The (De-)evolution of Evolution Games: A Content Analysis of the Representation of Evolution Through Natural Selection in Digital Games

Given the diversity and complexity of education game mechanisms and topics, this article contributes to a theoretical understanding of how game mechanisms “map” to educational topics through inquiry-based learning. Namely, the article examines the presence of evolution through natural selection (ENS) in digital games. ENS is a fundamentally important and widely misunderstood theory. This analysis of ENS portrayal in digital games provides insight into the use of games in teaching ENS. Systematic database search results were coded for the three principles of ENS: phenotypic variation, differential fitness, and fitness heritability. Though thousands of games use the term evolution, few presented elements of evolution, and even fewer contained all principles of ENS. Games developed to specifically teach evolution were difficult to find through Web searches. These overall deficiencies in ENS games reflect the inherent incompatibility between game control elements and the automatic process of ENS.     

The rise of the machines: Artificial intelligence meets scholarly content

Key points

• New forms of human/machine dialogue are emerging as robots understand vast amounts of content rather than simply indexing content as strings of characters.
• Recognizing strings of characters as entities (e.g. = names = authors) allows for meaningful associations between entities and reasoning over these relationships.
• Web‐scale adoption of the Semantic Web approach has been slow because it is too complex to implement and does not scale.
• User intent, discovered through conversational models of human–computer interaction, allows for a deeper understanding of exactly what researchers are looking for.
• Personal agents hold the promise of finding information that we will find useful before we have started to look for it.
• Publishers can use Academic Knowledge APIs to interpret academic user queries and find rich information from the Microsoft Academic Graph.

     

Book reviews

The Effective Editor's Handbook, By Barbara Horn, Leatherhead: Pira International 1997, 176 pp £20.00, ISBN: 1 85802 186 3     

Ego depletion negatively affects knowledge retrieval in secondary school students

In the present study, we tested the assumption that performance in a knowledge retrieval test would be lower in secondary school students with temporarily depleted self-control strength (n = 53) compared to secondary school students with temporarily available self-control strength (n = 56). After manipulating self-control strength, students were instructed to memorise the names and the functions of the human eye and to recall as many names and functions as possible following a one-min distraction task. The results supported our assumptions, as students with depleted self-control strength performed significantly worse in the knowledge retrieval task compared to students whose self-control strength had not been temporarily depleted. The results suggest that depleted self-control strength may negatively affect academic performance and hinder a successful academic career. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Assessing the Psychometric Properties of the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Short Form in Mainland China

This investigation tested the psychometric properties of the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Short Form (ATSPPH-SF; Fisher and Farina [Journal of College Student Development, 36, 368–373, 1995]) in a sample of 338 Mainland Chinese college students. Using back-translation, the ATSPPH-SF was translated into simplified Chinese. Confirmatory factor analysis did not support the original one-factor model. Subsequently, exploratory factor analysis suggested a 7-item, two-factor model; however, the new factor structure yielded poor reliability coefficients, below .60. Results suggest that the help-seeking construct as operationalized by the ATSPPH-SF may not be valid for the Chinese population. The importance of designing indigenous instruments for help-seeking attitudes is discussed.     

Effects of childhood setting and interaction with nature on academic performance in introductory college-level courses in the environmental sciences

This study explored the relationships between student background and academic performance in college introductory environmental science (ES) courses at a large U.S. research university with the premise that this analysis may inform teaching practices, curricula, and efforts to increase retention. We surveyed over 700 students across eleven introductory ES courses and used multiple linear mixed-effects regressions to model the data. We found that students who grew up in rural settings or who had frequent childhood interactions with natural environments earned higher grades, on average, than students from urban settings or with fewer childhood interactions with natural environments. Our results indicate that students reporting frequent childhood interactions with forests, for example, were projected to earn grades up to 1.5 letter grades higher in these courses than students with no such interactions. In addition, students with frequent childhood interactions with nature were likelier to report that such interactions helped them in their ES course, suggesting that these students may recognize the value of these experiences. Greater interest in the subject matter also correlated with higher ES course grades, whereas amount of prior ES coursework did not. We discuss the possible implications of these correlations for ES academic performance and educational practice.     

