9,620 research outputs found
On the dependability and feasibility of layperson ratings of divergent thinking
A new system for subjective rating of responses to divergent thinking tasks was tested using raters recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk. The rationale for the study was to determine if such raters could provide reliable (aka generalizable) ratings from the perspective of generalizability theory. To promote reliability across the Alternative Uses and Consequence task prompts often used by researchers as measures of Divergent Thinking, two parallel scales were developed to facilitate feasibility and validity of ratings performed by laypeople. Generalizability and dependability studies were conducted separately for two scoring systems: the average-rating system and the snapshot system. Results showed that it is difficult to achieve adequate reliability using the snapshot system, while good reliability can be achieved on both task families using the average-rating system and a specific number of items and raters. Additionally, the construct validity of the average-rating system is generally good, with less validity for certain Consequences items. Recommendations for researchers wishing to adopt the new scales are discussed, along with broader issues of generalizability of subjective creativity ratings. © 2018 Hass, Rivera and Silvia
Does Intellectual Capital Affect the Volatility of Returns? An Empirical Investigation on Italian Listed Companies
In modern information economies, economic success increasingly depends on the ability to apply knowledge and to transform it into firm value. While intellectual capital plays a critical role in firm success, it is an intangible asset that is difficult to measure and that is unrecorded by the firm. Difficulties in measuring intellectual capital, as well as the dynamic nature of the firms that rely on it, may lead to greater stock market volatility/risk. Consistent with this expectation, in statistical tests we find that intellectual capital, measured by VAIC, positively relates to the volatility of stock returns section among Italian listed companies. We find this positive relation for two components of a firmâs risk: systematic risk and specific risk. The finding is relevant to both investors concerned with understanding the risk/reward balance of particular investments and regulators concerned with market stability
Theoretical investigation of magnetoelectric effects in Ba2CoGe2O7
A joint theoretical approach, combining macroscopic symmetry analysis with
microscopic methods (density functional theory and model cluster Hamiltonian),
is employed to shed light on magnetoelectricity in Ba2CoGe2O7. We show that the
recently reported experimental trend of polarization guided by magnetic field
can be predicted on the basis of phenomenological Landau theory. From the
microscopic side, Ba2CoGe2O7 emerges as a prototype of a class of
magnetoelectrics, where the cross coupling between magnetic and dipolar degrees
of freedom needs, as main ingredients, the on-site spin-orbit coupling and the
spin-dependent O p - Co d hybridization, along with structural constraints
related to the noncentrosymmetric structural symmetry and the peculiar
configuration of CoO4 tetrahedrons.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted for publicatio
Validating Semi-Analytic Models of High-Redshift Galaxy Formation using Radiation Hydrodynamical Simulations
We use a cosmological hydrodynamic simulation calculated with Enzo and the
semi-analytic galaxy formation model (SAM) GAMMA to address the chemical
evolution of dwarf galaxies in the early universe. The long-term goal of the
project is to better understand the origin of metal-poor stars and the
formation of dwarf galaxies and the Milky Way halo by cross-validating these
theoretical approaches. We combine GAMMA with the merger tree of the most
massive galaxy found in the hydrodynamic simulation and compare the star
formation rate, the metallicity distribution function (MDF), and the
age-metallicity relationship predicted by the two approaches. We found that the
SAM can reproduce the global trends of the hydrodynamic simulation. However,
there are degeneracies between the model parameters and more constraints (e.g.,
star formation efficiency, gas flows) need to be extracted from the simulation
to isolate the correct semi-analytic solution. Stochastic processes such as
bursty star formation histories and star formation triggered by supernova
explosions cannot be reproduced by the current version of GAMMA. Non-uniform
mixing in the galaxy's interstellar medium, coming primarily from
self-enrichment by local supernovae, causes a broadening in the MDF that can be
emulated in the SAM by convolving its predicted MDF with a Gaussian function
having a standard deviation of ~0.2 dex. We found that the most massive galaxy
in the simulation retains nearby 100% of its baryonic mass within its virial
radius, which is in agreement with what is needed in GAMMA to reproduce the
global trends of the simulation.Comment: 26 pages, 13 figures, 2 tables, submitted to ApJ (version 2
Molecular evidence for sediment nitrogen fixation in a temperate New England estuary
Primary production in coastal waters is generally nitrogen (N) limited with denitrification outpacing nitrogen fixation (N2-fixation). However, recent work suggests that we have potentially underestimated the importance of heterotrophic sediment N2-fixation in marine ecosystems. We used clone libraries to examine transcript diversity of nifH (a gene associated with N2-fixation) in sediments at three sites in a temperate New England estuary (Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts, USA) and compared our results to net sediment N2 fluxes previously measured at these sites. We observed nifH expression at all sites, including a site heavily impacted by anthropogenic N. At this N impacted site, we also observed mean net sediment N2-fixation, linking the geochemical rate measurement with nifH expression. This same site also had the lowest diversity (non-parametric Shannon = 2.75). At the two other sites, we also detected nifH transcripts, however, the mean N2 flux indicated net denitrification. These results suggest that N2-fixation and denitrification co-occur in these sediments. Of the unique sequences in this study, 67% were most closely related to uncultured bacteria from various marine environments, 17% to Cluster III, 15% to Cluster I, and only 1% to Cluster II. These data add to the growing body of literature that sediment heterotrophic N2-fixation, even under high inorganic nitrogen concentrations, may be an important yet overlooked source of N in coastal systems
A Study on the Relationships of Professional Development, Teacher Working Conditions and Job Satisfaction while Controlling for Years of Teaching Experience and Grade Level Taught
âOver the next ten years, 1.6 million teachers will retire, and 1.6 million new teachers will be needed to take their place. This poses both an enormous challenge and an extraordinary opportunity for our education system: âif we succeed in recruiting, preparing, and retaining great teaching talent, we can transform public education in this country and finally begin to deliver an excellent education for every childâ (Duncan, 2011, pg. 1). Indeed, teacher preparation and professional development is an extremely important issue facing our educational system today. There is a great deal of research that supports the idea that the most important factor that affects student achievement is a highly qualified effective teacher (Rockoff, 2004; Harding & Parsons 2011; Phillips 2010; Sanders & Rivers 1996; Desimone & Long 2010). This one variable has, over the course of time, stood up as the most important on a childâs education.
