Foreword: The International Law Legacy of the Obama Administration

An introduction is presented in which editor discusses various articles within the issue based on the legacy of U.S. President Barack Obama\u27s administration on right to use force in self-defense against non-state actors, foreign policy accomplishments in the Middle East and climate change

Foreword: The International Law Legacy of the Obama Administration

An introduction is presented in which editor discusses various articles within the issue based on the legacy of U.S. President Barack Obama\u27s administration on right to use force in self-defense against non-state actors, foreign policy accomplishments in the Middle East and climate change

Teachers, Testing, and the Governor

In the name of reform, Colorado Gov. Bill Owens has narrowed the evaluation of teachers to how their students perform on standardized tests. This simplistic approach ignores the complex, even cumbersome, nature of good teaching, and will make schools worse while destroying the passion that fuels good teaching, and draws good teachers

Relação entre Medidas Subjetivas de Consciência Metacognitiva e viés implícito entre estudantes universitários dos Estados Unidos

Objective. e purpose of the present study was to explore the relation between subjective measures of metacognitive awarenessand implicit bias, and to investigate whether metacognition is a viable pathway to meet the two objectives. Method. A sampleof U.S. undergraduate students (N = 117) completed self-report measures of implicit bias (Situational Attitude Scale) andmetacognitive awareness (Metacognitive Awareness Inventory). Correlational analyses, Pearson’s r coefficients, and a hierarchicallinear regression analysis were conducted to address the research objectives. Results. Findings revealed that implicit bias andmetacognitive awareness were related, and that conditional knowledge, comprehension monitoring, information management,debugging, and evaluation led to decrements in negatively charged implicit bias. Conclusion. Evidently, metacognition is a viablepathway for raising awareness of one’s implicit biases and subsequently mitigating them through the development of tailorededucational interventions.Objetivo. El propósito del presenteestudio fueexplorarlarelación entrelas medidas subjetivas deconciencia metacognitiva y sesgoimplícito e investigar si la metacognición es una vía viable para cumplir los dos objetivos. Método. Una muestra de estudiantesde pregrado de EE. UU. (N = 117) completaron medidas de autoinforme de sesgo implícito (Escala de Actitud Situacional) yconcienciametacognitiva(Inventario deConcienciaMetacognitiva). Serealizaron análisiscorrelacionales,coecientesr de Pearsony un análisis de regresión lineal jerárquica para abordar los objetivos de la investigación. Resultados. Los hallazgos revelaronque el sesgo implícito y la conciencia metacognitiva estaban relacionados y que el conocimiento condicional, el monitoreo de lacomprensión, la gestión delainformación, la depuración y laevaluación condujeron a disminucionesen elsesgo implícito con carganegativa. Conclusión. Evidentemente, la metacognición es una vía viable para crear conciencia sobre los sesgos implícitos de unoy, posteriormente, mitigarlos mediante el desarrollo de intervenciones educativas personalizadas.Escopo. O objetivo do presente estudo foi explorar a relação entre as medidas subjetivas de consciência metacognitiva e viésimplícito, e pesquisar se a metacognição é um caminho viável para atingir os dois objetivos. Método. Uma amostra de estudantesde graduação dos EUA (N = 117) completou medidas de auto relatório de viés implícito (Escada de Atitude Situacional) econsciência metacognitiva (Inventário de Consciência Metacognitiva). Foram realizadas análises correlacionais, coecientes r dePearson e análise de regressão linear hierárquica para atender aos objetivos da pesquisa. Resultados. Os resultados revelaramque o viés implícito e a consciência metacognitiva estavam relacionados e que o conhecimento condicional, o monitoramentoda compreensão, o gerenciamento da informação, a depuração e a avaliação levaram a diminuições no viés implícito de carganegativa. Conclusão. Evidentemente, a metacognição é um caminho viável para criar conscientização sobre os vieses implícitos e,posteriormente, mitigá-los por meio do desenvolvimento de intervenções educacionais personalizadas

Self-Affirmation Improves Problem-Solving under Stress

High levels of acute and chronic stress are known to impair problem-solving and creativity on a broad range of tasks. Despite this evidence, we know little about protective factors for mitigating the deleterious effects of stress on problem-solving. Building on previous research showing that self-affirmation can buffer stress, we tested whether an experimental manipulation of self-affirmation improves problem-solving performance in chronically stressed participants. Eighty undergraduates indicated their perceived chronic stress over the previous month and were randomly assigned to either a self-affirmation or control condition. They then completed 30 difficult remote associate problem-solving items under time pressure in front of an evaluator. Results showed that self-affirmation improved problem-solving performance in underperforming chronically stressed individuals. This research suggests a novel means for boosting problem-solving under stress and may have important implications for understanding how self-affirmation boosts academic achievement in school settings. © 2013 Creswell et al

Transforming teacher education, an activity theory analysis

This paper explores the work of teacher education in England and Scotland. It seeks to locate this work within conflicting socio-cultural views of professional practice and academic work. Drawing on an activity theory framework that integrates the analysis of these contradictory discourses with a study of teacher educators’ practical activities, including the material artefacts that mediate the work, the paper offers a critical perspective on the social organisation of university-based teacher education. Informed by Engeström’s activity theory concept of transformation, the paper extends the discussion of contradictions in teacher education to consider the wider socio-cultural relations of the work. The findings raise important questions about the way in which teacher education work within universities is organised and the division of labour between schools and universities

The interaction of lean and building information modeling in construction

Lean construction and Building Information Modeling are quite different initiatives, but both are having profound impacts on the construction industry. A rigorous analysis of the myriad specific interactions between them indicates that a synergy exists which, if properly understood in theoretical terms, can be exploited to improve construction processes beyond the degree to which it might be improved by application of either of these paradigms independently. Using a matrix that juxtaposes BIM functionalities with prescriptive lean construction principles, fifty-six interactions have been identified, all but four of which represent constructive interaction. Although evidence for the majority of these has been found, the matrix is not considered complete, but rather a framework for research to explore the degree of validity of the interactions. Construction executives, managers, designers and developers of IT systems for construction can also benefit from the framework as an aid to recognizing the potential synergies when planning their lean and BIM adoption strategies