Technology adoption,consumer inattention and heuristic decision-making: Evidence from a UK district heating scheme

This paper contributes to the debate on the energy efficiency paradox according to which consumers fail to adopt cost-effective, energy efficient technologies over less efficient technologies and therefore fail to reduce energy consumption. Both traditional and behavioural theories are used to investigate the decision-making process of residential consumers with empirical evidence based upon a specially designed quasi-experimental survey of 784 households on the decision to connect to a district-heating system, a more energy efficient alternative to individual heating systems. The results suggest an internal discount rate of around 36 per cent for homeowners, a signal that consumers undervalue future energy costs. We also find the household’s decision to be negatively affected by years of payback up to around 7–8 years. Our findings suggest that neglecting consumer inattention and heuristics can lead to biases which cast doubt on the existence of the energy efficiency paradox. We believe that these results help to explain why some consumers are unlikely to invest in energy efficient technology, particularly those on low incomes.     

JROTC as a Substitute for PE: Really?

Purpose: Even though physical education (PE) is an evidence-based strategy for providing and promoting physical activity, alternative programs such as the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) are commonly substituted for PE in many states. The purpose of this study was to compare student physical activity and lesson contexts during high school PE and JROTC sessions. Method: The System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time was used to assess PE and JROTC sessions (N = 38 each) in 4 high schools that provided both programs. Data were analyzed using t tests, negative binomial regression, and logistic regression. Results: Students engaged in significantly more moderate-to-vigorous physical activity during PE than during JROTC sessions and they were significantly less sedentary. Significant differences between the 2 program types were also found among lesson contexts. Conclusions: PE and JROTC provide substantially different content and contexts, and students in these programs engage in substantially different amounts of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Students in JROTC, and perhaps other alternative programs, are less likely to accrue health-supporting physical activity and engage in fewer opportunities to be physically fit and motorically skilled. Policies and practices for providing substitutions for PE should be carefully examined.     

The effect of glycaemic index of high carbohydrate diets consumed over 5 days on exercise energy metabolism and running capacity in males

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine whether rates of total fat and carbohydrate oxidation and endurance capacity during running conducted in the fasted state are influenced by the glycaemic index (GI) of high carbohydrate diets consumed over 5 days. Nine healthy males performed three treadmill runs to exhaustion at 65% of maximum oxygen uptake ([Vdot]O_2max): after a habitual diet (control trial), after 5 days on a high carbohydrate/high glycaemic index diet, and after 5 days on a high carbohydrate/low glycaemic index diet in randomized counterbalanced order. No significant differences in rates of fat and carbohydrate oxidation, concentrations of plasma insulin, glucose, non-esterified fatty acids and glycerol, or time to exhaustion were observed between the high carbohydrate/high glycaemic index and high carbohydrate/low glycaemic index trials. Compared with the control trial, the concentration of plasma glycerol and rate of fat oxidation were lower (P < 0.05) and the rate of carbohydrate oxidation higher (P < 0.05) in both the high carbohydrate/high glycaemic index diet and high carbohydrate/low glycaemic index trials during the run to exhaustion. In conclusion, the extent by which a high carbohydrate diet consumed over 5 days reduces rate of fat oxidation during subsequent running exercise in the fasted state is not influenced by the glycaemic index of the diet.     

Supporting Teachers’ Use of Technology in Science Instruction Through Professional Development: A Literature Review

Professional development is critical in supporting teachers’ use of technological tools in classrooms. This review of empirical research synthesizes the effective elements of professional development programs that support science teachers in learning about technology integration. Studies are examined that explore how professional development supports technology use within inquiry-based and traditional science instruction. Implications for future research are discussed in four areas: understanding and building on teachers’ beliefs about science and technology; supporting teacher learning by supporting teachers’ examination of students’ work; using technology to support teacher communities and social networks; and sustaining teachers’ learning beyond formal professional development programs.

The role of academic management in implementing technology-enhanced learning in higher education

ABSTRACT

This article addresses how technology-enhanced learning (TEL) is implemented in higher education institutions. The study is based on data collected from a nationwide survey and semi-structured interviews with academic managers. The findings suggest that: (1) members of the academic management staff have limited knowledge of institutional strategies; (2) there is a gap between what academic managers believe they do to support and implement TEL and what other academic staff perceive them to actually do; and (3) TEL is seldom discussed during performance assessment reviews. In addition, the study reveals that academic managers have different understandings of the use of educational technology. Those differences appear to be closely related to the individual managers’ assessment of TEL’s role in supporting teaching.     

Parents’ views of an optimal school life: using Social Role Valorization to explore differences in parental perspectives when children have intellectual disability

Children with disability continue to experience disadvantage in their school lives; thus, the question of what makes up an optimal school life, and whether this is different for children with disability, becomes critical. This paper reports on research into parental views about an optimal school life and the usefulness of Social Role Valorization theory as a framework for exploring this issue. Six focus group interviews were used to collect data from 30 parents. Children of a variety of ages, with and without disability, were represented. All groups were similar in the aspects they regarded as optimal in a child’s school life. These fell into five categories: being connected, growth, personhood, basic needs, and happiness. Despite this similarity across groups, there were some notable differences in the detail; for example, parents of children with disability had a stronger focus on children being wanted, high expectations, and being seen as an individual.     

Teacher as Researcher,Teacher as Scholar,and Teacher as Leader

ABSTRACT

Too often, because of the static nature of schools and the dominant existence of high-stakes testing, professional learning for teachers is determined by administrators or policy and is facilitated by those who are not part of the school community using prepackaged programs. These initiatives run counter to authentic teacher inquiry where teachers enhance their understanding of students and learning and, ideally, develop new teaching practices (Borko, 2004; Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999, 2009; Darling-Hammond, 1997). In this article, we focus on how teachers participating in action research begin to position themselves as teacher leaders.     

Hierarchical Mentoring: A Transformative Strategy for Improving Diversity and Retention in Undergraduate STEM Disciplines

In the United States, less than half of the students who enter into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) undergraduate curricula as freshmen will actually graduate with a STEM degree. There is even greater disparity in the national STEM graduation rates of students from underrepresented groups with approximately three-fourths of minority students leaving STEM disciplines at the undergraduate level. A host of programs have been designed and implemented to model best practices in retaining students in STEM disciplines. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Professors Program at Louisiana State University, under leadership of HHMI Professor Isiah M. Warner, represents one of these programs and reports on a mentoring model that addresses the key factors that impact STEM student attrition at the undergraduate level. By integrating mentoring and strategic academic interventions into a structured research program, an innovative model has been developed to guide STEM undergraduate majors in adopting the metacognitive strategies that allow them to excel in their programs of study, as they learn to appreciate and understand science more completely. Comparisons of the persistence of participants and nonparticipants in STEM curricular, at the host university and with other national universities and colleges, show the impact of the model’s salient features on improving STEM retention through graduation for all students, particularly those from underrepresented groups.