Learning behaviour and learning outcomes : the roles for social influence and field of study

Research has demonstrated a significant role of discipline social identification in predicting learning approaches, even controlling for individual differences. Smyth et al. (Educ Psychol 35(1):53–72, 2015. doi:10.1080/01443410.2013.822962) suggest that learners share discipline-based social identifications, and that this identification, in combination with relevant norms, influences the adoption of learning approaches. The current paper extends this analysis in two directions. First, the effect of broad field of study is examined for systematic differences across content domains. Secondly, the model examines effects on student perceptions of teaching quality and intentions to continue within a discipline. Results provide support for Smyth et al.’s (2015) model, demonstrating links between discipline identification, perceived norms, learning approaches and outcomes. Strongly identified students, students who perceived deep learning norms and students taking a deep learning approach all reported more positive outcomes. Disciplinary variations in responses to learning approaches and outcomes were also found, broadly in line with that found in the Biglan–Becher literature.PostprintPeer reviewe

Social identification and academic performance : integrating two existing models of tertiary student learning

Recent research has mapped the ways social identification and normative influence affect students’ self-reported learning approaches and course experience, and also, the ways in which social identification and learning approach impact directly on grades. However, there is not yet evidence for a model incorporating both these processes. The current paper aims to address this in a dataset drawn from a range of courses and disciplines at a mid-size Australian university. The data capture student demographics, social identification with the field of study, perceived learning norms and learning approaches, and examine how these map onto end of semester academic outcomes. Findings indicate support for the Bliuc (2011a) identification-to-grade, through learning approach model. Further, we find support for the Smyth (2015, 2017) identification-by-norm moderation model of predicting learning approaches. Added to which, we find support for a combined moderated mediation model, where the identification-norm interaction moderates the indirect effect of identification predicting grades through learning approach. Implications for course design are discussed.PostprintPeer reviewe

Decline in an Atlantic Puffin population : evaluation of magnitude and mechanisms

Funding: This study was funded annually by Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust (www.fairislebirdobs.co.uk) with contributions from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (jncc.defra.gov.uk). Funding was received from these two sources by Fair Isle Bird Observatory from 1986 to 2013. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee and Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust supplied guidance on study design, data collection, analyses, preparation of the manuscript and the decision to publish.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

A Simple Approach for State-Action Abstraction using a Learned MDP Homomorphism

Animals are able to rapidly infer from limited experience when sets of state action pairs have equivalent reward and transition dynamics. On the other hand, modern reinforcement learning systems must painstakingly learn through trial and error that sets of state action pairs are value equivalent -- requiring an often prohibitively large amount of samples from their environment. MDP homomorphisms have been proposed that reduce the observed MDP of an environment to an abstract MDP, which can enable more sample efficient policy learning. Consequently, impressive improvements in sample efficiency have been achieved when a suitable MDP homomorphism can be constructed a priori -- usually by exploiting a practioner's knowledge of environment symmetries. We propose a novel approach to constructing a homomorphism in discrete action spaces, which uses a partial model of environment dynamics to infer which state action pairs lead to the same state -- reducing the size of the state-action space by a factor equal to the cardinality of the action space. We call this method equivalent effect abstraction. In a gridworld setting, we demonstrate empirically that equivalent effect abstraction can improve sample efficiency in a model-free setting and planning efficiency for modelbased approaches. Furthermore, we show on cartpole that our approach outperforms an existing method for learning homomorphisms, while using 33x less training data.Comment: Previously Presented at the Multi-disciplinary Conference on Reinforcement Learning and Decision Making (RLDM) 202

Sinistral shear during Middle Jurassic emplacement of the Matancilla Plutonic Complex in northern Chile (25.4\u3csup\u3e◦\u3c/sup\u3e S) as evidence of oblique plate convergence during the early Andean orogeny

