WHEN WRITING THE ASSESSMENT BECOMES THE ASSESSMENT

Some of the most sophisticated demonstrations of deep student understanding are the creation and evaluation of information, tasks that require developed cognitive and metacognitive skills (Herscovitz, Kaberman, Saar & Dori, 2012; Kay, Hardy & Galloway, 2020). In an approach to construct a deeper, more authentic assessment and challenge students to consider the wider context of theory, we designed an iterative assessment process in a first-year undergraduate chemistry course. Students authored practice questions and marking guides and provided and used peer feedback to improve these questions. An online, collaborative question-writing application, StudentQuiz, was used to facilitate the implementation of these activities in a HyFlex course. Working within a constructivist framework, students’ draft and final questions, as well as guided reflections on the assessment process, were collected and thematically analysed using grounded theory to investigate: 1) The level of sophistication to which students were able to formulate and critique chemical questions. 2) How students think about their learning during the question-writing process. 3) How students format feedback on other students’ questions and how this impacts their reflections on their own attempts. Emerging themes from this analysis will be presented with a focus on significant features of the artefacts produced and students’ metacognitive experience of formulating questions. REFERENCES Herscovitz, O., Kaberman, Z., Saar, L. & Dori, Y. J. (2012). The relationship between metacognition and the ability to pose questions in chemical education. In Zohar, A. & Dori, Y. J. (Eds.), Metacognition in Science Education: Trends in Current Research (pp. 165-195). Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. Kay, A. E., Hardy, J., & Galloway, R. K. (2020). Student use of PeerWise: A multi-institutional, multidisciplinary evaluation. British Journal of Educational Technology, 51(1), 23-35

Evaluation of children's centres in England: strand 2 - baseline survey of families using children's centres in the most disadvantaged areas

This is the final version of the report. Available from the Department for Education via the link in this recorThe evaluation of children’s centres in England is a large scale, six year study that looks at Sure Start children’s centres (SSCCs) in the most disadvantaged areas of England. These are centres that were set up in the first two phases of the programme. The evaluation, from a survey of families who were using children’s centres when their child was 9- to 18-months-old, will provide a very detailed picture of children’s centre services. This includes how effective they are when they use different approaches in their management and when delivering services and activities for parents and children. It also looks at the cost of delivering different types of services

First shark from the late Devonian (Frasnian) gogo formation, Western Australia sheds new light on the development of tessellated calcified cartilage

Background: Living gnathostomes (jawed vertebrates) comprise two divisions, Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fishes, including euchondrichthyans with prismatic calcified cartilage, and extinct stem chondrichthyans) and Osteichthyes (bony fishes including tetrapods). Most of the early chondrichthyan (‘shark’) record is based upon isolated teeth, spines, and scales, with the oldest articulated sharks that exhibit major diagnostic characters of the group—prismatic calcified cartilage and pelvic claspers in males—being from the latest Devonian, c. 360 Mya. This paucity of information about early chondrichthyan anatomy is mainly due to their lack of endoskeletal bone and consequent low preservation potential. Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we present new data from the first well-preserved chondrichthyan fossil from the early Late Devonian (ca. 380–384 Mya) Gogo Formation Lägerstatte of Western Australia. The specimen is the first Devonian shark body fossil to be acid-prepared, revealing the endoskeletal elements as three-dimensional undistorted units: Meckel’s cartilages, nasal, ceratohyal, basibranchial and possible epibranchial cartilages, plus left and right scapulocoracoids, as well as teeth and scales. This unique specimen is assigned to Gogoselachus lynnbeazleyae n. gen. n. sp.Conclusions/Significance: The Meckel’s cartilages show a jaw articulation surface dominated by an expansive cotylus, and a small mandibular knob, an unusual condition for chondrichthyans. The scapulocoracoid of the new specimen shows evidence of two pectoral fin basal articulation facets, differing from the standard condition for early gnathostomes which have either one or three articulations. The tooth structure is intermediate between the ‘primitive’ ctenacanthiform and symmoriiform condition, and more derived forms with a euselachian-type base. Of special interest is the highly distinctive type of calcified cartilage forming the endoskeleton, comprising multiple layers of nonprismatic subpolygonal tesserae separated by a cellular matrix, interpreted as a transitional step toward the tessellated prismatic calcified cartilage that is recognized as the main diagnostic character of the chondrichthyans

