Gender Fairness within the Force Concept Inventory

Research on the test structure of the Force Concept Inventory (FCI) has largely ignored gender, and research on FCI gender effects (often reported as "gender gaps") has seldom interrogated the structure of the test. These rarely-crossed streams of research leave open the possibility that the FCI may not be structurally valid across genders, particularly since many reported results come from calculus-based courses where 75% or more of the students are men. We examine the FCI considering both psychometrics and gender disaggregation (while acknowledging this as a binary simplification), and find several problematic questions whose removal decreases the apparent gender gap. We analyze three samples (total $N_{pre}=5,391$, $N_{post}=5,769$) looking for gender asymmetries using Classical Test Theory, Item Response Theory, and Differential Item Functioning. The combination of these methods highlights six items that appear substantially unfair to women and two items biased in favor of women. No single physical concept or prior experience unifies these questions, but they are broadly consistent with problematic items identified in previous research. Removing all significantly gender-unfair items halves the gender gap in the main sample in this study. We recommend that instructors using the FCI report the reduced-instrument score as well as the 30-item score, and that credit or other benefits to students not be assigned using the biased items.Comment: 18 pages, 3 figures, 5 tables; submitted to Phys. Rev. PE

Teaching in north Queensland general practices

AIMS & RATIONALE: Primary health care (PHC) is integral to the Australian health care system. More PHC practitioners are required to practice in underserved populations and to serve an ageing population with increasing and complex comorbidities. More domestic medical students and graduates provide an opportunity to: (i) redress workforce maldistribution and shortage ; and (ii) grow the future PHC workforce that Australia will require. However, sufficient learning posts are required to capitalise on this opportunity. This study previously explored current teaching volume throughout north Queensland general practice settings and possibilities for growth in teaching capacity. Case studies of five teaching practices will now be conducted to better understand successful teaching strategies that are appropriate for a variety of practice settings. Particular interest is paid to models that might include vertically integrated and interprofessional teaching. METHODS: Case study methods (e.g. interviews, observation) to explore five exemplar teaching practices in depth. FINDINGS: An overview of case study findings will be presented, detailing successful teaching models employed in practices with a wide variety of characteristics (e.g. small/large staff numbers; rurality; number and types of learners at the practice). POTENTIAL USES FOR THIS RESEARCH: Building an appropriate PHC workforce for the future requires sufficient learners to have exposure to good quality learning opportunities in general practice settings, ideally with inspiring preceptors. Showcasing successful teaching strategies in a variety of such settings is important and may prove enlightening for GPs considering teaching or increasing their teaching load

Too Much of a Good Thing: A Look into the Educational Climate of Port Townsend Washington

The concept of choice as it applies to the American educational system has been a topic of intense discussion in recent years. Since the development of this central institution, the freedom of scholastic choice has been an intricate part of the United States’ academic landscape. However, scholars have noted a recent shift as the country has started to take a more neoliberal approach to schooling. In order to better understanding of the concept of choice on a more individualistic level, I conducted a number of personal interviews with parents raising their children in the small rural town of Port Townsend, Washington. My exploration found that while the abundance of academic programs put strain on the educational system on a communal level, on a personal level the ability to have choices was vital for many families. Educational options are shaped by the needs community they serve, often providing flexibility and protection for families who simply want their students to have the best possible future. Thus, I conclude that while the concept of choice may be debated on a nationwide theoretical level, on a personal level it remains a complex but necessary tool for families to ensure their children’s happiness and success

Spatial auditory display for acoustics and music collections

PhDThis thesis explores how audio can be better incorporated into how people access information and does so by developing approaches for creating three-dimensional audio environments with low processing demands. This is done by investigating three research questions. Mobile applications have processor and memory requirements that restrict the number of concurrent static or moving sound sources that can be rendered with binaural audio. Is there a more e cient approach that is as perceptually accurate as the traditional method? This thesis concludes that virtual Ambisonics is an ef cient and accurate means to render a binaural auditory display consisting of noise signals placed on the horizontal plane without head tracking. Virtual Ambisonics is then more e cient than convolution of HRTFs if more than two sound sources are concurrently rendered or if movement of the sources or head tracking is implemented. Complex acoustics models require signi cant amounts of memory and processing. If the memory and processor loads for a model are too large for a particular device, that model cannot be interactive in real-time. What steps can be taken to allow a complex room model to be interactive by using less memory and decreasing the computational load? This thesis presents a new reverberation model based on hybrid reverberation which uses a collection of B-format IRs. A new metric for determining the mixing time of a room is developed and interpolation between early re ections is investigated. Though hybrid reverberation typically uses a recursive lter such as a FDN for the late reverberation, an average late reverberation tail is instead synthesised for convolution reverberation. Commercial interfaces for music search and discovery use little aural information even though the information being sought is audio. How can audio be used in interfaces for music search and discovery? This thesis looks at 20 interfaces and determines that several themes emerge from past interfaces. These include using a two or three-dimensional space to explore a music collection, allowing concurrent playback of multiple sources, and tools such as auras to control how much information is presented. A new interface, the amblr, is developed because virtual two-dimensional spaces populated by music have been a common approach, but not yet a perfected one. The amblr is also interpreted as an art installation which was visited by approximately 1000 people over 5 days. The installation maps the virtual space created by the amblr to a physical space

