Improving transition into university life through real and virtual groups

In this talk we will present an overview of the initiatives undertaken within the Student Learning Service in order to ease transition into the numerate disciplines at the University of Glasgow. We will discuss how we make use of social networking tools in order to communicate with students and support virtual PAL type activities. In particular, we will show how we are using Facebook groups as a mechanism for students to support each other both academically and socially and explain how we have introduced pre-entry support and offered advice for new entrants in the College of Science & Engineering using these groups. We will also briefly discuss plans to run maths support labs during summer school for local students during the next academic session and show how we have successfully introduced semi-formal events such as maths-related film afternoons and craft activities

Using Social Media to Promote Deep Learning and Increase Student Engagement

In this paper we discuss an intervention that was introduced at the University of Glasgow in order to address problems of scheduling face to face Peer Assisted Learning (PAL) sessions in the College of Science and Engineering (CoSE). Using Facebook groups, the authors have successfully implemented a Virtual Peer Assisted Learning (VPAL) model. We begin by discussing the background to choosing VPAL as a model and Facebook groups as a method of delivery, and then set out our model in detail. We next present some recent student feedback and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of our model. We end by also commenting on the sustainability and transferability of this design

Sustaining historical city centres through urban regeneration

Historical city centres usually symbolise the origins of the city. While these areas are usually endowed with a multitude of historic buildings, they are also the areas that are most prone to the undesirable and consequential effects of growth and urbanisation, including overcrowding, air emissions and poor environmental quality. Urban regeneration of historic city centres serves as a fundamental catalyst for change, improving environmental quality of the natural and built environments, and upgrading conditions in inner historic areas. This paper analyses strategies that have been used in the Core City of Barcelona, Spain, and A focuses on the strategies that have been used to upgrade the environmental quality of this historical centre as a case from which many lessons can be learnt, thus attempting at diminishing undesirable effects and improving the urban and environmental quality of its urban spaces for the well-being of citizens

Analysing agricultural productivity growth in a framework of institutional quality

This paper addresses the question whether the institutional environment of transition countries in Eastern Europe affects productivity growth in the agricultural sector. Situated in a neoclassical growth framework, a dynamic panel model for the period 1996-2005 provides evidence that poor institutional quality leads to a slowdown in agricultural productivity growth. Productivity growth is limited by a high degree of corruption, which is of particular importance given that corruption has been proven to be most prevalent in Eastern European countries. Moreover, agricultural productivity in countries where privatisation and transferability of land is restricted is found to grow at a slower rate than countries supporting market-oriented land reforms. Interestingly, the results suggest that a high degree of openness leads to a loss in agricultural productivity, suggesting that timing and sequencing of trade reforms matter. An improvement of the poor institutional quality is thus of central importance to accelerate productivity growth in Eastern European countries. --Eastern Europe,Transition,Productivity growth

A corpus analysis of stance marker use in international and Egyptian medical research articles

The need for stance expression and making the position of the writers clear about what they are reporting is well documented in the literature (Biber, 2006; Kelly & Bazerman, 2003; Hyland, 2005; 2008; Molino, 2010; Myers, 1989; Williams, 2006). Even hard knowledge disciplines that were traditionally expected to sound objective and detached employ stance projection strategies by which researchers express their opinions, degree of certainty or ownership of the different claims that are stated in their work (Harwood, 2005 ; Hyland, 2005). Authors of research who are writing in English as their second language (L2) are reported to find difficulty in making their voice heard in their research articles (RAs) (Flowerdew, 2001). Differences in the frequency and the accuracy of using stance markers in RAs written by L2 writers of research and native speakers (NSs) have been detected in numerous studies (Hendersson & Barr, 2010; Hyland, 2002; Jafarpour & Taki, 2012; Maurannen, 1993 ; Molino, 2010 ; Orta, 2010). Meeting the needs of almost 30% of research producers at Cairo University, this study detects the differences between stance markers in Egyptian RAs compared to internationally published RAs in the field of medicine. Differences are diagnosed and patterns of the “acceptable use of stance markers are listed in order to help Egyptian doctors write more professionally and gain acceptance in international publishing. In this corpus-based study, 47 RAs published in local Egyptian medical journals representing different medical schools and institutions across the country were examined and compared to the Corpus of Contemporary American English (COCA). The use of direct self-reference using first person pronouns I, me, my, we us and our compared to the more impersonal “it ‚ that structure was examined in both corpora. The study showed a tendency in the Egyptian RAs to sound more distant and cautious. The use of first person pronouns in Egyptian RAs was generally less frequent. Egyptian medical researchers avoided using the singular first person pronoun in their RAs but they sometimes directly referred to themselves when they wrote in a group. Egyptian researchers also showed higher frequency of the more mitigated and impersonal structures such as “it , that structures, the passive structure and doubt adverbs. On the other hand, Egyptian researchers showed awareness with the preferred verb tenses collocating with the first person pronoun we as well as an awareness of the different structures of the “it , that structures despite its complexity. The Egyptian Medical Research Articles corpus (EMRA) showed a lack of variety in some of the lexical collocates of the first person pronouns as well as “it , that structures

