A Genome‐Wide Association Study of Autism Incorporating Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised,Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule,and Social Responsiveness Scale

Efforts to understand the causes of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) have been hampered by genetic complexity and heterogeneity among individuals. One strategy for reducing complexity is to target endophenotypes, simpler biologically based measures that may involve fewer genes and constitute a more homogenous sample. A genome‐wide association study of 2,165 participants (mean age = 8.95 years) examined associations between genomic loci and individual assessment items from the Autism Diagnostic Interview–Revised, Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, and Social Responsiveness Scale. Significant associations with a number of loci were identified, including KCND2 (overly serious facial expressions), NOS2A (loss of motor skills), and NELL1 (faints, fits, or blackouts). These findings may help prioritize directions for future genomic efforts.     

Research practice partnerships: a strategy for promoting evidence-based decision-making in education

Abstract

Background: In the United States, an emphasis on evidence-based decision-making in education has received renewed interest with the recent passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act. However, how best, in practice, to support the use of evidence in educational decision-making remains unclear. Research Practice Partnerships (RPPs) are a popular strategy for cultivating evidence-based decision-making among educators, but understanding the ways in which partnerships can influence educators’ use of research evidence in their decision-making is limited.

Purpose: This paper explores the influence that Research Practice Partnerships can have on educators’ evidence-based decision-making.

Sources of evidence: A framework is offered for examining the impact of Research Practice Partnerships on behaviours such as educators’ evidence-based decision-making, in the context of school and district improvement efforts. The framework suggests a host of intermediary and long-term outputs: for example, the ‘mindsets’ of researchers and practitioners which are most conducive to enabling evidence-based decision-making among those engaged in Research Practice Partnerships. We explore this framework through short illustrations of the experiences of three Research Practice Partnerships, contextualising the ideas within the literature, and presenting the process of our design and pilot of a survey instrument used to examine the perceived impact of Research Practice Partnerships.

Main argument: We argue that participants’ self-reported behaviours and perceptions are important elements in examining the influence of Research Practice Partnerships on educators’ evidence-based decision-making. Additionally, this paper examines the potential benefits and challenges of attempting to measure the outputs and outcomes of a Research Practice Partnership using a survey measure.

Conclusions: The process of developing the pilot survey suggests that certain conditions in Research Practice Partnerships may be more conducive to the development among educators of behaviours, mindsets and perceptions associated with evidence-based decision-making.     

The professional role and identity of teachers in the private and state education sectors

Abstract

This paper compares the professional role and identity of teachers in private and state schools. It brings together theory within the sociology of the professions and approaches influenced by Basil Bernstein. It utilises his work on recontextualisation to identify the nature of teachers’ professional role; and Beck and Young’s (2010) Bernstein-influenced analytical framework to understand changes in these teachers’ professional identity. Drawing on focussed qualitative research the study shows how, within private schools, when cloistered from the Official Recontextualising Field (ORF) an idealized account of teachers’ professional work flourishes. This idealized understanding of occupational professionalism is contingent on the ‘othering’ of the state sector: to do this private-school teachers adopt a deprofessionalization discourse which represents the state teacher as a passive receiver of the ORF. In contrast, state teachers foreground their agency to negotiate competing professional logics which they express through hybrid approaches to professional practice.     

Guest reviewers

As the majority of full-time employees drink alcohol, and alcohol can play an important role in professional interactions and career success, the current study examined the ways in which working professionals who abstain from alcohol manage communication about their non-drinking status. Framed by the theoretical lens of facework, semi-structured, in-depth interviews of 29 non-drinking professionals revealed that non-drinking in the real world is a deviant act that can be face threatening for non-drinkers and drinkers alike. Consequently, non-drinkers deployed a variety of preventive and corrective facework strategies (including passing and humor) to mitigate and remediate positive and negative face threat. This investigation uncovered practical communication tools individuals can use to abstain from alcohol without compromising their careers.     

Effects of sensory-level high-volt pulsed electrical current ondelayed-onset muscle soreness

Ten healthy males and ten healthy females aged 21.5 +/- 3.2 years (mean +/- s) participated in the study, which was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of sensory level-high volt pulsed electrical current (HVPC) on delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS). Arm discomfort, elbow extension range of motion and isometric elbow flexion strength were obtained as baseline measurements. Delayed-onset muscle soreness was induced in the participants' dominant or non-dominant arm using two sets of 20 maximal eccentric elbow flexion contractions. After the induction of DOMS, the participants were randomly divided into an experimental condition (HVPC) or a placebo condition. The experimental condition consisted of 20 min of HVPC immediately after the induction of DOMS, and 20 min every 24 h for three consecutive days thereafter. The participants in the placebo condition received an intervention similar in design; however, no electrical current was administered. Baseline measurements were reevaluated at 24, 48, 72 and 96 h after the induction of DOMS. Three weeks later, the participants returned and the protocol was repeated on the contralateral limb, using the opposite intervention (HVPC or placebo). Repeated-measures analysis of variance revealed a significant increase in overall arm discomfort, decrease in elbow extension and decrease in isometric strength for both conditions over time. No significant main effect of treatment, or time-by-treatment interaction, was found for the HVPC condition when compared with the placebo condition for any variable. Sensory-level HVPC, as utilized in our application, was ineffective in reducing the measured variables associated with DOMS.     

