‘…a tiny part of that greater circum-terrestrial grid’: A Conversation with Mike McCormack

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Edinburgh University Press via the DOI in this recor

Board # 114 : Progress toward Optimizing Student Team Skill Development using Evidence-Based Strategies

The broad goal of this work is to study the effectiveness of various teamwork training interventions. This research requires the use of a common model of teamwork and a system for training, collecting ratings data, and providing feedback. We will leverage the NSF’s prior investment in the CATME system, which meets the research criteria and automates some of the data collection and feedback, which will aid in executing the research protocol consistently. Seven empirical studies will determine the effect sizes of training, practice in teams, practice rating, and feedback interventions on cognitive development (improvement of team skills) and metacognitive development (improvement of self- and peer-evaluation skills). Outcomes. We focus both on cognitive skills related to team-member effectiveness and on metacognitive skills that enable competent self- and peer-evaluation of team members’ effectiveness. An intermediate knowledge-level outcome affects both—developing an improved cognitive model of teamwork. Students must learn what skills are necessary for effective teamwork to be able to develop and evaluate them. Strategies. To achieve these outcomes, we have several strategies. Frame-of-reference training, which is well-established and empirically supported, will align students’ cognitive model of teamwork with ours by teaching students the ways team members can contribute effectively to teams in the five key areas summarized earlier. Experience working in teams and evaluating teamwork will improve team skills and self- and peer-evaluation skills. Experience in teams increases as students work on multiple teams. Rating practice will be accomplished by showing students descriptions or videotapes of fictitious team members and having them rate the contributions these fictitious team members make, in addition to rating themselves and their real teammates following work in teams. Finally, we will examine how the degree to which and manner in which feedback on team skills is provided affect student outcomes. This presentation (Executive Summary and Poster) will provide a valuable update on this project, share various lessons for classroom practice, and provide guidance to other faculty who seek to use CATME in their research

Research on armadillos: A review and prospectus

A detailed analysis of 1,039 scientific studies of extant armadillos (Xenarthra: Cingulata, Dasypodidae) published in the last 25 years (1989-2013) revealed substantial biases in coverage, including taxonomically, the locales where field studies were conducted, and in the topics investigated. Examination of the number of other publications that cited each paper revealed that 470 (45%) papers had been cited no more than 10 times, 249 (24%) had never been cited, and 112 (11%) were not even found in the Google Scholar database. The most heavily cited papers were molecular phylogenetic analyses that often used tissues from one or more species of armadillo but were not about the animals per se. Thus, it appears that research on armadillos is plagued by numerous gaps in coverage and is not reaching a wide audience. These data indicate obvious opportunities for future research. In addition, recent findings suggest that even relatively well-studied phenomena may require reexamination. Here, we review recent advances in the study of armadillos and highlight promising areas for future work. One critical need is for a thorough systematic revision of Dasypodidae to be completed. This will make it possible to prioritize those species and populations most in need of study. Additionally, more long-term field studies of populations of marked individuals are required. Although there are many important and interesting questions waiting to be answered, the small number of researchers currently conducting studies of armadillos, particularly in the wild, means that progress will be slow.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Research on armadillos: A review and prospectus

A detailed analysis of 1,039 scientific studies of extant armadillos (Xenarthra: Cingulata, Dasypodidae) published in the last 25 years (1989-2013) revealed substantial biases in coverage, including taxonomically, the locales where field studies were conducted, and in the topics investigated. Examination of the number of other publications that cited each paper revealed that 470 (45%) papers had been cited no more than 10 times, 249 (24%) had never been cited, and 112 (11%) were not even found in the Google Scholar database. The most heavily cited papers were molecular phylogenetic analyses that often used tissues from one or more species of armadillo but were not about the animals per se. Thus, it appears that research on armadillos is plagued by numerous gaps in coverage and is not reaching a wide audience. These data indicate obvious opportunities for future research. In addition, recent findings suggest that even relatively well-studied phenomena may require reexamination. Here, we review recent advances in the study of armadillos and highlight promising areas for future work. One critical need is for a thorough systematic revision of Dasypodidae to be completed. This will make it possible to prioritize those species and populations most in need of study. Additionally, more long-term field studies of populations of marked individuals are required. Although there are many important and interesting questions waiting to be answered, the small number of researchers currently conducting studies of armadillos, particularly in the wild, means that progress will be slow.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Population Dynamics and Range Expansion in Nine-Banded Armadillos

