Use of stochastic simulations to investigate the power and design of a whole genome association study using single nucleotide

This paper presents a quick, easy to implement and versatile way of using stochastic simulations to investigate the power and design of using single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays for genome-wide association studies in farm animals. It illustrates the methodology by discussing a small example where 6 experimental designs are considered to analyse the same resource consisting of 6006 animals with pedigree and phenotypic records: (1) genotyping the 30 most widely used sires in the population and all of their progeny (515 animals in total), (2) genotyping the 100 most widely used sires in the population and all of their progeny (1 102 animals in total), genotyping respectively (3) 515 and (4) 1 102 animals selected randomly or genotyping respectively (5) 515 and (6) 1 102 animals from the tails of the phenotypic distribution. Given the resource at hand, designs where the extreme animals are genotyped perform the best, followed by designs selecting animals at random. Designs where sires and their progeny are genotyped perform the worst, as even genotyping the 100 most widely used sires and their progeny is not as powerful of genotyping 515 extreme animals.     

Auxetic polymers: a new range of materials

Materials with a negative Poisson's ratio (auxetic materials) have the fascinating property of becoming fatter when stretched. This article describes some of the consequences of this phenomenon and some of the routes for making polymers with this property. Potential applications for these materials are reviewed.     

Mendel and modern genetics: the legacy for today

The legacy of Mendel's pioneering studies of hybridization in the pea continues to influence the way we understand modern genetics. But what sort of picture did Mendel himself have of his work and its ultimate uses, and how does that picture compare with the collection of ideas and methodologies that was put forward in his name and later became known as 'Mendelism'? With genetics standing at the center of our present biomedical and biotechnological research, an examination of the history of our concepts in the field can help us better understand what we should and should not expect from current genetic claims. For that enterprise there is no better starting place than Mendel himself.     

Including pupils with special educational needs in secondary school physical education: a sociological analysis of teachers' views

This paper explores physical education (PE) teachers' views of the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in PE from a figurational sociological perspective. Starting from the premise that teachers' views cannot be adequately explained by studying the concept of inclusion or the teacher in isolation, it is argued that we can only begin to make sense of such views by locating teachers within the figurations of which they are a part and by exploring two particularly salient features of those figurations: namely, teachers' habituses and contexts. In doing so, the paper focuses upon the training teachers receive, the constraints imposed upon them by their colleagues and pupils, and, most importantly, the suitability of the National Curriculum for meeting the needs of pupils with SEN. The paper concludes by highlighting some of the unintended consequences of the inclusion of pupils with SEN in PE.     

The importance of letter knowledge in the relationship between phonological awareness and reading

Previous correlational and experimental research has found a positive association between phonological awareness and reading skills. This paper provides an overview of studies in this area and shows that many studies have neglected to control for extraneous variables such as ability, phonological memory, pre‐existing reading skills and letter knowledge. The paper reports on the results of a longitudinal study that took account of these variables when examining the relationship between phonological awareness and reading for a group of children during their first two years at school. Children showed rhyme awareness before they began to read but were unable to perform a phoneme deletion task until after they had developed word‐reading skills. Concurrent and predictive correlations between phonological awareness scores and later reading were often significant and remained so after adjusting for verbal ability or phonological memory. Controlling for letter knowledge, however, reduced most correlations to nonsignificant levels.     

Reliability and Validity of Outcome Expectancy-Related Measures in Physical Education

The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of outcome likelihood, outcome value, and outcome expectancy using data collected from students in secondary school physical education classes. Dependent measures were examined for construct, concurrent, and predictive validity, as well as internal and temporal reliability. The results of the investigation indicated the following. First, confirmatory factor analyses for the dependent variables (outcome likelihood, outcome value, outcome expectancy) revealed a suitable fit of the data with a hypothesized factor structure. Second, significant associations between these variables and other personal beliefs and values provided sound evidence for the concurrent validity of outcome likelihood, outcome value, and outcome expectancy. Third, results of regression analyses revealed that outcome likelihood and outcome value had strong predictive validity in predicting physical activity behaviors. Finally, the internal reliabilities of self-report scales for the outcome likelihood, outcome value, and outcome expectancy over a three-semester period were satisfactory. The temporal reliabilities were also acceptable.