Writing Stories to Enhance Scientific Literacy

In response to international concerns about scientific literacy and students’ waning interest in school science, this study investigated the effects of a science‐writing project about the socioscientific issue (SSI) of biosecurity on the development of students’ scientific literacy. Students generated two BioStories each that merged scientific information with the narrative storylines in the project. The study was conducted in two phases. In the exploratory phase, a qualitative case study of a sixth‐grade class involving classroom observations and interviews informed the design of the second, confirmatory phase of the study, which was conducted at a different school. This phase involved a mixed methods approach featuring a quasi‐experimental design with two classes of Australian middle school students (i.e., sixth grade, 11 years of age, n = 55). The results support the argument that writing the sequence of stories helped the students become more familiar with biosecurity issues, develop a deeper understanding of related biological concepts, and improve their interest in science. On the basis of these findings, teachers should be encouraged to engage their students in the practice of writing about SSI in a way that integrates scientific information into narrative storylines. Extending the practice to older students and exploring additional issues related to writing about SSI are recommended for further research.     

Potential conflicts between ownership rights and environmental protection: Swedish undergraduate students’ views

Abstract

This study examines the perspectives of Swedish undergraduate students regarding potential conflicts between ownership rights and environmental protection. Conceptions of ‘ownership’ are relevant in relation to the environment and environmental protection as they can highlight a more transboundary relationship between the individual/society and nature. Students studying economics, law and political science were chosen because of their potential future transformative roles as decision makers and policy makers. Content analysis was employed to examine the written responses of 747 students from seven different universities to the open-ended survey question: Can ownership rights and environmental protection come into conflict? Students’ responses were measured twice: at the very beginning of the first semester and then again at the end of the semester. The results show that students expressed a dominant view of ownership in terms of individual ownership, and associations to collective ownership were largely absent. In regards to the potential conflict between ownership rights and environmental protection, most students perceived such a conflict, and it was more common for the environment to be conceptualised as the losing party rather than the landowner. More research is needed regarding how teaching and instruction can deal with the potential conflicts between ownership (private/corporate/governmental) and environmental protection.     

The climate of distance education in the 21st century: understanding and surviving the changes brought by the TEACH (Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization) Act of 2002

On Saturday, November 2, 2002, President Bush signed into law, in the form of TEACH (the Technology, Education, and Copyright Harmonization Act of 2001, S. 487)¹, legislation representing a significant reform of the copyright landscape as it applies to distance education, and the use of protected material, analog, but especially digital. This article presents a review of its provisions. It is a complex piece of legislation, creating an assertive myriad of new compliance and use conditions to which an institution must adhere before it can experience any benefit from TEACH.¹     

Shoe cleat position during cycling and its effect on subsequent running performance in triathletes

Abstract

Research with cyclists suggests a decreased load on the lower limbs by placing the shoe cleat more posteriorly, which may benefit subsequent running in a triathlon. This study investigated the effect of shoe cleat position during cycling on subsequent running. Following bike-run training sessions with both aft and traditional cleat positions, 13 well-trained triathletes completed a 30?min simulated draft-legal triathlon cycling leg, followed by a maximal 5?km run on two occasions, once with aft-placed and once with traditionally placed cleats. Oxygen consumption, breath frequency, heart rate, cadence and power output were measured during cycling, while heart rate, contact time, 200?m lap time and total time were measured during running. Cardiovascular measures did not differ between aft and traditional cleat placement during the cycling protocol. The 5?km run time was similar for aft and traditional cleat placement, at 1084?±?80?s and 1072?±?64?s, respectively, as was contact time during km 1 and 5, and heart rate and running speed for km 5 for the two cleat positions. Running speed during km 1 was 2.1%?±?1.8 faster (P?<?0.05) for the traditional cleat placement. There are no beneficial effects of an aft cleat position on subsequent running in a short distance triathlon.     

A method to integrate patterned electrospun fibers with microfluidic systems to generate complex microenvironments for cell culture applications