Body odor quality predicts behavioral attractiveness in humans

Growing effort is being made to understand how different attractive physical traits co-vary within individuals, partly because this might indicate an underlying index of genetic quality. In humans, attention has focused on potential markers of quality such as facial attractiveness, axillary odor quality, the second-to-fourth digit (2D:4D) ratio and body mass index (BMI). Here we extend this approach to include visually-assessed kinesic cues (nonverbal behavior linked to movement) which are statistically independent of structural physical traits. The utility of such kinesic cues in mate assessment is controversial, particularly during everyday conversational contexts, as they could be unreliable and susceptible to deception. However, we show here that the attractiveness of nonverbal behavior, in 20 male participants, is predicted by perceived quality of their axillary body odor. This finding indicates covariation between two desirable traits in different sensory modalities. Depending on two different rating contexts (either a simple attractiveness rating or a rating for long-term partners by 10 female raters not using hormonal contraception), we also found significant relationships between perceived attractiveness of nonverbal behavior and BMI, and between axillary odor ratings and 2D:4D ratio. Axillary odor pleasantness was the single attribute that consistently predicted attractiveness of nonverbal behavior. Our results demonstrate that nonverbal kinesic cues could reliably reveal mate quality, at least in males, and could corroborate and contribute to mate assessment based on other physical traits

A symmoriiform chondrichthyan braincase and the origin of chimaeroid fishes

Chimaeroid fishes (Holocephali) are one of the four principal divisions of modern gnathostomes (jawed vertebrates). Despite only 47 described living species1, chimaeroids are the focus of resurgent interest as potential archives of genomic data2 and for the unique perspective they provide on chondrichthyan and gnathostome ancestral conditions. Chimaeroids are also noteworthy for their highly derived body plan1,3,4. However, like other living groups with distinctive anatomies5, fossils have been of limited use in unravelling their evolutionary origin, as the earliest recognized examples already exhibit many of the specializations present in modern forms6,7. Here we report the results of a computed tomography analysis of Dwykaselachus, an enigmatic chondrichthyan braincase from the ~280 million year old Karoo sediments of South Africa8. Externally, the braincase is that of a symmoriid shark9,10,11,12,13and is by far the most complete uncrushed example yet discovered. Internally, the morphology exhibits otherwise characteristically chimaeroid specializations, including the otic labyrinth arrangement and the brain space configuration relative to exceptionally large orbits. These results have important implications for our view of modern chondrichthyan origins, add robust structure to the phylogeny of early crown group gnathostomes, reveal preconditions that suggest an initial morpho-functional basis for the derived chimaeroid cranium, and shed new light on the chondrichthyan response to the extinction at the end of the Devonian period

A study of general practitioners' perspectives on electronic medical records systems in NHS Scotland

<b>Background</b> Primary care doctors in NHSScotland have been using electronic medical records within their practices routinely for many years. The Scottish Health Executive eHealth strategy (2008-2011) has recently brought radical changes to the primary care computing landscape in Scotland: an information system (GPASS) which was provided free-of-charge by NHSScotland to a majority of GP practices has now been replaced by systems provided by two approved commercial providers. The transition to new electronic medical records had to be completed nationally across all health-boards by March 2012. <p></p><b> Methods</b> We carried out 25 in-depth semi-structured interviews with primary care doctors to elucidate GPs' perspectives on their practice information systems and collect more general information on management processes in the patient surgical pathway in NHSScotland. We undertook a thematic analysis of interviewees' responses, using Normalisation Process Theory as the underpinning conceptual framework. <p></p> <b>Results</b> The majority of GPs' interviewed considered that electronic medical records are an integral and essential element of their work during the consultation, playing a key role in facilitating integrated and continuity of care for patients and making clinical information more accessible. However, GPs expressed a number of reservations about various system functionalities - for example: in relation to usability, system navigation and information visualisation. <b>Conclusion </b>Our study highlights that while electronic information systems are perceived as having important benefits, there remains substantial scope to improve GPs' interaction and overall satisfaction with these systems. Iterative user-centred improvements combined with additional training in the use of technology would promote an increased understanding, familiarity and command of the range of functionalities of electronic medical records among primary care doctors

Evolutionary pathways toward gigantism in sharks and rays

Through elasmobranch (sharks and rays) evolutionary history, gigantism evolved multiple times in phylogenetically distant species, some of which are now extinct. Interestingly, the world's largest elasmobranchs display two specializations found never to overlap: filter feeding and mesothermy. The contrasting lifestyles of elasmobranch giants provide an ideal case study to elucidate the evolutionary pathways leading to gigantism in the oceans. Here, we applied a phylogenetic approach to a global dataset of 459 taxa to study the evolution of elasmobranch gigantism. We found that filter feeders and mesotherms deviate from general relationships between trophic level and body size, and exhibit significantly larger sizes than ectothermic‐macropredators. We confirm that filter feeding arose multiple times during the Paleogene, and suggest the possibility of a single origin of mesothermy in the Cretaceous. Together, our results elucidate two main evolutionary pathways that enable gigantism: mesothermic and filter feeding. These pathways were followed by ancestrally large clades and facilitated extreme sizes through specializations for enhancing prey intake. Although a negligible percentage of ectothermic‐macropredators reach gigantic sizes, these species lack such specializations and are correspondingly constrained to the lower limits of gigantism. Importantly, the very adaptive strategies that enabled the evolution of the largest sharks can also confer high extinction susceptibility

