Training Future Scientists: Predicting First-year Minority Student Participation in Health Science Research

Using longitudinal data from the UCLA Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) and Your First College Year (YFCY) surveys, this study examines predictors of the likelihood that science-oriented students would participate in a health science undergraduate research program during the first year of college. The key predictors of participation in health science research programs are students’ reliance on peer networks and whether campuses provide structured opportunities for first-year students even though only 12% of freshmen in the sample engaged in this activity. These experiences are particularly important for Black students. The findings inform efforts to orient students at an early stage, particularly under-represented minorities, toward biomedical and behavioral science research careers.

Causal and predictive-value judgments,but not predictions,are based on cue-outcome contingency

In three experiments, we show that people respond differently when they make predictions as opposed to when they are asked to estimate the causal or the predictive value of cues: Their response to each of those three questions is based on different sets of information. More specifically, we show that prediction judgments depend on the probability of the outcome given the cue, whereas causal and predictivevalue judgments depend on thecue-outcome contingency. Although these results might seem problematic for most associative models in their present form, they can be explained by explicitly assuming the existence of postacquisition processes that modulate participants’ responses in a flexible way.     

The development of mental rotation abilities through robotics-based instruction: An experience mediated by gender

The research literature on the topic of “spatial ability” reveals that it has a major influence on achievement in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Additionally, previous studies indicate the existence of a gender gap in spatial ability in favour of males. Mental rotation, one subskill of spatial ability, is an area in which gender differences are greater. At the same time, educational robotics is seen as one of the more promising technologies in educational contexts for the future. We conducted a quasi-experimental study with 142 seven- and eight-year-old students aimed at analysing whether robotics-based instruction may produce greater learning gains on mental rotation abilities compared to traditional instruction. The intervention was developed in the context of map-reading tasks, which are part of the curricular content in Mathematics and Social Sciences at this age. The results showed that for males, the robotics-based instruction promoted a significantly greater improvement in students’ mental rotation abilities compared to the control group. By contrast, no significant differences were observed for females. Although this study provides empirical evidence of the potential of robotics-based instruction, future studies need to deeply analyse the existence of gender differences in the learning gains obtained through educational robotics.     

Pandemics,leadership, and social ethics

PROSPECTS - This Viewpoint argues that the absence of worldwide social ethics is at the root of our present social, political, and economic crises. More to the point, the current COVID-19...     

E-Government procurement observatory,maturity model and early measurements

Electronic government procurement (eGP) is quickly becoming an essential piece of national e-government programs, since it enables active transparency and favors efficient vendor relationships; however, little attention has been paid to the need for periodical measurement of eGP portals' performance and goal satisfaction. Although maturity levels schemes have been proposed for other domains, most notably IT-related, to the best of our knowledge no maturity level model of eGP has been widely deployed yet. This article presents the e-Government Procurement Observatory Maturity Model (eGPO-MM), which focuses on both legal and institutional arrangements, and portals' technical aspects; the model consists of two Leverage Domains, seven Key Domain Areas, and 25 Critical Variables, which are valued with a weighted scoring system that produces quantitative indicators about portal capabilities and allows direct comparisons. The model was used to evaluate eGP portals from 14 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean; the measurements are presented, and fit well with previous rank perception, leading to a good reception by participant agencies. eGPO-MM has already allowed to identify areas for joint action and fostered knowledge-sharing among governments, including identification and dissemination of e-procurement best practices; it also established clear reference points to allow each agency to determine a roadmap to higher e-procurement maturity.     

Research possibilities for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil

The FIFA (Federation Internationale de Football Association) World Cup is the world’s biggest soccer tournament and is one of the largest international sporting events. In 2014, Brazil will host the quadrennial FIFA World Cup for the second time in its history. Since this premier global mega-event involves much of the world and Brazil is a major nation that seeks to assert its position internationally, the situation is optimal for exploring various issues. Scholars have examined various aspects of the ongoing preparations. Researchers have several options worthy of exploration including, but not limited to, relevant social phenomena, the social, cultural, economic and educational impact, as well as the cultural practices related to this mega-event. The aim of this literature review is to present some key areas that should be considered in regards to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.     

Physical activity among Spanish adolescents: relationship with their relatives' physical activity - the AVENA study

Identifying factors related to physical activity levels in young people is important for a more efficient health promotion. The aims of this study were to assess physical activity levels in a national sample of urban Spanish adolescents, and to examine the association between significant others' physical activity (father, mother, brother, sister, and close friends) and that of the adolescents. The present study comprised 2260 adolescents (1157 boys, 1103 girls) aged 13.0-18.5 years participating in the AVENA Study. Both the adolescents' physical activity and that of their relatives and close friends was assessed by questionnaire. The odds of being active were higher in boys than girls (odds ratio?=?2.79, 95% confidence interval?=?2.34-3.33) and tended to decrease across age groups in both boys and girls. Father's and older brother's physical activity was associated with boys' physical activity, while that of any significant other was associated with girls' physical activity. When both parents reported being active, boys had nearly two times higher odds of being active and girls had nearly three times higher odds of being active. The physical activity levels of Spanish adolescents are in line with those previously reported. Physical activity levels in girls are strongly related to the physical activity of any significant other, whereas physical activity levels in boys are only related to their male relatives' physical activity.     

Self-rated wellbeing and physical activity associations in European older adults

Background: Physical activity and self-rated wellbeing have important benefits to health. However, scientific knowledge regarding their relationship among older adults is scarce. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the associations between physical activity frequency and several dimensions of self-rated wellbeing, in a representative sample of European older adults from 28 countries. Methods: This study is based on the European Social Survey round 6, 2012. It had a total sample size of 12,341 older adults (5100 men, 7241 women) with mean age 73.8?±?6.6 years. Information was collected through a questionnaire, filled-in during an hour-long face-to-face interview. Physical activity was accessed using the question “On how many of the last 7 days you were physically active continuously for 20 minutes or longer?” and six dimensions of self-rated wellbeing were used. Results: Physical activity in the last 7 days was linearly related with all dimension of the self-rated wellbeing and with wellbeing total score for both sexes (men, β?=?0.09, 95% CI: 0.07 to 0.10, p?β?=?0.10, 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.11, p?Conclusions: Physical activity promotion should be stressed as a meaningful strategy to improve people's wellbeing overall. This strategy has special importance when considering the older adult population.     

Tournament structure and nations' success in women's professional tennis

The relationship between domestic professional tournament structure in women's tennis and the subsequent professional ranking success of a nation's female players is examined. The 2003 women's professional tennis tournament calendar provided the distribution of events in 33 countries. Criteria used to classify nations' success in women's professional tennis were as follows: number of players with Women's Tennis Association (WTA) points, number of players with Top 200 rankings, and the combined WTA ranking of a nation's Top 5 female players. Pearson product - moment correlations were performed between the number of tournaments and the three criteria. Considerable variation was observed in the number of events organized between nations (USA, n = 56; Thailand, n = 3). All countries had internationally ranked female players, and 24 nations had players ranked in the Top 200. Results revealed relationships between a nation's number of women's professional events and both that nation's number of professionally ranked players (r = 0.60; P < 0.01) and Top 200 players (r = 0.60; P < 0.01), as well as the combined ranking of their Top 5 players (r = -0.52; P < 0.01). While a similar association was found between the number of professional events and players ranked in the men's game, there was no significant correlation between events held and the combined standing of nations' best five ranked players. Governing bodies and national associations in tennis should consider the provision of professional, domestic competition as key to the development of female tennis players.