The properties of a cell’s microenvironment are one of the main driving forces in cellular fate processes and phenotype expression invivo. The ability to create controlled cell microenvironments invitro becomes increasingly important for studying or controlling phenotype expression in tissue engineering and drug discovery applications. This includes the capability to modify material surface properties within well-defined liquid environments in cell culture systems. One successful approach to mimic extra cellular matrix is with porous electrospun polymer fiber scaffolds, while microfluidic networks have been shown to efficiently generate spatially and temporally defined liquid microenvironments. Here, a method to integrate electrospun fibers with microfluidic networks was developed in order to form complex cell microenvironments with the capability to vary relevant parameters. Spatially defined regions of electrospun fibers of both aligned and random orientation were patterned on glass substrates that were irreversibly bonded to microfluidic networks produced in poly-dimethyl-siloxane. Concentration gradients obtained in the fiber containing channels were characterized experimentally and compared with values obtained by computational fluid dynamic simulations. Velocity and shear stress profiles, as well as vortex formation, were calculated to evaluate the influence of fiber pads on fluidic properties. The suitability of the system to support cell attachment and growth was demonstrated with a fibroblast cell line. The potential of the platform was further verified by a functional investigation of neural stem cell alignment in response to orientation of electrospun fibers versus a microfluidic generated chemoattractant gradient of stromal cell-derived factor 1 alpha. The described method is a competitive strategy to create complex microenvironments invitro that allow detailed studies on the interplay of topography, substrate surface properties, and soluble microenvironment on cellular fate processes.     

E-government implementation strategies in developed and transition economies: A comparative study

In the last decade, electronic government in Europe has emerged and established itself as a viable alternative channel for public service delivery. While e-government has now matured in most developed European countries, transition economies in Europe, have only recently begun to recognise its potential benefits and incorporated e-government as part of their national strategy. Although time may result in the amplification of e-government experience for transition economy countries, lessons drawn from developed countries indicate that political, fiscal, social, strategic and organisational issues need to be addressed when formulating plans for deploying e-government. Using case study research, this paper examines strategies adopted by the UK and Slovakia in the context of e-government implementation. Particularly, the paper examines how the perspectives on e-government vision, strategy, focus and related organisational change influence the implementation and diffusion of e-government in developed and transition economies in Europe.     

In praise of the present: the pupil at centre in Swedish educational politics in the post-war period

According to an influential narrative in Swedish educational historiography, the Swedish educational system underwent a drastic change during the 1990s, moving towards a more individualistic and marketised system. Without denying the relevance of this perspective, this article argues that we can trace antecedents to the reforms undertaken in the 1990s far back in post-war education policies. It maintains that the endeavour to democratise the educational system during the post war years when radicalised, started to counteract these democratic tendencies. Applying what French historian François Hartog names ‘regimes of historicity’ as an analytical tool, it argues that a politically pertinent shift took place in the 1970s. Since then, an increasingly stronger emphasis on the present at the expense of both past and future has contributed to an undermining of the centralised comprehensive school.     

Effects of bottom-up and top-down intervention principles in emergent literacy in children at risk of developmental dyslexia: a longitudinal study

This longitudinal study focused on the effects of two different principles of intervention in children at risk of developing dyslexia from 5 to 8 years old. The children were selected on the basis of a background questionnaire given to parents and preschool teachers, with cognitive and functional magnetic resonance imaging results substantiating group differences in neuropsychological processes associated with phonology, orthography, and phoneme-grapheme correspondence (i.e., alphabetic principle). The two principles of intervention were bottom-up (BU), "from sound to meaning", and top-down (TD), "from meaning to sound." Thus, four subgroups were established: risk/BU, risk/TD, control/BU, and control/TD. Computer-based training took place for 2 months every spring, and cognitive assessments were performed each fall of the project period. Measures of preliteracy skills for reading and spelling were phonological awareness, working memory, verbal learning, and letter knowledge. Literacy skills were assessed by word reading and spelling. At project end the control group scored significantly above age norm, whereas the risk group scored within the norm. In the at-risk group, training based on the BU principle had the strongest effects on phonological awareness and working memory scores, whereas training based on the TD principle had the strongest effects on verbal learning, letter knowledge, and literacy scores. It was concluded that appropriate, specific, data-based intervention starting in preschool can mitigate literacy impairment and that interventions should contain BU training for preliteracy skills and TD training for literacy training.     

Effects of three interventions on the reading skills of children with reading disabilities in grade 2

In a longitudinal intervention study, the effects of three intervention strategies on the reading skills of children with reading disabilities in Grade 2 were analyzed. The interventions consisted of computerized training programs: One bottom-up intervention aimed at improving word decoding skills and phonological abilities, the second intervention focused on top-down processing on the word and sentence levels, and the third was a combination of these two training programs (n = 25 in each group). In addition, there were two comparison groups, 25 children with reading disabilities who received ordinary special instruction and 30 age-matched typical readers. All reading disabled participants completed 25 training sessions with special education teachers. All groups improved their reading skills. The group who received combined training showed higher improvements than the ordinary special instruction group and the typical readers. Different cognitive variables were related to treatment gains for different groups. Thus, a treatment combining bottom-up and top-down aspects of reading was the most effective in general, but individual differences among children need to be considered.