The mutable galaxies

Soon after the discovery of the expansion of the universe, astronomers hoped to determine the parameters of the universe by comparing distant galaxies with nearby ones. Observing distant galaxies, however, meant observing them as they were long ago. A crucial assumption in these studies was that galaxies hardly change, in the time scale of the expansion of the universe. Beatrice Tinsley was one of the first astronomers to point out that galaxies do change. Here we discuss a simplified model of galactic evolution, and show that the comparison of its prediction with observations uncovers clues to how galaxies evolve with time     

Teachers’, school staff’s and parents’ efficacy beliefs as determinants of attitudes toward school

Self- and collective efficacy beliefs were examined as correlates of attitudes toward school of teachers, school staff, and parents. 726 teachers, 387 staff members, and 1994 parents from 18 junior high schools in Milan and Rome, Italy, were administered questionnaires assessing self-efficacy beliefs, perceptions about colleagues’ bahavior, collective efficacy beliefs, affective commitment and job satisfaction of teachers and school staff and parents satisfaction with school. Path analyses corroborated a conceptual model in which self- and collective efficacy beliefs represent, respectively, the distal and proximal determinants of affective commitment and job satisfaction for teachers and staff and of satisfaction with school for parents. Perceptions that teachers, staff and parents hold about the behavior of their colleagues largely mediated the links between self- and collective efficacy beliefs. collective efficacy beliefs, in turn, largely mediated the influence that self-efficacy beliefs and perceptions of school constituencies’ behaviors exert on attitudes toward school of teachers, staff and parents.     

Expression of a fusion protein of human ciliary neurotrophic factor and soluble CNTF-Receptor and identification of its activity

Ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) has pleiotropic actions on many neuronal populations as well as on glia. Signal transduction by CNTF requires that it bind first to CNTF-R, permitting the recruitment of gp130 and LIF-R, forming a tripartite receptor complex. Cells that only express gp130 and LIF-R, but not CNTF-R are refractory to stimulation by CNTF. On many target cells CNTF only acts in the presence of its specific agonistic soluble receptors. We engineered a soluble fusion protein by linking the COOH-terminus of sCNTF-R to the NH₂-terminus of CNTF. Recombinant CNTF/sCNTF-R fusion protein (Hyper-CNTF) was successfully expressed in COS-7 cells. The apparent molecular mass of the Hyper-CNTF protein was estimated from western blots to be 75 kDa. Proliferation assays of transfected BAF/3 cells in response to CNTF and Hyper-CNTF were used to verify the activity of the cytokines. The proliferative results confirmed that CNTF required homodimerization of the gp130, CNTF-R and LIF-R receptor subunit whereas Hyper-CNTF required heterodimerization of the gp130 and LIF-R receptor subunit. We concluded that the fusion protein Hyper-CNTF had superagonistic activity on target cells expressing gp130 and LIF-R, but lacking membrane-bound CNTF-R. Project supported by the Scientific Research Foundation for the Returned Overseas Chinese Scholar, Zhejiang Province, China and SFB415, TP B5, Germany.     

惠民魏氏家族的兴盛

惠民魏氏家族原籍河北枣强 ,明初迁至山东棣州。清中叶长支因出仕一度兴盛 ,四支因经商建立庞大家业 ,至七世魏毓柄时达到极盛。十世魏肇庆一度保持了发展 ,死后魏氏家族即由盛转衰。     

The relationship between IQ and reading disabilities in English-speaking Canadian and Spanish children

This study was designed to examine the role of intelligence (IQ) in the definition of reading disabilities (RD) in languages with different orthographic systems. A sample of 94 Spanish children and 157 English-speaking Canadian children with RD was classified into four groups on the basis of IQ scores from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (< 80; 81-90; 91-109; 110-140). We examined the reading and spelling skills of Canadian and Spanish children as a function of Full Scale, Verbal, and Performance IQ scores. Significant differences between the languages were found when reading performance was analyzed as a function of Verbal IQ scores, in that there were some differences between the groups of Canadian children with RD but not between the groups of Spanish children. The Canadian children with Verbal IQ scores < 80 demonstrated relatively lower performance in reading and spelling skills than the Canadian groups with higher IQ scores. There were differences in reading tasks as a function of Performance IQ in English but not in Spanish. The differences in the role of IQ as a function of orthographic systems may relate to the greater significance of visual-orthographic as opposed to phonological processing in English.     

Book reviews

International Review of Education -     

Factors and conditions promoting academic resilience: a TIMSS-based analysis of five Asian education systems

It is well documented that academic achievement of students from families of low socioeconomic status (SES) tends to be below their more socially advantaged peers. Several studies have identified factors and conditions that facilitate academic success for disadvantaged students (i.e., promote academic resilience). However, one of the main criticisms of this body of research is in the set of variables that explain academic success for low-SES students and which is not very different from the variables that would explain academic success for all students. The objectives of this article are dual: firstly, to identify factors and conditions associated with academic success, regardless of student SES, and secondly, to identify factors and conditions associated with academic resilience, that is, exclusively for low-SES students. To this end, we used data from Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, Chinese Taipei, and Japan in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011. The study sample covered 23,354 students in 720 schools in the five countries. The strategy for analysis was driven by fit of logistic regression models, first predicting the probability of academic success and then subsequent identification of variables significant as predictors for success within the pool of low-SES students. Results indicated that variables, such as positive student attitude to mathematics, teacher confidence in student performance and the test language being spoken at home, were associated with greater chances of academic success. High academic expectations and time spent on mathematics at home demonstrated a differential effect between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students in Singapore. In Korea, being male (gender) and in Taipei, low levels of bullying at school, increased the likelihood of resilience. Results suggested that interventions impacting behavior reflected in differentially associated variables could help disadvantaged students to become academically resilient.     

Competency, capability, complexity and computers: exploring a new model for conceptualising end-user computer education

Notions of competency have dominated the computer education literature, and have underpinned Competency‐Based Training (CBT) in information technology at all levels of education and training. The emergence of counter‐narratives underpinned by the capability movement, have as yet had minimal impact on practice in computer education. New discourses in educational theory and practice which are founded on non‐linear approaches to learning and teaching provide added impetus to engage in the competency/capability debate, and re‐examine our approaches to computer education. This paper explores complexity theories and demonstrates how complexity's pedagogical implications can lead to new models for understanding computer learning and teaching. A new model for conceptualising end‐user computer education is presented that was derived from a three‐year action research initiative with pre‐service teachers.     

Making Space for Consuming Practices

This empirically driven paper is about workplace learning with specific focus on the ‘work’ of consuming practices. By consuming we refer to the eating, and the drinking, and (at times) to the smoking that workers, in most organisations, do on a daily basis. Indeed, it is the quotidian nature of consuming, coupled with its absence from workplace learning research that make them noteworthy practices to explore. In using the term practice we draw on the recent tranche of practice based theorisations: notably Schatzki (1996, Organization Studies, 26(3), 465-484, 2005, Organization Studies, 27(12), 1863-1873, 2006) and Gherardi (Human Relations, 54(1), 131-139, 2001, 2006, Learning Organization, 16(5), 352-359, 2009). The paper frames consuming practices as ‘dispersed’ (general) practices and, illustrated through empirical data from multiple projects, we progressively outline how these contribute to the learning of ‘integrative’ (specialized work) practices. Our overall aim is to (re)position consuming practices from prosaic, to having much relevance for research on workplace learning.