Living on borrowed time: rethinking temporality,self, nihilism,and schooling

Seeking to contribute to recent attempts to rethink the deepest foundations of the field, this paper offers news ways of contemplating time, specifically its relations to self, nihilism, and schooling. We briefly review how some leading Western thinkers have contemplated time before detailing Japanese scholars who have offered divergent, original, and arguably more sophisticated, theoretical accounts. We then illustrate these ideas by sketching how Japan ‘borrowed time’ following the abrupt political rupture of 1868, showing how Linear Time came to be disseminated and diffused, largely through modern schooling. Last, we spotlight the nihilism that has arisen as consequence. Our primary aim is not empirical elaboration, however, but instead disclosure of a complex of relations that the field of comparative education has yet to discuss. We offer both the experience-cum-thought of Japan and this complex itself as reconstructive resources for the field which remains shallow in its parochial presumptions and unwillingness to engage ontologically.     

Leukocyte telomere length and mortality among U.S. adults: Effect modification by physical activity behaviour

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and mortality (outcome variable), with consideration by physical activity behaviour. Data from the 1999–2002 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were employed (N = 6,611; 20–85 yrs), with follow-up mortality assessment through 31 December 2006. DNA was extracted from whole blood to assess LTL via quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Compared to those in the first LTL tertile, the adjusted hazard ratio for all-cause mortality for those in the 2^nd and 3^rd LTL tertiles, respectively, was 0.82 (95% CI: 0.60–1.12; P = .22) and 0.76 (95% CI: 0.50–1.14; P = .18). However, after adjustments, LTL tertile 3 (vs. 1) was associated with all-cause mortality (HR = 0.37; 95% CI: 0.14–0.93; P = .03) for those who engaged in moderate-intensity exercise. Similarly, LTL was associated with CVD-specific mortality for those who engaged in moderate-intensity exercise (HR = 0.17; 95% CI: 0.04–0.73; P = .02). Longer telomeres are associated with increased survival, particularly among men and those who are active, underscoring the importance of promotion of physical activity behaviour.     

Controlling droplet incubation using close-packed plug flow

Controlling droplet incubation is critical for droplet-based microfluidic applications; however, current techniques are either of limited precision or place strict limits on the incubation times that can be achieved. Here, we present a simple technique to control incubation time by exploiting close-packed plug flow. In contrast to other techniques, this technique is applicable to very short and very long incubation times.     

Pubertal Timing and Adolescent Alcohol Use: The Mediating Role of Parental and Peer Influences

Using intergenerational, prospective data at ages 9 months, 7, 11, and 14 years from the nationally representative United Kingdom Millennium Cohort Study, this interdisciplinary study unpacks why 14-year-old adolescents with early perceived pubertal timing (PT) were more likely to drink alcohol (ever, frequent, and binge drinking) compared to those whose PT was on-time or late (5,757 girls, 5,799 boys; 80% White, 10% Asian, 3% Black, and 7% Other British). Parents allowed drinking among 22% (18%) of early PT girls (boys) compared to 11% of late PT adolescents; formal mediation models showed differences by PT in parent permissiveness and gains in alcohol-using friends primarily explained age 14 PT-drinking associations. Parental alcohol permissiveness should be a key prevention target for early PT adolescents.     

Validation of the Wider Outcomes Survey for Teachers (WOST): a measure for assessing the behaviour,relationships and exposure to bullying of children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND)

The Wider Outcomes Survey for Teachers (WOST) is a teacher informant‐report questionnaire developed to aid the assessment of behaviour difficulties, quality of relationships and exposure to bullying among students identified with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This study examines the psychometric properties of the WOST in a validation sample representing 6164 students with SEND (mean age 12 years) drawn from 481 primary and secondary schools across England. Results showed favourable internal consistency using Cronbach's alpha and acceptable model fit using confirmatory factor analysis, both of which were invariant to broad categorisations of SEND. Practical utility and construct validity were also established by testing two theoretically derived hypotheses. The measure is therefore tentatively supported as a useful tool for assessing the wider outcomes of students with SEND.     

Optimal discovery? Siri,Alexa, and other virtual personal assistants in libraries

Abstract

Should libraries use virtual personal assistants (VPAs), such as Siri and Alexa, within the physical library? VPAs are interfaces that support users with information retrieval and task performance. They are largely proprietary software and hardware that exist in numerous, consumer-driven fields. They function as powerful tools for data aggregation that combine speed, user experience, and accuracy, making them of interest to libraries. These technologies are mainly unregulated and face issues of interoperability outside their own ecosystems, or system of compatibility. As a result, VPAs rely on a number of other digital and mechanical components to function, making their infrastructure fragile and their ability to parse and understand language unreliable or slow. While VPAs have the potential to enhance library search experiences, they also have the capacity to record and profit off patron data, calling into question issues surrounding privacy, confidentiality, and ethics.     

Evidence for social learning in wild lemurs (Lemur catta)

Interest in social learning has been fueled by claims of culture in wild animals. These remain controversial because alternative explanations to social learning, such as asocial learning or ecological differences, remain difficult to refute. Compared with laboratory-based research, the study of social learning in natural contexts is in its infancy. Here, for the first time, we apply two new statistical methods, option-bias analysis and network-based diffusion analysis, to data from the wild, complemented by standard inferential statistics. Contrary to common thought regarding the cognitive abilities of prosimian primates, our evidence is consistent with social learning within subgroups in the ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta), supporting the theory of directed social learning (Coussi-Korbel & Fragaszy, 1995). We also caution that, as the toolbox for capturing social learning in natural contexts grows, care is required in ensuring that the methods employed are appropriate-in particular, regarding social dynamics among study subjects. Supplemental materials for this article may be downloaded from http://lb.psychonomic-journals.org/content/supplemental.     

The efficacy of final examinations: A comparative study of closed-book, invigilated exams and open-book, open-web exams

Educators have long debated the usefulness (or otherwise) of final examinations; a debate that has typically revolved around the relative merits of closed-book exams, open-book exams, take-home exams or their substitution by some other assessment format (eg, project work). This paper adds a new dimension to the debate by considering how the final examination assessment instrument might be enhanced through harnessing the power of technology, more specifically, how the learner experience of the final examination might be made more authentic and, in the process, more constructively aligned with stated learning outcomes. The authors report on the latest findings of an ongoing research project evaluating the effectiveness of 'open-book, open-web' (OBOW) examinations delivered by an online university, vis-à-vis a closed-book, invigilated alternative. Earlier research had indicated that the OBOW model receives the strong endorsement of students in a number of respects, most particularly the quality of the learning outcomes.     

Evidence‐based practice and evaluation: from insight to impact

With the growing emphasis on accountability and evidence‐based practice, evaluation has become increasingly important in the contexts in which educational psychologists (EPs) practice. This paper describes a Target Monitoring and Evaluation (TME) system, derived from Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) which was developed to evaluate outcomes of a wide range of interventions that were established as a result of an EP and an assistant EP involvement in two local authorities. Pupils made progress on between 94% and 97% of targets, and outcomes were significantly better than the baseline for both groups. Results are considered in terms of the value and usefulness of TME as an evaluation system and key issues relating to its implementation within EP practice are discussed.