Who are the independent editors,how did they reach their role and what are their associated job satisfactions?

This paper presents new evidence on the world of the independent editor in the publishing industry, analysing their demographic background, education and training, working practices, links with professional organizations, motivations for ‘going it alone‘, and job satisfaction. The results help contribute to the understanding of this important and growing segment of the publishing industry, challenge some of the commonly held beliefs about their role in the industry and set these within the broader context of changes in work organization in publishing. Contrary to the assumption that self‐publishing largely takes place without the involvement of an editor, research into the processes of self‐publishing (previously published in this journal) found that editors (and other providers of publishing services) were in fact often involved. The results are significant for the traditional publishing industry, the users of independent editorial services, and the editors themselves.     

Time on task in intensive modes of delivery

This paper reports on an investigation into how staff teaching in compressed courses can encourage student engagement and enhance student use of learning time, despite significant restraints of time as well as distance. Typically these courses (described here as units) are expected to have comparable learning outcomes to their full-semester counterparts and provide an opportunity for students to either retake failed units or to acquire credit for their chosen degrees in accelerated time. Organising teaching and learning through intensive modes of delivery may require different approaches to curriculum development and pedagogy compared to traditional unit planning and delivery, especially when the intensive delivery utilises online technologies. This paper explores strategies employed by successful intensive mode teachers in the development and delivery units for maximised student engagement. It concludes that many of these strategies are equally applicable in online and distance education regardless of the unit being intensive or otherwise.     

Emotional connections and caring: ethical teachers of physical education

The field of physical education (PE), as it exists in teacher education, is dynamic as ways of preparing teachers to meet the needs of young people in contemporary times change. Such endeavours are underpinned by concerns about school-based PE, the alienation of students from PE, and responsibility for producing healthy students. Concerns also exist around a perceived propensity amongst pre-service teachers of PE to steadfastly retain initial beliefs and values and resist more socially critical perspectives and pedagogies. An engagement with socially critical discourses in teacher education is critical if PE is to be a site of inclusion rather than marginalisation and exclusion. This paper examines how a group of pre-service teachers of PE, who experienced a teacher education programme, at an Australian university, that was infused with strong social justice discourses constituted subjectivities and pedagogical practices. We explore how, emotional connectivity, and an ‘ethic of care’, instil broadened perspectives and engagement with socially critical pedagogical practices. Whilst emotions and caring are generally perceived as marginal attributes in the field of PE, we suggest that the affective domain is significant to effective pedagogical practices, subjectivities of teachers of PE and the reality of teaching. We seek to trouble ‘truths’ disseminated by hegemonic discourses that construct PE teaching as a technical undertaking, founded on disciplinary knowledge and curricular expertise. We close by providing possibilities for others working with PE pre-service teachers around foregrounding affective dimensions of pedagogical practices and teacher subjectivities and propose that these possibilities might address calls for a new type of PE teacher.     

A variant within the AQP1 3ʹ-untranslated region is associated with running performance,but not weight changes,during an Ironman Triathlon

The objective of this study was to test the association of the rs1049305 (G > C) variant within the 3?-untranslated region of the aquaporin 1 gene, AQP1, with changes in body weight, post-race serum sodium concentration and performance in Ironman triathletes. Five hundred and four male Ironman triathletes were genotyped for the rs1049305 variant within the AQP1 gene. Change in pre- and post-race body weight was calculated for 470 triathletes and used as a proxy for changes in body fluid during the race, as well as to divide triathletes into biologically relevant weight-loss groups (0–3%, 3–5% and >5%). There were no rs1049305 genotype effects on post-race serum sodium concentrations (P = 0.647), pre-race weight (P = 0.610) nor relative weight change during the Ironman Triathlons (P = 0.705). In addition, there were no significant differences in genotype (P = 0.640) nor allele (P = 0.643) distributions between the weight loss groups. However, triathletes who carry a C-allele were found to complete the 42.2-km run stage faster (mean 286, s = 49 min) than triathletes with a GG genotype (mean 296, s = 47 min; P = 0.032). The AQP1 rs1049305 variant is associated with running performance, but not relative body weight change, during the 2000, 2001 and 2006 South African Ironman Triathlons.     

