Supporting Answerers with Feedback in Social Q&A

Prior research has examined the use of Social Question and Answer (Q&A) websites for answer and help seeking. However, the potential for these websites to support domain learning has not yet been realized. Helping users write effective answers can be beneficial for subject area learning for both answerers and the recipients of answers. In this study, we examine the utility of crowdsourced, criteria-based feedback for answerers on a student-centered Q&A website, Brainly.com. In an experiment with 55 users, we compared perceptions of the current rating system against two feedback designs with explicit criteria (Appropriate, Understandable, and Generalizable). Contrary to our hypotheses, answerers disagreed with and rejected the criteria-based feedback. Although the criteria aligned with answerers' goals, and crowdsourced ratings were found to be objectively accurate, the norms and expectations for answers on Brainly conflicted with our design. We conclude with implications for the design of feedback in social Q&A.Comment: Published in Proceedings of the Fifth Annual ACM Conference on Learning at Scale, Article No. 10, London, United Kingdom. June 26 - 28, 201

The Role of World Trade Organizations in Settling Trade Disputes Between the United States and the European Union

Description of Topic: In settling trade disputes, members of the World Trade Organization use a dispute settlement mechanism set forth in the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations. This multilateral system of settling disputes is implemented if a member believes other members are violating trade rules. Disputes arise when countries adopt policies that break the WTO agreements or that cause them to fail to fulfill obligations. Dispute settlement procedures have existed under many different trade agreements. While current processes are more effective than those of past agreements, they still lack credibility and effectiveness. Research and Results: The United States and the European Union have used the WTO dispute settlement processes in settling many trade disputes over the past decade. Currently, the United States and European Union are involved in several disputes, including the trade of meat treated with growth hormones, the use of the U.S. Foreign Sales Corporation tax exemption, and state subsidization of the steel industry. Recent resolution of the long-standing dispute over the European Union banana regime is a positive indicator of progress in trade relations between the United States and the European Union. These cases will be used to illustrate the point that current WTO recommendations are not the most authoritative means of settling international trade disputes and to suggest improvements, such as increased use of negotiation and arbitration, to the dispute settlement process. The mutually benefiting trade relationships among independent nations can be greatly enhanced by cooperation in and resolution of trade issues. Improvements to the dispute settlement system would facilitate the edification of the global economic environment

Place Matters: An Evolutionary Approach to Annie Proulx\u27s The Half-Skinned Steer and Wamsutter Wolf

In Annie Proulx\u27s interview with Charlie Rose, she states that her stories come from place. Ecocriticism has been the predominant lens with which to understand Proulx\u27s work; however, ecocriticism\u27s nebulous tenets and theoretical deficiencies perpetuate sentimental pastoralism of geographical determinism. The shaping impact of Wyoming\u27s environment in Proulx\u27s work lends itself to an evolutionary perspective. Proulx\u27s fiction, like evolutionary theory, examines humanity\u27s unique, reciprocal relationship with nature. The evolutionary approach provides readers with a framework to understand the human relationship to our environment, a theme Proulx\u27s work examines. This approach also augments current criticism that notes the importance of place but does not utilize the relevant framework of evolution. Current evolutionary theory provides the theoretical framework necessary to shed light on the relationship between Proulx\u27s colorful characters and the environment that shapes them. Utilizing this evolutionary framework and textual analysis, I examine two short stories, The Half-Skinned Steer and Wamsutter Wolf

Good Sex and How to Get It

Walker uses the theology of Kelly Brown Douglas, Rita Brock, and Susan Thistlewaite, and the ethics of Marvin Ellison to consider a healthy definition of good sex. This conversation is continued by considering the societal changes that would need to occur to make the general outlook towards sexuality lose its oppressive nature be it gendered or racial. Ideally, sex would regain its inherent ability to connect lovers to each other and to god. Walker points out that all of the authors view sexuality as an essential part of the human experience, and point out its inherent goodness as a gift of god. This goodness is skewed when sex is used as a form of domination, as it often is through racial stereotypes and sexual violence. Walker concludes that good sex is sexual acts that enable individuals to understand themselves, their fellow men and women, and their divinity better. However, finding a way to make this form of sexuality the norm, Walker acknowledges, is going to take many years of discussion and reform as society addressing the many factors that turn sexuality into a dominating, oppressive force

The Scottish Pipe Band in North America: Tradition, Transformation, and Transnational Identity

For Scots and non-Scots alike, the sounds of the bagpipes and the pipe band serve as a cultural metaphor for Scottish identity: the skirl of the pipes, the crisp sound of the snare drums, and the unique lilt of the music conjure an imagined Scotland of fierce, kilted clansmen and rugged, picturesque Highland scenery. This nearly global association appears to have been constructed on a series of transformations of cultural practices within Scotland itself, as well as throughout greater Britain and the lands of the Scottish diaspora, that began with the early “kiltophiles” in the late eighteenth century. Then, in the nineteenth century, its appeal was rendered greater by the romanticization of the Highlander in British literature, Queen Victoria\u27s affinity for summer holidays at Balmoral Castle, expanded pipe band use in the British Army, and the formation of Scottish heritage societies embracing Highland dress, music, and sport. The turn of the twentieth century saw the pipe band move beyond military spheres to serve a range of civic and social purposes within Scotland, and throughout the subsequent hundred-plus year period, pipe bands as community musical ensembles have spread throughout the lands of the Scottish diaspora and other areas of the globe. Although there were and are a range of organizations, practices, and trends that offer insight into cultural developments within Scotland and the Scottish diaspora, the primary goal of this dissertation is to study the role of the pipe band in the construction and transformation of Scottish identity through an examination of the meanings, values, and musical practices that are built into ideas of Scottishness from the mid-nineteenth through the twenty-first century in the British Isles and North America. In its consideration of late twentieth- to twenty-first-century North American pipe bands, it will cast special light on selected bands of the Southeast and Ohio Valley regions, using two ensembles, the Kentucky United Pipes and Drums and the Knoxville Pipes and Drums, and one Highland festival, the Scotland County Highland Games, as case studies of present-day practices, but also as windows into identity formation within and through bands of the past

