Starting the data conversation: informing data services at an academic health sciences library

Objective

The research obtained information to plan data-related products and services.

Methods

Biomedical researchers in an academic medical center were selected using purposive sampling and interviewed using open-ended questions based on a literature review. Interviews were conducted until saturation was achieved.

Results

Interview responses informed library planners about researchers’ key data issues.

Conclusions

This approach proved valuable for planning data management products and services and raising library visibility among clients in the research data realm.     

Teaching Science as a Process,Not a Set of Facts

Science & Education - The widespread misperception of science as a deliverer of irrefutable facts, rather than a deliberative process, is undermining public trust in science. Science education...     

Effective ranking and search techniques for Web resources considering semantic relationships

On the Semantic Web, the types of resources and the semantic relationships between resources are defined in an ontology. By using that information, the accuracy of information retrieval can be improved.     

Examination of the role of transient receptor potential vanilloid type 4 in endothelial responses to shear forces

Shear stress is the major mechanical force applied on vascular endothelial cells by blood flow, and is a crucial factor in normal vascular physiology and in the development of some vascular pathologies. The exact mechanisms of cellular mechano-transduction in mammalian cells and tissues have not yet been elucidated, but it is known that mechanically sensitive receptors and ion channels play a crucial role. This paper describes the use of a novel and efficient microfluidic device to study mechanically-sensitive receptors and ion channels in vitro, which has three independent channels from which recordings can be made and has a small surface area such that fewer cells are required than for conventional flow chambers. The contoured channels of the device enabled examination of a range of shear stresses in one field of view, which is not possible with parallel plate flow chambers and other previously used devices, where one level of flow-induced shear stress is produced per fixed flow-rate. We exposed bovine aortic endothelial cells to different levels of shear stress, and measured the resulting change in intracellular calcium levels ([Ca²⁺]_i) using the fluorescent calcium sensitive dye Fluo-4AM. Shear stress caused an elevation of [Ca²⁺]_i that was proportional to the level of shear experienced. The response was temperature dependant such that at lower temperatures more shear stress was required to elicit a given level of calcium signal and the magnitude of influx was reduced. We demonstrated that shear stress-induced elevations in [Ca²⁺]_i are largely due to calcium influx through the transient receptor potential vanilloid type 4 ion channel.     

The Assessment Skills and Knowledge Standards: Professionalizing the work of assessing student learning and development

A new set of standards to guide professional development in assessment among student affairs professionals and faculty members is poised to revolutionize how educators learn to conduct this essential work.     

The influence of grandparents’ social class on children’s aspirations

Social class mobility from grandparent to grandchild is a relatively neglected topic. Grandparents today are often healthier and more active, and have longer relationships with their grandchildren than in previous generations. We used data from the UK’s Millennium Cohort Study (n = 8570) to investigate the influence of maternal and paternal grandparents’ social class on the aspirations of children at age seven. Using path analysis and controlling for family income, mother’s and father’s education, lone motherhood, and child’s ethnicity and gender, we found very small direct effects from the paternal grandmother’s social class to the grandchild’s classed aspirations, and small, indirect effects, via parents’ class, of grandparents’ class on child’s classed aspirations. Multi-group analyses found few differences by ethnicity and gender. There was no evidence that, at this age, mixed-class parentage raises the aspirations of working-class children (the ‘sunken middle-class’ hypothesis).     

Creating an Ofsted story: the role of early years assessment data in schools’ narratives of progress

This paper explores the growing importance of measures of progress in judgements of schools’ effectiveness in England, with a focus on the role of the early years (settings for children aged 2–5) in providing data for these measures. Qualitative data from a research project involving three diverse school-based and pre-compulsory early years settings are used to explore how teachers and school leaders prioritise the collection of data in their every-day practice, in order to show how children make continual progress. The need for a narrative of progress as children move up through the primary school, an ‘Ofsted story’ for the school inspection service, is discussed alongside recent policy which requires a ‘baseline’ assessment at age four. We argue that there is a reification of progress in schools and early years settings, and that this changes the status of early years within the sector.     

Reactivity effects in video-based classroom research: an investigation using teacher and student questionnaires as well as teacher eye-tracking

One prominent problem of conducting observational assessments of teaching quality is the possibility of reactivity effects. To date, the issue of reactivity has received limited empirical attention. The present study, therefore, investigated reactivity in 447 students from 24 classes as well as their 12 teachers. We compared reactivity during lessons that were video-recorded with those that were not: according to t?test analyses of teacher ratings and MIMIC analyses of student ratings, no significant differences emerged in teaching quality or teaching practices. Significant differences were found in teacher and student emotions, as well as in student cognition and behavior. Supplementary eye-tracking analyses indicated reactivity depleted after 1?min 20?s. The results are discussed with respect to their relevance for future video studies on classroom instruction.