Evaluating the effects of Virtual Reality training on the accuracy rate of a Supply Chain Fulfilment team.

Learning technology advancements have shown how employees can benefit from new and varied learning experiences in comparison to traditional on-the-job training. This is true for manual tasks which if done incorrectly could result in high error costs to companies. This research applied the use of an immersive virtual reality learning experience to evaluate the impact on a supply chain fulfilment teams accuracy rate. The overall team accuracy rate did improve as a result, producing a reduction in error rate and costs of resent/refunded orders. The participants reported that they enjoyed training with new technology and that it impacted their daily practice. This research also discusses the benefits of using emerging technology for training over traditional trainer-led learning and how organisations could benefit from investing in new learning technology to create engaging and scaffolded content for their employees

MTED Editorial : Challenges and Opportunities

Welcome to the first issue of MTED for 2020. What a challenging year it has been. The COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted social, economic, and cultural life and impacted on people’s lives worldwide. Our thoughts are with all members of our extended mathematical community, who have experienced adverse effects as a result of the virus. COVID-19 restrictions have meant that many of us have had no or limited access to research sites and have been tasked with reimagining our teaching approaches to accommodate online learning. While these effects have been challenging, they also provide opportunities for us to reconsider our research and teaching approaches. The rapid shift to online learning in many educational contexts is an area that is ripe for research, and for mathematics teacher educators, research into one’s own practice could examine the impact of this learning on pre-service teachers. Opportunities are also available in the work we do with teachers. While facilitation of in-situ professional learning has been impacted, online delivery has opened access to professional learning seminars, conferences, and expertise that is available to teachers world-wide. We hope that you have had the opportunity to reimagine your role, and if not, that some of the articles in this issue may ignite some ideas to both revitalise your research and your teaching

MTED Editorial : Frameworks for evaluating the work of teachers and teacher educators

This edition of Mathematics Teacher Education and Development is the first edited by a new team: Associate Professor Tracey Muir, Dr Carol Murphy, Dr Noleine Fitzallen, and Dr Robyn Reaburn, all from the University of Tasmania. We would like to thank the previous editorial team for their hard work: Associate Professor Fiona Ell, Dr Jodie Hunter, and Associate Professor Robin Averill. Under their leadership, the journal has increased its reputation, and has continued to foster research from all over the world. We also thank them for their assistance in the transition period

The impact of experiences, dispositions, and beliefs on practice

It has long been recognised that how mathematics educators view the nature of mathematics affects the way they teach it. For example, those who believe that mathematics consists of only rules and procedures, are more likely to teach just rules and procedures. Those who believe that mathematics is a static body of knowledge out there to be discovered, are more likely to teach with the aim of developing students' understanding. Those who believe that mathematics is a dynamic, ever expanding area of human creation, are more likely to encourage their students to be problem-posers and problem-solvers (Ernest, 1989). In reality, it is expected that mathematics teachers will teach using a variety of these approaches, depending on the topic, context, and their own experiences. It is important, therefore, that mathematics educators examine their beliefs and what affect these might have on their teaching. The papers in this issue examine this intertwining of beliefs about mathematics and teaching, along with experiences, and the impact they have on teaching practice

MTED Editorial : Celebrating ways forward and recognising dilemmas

Abstract not availabl

The Bioarchaeology of Gendered Social Processes Among Pre- and Post-Contact Native Americans: An Analysis of Mortuary Patterns, Health, and Activity in the Ohio Valley

This dissertation employs a gendered theoretical perspective to examine the interaction between social status and biological processes in light of social change (subsistence, environment, and contact) in the Ohio Valley region of North America throughout five time periods: Early Woodland (3000BP-2200BP), Early Monongahela (1150AD-1250AD), Middle Monongahela (1250-1580AD), Late Monongahela (1580- 1635AD) and Post-Contact (1756AD-1778AD) periods. Burial data (body position, orientation, location) from site reports was integrated with data from skeletal analysis (n=330). Age and sex estimation were utilized to determine demographic structure. Skeletal and dental pathology was assessed to evaluate population health, and musculoskeletal stress markers (MSMs) were examined to infer activity patterns. Two cluster analyses were performed: traditional mortuary clustering (burial data by biological sex) and biosocial clustering (burial data, skeletal data, age and sex). During the Early Woodland, there was little differentiation in activity, health, and burial pattern by sex or age. An elite burial class was revealed, likely tied to shamanistic practitioners, representing a third gender. Among the Monongahela, older adults may have had a higher status in the Early and Middle periods, with no differentiation by age or sex in the Late period. The Monongahela group employed a system of gender equality, with emerging status in later adulthood. Activity patterns demonstrated that males performed more hunting related activities with both sexes involved in craft production and agricultural labor, with intensification in these patterns in the Late period initiated by climate change. European contact had a detrimental effect on health for the post-contact Delaware as indicated by a catastrophic mortality assemblage. No differences in male and female MSMs were found among the Post-Contact group, and overall robusticity was lower than earlier periods. Although there is historical evidence of male leaders among the Delaware, this was not reflected in burial or activity patterns. This research is significant as it presents a diachronic view of gender, social status, and biological status integrating current theoretical models to infer nuanced aspects of biosocial life among indigenous Ohio Valley groups before and after contact

