Genetics in practice

Conclusion The development of templates such as Genetics in Practice is feasible and presents the potential to be a powerful training tool for online instruction. It is important to keep in mind, however, that use of the tool does not ensure quality case-study development.     

Virtual reference service evaluation: Adherence to RUSA behavioral guidelines and IFLA digital reference guidelines

This study evaluates the level to which virtual (e-mail) reference services adhere to professional guidelines. These professional guidelines are set up as standards to assure service quality. However, studies of virtual reference effectiveness rarely utilize these standards to measure reference success. This study evaluates and compares the level of adherence to two sets of professional guidelines published by the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) and the American Library Association (ALA) Reference and User Services Association (RUSA). Analysis of 324 transactions from 54 libraries showed: 1) low levels of adherence to both sets of guidelines; 2) varied levels of adherence based on request types and user names on both sets of guidelines; 3) variation in institutional rank according to different sets of guidelines; 4) no correlation between user satisfaction and adherence to either set of guidelines. This study has implications for future research and practice because it provides a systematic way to analyze transactions in light of the ideal professional standards. It also provides an empirical benchmark for evaluating virtual reference services.     

SOCIAL CAPITAL, SOCIAL INCLUSION AND CHANGING SCHOOL CONTEXTS: A SCOTTISH PERSPECTIVE

ABSTRACT:  This paper synthesises a collaborative review of social capital theory, with particular regard for its relevance to the changing educational landscape within Scotland. The review considers the common and distinctive elements of social capital, developed by the founding fathers – Putnam, Bourdieu and Coleman – and explores how these might help to understand the changing contexts and pursue opportunities for growth.     

Neurobehavioral Syndromes in Cocaine-exposed Newborn Infants

The effects of fetal cocaine exposure on newborn cry characteristics were studied in 80 cocaine-exposed and 80 control infants. The groups were stratified to be similar on maternal demographic characteristics and maternal use of other illegal substances and alcohol during pregnancy. The hypothesis was that excitable cry characteristics were related to the direct effects of cocaine, while depressed cry characteristics were related to the indirect effects of cocaine secondary to low birthweight. Structural equation modeling (EQS) showed direct effects of cocaine on cries with a longer duration, higher fundamental frequency, and a higher and more variable first formant frequency. Indirect effects of cocaine secondary to low birthweight resulted in cries with a longer latency, fewer utterances, lower amplitude, and more dysphonation. Cocaine-exposed infants had a lower birthweight, shorter length, and smaller head circumference than the unexposed controls. Findings were consistent with the notion that 2 neurobehavioral syndromes, excitable and depressed, can be described in cocaine-exposed infants, and that these 2 syndromes are due, respectively, to direct neurotoxic effects and indirect effects secondary to intrauterine growth retardation.     

Do Judgments of Learning Directly Enhance Learning of Educational Materials?

When people make judgments of learning (JOLs) after studying paired associates, the process they engage in to monitor their learning can directly enhance learning for some types of material (Soderstrom et al. 2015). The current experiments investigated whether JOLs directly enhance learning educationally relevant texts. Across 5 experiments (N?=?703), people read several sections of an educational textbook with or without JOLs embedded between each section. We manipulated whether JOLs queried one’s understanding of the text at the aggregate level (Experiment 1) or for specific concepts in the text (Experiment 2a, 2b, 3, and 4). We also manipulated whether JOLs were framed to afford covert retrieval practice by prompting judgments with either the target information present or absent (Experiment 3). In most cases, instructing students to make JOLs did not improve comprehension above and beyond just reading the text. However, when people were instructed to retrieve information prior to making JOLs (Experiment 4), large learning gains occurred. These results indicate that JOLs in their standard form are unlikely to produce educational benefits to text comprehension in part because learners do not spontaneously retrieve criterial information when making metacomprehension judgments.

     

Use of the Digital Camera to Increase Student Interest and Learning in High School Biology

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Technology can be thought of in two ways: as a set of tools that amplify or extend what we currently do (make it better, faster, stronger), or as...     

Examining the impact of an online social media challenge on participant physical activity and body weight in the United States

This study examined use of an online social media physical activity (PA) challenge to encourage participants to complete at least 13 races in the year 2013. Following the challenge, researchers recruited participants through the Facebook group. Using the #13in2013 Twitter hashtag, participants completed an online survey. Survey participants reported completing a significantly greater mean total number of races during the challenge (17.5 ± 6.9 races) than the previous year (8.6 ± 7.4 races, p = .001) and 93% (n = 56) reported completing at least 13 races. Participants completed a mean of 1.4 ± 2.1 virtual races. Mean reported number of total miles ran/walked during the challenge was significantly greater (718.4 ± 465.0 miles) than the previous year (462.1 ± 436.5 miles, p = .002). Mean reported participant body weight post-challenge (68.2 ± 13.1 kg) was significantly lower than reported weight pre-challenge (69.7 ± 14.4 kg, p = .012). This study demonstrated that a social media PA challenge has the potential to present a scalable way to motivate individuals to participate in PA and decrease body weight.