One Hundred Strong: A Colloquium on Transforming Natural History Museums in the Twenty‐first Century

In February 2012, the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) convened 100 colleagues from 43 organizations to initiate a collaborative learning research agenda focused on examining important areas for innovation to better serve twenty‐first‐century audiences. The conference organizers anticipated that scientists, educators, exhibit professionals, and other members of the natural history community would identify and prioritize research questions about what, how, why, when, and where people learn about natural history. We prepared to engage in a conversation about how natural history museums could change what they do. The participants' overwhelming passion for their work, and for natural history museums and their transformative potential for society, quickly turned the conversation toward how natural history museums should change what they are. The result was an emergent learning research agenda situated within a broader vision for natural history museums.     

Instructor Privacy Management in the Classroom: Exploring Instructors’ Ineffective Communication and Student Communication Satisfaction

The aim of this investigation was twofold: (a) drawing from communication privacy management theory, we wanted to examine the associations between instructors’ ineffective communication (i.e., inappropriate conversations, amount of disclosures) and student communication satisfaction; and (b) we wanted to determine if students’ positive perceptions of instructor nonverbal immediacy mediated the negative influences of instructors’ inappropriate conversations and amount of disclosures on student communication satisfaction. Overall, students reported lower levels of communication satisfaction when instructors engage in inappropriate conversations and frequent disclosures. Based on results, we also concluded that instructor nonverbal immediacy maintains students’ communication satisfaction even when instructors engage in inappropriate conversations or disclose too frequently.     

Value Chain Adjustments in Educational Publishing

This paper looks at at the impacts and implications of new technology for educational publishing in the context of major growth in e-Learning. Although it acknowledges the continuing influence of textbooks both on how emerging technologies will drive changes to courses and the pace at which courses evolve, the major focus is upon the impact of technological and organisational change upon the value chains for e-Learning and educational publishing. It reviews relevant developments in technology, e-Learning and educational publishing and the connections between them, using recent examples. Fundamental to the nexus between technology, e-Learning and publishing is the search for value and for new means of creating and leveraging value in a turbulent higher education marketplace. The subjective nature of value is recognised in the context of different stakeholders. The paper then links changing perceptions of value to a perceived shift within educational publishing, which entails moving from the more or less homogeneous delivery of packaged content towards the provision of truly customised learning services combining use of the latest technologies with access to high quality content. The kinds of value, old and new, provided by educational publishers are compared in a table. This shift in value is then explained in the context of value chains for e-Learning and for educational publishing. So far as educational publishing is concern there are signs of both disintermediation and reintermediation in the value chain. Amidst these changes, the position of educational publishing appears set to improve through its potential to provide a new range of integrated technology and content services.     

Language Difference and Communication Policy in the Information Age

This study argues that language difference is an important, though often neglected, element in contemporary flows of audiovisual media and organizations' efforts to influence them through policy. Because linguistic issues overlap a number of policy areas, including trade, culture, language, and communication, this study advocates for increased attention to language-related concerns within and across those areas by policymakers and researchers alike. Various developments associated with globalization have contributed to the significance of the transnational media trade, and are discussed in light of language difference. Special emphasis is given the handling of language in media by the European Union and North American Free Trade Agreement, two trade regimes that have treated language difference distinctly. The probable expansion of both trade regimes is likely to increase the salience of linguistic diversity among participant societies in the future.     

Multiphysics extension to physically based analyses of pipes with emphasis on frost actions

Pipes, especially buried pipes, in cold regions generally experience a rash of failures during cold weather snaps. However, the existing heuristic models are unable to explain the basic processes involving frost actions. This is because the frost action is not a direct load but one that causes variations in pipe-soil interactions resulting from the coupled thermohydro-mechanical process in soils. This paper developed and implemented a holistic multiphysics simulation model for freezing soils and extended it to the analysis of pipe-soil systems. The theoretical framework was implemented to analyze both static and dynamic responses of buried pipes subjected to frost actions. The multiphysics simulations reproduced phenomena commonly observed during frost actions, e.g., ice fringe advancement and an increase in the internal stress of pipes. The influences of important design factors, i.e., buried depth and overburden pressure, on pipe responses were simulated. A fatigue cracking criterion was utilized to predict the crack initialization under the joint effects of frost and dynamic traffic loads. The frost effects were found to have detrimental effects for accelerating fatigue crack initialization in pipes.     

How Many Rs are there in Statistics?

The basic principles involved in the collection and analysis of data in a regression situation are discussed.     

Changes in education in the U.K. and Australia: Common imperatives,predictable outcomes

This paper draws comparisons between the U.K. and Australia (with particular reference to New South Wales) with regard to proposals to a changed school curriculum together with proposed changes in Higher Education. The authors note that the content of the proposed common core curriculum in U.K. schools is very similar to the New South Wales proposal. Further there seems to be little change in the U.K. at least from what was offered there in 1904. In looking at the parallels between the two education systems it is suggested by the authors that there is a hidden agenda particularly in the U.K. Does this hold for Australia as well? The implication is that Australia is following this path. The authors conclude that a divided society is too high a price for us to pay in Australia.     

