Sequencing the genome from nematode to human: changing methods,changing science

The history of science tends to be recounted as a story of progress from early goals and discoveries to a unified outcome, in some sense implicit from the beginning, and often due to technological advances. The sequencing of the human genome is no exception. As a crucial part of the Human Genome Project, the history of genomic sequencing is typically presented as a direct result of the discoveries of the structure of DNA and its coding function, together with practical factors such as the development of techniques which made large-scale sequencing possible. However, the history of sequencing is inevitably a more complicated story, not only about molecular biology, but also about the evolving culture of scientific practice at the end of the 20th century.     

Creativity in the Bronze Age: Bringing Archaeological Research into Contemporary Craft Teaching and Learning through a Live Project

The CinBA Live Project sought to engage students of contemporary craft courses in the UK with Bronze Age creativity. We aimed to explore the ways in which the creativity inherent in prehistoric craft may be used as inspiration in contemporary making. It simultaneously offered institutions a unique opportunity to offer a practice‐led, research‐based live project which was distinct to those generally known to be available to art and design institutions. It offered a different experience within this established pedagogical model in art and design education by using the Bronze Age as a source of inspiration for creative practice through practice‐based research in contemporary craft within the framework of an international academic research project, and suggesting new roles for the interpretation of the prehistoric past through creative work. This article reports on the CinBA Live Project. It outlines the context of the opportunity, details our methods of facilitation, describes the activities undertaken by the students and considers the outputs and post‐project impact of the activity.     

Validity of Activity Trackers in Estimating Energy Expenditure During High-Intensity Functional Training

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the agreement of five commercially available accelerometers in estimating energy expenditure while performing an acute bout of high-intensity functional training (HIFT). Methods: Participants (n = 47; average age: 28.5 ± 11.6 years) consisted of recreationally active, healthy adults. Each participant completed a session of HIFT: a 15-minute workout consisting of 12 repetitions each of air-squats, sit-ups, push-ups, lunges, pull-ups, steps-ups, and high-knees; performed circuit-style by completing as many rounds as possible. During this session, each participant wore the Cosmed K4b2 portable metabolic analyzer (PMA) and five different accelerometers (ActiGraph GT3X, Nike Fuelband, Fitbit One, Fitbit Charge HR, and Jawbone UP Move). Results: Four of the five activity trackers reported lower (p < .05) total EE values compared to the PMA during the acute bout of HIFT. The waist-mounted device (ActiGraph, 182.55 ± 37.93 kcal) was not significantly different from, and most closely estimated caloric expenditure compared to the PMA (144.99 ± 37.13 kcal) (p = .056). A repeated-measures ANOVA showed that all activity trackers were significantly different from the reference measure (PMA) (p < .05). Systematic relative agreement between the activity trackers was calculated, exhibiting a significant ICC = 0.426 (F [46,230] = 5.446 [p < .05]). Conclusion: The wrist- and hip-mounted activity trackers did not accurately assess energy expenditure during HIFT exercise. With the exception of the ActiGraph GT3X, the remaining four activity trackers showed inaccurate estimates of the amount of kilocalories expended during the HIFT exercise bout compared to the PMA.     

Early Effects of North Carolina’s Comprehensive Articulation Agreement on Credit Accumulation Among Community College Transfer Students

Research in Higher Education - Community college transfer pathways, whereby students begin their postsecondary enrollment at a 2-year institution, are an increasingly popular option for students...     

Psychometric Issues in Organizational Stressor Research: A Review and Implications for Sport Psychology

Organizational stressors can potentially elicit a number of undesirable consequences for sport performers. It is, therefore, imperative that psychologists better understand the demands that athletes encounter via their exploration and assessment. However, although researchers have identified a wide range of organizational stressors in competitive sport, they have yet to develop a measure or indicator to assess them. In contrast, scholars in other psychology subdisciplines have designed measures of organizational-related stressors, which have the potential to inform the advancement of stress research in sport. The purpose of this article is, therefore, to review psychometric issues in organizational stressor research and discuss the implications for sport psychology. The narrative is divided into four main areas: conceptual and theoretical issues, item development issues, measurement and scoring issues, and analytical and statistical issues.     

Principals’ Coordinating Strategies and School Effectiveness 1

This paper examines the relationship between strategies used by principals to coordinate organizational activities and school effectiveness. The dominant view of effective principals suggests that they generally emphasize those tasks which are directly related to teaching and learning and assert influence and authority surrounding these tasks to coordinate instructional programs. Attention has also been placed in the effectiveness literature on the importance of developing a shared sense of direction to achieve coordination and effectiveness. The results of a study of elementary school principals in community schools in Israel suggest that principals' roles in framing school goals, that is, establishing a clear mission, are more instrumental in establishing school effectiveness than are the emphases of traditional areas which have been associated with school effectiveness.

     

Breaking down buy-in: Can lessons from social psychology increase teacher use of proactive behavior management?

Disruptive student behavior poses significant challenges for teachers and is associated with negative student outcomes. Research shows that teacher use of empirically-based proactive behavior management (PBM) can improve student outcomes; however, research also indicates that teacher use of PBM is low. One prominent factor in teacher use of PBM is “buy-in,” or personal interest, agreement, and investment in the implementation of a practice. When teachers buy in to an intervention, they may be more likely to implement and maintain the intervention with fidelity. Yet, there is little empirically-based understanding of buy-in or strategies known to increase the buy-in of school staff. The purpose of this paper is to describe research from social psychology that may be useful in developing a theoretical framework for buy-in, as well as approaches to increasing teacher buy-in and use of PBM. Implications for incorporating strategies from social psychology into teacher professional development to increase buy-in and use of PBM are discussed.     

Alternative Assessment Portfolios for Students with Intellectual Disabilities: A Case Study

Abstract

Twenty‐eight classroom teachers identified students in their rooms who were low achievers, at‐risk learners; low achievers, not at risk; average achievers; and special education students. We videotaped these students during reading lessons conducted by their teachers. Using a stimulated recall procedure, we interviewed teachers and asked them to report their thought processes during instruction, especially those that pertained to the target children. We found that teachers reported significantly more negative thoughts about at‐risk learners' than about average achievers' attending behavior and ability‐performance. Furthermore, at‐risk learners received a greater number of comments focused on the need to monitor their performance. Special education students received significantly more positive and negative comments about attending than did average achievers. In addition, they received more miscellaneous positive comments than did low, not at‐risk, and average achievers. Finally, teachers reported making more classroom modifications for this group than for average students. Implications for prereferral classroom interventions are discussed.