Supervision of Doctoral Students in the Natural Sciences: expectations and experiences

Within the natural sciences and engineering, literature relating to postgraduate education, in particular the process of completing a doctorate, remains generally scarce. That which does exist emphasises the role of the supervisor in effecting successful completion and points to a wide range of activities performed by supervisors. There remains, however, little by way of accounts of the actual experiences of supervisors or students when engaged in the process of doctoral supervision. It is these experiences which form the basis of this paper which focuses upon doctoral students and their supervisors in the disciplines of physics, mathematics and engineering science. Data for the paper have been collected, as part of an ESRC funded project, by means of in‐depth interviews with students and supervisors in nine universities in England. In particular, we address students expectations of PhD supervision, the extent to which expectations have been met, and within the context of the ‘career’ of the PhD, the ways in which supervision changes as the doctoral process progresses. Important issues relating to the need for training for PhD supervisors and their capacity to meet the expectations of their students are raised, together with those which question the relationship between the PhD and the culture of academic work.     

The Deep-Time Digital Earth program: data-driven discovery in geosciences

Current barriers hindering data-driven discoveries in deep-time Earth (DE) include: substantial volumes of DE data are not digitized; many DE databases do not adhere to FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) principles; we lack a systematic knowledge graph for DE; existing DE databases are geographically heterogeneous; a significant fraction of DE data is not in open-access formats; tailored tools are needed. These challenges motivate the Deep-Time Digital Earth (DDE) program initiated by the International Union of Geological Sciences and developed in cooperation with national geological surveys, professional associations, academic institutions and scientists around the world. DDE’s mission is to build on previous research to develop a systematic DE knowledge graph, a FAIR data infrastructure that links existing databases and makes dark data visible, and tailored tools for DE data, which are universally accessible. DDE aims to harmonize DE data, share global geoscience knowledge and facilitate data-driven discovery in the understanding of Earth''s evolution.     

加拿大城市原住民教育所面临的问题

原住民是加拿大人口增长最快的少数民族。而且正经历着大规模由农村移民到城市的过程,这一过程是其他民族都必须经历的。然而加拿大原住民在正规教育和教育机会方面还落后于整个国家的水准。造成这种现实的原因是复杂的,涉及历史关系、政府政策、变化的形势以及社会经济挑战等因素。本文力图阐述存在的问题并分析其对原住民教育机会的限制,同时对克服原住民教育机会不平等的具体措施进行了探讨。     

Technical characteristics of the peabody individual achievement test as a function of item arrangement and basal and ceiling rules

The effects that item order and basal and ceiling rules have on test means, variances, and internal consistency estimates for the PIAT mathematics and reading recognition subtests were examined. Seven items on the math subtest and one item on the reading recognition subtest were significantly easier or harder than their test placement indicated. The use of basal and ceiling rules had a pronounced effect on the means, variances, and reliabilities on the multiple choice math subtest, while the rules' effects on the reading recognition subtests were minor. Item order also affected scores on the math subtest.     

Innovation in Technology-Based Flexible Learning: Dentaltec,a case study

The DentalTec project at Manchester Metropolitan University (MMU) was funded by a BT University Development Award between 1998 and 2000. The project was intended to lever change in technology and pedagogy in the teaching of Dental Technology, using emerging video and web approaches. The methods established by the project are still in use and are subject to ongoing development work--to that extent the project was a success, and those successes are discussed. However, key stakeholders to the project (educational development staff and subject leaders) concluded that the project had only limited impact where more had been expected. Drawing upon the Latchem and Hanna and the Collis and Moonen articles in this edition, this article reflects on the reasons for the successes and limitations of the DentalTec project.     

Comparative studies of the preference for free vs response-produced reinforcers

Neither domesticated hooded rats nor wild black rats responded appreciably for water on a CRF schedule when free water was available. However, four out of five crows showed substantial responding for food in the presence of identical free food. Previous reports also indicate that type of reinforcer and species are variables which significantly influence this phenomenon. Nevertheless, the overall findings seem to be amenable to an explanation based upon incentive-motivation theory.     

Children’s images of beauty: environmental influences on aesthetic preferences

This article reports on a recent study that explored children’s aesthetic preferences. Authors of previous studies in this area have concluded children have a relatively narrow range of preferences based on judgments about their responses to images. In other contexts, researchers have investigated children’s perspectives on their environments and created opportunities for them to take photographs in response to research tasks. This study is the first to draw on both approaches in order to develop a clearer understanding of children’s aesthetic preferences. Fifty-one children in two primary schools were asked to find and photograph images to represent their perceptions of beauty. In order to investigate whether or how children’s environments influenced their preferences, the schools were located in contrasting urban and rural areas. The article explores several contrasts between the two sets of images and offers explanations for these contrasts. It suggests that previous studies may have underestimated the diversity of children’s aesthetic preferences and that social, cultural and environmental factors may explain the differences between children’s aesthetic preferences. The article concludes that both researchers and teachers could adopt similar methods to develop our understanding of children’s perspectives, identities and experiences.     

Mastery Motivation: Definition and Measurement

This paper presents a working definition of mastery motivation which has evolved from our research with infants and young children over the past two decades. We define mastery motivation as a psychological force that stimulates an individual to attempt independently, in a focused and persistent manner, to solve a problem or master a skill or task which is at least moderately challenging for him or her. After describing key features of this definition, we discuss three conceptual issues: 1) the distinction between mastery motivation and cognitive competence, 2) developmental transitions in mastery motivation, and 3) the breadth of the concept. The paper concludes with a long section on assessing mastery motivation. Persistence at tasks is the main measure of the strength of the child's mastery motivation. Our structured task procedure, for 15- to 36-month-old children, attempts to disentangle mastery motivation and competence. We have also developed a questionnaire to assess mastery motivation in general and in five specific behavioral domains: social, symbolic, combinatorial, means-end, and gross motor. We believe that our definition helps to clarify the concept of mastery motivation and that our assessment procedures will facilitate future research.