Role of Calcium-Independent Phospholipase A<Subscript>2</Subscript> VIA in Mediating Neurological Disorder and Cancer

Calcium-independent phospholipase A₂ (iPLA₂) belongs to the group VI family of phospholipase superfamily (PLA₂) that catalyses the hydrolysis of glycerophospholipids at the sn-2 ester bond, producing unesterified fatty acids and 2-lysophospholipids. Research interests on iPLA₂ have not been as significant as those on secretary PLA₂ and cytosolic PLA₂. However, more efforts have been made recently on understanding the expression, regulation and biological function of iPLA₂. iPLA₂ plays important roles in several biological processes, including signal transduction, phospholipid remodelling, eicosanoid formation, cell proliferation, cell differentiation and apoptosis. Modulation of iPLA₂ activity can have prominent effects on cellular metabolism, central nervous system and cardiovascular functions. Thus, dysregulation iPLA₂ can play a vital role in the pathogenesis of several diseases. The aim of this review is to provide the current understanding of the structure, function and regulation of group VI iPLA₂ and highlight its potential mechanisms of action in mediating several neurological disorders and cancer.     

Student Achievement in an Educational Technology Course As Enhanced By Cooperative Learning

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effect of cooperative learning on students' achievement in an Educational Technology course in an Initial Teacher Training Program. A cooperative learning strategy was compared with the traditional whole class direct instruction approach. Ninety-five first year full-time students at a College of Education constituted the sample. The students' achievement included: academic achievement in the course, quantity measurement in the use of instructional media, and quality rating of utilization of instructional media during their teaching practice. Their attitude change was also assessed by an Attitude Inventory. The results indicated that cooperative learning strategy had a positive effect on academic achievement and quantity measurement in the use of instructional media (F(l,91) = 7.06, p < 0.01; F(l,91) = 4.59, p < 0.05). Cooperative learning strategy also had a positive influence on students' attitudes towards instructional media and their learning condition (F(l,93) = 5.07, p < 0.05; F(l,93) = 6.20, p < 0.05).     

Morphological awareness and learning to read Chinese

This study investigated the nature of morphological awareness and its relation to learning to read Chinese characters among 46 Chinese-speaking preschool children. The children took a morphological awareness task, which varied in semantic transparency and morpheme position. Children’s vocabulary knowledge and extant character reading ability were measured. Additionally, a character learning task was administered. Results showed that children’s performances on morphological awareness were affected by semantic transparency but not by morpheme position. Morphological awareness was related to vocabulary knowledge when partialling out character reading ability but not to character reading ability after partialling out vocabulary knowledge. The results of the character learning task further revealed that morphological awareness was related to character identification in the words that were just taught but not to character identification in the words that were not taught or in pseudowords. The relation between morphological awareness and character identification ceased to be significant when partialling out the variance in children’s prior knowledge of the characters to be learnt. Taken together, the findings suggested that vocabulary knowledge may play a more important role than reading ability in the initial development of morphological awareness and that the facilitative effect of morphological knowledge in reading does not seem to be significant in the very initial stages of reading acquisition.     

Crisis Communication Strategy on Social Media and the Public’s Cognitive and Affective Responses: A Case of Foster Farms Salmonella Outbreak

This study examined an organization’s crisis communication strategy (i.e., crisis response strategy and technical translation strategy) on social media and the public’s cognitive and affective responses. Twenty crisis communication messages posted by Foster Farms regarding a salmonella outbreak and 349 public responses were analyzed. The results showed that a technical translation strategy generated more public acceptance of the message and more positive emotions than a crisis response strategy. A crisis response strategy generated more public rejections of the message and more negative emotions than a technical translation strategy.     

Children's stroke sequence errors in writing Chinese characters

Each Chinese character is a two dimensional logograph and if character writing is seen as drawing a diagram, then there is no obvious correct sequence in the writing process. However, over the ages and to this day, Chinese children have been taught the proper stroke sequence for forming the characters based on some calligraphic rules when they begin to learn to write in Chinese. The rationale for the teaching of stroke sequence has traditionally been argued on the basis of facilitating better calligraphy and as a memory aid for the exact reproduction of the correct form of the character. This paper reports on a study that tries to determine how far young children can master the correct stroke sequences in writing and the common kinds of errors children made. It further explores the importance of and the possible educational implications for the teaching of stroke sequences in the teaching of handwriting based on the empirical results.     

Peer assessment in the digital age: a meta-analysis comparing peer and teacher ratings

Given the wide use of peer assessment, especially in higher education, the relative accuracy of peer ratings compared to teacher ratings is a major concern for both educators and researchers. This concern has grown with the increase of peer assessment in digital platforms. In this meta-analysis, using a variance-known hierarchical linear modelling approach, we synthesise findings from studies on peer assessment since 1999 when computer-assisted peer assessment started to proliferate. The estimated average Pearson correlation between peer and teacher ratings is found to be .63, which is moderately strong. This correlation is significantly higher when: (a) the peer assessment is paper-based rather than computer-assisted; (b) the subject area is not medical/clinical; (c) the course is graduate level rather than undergraduate or K-12; (d) individual work instead of group work is assessed; (e) the assessors and assessees are matched at random; (f) the peer assessment is voluntary instead of compulsory; (g) the peer assessment is non-anonymous; (h) peer raters provide both scores and qualitative comments instead of only scores; and (i) peer raters are involved in developing the rating criteria. The findings are expected to inform practitioners regarding peer assessment practices that are more likely to exhibit better agreement with teacher assessment.     

The use of educational comics in learning anatomy among multiple student groups

Understanding basic human anatomy can be beneficial for all students, regardless of when, or if, they will later undertake a formal course in the subject. For students who are preparing to undertake a formal anatomy course, educational comics on basic anatomy can serve as a concise and approachable review of the material. For other students, these comics can serve as a helpful and fun introduction to the human body. The objective of the comics in this study was to promote an understanding of fundamental human anatomy through self‐learning among students. Based on the authors' previous teaching experience, these anatomy comics were produced in a simple, direct style. The comics were titled after the two main characters, “Anna” (a girl) and “Tommy” (a boy). These comics were then presented to groups of elementary school students, high school students, premedical students, and medical students to assess the comics' ability to enhance student interest and comprehension of basic anatomy. Quiz scores among high school students and premedical students were significantly higher among participants who read the educational comics, indicating a deeper comprehension of the subject. Among medical students, close reading of the comics was associated with improved course grades. These educational anatomy comics may be helpful tools to enrich a broad spectrum of different students in learning basic human anatomy. Anat Sci Educ 10: 79–86. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.     

Meeting the Access Challenge: An Examination of Indiana's Twenty-First Century Scholars Program

Early intervention programs can promote access by providing encouragement for academic preparation, but adequate grant aid may be necessary to ensure access for students who prepare. This study examines the impact of Indiana's Twenty-first Century Scholars Program, an intervention that provides supplemental grant aid and academic support for low-income middle and high school students. Hierarchical logistic regression analyses indicated that 8th grade students who participated in the program were more likely to apply than their peers, indicating that encouragement had a modest influence on preparation. Receiving grant aid had a substantial influence on enrollment, indicating adequate aid is an important aspect of a comprehensive postsecondary encouragement program.