Art Education for Life

In this paper I argue that art is a search for meaning, and should be taught and learned in that context. The immediate goal is to understand ourselves and others better, allowing more intelligent and meaningful action in the arena of life. Toward that end, I suggest that the social agenda of art education, in a world that is both increasingly interdependent and turbulent, can be the construction of community through personal, group–centred, and cross–cultural understandings approached through art. I examine traditionalism, modernism, postmodernism, and contemporary visual culture for content and strategies to serve the purposes of art for life, and construct the outline of a model for instruction utilizing those concerns. Finally, I make a case that thematically mining and creating art works, performances, and visual culture for aesthetic significance that ultimately frames, forms and enhances meaning is the primary strategy for this construction of community, not in the tribal sense, but universally.     

Hemispheric laterality in music and math

Hemispheric laterality may be a useful concept in teaching, learning, training, and in understanding more about human development. To address this issue, a measure of hemispheric laterality was compared to musical and mathematical ability. The Human Information Processing Survey (HIPS) instrument, designed to measure hemispheric laterality, was administered to 101 participants who were then asked to provide a measure of their conceptual aptitude for mathematics and music. Scores were then compared through canonical correlation to test the hypothesis that perceived mathematical ability may be explained by left-brain hemisphere preference and musical by the right hemisphere. A relatively strong correlation was found between music ability and right-brain hemisphere preference. A relationship between math and left-brain hemisphere preference or integrated brain processing scores was found to be marginal. Ramifications to learning are discussed.     

Working Together: Integrating Computational Modeling Approaches to Investigate Complex Phenomena

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Complex systems are made up of many entities, whose interactions emerge into distinct collective patterns. Computational modeling platforms can provide...     

How Science Teachers DiALoG Classrooms: Towards a Practical and Responsive Formative Assessment of Oral Argumentation

Journal of Science Education and Technology - We present lessons learned from an ongoing attempt to conceptualize, develop, and refine a way for teachers to gather formative assessment evidence...     

Cytocompatible cellulose nanofibers from invasive plant species Agave americana L. and Ricinus communis L.: a renewable green source of highly crystalline nanocellulose

In this study, the fibers of invasive species Agave americana L. and Ricinus communis L. were successfully used for the first time as new sources to produce cytocompatible and highly crystalline cellulose nanofibers. Cellulose nanofibers were obtained by two methods, based on either alkaline or acid hydrolysis. The morphology, chemical composition, and crystallinity of the obtained materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy(SEM) together with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy(EDX), dynamic light scattering(DLS), X-ray diffraction(XRD), and Fourier transform infrared(FTIR)spectroscopy. The crystallinity indexes(CIs) of the cellulose nanofibers extracted from A. americana and R. communis were very high(94.1% and 92.7%, respectively). Biological studies evaluating the cytotoxic effects of the prepared cellulose nanofibers on human embryonic kidney 293 T(HEK293 T) cells were also performed. The nanofibers obtained using the two different extraction methods were all shown to be cytocompatible in the concentration range assayed(i.e., 0-500 μg/mL). Our results showed that the nanocellulose extracted from A. americana and R. communis fibers has high potential as a new renewable green source of highly crystalline cellulose-based cytocompatible nanomaterials for biomedical applications.     

Labour market information and social justice: a critical examination

International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance - Labour Market Information forms a central place in career practice and how individuals enact their careers. This paper makes use of...     

Visions of change: information technology, education and postmodernism

The questions that dominate the discourse of IT in education are mostly at the technical or craft levels. Visionary questions relating to the purpose of education and the proper place of technology are not much discussed. This paper seeks to undermine the idea that such questions should be avoided. The context of postmodernist change is described and two contrasting visions of education are discussed. Each vision is a hypothetical but recognisable representation of certain trends in educational thinking. Each vision has appeal but also severe shortcomings. The paper concludes that unless teachers, learners and communities can articulate their own visions of educational change, new technology could take them into a future that they would never willingly have chosen.     

Stress among accounting educators in the United States

This research investigates stress among accounting educators and examines relationships between stress levels and work satisfaction levels, personality traits, and stress-coping techniques. Self-administered questionnaires were used, and 164 accounting faculty members from 41 states responded. Results of regression analyses indicated that higher stress levels can be predicted, with a relatively strong multipleR value, by a combination of variables. Of the variables investigated, overall work satisfaction was the variable most closely related to higher stress levels. The most important personality characteristics of higher stress individuals were impatience, assertiveness, workaholism, and idealism. Stress-coping techniques associated with higher stress levels were recreational time off, cultivation and maintenance of friendships among colleagues, and physical exercise. These same independent variables had minimal predictive ability for the stress level of the lower stress group of faculty.