Figurative language comprehension in individuals with autism spectrum disorder: A meta-analytic review

We present a meta-analysis of studies that compare figurative language comprehension in individuals with autism spectrum disorder and in typically developing controls who were matched based on chronological age or/and language ability. A total of 41 studies and 45 independent effect sizes were included based on predetermined inclusion criteria. Group matching strategy, age, types of figurative language, and cross-linguistic differences were examined as predictors that might explain heterogeneity in effect sizes. Overall, individuals with autism spectrum disorder showed poorer comprehension of figurative language than their typically developing peers (Hedges’ g = –0.57). A meta-regression analysis showed that group matching strategy and types of figurative language were significantly related to differences in effect sizes, whereas chronological age and cross-linguistic differences were not. Differences between the autism spectrum disorder and typically developing groups were small and nonsignificant when the groups were matched based on the language ability. Metaphors were more difficult to comprehend for individuals with autism spectrum disorder compared with typically developing controls than were irony and sarcasm. Our findings highlight the critical role of core language skills in figurative language comprehension. Interventions and educational programmes designed to improve social communication skills in individuals with autism spectrum disorder may beneficially target core language skills in addition to social skills

Teaching open and reproducible scholarship: A critical review of the evidence base for current pedagogical methods and their outcomes

In recent years, the scientific community has called for improvements in the credibility, robustness and reproducibility of research, characterized by increased interest and promotion of open and transparent research practices. While progress has been positive, there is a lack of consideration about how this approach can be embedded into undergraduate and postgraduate research training. Specifically, a critical overview of the literature which investigates how integrating open and reproducible science may influence student outcomes is needed. In this paper, we provide the first critical review of the literature surrounding the integration of open and reproducible scholarship into teaching and learning and its associated outcomes in students. Our review highlighted how embedding open and reproducible scholarship appears to be associated with (i) students’ scientific literacies (i.e. students’ understanding of open research, consumption of science, and the development of transferable skills); (ii) student engagement (i.e. motivation and engagement with learning, collaboration, and engagement in open research) and (iii) students’ attitudes towards science (i.e. trust in science and confidence in research findings). However, our review also identified a need for more robust and rigorous methods within pedagogical research, including more interventional and experimental evaluations of teaching practice. We discuss implications for teaching and learning scholarship.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An integrative framework for planning and conducting Non-Intervention, Reproducible, and Open Systematic Reviews (NIRO-SR)

Most of the commonly used and endorsed guidelines for systematic review protocols and reporting standards have been developed for intervention research. These excellent guidelines have been adopted as the gold-standard for systematic reviews as an evidence synthesis method. In the current paper, we highlight some issues that may arise from adopting these guidelines beyond intervention designs, including in basic behavioural, cognitive, experimental, and exploratory research. We have adapted and built upon the existing guidelines to establish a complementary, comprehensive, and accessible tool for designing, conducting, and reporting Non-Intervention, Reproducible, and Open Systematic Reviews (NIRO-SR). NIRO-SR is a checklist composed of two parts that provide itemised guidance on the preparation of a systematic review protocol for pre-registration (Part A) and reporting the review (Part B) in a reproducible and transparent manner. This paper, the tool, and an open repository (https://osf.io/f3brw/) provide a comprehensive resource for those who aim to conduct a high quality, reproducible, and transparent systematic review of non-intervention studies

Examining the generalizability of research findings from archival data

This initiative examined systematically the extent to which a large set of archival research findings generalizes across contexts. We repeated the key analyses for 29 original strategic management effects in the same context (direct reproduction) as well as in 52 novel time periods and geographies; 45% of the reproductions returned results matching the original reports together with 55% of tests in different spans of years and 40% of tests in novel geographies. Some original findings were associated with multiple new tests. Reproducibility was the best predictor of generalizability-for the findings that proved directly reproducible, 84% emerged in other available time periods and 57% emerged in other geographies. Overall, only limited empirical evidence emerged for context sensitivity. In a forecasting survey, independent scientists were able to anticipate which effects would find support in tests in new samples

