Identifying *assessment practices in undergraduate accounting programs

The researcher conducted a survey of 786 baccalaureate accounting programs in the United States to determine the content and structure of their assessment plans. The study focused on five essential workplace skills: critical thinking, information literacy, oral communication, problem solving, and written communication. It examined the accounting programs and related assessment plans to determine whether the identified skills were integrated into the curriculum and were identified as learning outcomes in the assessment process. The study evaluated how faculty assess students\u27 skills and how assessment results are used to make changes in programs and to improve student learning. The research also identified assessment related changes that have occurred. Responses were analyzed by three independent variables (Carnegie Classifications, (enrollment size, and region) to determine whether any significant differences existed. Significant differences were found in 13 of the 82 dependent variables in the study.;Significant differences were reported in the direct and indirect assessment instruments used to measure student learning, in the use of assessment data to make changes and improvements, and in the nature of those assessment related changes and improvements reported by the participants. Assessment audiences and methods used for dissemination of assessment results were also significantly different.;A greater number of significant differences were found for the dependent variables between size categories (eight) than between Carnegie Classifications (four) or region (one). More significant differences (four) were found in the indirect assessment instruments dependent variable (four) than in any other variable in the analysis.;All responding institutions reported that the five essential skills under study were addressed and identified as learning outcomes often or extensively in the accounting programs. In responses to questions about specific traditionally required courses, participants reported that the skills were mostly introduced or emphasized and occasionally not addressed. Albeit a low response rate (13%), the major findings of this study indicate that accounting educators are making changes in accounting education in the areas that were identified as crucially in need of change in the four major accounting education studies over the past 25 years

A multilevel dataset of microplastic abundance in the world’s upper ocean and the Laurentian Great Lakes

A total of 8218 pelagic microplastic samples from the world’s oceans were synthesized to create a dataset composed of raw, calibrated, processed, and gridded data which are made available to the public. The raw microplastic abundance data were obtained by different research projects using surface net tows or continuous seawater intake. Fibrous microplastics were removed from the calibrated dataset. Microplastic abundance which fluctuates due to vertical mixing under different oceanic conditions was standardized. An optimum interpolation method was used to create the gridded data; in total, there were 24.4 trillion pieces (8.2 × 104 ~ 57.8 × 104 tons) of microplastics in the world’s upper oceans

Multivariate Analysis of Dopaminergic Gene Variants as Risk Factors of Heroin Dependence

BACKGROUND: Heroin dependence is a debilitating psychiatric disorder with complex inheritance. Since the dopaminergic system has a key role in rewarding mechanism of the brain, which is directly or indirectly targeted by most drugs of abuse, we focus on the effects and interactions among dopaminergic gene variants. OBJECTIVE: To study the potential association between allelic variants of dopamine D2 receptor (DRD2), ANKK1 (ankyrin repeat and kinase domain containing 1), dopamine D4 receptor (DRD4), catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT) and dopamine transporter (SLC6A3) genes and heroin dependence in Hungarian patients. METHODS: 303 heroin dependent subjects and 555 healthy controls were genotyped for 7 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) rs4680 of the COMT gene; rs1079597 and rs1800498 of the DRD2 gene; rs1800497 of the ANKK1 gene; rs1800955, rs936462 and rs747302 of the DRD4 gene. Four variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs) were also genotyped: 120 bp duplication and 48 bp VNTR in exon 3 of DRD4 and 40 bp VNTR and intron 8 VNTR of SLC6A3. We also perform a multivariate analysis of associations using Bayesian networks in Bayesian multilevel analysis (BN-BMLA). FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS: In single marker analysis the TaqIA (rs1800497) and TaqIB (rs1079597) variants were associated with heroin dependence. Moreover, -521 C/T SNP (rs1800955) of the DRD4 gene showed nominal association with a possible protective effect of the C allele. After applying the Bonferroni correction TaqIB was still significant suggesting that the minor (A) allele of the TaqIB SNP is a risk component in the genetic background of heroin dependence. The findings of the additional multiple marker analysis are consistent with the results of the single marker analysis, but this method was able to reveal an indirect effect of a promoter polymorphism (rs936462) of the DRD4 gene and this effect is mediated through the -521 C/T (rs1800955) polymorphism in the promoter

A multilevel dataset of microplastic abundance in the world’s upper ocean and the Laurentian Great Lakes

A total of 8218 pelagic microplastic samples from the world’s oceans were synthesized to create a dataset composed of raw, calibrated, processed, and gridded data which are made available to the public. The raw microplastic abundance data were obtained by different research projects using surface net tows or continuous seawater intake. Fibrous microplastics were removed from the calibrated dataset. Microplastic abundance which fluctuates due to vertical mixing under different oceanic conditions was standardized. An optimum interpolation method was used to create the gridded data; in total, there were 24.4 trillion pieces (8.2 × 104 ~ 57.8 × 104 tons) of microplastics in the world’s upper oceans