Teaching experience and teachers' expectations for grades in academic subject areas

Seventy-nine subjects who had less than 1, 2, to 3, and more than 3 years of teaching experience were given either a favorable, neutral, or unfavorable fictitious psychological report to read, describing a kindergarten child. Subjects then watched a 5-year-old child in a videotaped testing session. Expectancies toward the child were evaluated using report card grades the subjects expected the child to receive at the end of first grade. A multivariate analysis of variance with five subject area grades as the dependent variables revealed significant multivariate main effects for experience and psychological report. Significant univariate interactions in science and social studies, and social and emotional development suggested that teachers with more than 3 years of experience may have reduced susceptibility to biasing influences in psychological reports.     

Identification of natural dyes in historical textiles from Romanian collections by LC-DAD and LC-MS (single stage and tandem MS)

In this study, the dyes present in five 17th- to 18th-century textiles from the National Museum of Art of Romania, three religious embroideries and two brocaded velvets, are characterized and discussed, together with earlier results on textiles from Romanian collections obtained by the same research group. Dye analyses were performed using two methods: the well-established liquid chromatography-diode array detection (LC–DAD) and a recently developed liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC–MS) analytical protocol. The examination of very small historical samples by both techniques allows a better insight in the advantages and limitations of the two approaches to real analyses to be obtained. LC–MS data interpretation is based entirely on the results accumulated for dye standards. Electrospray ionization (ESI) was used in the negative ion mode and an ion trap served as mass analyzer. Both single stage (MS) and tandem (MS/MS) mass spectrometric approaches were considered. The dyes and natural sources identified by both analytical techniques are discussed in the historical context of the textiles, with respect to earlier results collected for similar Romanian objects. The study showed that the dye sources found in the 17th- and 18th-century Romanian velvets and embroideries were produced using a wide variety of dye sources, suggesting influences from Europe as well as from Asia Minor. Dye sources imported from New World have been also detected. The range of biological sources is in very good correspondence with earlier results obtained from textiles in the Romanian Collections. LC-MS (single stage and tandem MS) approaches have been demonstrated to be valuable tools for dye identification in small-scaled samples from historical textile objects only if sufficient knowledge on the dyes and their biological sources is first accumulated within experiments performed on standard dyes and standard dyed fibers.     

THE FUNCTION OF THE HOME

Several months ago, while on a trip East, the editor conversed with a fellow‐traveller about a projected plan for introducing weekday religious education in Ellwood City, Pa. The plan as developed contains several rather interesting features, which may be of value to those planning week‐day instruction in other places. With the consent of Rev. Arthur M. Stevenson, to whose tact and good judgment the successful outcome is largely due, we print his letter giving details.     

Kinematic analysis of the double side kick in pointfighting,kickboxing

The double side kick is a frequently used technique in pointfighting on which most offensive kicking techniques are based on. The aim of the study was to identify parameters, e.g., trunk and leg positions, durations and velocities that affect successful technique execution.

44 fighters, male and female, including European and World champions, participated in the research. The participants performed double side kicks to a punching bag with the target at chest level. 10 international experts scored (1–10 points; interrater correlation ICC (3,1): 0.952) videos of the best individual trial for quality of technique execution. Based on the average of the scores participants were categorised into 2 equally sized groups. For kinematic data acquisition, a Vicon 3D-motion capturing system was used. The normalised knee height of the kick leg (KHK), normalised absolute distance to the frontal shoulder (DKS) at the end of both chambering phases, the horizontal velocity during both chambering phases (KEV), the durations of all 6 functional phases and total duration, were analysed.

KHK1, KHK2, DKS1 and DKS2, total duration as well as 4 out of 6 phase durations and KEV1 showed significant differences between groups in two-sided t-test or Mann–Whitney U-test for not normally distributed variables.     

Protective role of onion against acute alcoholic fatty liver

Rats were fasted for 8 hours and then fed 3 ml of 25% (v/v) ethanol per 100g body weight and subsequently sacrificed 18 hours later. The levels of triacylglycerols and total cholesterol were significantly raised in serum and liver of alcohol fed rats. However, when rats were fed on aqucous extract of onions (300 mg per 100g body weight) with 25% ethanol, no rise in serum and liver lipids was observed. Alcohol fed to the fats with or without onion extract had no effect on serum, AST, ALT and alkaline phosphatase levels. The increase in serum urea in ethanol-fed rats was not altered in rats fed a mixture of alcohol and onion extracts. Values of liver MDA was lower in rats fed ethanol with or without onion extract compared to controls. Onion extract seemed to show a hypolipidemic effect in alcohol fed rats.     

Assessing college student perceptions of instructor customer service via the Quality of Instructor Service to Students (QISS) Questionnaire

This study presents the results of a three‐step project designed to: (1) identify what students perceive to be quality service as offered by instructors, (2) relate the dimensions identified to an appropriate survey instrument (the QISS) and pilot‐test the instrument, and (3) survey a stratified representative sample of the undergraduate population with the instrument. A stratified sample of students (N=457) were surveyed using the QISS questionnaire in the spring semester of 2004. The QISS is a modified SERVQUAL questionnaire. Results indicate that students consistently identify Reliability and Responsiveness as the most important dimensions of instructor service to students. Female students consistently report that their experiences with instructors do not meet their expectations. The same holds true for males but to a lesser degree. Information provided from this kind of assessment provides a means of identifying areas where student satisfaction is already strong and areas where it can be improved.     

Teaching socio-cultural impacts of technology in advanced technical courses: a case study

ABSTRACT

Engineering education has traditionally focused on the development of technical skills and knowledge. Nowadays, the need for educating engineers in non-technical skills, such as reflective thinking, is being recognised internationally. This paper proposes that socio-cultural impacts of technology be studied together with the technology itself through the integration of social awareness modules into advanced technical courses, providing a venue for students to exercise their reflective thinking skills in the context of technologies that are of interest to them. The paper presents an exploratory study of the essays of senior year engineering students on the socio-cultural impacts of computer vision technologies. It provides insights on the themes that are of interest to the students and on the students’ strengths and weaknesses relating to their reflective thinking abilities. Similar modules would apply well to other advanced courses in the engineering curriculum, to help contextualise technology and enhance the reflective abilities of engineering graduates.     

UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES AND INTERDISCIPLINARY STUDY IN THE COMPUTER AGE

Through increasingly sophisticated computerization, libraries will evolve from being passive depositories of published materials to becoming dynamic information systems. Stored information will be analyzed and recoinbined in original ways which are similar to the processes occurring on the frontiers of disciplines which are giving rise to new combined disciplines: Thus the partnership of computerized information systems and interdisciplinary scientific research will vastly widen the frontiers of human discovery.