Using Space Imagery in the Science Classroom: Efforts of the CASDE Project

This article describes the ongoing curriculum development efforts of the Consortium for the Application of Space Data in Education (CASDE), which is an evolving consortium of educators, engineers, scientists, and other professionals dedicated to providing the educational community with vast amounts of NASA imagery, tools, and interdisciplinary learning activities, distributed freely over the Internet. The article particularly details the curricular approach taken by CASDE, which involves the concept of curriculum building blocks that contain tools, data, tutorials, curriculum standards, assessments, and a sample lesson or instructional activity. The article also describes the student interactive DataSlate software, developed by engineers at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, to help teachers use space imagery conveniently with students in the science classroom. In addition, the article discusses the consortium's approach to providing ongoing training to teachers, and also describes the efforts of the consortium to evaluate some of the educational activities undertaken by participating teachers. Finally, a web-based link to all of the consortium's resources and curriculum activities is provided to the reader for their possible use and reference.     

Parental Participation and Partnership in Pre-school Provision Participation et partenariat parental dans les prestations pre´scolaires Participación y Asociación de Los Padres en la Provisión de la Enseñanza Preescolar

Parental participation in pre-school provision does not reflect a close partnership between parents and pre-school service providers in the statutory sector. A multi-method approach involving survey, interviews and observations revealed that opportunities across pre-school provision for parental participation vary considerably between different types of provision. While parental needs for participation were largely satisfied by the levels and types of participation offered in the playgroup sector, parental willingness to participate in local authority (LA) and private nurseries is not matched by the opportunities available, particularly with respect to active help in daily activities. This desire for increased levels of parental participation stems from three sources: (i) to monitor and obtain feedback on their own child's progress; (ii) to enable them to experience how pre-school provision is delivered; and (iii) to satisfy their own needs for social contact and making friends. Results suggest that parents' actual and desired participation falls short of genuine partnership and raise questions about parental training and the precise roles and responsibilities which parents should have. La participation des parents aux prestations préscolaires ne fait pas apparaître un partenariat étroit entre les parents et les services préscolaires dans le secteur officiel. Une approche multi-méthodes comprenant une enquête, des entretiens et des observations a révélé que les opportunités de participation parentale aux prestations préscolaires variaient considérablement selon les différents types de prestations. Alors que les besoins parentaux de participation soient largement satisfaits par les niveaux et les types de participation offerts par le secteur des garderies communautaires, la disponibilité des parents à apporter une participation aux écoles maternelles d'État et privées n'est pas satisfaite par les occasions disponibles, notamment en matière d'aide active aux activités quotidiennes. Le désir des parents d'augmenter leur participation se base sur trois raisons: (i) suivre les progrès de leur enfant, et obtenir des informations sur ces progrès; (ii) savoir comment les prestations préscolaires sont assurées; et (iii) satisfaire leurs propres besoins de contacts sociaux et se faire des amis. Les conclusions indiquent que la participation apportée et souhaitée par les parents ne correspond pas à un véritable partenariat et soulèvent des questions sur la formation des parents et les rôles et responsabilités précis àdonner aux parents. La participación de los padres en la provisión de la enseñanza preescolar no refleja una asociación estrecha entre los padres y los proveedores del servicio de enseñanza preescolar en el sector estatal. Un enfoque multimétodo utilizando sondeos, entrevistas y observaciones puso de manifiesto que las oportunidades a través de toda la provisión de la enseñanza preescolar para la participación de los padres varía bastante entre los diferentes tipos de provisión. Mientras que las necesidades de los padres de participación fueron en gran parte satisfechas pos los niveles y los tipos de participación ofrecidos en el sector de los "playgroup" (grupos de actividades lúdico-educativas para niños de edad preescolar), la buena disposición de los padres a participar en las guarderías municipales y en las privadas no se corresponde con las oportunidades disponibles, especialmente en lo que concierne a la ayuda activa en las actividades diarias. Este movimiento hacia mayores niveles de participación de los padres tiene de tres razones: (i) el deseo de seguir el desarrollo y de obtener "feedback" sobre el progreso de los hijos; (ii) el deseo de permitirles experimentar cómo se imparte la provisión de los servicios de la enseñanza preescolar, y (iii) el deseo de satisfacer sus propias necesidades para establecer contactos sociales y hacer amistades. Los resultados indican que la participación deseada y real de los padres está muy por debajo de una asociación genuina y plantean cuestiones sobre la capacitación de los padres y sobre las responsabilidades y funciones específicas que deberían tener los padres.