On the relationship between the structural and socioacademic communities of a coauthorship network

This article presents a study that compares detected structural communities in a coauthorship network to the socioacademic characteristics of the scholars that compose the network. The coauthorship network was created from the bibliographic record of a multi-institution, interdisciplinary research group focused on the study of sensor networks and wireless communication. Four different community detection algorithms were employed to assign a structural community to each scholar in the network: leading eigenvector, walktrap, edge betweenness and spinglass. Socioacademic characteristics were gathered from the scholars and include such information as their academic department, academic affiliation, country of origin, and academic position. A Pearson’s χ²test, with a simulated Monte Carlo, revealed that structural communities best represent groupings of individuals working in the same academic department and at the same institution. A generalization of this result suggests that, even in interdisciplinary, multi-institutional research groups, coauthorship is primarily driven by departmental and institutional affiliation.     

From gap gazing to promising cases: Moving toward equity in urban education reform*

A case analysis of the Miami‐Dade Urban Systemic Initiative is presented in this article, citing this initiative as one of the sites with the greatest promise for affecting equity issues. Using a grounded‐theory methodological approach, a general framework for systemic reform was developed as a tool to examine the particulars of systemic reform initiatives and their potential to impact the teaching and learning of science and mathematics in diverse school contexts. It was found that to better understand the effectiveness of systemic reform initiatives requires answering two basic questions: What is the (pedagogical and ideological) systemic conceptual clarity guiding the reform efforts? And, what is the operational approach? Once answers to these questions are found, it becomes easier to explore how key officials are implementing or not implementing other aspects of systemic reform. The article also explains why less attention should be given to student outcomes (based on standardized tests) as the main indicator of success in systemic reform. Instead, it is proposed that insights gained from studying the particulars of promising initiatives can help others stimulate systemic reform in their own contexts, especially in urban contexts, which usually have few resources and a large population of students who are traditionally underserved. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 38: 1115–1129, 2001     

Students' ratings of instructors revisited: Interactions among class and instructor variables

Previous studies concerning students' ratings of instruction have traditionally used the class as the unit of analysis and the ratings have been analyzed in one of two ways: (1) regression analysis, wherein the amount of variability in instructor ratings can be attributed to a set of variables; or (2) analysis of variance, wherein the effect of some selected independent variable on instructor ratings is measured. While both approaches have provided valuable information about the evaluation of instruction, little attention has been given to the interactions among the variables selected. In order to determine how situational variables influence the student at the time an evaluation is performed, the present study used the individual student as the unit of analysis and focused principally on the interactions between three variables related to the class (type, level, and size) and three variables related to the instructor (reputation, rank, and sex). The data were analyzed through 15 two-way factorial analyses of variance, with 23 main effects and 12 interactions reaching significance. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of their effect on the student rating process.     

Healthy Families New York (HFNY) randomized trial: effects on early child abuse and neglect

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of a home visiting program modeled after Healthy Families America on parenting behaviors in the first 2 years of life. METHODS: A sample of 1173 families at risk for child abuse and neglect who met the criteria for Healthy Families New York (HFNY) was randomly assigned to either an intervention group that was offered HFNY or a control group that was given information and referrals to other services. Data were collected through a review of CPS records, and maternal interviews at baseline and the child's first birthday (90% re-interviewed) and second birthday (85% re-interviewed). RESULTS: HFNY mothers reported committing one-quarter as many acts of serious abuse at age 2 as control mothers (.01 versus .04, p<.05). Two sets of interactions were tested and found to have significant effects (p<.05). At age 2, young, first-time mothers in the HFNY group who were randomly assigned at 30 weeks of pregnancy or less were less likely than counterparts in the control group to engage in minor physical aggression in the past year (51% versus 70%) and harsh parenting in the past week (41% versus 62%). Among women who were "psychologically vulnerable," HFNY mothers were one-quarter as likely to report engaging in serious abuse and neglect as control mothers (5% versus 19%) at age 2. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that who is offered home visitation may be an important factor in explaining the differential effectiveness of home visitation programs. Improved effects may be realized by prioritizing the populations served or by enhancing the model to meet program objectives for hard-to-serve families.     

