A comparative study of effectiveness of peer assessment of individuals’ contributions to group projects in undergraduate construction management core units

In recent years, various forms of group work have been introduced in university courses across various subject domains, including construction management courses. Although the use of group work in higher education has sound pedagogical reasons and advantages, group work has its own drawbacks. Therefore, the acceptance by students and the success of group work critically depend on a fair and credible assessment of the group process. In this paper, the implementation of different approaches to peer assessment (PA) of individuals’ contributions to group projects in two core units in an undergraduate construction management course in an Australian university is reported. The effectiveness of the adopted PA approaches have been evaluated and validated by students. It has been found that contrary to doubts of the sufficiency of a simplistic approach to PAs, the fairness of a PA approach does not necessarily depend on its complexity. Besides, voluntary group discussions, learning and collaboration are found to aid in improving each of the group’s camaraderie. Hence, it is recommended that academics should develop both a structured methodology to progressively encourage group members to work cohesively in teams and effective PA approaches that measure individual member’s contribution.

"They all work...when you stick to them" : a qualitative investigation of dieting, weight loss, and physical exercise, in obese individuals

Background
To explore the extent to which people living with obesity have attempted to lose weight, their attitudes towards dieting, physical exercise and weight loss solutions, why their weight loss attempts have failed, and their opinions about what would be most beneficial to them in their struggle with their weight.

Method
Qualitative study, using open-ended interviews, of 76 people living with obesity in Victoria, Australia in 2006/7. Individuals with a BMI of 30 or over were recruited using articles in local newspapers, convenience sampling, and at a later stage purposive sampling techniques to diversify the sample. Data analysis was conducted by hand using a constant, comparative method to develop and test analytical categories. Data were interpreted both within team meetings and through providing research participants the chance to comment on the study findings.

Results
Whilst participants repeatedly turned to commercial diets in their weight loss attempts, few had used, or were motivated to participate in physical activity. Friends or family members had introduced most individuals to weight loss techniques. Those who took part in interventions with members of their social network were more likely to report feeling accepted and supported. Participants blamed themselves for being unable to maintain their weight loss or 'stick' to diets. Whilst diets did not result in sustained weight loss, two thirds of participants felt that dieting was an effective way to lose weight.

Conclusion
Individuals with obesity receive numerous instructions about what to do to address their weight, but very few are given appropriate long term guidance or support with which to follow through those instructions. Understanding the positive role of social networks may be particularly important in engaging individuals in physical activity. Public health approaches to obesity must engage and consult with those currently living with obesity, if patterns of social change are to occur.

Psycho-social, ethical and legal arguments for and against the retrospective release of information about donors to donor-conceived individuals in Australia

In the February 2011 report on its inquiry into the past and present practices of donor conception in Australia, the Australian Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee called for the introduction of legislation to regulate donor conception in all jurisdictions that do not have it in place "as a matter of priority". It further called for the establishment, "as a matter of priority", of a national register of donors to enable donor-conceived individuals to access identifying information about their donor. The Senate Committee left open the question as to whether the legislation and central register should have retrospective effect. This article focuses upon that question. It shows that arguments concerning the privacy, confidentiality and anonymity of some donors who may wish to remain anonymous are outweighed by the manifest injustice faced by donor-conceived individuals who are denied access to such information, as well as their families and donors who wish to exchange this information.

Nurses’ advice regarding sterile or clean urinary drainage bags for individuals with a long-term Indwelling urinary catheter

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify, compare, and explore advice nurses give to community-dwelling long-term indwelling catheter users on the use of sterile or clean urinary drainage bags, and to obtain information that would inform the design of a larger-scale international survey.


SUBJECTS AND SETTINGS: A survey was targeted to nurse members of the International Continence Society (n = 130). Respondents (n = 28; 21.5%) included nurses from Australia, Canada, Belgium, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, who specialized in managing incontinence.


METHODS: The project was conducted as a descriptive, exploratory pilot study. Respondents completed an online anonymous survey that was distributed by the International Continence Society. The survey instrument was designed by the investigators and comprised 14 questions with both fixed and open-ended response options.