Quantification of calsequestrin 2 (CSQ2) in sheep cardiac muscle and Ca 2+ -binding protein changes in CSQ2 knockout mice

Calsequestrin 2 (CSQ2) is generally regarded as the primary Ca2+-buffering molecule present inside the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) in cardiac cells, but findings from CSQ2 knockout experiments raise major questions about its role and necessity. This study determined the absolute amount of CSQ2 present in cardiac ventricular muscle to gauge its likely influence on SR free Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]) and maximal Ca2+ capacity. Ventricular tissue from hearts of freshly killed sheep was examined by SDS-PAGE without any fractionation, and CSQ2 was detected by Western blotting; this method avoided the >90% loss of CSQ2 occurring with usual fractionation procedures. Band intensities were compared against those for purified CSQ2 run on the same blots. Fidelity of quantification was verified by demonstrating that CSQ2 added to homogenates was detected with equal efficacy as purified CSQ2 alone. Ventricular tissue from sheep (n = 8) contained 24 ± 2 μmol CSQ2/kg wet wt. Total Ca2+ content of the ventricular tissue, measured by atomic absorption spectroscopy, was 430 ± 20 μmol/kg (with SR Ca2+ likely <250 μmol/kg) and displayed a linear correlation with CSQ2 content, with gradient of ∼10 Ca2+ per CSQ2. The large amount of CSQ2 bestows the SR with a high theoretical maximal Ca2+-binding capacity (∼1 mmol Ca2+/kg ventricular tissue, assuming a maximum of ∼40 Ca2+ per CSQ2) and would keep free [Ca2+] within the SR relatively low, energetically favoring Ca2+ uptake and reducing SR leak. In mice with CSQ2 ablated, histidinerich Ca2+-binding protein was upregulated ∼35% in ventricular tissue, possibly in compensation

No evidence of direct association between GLUT4 and glycogen in human skeletal muscle

Previous studies have demonstrated that exercise increases whole body and skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity that is linked with increased GLUT4 at the plasma membrane following insulin stimulation and associated with muscle glycogen depletion. To assess the potential direct association between muscle glycogen and GLUT4, seven untrained, male subjects exercised for 60 min at ~75% VO2 peak, with muscle samples obtained by percutaneous needle biopsy immediately before and after exercise. Exercise reduced muscle glycogen content by ~43%. An ultracentrifugation protocol resulted in a ~2-3-fold enriched glycogen fraction from muscle samples for analysis. Total GLUT4 content was unaltered by exercise and we were unable to detect any GLUT4 in glycogen fractions, either with or without amylase treatment. In skinned muscle fiber segments, there was very little, if any, GLUT4 detected in wash solutions, except following exposure to 1% Triton X-100. Amylase treatment of single fibers did not increase GLUT4 in the wash solution and there were no differences in GLUT4 content between fibers obtained before or after exercise for any of the wash treatments. Our results indicate no direct association between GLUT4 and glycogen in human skeletal muscle, before or after exercise, and suggest that alterations in GLUT4 translocation associated with exercise-induced muscle glycogen depletion are mediated via other mechanisms

Exercise and GLUT4 in human subcutaneous adipose tissue

To examine the effect of acute and chronic exercise on adipose tissue GLUT4 expression, a total of 20 healthy, male subjects performed one of two studies. Ten subjects performed cycle ergometer exercise for 60 min at 73 ± 2% VO2 peak and abdominal adipose tissue samples were obtained immediately before and after exercise and after 3 h of recovery. Another 10 subjects completed 10 days of exercise training, comprising a combination of six sessions of 60 min at 75% VO2 peak and four sessions of 6 × 5 min at 90% VO2 peak, separated by 3 min at 40% VO2 peak. Abdominal adipose tissue and vastus lateralis muscle samples were obtained before training and 24 h after the last training session. A single bout of exercise did not change adipose tissue GLUT4 mRNA; however, there was a small, but significant, reduction in adipose tissue GLUT4 protein expression 3 h after exercise. There were no changes in adipose tissue GLUT4 or COX‐IV expression following exercise training. In contrast, skeletal muscle GLUT4 and COX‐IV were increased by 47% and 44%, respectively following exercise training. The exercise training‐induced increase in GLUT4 expression was similar in both type I and type IIa single muscle fibers. Our results indicate that neither a single exercise bout, nor 10 days of exercise training, increased adipose tissue GLUT4, in contrast with the increases observed in skeletal muscle GLUT4 expression