Bourdieu, networks, and movements: Using the concepts of habitus, field and capital to understand a network analysis of gender differences in undergraduate physics

Current trends suggest that significant gender disparities exist within Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education at university, with female students being underrepresented in physics, but more equally represented in life sciences (e.g., biology, medicine). To understand these trends, it is important to consider the context in which students make decisions about which university courses to enrol in. The current study seeks to investigate gender differences in STEM through a unique approach that combines network analysis of student enrolment data with an interpretive lens based on the sociological theory of Pierre Bourdieu. We generate a network of courses taken by around 9000 undergraduate physics students (from 2009 to 2014) to quantify Bourdieu's concept of field. We explore the properties of this network to investigate gender differences in transverse movements (between different academic fields) and vertical movements (changes in students' achievement rankings within a field). Our findings indicate that female students are more likely to make transverse movements into life science fields. We also find that university physics does a poor job in attracting high achieving students, and especially high achieving female students. Of the students who do choose to study physics, low achieving female students are less likely to continue than their male counterparts. The results and implications are discussed in the context of Bourdieu's theory, and previous research. We argue that in order to remove constraints on female student's study choices, the field of physics needs to provide a culture in which all students feel like they belong.Comment: 23 pages, 6 figures, 1 tabl

Public procurement as a tool for the protection and promotion of human rights: a study of collaboration, due diligence and leverage in the electronics industry

This article explores the innovative use of public procurement as a tool to respect, protect and 8 promote human rights by capitalizing on the significant leverage that public buyers have over 9 corporate practices in their supply chain. It provides an analysis of Electronics Watch, an 10 organization that focuses on the role of states’ own procurement practices as central to the state duty to protect the human rights of those who are affected by its activities as an economic actor. Through the assessment of the Electronics Watch model this article argues that by bringing together the economic leverage of public buyers and corporate human rights due diligence, one can create transformative tools for the improvement of working conditions in global supply chains

Numerical Modeling of Flow and Water Quality in an Oxbow Lake in the Mississippi Delta

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchive

A Communitarian Approach to Constructing Accountability and Strategies for Sustainable Development

This paper explores some ideas for expanding the scope of corporate accountability and therebycontemporary practices in corporate social reporting (CSR). Contemporary CSR practices havebeen criticized for acting as a legitimizing device for profit-seeking entities possibly at the expenseof the community. A communitarian correction to CSR practices suggests that accountabilityto the community is necessary for any accounting aimed at sustainability. The interpretivemethodology adopted in this study starts with a set of ideas or “pre-understandings†drawnfrom extant literature on accountability and communitarian philosophy. These ideas provide atheoretical lens for examining and understanding the participation of the Taupo business, farmingand general community in formulating strategies for sustainable development.of the TaupoDistrict in New Zealand. Alternating between our pre-understanding and the empirical data, aprocess known as “fusion of horizons†(Gadamer, 1975) in philosophical hermeneutics, is ameans by which theories can be developed.. This interpretive study indicates that meaning ofaccountability can be extended beyond a narrow conventional sense portraying accountabilityas a process of providing an account. Accountability also involves other dimensions such asmoral responsibility, cooperative enquiry, information sharing, transparency and joint responsibility.From a communitarian perspective these dimensions of accountability emphasise thecentrality of community and communal values. Accountability for environmental and socialissues extends beyond the domain of corporations, and involves community participation. Copyright © www.iiste.or

Impacts of Agricultural Activities on Water Quality in Oxbow Lakes in the Mississippi Delta

Mini-Symposium: Modeling Methodology for Agricultural Researc

Simulation of Surface Runoff and Channel Flows Using a 2D Numerical Model

Numerical simulation of surface runoff is used to understand and predict watershed sediment transport and water quality and improve management of agricultural watersheds. However, models currently available are either simplified or parameterized for efficiency. In this chapter, CCHE2D, a physically based hydrodynamic model for general free surface flow hydrodynamics, was applied to study watershed surface runoff and channel flows. Multiple analytical solutions and experimental data were used to verify and validate this finite element model systematically with good results. A numerical scheme for correcting the bilinear interpolation of the water surface elevation solutions from the cell centers to the computational nodes was developed to improve the model. The correction was found necessary and effective for the sheet runoff simulations over the irregular bed topography. The modified numerical model was then used to simulate storms in a low-relief agricultural watershed in the Mississippi River alluvial plain. This physically based model identified the channel networks, watershed boundary automatically, and helped to develop rating curves at the gage station of this complex watershed. The numerical simulations resolved detailed runoff and turbulent channel flows, which can be used for soil erosion and gully development analyses

Sleep, Diet, and Physical Activity during COVID-19: Practitioners Should Be Aware of Considerable Individual Differences

Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) for prolonged periods of time is related to cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). Sleep quality (SQ) can be operationally defined from components, such as sleep efficiency and sleep-onset latency. Diet is operationally defined as the quantity and quality of nutrient intake. CRF, SQ, and diet are related to all-cause mortality. During the COVID-19 health crisis, non-pharmaceutical interventions (curfews, stay-at-home orders) disrupted people’s lifestyles, including sleep, diet, and physical activity (PA). PURPOSE: To analyze MVPA, diet, and SQ trends over time and variations in changes over time during COVID-19. METHODS: PA (in mins/week), diet (via REAP-S), and SQ (via PSQI) scores were collected every four weeks for a year from the sample (n = 134; Mage = 37.7, SD = 15.7; females = 103, 76.9%). We used a structural equation modeling framework to estimate growth models for each of the three variables. As such, the growth parameters were treated as latent variables. First, we examined the proportion of variability in the three sets of variables due to between-individual differences via the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Next, we estimated the growth parameters for each outcome variable. RESULTS: On average, PA, nutrition, and SQ did not change appreciably over the course of the year; however, there were between-individual differences. For MVPA, SQ, and nutrition, about 35%, 68%, and 61% of the variability (ICC) were, respectively, attributable to differences between individuals. PA was standardized prior to fitting the growth model so the estimate of the intercept was expected to be very near zero. The random intercept effect shows that the person-specific intercepts varied by about 0.5 standard deviations from the overall mean. Similar growth patterns were observed for SQ (Mbaseline = 6.7; SD = 8.4) and nutrition (Mbaseline = 31.1; SD = 7.4). CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate considerable variability in initial status and have practical implications: during this ongoing crisis, practitioners should be probably expecting substantial individual differences but not changes over time in terms of diet, PA, and sleep habits

WalkMore: a randomized controlled trial of pedometer-based interventions differing on intensity messages

Pedometer-based programs have elicited increased walking behaviors associated with improvements in blood pressure in sedentary/low active postmenopausal women, a population at increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Such programs typically encourage increasing the volume of physical activity with little regard for its intensity. Recent advances in commercially available pedometer technology now permit tracking of both steps/day and time in moderate (or greater) intensity physical activity on a daily basis. It is not known whether the dual message to increase steps/day while also increasing time spent at higher intensity walking will elicit additional improvements in blood pressure relative to a message to only focus on increasing steps/day. The purpose of this paper is to present the rationale, study design, and protocols employed in WalkMore, a 3-arm 3-month blinded and randomized controlled trial (RCT) designed to compare the effects of two community pedometer-based walking interventions (reflecting these separate and combined messages) relative to a control group on blood pressure in sedentary/low active post-menopausal women, a population at increased risk of cardiovascular disease. 120 sedentary/low active post-menopausal women (45-74 years of age) will be randomly assigned (computer-generated) to 1 of 3 groups: A) 10,000 steps/day (with no guidance on walking intensity/speed/cadence; BASIC intervention, n = 50); B) 10,000 steps/day and at least 30 minutes in moderate intensity (i.e., a cadence of at least 100 steps/min; ENHANCED intervention, n = 50); or a Control group (n = 20). An important strength of the study is the strict control and quantification of the pedometer-based physical activity interventions. The primary outcome is systolic blood pressure. Secondary outcomes include diastolic blood pressure, anthropometric measurements, fasting blood glucose and insulin, flow mediated dilation, gait speed, and accelerometer-determined physical activity and sedentary behavior. This study can make important contributions to our understanding of the relative benefits that walking volume and/or intensity may have on blood pressure in a population at risk of cardiovascular disease. ClinicalTrials.gov Record NCT01519583, January 18, 2012

Variation in education doctoral students’ conceptions of university teaching

The development of doctoral students as university teachers has received substantially less attention compared with their development as researchers, with a similar deficit extending to research on how they experience and understand university teaching. This article reports the results of a phenomenographic study of education doctoral students’ conceptions of teaching in higher education. Using samples from two education departments in England and Sweden, we conducted interviews to identify variation in doctoral students’ experiences of university teaching. Analysis of the transcripts produced six qualitatively different conceptions of teaching: doctoral students conceptualised university teaching as a means of (A) transmitting knowledge, (B) presenting contrasting concepts of education, (C) communicating and engaging with students, (D) enabling students to apply knowledge and skills, (E) enabling students to interpret and compare concepts of education, and (F) promoting personal, professional and societal development and change. While in broad agreement with previous studies on university teachers’ conceptions of teaching, the study offers a unique insight into how the subject of education is understood by doctoral students who teach. The findings also underline the need to introduce common frameworks of academic development for academics and doctoral students alike that prioritise ways of representing and engaging with the structure of the subject, rather than the acquisition of teaching skills

Spontaneous Intracerebral Hematoma from Transient Occult Carotid-cavernous Fistula : A Case Report

After the spontaneous relief of initial symptoms by traumatic carotid-cavernous fistula (CCF), paradoxical worsening of patient's condition can be followed. We present a case of a 60-yr-old man whose audible bruit from a traumatic CCF had completely disappeared. A few days later, however, the patient had spontaneous intracerebral hematoma with cortical venous drainage. Complete obliteration of the fistula was achieved after embolization. When initial audible bruit in traumatic CCF disappears suddenly, cerebral angiography should be performed to differentiate venous hypertension by the hemodynamic changes of the cavernous sinus channels from spontaneous resolution of CCF