Teacher and student perceptions of the development of learner autonomy : a case study in the biological sciences

Biology teachers in a UK university expressed a majority view that student learning autonomy increases with progression through university. A minority suggested that pre-existing diversity in learning autonomy was more important and that individuals not cohorts differ in their learning autonomy. They suggested that personal experience prior to university and age were important and that mature students are more autonomous than 18-20 year olds. Our application of an autonomous learning scale (ALS) to four year-groups of biology students confirmed that the learning autonomy of students increases through their time at university but not that mature students are necessarily more autonomous than their younger peers. It was evident however that year of study explained relatively little

Assessing Relative Weights of Authentication Components: An Expert Panel Approach

Organizations rely on password-based authentication methods to control access to many Web-based systems. In a recent study, we developed a benchmarking instrument to assess the authentication methods used in these contexts. Our instrument developed included extensive literature foundation and an expert panel assessment. This paper reports on the development of the instrument and the expert panel assessment. The initial draft of the instrument was derived from literature to assess 1) password strength requirements, 2) password usage methods, and 3) password reset requirements. Following, the criteria within the index were evaluated by an expert panel and the same panel provided opinions on the relative weights of the criteria and the measures. The expert panel results were collected and analyzed using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) techniques. We conclude with discussions on how the criteria were assembled, how the expert panel was conducted, and reporting the results from the panel. The results reported include the relative weights within te password usage and password reset measures as well as the relative weights of the three measures within the index

Calmer, Kinder, Wiser: A Novel Threefold Categorization for Mindfulness-Based Interventions

Mindfulness is said to be a connecting thread between an ancient philosophy on the one hand and a contemporary psychological practice on the other. However, some contemporary mindfulness practices have arguably become so disconnected from their roots in Buddhist ethics and wisdom principles that the fundamental essence of the practice is no longer recognisable. It appears that when mindfulness is disconnected from its Buddhist ethical and wisdom-based foundations, being applied as a purely concentrative practice, it can yield adverse effects (such as decreased prosocial behaviour, increased self-centredness, and reduced psychological well-being) for individuals with low-trait empathy or narcissistic traits. Consequently, we propose a novel threefold categorization that aims to build bridges between contemporary Western and traditional Buddhist approaches to mindfulness. This categorization, rooted in the traditional “three trainings” or “triśikṣā” Buddhist principle, distinguishes between the mindfulness practices incorporated within mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), according to whether they primarily employ concentration-, ethics-, or wisdom-based contemplative techniques. We explicate how this more nuanced categorization provides a greater understanding of how varied mindfulness practices could influence outcomes associated with an individual’s prosocial behaviour, social and emotional well-being, and mental health. Additionally, we highlight the potential of greater research into MBIs that are structured around the Mindfulness of Breathing or the Ānāpānasati Sutta progression of concentration-based to ethics-based and finally to wisdom-based practices, particularly in terms of their utility to facilitate self-transcendent experiences

A novel dimethylformamide (DMF) free bar-cast method to deposit organolead perovskite thin films with improved stability

We report a solvent-free approach to synthesizing organolead perovskites by using solid state reactions to coat perovskite crystals onto Al2O3 or TiO2 nanoparticles followed by addition of terpineol affording perovskite inks. We have bar cast these inks to produce photoactive perovskite thin films which are significantly more stable to humidity than solution-processed films. This new method also avoids the use of toxic DMF solvent

A perspective on using experiment and theory to identify design principles in dye-sensitized solar cells

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) have been the subject of wide-ranging studies for many years because of their potential for large-scale manufacturing using roll-to-roll processing allied to their use of earth abundant raw materials. Two main challenges exist for DSC devices to achieve this goal; uplifting device efficiency from the 12 to 14% currently achieved for laboratory-scale ‘hero’ cells and replacement of the widely-used liquid electrolytes which can limit device lifetimes. To increase device efficiency requires optimized dye injection and regeneration, most likely from multiple dyes while replacement of liquid electrolytes requires solid charge transporters (most likely hole transport materials – HTMs). While theoretical and experimental work have both been widely applied to different aspects of DSC research, these approaches are most effective when working in tandem. In this context, this perspective paper considers the key parameters which influence electron transfer processes in DSC devices using one or more dye molecules and how modelling and experimental approaches can work together to optimize electron injection and dye regeneration. This paper provides a perspective that theory and experiment are best used in tandem to study DSC device

Exploring Relations Between BCG and Cluster Properties in the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources Survey from 0.05<z<0.30.05 < z < 0.3

