Science for employment and higher education

The results of a survey of the views of employers and tutors in higher education on the scientific curriculum for 16‐ to 19‐year‐olds in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is reported. The results show that a limited range of scientific ideas are seen as essential by representatives of all areas. Both employers and tutors in higher education believe that developing a student's capability in a wide range of generic skills (including mathematics skills) should be an aim of courses leading to advanced science qualifications. Higher education tutors tend to require higher levels of thinking in the use of the ideas than do employers. The implications of taking note of employmnent and higher education needs for secondary science education are discussed.     

Who shares health and medical scholarly articles on Facebook?

Over a million journal articles had been shared on public Facebook pages by 2017, but little is known about who is sharing (posting links to) these papers and whether mention counts could be an impact indicator. This study classified users who had posted about 749 links on Facebook before October 2017 mentioning 500 medical and health‐related research articles, obtained using altmetric.com data. Most accounts (68%) belonged to groups, including online communities, journals, academic organizations, and societies. Of individual profiles, academics accounted for only 4%, but the largest group were health care professionals (16%). More than half (58%) of all Facebook accounts examined were not academic. The non‐academic dominance suggests that public Facebook posts linking to health‐related articles are mostly used to facilitate scientific knowledge flow between non‐academic professionals and the public. Therefore, Facebook mention counts may be a combined academic and non‐academic attention indicator in the health and medical domains.     

Thousands of Australian academics on the editorial boards of journals run by predatory publishers

A total of 966 allegedly ‘predatory’ open access publishers were examined to determine the nature of their ethical or unethical practices and the extent to which Australian academics were included on the editorial boards of their journals. An estimated 4,000 Australian academics (ca. 7% of the academic population) are on these journal boards. Of the publishers, 240 proved to be overtly fraudulent, the ethical status of the others remaining unresolved. About 86% of the Australian academics identified appeared on the editorial boards of journals belonging to those 240 publishers. Despite two decades of advocacy from librarians, there remains widespread ignorance of the existence of such fraudulent publishers, and more severe action is required. Reform proposals include naming the publisher in all references and in academic profiles and curriculum vitae. Universities are encouraged to take responsibility for publishing journals that replace those currently causing the problem. Institutions are urged to augment their current warnings and advice with formal policies, which will probably require a blacklist of unacceptable publishers. New formal policies for dealing with predatory publishers are currently being developed in some Australian universities.     

A multi-campus usability testing study of the new Primo interface

Abstract

When the 23-member California State University Libraries merged integrated library systems in 2017, a unique opportunity arose to conduct multi-tenant usability testing on user experience in the Primo discovery service, collectively branded OneSearch. In 2018, librarians at five campuses conducted a round of task-based individual user testing on their separate instances, seeking to review individual campuses’ decisions about customizations designed to provide optimal performance of the system and provide insight into group decisions about our shared customization choices. Along with the findings of the test results and recommendations for enhancements to existing modifications, we discuss the challenges and opportunities that are present in conducting multi-campus usability testing and share recommendations for future consortium-based testing efforts.     

Implementing disability policy in teaching and learning contexts – shop floor constructivism or street level bureaucracy?

Since 1995 the UK higher education sector has been required to implement national disability related legislation. This paper reports on a study which explored the role that policies play in influencing how staff support disabled students. In particular the extent to which staff in HE behave in similar ways to those described as street level bureaucrats by (Lipsky, M. 1980. Street-Level Bureaucracy: Dilemmas of the Individual in Public Services. New York: Russell Sage Foundation). Semi-structured interviews undertaken with 34 staff in the case study university provided the substantive data. Although there was little evidence to show that policy had a direct influence on practice, it was clear that staff made considerable efforts to support disabled learners and these efforts were based on values associated with providing an equitable experience for all students. Additionally, staff were able to exercise discretion in the way they responded to disabled students and constructed responses to policies without significant influence from institutional managers, national legislation or broader policy discourse.     

Prediction of segmental lean mass using anthropometric variables in young adults

The aim of the present study was to develop and cross-validate anthropometrical prediction equations for segmental lean tissue mass (SLM). One hundred and seventeen young healthy Caucasians (67 men and 50 women; mean age: 31.9 ± 10.0 years; Body Mass Index: 24.3 ± 3.2 kg · m(-2)) were included. Body mass (BM), stretch stature (SS), 14 circumferences (CC), 13 skinfolds (SF) and 4 bone breadths (BB) were used as anthropometric measurements. Segmental lean mass of both arms, trunk and both legs were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry as the criterion method. Three prediction equations for SLM were developed as follows: arms = 40.394(BM) + 169.836(CCarm-tensed) + 399.162(CCwrist) - 85.414(SFtriceps) - 39.790(SFbiceps) - 7289.190, where Adj.R (2) = 0.97, P < 0.001, and standard error of estimate (SEE) = 355 g;trunk = 181.530(BM) + 155.037(SS) + 534.818(CCneck) + 175.638(CCchest) - 88.359(SFchest) - 147.232(SFsupraspinale) - 46522.165, where Adj.R(2) = 0.97, P < 0.001, and SEE = 1077g; and legs = 55.838(BM) + 88.356(SS) + 235.579(CCmid-thigh) + 278.595(CCcalf) + 288.984(CCankle) - 84.954(SFfront-thigh) - 53.009(SFmedial calf) - 28522.241, where Adj.R (2) = 0.96, P < 0.001, and SEE = 724 g. Cross-validation statistics showed no significant differences (P < 0.05) between observed and predicted SLM. Root mean squared errors were smallest for arms (362 g), followed by legs (820 g) and trunk (1477 g). These new prediction equations allow an accurate estimation of segmental lean mass in groups of young adults, but estimation errors of 8 to 14% can occur in certain individuals.     

Preparing early childhood educators for global education: the implications of prior learning

This paper outlines the increasing cultural diversity of Australia’s education settings and explicates the global education movement and the new Australian Early Years Learning Framework. It discusses the implication of these factors for early childhood education practice and early childhood teacher education. The key research question considered in this paper is what prior learnings do early childhood educators utilise to consider global education? Data are presented on a research project that explores the prior learning of pre‐service early childhood educators at a major Australian university. The paper shows that, unlike primary and secondary pre‐service teachers, most early childhood education pre‐service teachers have significant professional experiences in educational settings. These prior experiences have a significant impact on pre‐service early childhood educators’ knowledge, beliefs and attitudes in the area of global education and align strongly with the global education curriculum movement and new national curriculum.     

Current Status of Research in Teaching and Learning Evolution: II. Pedagogical Issues

This is the second of two articles that address recent scholarship about teaching and learning about evolution. This second review seeks to summarize this state of affairs and address the implications of this work for the classroom by addressing four basic questions: (1) What is evolution?/What components of the theory are important at the introductory level? (2) Why do students and members of the public at large need to understand evolution? (3) What makes evolution difficult to teach and learn? and (4) What promising instructional approaches have been developed and tested? The paper will also focus on concerns about both the research designs and the measures used in this work. Based on this review, I will then propose a set of pedagogical implications and recommendations for the classroom instructor and call for studies to address specific gaps identified.