Examining pre-service teachers’ acceptance of technology-rich learning environments: A UAE case study

This study addressed the extent to which pre-service teachers at a teachers’ college in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) accepted and intended to utilize technology-rich learning environments in their future teaching practice. The effect of other significant factors on their overall acceptance, such as computer self-efficacy (CSE) and Perceived User Resources, was investigated. A final aim was to confirm the applicability of the instruments employed in this study within the unique sociocultural context of the UAE. Questionnaires utilizing a modified version of the technology acceptance model (TAM) were used to collect data. Respondents indicated strong acceptance of technology-rich learning environments. In the model, Perceived Usefulness and CSE were the two strongest predictors of Behavioral Intention. The results also supported the validity of TAM-based research within the Emirati sociocultural environment.     

Spontaneous change from seated to standing cycling position with increasing power is associated with a minimization of cost functions

Spontaneous changes of movement patterns may allow to elucidate which criteria influence movement pattern preferences. However, the factors explaining the sit-stand transition in cycling are unclear. This study investigated if biomechanical and/or muscle activation cost functions could predict the power at which the spontaneous sit-stand transition occurs. Twenty-five participants performed an incremental test leading to the sit-to-stand transition, and subsequent randomized pedaling trials at 20 to 120% of the transition power in seated and standing position. A Moment Cost Function based on lower limbs net joint moments and two Electromyographic Cost Functions based on EMG data were defined. All cost functions increased with increasing crank power (p < 0.001) but at different rates in the seated and standing positions. They had lower values in the seated position below the transition power and lower values in the standing position above the transition power (p < 0.05). These results suggest that spontaneous change of position observed in cycling with increasing crank power represents an optimal choice to minimize muscular efforts. These results support the use of simple cost functions to define optimal settings in cycling and to assess the cost of cycling during short-term efforts.     

Fine Motor Control Underlies the Association Between Response Inhibition and Drawing Skill in Early Development

Previous research shows that the development of response inhibition and drawing skill are linked. The current research investigated whether this association reflects a more fundamental link between response inhibition and motor control. In Experiment 1, 3- and 4-year-olds (n = 100) were tested on measures of inhibition, fine motor control, and drawing skill. Data revealed an association between inhibition and fine motor control, which was responsible for most of the association observed with drawing skill. Experiment 2 (n = 100) provided evidence that, unlike fine motor control, gross motor control and inhibition were not associated (after controlling for IQ). Alternative explanations for the link between inhibition and fine motor control are outlined, including a consideration of how these cognitive processes may interact during development.     

The promise and peril of the state in neoliberal times: implications for the critical environmental education movement in Brazil

Neoliberal ideology has made an impact on environmental education (EE) policies and practices in Brazil. The EE in Family Agriculture Program, of national scope and administered by the Ministry of the Environment, seeks to promote sustainable development in rural areas, specifically through strategies focused on adult education and non-formal education aimed at small producers (family agriculture). This program reveals profound ideological contradictions between the critical and transformative rhetoric of public policy and the actual program structures and practices administered by the state in a dependent economy, which primarily serve to reinforce a capitalist mode of production marked by high environmental impact and deeply stratified class relations. In the neoliberal era, states intending to protect the environment through critical EE strategies suffer serious limitations due to their role as stewards of a globalized economy based on the supply of raw materials, high-impact land-use, and a cheap labor force.     

Does research organization influence academic production?: Laboratory level evidence from a large European university

The paper analyses scientific research production at the laboratory level. The evidence on which the study is based describes precisely the research activity over the period 1993-2000 of more than eighty labs belonging to Louis Pasteur University, a large and well-ranked European research university. The research organization of the labs is analysed by focusing on the characteristics of the research personnel in relation with the scores in two outcomes that are publications and patents. The paper proposes a five-classes typology of laboratories that highlights different styles of research organization and productivity at the laboratory level. It also studies the determinants of the publication performances of labs. We show how appropriate combinations of inputs in academic labs may be strongly associated to high publication performances. We find that combining full-time researchers and university professors in labs tend to preserve incentives. Highly publishing labs also patent. The size of the labs, the individual promotions, and the role of non-permanent researchers and of non-researchers are also underlined.     

The advantage of distributed practice in a blended learning setting

Education and Information Technologies - Ongoing digital transformations facilitate the conduct of online courses and distance learning. In this study, it was aimed to investigate the role of...     

Simple surface modification of poly(dimethylsiloxane) for DNA hybridization

Here, we present a simple chemical modification of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) by curing a mixture of 2 wt% undecylenic acid (UDA) in PDMS prepolymer on a gold-coated glass slide. This gold slide had been previously pretreated with a self-assembled hydrophilic monolayer of 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA). During curing of the UDA∕PDMS prepolymer, the hydrophilic UDA carboxyl moieties diffuses toward the hydrophilic MPA carboxyl moieties on the gold surface. This diffusion of the UDA within the PDMS prepolymer to the surface is a direct result of surface energy minimization. Once completely cured, the PDMS is peeled off the gold substrate, thereby exposing the interfacial carboxyl groups. These groups are then available for subsequent attachment of 5(')-amino terminated DNA oligonucleotides via amide linkages. Our results show that the covalently tethered oligonucleotides can successfully capture fluorescein-labeled complementary oligonucleotides via hybridization, which are visualized using fluorescence microscopy.     

Claiming more: the Increased Voluminosity of Patent Applications and its Determinants

The size of patent applications has doubled over the past two decades, resulting in a dramatic surge in the workload of patent offices all over the world and serious concerns over patent quality standards. The current paper investigates the sources of this inflation in claims and pages for EPO applications. Four hypotheses are quantitatively examined: the diffusion of national drafting practices, the complexity of research activities, the emergence of new sectors, and filing strategies. The results validate the four hypotheses. They reveal major differences across countries in patent drafting styles, especially between Civil and Common Law countries, the latter being characterized by much larger patents. Second, the success of the PCT route is leading to the harmonizing of drafting styles worldwide on the US model. This paper therefore challenges the commonly accepted idea that more claims reflect a broader scope of protection by showing that the size of patents is partly due to institutional changes in the system.