A Psychological Exploration of Engagement in Geek Culture.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jessica McCain

Full Text Available Geek culture is a subculture of enthusiasts that is traditionally associated with obscure media (Japanese animation, science fiction, video games, etc.. However, geek culture is becoming increasingly mainstream; for example, in the past year alone, Dragon*Con, a major Geek convention in Atlanta, Georgia, attracted an attendance of over 57,000 members. The present article uses an individual differences approach to examine three theoretical accounts of geek culture. Seven studies (N = 2354 develop the Geek Culture Engagement Scale (GCES to quantify geek engagement and assess its relationships to theoretically relevant personality and individual differences variables. These studies present evidence that individuals may engage in geek culture in order to maintain narcissistic self-views (the great fantasy migration hypothesis, to fulfill belongingness needs (the belongingness hypothesis, and to satisfy needs for creative expression (the need for engagement hypothesis. Geek engagement is found to be associated with elevated grandiose narcissism, extraversion, openness to experience, depression, and subjective well-being across multiple samples. These data lay the groundwork for further exploration of geek culture as well as provide a foundation for examining other forms of subculture participation.

A Psychological Exploration of Engagement in Geek Culture.

Science.gov (United States)

McCain, Jessica; Gentile, Brittany; Campbell, W Keith

2015-01-01

Geek culture is a subculture of enthusiasts that is traditionally associated with obscure media (Japanese animation, science fiction, video games, etc.). However, geek culture is becoming increasingly mainstream; for example, in the past year alone, Dragon*Con, a major Geek convention in Atlanta, Georgia, attracted an attendance of over 57,000 members. The present article uses an individual differences approach to examine three theoretical accounts of geek culture. Seven studies (N = 2354) develop the Geek Culture Engagement Scale (GCES) to quantify geek engagement and assess its relationships to theoretically relevant personality and individual differences variables. These studies present evidence that individuals may engage in geek culture in order to maintain narcissistic self-views (the great fantasy migration hypothesis), to fulfill belongingness needs (the belongingness hypothesis), and to satisfy needs for creative expression (the need for engagement hypothesis). Geek engagement is found to be associated with elevated grandiose narcissism, extraversion, openness to experience, depression, and subjective well-being across multiple samples. These data lay the groundwork for further exploration of geek culture as well as provide a foundation for examining other forms of subculture participation.

A Psychological Exploration of Engagement in Geek Culture

Science.gov (United States)

McCain, Jessica; Gentile, Brittany; Campbell, W. Keith

2015-01-01

Geek culture is a subculture of enthusiasts that is traditionally associated with obscure media (Japanese animation, science fiction, video games, etc.). However, geek culture is becoming increasingly mainstream; for example, in the past year alone, Dragon*Con, a major Geek convention in Atlanta, Georgia, attracted an attendance of over 57,000 members. The present article uses an individual differences approach to examine three theoretical accounts of geek culture. Seven studies (N = 2354) develop the Geek Culture Engagement Scale (GCES) to quantify geek engagement and assess its relationships to theoretically relevant personality and individual differences variables. These studies present evidence that individuals may engage in geek culture in order to maintain narcissistic self-views (the great fantasy migration hypothesis), to fulfill belongingness needs (the belongingness hypothesis), and to satisfy needs for creative expression (the need for engagement hypothesis). Geek engagement is found to be associated with elevated grandiose narcissism, extraversion, openness to experience, depression, and subjective well-being across multiple samples. These data lay the groundwork for further exploration of geek culture as well as provide a foundation for examining other forms of subculture participation. PMID:26580564

Explanation and inference: Mechanistic and functional explanations guide property generalization

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Tania eLombrozo

2014-09-01

Full Text Available The ability to generalize from the known to the unknown is central to learning and inference. Two experiments explore the relationship between how a property is explained and how that property is generalized to novel species and artifacts. The experiments contrast the consequences of explaining a property mechanistically, by appeal to parts and processes, with the consequences of explaining the property functionally, by appeal to functions and goals. The findings suggest that properties that are explained functionally are more likely to be generalized on the basis of shared functions, with a weaker relationship between mechanistic explanations and generalization on the basis of shared parts and processes. The influence of explanation type on generalization holds even though all participants are provided with the same mechanistic and functional information, and whether an explanation type is freely generated (Experiment 1, experimentally provided (Experiment 2, or experimentally induced (Experiment 2. The experiments also demonstrate that explanations and generalizations of a particular type (mechanistic or functional can be experimentally induced by providing sample explanations of that type, with a comparable effect when the sample explanations come from the same domain or from a different domains. These results suggest that explanations serve as a guide to generalization, and contribute to a growing body of work supporting the value of distinguishing mechanistic and functional explanations.

Explanation and inference: mechanistic and functional explanations guide property generalization.