Validation of Accelerometer-Based Energy Expenditure Prediction Models in Structured and Simulated Free-Living Settings

This study compared accuracy of energy expenditure (EE) prediction models from accelerometer data collected in structured and simulated free-living settings. Twenty-four adults (mean age 45.8 years, 50% female) performed two sessions of 11 to 21 activities, wearing four ActiGraph GT9X Link activity monitors (right hip, ankle, both wrists) and a metabolic analyzer (EE criterion). Visit 1 (V1) involved structured, 5-min activities dictated by researchers; Visit 2 (V2) allowed participants activity choice and duration (simulated free-living). EE prediction models were developed incorporating data from one setting (V1/V2; V2/V2) or both settings (V1V2/V2). The V1V2/V2 method had the lowest root mean square error (RMSE) for EE prediction (1.04–1.23 vs. 1.10–1.34 METs for V1/V2, V2/V2), and the ankle-worn accelerometer had the lowest RMSE of all accelerometers (1.04–1.18 vs. 1.17–1.34 METs for other placements). The ankle-worn accelerometer and associated EE prediction models developed using data from both structured and simulated free-living settings should be considered for optimal EE prediction accuracy.     

Stress‐Induced Elevation of Oxytocin in Maltreated Children: Evolution,Neurodevelopment, and Social Behavior

Child maltreatment often has a negative impact on the development of social behavior and health. The biobehavioral mechanisms through which these adverse outcomes emerge, however, are not clear. To better understand the ways in which early life adversity affects subsequent social behavior, changes in the neuropeptide oxytocin (OT) in children (n = 73) aged 8.1–11.5 years following a laboratory stressor were examined. Girls with histories of physical abuse have higher levels of urinary OT and lower levels of salivary cortisol following the stressor when compared to controls. Abused and control boys, however, do not differ in their hormonal responses. These data suggest that early adversity may disrupt the development of the stress regulation system in girls by middle childhood.     

Electromyographic analysis of exercise resulting in symptoms of muscle damage

Surface electromyographic (EMG) signals were recorded from the hamstring muscles during six sets of submaximal isokinetic (2.6 rad s -1 ) eccentric (11 men, 9 women) or concentric (6 men, 4 women) contractions. The EMG per unit torque increased during eccentric (P < 0.01) but not during concentric exercise. Similarly, the median frequency increased during eccentric (P < 0.01) but not during concentric exercise. The EMG per unit torque was lower for submaximal eccentric than maximum isometric contractions (P < 0.001), and lower for submaximal concentric than maximum isometric contractions (P < 0.01). The EMG per unit torque was lower for eccentric than concentric contractions (P < 0.05). The median frequency was higher for submaximal eccentric than maximum isometric contractions (P < 0.001); it was similar, however, between submaximal concentric and maximum isometric contractions (P = 0.07). Eccentric exercise resulted in significant isometric strength loss (P < 0.01), pain (P < 0.01) and muscle tenderness (P < 0.05). The greatest strength loss was seen 1 day after eccentric exercise, while the most severe pain and muscle tenderness occurred 2 days after eccentric exercise. A lower EMG per unit torque is consistent with the selective recruitment of a small number of motor units during eccentric exercise. A higher median frequency during eccentric contractions may be explained by selective recruitment of fast-twitch motor units. The present results are consistent with the theory that muscle damage results from excessive stress on a small number of active fibres during eccentric contractions.     

Moderation and consistency of teacher judgement: Teachers’ views

Major curriculum and assessment reforms in Australia have generated research interest in issues related to standards, teacher judgement and moderation. This article is based on one related inquiry of a large‐scale Australian Research Council Linkage project conducted in Queensland. This qualitative study analysed interview data to identify teachers’ views on standards and moderation as a means to achieving consistency of teacher judgement. A complementary aspect of the research involved a blind review that was conducted to determine the degree of teacher consistency without the experience of moderation. Empirical evidence was gained that most teachers, of the total interviewed, articulated a positive attitude towards the use of standards in moderation and perceived that this process produces consistency in teachers’ judgements. Context was identified as an important influential factor in teachers’ judgements and it was concluded that teachers’ assessment beliefs, attitudes and practices impact on their perceptions of the value of moderation practice and the extent to which consistency can be achieved.