Misconceptions,Knowledge, and Attitudes Towards the Phenomenon of Radioactivity

Science & Education - The teaching of the phenomenon of radioactivity is considered a key ingredient in the path towards developing critical thinking skills in many secondary science education...     

Teacher education graduates’ choice (not) to enter the teaching profession: does teacher education matter?

In an era of recurring teacher shortages, Flanders struggles with a considerable proportion of teacher education graduates who do not enter the teaching profession. This study identifies the predictors of teacher education graduates’ choice on job entry (teaching profession or not). A prospective research design with two data collection phases is adopted. Student teachers (subsequently graduates) (N = 217) of integrated teacher training for secondary education were surveyed shortly before as well as shortly after graduation. Results of chi-squared and t-tests indicate that gender, initial motivation for teaching, mentor support, teacher education preparation, teacher efficacy, learner-oriented beliefs, performance in teacher education, and employment opportunities show differences (at 1% level) between graduates who entered and those who did not enter the teaching profession. Results of the subsequent logistic regression validate the importance of teacher education (i.e. mentor support) – beside initial motivation and labour market factors – to explain graduates’ decision on job entry.     

An intersubjective developmental perspective on interactions between deaf and hearing mothers and their deaf infants

Most research into interactions between mothers and their infants with hearing impairments focuses on mothers' and infants' behaviors separately, speculating about the interplay among these behaviors and their effects on child development. In the present article, an intersubjective developmental theory focusing on the development of the "interworld" between deaf and hearing mothers and their deaf infants is used to integrate and interpret the seemingly incoherent research on early mother-deaf child interaction. Inspired by Stern's work (e.g., Stern, 1985), the intersubjective developmental theory distinguishes four stages in the development of intersubjectivity: emerging (birth-2 months), physical (2-8 months), existential (8-13 months), and symbolic (13 months and older), each characterized by a different type of mother-infant interaction. The integration of research findings on early mother-deaf child interaction into these four developmental stages offers new perspectives that can advance research and resolve certain early-intervention issues.     

Early life stress and behavior problems in early childhood: Investigating the contributions of child temperament and executive functions to resilience

This preregistered study examined whether child temperament and executive functions moderated the longitudinal association between early life stress (ELS) and behavior problems. In a Dutch population-based cohort (n = 2803), parents reported on multiple stressors (age 0–6 years), child temperament (age 5), and executive functions (age 4), and teachers rated child internalizing and externalizing problems (age 7). Results showed that greater ELS was related to higher levels of internalizing and externalizing problems, with betas reflecting small effects. Lower surgency buffered the positive association of ELS with externalizing problems, while better shifting capacities weakened the positive association between ELS and internalizing problems. Other child characteristics did not act as moderators. Findings underscore the importance of examining multiple protective factors simultaneously.     

Who participates in R&D subsidy programs?: The case of Spanish manufacturing firms

Empirical evidence on the effectiveness of R&D subsidies to firms has produced mixed results so far. One possible explanation is that firms and project selection rules may be quite heterogeneous both across agencies and across industries, leading to different outcomes in terms of the induced additional private effort. Here we focus on the participation stage. Using a sample of Spanish firms, we test for differences across agencies and industries. Our results suggest that firms in the same industry face different hurdles to participate in different agencies’ programs, that participation patterns may reflect a combination of agency goals, and that patterns differ across high-tech and low-tech industries.     

Technology and the generation of international knowledge spillovers: An application to Spanish manufacturing firms

In the continuing debate about the positive versus negative effects of inward investments in a host economy, a new perspective has arisen from new firms’ strategy nowadays to internationalise their activity. One aspect is that knowledge that is not completely appropriable by foreign affiliates abroad may spill over into domestic firms. In the absence of conclusive evidence, two questions can be put forward: the first concerns the role played by technology in the generation of those external effects; the second, the micro-assessment of the dynamics of technological spillovers. In this paper, results show that benefits for domestic firms in Spain differ across industries by their technological content. The hypothesis of spillover dynamics is tested and supported by the availability of panel data for manufacturing firms in the 1990s.     

Detection of Misconceptions about Colour and an Experimentally Tested Proposal to Combat them

We study the misconceptions about colour that most people hold, determining the general phenomenological laws that govern them. Concept mapping was used to combat the misconceptions which were found in the application of a test specifically designed to determine these misconceptions, while avoiding the possible misleading inductions that could have arisen from the use of everyday language. In particular, care was taken to avoid the distorting effect that the use of the verb ‘to be’ applied to coloured objects could have on the responses. The misconceptions found were shown to have an internal consistency in the form of authentic mini-theories (implicit theories). We compared experimentally the results of two different teaching methods applied to combat these misconceptions. This study was conducted with 470 undergraduates of the University of Extremadura. We analysed the persistence over time of their learning made to overcome those misconceptions. The students were divided randomly into an experimental group (EG) and a control group (CG). To combat their misconceptions, EG were taught following a method based on the use of concept maps, and CG were taught following traditional teaching methods. The results of a pre-test and a post-test were compared for the two groups, finding statistically significant differences. The results allowed the principal working hypothesis to be accepted—concept maps are learning tools which foster conceptual change and allow misconceptions to be eradicated via meaningful learning maintained over time, i.e. EG acquired a relative long-lasting gain in learning that was superior to that acquired by CG.     

Teaching to write collaborative argumentative syntheses in higher education

Reading and Writing - Writing argumentative syntheses based on multiple sources implies integrating ideas from different, often conflicting, positions. This can promote more constructive learning,...     

Promoting academic satisfaction and performance: Building academic resilience through coping strategies

The aim of this article is twofold: (a) to validate the psychometric properties of the Academic Resilience Scale (AR‐S) in a Spanish university context; and (b) to test a model where different coping strategies are antecedents of AR, and where academic satisfaction and performance are its consequences. The studies were conducted with 185 (study 1) and 780 (study 2) students. In study 1, the construct validity, reliability, and convergent and divergent validity of the AR‐S were analyzed. The hypothesized model (study 2) was tested using structural equation modeling. The results confirmed the good psychometric properties of the AR‐S in the Spanish context, providing evidence of its validity. Furthermore, the distinctive role of different coping strategies in resilience was confirmed, as well as the relationship between resilience and academic satisfaction. No direct relationship between resilience and performance was found, highlighting the full mediation of satisfaction.     

Numerical study of dc-biased ac-electrokinetic flow over symmetrical electrodes

This paper presents a numerical study of DC-biased AC-electrokinetic (DC-biased ACEK) flow over a pair of symmetrical electrodes. The flow mechanism is based on a transverse conductivity gradient created through incipient Faradaic reactions occurring at the electrodes when a DC-bias is applied. The DC biased AC electric field acting on this gradient generates a fluid flow in the form of vortexes. To understand more in depth the DC-biased ACEK flow mechanism, a phenomenological model is developed to study the effects of voltage, conductivity ratio, channel width, depth, and aspect ratio on the induced flow characteristics. It was found that flow velocity on the order of mm/s can be produced at higher voltage and conductivity ratio. Such rapid flow velocity is one of the highest reported in microsystems technology using electrokinetics.