Examining the generalizability of research findings from archival data

This initiative examined systematically the extent to which a large set of archival research findings generalizes across contexts. We repeated the key analyses for 29 original strategic management effects in the same context (direct reproduction) as well as in 52 novel time periods and geographies; 45% of the reproductions returned results matching the original reports together with 55% of tests in different spans of years and 40% of tests in novel geographies. Some original findings were associated with multiple new tests. Reproducibility was the best predictor of generalizability—for the findings that proved directly reproducible, 84% emerged in other available time periods and 57% emerged in other geographies. Overall, only limited empirical evidence emerged for context sensitivity. In a forecasting survey, independent scientists were able to anticipate which effects would find support in tests in new samples

Teaching open and reproducible scholarship: a critical review of the evidence base for current pedagogical methods and their outcomes.

YesIn recent years, the scientific community has called for improvements in the credibility, robustness and reproducibility of research, characterized by increased interest and promotion of open and transparent research practices. While progress has been positive, there is a lack of consideration about how this approach can be embedded into undergraduate and postgraduate research training. Specifically, a critical overview of the literature which investigates how integrating open and reproducible science may influence student outcomes is needed. In this paper, we provide the first critical review of literature surrounding the integration of open and reproducible scholarship into teaching and learning and its associated outcomes in students. Our review highlighted how embedding open and reproducible scholarship appears to be associated with (i) students' scientific literacies (i.e. students' understanding of open research, consumption of science and the development of transferable skills); (ii) student engagement (i.e. motivation and engagement with learning, collaboration and engagement in open research) and (iii) students' attitudes towards science (i.e. trust in science and confidence in research findings). However, our review also identified a need for more robust and rigorous methods within pedagogical research, including more interventional and experimental evaluations of teaching practice. We discuss implications for teaching and learning scholarship.UKRI/ESRC rapid call grant, ealth Research Board Applying Researchinto Policy and Practice Fellowship, John Templeton Foundation (grant ID: 62631), Northern Ireland Department for the Economy Research Studentshi

A community-sourced glossary of open scholarship terms

Supplementary Information: This list of terms represents the ‘Open Scholarship Glossary 1.0’ (available at: https://forrt.org/glossary/. Glossary available under a CC BY NC SA 4.0 license at: https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41562-021-01269-4/MediaObjects/41562_2021_1269_MOESM1_ESM.pdf).https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1038%2Fs41562-021-01269-4/MediaObjects/41562_2021_1269_MOESM1_ESM.pd

X-ray detectors for NDE applications

A tremendous development in the field of imaging radiation detectors has taken place in the last decade. Conventional X-ray film has been replaced by digital X-ray imaging systems in a no. of ways. Such systems mainly consist of silicon charge coupled devices (CCDs) where incident photons create electron-hole pairs in the thin silicon absorption layer near the surface. In contrast to visible light, which is absorbed within a 2 micro m layer of silicon, the penetration of X-ray is much deeper due to higher photon energy. This disadvantage is often circumvented by the use of a scintillator absorption layer. Due to scattering of the low energy fluorescence photons, resoln. and contrast of the X-ray images decrease. In order to eliminate these disadvantages, hybrid detectors consisting of direct converting semiconductors and readout electronics parts are fabricated. For this configuration, it is advantageous that both parts can be optimized sep. and different materials can be used. Because of the well developed technol., the readout chip is fabricated out of silicon. As absorbing material, silicon is less suitable. In a silicon substrate of 500 micro m thickness, only 15% of a 30 keV radiation is absorbed and converted into charges. In order to increase the absorption, materials with a higher at. mass have to be used. Several compd. semiconductors can be used for this purpose. One of them is GaAs, which is available as high quality semi-insulating wafer material. For detector optimization, GaAs wafers from several manufacturers with different properties were investigated. Test structures with Schottky and PIN diodes were fabricated. The I/V curves of the diodes, the spectral response from 5 up to 150 keV, the carrier concn., and the carrier mobility were measured and compared. A survey of the results and the criteria for material selection resulting from these measurements will be provided in the paper