Understanding How Students Use Physical Ideas in Introductory Biology Courses

The University of Maryland (UMD) Biology Education and Physics Education Research Groups are investigating students' views on the role of physics in introductory biology courses. This paper presents data from an introductory course that addresses the fundamental principles of organismal biology and that incorporates several topics directly related to physics, including thermodynamics, diffusion, and fluid flow. We examine how the instructors use mathematics and physics in this introductory biology course and look at two students' responses to this use. Our preliminary observations are intended to start a discussion about the epistemological issues resulting from the integration of the science disciplines and to motivate the need for further research.Comment: Physics Education Research Conference 2010, Portland OR, 4 page

Constructive and Unconstructive Repetitive Thought

The author reviews research showing that repetitive thought (RT) can have constructive or unconstructive consequences. The main unconstructive consequences of RT are (a) depression, (b) anxiety, and (c) difficulties in physical health. The main constructive consequences of RT are (a) recovery from upsetting and traumatic events, (b) adaptive preparation and anticipatory planning, (c) recovery from depression, and (d) uptake of health-promoting behaviors. Several potential principles accounting for these distinct consequences of RT are identified within this review: (a) the valence of thought content, (b) the intrapersonal and situational context in which RT occurs, and (c) the level of construal (abstract vs. concrete processing) adopted during RT. Of the existing models of RT, it is proposed that an elaborated version of the control theory account provides the best theoretical framework to account for its distinct consequences

Level of Construal, Mind Wandering, and Repetitive Thought: Reply to McVay and Kane (2010)

In this reply to the comment of McVay and Kane (2010)Watkins’s (2008) elaborated control theory informs their perspective on the role of executive control in mind wandering. I argue that although in a number of places the elaborated control theory is consistent with the perspective of McVay and Kane that mind wandering represents a failure of executive control, their account makes a number of claims that are not articulated in the elaborated control theory—most notably, the hypothesis that level of construal moderates entry of thoughts into awareness. Moreover, the relevant literature suggests that the relationship between level of construal and executive control may be more complex, and may be determined by multiple factors beyond those proposed in this executive-control failure account of mind wandering. Finally, the implications of this model of mind wandering for understanding repetitive thought in general are considered, and it is proposed that examining level of executive control as a further moderating variable within elaborated control theory may be of value

Faculty Lecture Recital: Creole Romantic Composers

Kennesaw State University School of Music presents Faculty Lecture Recital: Creole Romantic Composers- Year of the Atlantic World Presentation Series.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1851/thumbnail.jp

Time-Utilization of a Population of General Practitioners in a Prepaid Group Practice

A population of seven general surgeons in a prepaid group practice previously shown to have a mean operative work load of 9.2 HE per week were found to have a mean standardized seven day working week of 56.2 hours exclusive of evening activities. The surgeons also devoted a mean of 6.7 evening hours to professional activities for a total working week of 62.9 hours. Comparisons of the time utilization of this population of general surgeons with a population of previously studied community surgeons revealed that the prepaid group surgeons were able to maintain a surgical output more than double that of the community surgeons without having to devote twice as much time to professional activities. Economies in the utilization of surgical manpower in the prepaid group appear to stem from geographic and specialty restrictions on the scope of work of the surgeons, from a reduction of waiting time in the office, and from the utilization of paraprofessional personnel for operative assisting.

A Slight Excess of Large Scale Power from Moments of the Peculiar Velocity Field

The peculiar motions of galaxies can be used to infer the distribution of matter in the Universe. It has recently been shown that measurements of the peculiar velocity field indicates an anomalously high bulk flow of galaxies in our local volume. In this paper we find the implications of the high bulk flow for the power spectrum of density fluctuations. We find that analyzing only the dipole moment of the velocity field yields an average power spectrum amplitude which is indeed much higher than the LCDM value. However, by also including shear and octupole moments of the velocity field, and marginalizing over possible values for the growth rate, an average power spectrum amplitude which is consistent with LCDM is recovered. We attempt to infer the shape of the matter power spectrum from moments of the velocity field, and find a slight excess of power on scales ~ h-1 Gpc.Comment: 6 pages,6 figures, updated to match accepted versio

Ruminative Self-Focus and Negative Affect: An Experience Sampling Study

The authors conducted an experience sampling study to investigate the relationship between momentary ruminative self-focus and negative affect. Ninety-three adults recorded these variables at quasi-random intervals 8 times daily for 1 week. Scores on questionnaire measures of dispositional rumination were associated with mean levels of momentary ruminative self-focus over the experience sampling week. Concurrently, momentary ruminative self-focus was positively associated with negative affect. Cross-lagged analyses revealed that whereas ruminative self-focus predicted negative affect at a subsequent occasion, negative affect also predicted ruminative self-focus at a subsequent occasion. Decomposition of the dispositional rumination measure suggested that brooding, but not reflective pondering, was associated with higher mean levels of negative affect. Though broadly consistent with Nolen-Hoeksema's (1991) response styles theory, these results suggest that a reciprocal relationship exists between ruminative self-focus and negative affect

Students' Views of Macroscopic and Microscopic Energy in Physics and Biology

Energy concepts are fundamental across the sciences, yet these concepts can be fragmented along disciplinary boundaries, rather than integrated into a coherent whole. To teach physics effectively to biology students, we need to understand students' disciplinary perspectives. We present interview data from an undergraduate student who displays multiple stances towards the concept of energy. At times he views energy in macroscopic contexts as a separate entity from energy in microscopic (particularly biological) contexts, while at other times he uses macroscopic physics phenomena as productive analogies for understanding energy in the microscopic biological context, and he reasons about energy transformations between the microscopic and macroscopic scales. This case study displays preliminary evidence for the context dependence of students' ability to translate energy concepts across scientific disciplines. This points to challenges that must be taken into account in developing curricula for biology students that integrate physics and biology concepts.Comment: 4 pages, submitted to PERC 201

Depressive Rumination: Investigating Mechanisms to Improve Cognitive Behavioural Treatments

Rumination has been identified as a core process in the development and maintenance of depression. Treatments targeting ruminative processes may, therefore, be particularly helpful for treating chronic and recurrent depression. The development of such treatments requires translational research that marries clinical trials, process–outcome research, and basic experimental research that investigates the mechanisms underpinning pathological rumination. For example, a program of experimental research has demonstrated that there are distinct processing modes during rumination that have distinct functional effects for the consequences of rumination on a range of clinically relevant cognitive and emotional processes: an adaptive style characterized by more concrete, specific processing and a maladaptive style characterized by abstract, overgeneral processing. Based on this experimental work, two new treatments for depression have been developed and evaluated: (a) rumination-focused cognitive therapy, an individual-based face-to-face therapy, which has encouraging results in the treatment of residual depression in an extended case series and a pilot randomized controlled trial; and (b) concreteness training, a facilitated self-help intervention intended to increase specificity of processing in patients with depression, which has beneficial findings in a proof-of-principle study in a dysphoric population. These findings indicate the potential value of process–outcome research (a) explicitly targeting identified vulnerability processes and (b) developing interventions informed by research into basic mechanisms