RESULTS: Most respondents in this survey advised indwelling catheter users to reuse their catheter bags (n = 15; 68%). Factors that influenced advice included concerns about the cost of catheter bags, an evaluation of the individual's infection risk, local and national policies, evidence-based guidelines, users' living arrangements, and their ability to clean the bags. Advice on decontamination methods varied; however, the most commonly recommended cleaning agent was water and vinegar, followed by a sterilizing or bleach solution or dishwashing detergent.


CONCLUSION: Nurses play a key role in educating and supporting indwelling catheter users. Results of this study highlight variability in the advice nurses give to community-dwelling long-term indwelling catheter users about sterile or clean urinary drainage bags. This variability requires further investigation and affirms the need for a larger-scale study that draws on a broader sample of nurses.

From individuals to populations : prey fish risk-taking mediates mortality in whole-system experiments

Recent research suggests that the behavior of individuals under risk of predation could be a key link between individual behavior and population and community dynamics. Yet existing theory remains largely untested at large spatial and temporal scales. We manipulated food available to age-0 rainbow trout while at risk of cannibalism, in a replicated factorial whole-lake experiment, to test whether the trade-off between growth and mortality rates is mediated by foraging activity by young fish under predation risk. We found that this trade-off exists for young fish at the whole-system scale, and that food-dependent behavioral variation has large mortality consequences. In high-food lakes, age-0 trout spent less time moving, fewer individuals swam continuously, and those swimming continuously swam at slower speeds relative to those in low-food lakes. Age-0 trout also used deep, risky habitats less when food was abundant. This lower activity, combined with avoidance of risky habitats, coincided with 68% higher survival in high-food lakes. If general, this trade-off may be a key mechanism linking individual behavior to population-level processes in size-structured populations.

Social and professional participation of individuals who are deaf : utilizing the psychosocial potential maximization framework

This article documents a strength-based understanding of how individuals who are deaf maximize their social and professional potential. This exploratory study was conducted with 49 adult participants who are deaf (n ¼ 30) and who have typical hearing (n ¼ 19) residing in America, Australia, England, and South Africa. The findings support a systematic and comprehensive framework of proactive psychosocial attributes and tactics. Statistical analysis showed no significant differences between the groups across four variables of psychosocial competencies. Qualitative data further suggests that participants who are deaf maximize their potential using two types of proactive psychosocial attributes and tactics: 1) skills that individuals with typical hearing use and 2) specialized skills for identifying, circumventing, or mastering deafness-related difficulties. These findings contribute to understandings of how individuals who are deaf can achieve social and professional success.

Relationships, the role of individuals and knowledge flows in the internationalization of service firms

This article develops a new conceptual model of knowledge flows within international service firms. Our model takes explicit account of the critical role of relationships and the individual as being central to the process of knowledge transfer for service firms. The model is then validated with data collected from five international service firms using critical event analysis techniques. The findings reinforce our contention that the individual plays a critical role in the process of knowledge transfer and that relationships form an integral part of this process. The implications of this finding are also discussed.

Individuals' absorptive capacity in enterprise system assimilation

The capability of an individual to absorb knowledge about enterprise resource planning (ERP) is a critical element in the development of an organisation’s absorptive capacity (ACAP) during assimilation phase of ERP. Prior research have tended to overlook the roles that individuals play in identify external and internal knowledge, assimilate and exploit ERP knowledge. By defining ACAP at the individual level, we seek to enrich our understanding of how individual learn ERP knowledge and how such efforts facilitate the ERP assimilation within organisations. We develop a theoretical model to investigate the assimilation of enterprise systems in the post-implementation stage. Specifically, this model explains how communication climate and top management participation moderates the impact of Individuals’ ACAP on the assimilation of ERP systems.

Young gifted children

This is a practical guide for pre-service and practising early childhood professionals and junior primary teachers, to support them in understanding and meeting the needs of young gifted children and their families.
The book includes a range of practical strategies and suggestions for working with young gifted children in early childhood settings and the first years of school, supported by examples and case studies.
It also discusses the transition to school, including addressing issues such as processes around early entry to school, full or partial grade acceleration, school policies and practices and evidence of effective early years school programs.

