Using digital images of the zebra finch song system as a tool to teach organizational effects of steroid hormones: a free downloadable module

Zebra finch song behavior is sexually dimorphic: males sing and females do not. The neural system underlying this behavior is sexually dimorphic, and this sex difference is easy to quantify. During development, the zebra finch song system can be altered by steroid hormones, specifically estradiol, which actually masculinizes it. Because of the ease of quantification and experimental manipulation, the zebra finch song system has great potential for use in undergraduate labs. Unfortunately, the underlying costs prohibit use of this system in undergraduate labs. Further, the time required to perform a developmental study renders such undertakings unrealistic within a single academic term. We have overcome these barriers by creating digital tools, including an image library of song nuclei from zebra finch brains. Students using this library replicate and extend a published experiment examining the dose of estradiol required to masculinize the female zebra finch brain. We have used this library for several terms, and students not only obtain significant experimental results but also make gains in understanding content, experimental controls, and inferential statistics (analysis of variance and post hoc tests). We have provided free access to these digital tools at the following website: http://mdcune.psych.ucla.edu/modules/birdsong.     

Surgeons as medical school educators: an untapped resource

Despite extensive experience teaching residents, surgeons are an untapped resource for educating medical students. We hypothesized that by involving surgeons as teachers earlier in the medical school curriculum, medical students' interest in surgery will increase and their opinions of surgeons will improve. Five programs designed to involve surgeons as educators in the medical school curriculum were implemented. The first program, started in 2008, introduced surgical faculty into the first-year medical student anatomy dissection laboratories. Other programs initiated in 2008 included: Surgical Clinical Correlates in Anatomy, which involved faculty teaching through cadaver surgery; Clinical Pathologic Conferences in Anatomy, a surgeon-led conference based on clinical cases; and a women's faculty-student mentorship program. Table Rounds, a surgeon-led anatomy review that used clinical scenarios to quiz students was begun in 2009. All five programs were successfully integrated into the medical school curriculum. While student opinion of surgeons as educators improved, there were no significant changes in student interest in surgery as a career nor change in performance on written examinations over the Anatomy content covered by the surgeons. Surgical faculty and trainees can be integrated into the medical school curriculum. Involving surgeons as educators earlier in the medical school curriculum may have longer term effects than could be observed in this study. At a minimum, the experience improved student opinion of surgeons as educators.     

Harnessing technology to improve formative assessment of student conceptions in STEM: forging a national network

Concept inventories, consisting of multiple-choice questions designed around common student misconceptions, are designed to reveal student thinking. However, students often have complex, heterogeneous ideas about scientific concepts. Constructed-response assessments, in which students must create their own answer, may better reveal students' thinking, but are time- and resource-intensive to evaluate. This report describes the initial meeting of a National Science Foundation-funded cross-institutional collaboration of interdisciplinary science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education researchers interested in exploring the use of automated text analysis to evaluate constructed-response assessments. Participants at the meeting shared existing work on lexical analysis and concept inventories, participated in technology demonstrations and workshops, and discussed research goals. We are seeking interested collaborators to join our research community.     

Medical students' attitudes toward the anatomy dissection room in relation to personality

Assessment of the personalities of medical students could enable medical educators to formulate strategies for the best development of academic and clinical competencies. In this article, we focus on the experience of students in the anatomy dissecting room. While there have been many attempts to evaluate the emotional responses of medical students to human cadaveric dissection, there has been no investigation into how different personality traits affect the responses. The main hypothesis tested was that there is a relationship between personality traits and attitudes toward the dissection room. For the present study, a group of French medical students (n = 403; mean age 21.3 ± 1.6; 65.3% female) completed a "Big Five" personality inventory and a questionnaire to assess their attitudes in regard to human dissection. The findings are consistent with our hypothesis, in that we found a relationship between reporting anxiety and four of the "Big Five" dimensions (all except openness). The rated level of anxiety was positively correlated with negative affectivity, more strongly at the beginning than at the end of the course. There were significant gender differences in attitudes toward dissection. The findings are discussed in relation to the possibility of preparing students for the dissecting room experience and also in relation to the students' understanding of mortality issues.     

