Linking pedagogical knowledge practices and student outcomes in STEM education for primary schools

STEM education is a new frontier in Australia, particularly for primary schools. However, the E in STEM needs to have a stronger focus with science and mathematics concepts aligned to the presiding curricula. In addition, pedagogical knowledge practices such as planning, preparation, teaching strategies, assessment and so forth need to be connected to key concepts for developing a STEM education. One of the aims of this study was to understand how a pedagogical knowledge practice framework could be linked to student outcomes in STEM education. Specifically, this qualitative research investigated Year 4 students’ involvement in an integrated STEM education program that focused on science concepts (e.g., states of matter, testing properties of materials) and mathematics concepts (such as 3D shapes and metric measurements: millilitres, temperature, grams, centimetres) for designing, making and testing a strong and safe medical kit to insulate medicines at desirable temperatures. Eleven pedagogical knowledge practices (e.g., planning, preparation, teaching strategies, classroom management, and assessment) were used as a framework for understanding how teaching may be linked to student outcomes in STEM education. For instance, “planning” involved devising a student booklet as a resource for students to understand the tasks required of them, which also provided space for them to record ideas, results and information. Planning involved linking national and state curriculum documents to the STEM education activities. More studies are required around pedagogical knowledge frameworks to understand what students learn when involved in STEM education, particularly with the inclusion of engineering education.

Primary and secondary neural networks of auditory prepulse inhibition: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study of sensorimotor gating of the human acoustic startle response

Feedforward inhibition deficits have been consistently demonstrated in a range of neuropsychiatric conditions using prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle eye-blink reflex when assessing sensorimotor gating. While PPI can be recorded in acutely decerebrated rats, behavioural, pharmacological and psychophysiological studies suggest the involvement of a complex neural network extending from brainstem nuclei to higher order cortical areas. The current functional magnetic resonance imaging study investigated the neural network underlying PPI and its association with electromyographically (EMG) recorded PPI of the acoustic startle eye-blink reflex in 16 healthy volunteers. A sparse imaging design was employed to model signal changes in blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) responses to acoustic startle probes that were preceded by a prepulse at 120 ms or 480 ms stimulus onset asynchrony or without prepulse. Sensorimotor gating was EMG confirmed for the 120-ms prepulse condition, while startle responses in the 480-ms prepulse condition did not differ from startle alone. Multiple regression analysis of BOLD contrasts identified activation in pons, thalamus, caudate nuclei, left angular gyrus and bilaterally in anterior cingulate, associated with EMGrecorded sensorimotor gating. Planned contrasts confirmed increased pons activation for startle alone vs 120-ms prepulse condition, while increased anterior superior frontal gyrus activation was confirmed for the reverse contrast. Our findings are consistent with a primary pontine circuitry of sensorimotor gating that interconnects with inferior parietal, superior temporal, frontal and prefrontal cortices via thalamus and striatum. PPI processes in the prefrontal, frontal and superior temporal cortex were functionally distinct from sensorimotor gating.

Prevalence of methicillin resistance and virulence determinants of Staphylococcus aureus in diabetic foot ulcers

Background Diabetic foot ulceration (DFU) is a multifactorial process and is responsible for considerable morbidity and contributes to the increasing cost of health care worldwide. The diagnosis and identification of these ulcers remains a complex problem. Bacterial infection is promoted in the diabetic foot wound by decreased vascular supply and impaired host immune response. As conventional clinical microbiological methods are time-consuming and only identifies about 1% of the wound microbiota, detection of bacteria present in DFUs using molecular methods is highly advantageous and efficient. The aim of this study was to assess the virulence and methicillin resistance profiles of Staphylococcus aureus detected in DFUs using DNA-based methods. Methods A total of 223 swab samples were collected from 30 patients from March to October 2012. Bacterial DNA was extracted from the swab samples using standard procedures and was used to perform polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using specific oligonucleotide primers. The products were visualized using agarose gel electrophoresis. Results S. aureus was detected in 44.8% of samples. 25% of the S. aureus was methicillin-resistant S. aureus harboring the mecA gene. The alpha-toxin gene was present in 85% of the S. aureus positive samples. 61% of the S. aureus present in DFU samples harbored the exfoliatin factor A gene. Both the fibronectin factor A and fibronectin factor B gene were detected in 71% and 74% of the S. aureus positive samples. Conclusions DNA-based detection and characterization of bacteria in DFUs are rapid and efficient and can assist in accurate, targeted antibiotic therapy of DFU infections. The majority of S. aureus detected in this study were highly virulent and also resistant to methicillin. Further studies are required to understand the role of S. aureus in DFU trajectory.

