Men considering (and choosing) teaching as a career: what accounts for their decision to become a teacher?

The aim of the current study is to better understand the decision-making of men considering teaching as a career option. By means of a longitudinal study (n = 226), we examined the persistence of male academic high-school students in Switzerland interested in teaching during transition to higher education. For 85 men attending information events for teacher education, using regression analysis we explore factors contributing to their decidedness and volition before enrolling for teacher education studies. The findings reveal that only a very small number of male academic high-school students are interested in teaching. Those who are, however, are persistent in their study choice. Results of the regression analysis show that an interest in working with children and youth, the importance of having free time for other things and having professional experience working with children contribute to the likelihood of men having decided to take up teacher education studies.     

Facilitating change in undergraduate STEM instructional practices: An analytic review of the literature

This article reviews current scholarship about how to promote change in instructional practices used in undergraduate science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. The review is based on 191 conceptual and empirical journal articles published between 1995 and 2008. Four broad categories of change strategies were developed to capture core differences within this body of literature: disseminating curriculum and pedagogy, developing reflective teachers, enacting policy, and developing shared vision. STEM education researchers largely write about change in terms of disseminating curriculum and pedagogy. Faculty development researchers largely write about change in terms of developing reflective teachers. Higher education researchers largely write about change in terms of enacting policy. New work often does not build on prior empirical or theoretical work. Although most articles claim success of the change strategy studied, evidence presented to support these claims is typically not strong. For example, only 21% of articles that studied implementation of a change strategy were categorized as presenting strong evidence to support claims of success or failure of the strategy. These analyses suggest that the state of change strategies and the study of change strategies are weak, and that research communities that study and enact change are largely isolated from one‐another. In spite of the weak state of the literature, some conclusions related to the design of change strategies can be drawn from this review. Two commonly used change strategies are clearly not effective: developing and testing “best practice” curricular materials and then making these materials available to other faculty and “top‐down” policy‐making meant to influence instructional practices. Effective change strategies: are aligned with or seek to change the beliefs of the individuals involved; involve long‐term interventions, lasting at least one semester; require understanding a college or university as a complex system and designing a strategy that is compatible with this system. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 952–984, 2011     

EFLM Position Statement: Our profession now has a European name: Specialist in Laboratory Medicine

We need a common name to have a clear identity which best describes the scope of the work we carry out for the patients.A clear and easily understood name which reflects the level of education and training of a specialist in the medical laboratory, and hence eligibility to be on the EC4 Register, is therefore needed, whatever academic background and whether polyvalent or sub-specialised.     

Flow biosensing and sampling in indirect electrochemical detection

Miniaturization in biological analyses has several advantages, such as sample volume reduction and fast response time. The integration of miniaturized biosensors within lab-on-a-chip setups under flow conditions is highly desirable, not only because it simplifies process handling but also because measurements become more robust and operator-independent. In this work, we study the integration of flow amperometric biosensors within a microfluidic platform when analyte concentration is indirectly measured. As a case study, we used a platinum miniaturized glucose biosensor, where glucose is enzymatically converted to [Formula: see text] that is oxidized at the electrode. The experimental results produced are strongly coupled to a theoretical analysis of fluid dynamic conditions affecting the electrochemical response of the sensor. We verified that the choice of the inlet flow rate is a critical parameter in flow biosensors, because it affects both glucose and [Formula: see text] transport, to and from the electrode. We identify optimal flow rate conditions for accurate sensing at high time resolution. A dimensionless theoretical analysis allows the extension of the results to other sensing systems according to fluid dynamic similarity principles. Furthermore, we developed a microfluidic design that connects a sampling unit to the biosensor, in order to decouple the sampling flow rate from that of the actual measurement.     

