Data sharing in low-resourced research environments

‘Open data’ has recently emerged as a label for renewed attempts to promote scientific exchange. As part of such efforts, the posting of data online is often portrayed as commonly beneficial: individual scientists accrue greater prominence while at the same time fostering communal knowledge. Yet, how scientists in non-Western research settings assess such calls for openness has been the subject of little empirical study. Based on extended fieldwork with biochemistry laboratories in sub-Sahara Africa, this paper examines a variety of reasons why scientists opt for closure over openness with regard to their own data. We argue that the heterogeneity of research environments calls into question many of the presumptions made as part of open data. Inequalities in research environments can mean that moves towards sharing create binds and dilemmas. These observations suggest that those promoting openness must critically examine current research governance and funding systems that continue to perpetuate disparities. The paper proposes an innovative approach to facilitating openness: coupling the sharing of data with enabling scientists to redress their day-to-day research environment demands. Such a starting basis provides an alternative but vital link between the aspirations for science aired today as part of international discussions and the daily challenges of undertaking research in low-resourced environments.     

Spheres of influence: what shapes young people’s aspirations at age 12/13 and what are the implications for education policy?

Young people’s aspirations remain an enduring focus of education policy interest and concern. Drawing on data from an ongoing five-year study of young people’s science and career aspirations (age 10–14), this paper asks what do young people aspire to at age 12/13, and what influences these aspirations? It outlines the main aspirations and sources of these aspirations as expressed by young people in England in the last year of primary school (survey of 9000+ Y6 pupils, aged 10/11, interviews with 92 children and 76 parents) and the second year of secondary school (survey of 5600+ Y8 pupils, aged 12/13, interviews with 85 pupils). We demonstrate how aspirations are shaped by structural forces (e.g. social class, gender and ethnicity) and how different spheres of influence (home/family, school, hobbies/leisure activities and TV) appear to shape different types of aspirations. The paper concludes by considering the implications for educational policy and careers education.     

Validating the multimedia activity recall for children and adolescents in a large New Zealand sample

Abstract

The aim of the study was to validate the self-report Multimedia Activity Recall for Children and Adolescents (MARCA) against accelerometry for the assessment of physical activity in New Zealand children. Participants (n = 716, 10–18 years) recalled 3–4 days of activity using the MARCA and underwent a partially overlapping 7-day accelerometry protocol during a national survey. Spearman correlation coefficients (ρ) assessed the association between accelerometer-derived counts per minute and MARCA-derived physical activity level and time in locomotion. Both data sources estimated time spent in light and moderate–vigorous physical activity. Association and agreement between methods for light physical activity and moderate–vigorous physical activity was assessed using correlations and Bland–Altman plots respectively, and paired t-tests conducted. Accelerometer-derived activity counts were moderately correlated with both MARCA-derived physical activity level and locomotion (ρ = 0.38, P < 0.0001). The correlation between methods was –0.14 for light physical activity and 0.28 for moderate–vigorous physical activity (P < 0.0001). The MARCA overestimated moderate–vigorous physical activity compared with accelerometry (120 min, P < 0.0001), which increased as moderate–vigorous physical activity time increased. Some sex and ethnicity (Māori [indigenous] versus non-Māori) differences were observed. Overall, the MARCA indicated moderate validity for assessment of physical activity level, locomotion and moderate–vigorous physical activity and poor validity for assessment of light physical activity. This was comparable to other self-report tools. The MARCA has utility for future large-scale research.     

The Association of Objectively Determined Physical Activity Behavior Among Adolescent Female Friends

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which physical activity among adolescent female friends is interdependent. The participants were 318 adolescent girls with a mean age of 16.0 years (range: 15–18 years). Pedometry was used to assess physical activity over 4 days. The relationship between an individual girl and her first-nominated reciprocal friend's physical activity level was moderate (r = 0.45, 90% confidence interval = 0.31, 0.56), when the friendship was nonreciprocal it was trivial (r = -.06, 90% confidence interval = -.36. .25). Friends' physical activity levels explained between 27% and 32% of an individual's pedometer-determined physical activity level. Reciprocity of friendship is an important variable to consider when understanding the relationship between adolescent female friends' physical activity. When friendships are reciprocal, there is a stronger relationship between friends' physical activity.     

The affective assemblage of internationalisation in Japanese higher education

Higher Education - Positive attributes stick to higher education internationalisation, and it is a policy paradigm with performative effects. Internationalisation draws on imagined virtuous flows...     

Understanding Cohesion—Some Practical Teaching Implications

An experiment was conducted with 151 primary school children from three year levels, in a suburban primary school, set in a moderately high socio-economic area. The object of the investigation was to test the understanding of twelve anaphoric pronouns, which were embedded in passages of continuous text. The relationship between the perception of the cohesive items, and general reading comprehension was studied, as was the difference between the performance of girls and boys. A further question related to the understanding of anaphoric items set within direct speech. Results showed a significant relationship between the comprehension of the selected anaphoric personal items and ability in reading, as measured by a standardised test. In the early school years, girls were superior to boys in their perception of the items, but no difference was found at the upper level of the school. Children of all levels found the items set within quoted speech more difficult to comprehend than the items in the rest of the text. Some practical teaching strategies are discussed, and attention is drawn to areas where teachers' awareness of cohesion could prove useful.