Using Complexity Metrics to Assess Silent Reading Fluency: A Cross-Sectional Study Comparing Oral and Silent Reading

Reading typically undergoes a qualitative shift around Grade 4, becoming more fluent and silent, but there is no established measure for fluency in children’s silent reading. The present study presents a measure of self-paced reading in children, examining the use of complexity measures for time-series analyses recently established with adults. Cross-sectional groups of adults and children in Grades 2, 4, and 6 read the same passage of a Grade 2-level story, either silently or aloud. The dynamical structure of fluency in reading times was explored with fractal and recurrence quantification analysis. Results revealed that more fluent reading (with increasing age) was marked by greater structure and stability and that oral reading compared with silent reading showed less fractal structure, indicating silent reading as a more flexibly stable, adaptive coordinated behavior. The complexity metrics show promise for an alternate way to characterize reading fluency.     

Vergleichsarbeiten und schulische Personalentwicklung – Ausmaß und Voraussetzungen der Datennutzung

The introduction of comparative tests in a low-stakes system was carried out in the expectation that the data feedback to schools would act as a stimulus for the development of the schools and the standard of classroom teaching. By contrast with the use of data to develop teaching, the use of data for personnel development has not yet been studied in Germany. On the basis of an on-line survey of head teachers and a paper-and-pencil survey of teaching staff, the study examines for the first time the extent to which comparative test data is used by head teachers for personnel development and as a means to plan in-service training in subject conferences, and what factors influence whether the data is used in this way. Of the head teacher characteristics which were studied (attitude in relation to the perceived usefulness of the data, qualifications, organisation and age of the head teacher), usefulness is the only characteristic which has a positive effect on the use of the data. The use of comparative test data to plan in-service training in subject conferences is positively influenced by data-wise leadership by the head teacher and by collaborative evaluation.     

Technical expertise and teacher growth: results of a teacher evaluation policy impact study

This research examines educational stratification cross‐nationally through the context of German division and unity. Drawing upon representative German Social Survey (ALLBUS) data from 1991 to 1998 on cohorts schooled in the 1980s and 1990s, the analysis explores educational inequality at the secondary school level with respect to social origins and gender in four settings: the late state socialist German Democratic Republic, the immediate pre‐unification Federal Republic of Germany, and the two halves of a now‐united Germany. The pre‐unification settings differ structurally—in the extent and timing of educational differentiation—and ideologically. Post‐unification eastern Germany is a case of sudden, top‐down structural reform, with a high degree both of cultural continuity and continuity of teaching personnel. The study finds that women’ s disadvantage in educational attainment has disappeared at the secondary level; indeed, men now face a disadvantage at this level. However, no major changes have occurred with respect to social origins. The children of workers and less educated parents were extremely disadvantaged in both East and West Germany prior to unification, surprisingly, perhaps, even more so in East Germany. Despite dramatic reform and expansion of the university‐preparatory curriculum in eastern states since unification, inequality in educational attainment remains stable. Interestingly, the children of small‐scale proprietors were particularly advantaged under German state socialism, and in eastern states in the 1990s they maintain a substantial but more moderate advantage over working‐class peers. The paper concludes with a discussion of possible underlying reasons for the lack of variation in the parameters of educational inequality in the face of such varied and changing institutions and ideologies.     

Participatory Communication with Social Media

Abstract Major museums worldwide are starting to use social media such as blogs, podcasts and content shares to engage users via participatory communication. This marks a shift in how museums publicly communicate their role as custodians of cultural content and so presents debate around an institution's attitude towards cultural authority. It also signifies a new possible direction for museum learning. This article reports on a range of initiatives that demonstrate how participatory communication via social media can be integrated into museum practices. It argues that the social media space presents an ideal opportunity for museums to build online communities of interest around authentic cultural information, and concludes with some recent findings on and recommendations for social media implementation.     

Utilizing microfluidics to synthesize polyethylene glycol microbeads for Förster resonance energy transfer based glucose sensing

Here, we utilize microfluidic droplet technology to generate photopolymerizeable polyethylene glycol (PEG) hydrogel microbeads incorporating a fluorescence-based glucose bioassay. A microfluidic T-junction and multiphase flow of fluorescein isothiocyanate dextran, tetramethyl rhodamine isothiocyanate concanavalin A, and PEG in water were used to generate microdroplets in a continuous stream of hexadecane. The microdroplets were photopolymerized mid-stream with ultraviolet light exposure to form PEG microbeads and were collected at the outlet for further analysis. Devices were prototyped in PDMS and generated highly monodisperse 72?±?2 μm sized microbeads (measured after transfer into aqueous phase) at a continuous flow rate between 0.04 ml/h-0.06 ml/h. Scanning electron microscopy analysis was conducted to analyze and confirm microbead integrity and surface morphology. Glucose sensing was carried out using a F?rster resonance energy transfer (FRET) based assay. A proportional fluorescence intensity increase was measured within a 1-10 mM glucose concentration range. Microfluidically synthesized microbeads encapsulating sensing biomolecules offer a quick and low cost method to generate monodisperse biosensors for a variety of applications including cell cultures systems, tissue engineering, etc.     

Cellular activation of selected signaling proteins through resistance training—a training methodological perspective

The Akt-mTOR-p70^S6k-4E-BP1 signaling pathway is a well-considered regulator of protein synthesis in the context of strength training. This process is essential for exercise-induced skeletal muscle growth. The objective of this review article was to analyze the design of acute resistance training protocols and evaluate the possible impact of different loading conditions on the activation of growth-related signaling cascades in human skeletal muscle. In all, 12 human studies were included in this review. The training intensity in the studies varied between 30% 1RM (one repetition maximum) and maximal load. The signaling proteins were measured in a time range between immediately and 24?h after training.The phosphorylation of all signaling proteins increased to different levels after resistance training, tending to baseline more than 6?h post training. In particular, the hypertrophic associated p70^S6k showed the highest phosphorylation acutely after the load and decreased consistently after 6?h. Training intensity and volume seemed to have an influence on the extent of protein phosphorylation, which, however, was not systematic or consistent. An obvious training methodological consequence (load and volume) for hypertrophic resistance training regime could not be devised. Further research is required to systematically vary training parameters to determine the influence of a certain stress zone on the signaling activation. Future research should aim to identify the ideal level of training intensity necessary to achieve the greatest possible extent of intramuscular anabolic signaling through intense activation of the signaling cascade to induce growth in human skeletal muscle.     

Algebraic query optimization for distributed top-k queries

Distributed top-k query processing is increasingly becoming an essential functionality in a large number of emerging application classes. This paper addresses the efficient algebraic optimization of top-k queries in wide-area distributed data repositories where the index lists for the attribute values (or text terms) of a query are distributed across a number of data peers and the computational costs include network latency, bandwidth consumption, and local peer work. We use a dynamic programming approach to find the optimal execution plan using compact data synopses for selectivity estimation that is the basis for our cost model. The optimized query is executed in a hierarchical way involving a small and fixed number of communication phases. We have performed experiments on real web data that show the benefits of distributed top-k query optimization both in network resource consumption and query response time.