The doping self-reporting game: The paradox of a ‘false-telling’ mechanism and its potential research and policy implications

Establishing a requirement for, justifying public spending on, and evaluating the effectiveness of anti-doping policies all accentuate the need for reliable estimates of doping prevalence in sport. To date, despite considerable effort and much empirical research, this critical information is still not available. Methodological concerns that make doping epidemiology research difficult have been noted, and to some degree addressed in relation to under-reporting bias. In this paper, we use a simple game model to outline a potential responding behaviour among self-reporting athletes on the use of doping that could potentially invalidate any prevalence estimation arising from self-reports. We show a paradoxical situation in which a potential strategic behaviour inevitably leads to a game where the ‘lying’ is a dominant strategy for both doping users and non-users. A slightly more advanced look at the situation might possibly alter this seemingly absurd conclusion, however not in a direction offering any easy solutions for empirical doping research. Although we acknowledge that the proportions of respondents engaging in false telling are likely to vary across samples and differ between doping users and clean athletes, our simple model effectively draws attention to a neglected side of evasive responding in surveys. The response bias that potentially could lead to under- and over-reporting should be considered when self-reported prevalence rates are used to inform anti-doping prevention and intervention policies. Survey methodologies that are able to account for potential distortions would make a considerable contribution to doping research.     

‘Why should I be like bloody Rain Man?!’ Navigating the autistic identity

This article explores the views of six higher education students with autism/Asperger syndrome. The research draws upon social identity theory to explore how participants made meaning of their label. There was consensus that information given at the point of diagnosis generally did not reflect their individual experiences. First‐hand accounts tended to be perceived as more personally relevant. The ‘Asperger’ identity was generally framed as fragile and inconsistent, leading some individuals to distance themselves from it. This may be problematic for a group that is already disadvantaged and isolated. However, participants conveyed strong self‐images regardless of how and whether they identified with their diagnosis, which was attributed to their relative privilege in achieving higher education and therefore experiencing success and achievement related to their personal strengths. In this article, Andrea MacLeod, Ann Lewis and Christopher Robertson, from the University of Birmingham, call for researchers and relevant services to involve autistic individuals directly in fostering a constructive ‘autism identity’.     

Predictors of reading literacy for first and second language learners

In this study an attempt was made to construct a multi-factor model predicting the development of reading literacy in the upper grades of primary school in the Netherlands for subgroups of 729 first language (L1) learners and 93 second language (L2) learners. Following a longitudinal design, it was explored to what extent the variation in reading literacy development in L1 and L2 from grade 4 to grade 6 can be explained from children’s word decoding, language, mathematics and nonverbal reasoning skills, reading motivation and self confidence as well as their home reading resources. The results showed that L1 and L2 learners differed in reading literacy skills, language, mathematics, and reasoning skills. Structural equation modelling showed that the reading literacy development in both L1 and L2 learners could be explained from decoding, language, mathematics and reasoning skills, as well as their motivation and self-confidence. A striking difference was the fact that home reading resources had an impact on reading literacy in L1 learners but not in L2 learners.     

Developing Interdepartmental Integration: An Evaluation of Three Strategic Approaches for Performance Improvement

Interdepartmental integration, the melding together of disparate functional areas within an organization, is believed to be associated with superior firm performance. However, the particular approach that human resource development practitioners should focus on to improve performance is not well‐understood. Our research assesses three alternative approaches to interdepartmental integration: the interaction, collaboration, and combination views. The interaction view suggests that successful interdepartmental integration is achieved primarily by increasing the volume of meetings and documented information exchange; the collaboration view prescribes teamwork, sharing, and the achievement of collective goals. The third view suggests that Successful integration involves a combination of interaction and collaboration. The results of a recent survey of functional managers are presented. The findings indicate that interaction and collaboration are both positively associated with performance and extendi previous empirical work by suggesting that, when viewed collectively, collaboration mediates the relationship between interaction and performance. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.     

Making Science Relevant: The Experiences of Prospective Elementary School Teachers in an Innovative Science Content Course

Journal of Science Teacher Education -