‘They call me headmaster’: Malawian and Australian women leaders

This article explores commonalities in the lives and work of women head teachers in Malawian secondary schools and women principals in Australian Lutheran schools. In both Australia and Malawi women are under-represented in school leadership and often appointed to complex schools and communities. We commence with a brief discussion of Malawi and Australia’s political and educational histories which have much in common, before outlining current selection policies for school leadership. The second part of the article explores women leaders’ initial and ongoing challenges in relation to their school systems, daily work and domestic lives. The final section focuses on their perspectives of current strategies to address women’s under-representation as leaders in their respective school systems. Notwithstanding the stark contrast in socio-economic contexts, we highlight enduring transnational inequalities in women leaders’ lives and work in Malawian secondary and Australian Lutheran schools.     

Regression Effects in Angoff Ratings: Examples from Credentialing Exams

This article discusses regression effects that are commonly observed in Angoff ratings where panelists tend to think that hard items are easier than they are and easy items are more difficult than they are in comparison to estimated item difficulties. Analyses of data from two credentialing exams illustrate these regression effects and the persistence of these regression effects across rounds of standard setting, even after panelists have received feedback information and have been given the opportunity to discuss their ratings. Additional analyses show that there tended to be a relationship between the average item ratings provided by panelists and the standard deviations of those item ratings and that the relationship followed a quadratic form with peak variation in average item ratings found toward the middle of the item difficulty scale. The study concludes with discussion of these findings and what they may imply for future standard settings.     

Examining How Professional Roles and Test Development Experiences Impact Angoff Ratings

An important consideration in standard setting is recruiting a group of panelists with different experiences and backgrounds to serve on the standard-setting panel. This study uses data from 14 different Angoff standard settings from a variety of medical imaging credentialing programs to examine whether people with different professional roles and test development experiences tended to recommend higher or lower cut scores or were more or less accurate in their standard-setting judgments. Results suggested that there were not any statistically significant differences for different types of panelists in terms of the cut scores they recommended or the accuracy of their judgments. Discussion of what these results may mean for panelist selection and recruitment is provided.     

The compatibility of zero-sum logic and mutualism in sport

This essay argues that within competitive sport zero-sum logic and the theory of mutualism are compatible and complementary. Drawing on Robert Simon’s theory of mutualism and Scott Kretchmar’s argument for zero-sum logic, this article shows how athletes can strive for a clear-cut victory and shared benefits such as athletic excellence fully and wholeheartedly at the same time. This paper will also consider how acknowledgment of this dynamic could advance understandings for ethical theories for sport. It will then conclude by describing a subjective approach that will make the affinity of zero-sum logic and mutualism more accessible for sports people.     

Effect of carbohydrate ingestion during cycling exercise on affective valence and activation in recreational exercisers

Carbohydrate (CHO) ingestion enhances “feel-good” responses during acute exercise but no study has examined the effect of regular ingestion of CHO on affective valence. We investigated the effect of CHO ingestion on perceptual responses and perceived work intensity of individual exercise sessions throughout a 10-week cycling (“spin”) exercise intervention. We also assessed whether any changes in affect and/or perceived work intensity would influence health and fitness parameters. Twelve recreational exercisers (46 ± 9 years; nine females and three males) were randomly allocated to either CHO (7.5% CHO; 5 mL · kg^?1 per exercise session; n = 6; CHO) or placebo (0% CHO, taste- and volume-matched solution; n = 6; PLA) groups. Participants exercised 2 × 45-min per week, over a 10-week intervention period. Perceptual measures of exertion (RPE), affect (feeling scale, FS) and activation (felt arousal scale, FAS) were assessed after each exercise session. The FAS ratings increased over time in CHO but decreased throughout the intervention in PLA (P = 0.03). There were no differences in heart rate (P = 0.70), RPE (P = 0.05) and FS (P = 0.84) between trials. Furthermore, no changes in health and fitness parameters were observed over time or between groups. CHO ingestion enhanced ratings of activation in recreational exercisers throughout a 10-week cycling intervention.     

Applications of Augmented Reality in Informal Science Learning Sites: a Review

The importance of increasing interest in the STEM disciplines has been noted in a number of recent national reports. While many previous studies have focused on such efforts inside of the formal classroom, comparatively few have looked closely at informal learning environments. We investigate the innovative use of technology in informal learning by reviewing research on the incorporation of augmented reality (AR) at exhibit-based informal science education (ISE) settings in the literature. We report on the common STEM-focused topics that are covered by current AR applications for ISE learning, as well as the different devices used to support these applications. Additionally, we report on the prevalence of positive learning outcomes and engagement factors commonly associated with the use AR applications in informal environments. This review aims to foster continued development and implementation of AR technology in exhibit-based ISE settings by informing the community of recent findings and promoting additional rigorous research for the future.     

Adding reagent to droplets with controlled rupture of encapsulated double emulsions

We present a method to add reagent to microfluidic droplets by enveloping them as a double emulsions in reagent-filled droplets and then rupturing them with an electric field. When the double emulsions rupture, they release their contents into the enveloping droplets, ensuring mixing with reagent while limiting cross-droplet contamination.