Understanding why certain species can successfully colonize new areas while others do not is a central question in ecology. The nine-banded armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) is a conspicuous example of a successful invader, having colonized much of the southern United States in the last 200 years. We used 15 years (1992–2006) of capture-mark-recapture data from a population of armadillos in northern Florida in order to estimate, and examine relationships among, various demographic parameters that may have contributed to this ongoing range expansion. Modeling across a range of values for γ, the probability of juveniles surviving in the population until first capture, we found that population growth rates varied from 0.80 for γ = 0.1, to 1.03 for γ = 1.0. Growth rates approached 1.0 only when γ ≥0.80, a situation that might not occur commonly because of the high rate of disappearance of juveniles. Net reproductive rate increased linearly with γ, but life expectancy (estimated at 3 years) was independent of γ. We also found that growth rates were lower during a 3-year period of hardwood removal that removed preferred habitat than in the years preceding or following. Life-table response experiment (LTRE) analysis indicated the decrease in growth rate during logging was primarily due to changes in survival rates of adults. Likewise, elasticity analyses of both deterministic and stochastic population growth rates revealed that survival parameters were more influential on population growth than were those related to reproduction. Collectively, our results are consistent with recent theories regarding biological invasions which posit that populations no longer at the leading edge of range expansion do not exhibit strong positive growth rates, and that high reproductive output is less critical in predicting the likelihood of successful invasion than are life-history strategies that emphasize allocation of resources to future, as opposed to current, reproduction

Chemically-Mediated Roostmate Recognition and Roost Selection by Brazilian Free-Tailed Bats (Tadarida brasiliensis)

BACKGROUND: The Brazilian free-tailed bat (Tadarida brasiliensis) is an exceptionally social and gregarious species of chiropteran known to roost in assemblages that can number in the millions. Chemical recognition of roostmates within these assemblages has not been extensively studied despite the fact that an ability to chemically recognize individuals could play an important role in forming and stabilizing complex suites of social interactions. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Individual bats were given a choice between three roosting pouches: one permeated with the scent of a group of roostmates, one permeated with the scent of non-roostmates, and a clean control. Subjects rejected non-roostmate pouches with greater frequency than roostmate pouches or blank control pouches. Also, bats chose to roost in the roostmate scented pouches more often than the non-roostmate or control pouches. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We demonstrated that T. brasiliensis has the ability to chemically recognize roostmates from non-roostmates and a preference for roosting in areas occupied by roostmates. It is important to investigate these behaviors because of their potential importance in colony dynamics and roost choice

Farmer attitudes and livestock disease: exploring citizenship behaviour and peer monitoring across two BVD control schemes in the UK

The eradication of BVD in the UK is technically possible but appears to be socially untenable. The following study explored farmer attitudes to BVD control schemes in relation to advice networks and information sharing, shared aims and goals, motivation and benefits of membership, notions of BVD as a priority disease and attitudes toward regulation. Two concepts from the organisational management literature framed the study: citizenship behaviour where actions of individuals support the collective good (but are not explicitly recognised as such) and peer to peer monitoring (where individuals evaluate other’s behaviour). Farmers from two BVD control schemes in the UK participated in the study: Orkney Livestock Association BVD Eradication Scheme and Norfolk and Suffolk Cattle Breeders Association BVD Eradication Scheme. In total 162 farmers participated in the research (109 in-scheme and 53 out of scheme). The findings revealed that group helping and information sharing among scheme members was low with a positive BVD status subject to social censure. Peer monitoring in the form of gossip with regard to the animal health status of other farms was high. Interestingly, farmers across both schemes supported greater regulation with regard to animal health, largely due to the mistrust of fellow farmers following voluntary disease control measures. While group cohesiveness varied across the two schemes, without continued financial inducements, longer-term sustainability is questionabl

Mental health issues in unaccompanied refugee minors

Previous studies about unaccompanied refugee minors (URMs) showed that they are a highly vulnerable group who have greater psychiatric morbidity than the general population. This review focuses on mental health issues among URMs. Articles in databases PsycINFO, Medline and PubMed from 1998 to 2008 addressing this topic were reviewed. The literature had a considerable emphasis on the assessment of PTSD symptoms. Results revealed higher levels of PTSD symptoms in comparison to the norm populations and accompanied refugee minors. In several studies, age and female gender predicted or influenced PTSD symptoms. The existing literature only permits limited conclusions on this very hard to reach population. Future research should include the analysis of long-term outcomes, stress management and a more thorough analysis of the whole range of psychopathology. Additionally, the development of culturally sensitive norms and standardized measures for diverse ethnic groups is of great importance

Improving the assessment of transferable skills in chemistry through evaluation of current practice

The development and assessment of transferable skills acquired by students, such as communication and teamwork, within undergraduate degrees is being increas-ingly emphasised. Many instructors have designed and implemented assessment tasks with the aim to provide students with opportunities to acquire and demon-strate these skills. We have now applied our previously published tool to evaluate whether assessment tasks allow students to demonstrate achievement of these transferable skills. The tool allows detailed evaluation of the alignment of any as-sessment item against the claimed set of learning outcomes. We present here two examples in which use of the tool provides evidence for the level of achievement of transferable skills and a further example of use of the tool to inform curricu-lum design and pedagogy, with the goal of increasing achievement of communi-cation and teamwork bench marks. Implications for practice in assessment design for learning are presented