There are four research questions that are investigated through this study:
1) To what extent is there a relationship between teacherâs satisfaction with their professional development experiences and the magnitude of teacher job satisfaction while controlling for grade level taught and teacherâs years of experience working in education?
2) To what extent is there a relationship between teacherâs satisfaction with their professional development experiences and teacher working conditions while controlling for grade level taught and teacherâs years of experience working in education?
3) Of the three characteristics of effective professional development: Collaboration, Time and Resources, and Enhancement of Teacherâs Knowledge, which has the strongest relationship with teacher job satisfaction?
4) Of the four areas of teacher working conditions: Time Factors, Facilities and Resources, School Leadership and satisfaction with Professional Development, which has the strongest relationship with teacher professional development?
Based on this study there was no statistically significant relationship found between teacher professional development and the magnitude of teacher job satisfaction while controlling for grade level taught and teacherâs years of experience working in education. The analysis of the data in this study showed there was a significant relationship between teacher professional development and teacher working conditions while controlling for grade level taught and teacherâs years of experience working in education.Based on the results, none of the characteristics of effective professional development that were explored in this study had a statistically significant relationship with teacher job satisfaction.All four factors of teacher professional development had moderate to strong relationships and were statistically significant
A Study on the Relationships of Professional Development, Teacher Working Conditions and Job Satisfaction while Controlling for Years of Teaching Experience and Grade Level Taught
âOver the next ten years, 1.6 million teachers will retire, and 1.6 million new teachers will be needed to take their place. This poses both an enormous challenge and an extraordinary opportunity for our education system: âif we succeed in recruiting, preparing, and retaining great teaching talent, we can transform public education in this country and finally begin to deliver an excellent education for every childâ (Duncan, 2011, pg. 1). Indeed, teacher preparation and professional development is an extremely important issue facing our educational system today. There is a great deal of research that supports the idea that the most important factor that affects student achievement is a highly qualified effective teacher (Rockoff, 2004; Harding & Parsons 2011; Phillips 2010; Sanders & Rivers 1996; Desimone & Long 2010). This one variable has, over the course of time, stood up as the most important on a childâs education.
There are four research questions that are investigated through this study:
1) To what extent is there a relationship between teacherâs satisfaction with their professional development experiences and the magnitude of teacher job satisfaction while controlling for grade level taught and teacherâs years of experience working in education?
2) To what extent is there a relationship between teacherâs satisfaction with their professional development experiences and teacher working conditions while controlling for grade level taught and teacherâs years of experience working in education?
3) Of the three characteristics of effective professional development: Collaboration, Time and Resources, and Enhancement of Teacherâs Knowledge, which has the strongest relationship with teacher job satisfaction?
4) Of the four areas of teacher working conditions: Time Factors, Facilities and Resources, School Leadership and satisfaction with Professional Development, which has the strongest relationship with teacher professional development?
Based on this study there was no statistically significant relationship found between teacher professional development and the magnitude of teacher job satisfaction while controlling for grade level taught and teacherâs years of experience working in education. The analysis of the data in this study showed there was a significant relationship between teacher professional development and teacher working conditions while controlling for grade level taught and teacherâs years of experience working in education.Based on the results, none of the characteristics of effective professional development that were explored in this study had a statistically significant relationship with teacher job satisfaction.All four factors of teacher professional development had moderate to strong relationships and were statistically significant
Do Plant-Bound Masked Mycotoxins Contribute to Toxicity?
This work is funded by the Scottish Government Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS).Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Profiles of Strong Permitted Lines in Classical T Tauri Stars
We present a spectral analysis of 30 T Tauri stars observed with the Hamilton
echelle spectrograph over more than a decade. One goal is to test
magnetospheric accretion model predictions. Observational evidence previously
published supporting the model, such as emission line asymmetry and a high
frequency of redshifted absorption components, are considered. We also discuss
the relation between different line forming regions and search for good
accretion rate indicators.
In this work we confirm several important points of the models, such as the
correlation between accretion and outflow, broad emission components that are
mostly central or slightly blueshifted and only the occasional presence of
redshifted absorption. We also show, however, that the broad emission
components supposedly formed in the magnetospheric accretion flow only
partially support the models. Unlike the predictions, they are sometimes
redshifted, and are mostly found to be symmetric. The published theoretical
profiles do not have a strong resemblance to our observed ones. We emphasize
the need for accretion models to include a strong turbulent component before
their profiles will match the observations. The effects of rotation, and the
outflow components, will also be needed to complete the picture.Comment: 25 pages including 9 figures, 3 tables, accepted for publication in
the Astronomical Journa
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