Self-regulated Learning

The literature on assessment indicates that one of the main outcomes of formative assessment is instilling self-regulation in learners. This presentation will briefly review the research findings on self-regulated learning and make suggestions on how educators can implement those findings in their daily practice to train their students to become self-regulated learners

The Perceived Results of Feedback and Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness on Adjunct Faculty Professional Development and Growth

Problem While full-time faculty at any institution of higher learning undergo an established system of evaluation of teaching effectiveness, adjunct faculty members\u27 experience varies greatly from institution to institution. There is little in the relevant academic literature about an effective feedback mechanism for evaluating teaching effectiveness among adjunct faculty members. Limited qualitative research has been done to understand the effects of teaching evaluations on the professional development and growth of individual adjunct faculty members. Developing an understanding of effective evaluation of teaching that will result in improved adjunct faculty professional development and growth will impact not only the faculty members\u27 morale and retention but also student learning and student success. Method The researcher used a grounded theory approach based on the data collected from semi-structured interviews with eight adjunct faculty members to understand a) what type of feedback of their teaching effectiveness adjunct faculty currently receive; b) what types of feedback of their teaching effectiveness adjunct faculty find to be helpful for professional development and growth; c) how adjunct faculty use the feedback of their teaching to shape their professional development decisions; and d) how the feedback of teaching effectiveness is perceived by adjunct faculty. Results The results of the study led the researcher to form a substantive theory, Feedback Mechanisms for Sustainable Adjunct Faculty Growth, which states that the feedback that leads to sustainable adjunct faculty growth is (a) inspiration-led through exhibiting inspirational leadership; (b) relationship-building through promoting collegial collaboration; (c) learning-centered through fostering student success; (d) instructor-oriented through upholding the instructor agency; and (e) support-imparting through nurturing a culture of support. This model includes the multiplicity of voices and processes of the effective assessment of teaching and is framed in the context of contributing not only to the advancement of each individual adjunct faculty but also to the greater good of the academic community. Conclusions The present study examined the results of feedback and evaluation of teaching effectiveness on adjunct faculty professional development and growth. The findings suggest that feedback that leads to sustainable adjunct faculty growth is inspiration-led, relationship-building, learning-centered, instructor-oriented, and support-imparting. The results have important implications for both teachers and administrators as they help adjunct faculty develop professionally, contribute towards a higher quality of teaching instruction, and improve student learning

Environmental chemical exposures and risk of herpes zoster.

This study investigated whether residence in Aberdeen, North Carolina, the location of the Aberdeen pesticides dumps site (a national priority list Superfund site containing organochlorine pesticides, volatile organic compounds, and metals), is associated with immune suppression as indicated by a higher incidence of herpes zoster and recent occurrences of other common infectious diseases. Study participants included 1,642 residents, 18-64 years of age, who responded to a telephone survey concerning potential occupational and recreational exposures to pesticides and other chemicals, lifetime history of herpes zoster (shingles), and the recent occurrence of other common infectious diseases. Stratified and logistic regression analyses were used to compare the cumulative incidence of herpes zoster among Aberdeen residents and residents of nearby communities. There was little evidence of an overall increased risk of herpes zoster among Aberdeen residents during the period 1951-1994 [relative risk (RR), 1.3; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.8-2.1]. However, an elevated risk of herpes zoster was noted consistently among Aberdeen residents of younger ages as compared to residents of the nearby communities. The RR was 2.0 (CI, 1.0-4.0) among those 18-40 years of age and was not affected by controlling for potential confounders. The RR of herpes zoster was also consistently elevated in all age groups for the period before 1985. No differences were noted between residents of Aberdeen and those of the nearby communities with respect to the recent occurrence of other common infectious diseases. These results support the plausibility of an association between exposure to the Aberdeen pesticides dumps site and immune suppression and the potential use of herpes zoster as a marker of immune suppression in studies of environmental chemical exposures

Connecting the dots in infrastructure development and management: The Africa agenda for new innovation

It is widely accepted that the growth and prosperity of nations is dependent on economic infrastructure. Infrastructure is constituted by cyber-physical systems that enable communications (e.g. postal, telephone and internet) as well as transportation (e.g. road, water, air), energy (e.g. electricity and gas) and other utilities (e.g. drinking water and waste) (Chandler, 1977; NAO, 2013). It provides the basis for economic growth and prosperity through the provision of essential services that enable economic and social activity. As a result, it delivers significant benefits, both directly through the services it delivers, and indirectly through the impact of those services on the rest of the economy (Nightingale et al 2016). However, these benefits come at a cost. Infrastructure is expensive to build, operate and maintain. The provision of infrastructure involves degradation and the consumption of natural ecosystems, displacement of local communities, CO_{2} emissions, noise and pollution. Infrastructure is typically long-lived and the costs of poor choices and mistakes can affect future generations. This is especially prominent with politically motivated infrastructure investment decisions, which have a lifespan that coincides with electoral cycles. To complicate matters further, the costs and benefits of infrastructure provision fall unequally across society in a way that benefits a minority (usually local to the area of infrastructure development) although the distribution of costs are more widely spread (for example in investments funded by taxes) (ibid). In this context, infrastructure investment decisions are not only complex they are inherently political

