The effect of predator activity, weather and habitat variation on activity patterns of rock and bush hyrax (Procavia capensis and Heterohyrax brucei) in a mountainous environment

The relationship between a predator and its prey is multifaceted and this study aims to expand one of the keystone concepts within predator prey interactions. The spatial and temporal changes in a prey animal’s behaviour when there is a perceived risk of predation. Hyrax, a small African mammal, plays an integral role in rocky habitats as a key food source for many predators. The purpose of this study was to test the impact of predation on hyrax using giving-up density (GUD) experiments to establish a landscape of fear. Due to the absence of interaction from the hyrax with the GUD experiments a camera trapping protocol was implemented to collect behavioural data on hyrax in the Soutpansberg Mountains in northern South Africa. The study aimed to test a number of conclusions made in the literature about hyrax including their classification as a diurnal species, the potential for nocturnal activity and the impact of predation on the diel cycle. Behavioural plasticity with respect to seasonal and environmental changes is also explored including the extent to which they display behavioural thermoregulation. Hyrax showed nocturnal activity with 8.4% of activity occurring within the dark hours of the 24-hour period but the level of predation pressure may be limiting the level of nocturnality. Hyraxes were also significantly impacted by environmental variables. Activity increased with temperature in all four seasons and rainfall had an immediate effect of reducing activity. It was shown that hyrax demonstrate site specific activity that is consistent over time but can vary within a location. This study is novel in its methods for studying hyrax and has presented new information on this understudied species that may have far reaching implications for future studies on hyrax and their predators

A comparison of packaging materials for wet biological evidence

When considering what packaging material is optimal for a piece of biological evidence there are two vital things to consider: degradation and contamination (1). Biological evidence collected from a crime scene is brought to the laboratory, however, immediate testing upon arrival is highly unlikely (2). Therefore, the packaging must be suitable for transportation as well as storage. During the storage phase, if improper packaging is utilized, degradation and/or contamination could occur. General forensic practice is to dry biological samples before packaging, then package the evidence in a paper (breathable) container. This study investigated the use of kraft stock envelopes, plastic bags, glassine envelopes, Tyvek envelopes, evidence/syringe tubes, knife pouches, and Cap-Shure® plastic swab caps to package wet blood and semen samples. The packaging materials were evaluated in a humidity study, degradation study, and transfer study to determine if the biological specimen would remain intact and contained within the packaging. In the humidity study, it was determined that the kraft paper, glassine paper, and Tyvek® allowed for the passage of moisture, enabling the enclosed sample to readily dry. The plastic bag, evidence tube, and knife pouch created a difference in relative humidity above 20%, thus increasing the ambient moisture concentration the samples were exposed to. In the degradation study, all samples were positive for their respective biological substance when tested with screening, presumptive, and confirmatory methods, however, bacteria were observed on samples that were packaged in plastic bags evidence tubes, and plastic caps. Additionally, only one sample, packaged in an evidence tube, yielded a DNA degradation index that implied degradation had occurred. The packaging materials were also tested to determine if the biological fluid would transfer through them, permitting cross-contamination. The kraft paper and one glassine paper did not provide a true barrier, as blood transferred through the envelopes onto a surrounding surface. The Tyvek®, knife pouch, and plastic bag all kept the wet blood contained within the package and no transfer to the surrounding surfaces occurred, although bloodstains on the interior of the Tyvek® and knife pouch could be visualized from the exterior. Overall, Tyvek® envelopes were determined to be an optimal packaging material for wet biological samples when compared to the other packaging materials used in this limited study due to their relative strength, ability to allow fluids to air dry and the lack of penetration of wet blood to the exterior surface

‘Playing it safe’ or ‘throwing caution to the wind’: Risk-taking and emotions in a mathematics classroom

This paper attends to teacher intellectual risk-taking when attached to expression of positive emotions, in order to explore some of the reasons why teacher risk-taking may not appear in mathematics lessons. We know that risk-taking can be beneficial, but research has not really examined what form this might take in a classroom. In recent research, I investigated how positive emotions are discussed and used by experienced mathematics teachers. In particular how to examine the ‘in-the-moment’ emotions of the teacher, and what the modelling of experienced teachers tells us about the role of affect in mathematics teaching. This paper examines some affect episodes for elements of teacher risk-taking. The evidence suggests that teacher risk-taking enables the use of emotions, and vice versa, is integral to ‘good’ teaching, and that, in Bandura’s Social Learning Theory terms, modelling such behaviours appears beneficial to student learning and should be encouraged

