Evaluation and publication delay in Ibero-American scientific journals

This article analyses the review, acceptance and publication dates of a sample of 21,890 articles from 326 Ibero-American scientific journals from all subject areas and countries included in the Latindex Catalogue 2.0 and published between 2018 and 2020 (freely available as an open access dataset). The aim is to discover evaluation and publication times. The evaluation process takes a median of 110 days, the publication process, a median of 82 days, and the whole process, a median of 224 days. Statistical differences are found according to periodicity, subject areas, countries, existence of a printed version and article type (Call for Papers or General articles). From the data we find that the delay in publication is longer than publishers themselves report to the DOAJ. STEM areas present the most similarity in publication patterns, having a higher number of evaluation days (Ed) than publication days (Pd); Arts and Humanities present the opposite pattern, with a higher Pd than Ed. In the case of Social Sciences, the times are similar. General articles and Call for Papers articles differ in terms of Ed, but not Pd, indicating that Call for Papers revisions are faster.     

A fluorescence based method for the quantification of surface functional groups in closed micro- and nanofluidic channels

Surface analysis is critical for the validation of microfluidic surface modifications for biology, chemistry, and physics applications. However, until now quantitative analytical methods have mostly been focused on open surfaces. Here, we present a new fluorescence imaging method to directly measure the surface coverage of functional groups inside assembled microchannels over a wide dynamic range. A key advance of our work is the elimination of self-quenching to obtain a linear signal even with a high density of functional groups. This method is applied to image the density and monitor the stability of vapor deposited silane layers in bonded silicon/glass micro- and nanochannels.     

A strategic approach of the crucial elements for the implementation of digital tools and processes in higher education

Implementation of digital tools and processes in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) as an emergent activity depends on the sociomaterial relationships between institutional factors that dynamically interact with each other. This article systematically explores through a literature review some of the most relevant and up-to-date published studies to identify the ‘important factors’ to consider for the implementation of digital tools and processes in HEI. The goal of the paper is to turn these factors, conceived initially as previous conditions or characteristics of the institutions or people, into a list of strategic elements to be fostered by HEI leadership teams to promote better implementation of digital tools and processes in their institutions. In the final part of this work, we propose a framework that reflects these elements in a visual approach that highlights the activity-centred character of the framework as well as the emergent character of the implementation process itself.     

ON THE PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES OF THE ALBANIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES AND THE DIFFICULTIES FACING IT

A short aperçu of the Albanian Academy of Sciences is given. Its twelve institutes are grouped into two sections, one dealing with the social and human sciences, the other dealing with the natural and technical sciences. The work of the Academy has been seriously hampered by financial and social problems. Some financial aid has been provided by the SOROS Foundation, but much more is needed. The Academy looks forward to fruitful collaborative relations with other academies in the Balkans and in Europe in general.     

The co-construction of epistemological framing in clinical interviews and implications for research in science education

ABSTRACT

Science educators demonstrated that students’ framings – their expectations of what is going on – influence how they participate, and what science knowledge they reveal, in clinical interviews. This paper complements research that explores how interviewers are likely to affect student framings, by exploring how subtler interactions can lead students to change their framings, and thus their behaviour, in unexpected ways. We present data from interviews with two students, Sarah and Omar, as they reasoned about evaporation and condensation. Sarah demonstrated spontaneous changes in how she participated over the course of the interview, whereas Omar demonstrated subtler changes that existing methods may not capture. These changes affected the nature of scientific knowledge and reasoning demonstrated by each participant, but could not be fully explained by response to interviewer behaviour. We use the constructs of footing and positioning theory to examine how students participated during the interviews, and how this affected the ways they demonstrated knowledge and reasoning about the interview topic. In both cases, footing and positioning theory allowed us to better understand the dynamic ways students engage in the interview. This paper contributes new methods for analysing complex interview dynamics, and suggests situations for which such methods are necessary.     

Improved analytical solutions to a stagnation-point flow past a porous stretching sheet with heat generation

This paper investigates the steady laminar flow in a porous medium of an incompressible viscous fluid impinging on a permeable stretching surface with heat generation. The resulting system of coupled non-linear ordinary differential equations is solved analytically via homotopy analysis method (HAM). Analytical results are presented for the wall shear stress and the wall heat transfer coefficient as well as the velocity and temperature profiles for some values of governing parameters such as Prandtl number, stretching parameter, porosity parameter and the heat generation/absorption parameter. Appropriate auxiliary parameter, ?, is determined by minimizing Euclidean norm of residual. The convergence of the obtained series solutions is explicitly studied.     

Priming group identities affects children's resource distribution among groups

The present research investigated the effect of ethnic–national identity on intergroup attitudes among Israeli children. Between 2019 and 2020, 136 Arab Muslim and 136 Jewish 5- and 10-year-olds (boys and girls) participated in one of four ethnic–national identity conditions: ingroup, outgroup, common identity, and control. In each condition, participants were described a city whose residents were defined according to the condition. Then, children were asked to “release” positive and negative animals to an ingroup city, an outgroup city, or a zoo. The results showed that highlighting a common identity improved attitudes across all children, but effect of ingroup and outgroup emphases varied between Jewish and Arab children. These results highlight the different dynamics of social identities among majority and minority children.     

Nothing is new,but everything has changed: A viewpoint on the future school

PROSPECTS - This Viewpoint argues that the debates about the future of education and the need to rethink the school model started long before the pandemic crisis. But the situation we are...     

Application of hands-on simulation games to improve classroom experience

While many construction companies claim substantial productivity and profit gains when applying lean construction principles, it remains a challenge to teach these principles in a classroom. Lean construction emphasises collaborative processes and integrated delivery practices. Consequently, new teaching methods that nurture such values should form the basis of lean construction education. One of the proposed methods is ‘hands-on team simulation games’ which can be employed to replicate various real-life processes, projects, or systems for the purpose of teaching, analysing, and understanding. This study aims at assessing this simulation games and understanding their impact on students’ learning and satisfaction. Surveys and tests are administered to assess changes in student’s perception of their learning styles and their understanding of key lean construction concepts. Results show a positive student reaction to hands-on simulation games, provide pedagogical insights, and highlight suggestions for improvement.     

What’s the Technology For? Teacher Attention and Pedagogical Goals in a Modeling-Focused Professional Development Workshop

This paper explores the role that technology can play in engaging pre-service teachers with the iterative, “messy” nature of model-based inquiry. Over the course of 5 weeks, 11 pre-service teachers worked in groups to construct models of diffusion using a computational animation and simulation toolkit, and designed lesson plans for the toolkit. Content analyses of group discussions and lesson plans document attention to content, representation, revision, and evaluation as interwoven aspects of modeling over the course of the workshop. When animating, only content and representation were heavily represented in group discussions. When simulating, all four aspects were represented to different extents across groups. Those differences corresponded with different planned uses for the technology during lessons: to teach modeling, to engage learners with one another’s ideas, or to reveal student ideas. We identify specific ways in which technology served an important role in eliciting teachers’ knowledge and goals related to scientific modeling in the classroom.