On-chip recalcification of citrated whole blood using a microfluidic herringbone mixer

In vitro assays of platelet function and coagulation are typically performed in the presence of an anticoagulant. The divalent cation chelator sodium citrate is among the most common because its effect on coagulation is reversible upon reintroduction of divalent cations. Adding divalent cations into citrated blood by batch mixing leads to platelet activation and initiation of coagulation after several minutes, thus limiting the time blood can be used before spontaneously clotting. In this work, we describe a herringbone microfluidic mixer to continuously introduce divalent cations into citrated blood. The mixing ratio, defined as the ratio of the volumetric flow rates of citrated blood and recalcification buffer, can be adjusted by changing the relative inlet pressures of these two solutions. This feature is useful in whole blood assays in order to account for differences in hematocrit, and thus viscosity. The recalcification process in the herringbone mixer does not activate platelets. The advantage of this continuous mixing approach is demonstrated in microfluidic vascular injury model in which platelets and fibrin accumulate on a collagen-tissue factor surface under flow. Continuous recalcification with the herringbone mixer allowed for flow assay times of up to 30 min, more than three times longer than the time achieved by batch recalcification. This continuous mixer allows for measurements of thrombus formation, remodeling, and fibrinolysis in vitro over time scales that are relevant to these physiological processes.     

A microfluidic device to apply shear stresses to polarizing ciliated airway epithelium using air flow

Organization of airway epithelium determines ciliary beat direction and coordination for proper mucociliary clearance. Fluidic shear stresses have the potential to influence ciliary organization. Here, an in vitro fluidic flow system was developed for inducing long-term airflow shear stresses on airway epithelium with a view to influencing epithelial organization. Our system consists of a fluidic device for cell culture, integrated into a humidified airflow circuit. The fluidic device has a modular design and is made from a combination of polystyrene and adhesive components incorporated into a 6-well filter membrane insert. We demonstrate the system operates within physiologically relevant shear and pressure ranges and estimate the shear stress exerted on the epithelial cell layer as a result of air flow using a computational model. For both the bronchial epithelial cell line BEAS2B and primary human tracheal airway epithelial cells, we demonstrate that cells remain viable within the device when exposed to airflow for 24 h and that normal differentiation and cilia formation occurs. Furthermore, we demonstrate the utility of our device for exploring the impact of exposing cells to airflow: our tool enables quantification of cytoskeletal organization, and is compatible with in situ bead assays to assess the orientation of cilia beating.     

Learning from the experts: gaining insights into best practice during the acquisition of three novel motor skills

The amount and quality of practice predicts expertise, yet optimal conditions of practice have primarily been explored with novice learners. Ten expert musicians and ten novices practiced disc-throwing skills under self-regulated conditions. A third novice group practiced with the same schedule as the music experts (yoked). The groups did not differ in terms of the amount of contextual interference, only in terms of when in-practice interference was introduced. The music experts progressed from a more blocked to random schedule which was opposite to the novices. This resulted in more accurate performance in retention for the experts in comparison to both novice groups (self-scheduled and yoked). The music expert and yoked groups showed higher form scores than the novice self-scheduled group, which might be related to the greater frequency of augmented information for these groups. There was no evidence that non-task-domain experts choose a more random practice schedule than novices, but in accord with good practice principles, they gradually introduced high amounts of interference into their practice. This strategy was associated with less error in retention for the experts. Because the yoked group showed more error than the music experts, the advantage of this schedule was also performance dependent.     

Stress in Year 11 Students

Over the past decade, teacher stress has been well studied. However, comparatively little research has been carried out on student stress. This article reproduces a study carried out by Kyriacou and Butcher in 1993 to observe whether the main stressors for year 11 students have changed over the past 10 years. Students at one comprehensive school completed a questionnaire about their own stress, which was also completed by the teachers. The main sources of stress were academic, as was found in 1993; however, coursework featured more in 2002. There were a number of differences between girls and boys and between the students and their teachers.     

The Cultural Production of Classroom Practice

With reference to ethnographic data, this paper indicates how working class Polynesian and middle class Pakeha (European) girls actively and rationally ‘produce’ classroom practice in a New Zealand secondary school. It is argued that empirical analyses of classrooms within a radical theoretical framework, such as the work of Jean Anyon, need to be informed by an understanding of student practice as structurally‐located cultural production. This is necessary in order to discuss actually how schooling contributes to social reproduction and how it might be engaged in social transformation.