Conflict and Playmaking: The impact of a recess enhancement program on elementary school playgrounds in New York City

As time demands for schooling increase and children\u27s freedom to play is under threat, the question of how play during school recess can best be designed to serve children has grown in importance. This research examines whether a peer-training program can influence children\u27s activity choices and social behaviors and reduce conflict on elementary school playgrounds during recess and what aspects of such a peer-training program are important to this goal. Three general recess issues are considered: conflict, activity level and choice, and gender inclusion. The data was collected as part of a Recess Enhancement Program in a select group of 21 participating elementary schools in New York City in 2003 and 2004. The research questions focused on recess before and after the intervention, and how the program changed the dynamics of play in these schools. A mixed methods technique, including observations, interviews, focuses groups, and surveys were used. Over the course of a school year, conflict rates decreased, activity levels increased in some schools (and decreased in others), and gender inclusive play decreased. The selection of the Student Leaders was the most critical aspect of the recess program\u27s success, and high staff turnover provided challenges to its implementation. The dissertation concludes with a discussion of implications for how recess is planned and managed in schools and what kinds of further experimentation and research is required to address the physical, social, emotional, and cognitive aspects of play

Investigating the role of positive emotions in secondary mathematics classrooms: Observing play, modelling and storytelling practices of experienced teachers through an engagement structures and positioning theory perspective

Emotions are an important part of learning mathematics, but until recently have taken second place to cognitive processes within mathematics teaching and learning. Often students complain that they do not enjoy school mathematics, and adults report that they disliked mathematics at school. Yet successful students cite their teachers as a driving factor in choosing to study mathematics to a higher level. This study explores this and similar mismatches by investigating the existence and role of positive emotions in mathematics classrooms. I examine how teacher emotions ‘colour’ mathematics teaching, and how teachers actively share their emotional relationship with mathematics with students. To this end, I interviewed a sample of experienced UK mathematics teachers, observed lessons from their normal classroom practice, and used video stimulated post-observational discussion of episodes. I selected episodes by emotional expression in observed lessons in conjunction with evidence from a Galvanic Skin Resistance (GSR) sensor, used as an approximating indicator of internal emotions. In the analysis, I consider two models for examining affect. Engagement Structures (ES) was developed (Goldin, Epstein, Schorr and Warner, 2011) for researching student affect, and Positioning Theory (PT) (Harre and Langenhove, 1999), is used to examine the socially located detail of classroom discourse. I present episodes from classrooms through the lenses of ES and PT, and discuss their adaptation for mathematics teaching. I argue that teachers who build a positive emotional climate, defined as a climate supportive of positive engagement in learning mathematics, embed emotions within mathematics teaching in myriad unique and connective ways. In particular, teachers embed emotions by socially sharing their pleasure in mathematics, through play, by modelling enjoying engaging in mathematics, and through storytelling. Examining how experienced teachers use emotions within their teaching draws attention to where emotions might be used within teaching to the greatest effect and to some reasons why they might not be used

Design Thinking in Higher Education: Opportunities and Challenges for Decolonized Learning

This article builds upon current research to understand the value and limitations of teaching and learning design thinking (DT) in higher education. We implemented a mixed-methods study with faculty and students across 23 diverse courses in four higher education institutions in the United States. Findings showed that following structured learning processes, engaging in active listening, and focusing on others’ perspectives were the most valued DT practices across disciplines. In contrast, prototyping and experimentation were the least used DT practices, with widely varying understandings across disciplines. Additionally, we found consistent evidence that DT can support liberatory teaching and learning practices that decolonize students’ perceptions of power, encourage situated and action-oriented empathy, and provide opportunities for co-creation. This is particularly true when faculty intentionally encourage collaboration and project framing focused on critically analyzing dominant ways of knowing and power structures. Our analysis further revealed the challenges and importance of prototyping and conducting experiments with project partners. Ultimately, this approach can significantly enhance liberatory project outcomes and facilitate decolonized learning experiences. Given our findings, we point out limitations and challenges across current DT pedagogical practices and provide recommendations for integrating DT practices across disciplines in ways that center on issues of systemic oppression, social identity, and human-environmental relationships