From ideation to sculpture : digital sculpting as the primary 'ideation' tool for creature design

This research project examined the potential for circumventing drawing in the ideation process by adopting digital sculpture as the primary conceptual development and design tool for the digital sculpting of creature designs. Through a series of experimental research cycles, multiple frameworks were explored with the aim of identifying a methodology for creating '3D sculpted sketches' for the initial phases of the ideation process. This research project acknowledges that drawing still remains the predominant method of visualising design ideas for characters and creatures for many artists. However, alongside other ideation techniques digital sculpting can function as a rapid and responsive tool to visualize and explore forms in a digital sculpting environment for the conceptualisation of multiple creature design variations. The results of this study are significant for emerging digital sculptors who may not necessarily have a well-defined creative brief or initial concept.

Magnetic resonance imaging: An accurate, radiation-free, alternative to computed tomography for the primary imaging and three-dimensional reconstruction of the bony orbit

Purpose: To determine the extent to which the accuracy of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) based virtual 3-dimensional (3D) models of the intact orbit can approach that of the gold standard, computed tomography (CT) based models. The goal was to determine whether MRI is a viable alternative to CT scans in patients with isolated orbital fractures and penetrating eye injuries, pediatric patients, and patients requiring multiple scans in whom radiation exposure is ideally limited. Materials and Methods: Patients who presented with unilateral orbital fractures to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital from March 2011 to March 2012 were recruited to participate in this cross-sectional study. The primary predictor variable was the imaging technique (MRI vs CT). The outcome measurements were orbital volume (primary outcome) and geometric intraorbital surface deviations (secondary outcome)between the MRI- and CT-based 3D models. Results: Eleven subjects (9 male) were enrolled. The patients’ mean age was 30 years. On average, the MRI models underestimated the orbital volume of the CT models by 0.50 0.19 cm3 . The average intraorbital surface deviation between the MRI and CT models was 0.34 0.32 mm, with 78 2.7% of the surface within a tolerance of 0.5 mm. Conclusions: The volumetric differences of the MRI models are comparable to reported results from CT models. The intraorbital MRI surface deviations are smaller than the accepted tolerance for orbital surgical reconstructions. Therefore, the authors believe that MRI is an accurate radiation-free alternative to CT for the primary imaging and 3D reconstruction of the bony orbit. �

Changing views of culture, learning, teaching, and knowledge : Fiji in-service primary teachers

This paper explores in-service primary teachers' views and beliefs about culture, learning, teaching and knowledge. Fifty Bachelor of Education in-service primary teachers at a university in Fiji participated in the study. The analysis reveals a mix of old and new beliefs about culture, learning teaching and knowledge. The influence of globalization of technology is a contributing factor towards changing views. To keep the indigenous epistemologies alive and valued like the Western epistemologies, more effort is needed to integrate these in formal education. This has implications for the future professional preparation of pre-service and in-service teachers.