Arc magmatism in a continental subduction zone facilitates rheological weakening of the rigid upper plate, and can accommodate the partitioned trench-parallel component of oblique subduction into an intra-arc shear zone. We document a shear zone at latitude 25.4◦ S near Taltal, Chile that was associated with intrusion of the Matancilla Plutonic Complex at ~169 Ma to evaluate intra-arc deformation and possible tectonic plate configurations during this time period. Polyphase folding of Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks is overprinted by mylonitic fabrics that are most extensive in a zone up to 1.4 km wide in the thermal aureole of the granodioritic Matancilla pluton, where contact metamorphic andalusite porphyroblasts are synkinematic with fabric development. Mylonite in metasedimentary rocks is overprinted by a ~130 Ma granodiorite (zircon U–Pb) and by ~133 Ma postkinematic monazite (U–Pb). Within the Jurassic Matancilla granodiorite, pervasive ductile shear occurs along the intrusive contact while centimeter-scale discrete high-strain zones throughout the pluton are associated with focused hydrothermal alteration and reaction weakening. Mylonitic foliation in the metasedimentary rocks and within the pluton strikes N- to NE and dips steeply, while stretching lineations are subhorizontal on average. Kinematic indicators record dominantly sinistral shear, though some dextral or symmetric indicators and S \u3e L fabrics suggest a component of coaxial strain and flattening. Sinistral strike-slip kinematics in the Matancilla shear zone may indicate that Middle Jurassic convergence had sinistral obliquity that was locally partitioned into the contemporaneous magmatic arc. Sinistral-oblique convergence would require the Phoenix- Farallon spreading center to be north of ~25◦ S in the Middle Jurassic, providing a constraint to plate reconstructions during the early Andean orogeny

Effects of sea temperature and stratification changes on seabird breeding success

As apex predators in marine ecosystems, seabirds may primarily experience climate change impacts indirectly, via changes to their food webs. Observed seabird population declines have been linked to climate-driven oceanographic and food web changes. However, relationships have often been derived from relatively few colonies and consider only sea surface temperature (SST), so important drivers, and spatial variation in drivers, could remain undetected. Further, explicit climate change projections have rarely been made, so longer-term risks remain unclear. Here, we use tracking data to estimate foraging areas for eleven black-legged kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla) colonies in the UK and Ireland, thus reducing reliance on single colonies and allowing calculation of colony-specific oceanographic conditions. We use mixed models to consider how SST, the potential energy anomaly (indicating density stratification strength) and the timing of seasonal stratification influence kittiwake productivity. Across all colonies, higher breeding success was associated with weaker stratification before breeding and lower SSTs during the breeding season. Eight colonies with sufficient data were modelled individually: higher productivity was associated with later stratification at three colonies, weaker stratification at two, and lower SSTs at one, whilst two colonies showed no significant relationships. Hence, key drivers of productivity varied among colonies. Climate change projections, made using fitted models, indicated that breeding success could decline by 21 – 43% between 1961-90 and 2070-99. Climate change therefore poses a longer-term threat to kittiwakes, but as this will be mediated via availability of key prey species, other marine apex predators could also face similar threats

Genetic interaction mapping informs integrative structure determination of protein complexes

Determining structures of protein complexes is crucial for understanding cellular functions. Here, we describe an integrative structure determination approach that relies on in vivo measurements of genetic interactions. We construct phenotypic profiles for point mutations crossed against gene deletions or exposed to environmental perturbations, followed by converting similarities between two profiles into an upper bound on the distance between the mutated residues. We determine the structure of the yeast histone H3-H4 complex based on similar to 500,000 genetic interactions of 350 mutants. We then apply the method to subunits Rpb1-Rpb2 of yeast RNA polymerase II and subunits RpoB-RpoC of bacterial RNA polymerase. The accuracy is comparable to that based on chemical cross-links; using restraints from both genetic interactions and cross-links further improves model accuracy and precision. The approach provides an efficient means to augment integrative structure determination with in vivo observations

Model simulations of the Bay of Fundy Gyre : 1. Climatological results

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2008. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 113 (2008): C10027, doi:10.1029/2007JC004480.The characteristics of a persistent gyre in the mouth of the Bay of Fundy are studied using model simulations. A set of climatological runs are conducted to evaluate the relative importance of the different forcing mechanisms affecting the gyre. The main mechanisms are tidal rectification and density-driven circulation. Stronger circulation of the gyre occurs during the later part of the stratified season (July–August and September–October). The density-driven flow around the gyre is set up by weak tidal mixing in the deep basin in the central Bay of Fundy and strong tidal mixing on the shallow flanks around Grand Manan Island and western Nova Scotia. Spring river discharge has an important influence on near-surface circulation but only a small effect when averaged over the entire water column. Retention of particles in the gyre is controlled by the residual tidal circulation, increased frontal retention during stratified periods, wind stress, and interactions with the adjacent circulation of the Gulf of Maine. Residence times longer than 30 days are predicted for particles released in the proximity of the gyre.The preparation of this paper was supported by NSF grant OCE-0430724 and NIEHS grant 1P50-ES01274201 (Woods Hole Center for Oceans and Human Health) and NOAA grant NA06NOS4780245 (GOMTOX). Additional support was provided by NSF grant DMS-0417769