Students using posters as a means of communication and assessment

Poster sessions are widely used as a medium for the communication of results by professionals at conferences and by students to their peers. The authors have introduced poster sessions into undergraduate mathematical modelling courses. This has given our students an interesting and challenging task and it has caused us to devise a scheme for the assessment of posters.This paper surveys the use of poster sessions with undergraduates, outlines the rationale for using posters with mathematics students, describes our experiences and proposes criteria to use in the assessment of student posters.     

Maturation of Human Fetal Responses to Vibroacoustic Stimulation

Maturation of human fetal response to vibroacoustic stimulation was examined in 60 fetuses from 23 to 36 weeks gestational age. Subjects received vibroacoustic or no-stimulus control trials (randomly assigned) while fetal heart rate (FHR) was recorded and movement was observed on real-time ultrasound scan. Initially, at 26-28 weeks, a small FHR deceleration response occurred; subsequently, FHR acceleration responses occurred. From 29 weeks, 83%-100% of subjects responded with an FHR acceleration > or = 10 BPM on the first vibrator trial and accelerations were observed on 83%-92% of all vibrator trials. From 26 to 36 weeks the percentage of fetuses responding with movement on the first vibrator trial increased from 58% to 100%; on all vibrator trials responses increased from 53% to 94%. It was concluded that maturation of human fetal response to vibroacoustic stimulation begins at about 26 weeks gestation, increases steadily over a 6-week period, and reaches maturity at about 32 weeks.     

An Explanation for School Failure: Moving Beyond Black Inferiority and Alienation as a Policy-Making Agenda

Numerous authors identify a white supremacist ideology that shapes the educational opportunities for racially diverse students. We contend that this ideology informs educational policy and hampers the likelihood that racially diverse populations can achieve success at levels similar to students of European descent. In this paper we define the white supremacist ideology as it informs education policy and practices. Three examples from the United States are then used to illustrate the influence of such an ideology. These examples include the creation and protection of racially segregated schooling; desegregation policies; and the current uses of school report cards. We conclude with the relevance of this discussion to educational debates in Great Britain and South Africa, and recommendations to minimise the influence of this ideology on education policy and school reform efforts.     

Race-Based Differential Prediction in Air Force Technical Training Programs

Bayesian Johnson-Neyman methodology was used to investigate differential prediction by race in United States Air Force technical training programs. Meaningful Johnson-Neyman regions of differences were found in eight of nine comparisons. In all nine training courses the regressions for blacks were flatter than for whites and the race-differentiated regression lines intersected within the range of predictor test scores. In six cases the cut-score for course qualification was within the Johnson-Neyman region, and in every case the bias was negative for blacks. It is noted that if the cut score had been set substantially higher the bias would have been positive for blacks in all cases. This analysis may explain why earlier studies that averaged bias across the predictor distribution yielded mixed results. It is hypothesized that the consistent results obtained here are a consequence of the lower predictability found in the black subpopulation.     

Interindustry analysis of the impact of federal support for academic science on the economy of New York State

An interindustry model is used to estimate the impact of federal expenditures for academic R&D on the economy of New York State. Resulting economic activity through the multiplier process is estimated to be 3.7 times the level of the original federal spending. This impact on the state economy generates national and state tax revenues sufficient to offset the original outlay of taxpayers' money by the federal government, thereby supporting the case for continued support of higher education in periods of fiscal crisis.