Multidisciplinary graduate training in social research methodology and computer-assisted qualitative data analysis: a hands-on/hands-off course design

Drawing on the experience of training graduate students and researchers in qualitative and mixed-methods analysis since the mid-1990s, the authors reflect on the evolution of a multidisciplinary graduate course developed in a Canadian university since 2007. The hands-on/hands-off course design based on the use of NVivo was developed in parallel with a conceptual and reflexive position on methodology and multidisciplinarity in the context of an action research supported by their institution. This article exposes the four basic components of the course and the constructivist assessment model based on a term-long team analysis of original data created specifically for this purpose. The balance between collective and individual work, in-class and online exchanges, hands-on experience with the software and hands-off reflection is described and compared to recent pedagogical literature on the subject. The interest of this blended approach in fostering the development of the methodological expertise expected from researchers and graduate students, as well as the main issues and challenges facing this type of training in a research environment characterised by new approaches and tools, are discussed.     

Azilian pebbles: an unsolved mystery

The end of the Ice Age (c. 9–8000 BC) in the French Pyrenees and other European areas is characterised by, among other things, the production of enigmatically decorated pebbles. Many theories concerning their function have been put forward. A recent analysis indicates that the decoration is non-random, and may represent some sort of notation.     

Teacher attitudes and personality

The Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory (MTAI), the Edwards Personal Preferences Schedule (EPPS), and the Vocational Preferences Inventory (VPI) were administered to 183 undergraduate students enrolled in teacher education courses. The MTAI was compared with each of the two personality instruments by canonical analysis. The MTAI shared 20% of its variance with the EPPS and 17% with the VPI. It was concluded that teachers' attitudes are partially determined by measurable personality variables.     

Group-Based Emotions: Evidence for Emotion-Performance Relationships in Team Sports

Purpose: In team sports, players have to manage personal interests and group goals, emphasizing intricacies between personal and social identities. The focus of this article was to examine the effect of identity mechanisms on appraisal processes, based on the following research question: Does the level of self-abstraction (low [personal identity] versus high [social identity]) lead to group-based emotions and influence performances? Method: An experimental design was used in which the level of self-abstraction was manipulated through the induction of a self- versus a team-oriented goal. Thirty elite male rugby players (M_age = 19.06, SD = 0.78, randomly split) participated in a match reproducing conditions similar to those of official games. Individual and perceived team-level emotions and performance were measured 17 times during the match. Results: Linear Mixed Effects models showed that a high level of self-abstraction: (a) led to more positive and less negative individual (variances explained: 52% and 46%) and perceived team-referent (variances explained: 57% and 40%) emotions; (b) reduced the correlation of team-referent emotions with individual ones; and (c) positively influenced team and individual performances (variances explained: 50% and 19%). Moreover, after controlling for potential effects of the level of self-abstraction, only positive team-referent emotions influenced performance. Conclusions: This study is the first to experimentally manipulate athletes’ social identity to examine group-based emotions in sport. Challenging the usual intrapersonal approaches, these findings suggested that social identity and its association with team-referent emotions could be one of the key dimensions of emotion-performance relationships in team sports.     

Virtual Reality in Anatomy: A Pilot Study Evaluating Different Delivery Modalities

Technologies such as virtual reality are used in higher education to develop virtual learning resources (VLRs). These VLRs can be delivered in multiple modalities, from truly immersive involving wearable devices to less immersive modalities such as desktop. However, research investigating perceptions of VLRs in anatomy has mainly focused on a single delivery modality and a limited-demographic participant cohort, warranting a comparison of different modalities and a consideration of different cohorts. This pilot study aimed to compare perceptions of highly immersive and less immersive VLR deliveries among anatomy students and tutors and evaluate the impact of prior university experience on students' perceptions of VLRs. A skull anatomy VLR was developed using the Unity^® gaming platform and participants were voluntarily recruited to assess highly immersive stereoscopic and less immersive desktop deliveries of the VLR. A validated survey tool was used to gather perceptions of both deliveries. Most participants agreed that both VLR deliveries were interesting and engaging and provided an immersive experience. Anatomy students perceived the stereoscopic delivery to be significantly more useful for understanding (P = 0.013), while anatomy tutors perceived the desktop delivery as more useful. A degree of physical discomfort and disorientation was reported by some participants for both deliveries, although to a greater extent for the stereoscopic delivery. The stereoscopic delivery was also found to be more mentally taxing than desktop delivery. These results suggest that desktop VLR delivery may minimize the risk of discomfort and disorientation associated with more immersive modalities while still providing a valuable learning experience.     

Foundational aspects of classroom relations: associations between teachers’ immediacy behaviours,classroom democracy,class identification and learning

This study focused on foundational aspects of classroom relations. Specifically, relationships between teachers’ immediacy (interpersonal) behaviours, classroom democracy, identification and learning were considered. Previous work suggests that these variables can be used as a foundation to shape classroom climate, culture and learning outcomes and, by extension, assist educational institutions to achieve their civic mission. This study examined classroom democracy and class identification as variables that mediate the relationship between immediacy behaviours and learning using data collected from 529 students in six institutions of higher learning in Rwanda. Structural equation modeling revealed that classroom democracy mediates the relationship between immediacy behaviours and that classroom democracy and class identification covary substantially. The significant relationships in the final structural model suggest that immediate teachers are likely to have a positive influence on perceptions of classroom democracy, class identification and learning. Based on the growing scholarship of instructional dissent, this study highlights the foundational and strategic aspects underlying these relationships within the context of relating in the classroom and beyond.     

Semi-analytical Monte Carlo simulation of laser-induced fluorescence propagation in an optically participating spray

A semi-analytical Monte Carlo (SMC) simulation was developed to simulate the propagation of laser-induced fluo- rescence (LIF) in an optically participating spray, which simultaneously exhibits spectrally dependent emission, anisotropic scattering, absorption, and re-emission. The SMC simulation is described and then applied to an experimental configuration of a cloud of polydisperse droplets composed of water and sulforhodamine B dye. In the SMC simulation, the collected LIF flux on the remote receptor element is calculated as the global contribution from the emissive source, single, twice, … and nth collision events in any sequence. The effects on the fluorescence photons propagation of spray parameters like the dye concentration, droplets concentration, and droplets size are examined. Three spectral bands representing different optical properties are chosen to analyze the interference of absorption, scattering and re-emission on the detected LIF flux. The obtained spectral LIF flux distribution on the receptor demonstrates a “red shift” phenomenon.