Developing a Research Agenda Aimed at Understanding the Teaching and Learning of Science at a Natural History Museum

Over the past two decades, cultural institutions such as museums are beginning to develop their capacity for engaging in long‐term research on teaching and learning (Rennie et al. 2003; see also Crowley 2014). In this article, we describe one museum's efforts to develop an educational research agenda in relationship to these broader efforts. We explain how we got started; share steps taken; describe the agenda itself; and give examples of some of our current research studies. We end with insights into some of the challenges we've faced in developing this work and how we've addressed them and our next steps.     

Linear Analysis of Autonomic Activity and Its Correlation with Creatine Kinase-MB in Overt Thyroid Dysfunctions

Autonomic activity may be deranged in thyroid dysfunctions and may lead to cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Myopathy is a common manifestation in thyroid disorders and may be associated with raised serum creatine kinase (CK). We hypothesized that cardiovascular abnormality in thyroid dysfunction may manifest as raised CK-MB. This study was designed to investigate the correlation of CK and its isoform CK-MB with thyroid profile and linear parameters of heart rate variability (HRV). The study was conducted on 35 hypothyroid and hyperthyroid patients each, and 25 age-matched healthy controls. Autonomic activity was assessed by simple short term 5-min HRV. Biochemical evaluation of serum thyroid profile, CK-NAC and CK-MB were estimated in all the subjects. Our results demonstrated low HRV in hypo- as well as hyperthyroid patients. We observed significantly higher serum CK levels in hypothyroid patients when compared to hyperthyroids and controls. However, no significant differences were observed in CK-MB levels in the three groups. Significant positive correlation of CK with TSH and negative correlation with some HRV parameters (LF power, HF power, total power, SDNN, RMSSD) was observed in hypothyroid patients. Whereas correlation of CK-MB with thyroid profile as well as HRV parameters was non-significant in all the groups. Based on the CK and CK-MB findings and their correlation, we conclude that the cardiovascular changes seen in thyroid dysfunctions may primarily be due to autonomic imbalance without apparent cardiac muscle involvement. Whereas, raised CK levels indicate predominantly skeletal muscle involvement in hypothyroid patients.     

Why Ideology Matters for Learning: A Case of Ideological Convergence in an Engineering Ethics Classroom Discussion on Drone Warfare

The relationship between ideology and learning remains insufficiently theorized and sparsely investigated in the learning sciences. Drawing on Stuart Hall’s theorization of ideology, Judith Butler’s notion of the (un)grievability of lives, and Sara Ahmed’s construct of stickiness, we illustrate how insights from critical social theory are indispensable to understanding processes of learning and how perspectives from the learning sciences can enrich critical social theory. Through the analysis of a classroom discussion on the use of militarized drones in an undergraduate engineering ethics course, we show how ideological convergence among participants constructed locally significant categories of “civilian,” “terrorist,” and (un)grievability, which narrowed the possible trajectories for students’ disciplinary learning in engineering and engineering ethics. Our analysis also shows that fleeting moments of ideological expansion offered opportunities for new learning; however, most of these instances of possibility were not sustained through the classroom discussion. We explicate how ideological convergences and expansions, as interactional achievements, profoundly matter for disciplinary learning and students’ identities. In conclusion, we explore the implications of our findings for broader contexts of learning and for the field of the learning sciences.     

Circadian Periodicity of Circulating Plasma Lipid Peroxides,Uric Acid and Ascorbic Acid in Renal Stone Formers

Circadian periodicity of plasma lipid peroxides and serum ascorbic acid and uric acid levels were studied in one hundred renal stone formers (55 women and 45 men; age 20–60 years) and 50 clinically healthy volunteers (21 women and 29 men; age 21–45 years) with diurnal activity from 06:00 to 22:00 and nocturnal rest. A marked circadian variation was demonstrated by population-mean-cosinor for all studied variables in stone formers and healthy subjects. By comparison to the healthy controls, parameter tests indicate that the stone formers had a higher MESOR (±SE) of MDA (2.90 ± 0.03 vs. 2.28 ± 0.06; F = 94.929, p < 0.001), a lower MESOR of serum ascorbic acid (0.722 ± 0.010 vs. 0.839 ± 0.10; F = 32.083, p < 0.001), and a similar MESOR of serum uric acid. Furthermore, the patients also differed from the healthy subjects in terms of their circadian amplitude and acrophase (tested jointly) of all three variables (p < 0.001). The demonstration herein of a circadian rhythm in MDA, serum ascorbic and uric acid suggests that these variables could also serve as markers to optimize the timing of treatment and to assess the patient’s response to treatment for further management.