Empowering student learning through Tablet PCs: A case study

Empowering students to learn through ICT is seen as a way to address the growing awareness and demand for preparing students to effectively participate in the emerging global knowledge economy. It is believed that, in order to maintain competitiveness in a global economy, traditional classroom practices must be re-conceptualized in a way that enables students to engage themselves in knowledge building, to become more self-directed, and to assume greater autonomy and social responsibility over their own learning. In this article, we report a case study on the use of Tablet PCs to support teaching and learning in a primary school in Hong Kong, and provide insights into how schools can harness and capitalize on the opportunities offered by such emerging technologies.     

Evaluation of Quality of DNA Extracted from Buccal Swabs for Microarray Based Genotyping

Buccal cell usage has been shown by many to be a cost effective and safe method to isolate DNA for various biological experiments especially large epidemiological studies (Garcia-Closas et al. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 10:687–696, 2001). Non-invasive DNA collection methods are preferred over phlebotomy in order to increase study participation and compliance in research centers and for sick patients in hospital settings. There have been conflicting reports about the methodology and results obtained from using buccal DNA. It is not very clear if phlebotomy can be confidently replaced by buccal cell DNA. It is often left for the user to take an intelligent decision. To address this issue, we compared the performance of buccal and blood DNA from same subjects in a genotyping experiment and this paper reports the results. Cotton swab derived buccal cells were scraped from the inner side of cheeks from 16 subjects, and blood was also drawn from the same 16 subjects participating in a genotypic association study of a lipid disease. The DNA quality was assessed by resolving on agarose gels, checking purity (A260/A280) and finally by microarray hybridization. This study showed that DNA degradation affects the total yield and performance of the buccal DNA when compared to the blood DNA in microarray based genotyping. Genotyping results can be seriously compromised if care is not taken to check the quality and yields of such specimens.     

Changes in mechanical properties of sprinting during repeated sprint in elite rugby sevens athletes

This study aimed to analyse fatigue-induced changes in mechanical sprinting properties during a specific repeated-sprint test in elite rugby sevens athletes. Twenty elite rugby sevens players performed ten 40?m sprints on a 30?s cycle with participant’s running back and forth in a marked lane. Radar was used to assess maximal overground sprint performance over each 40?m. Macroscopic mechanical properties (maximal horizontal force (F₀), maximal horizontal power (P_max), maximal ratio of horizontal force (RF_peak), decrease in the ratio of horizontal-to-total force (D_RF), total force and maximal sprinting velocity (v₀)) were drawn from horizontal force velocity relationships, using a validated method applied to the speed–time data. Fatigue-induced changes were analysed comparing the first sprint to an average of 2^nd-4^th, 5^th-7^th and 8^th-10^th. Repeated-sprint ability (RSA) testing induced substantial changes in the maximal velocity component, with a decrease (–15%) in v₀ (effect size (ES)?=?–2.46 to –4.98), and to a lower extent (–5.9%) in the maximal force component F₀ (ES?=?–0.59). D_RF moderately decreased (14%; ES=–0.76–1.11), and RF_peak largely decreased in the later sprints (ES?=?–0.32 to –1.27). Fatigue observed in this RSA test appeared to have a greater effect on the technical ability to produce horizontal force at high velocities, likely due to an alteration in the ability to maintain horizontally oriented force application when velocity increases rather than during the initial acceleration phase, but also the overall force production capacity. The ability to maintain forward-oriented force at high velocities is of central importance for identifying fatigue and monitoring load.     

A longitudinal study of state government homepage accessibility in Maryland and the role of web page templates for improving accessibility

It is well documented that government agencies, at all levels, continue to have problems ensuring that government web sites follow laws related to web accessibility for people with disabilities. Although there are a number of published studies on government web accessibility that are point-in-time, there are no published studies consisting of a longitudinal analysis of state-level government web site accessibility. This paper contributes to the research literature in three ways: 1) an accessibility inspection of 25 Maryland state government homepages in 2012 which involved 150 human inspections of web pages, 2) a comparison of the results from 2012 to a similar accessibility evaluation in 2009, and 3) a discussion of the role of a web page template, which was introduced in Maryland state government shortly after the 2009 evaluation. The data from this longitudinal evaluation leads to the conclusion that web page templates do tend to result in more accessible sites within state government.