Effects of continuing professional development on urban elementary students' knowledge

This study supports the important role teacher training programs can play in increasing physical education knowledge. In this project, teachers were able to increase students' understanding of critical physical activity/fitness knowledge through physical education instruction, without changing the physical education contact time. This link to student needs as well as the school's overall mission is a promising one for students and schools alike.     

Are Elementary Preservice Teachers Floating or Sinking in Their Understanding of Buoyancy?

International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education - This research study investigated conceptions about buoyancy held by 55 elementary preservice teachers enrolled in a science methods...     

Copyright’s fair use doctrine and digital data

The digitization of works renders them not only easy to copy and distribute. It makes them easy to transform from one medium to another. Many of the same fair use questions posed by the copying or use of computer programs recur when other kinds of digital data are copied or manipulated. There are some situations in which digital copying would almost certainly be permitted as fair use, and some in which fair use defenses would be futile. This article was adapted from a column that first appeared inACM Communications. Published by permission of the Association for Computing Machinery.     

Geometrical effects in microfluidic-based microarrays for rapid, efficient single-cell capture of mammalian stem cells and plant cells

In this paper, a detailed numerical and experimental investigation into the optimisation of hydrodynamic micro-trapping arrays for high-throughput capture of single polystyrene (PS) microparticles and three different types of live cells at trapping times of 30 min or less is described. Four different trap geometries (triangular, square, conical, and elliptical) were investigated within three different device generations, in which device architecture, channel geometry, inter-trap spacing, trap size, and trap density were varied. Numerical simulation confirmed that (1) the calculated device dimensions permitted partitioned flow between the main channel and the trap channel, and further, preferential flow through the trap channel in the absence of any obstruction; (2) different trap shapes, all having the same dimensional parameters in terms of depth, trapping channel lengths and widths, main channel lengths and widths, produce contrasting streamline plots and that the interaction of the fluid with the different geometries can produce areas of stagnated flow or distorted field lines; and (3) that once trapped, any motion of the trapped particle or cell or a shift in its configuration within the trap can result in significant increases in pressures on the cell surface and variations in the shear stress distribution across the cell’s surface. Numerical outcomes were then validated experimentally in terms of the impact of these variations in device design elements on the percent occupancy of the trapping array (with one or more particles or cells) within these targeted short timeframes. Limitations on obtaining high trap occupancies in the devices were shown to be primarily a result of particle aggregation, channel clogging and the trap aperture size. These limitations could be overcome somewhat by optimisation of these device design elements and other operational variables, such as the average carrier fluid velocity. For example, for the 20 μm polystyrene microparticles, the number of filled traps increased from 32% to 42% during 5–10 min experiments in devices with smaller apertures. Similarly, a 40%–60% reduction in trapping channel size resulted in an increase in the amount of filled traps, from 0% to almost 90% in 10 min, for the human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells, and 15%–85% in 15 min for the human embryonic stem cells. Last, a reduction of the average carrier fluid velocity by 50% resulted in an increase from 80% to 92% occupancy of single algae cells in traps. Interestingly, changes in the physical properties of the species being trapped also had a substantial impact, as regardless of the trap shape, higher percent occupancies were observed with cells compared to single PS microparticles in the same device, even though they are of approximately the same size. This investigation showed that in microfluidic single cell capture arrays, the trap shape that maximizes cell viability is not necessarily the most efficient for high-speed single cell capture. However, high-speed trapping configurations for delicate mammalian cells are possible but must be optimised for each cell type and designed principally in accordance with the trap size to cell size ratio.     

Gaining access to everyday life information seeking

The discursive viewpoint adopted by many researchers who study everyday life information seeking allows for a shift in focus away from the individual as a unit of analysis toward a more general understanding of the broader cultural conditions within which individuals operate. However, the data employed by such researchers often consist of the testimony or observed actions of individuals. This paradox provides a point from which to reflect on the process of gaining access or entry to everyday life information seekers as research participants. This article presents the authors’ reflections on their experiences of conducting separate library and information science studies of three diverse populations: pregnant women, members of a self-help support group, and preschool children. The article’s premise is that theory and research practice are intertwined and that attending to issues of gaining access is essential for the development of both. Access is an emergent process dependent on the characteristics of the researcher, the participants, and the research context.     

Higher education curriculum orientations and the implications for institutional curriculum change

This research is based on an empirical study exploring how academics make curriculum decisions and their perceptions of the influences that shape their decisions. Interviews were held with 20 academics from diverse disciplines, who were both research active and committed to teaching. The higher education curriculum was conceptualised as a field of decision-making shaped by academics’ beliefs about educational and contextual influences. The study identified five distinctive curriculum orientations representing coherent patterns of curriculum decisions aligned with academics’ beliefs about educational purposes. Case studies are presented to elucidate each of the curriculum orientations. Curriculum orientations were also found to shape academics’ responses to educational change. The following higher education change drivers are explored: graduate employability and the skills agenda, teaching–research relationships, changing understandings about teaching and learning, educational technologies and flexible delivery. The findings suggest implications for institutional curriculum change initiatives and academic development programmes.     

Goals,Expectations, and Satisfaction of Criminal Justice Majors: Implications for Faculty,Students, and Programs*

Students majoring in criminal justice present an “embarrassment of riches” for academic programs, so little attention has been given to these students and their perspectives on criminal justice programs. However, the assessment movement in higher education and the ACJS encourage self‐examination and program improvement. Further, student satisfaction has been recognized as an important element in the discussion of school and program quality and effectiveness. The present paper presents data from an outcome survey of graduating seniors from a Midwestern public university, with a focus on the reasons why students chose the major, career plans upon graduation, and program satisfaction. The paper explores possible predictors of these variables and discusses the implications of these results for criminal justice faculty, students, and programs.