Using Interactive Data Visualizations for Exploratory Analysis in Undergraduate Genomics Coursework: Field Study Findings and Guidelines

Life scientists increasingly use visual analytics to explore large data sets and generate hypotheses. Undergraduate biology majors should be learning these same methods. Yet visual analytics is one of the most underdeveloped areas of undergraduate biology education. This study sought to determine the feasibility of undergraduate biology majors conducting exploratory analysis using the same interactive data visualizations as practicing scientists. We examined 22 upper level undergraduates in a genomics course as they engaged in a case-based inquiry with an interactive heat map. We qualitatively and quantitatively analyzed students’ visual analytic behaviors, reasoning and outcomes to identify student performance patterns, commonly shared efficiencies and task completion. We analyzed students’ successes and difficulties in applying knowledge and skills relevant to the visual analytics case and related gaps in knowledge and skill to associated tool designs. Findings show that undergraduate engagement in visual analytics is feasible and could be further strengthened through tool usability improvements. We identify these improvements. We speculate, as well, on instructional considerations that our findings suggested may also enhance visual analytics in case-based modules.     

G N Ramachandran’s contributions to medical imaging

G N Ramachandran made several remarkable contributions to biophysics and structural biology over the course of his celebrated career. In a pair of seminal papers in 1971, he also laid the foundation for the technique of ‘Projection Reconstruction’ that has come to revolutionize medical imaging. It is now routinely employed in modern CT (Computed Tomography) and MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging) scans. In this article, we review the salient features of this technique, that allows the ‘reconstruction of an object from its shadows’.     

What can we learn from the electromagnetic spectrum?

Electromagnetic radiation is all around us, and essential for the survival of all lifeforms. It provides valuable information about the physical world around us, feeds us by providing energy to plants, allows us to maintain human metabolism, and cures us of various diseases. This article deals with the various properties of electromagnetic radiation, its sources and detectors, its nature, and its uses. A brief discussion on the absorption spectrum of the Earth’s atmosphere and the atmospheric windows, and celestial objects seen through optical and radio telescopes is also provided.     

Chemical oscillations

A chemical reaction is usually thought of as coming together of reactant molecules to form products. The concentrations of initial components (reactants) decrease, and concentrations of products increase until they reach a well defined state: the equilibrium. This process is accompanied by a decrease of the system free energy (compared at constant pressure and temperature), until it reaches a minimum in the equilibrium. Thus, it follows from the nature of the law of mass-action that every simple reaction approaches its equilibrium asymptotically, and the evolution of any physico-chemical system leads invariably to the steady state of maximum disorder in the universe. Normally, chemical systems approach equilibrium in a smooth, frequently exponential relaxation. Under special circumstances, however, coherent behavior such as sustained oscillations are observed and the oscillations of chemical origin have been present as long as life itself. Such reactions can be studied using mathematical models, the Lotka-Volterra model being the earliest and the simplest one.     

Mass media,class, and democracy: the struggle over newspaper representation of the UPS strike

–This paper investigates whether organized labor can challenge the news media's pro-corporate representations of strikes and labor struggles. I studied the coverage of the 1997 UPS strike in three newspapers: USA Today, The Washington Post, and The New York Times. I found that their strike coverage, spanning about 191 articles, went through three distinct phases over the 15-day period. By studying these phases I agree that, for a brief period, public opinion and class solidarity, mobilized on the basis of a strike against corporate mistreatment of workers, played a key role in changing the tone of reporting, particularly in the Post and the Times. During this phase, the contradictions of the 1990s economic recovery and the problems of the working class became an issue of sustained interest in the public sphere. By showing how labor was able briefly to create an “open marketplace of ideas,” the paper concludes with an assessment of the democratizing potential of a politicized labor movement.     

Utilization of Consortium for e-Resources in Agriculture (CeRA) by Faculty of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU)

Consortium for e-Resources in Agriculture (CeRA) provides access to about 2,900 scholarly journals including almost 300 journals in veterinary science and related fields such as dairy science and technology, biotechnology, and fisheries. This article presents the results of a study assessing the utilization of CeRA by faculty of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), Ludhiana (Punjab), India. Data was collected via questionnaire with a response rate of 95%. Among the factors assessed are user awareness of CeRA, purpose of use, sources of information about consortium, search strategies used to access articles, users’ opinion about usefulness of consortium, and problems faced by them in using CeRA. It concludes with the need for adopting suitable measures for promoting utilization of CeRA.     

User Fees in Academic Law Libraries

Summary

Fees for services in 58 academic law libraries are reviewed using results from a national questionnaire and interviews with law library staff. Five fee-based services were investigated: printing, document delivery, reference services, unaftiliatcd borrowing, and library access. The primary factors intluencing tees include: the reason for the fee, the type of services, geographic location, and whether the law school is private or public. Additional factors include the receptiveness of the student body to the fees and the impact the fee may have on fund-raising. Libraries should consider reevaluating fee policies based on the data presented.     

Embedded Librarian Within an Online Health Informatics Graduate Research Course: A Case Study

The Health Sciences Library and the Department of Health Informatics & Information Management at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis piloted an embedded librarian project in summer 2012. The value and effectiveness of the pilot project was evaluated by analyzing the content of e-mail questions received from the students and the students’ answers to the pre- and post-class surveys. The project received positive feedback from the students and course faculty. Librarians collaborating with teaching faculty and interacting one-on-one with students in health information-intensive courses proved to be helpful for student learning.