Performance of goldfish trained in allocentric and egocentric maze procedures suggests the presence of a cognitive mapping system in fishes

Goldfish were trained to obtain food in a four-arm maze placed in a room with relevant spatial cues. Four experimental conditions were run: allocentric, egocentric, egocentric + allocentric, and control. Relative to controls, all groups were able to solve the different tasks with high accuracy after 1 week of training. Subsequent transfer tests revealed place and response strategies for allocentric and egocentric groups, respectively, and both types of strategies for the ego-allocentric group. Moreover, the allocentric group showed the capacity to choose the appropriate trajectory toward the goal, even from novel starting points, presumably by using the distal cues as a whole. The results suggest that, in addition to using egocentric strategies, goldfish are able to solve spatial tasks on the basis of allocentric frames of reference and to build complex spatial cognitive representations of their environment.     

“Nothing is impossible”: characteristics of Hispanic females participating in an informal STEM setting

Cultural Studies of Science Education - Factors that influence the underrepresentation of females in STEM careers begin early in childhood when gender biases and stereotypes emerge. Stereotypes...     

Learner engagement,retention and success: why size matters in massive open online courses (MOOCs)

ABSTRACT

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) are usually six to ten weeks long. Participation tends to decrease as the courses progress, leading to low completion rates. This led to the question: Could shorter MOOCs contribute to learners’ engagement, retention and success? This paper compares two versions of Study Skills MOOC, which shared the same content but were delivered in different length formats. One was deployed as a single six-week course and the other as two three-week blocks. In total, 617 people registered for the two versions. Data sources included learning analytics, surveys and the Spanish version of the General Self-Efficacy Scale. Both versions of the Study Skills MOOC resulted in increased participants’ self-efficacy. However, learners enrolled in the version composed of two three-week blocks were also more engaged with course content, other students and the facilitators. Their retention and completion rates were higher than those in the longer version of the course. Reasons linked to goal proximity, motivation, interactions and social modelling are discussed     

Equity in science teacher education: toward an expanded definition

Cultural Studies of Science Education -     

Impact of a statewide home visiting program on parenting and on child health and development

OBJECTIVES: To assess the impact of a voluntary, paraprofessional home visiting program on promoting child health and development and maternal parenting knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. METHODS: This collaborative, experimental study of 6 Healthy Families Alaska (HFAK) programs enrolled 325 families from 1/00 to 7/01, randomly assigned them to HFAK and control groups, interviewed mothers at baseline, and followed families until children were 2 years old (85% follow-up). Child outcomes included health care use, development and behavior. Parent outcomes included knowledge of infant development, parenting attitudes, quality of the home environment, and parent-child interaction. HFAK records were reviewed to measure home visiting services. Home visitors were surveyed to measure knowledge, perceived effectiveness and perceived training adequacy. RESULTS: There was no overall impact on child health, but HFAK group children had more favorable developmental and behavioral outcomes. HFAK and control mothers had similar parenting outcomes except that HFAK mothers had greater parenting self-efficacy (35.1 vs. 34.6 based on the Teti Self-Efficacy Scale, p<.05). Fewer HFAK families had a poor home environment for learning (20% vs. 31%, p<.001). HFAK families were more likely to use center-based parenting services (48% vs. 39%, p<.05). The impact was greater for families with lower baseline risk (Family Stress Checklist scores<45). There was little evidence of efficacy for families with a higher dose of service. CONCLUSIONS: The program promoted child development and reduced problem behaviors at 2 years. Impact could be strengthened by improving home visitor effectiveness in promoting effective parenting. Future research is needed to determine whether short-term benefits are sustained.     

Healthcare needs of older adults: in their own words

Community-based health and human services professionals can play an important role in bolstering wellness through offering education to elderly residents and healthcare providers on how to address the unique needs of this population. The purpose of this study was to examine the healthcare needs of the elderly living in two metropolitan counties in Georgia that have experienced an increase in the number of elderly residents. Utilizing qualitative data garnered through focus groups, two main themes were identified: the role of exercise as a means of personal power and feelings of powerlessness. Participants’ narratives reflected opportunities and situations fostering good health through exerting their personal power to alter or improve individual health. On the other hand, negative pathways leading away from optimal health were realized when participants felt powerless to change their health status. For health and human services professionals working with the elderly, these findings should be considered as population, personal well-being, and power changes overtime.