Differentiated mTOR but not AMPK signaling after strength vs endurance exercise in training-accustomed individuals

The influence of adenosine mono phosphate (AMP)-activated protein kinase (AMPK) vs Akt-mammalian target of rapamycin C1 (mTORC1) protein signaling mechanisms on converting differentiated exercise into training specific adaptations is not well-established. To investigate this, human subjects were divided into endurance, strength, and non-exercise control groups. Data were obtained before and during post-exercise recovery from single-bout exercise, conducted with an exercise mode to which the exercise subjects were accustomed through 10 weeks of prior training. Blood and muscle samples were analyzed for plasma substrates and hormones and for muscle markers of AMPK and Akt-mTORC1 protein signaling. Increases in plasma glucose, insulin, growth hormone (GH), and insulin-like growth factor (IGF)-1, and in phosphorylated muscle phospho-Akt substrate (PAS) of 160 kDa, mTOR, 70 kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinase, eukaryotic initiation factor 4E, and glycogen synthase kinase 3α were observed after strength exercise. Increased phosphorylation of AMPK, histone deacetylase5 (HDAC5), cAMP response element-binding protein, and acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) was observed after endurance exercise, but not differently from after strength exercise. No changes in protein phosphorylation were observed in non-exercise controls. Endurance training produced an increase in maximal oxygen uptake and a decrease in submaximal exercise heart rate, while strength training produced increases in muscle cross-sectional area and strength. No changes in basal levels of signaling proteins were observed in response to training. The results support that in training-accustomed individuals, mTORC1 signaling is preferentially activated after hypertrophy-inducing exercise, while AMPK signaling is less specific for differentiated exercise.

Insulin sensitivity in response to a single resistance exercise session in apparently healthy individuals

BACKGROUND: Regular resistance exercise completed for a number of weeks has been shown to increase insulin sensitivity and reduce the risk of diabetes-related complications. However, the acute responses to resistance exercise have not been adequately investigated in relation to training frequency.
AIM: To investigate the changes to insulin sensitivity in apparently healthy individuals following a single session of unaccustomed resistance exercise.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Ten sedentary, apparently healthy individuals performed a baseline oral glucose tolerance test and maximal strength testing. Participants then performed a single session of moderate-high intensity resistance exercise which was followed by 4 consecutive days of oral glucose tolerance testing, for which participants replicated their initial diet. Mean estimated insulin sensitivity change scores from baseline values and their 95% confidence intervals were compared to the previously determined values for a clinically meaningful change.
RESULTS: Two participants were identified as having hyperinsulinemia and their data were therefore removed from the main analysis. There was a clinically meaningful increase in insulin response (mean >7237 pmol·l⁻¹·120 min⁻¹) on all days following the exercise session and a clinically meaningful increase in glucose response (mean >81 mmol·l⁻¹·120 min⁻¹) on only the 3rd day following exercise. These changes suggest a potentially adverse short-term effect. Additionally, the 2 individuals with hyperinsulinemia displayed more extreme results.
CONCLUSION: These results suggest that insulin sensitivity may be impaired following a single session of unaccustomed resistance exercise for approximately 4 days in healthy untrained, older individuals. Further research is required for individuals with hyperinsulinemia

Communities, networks, individuals : place, self and everyday life on the internet

In this paper, I review the long-established use of the concept of ‘community’ which attempts both to perceive and analyse the experience of human interaction, mediated by networked computing. Ever since this form of communication commenced, it was clear that it was no ‘bloodless technological ritual’ (Rheingold, 1994), but something much more deeply human and expressive. For many years, the conceptual apparatus of ‘community’ served as the primary means for understanding the limits and potentials of this activity. However, the recent rise of social networking and social media might cast doubt on the legitimacy of this contested term’s continued relevance. Thus, I move from community to self, via the network notation that has come now to dominate our terminologies. I seek to demonstrate that, as the Internet has become interleaved with everyday life to the point where there is no distinction, for many people, between online and offline, we need to think again about how and what community might mean. In doing so, I suggest that the relationship between self and others, mediated or otherwise, is always one of shared ‘place’ but that contemporary practices of social networking differ significantly in how that place is shared and the degree of collective effort required.