An Analysis of Writer\u27s Block: Causes, Characteristics, and Solutions

Previous research suggests that writer’s block can have multiple causes and occur at any part of the writing process (Boice, 1985; Flaherty, 2015; Kaufman & Kaufman, 2013). A survey was distributed to a sample of 146 writers with experience in a variety of fiction and nonfiction genres. Research objectives concerning the causes and characteristics of writer’s block were investigated using mixed-method, qualitative and quantitative analyses. Effective solutions provided by writers were presented and described. Blocks with physiological and motivational components were the most frequently reported in general and were found to interfere with the composition process more than the creative process. Writers who wrote daily reported shorter periods of writer’s block than those with less consistent writing habits. These findings suggest that there may be an association between components of blocking and cognitive processes associated with specific parts of the writing process

Evaluation of fluoride release and mechanical properties of different glass ionomers

OBJECTIVE: To assess the fluoride release and mechanical properties of four restorative glass ionomer cements (GIC) and to determine the correlation between the mechanical properties and fluoride release. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four restorative glass ionomers were studied: ChemFil ROCK (DENSPLY), Fuji IX (GC), Riva self cure (SDI), and Ketac Nano (3M ESPE). Fluoride release in deionized water from the tested specimens was measured using a fluoride-selective ion electrode for 9 days. The compressive strengths and diametral tensile strengths after storing in distilled water (room temperature, 24) were tested. Glass ionomer surface wear by dental ceramic (Vita Mark II cylinders) was evaluated by a depth micro analyzer. Data were analyzed using ANOVA followed by Tukey’s test or Bonferroni method (p= 0.05). RESULTS: The fluoride release exhibited high concentration, following by a significant drop on the second day. Fuji IX had the highest fluoride release followed by “Ketac”,” Riva”, and “ChemFil”. Compressive strength results ranked that ChemFil as the highest value, followed by Fuji IX, Ketac, and Riva. The diametral tensile strength test ranked ChemFil and Ketac as the highest values. Surface ear against dental ceramic (Vita Mark II cylinders) revealed that Fuji IX had the lowest material loss, followed by Ketac, ChemFil, and Riva. Data showed significant differences between all of them. After coating the glass ionomer, the surface wear loss was reduced significantly in Riva and ChemFil. CONCLUSIONS: The tested restorative glass ionomers showed differences in fluoride release and the differences decreased over time, with Fuji IX releasing the highest amount of fluoride ion. ChemFil Rock showed the highest mechanical properties but the lowest fluoride release. Riva self cure had the highest material loss value in wear test. There was a weak inverse correlation between fluoride release and compressive strength (r = - 0.32); fluoride release and diametral tensile strength (r = - 0.60), and fluoride release and surface wear against dental ceramic (Vita Mark II cylinders) (r = - 0.55)

Placental Adaptation to Hypoxia as a Predictive Marker for Preeclampsia

The ability of the placenta to interact with surrounding microenvironment of hypoxia can serve as a predictive marker for the development of preeclampsia. Lessons can be studied from highlands inhabitants and their ability to survive extreme conditions of hypobaric hypoxia. Many candidate genes loci that are associated with adaptation to high altitude hypoxia and healthy exercise are also associated with adaptation to hypoxia in normal pregnancy. This can pave the way to a new approach based on the concept of evolution and adaptation stating that “genes can undergo a process of natural selection for the fittest adaptive variants, so as to reach a state of adaptation to the scarce microenvironments.” Accordingly, the degree of adaptation in candidate genes and their polymorphisms can serve as predictive markers for the development of preeclampsia. This can be seen in the high degree of concordance between gene expression and the lesions seen in the placenta and other remote organs in the different subtypes of preeclampsia. To conclude, “adaptive or less adaptive” can be the genetic result that answers the question of disease prediction, recurrence, and possible complications