Science.gov (United States)

Lombrozo, Tania; Gwynne, Nicholas Z

2014-01-01

The ability to generalize from the known to the unknown is central to learning and inference. Two experiments explore the relationship between how a property is explained and how that property is generalized to novel species and artifacts. The experiments contrast the consequences of explaining a property mechanistically, by appeal to parts and processes, with the consequences of explaining the property functionally, by appeal to functions and goals. The findings suggest that properties that are explained functionally are more likely to be generalized on the basis of shared functions, with a weaker relationship between mechanistic explanations and generalization on the basis of shared parts and processes. The influence of explanation type on generalization holds even though all participants are provided with the same mechanistic and functional information, and whether an explanation type is freely generated (Experiment 1), experimentally provided (Experiment 2), or experimentally induced (Experiment 2). The experiments also demonstrate that explanations and generalizations of a particular type (mechanistic or functional) can be experimentally induced by providing sample explanations of that type, with a comparable effect when the sample explanations come from the same domain or from a different domains. These results suggest that explanations serve as a guide to generalization, and contribute to a growing body of work supporting the value of distinguishing mechanistic and functional explanations.

Exploring Landscape Engagement through a Participatory Touch Table Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna Conniff

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Governments and national bodies are increasingly concerned with promoting outdoor activity as a means to benefit general health and wellbeing. Techniques to encourage and popularize engagement with the outdoor environment should therefore be welcome. This paper explores the use of a touch table as a method to facilitate discussions about people’s engagement with rural and urban landscapes through recreational walking. We describe a study in north-east Scotland involving 22 participants who undertook walks of their choice using GPS smartphone applications to track their routes. Tracked routes were uploaded to a touch table and small group sessions explored spatial behavior in, and perceptions and knowledge of, local landscapes. Individual interviews 4–6 weeks later elicited reflections on the touch table session and personal engagement with the landscape. Two types of findings are reported: (i observations and recommendations relating to the use of a touch table in combination with GPS applications; and (ii knowledge exchange and insights afforded by group discussion and individual reflection. We conclude that our approach is a promising participatory method through which to investigate spatial behavior and promote recreational opportunities in the landscape.

Part A: An Exploration of Stakeholder Engagement in Social Enterprise

OpenAIRE

Carroll, Roopam

2008-01-01

This report sets out to explore stakeholder engagement as currently practised in social enterprises in Nottingham City. The literature displays confusion about many of the characteristics of social enterprise, but there is overwhelming consensus that social enterprises are built on stakeholder engagement. Given the debate about definitions of and this expectation of stakeholder involvement in Social Enterprise, this report addresses the following questions in the context of three social e...

Engaging Karen Refugee Students in Science Learning through a Cross-Cultural Learning Community

Science.gov (United States)

Harper, Susan G.

2017-01-01

This research explored how Karen (first-generation refugees from Burma) elementary students engaged with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) practice of constructing scientific explanations based on evidence within the context of a cross-cultural learning community. In this action research, the researcher and a Karen parent served as…

Students' explanations in complex learning of disciplinary programming

Science.gov (United States)

Vieira, Camilo

Computational Science and Engineering (CSE) has been denominated as the third pillar of science and as a set of important skills to solve the problems of a global society. Along with the theoretical and the experimental approaches, computation offers a third alternative to solve complex problems that require processing large amounts of data, or representing complex phenomena that are not easy to experiment with. Despite the relevance of CSE, current professionals and scientists are not well prepared to take advantage of this set of tools and methods. Computation is usually taught in an isolated way from engineering disciplines, and therefore, engineers do not know how to exploit CSE affordances. This dissertation intends to introduce computational tools and methods contextualized within the Materials Science and Engineering curriculum. Considering that learning how to program is a complex task, the dissertation explores effective pedagogical practices that can support student disciplinary and computational learning. Two case studies will be evaluated to identify the characteristics of effective worked examples in the context of CSE. Specifically, this dissertation explores students explanations of these worked examples in two engineering courses with different levels of transparency: a programming course in materials science and engineering glass box and a thermodynamics course involving computational representations black box. Results from this study suggest that students benefit in different ways from writing in-code comments. These benefits include but are not limited to: connecting xv individual lines of code to the overall problem, getting familiar with the syntax, learning effective algorithm design strategies, and connecting computation with their discipline. Students in the glass box context generate higher quality explanations than students in the black box context. These explanations are related to students prior experiences. Specifically, students with

Engaging Students, Teachers, and the Public with NASA Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) Assets

Science.gov (United States)

Graff, P. V.; Foxworth, S.; Kascak, A.; Luckey, M. K.; Mcinturff, B.; Runco, S.; Willis, K. J.

2016-01-01

Engaging students, teachers, and the public with NASA Astromaterials Research and Exploration Science (ARES) assets, including Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) experts and NASA curation astromaterial samples, provides an extraordinary opportunity to connect citizens with authentic aspects unique to our nation's space program. Effective engagement can occur through both virtual connections such as webcasts and in-person connections at educator workshops and public outreach events. Access to NASA ARES assets combined with adaptable resources and techniques that engage and promote scientific thinking helps translate the science and research being facilitated through NASA exploration, elicits a curiosity that aims to carry over even after a given engagement, and prepares our next generation of scientific explorers.