Food desert versus food oasis: An exploration of residents' perceptions of factors influencing food buying practices

Utilizing concept mapping, the primary goal of this dissertation research was to explore the range of factors that influence food buying practices. A total of twenty five participants from two low-income zip codes in Pittsburgh, PA completed the concept mapping process. The participants were recruited based on residential proximity to a supermarket. This dissertation is organized around the presentation of three manuscripts. The first manuscript presents an exhaustive review of the literature related to food deserts. The research presented in manuscript two identified perceptions of factors influencing food buying practices among residents of an urban food desert (n=12) compared to a food oasis (n=13). Results identified 121 unique statements that were grouped by participants into 12 clusters, or unique concepts. Analyses show that overall, the average cluster ratings for residents of the food desert were higher than residents of the food oasis. Research presented in manuscript three addressed how residents' perceptions of factors influencing food buying practices differ by food security status. Findings show that food insecure participants rated clusters higher than food secure participants. A secondary aim was to explore how important these factors are to hindering healthy eating based on food desert and food security statuses. Overall, cluster rankings were similar for food secure participants in a food desert and food secure participants in a food oasis. However, participants in the food desert rated all of the clusters higher than participants in the food oasis. In comparing food insecure participants in a food desert to a food oasis, findings show that although cluster rankings were different, average cluster ratings were similar. The public health significance of this study is that it contributes to our understanding of factors that influence food buying practices based on neighborhood and individual-level characteristics, an area that has received limited consideration. Based on findings from this research, areas for future research, and policy and program development have been uncovered to address the lack of access to healthy foods for urban residents of low-income areas

Editorial:Viral interactions with the nucleus

Viruses cause numerous medically important diseases, affecting developing, developed, rich and poor alike. The diseases vary in severity, including chickenpox, smallpox, influenza, shingles, herpes, rabies, polio, Ebola, hanta fever, AIDS and the common cold, amongst others. Regardless of the type of tissue or organ affected, all viruses follow the same basic steps to infect host cells. Once in contact with host cells viruses release their genetic material into the cell followed by genome replication, production of viral proteins, assembly of the virus particle and egress from the infected cell. Viruses disrupt normal host cell processes in order to facilitate their own replication/assembly by re-directing cellular machinery for viral transcription, translation, assembly, release and by inhibiting antiviral responses. Regulated nuclear transport of macromolecules through the nuclear pore complex, the only means of transport across the nuclear membrane, is essential for normal cell function and an effective antiviral response. Many viruses disrupt or exploit the nucleocytoplasmic trafficking pathways in host cells. Cytoplasmic viruses exploit the host cell nucleocytoplasmic trafficking machinery to access nuclear functions and/or disrupt nuclear transport, while several DNA viruses use the trafficking pathways to enable export of their components into the cytoplasm; yet others complete their assembly within the nucleus and use nuclear export pathways to access the cytoplasm. Indeed, the many and varied interactions of viruses and viral proteins with nucleocytoplasmic trafficking components have been invaluable in pathway discovery. Importantly, mounting evidence suggests that these interactions play essential roles in virus replication/assembly and hence may be key to understanding pathophysiology of viral diseases. This Frontiers Research Topic is dedicated to the importance of nucleocytoplasmic trafficking to viral pathogenesis

Physical literacy & the effect of teacher/learner interactions: insights from Secondary School teaching

 Physical literacy is a concept which can be described as the ‘motivation, confidence, physical competence, knowledge and understanding to maintain physical activity throughout the life-course’ (Whitehead, 2011; p2). It has been suggested that people are the result of the interactions they have had with their surroundings, with a Monist view that explains humans as an ‘integrated whole’ (Whitehead, 2010). Therefore the richer these interactions are the more rounded the individual. This study investigated the interaction between three teachers and their mixed sex year seven pupils during a series of gymnastics lessons. A key focus was the effect of the teacher on the development of motivation and confidence in pupils and any progress in their physical competence. Findings highlight the need for a pedagogical model based on respect for both teacher and learner, recognition of effort, progress and achievement and assessment for learning to ensure all learners move forwards on their individual physical literacy journeys. An environment which demonstrates a ‘successful ambience’ encourages pupils to take responsibility for their own learning, resulting in elevated confidence and motivation levels to be physically active (Whitehead, 2011; p167). Research into this field highlights the processes rather than the content, and it is this aspect that enables this research to be considered within a more generic higher education setting