Inducible resistance to maize streak virus

Maize streak virus (MSV), which causes maize streak disease (MSD), is the major viral pathogenic constraint on maize production in Africa. Type member of the Mastrevirus genus in the family Geminiviridae, MSV has a 2.7 kb, single-stranded circular DNA genome encoding a coat protein, movement protein, and the two replication-associated proteins Rep and RepA. While we have previously developed MSV-resistant transgenic maize lines constitutively expressing ‘‘dominant negative mutant’’ versions of the MSV Rep, the only transgenes we could use were those that caused no developmental defects during the regeneration of plants in tissue culture. A better transgene expression system would be an inducible one, where resistance-conferring transgenes are expressed only in MSV-infected cells. However, most known inducible transgene expression systems are hampered by background or ‘‘leaky’’ expression in the absence of the inducer. Here we describe an adaptation of the recently developed INPACT system to express MSV-derived resistance genes in cell culture. Split gene cassette constructs (SGCs) were developed containing three different transgenes in combination with three different promoter sequences. In each SGC, the transgene was split such that it would be translatable only in the presence of an infecting MSV’s replication associated protein. We used a quantitative real-time PCR assay to show that one of these SGCs (pSPLITrepIII-Rb-Ubi) inducibly inhibits MSV replication as efficiently as does a constitutively expressed transgene that has previously proven effective in protecting transgenic maize from MSV. In addition, in our cell-culture based assay pSPLITrepIII-Rb-Ubi inhibited replication of diverse MSV strains, and even, albeit to a lesser extent, of a different mastrevirus species. The application of this new technology to MSV resistance in maize could allow a better, more acceptable product.

On the Collision and Preimage Resistance of Certain Two-Call Hash Functions

In this paper we present concrete collision and preimage attacks on a large class of compression function constructions making two calls to the underlying ideal primitives. The complexity of the collision attack is above the theoretical lower bound for constructions of this type, but below the birthday complexity; the complexity of the preimage attack, however, is equal to the theoretical lower bound. We also present undesirable properties of some of Stam’s compression functions proposed at CRYPTO ’08. We show that when one of the n-bit to n-bit components of the proposed 2n-bit to n-bit compression function is replaced by a fixed-key cipher in the Davies-Meyer mode, the complexity of finding a preimage would be 2 n/3. We also show that the complexity of finding a collision in a variant of the 3n-bits to 2n-bits scheme with its output truncated to 3n/2 bits is 2 n/2. The complexity of our preimage attack on this hash function is about 2 n . Finally, we present a collision attack on a variant of the proposed m + s-bit to s-bit scheme, truncated to s − 1 bits, with a complexity of O(1). However, none of our results compromise Stam’s security claims.

Identification of the sources of primary organic aerosols at urban schools : a molecular marker approach

Children are particularly susceptible to air pollution and schools are examples of urban microenvironments that can account for a large portion of children’s exposure to airborne particles. Thus this paper aimed to determine the sources of primary airborne particles that children are exposed to at school by analyzing selected organic molecular markers at 11 urban schools in Brisbane, Australia. Positive matrix factorization analysis identified four sources at the schools: vehicle emissions, biomass burning, meat cooking and plant wax emissions accounting for 45%, 29%, 16% and 7%, of the organic carbon respectively. Biomass burning peaked in winter due to prescribed burning of bushland around Brisbane. Overall, the results indicated that both local (traffic) and regional (biomass burning) sources of primary organic aerosols influence the levels of ambient particles that children are exposed at the schools. These results have implications for potential control strategies for mitigating exposure at schools.

Green Cultural Criminology : Constructions of Environmental Harm, Consumerism, and Resistance to Ecocide

Over the last two decades, "green criminology" has emerged as a unique area of study, bringing together criminologists and sociologists from a wide range of research backgrounds and varying theoretical orientations. It spans the micro to the macro—from individual-level environmental crimes and victimization to business/corporate violations and state transgressions. There have been few attempts, however, to explicitly or implicitly integrate cultural criminology into green criminology (or vice versa). This book moves towards articulating a green cultural criminological perspective. Brisman and South examine existing overlapping research and offer a platform to support future excursions by green criminologists into cultural criminology’s concern with media images and representations, consumerism and consumption, and resistance. At the same time, they offer an invitation to cultural criminologists to adopt a green view of the consumption landscape and the growth (and depictions) of environmental harms.

Characterising resistance to overconsumption : a biopsychological analysis

This thesis investigated biopsychological factors involved in successfully resisting overconsumption in an environment promoting obesity, and differences between individuals who were and were not able to resist overconsumption. Results showed that self control was a key factor in successful resistance, whereas sensitivity to food reward was associated with overconsumption susceptibility. Reduced self control may be a consequence as well as a cause of obesity, and may not recover following weight loss. Self control was not enhanced through an exercise programme that aimed to ameliorate brain fitness through improved cardiovascular fitness.