Education's “4th R”: Responsibility

The need for students to learn responsibility is considered. A current absence of such skills is described, followed by a straightforward approach for correcting the situation at the college level. The urgency for remediation in this area is discussed, emphasizing the importance of responsibility throughout life.     

Impact of Covishield Vaccination in Terms of SARS CoV-2 Neutralizing Antibody Expression

The vaccination efficacy can indirectly be assessed through the quantification of neutralizing antibodies. Very few data are available on Covishield efficacy in terms of neutralizing antibody expression upon vaccination. This study is focused on profiling of neutralizing antibody expression during and after the Covishield two shot vaccination and observing COVID-19 infection in vaccinated participants during the period. SARS CoV-2 neutralizing antibody concentrations in samples were estimated using electrochemiluminescence immunoassay kit for Lifotronics eCL8000. The sampling had been done sequentially at 45th, 85th day after 1st dose and 15th day after 2nd dose Covishield vaccination. Parallelly, in order to confirm the total SARS CoV-2 IgG response in COVID-19 infection, measured the IgG using SARS CoV-2 IgG lateral flow immunoassay test kit. The subjects previously infected with COVID-19 before 1st dose vaccination demonstrated high neutralizing antibody (> 10AU/ml). In COVID-19 uninfected subjects, there was a sudden incline in neutralizing antibody after the 2nd dose. Infection with SARS CoV-2 between 1st and 2nd dose of Covishield vaccination implicate that the level of neutralizing antibody in serum after 1st dose was not adequate to combat the virus and prevent infection. We observed COVID-19 infection in participants even after 2nd dose of vaccination. Interestingly, there was no protection against SARS CoV-2 even with a high neutralizing antibody expression of 188.5 AU/mL after the 2nd dose. Findings of Covishield efficacy in different cohort samples before and after 2 doses of Covishield vaccination provide impetus for improvement or development of next generation vaccines.     

Value-added measures of school effectiveness in the United Kingdom

Conclusion This paper has mostly focused on the performance of schools in terms of examination and test results. On their own, such results are insufficient for proper judgements about schools’ performance. Other pupil outcomes such as pupil attendance, capacity for independent learning, attitudes towards school and learning, behaviour and selfconcept are also important. School effectiveness research aims to investigate a broad range of educational outcomes. Examples of this approach are provided by the Junior School Project (Mortimore et al., 1988), the Lancashire project (Thomas & Mortimore, 1996) and the ISEP in Scotland (MacBeath & Mortimore, 1994) which involves collecting pupil, teacher and parent attitude data in addition to academic outcomes. Nevertheless, the main performance indicator for schools continues to be how successful they are at ensuring that as many pupils as possible achieve their full academic potential. Original language: English Sally Thomas (United Kingdom) Sally Thomas (United Kingdom) This research paper was completed via a grant awarded by the United Kingdom Economic and Social Science Research Council. I am very grateful for the helpful comments of my colleagues Louise Stoll, Pam Sammons, Harvey Goldstein and Hillary Street on a previous version of this paper.     

A holistic approach to supporting distance learning using the Internet: transformation, nottranslation

This is the first of a series of papers describing how the Open University, a large distance education institution, has embraced the Internet as a medium for supporting its students, tutors, academics, and administrators throughout the education process. This paper reports on a holistic approach to integrating technology into the teaching process which addresses how to provide necessary functions in effective forms—some traditional, some new. It describes the development and structure of actual systems, which incorporate electronic student registration; electronic assignment submission, marking, and recording; electronic tutorials and other interaction; and electronic examinations. It describes and summarises some of the findings of the evaluation of those systems, including student, academic, and administrator feedback. Finally, this paper reflects on the benefits of an integrated holistic approach in exploiting the Internet's potential to support distance learning on a massive scale. Subsequent papers in this series will address specific areas in detail: the student experience, the role of the tutor in an electronic environment, and the institutional perspective.     

Choosing the Right Subjects in Significant Life Experiences Research

Research on significant life experiences (SLE) can achieve its potential importance only when it studies the right people for the right reason. Here I scrutinize ten research reports, and conclude that many do not. Historical information is incorporated in text and footnotes to place SLE research into the intellectual history of contemporary environmental education.     

The differential outcomes effect in pigeons is not reduced by eliminating response-outcome associations: Support for a two-process account

Animals perform two-choice conditional discriminations at a higher level if each of the two correct responses to the comparison stimuli is reinforced with a different outcome. According to the two-process view, this differential outcomes effect (DOE) results from the response-cuing function of expectancies generated by the conditional stimuli (i.e., samples). According to the shared-outcomes view, differential response-outcome associations contribute to the effect. In the present research, pigeons that were trained with differential outcomes associated with the samples, butnot with the comparisons, revealed a DOE during delay testing that was comparable to that obtained in a “true” differential-outcomes group. Thus, a two-process interpretation of the DOE was supported. In the second experiment, transfer testing with sample replacement confirmed these findings and, in addition, provided evidence that differential sample behaviors exerted some control over zero-delayed choice.