Characterisation and ontogeny of natural killer cells in Xenopus laevis

The initial aim of the work described in this Thesis was to investigate the lymphoid organ distribution, phenotype and function of the lymphocyte population identified by candidate anti-Xenopus natural killer (NK) cell monoclonal antibodies (mAb's). Since removal of the thymus gland early in larval life (thymectomy) results in the eradication of T-cells and subsequent increase in the proportion of candidate NK cells, thymectomised (Tx) Xenopus were integral in the study of this subset of lymphocytes. Phenotypic and functional studies respectively demonstrated that mAb-defined candidate NK cells do not belong to the B- or T-cell lineage and display cytotoxic activity towards MHC class-Ia-deficient tumour target cells, strengthening the contention that these cells represent the NK subset in Xenopus. The ontogeny of NK cells was investigated in relation to the emergence of the NK cell inhibitory ligand, MHC class-L Splenic NK cells were found to emerge in 6-7 week-old larvae (stage 56-58), which is ≈5 weeks after T- and B-cells become detectable, and some 2 weeks after MHC-Ia is first detected. However, these cells do not appear to be functionally competent until 6 months of age. The expression and ontogeny of recently cloned β2m (the molecule essential for MHC class-I expression) was also briefly investigated. β2m (both RNA and protein) was detectable in all adult tissues and cell lines, even class-I-deficient tumour cells; β2m transcripts were found in 5 week-old larvae that lack MHC class-I. The emergence of NK antigen on a population of T-cells following in vitro stimulation of splenocytes with PMA and calcium ionophore presented the opportunity to biochemically characterise (through immunoprecipitation) the mAb-defined NK antigen. Proteins precipitated using the anti-NK mAb were either surface labelled with biotin, or metabolically labelled with (^35)S. Both techniques resulted in the detection of a protein 55kDa in size

Rural sustainable drainage systems:a practical design and build guide for Scotland's farmers and landowners

Soil cultivation, manure / fertiliser applications and chemical spraying can all contribute to diffuse pollution from agricultural land. Rainfall runoff from farm roads, tracks, yards and dusty roofs are also potential sources of diffuse pollution. Whilst many changes in farming practice have dealt with these sources of pollution there still remains instances where small amounts escape from a farmyard into a nearby ditch or where sediment laden overland field flows make their way into a ditch or burn, river or natural wetland and finally the sea. This not only has cost implications for a farmer but these incidents across a catchment have a huge impact on our water environment. Rural Sustainable Drainage Systems (Rural SuDS) will reduce agricultural diffuse pollution impacts as they are physical barriers that treat rainfall runoff. They are low cost, above ground drainage structures that capture soil particles, organic matter, nutrients and pesticides before they enter our water environment. Rural SuDS for steadings prevent blockages in drains and ditches. They contribute to good environmental practice and farm assurance schemes. In fields they can be used for returning fertile soil back to farmland and will help your business become more resilient to the impacts of climate change. Trapping soils, organic matter and nutrients means that valuable assets can be reclaimed – recent studies indicate savings of £88 per hectare per year! This Design and Build guide can be used by farmers and land managers to reduce diffuse pollution

Confronting National Imagination: American Identity and Hand-Me-Down History

This presentation examined historical and contemporary textbooks from ISU Special Collections and the Teaching Materials Center in the context of current and emerging dialogs about identity politics in education.The roots of modern American history curriculum can be traced back to ubiquitous stories that are intimately tied to a constructed national identity. This presentation critically examines the intersection of national imagination and history education by examining one narrative from early adoption in history education to today\u27s textbooks.Critically analyzing American history can feel contradictory to a foundational piece of American identity. As a result, constructing an inclusive curriculum can feel controversial. Our presentation reflects on historical context, past curricular changes, and possibilities for dialogue and resolution