Substellar companions and isolated planetary mass objects from protostellar disc fragmentation

Self-gravitating protostellar discs are unstable to fragmentation if the gas can cool on a time scale that is short compared to the orbital period. We use a combination of hydrodynamic simulations and N-body orbit integrations to study the long term evolution of a fragmenting disc with an initial mass ratio to the star of M_disc/M_star = 0.1. For a disc which is initially unstable across a range of radii, a combination of collapse and subsequent accretion yields substellar objects with a spectrum of masses extending (for a Solar mass star) up to ~0.01 M_sun. Subsequent gravitational evolution ejects most of the lower mass objects within a few million years, leaving a small number of very massive planets or brown dwarfs in eccentric orbits at moderately small radii. Based on these results, systems such as HD 168443 -- in which the companions are close to or beyond the deuterium burning limit -- appear to be the best candidates to have formed via gravitational instability. If massive substellar companions originate from disc fragmentation, while lower-mass planetary companions originate from core accretion, the metallicity distribution of stars which host massive substellar companions at radii of ~1 au should differ from that of stars with lower mass planetary companions.Comment: 5 pages, accepted for publication in MNRA

Influence of pH and ionic strength on the color parameters and antioxidant properties of an ethanolic red grape marc extract

The aim of present study was to investigate the influences of pH and several salts on the antioxidant activity and color of an ethanolic grape marc extract. Furthermore, the phenolic content of the extract was analyzed using HPLC and spectrophotometric methods while the total antioxidant activity was assessed by the reaction with ABTS radical. Gallic acid, procyanidins B1, B2, polydatin, catechin, epicatechin, hyperoside, ferulic, chlorogenic, and salicylic acids were among the main identified polyphenols. Different pH values had slight influence on the antioxidant activity, the highest value being determined for pH 3.7. The redness, chroma, and hue were significantly enhanced at pH 3.7 and 2.6. The chromaticity decreased at pH = 5.5 and pH = 7.4, so the extract should be used with care in products with such media. The presence of salts did not noticeably affect the antioxidant activity, except the higher concentrations of CaCl2, which decreased the antioxidant activity but enhanced the color intensity

Examining the spatiotemporal disruption to gaze when using a myoelectric prosthetic hand

The aim of this study was to provide a detailed account of the spatial and temporal disruptions to eye-hand coordination when using a prosthetic hand during a sequential fine motor skill. Twenty-one abled-bodied participants performed 15 trials of the ‘picking up coins’ task derived from the Southampton Hand Assessment Procedure (SHAP) with their anatomic hand and with a prosthesis simulator while wearing eye-tracking equipment. Gaze behaviour results revealed that when using the prosthesis, performance detriments were accompanied by significantly greater hand-focused gaze and a significantly longer time to disengage gaze from manipulations to plan upcoming movements. Our findings highlight key metrics that distinguish disruptions to eye-hand coordination that might have implications for the training of prosthesis use

Negative parental responses to coming out and family functioning in a sample of lesbian and gay young adults

Parental responses to youths' coming out (CO) are crucial to the subsequent adjustment of children and family. The present study investigated the negative parental reaction to the disclosure of same-sex attraction and the differences between maternal and paternal responses, as reported by their homosexual daughters and sons. Participants' perceptions of their parents' reactions (evaluated through the Perceived Parental Reactions Scale, PPRS), age at coming out, gender, parental political orientation, and religiosity involvement, the family functioning (assessed through the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales, FACES IV), were assessed in 164 Italian gay and lesbian young adults. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to assess the relation between family functioning and parental reaction to CO. The paired sample t-test was used to compare mothers and fathers' scores on the PPRS. Hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to analyze the relevance of each variable. No differences were found between mothers and fathers in their reaction to the disclosure. The analysis showed that a negative reaction to coming out was predicted by parents' right-wing political conservatism, strong religious beliefs, and higher scores in the scales Rigid and Enmeshed. Findings confirm that a negative parental reaction is the result of poor family resources to face a stressful situation and a strong belief in traditional values. These results have important implications in both clinical and social fields