2002-2012年达累斯萨拉姆城市蔓延特征及影响因素

以坦桑尼亚首位城市达累斯萨拉姆2002、2007和2012年土地利用分类数据为基础,结合实地调研,运用扇形分析和同心圆分析等方法,以及用地增长弹性系数、扩展强度指数、紧凑度、分形维数等指标,研究达累斯萨拉姆近年来城市蔓延的总体态势和空间格局特征。研究结果表明：1）2002-2012年间达累斯萨拉姆城市蔓延特征明显,蔓延程度较高,蔓延速度不断加快,主要表现为非正式聚落不断增长情况下的城乡混合发展,侵占的土地类型主要为裸地,其次为植被;2）2002-2007年城市建成区主要沿交通干道以及在市中心周边进行轴线式蔓延,2007-2012年主要在交通干道间及城市边缘地区进行填充式蔓延,城市空间形态由指状向团块状演变;3）城市蔓延方向性明显,向西北、西、西南和东南扩展较多,东南方向成为新的扩展热点,且表现出明显的距离衰减特征;4）城市蔓延主要受到人口与经济增长、交通条件改善、政策变化及土地制度缺陷等因素的影响,其中交通设施起到重要的空间引导作用。     

教育数据挖掘工具综述

数据挖掘拥有悠久的历史,它可以追溯到探索性数据分析(Tukey, 1977),且目前已经形成了有效的、可推广的方法.本文将讨论教育数据挖掘研究与实践中逐渐兴起的一些工具,以及在更广泛的层面上数据挖掘和数据科学研究者所使用的相关工具,近40种教育领域数据挖掘与分析的常用工具,包括数据处理与特征工程工具、算法分析工具、可视化效果工具,以及EDM和LA的特殊应用,如贝叶斯知识跟踪工具、文本挖掘、社会网络分析、过程与序列挖掘、PSLC服务站等.本文将为初次接触这一领域的研究者提供有用的信息,以帮助他们找到有用的工具.     

新疆普通高校体育教学现状调查

采用问卷调查法等对新疆普通高校体育教学模式、教学大纲、课程设置、教师队伍、教材使用、体质健康标准的实施现状等进行调查。调查显示,教师专业结构不合理,教学与科研不能协调发展,体育教师的待遇与工作负荷不成正比。具有地方特色、民族特色、学校特色的体育教改新思路在新疆普通高校逐渐兴起。建议:加强对体育教师的专业培训;在教学中注重培养学生终身体育观念,培养学生积极健身意识;要充分体现民族体育和现代体育的有机结合,开展具有少数民族体育特色的教学活动。     

Whole-body predictors of wrist shot accuracy in ice hockey: a kinematic analysis

The purpose of this study was to identify joint angular kinematics that corresponds to shooting accuracy in the stationary ice hockey wrist shot. Twenty-four subjects participated in this study, each performing 10 successful shots on four shooting targets. An eight-camera infra-red motion capture system (240 Hz), along with passive reflective markers, was used to record motion of the joints, hockey stick, and puck throughout the performance of the wrist shot. A multiple regression analysis was carried out to examine whole-body kinematic variables with accuracy scores as the dependent variable. Significant accuracy predictors were identified in the lower limbs, torso and upper limbs. Interpretation of the kinematics suggests that characteristics such as a better stability of the base of support, momentum cancellation, proper trunk orientation and a more dynamic control of the lead arm throughout the wrist shot movement are presented as predictors for the accuracy outcome. These findings are substantial as they not only provide a framework for further analysis of motor control strategies using tools for accurate projection of objects, but more tangibly they may provide a comprehensive evidence-based guide to coaches and athletes for planned training to improve performance.