Talking about links between sexually transmitted infections and infertility with college and university students from SE England, UK: a qualitative study

Background Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea are largely symptomless diseases which, left untreated, can result in serious complications including infertility. Fertility problems currently affect approximately one in seven couples in the UK and there is increasing demand for couples seeking reproductive technologies. Young people are at greatest risk of contracting STIs, therefore this study aimed to identify young people’s knowledge and beliefs about the link between untreated STIs and infertility. Methods Focus groups were conducted with participants aged 16–24 years old inclusive in college or university settings in the SE of England. Groups were quota sampled on the basis of age and gender. A topic guide was used. The data were analysed using a framework analysis approach. Results Ten single-sex focus groups were conducted with sixty participants: six groups of college students and four groups of university students. Participants were generally aware of the link between STIs and potential infertility and considered the discussion of this subject very relevant at their age. Knowledge about how and why STIs potentially lead to fertility complications was poor. The issues of blame relating to infertility following an STI emerged, although most participants did not think that access to free reproductive technologies after an untreated STI should be limited. Conclusions Young people would benefit from more education in order to improve their understanding of the long-term consequences of untreated STIs, such as infertility. Participants in our sample felt these were extremely relevant and important issues for them to understand alongside current education about STIs

Comparison of aircraft-derived observations with in situ research aircraft measurements

Mode Selective Enhanced Surveillance (Mode-S EHS) reports are aircraft-based observations that have value in numerical weather prediction (NWP). These reports contain the aircraft's state vector in terms of its speed, direction, altitude and Mach number. Using the state vector, meteorological observations of temperature and horizontal wind can be derived. However, Mode-S EHS processing reduces the precision of the state vector from 16-bit to 10-bit binary representation. We use full precision data from research grade instruments, on-board the United Kingdom's Facility for Atmospheric Airborne Measurements, to emulate Mode-S EHS reports and to compare with derived observations. We aim to understand the observation errors due to the reduced precision of Mode-S EHS reports. We derive error models to estimate these observation errors. The temperature error increases from 1.25 K to 2.5 K between an altitude of 10 km and the surface due to its dependency on Mach number and also Mode-S EHS precision. For the cases studied, the zonal wind error is around 0.50 ms− 1 and the meridional wind error is 0.25 ms− 1. The wind is also subject to systematic errors that are directionally dependent. We conclude that Mode-S EHS derived horizontal winds are suitable for data assimilation in high-resolution NWP. Temperature reports may be usable when aggregated from multiple aircraft. While these reduced precision, high frequency data provide useful, albeit noisy, observations; direct reports of the higher precision data would be preferable

Streptococcus agalactiae in adults at chiang mai university hospital: a retrospective study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Infection caused by <it>Streptococcus agalactiae</it>, a Group B streptococcus, is an emerging disease in non-pregnant adults. This study describes the epidemiological, clinical, and microbiological characteristics of <it>S. agalactiae </it>infection in adult patients in northern Thailand.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A retrospective study was conducted between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2009 at Chiang Mai University Hospital among patients aged ≥15 years, whose clinical specimens obtained from normally sterile sites grew <it>S. agalactiae</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>One-hundred and eighty-six patients and 197 specimens were identified during the 4-year period. Among 186 patients, 82 were documented as having invasive infection; 42 patients were male (51.2%) with the mean age of 48.5 ± 19.4 years (range 17, 83). Fifty-three patients (64.6%) had underlying medical conditions; 17 patients (20.7%), 10 (12.2%), 8 (9.7%) had diabetes, chronic renal diseases, and malignancy, respectively. Among 40 patients (48.8%) with bloodstream infection, no other site of infection was determined in 29 (35.4%) patients. In the remaining 11 patients, 5 patients (6.1%), 5 (6.1%), and 1 (1.2%) had meningitis, arthritis, and meningitis with arthritis, respectively. Forty-two patients (51.2%) presented with localized infection, i.e., subcutaneous abscess (19 patients, 23.2%), chorioamnionitis (10 patients, 12.2%), urinary tract infection (5 patients, 6.1%), arthritis (3 patients, 3.7%), meningitis (2 patients, 2.4%), and spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, uveitis, and tracheobronchitis (1 patient each, 1.2%). The overall mortality was 14.6% (12 patients).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>S. agalactiae </it>infection is a growing problem in non-pregnant patients, particularly in those with underlying medical conditions. Physicians should add <it>S. agalactiae </it>infection in the list of differential diagnoses in patients with meningitis and/or septicemia.</p