We present a sample of 329 low to intermediate redshift ($0.05 < z < 0.3$) brightest cluster galaxies (BCGs) in X-ray selected clusters from the SPectroscopic IDentification of eRosita Sources (SPIDERS) survey, a spectroscopic survey within Sloan Digital Sky Survey-IV (SDSS-IV). We define our BCGs by simultaneous consideration of legacy X-ray data from ROSAT, maximum likelihood outputs from an optical cluster-finder algorithm and visual inspection. Using SDSS imaging data, we fit S\'ersic profiles to our BCGs in three bands (\textit{g}, \textit{r}, \textit{i}) with \textsc{SIGMA}, a \textsc{GALFIT}-based software wrapper. We examine the reliability of our fits by running our pipeline on ${\sim}10^{4}$ psf-convolved model profiles injected into 8 random cluster fields, we then use the results of this analysis to create a robust subsample of 198 BCGs. We outline three cluster properties of interest: overall cluster X-ray luminosity ($L_{X}$), cluster richness as estimated by \textsc{redMaPPer} ($\lambda$) and cluster halo mass ($M_{200}$), which is estimated via velocity dispersion. In general, there are significant correlations with BCG stellar mass between all three environmental properties, but no significant trends arise with either S\'ersic index or effective radius. There is no major environmental dependence on the strength of the relation between effective radius and BCG stellar mass. Stellar mass therefore arises as the most important factor governing BCG morphology. Our results indicate that our sample consists of a large number of relaxed, mature clusters containing broadly homogeneous BCGs up to $z \sim 0.3$, suggesting that there is little evidence for much ongoing structural evolution for BCGs in these systems

Gravitational redshifting of galaxies in the SPIDERS cluster catalogue

Data from the SPectroscopic IDentification of ERosita Sources (SPIDERS) are searched for a detection of the gravitational redshifting of light from similar to 20 000 galaxies in similar to 2500 galaxy clusters using three definitions of the cluster centre: its Brightest Cluster Galaxy (BCG), the redMaPPer identified Central Galaxy (CG), or the peak of X-ray emission. Distributions of velocity offsets between galaxies and their host cluster's centre, found using observed redshifts, are created. The quantity (Delta) over cap, the average of the radial velocity difference between the cluster members and the cluster systemic velocity, reveals information on the size of a combination of effects on the observed redshift, dominated by gravitational redshifting. The change of (Delta) over cap with radial distance is predicted for SPIDERS galaxies in General Relativity (GR), and f(R) gravity, and compared to the observations. The values of (Delta) over cap = -13.5 +/- 4.7 kms(-1), (Delta) over cap = -12.5 +/- 5.1 kms(-1), and (Delta) over cap = -18.6 +/- 4.8 kms(-1) for the BCG, X-ray, and CG cases, respectively, broadly agree with the literature. There is no significant preference of one gravity theory over another, but all cases give a clear detection (>2.5 sigma) of (Delta) over cap. The BCG centroid is deemed to be the most robust method in this analysis, due to no well-defined central redshift when using an X-ray centroid, and CGs identified by redMaPPer with no associated spectroscopic redshift. For future gravitational redshift studies, an order-of-magnitude more galaxies, similar to 500 000, will be required - a possible feat with the forthcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory, Euclid and eROSITA.Peer reviewe

Gravitational redshifting of galaxies in the SPIDERS cluster catalogue

Data from the SPectroscopic IDentification of ERosita Sources (SPIDERS) are searched for a detection of the gravitational redshifting of light from ∼20,000 galaxies in ∼2500 galaxy clusters using three definitions of the cluster centre: its Brightest Cluster Galaxy (BCG), the redMaPPer identified Central Galaxy (CG), or the peak of X-ray emission. Distributions of velocity offsets between galaxies and their host cluster's centre, found using observed redshifts, are created. The quantity Delta, the average of the radial velocity difference between the cluster members and the cluster systemic velocity, reveals information on the size of a combination of effects on the observed redshift, dominated by gravitational redshifting. The change of Δ with radial distance is predicted for SPIDERS galaxies in General Relativity (GR), and f(R) gravity, and compared to the observations. The values of Δ =-13.5\pm 4.7 km s-1, Δ=-12.5pm 5.1 km s-1, and Δ =-18.6\pm 4.8 km s-1 for the BCG, X-ray, and CG cases, respectively, broadly agree with the literature. There is no significant preference of one gravity theory over another, but all cases give a clear detection (>2.5σ) of Δ. The BCG centroid is deemed to be the most robust method in this analysis, due to no well-defined central redshift when using an X-ray centroid, and CGs identified by redMaPPer with no associated spectroscopic redshift. For future gravitational redshift studies, an order-of-magnitude more galaxies, ∼500,000, will be required-a possible feat with the forthcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory, Euclid and eROSITA