have palaeo-environmental and archaeological significance. It is to be hoped that further research in coming decades will continue to extend the regional chronology for the littoral fringe of the Red Sea. In this respect luminescence dating has potential to help define the environmental history of this important area, to assist with assigning marine and terrestrial features into unique stages of Quaternary climate cycles, and to promote better understanding of human-environment interactions in this dynamic area

The shortened study process questionnaire: an investigation of its structure and longitudinal stability using confirmatory factor analysis

Background. The Study Process Questionnaire (SPQ) is a widely used measure of learning approach and was proposed to have three orientations: surface, deep, and achieving, each with an underlying motive and strategy. Aims. This study aimed to examine the factor structure and longitudinal stability over five to seven years of a modified shortened 18-item version of the SPQ. Samples. A total of 1349 medical students completed the shortened SPQ at application and in their final year of medical school. Three additional cohorts of students completed the shortened SPQ during their third and fourth year of medical school (sample size: 194, 203, 174). Method. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the dimensionality and longitudinal stability of the shortened SPQ. Results. Like the full 42-item version, the shortened SPQ has six subscales and the data are best fit by three second order shared indicator factors (surface, deep and achieving) and a single higher order composite deep-achieving factor. The longitudinal analysis found 26.8 % , 26.3 % , and 18.7 % of the non-attenuated variance of the surface, deep and achieving factor scores in the final year is predicted from the shortened SPQ completed at application to medical school. Conclusions. The shortened 18-item SPQ has the same six subscales as the full SPQ as well as three second order shared indicator factors (surface, deep, achieving) and one higher order deep-achieving factor similar to that suggested by Biggs (1987). The longitudinal analysis supports this hypothesis and suggests that these learning approaches are partly stable during medical school undergraduate training and partly modifiable under the influence of the educational environment