Extension Stakeholder Engagement: An Exploration of Two Cases Exemplifying 21st Century Adaptions

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Charles French

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Over the past 100 years, a number of societal trends have influenced how Cooperative Extension engages public audiences in its outreach and education efforts. These trends include rapid evolution in communication technology, greater specialization of Land-Grant University faculty, and diversification of funding sources. In response, Extension organizations have adapted their engagement approach, incorporated new technologies, modified their organizational structures, and even expanded the notion of public stakeholders to include funders, program nonparticipants, and others. This article explores the implications for future Extension efforts using two case studies—one which explores how a community visioning program incorporated new ways of engaging local audiences, and another which explores how an Extension business retention program used participatory action research and educational organizing approaches to strengthen participation in a research-based program.

Exploring sociality and engagement in play through game-control distribution

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Rozendaal, M.C.; Braat, B.A.L.; Wensveen, S.A.G.

2010-01-01

This study explores how distributing the controls of a video game among multiple players affects the sociality and engagement experienced in game play. A video game was developed in which the distribution of game controls among the players could be varied, thereby affecting the abilities of the

Theory-based explanation as intervention.

Science.gov (United States)

Weisman, Kara; Markman, Ellen M

2017-10-01

Cogent explanations are an indispensable means of providing new information and an essential component of effective education. Beyond this, we argue that there is tremendous untapped potential in using explanations to motivate behavior change. In this article we focus on health interventions. We review four case studies that used carefully tailored explanations to address gaps and misconceptions in people's intuitive theories, providing participants with a conceptual framework for understanding how and why some recommended behavior is an effective way of achieving a health goal. These case studies targeted a variety of health-promoting behaviors: (1) children washing their hands to prevent viral epidemics; (2) parents vaccinating their children to stem the resurgence of infectious diseases; (3) adults completing the full course of an antibiotic prescription to reduce antibiotic resistance; and (4) children eating a variety of healthy foods to improve unhealthy diets. Simply telling people to engage in these behaviors has been largely ineffective-if anything, concern about these issues is mounting. But in each case, teaching participants coherent explanatory frameworks for understanding health recommendations has shown great promise, with such theory-based explanations outperforming state-of-the-art interventions from national health authorities. We contrast theory-based explanations both with simply listing facts, information, and advice and with providing a full-blown educational curriculum, and argue for providing the minimum amount of information required to understand the causal link between a target behavior and a health outcome. We argue that such theory-based explanations lend people the motivation and confidence to act on their new understanding.

Explanation and Categorization: How "Why?" Informs "What?"

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Lombrozo, Tania

2009-01-01

Recent theoretical and empirical work suggests that explanation and categorization are intimately related. This paper explores the hypothesis that explanations can help structure conceptual representations, and thereby influence the relative importance of features in categorization decisions. In particular, features may be differentially important…

Exploring Community Philosophy as a Tool for Parental Engagement in a Primary School

Science.gov (United States)

Haines Lyon, Charlotte

2015-01-01

In this paper, I will reflect on the initial reconnaissance, action, and reflection cycle of my doctoral research, exploring Community Philosophy as a tool for critical parental engagement in a primary school (Elliot, 1991). I will examine how I reflexively engaged with my influence on participants, which then significantly influenced the framing…

Digital Downsides: Exploring University Students' Negative Engagements with Digital Technology

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Selwyn, Neil

2016-01-01

Digital technologies are now an integral feature of university study. As such, academic research has tended to concentrate on the potential of digital technologies to support, extend and even "enhance" student learning. This paper, in contrast, explores the rather more messy realities of students' engagements with digital technology. In…

Exploring the Mediating Effect of E-social Capital Between Community Members Interaction and Consumer Engagement

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Yan Bingsheng

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This article explored the effect of instrumental interaction and relational interaction on consumer engagement (community engagement and brand engagement among community members. The mediating effect of E-social capital was investigated as well. The research results showed that: both instrumental interaction and interpersonal interaction promote the formation of E-social capital (online trust and online reciprocity; online trust plays a partial mediating role between community interaction (instrumental interaction, relational interaction and community engagement, but the influence of online reciprocity on community engagement is not significant; community engagement leads to brand engagement. The findings enrich the theories of brand community and consumer engagement and contribute to the virtual community management.

Exploring the Relationship between Global Quality and Group Engagement in Toddler Child Care Classrooms

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Hooper, Alison; Hallam, Rena

2017-01-01

Toddlers' engagement with their social and physical environment is an important aspect of their experience in early care and education programs. The purpose of this research study was to examine how global quality relates to children's engagement in toddler child care classrooms. Additionally, this study explored how toddlers' group engagement…

Exploring the Mediating Effect of E-social Capital Between Community Members Interaction and Consumer Engagement

OpenAIRE

Yan Bingsheng; Li Lihua; Sun Hongtao

2017-01-01

This article explored the effect of instrumental interaction and relational interaction on consumer engagement (community engagement and brand engagement) among community members. The mediating effect of E-social capital was investigated as well. The research results showed that: both instrumental interaction and interpersonal interaction promote the formation of E-social capital (online trust and online reciprocity); online trust plays a partial mediating role between community interaction (...

Explanation and teleology in Aristotle's Philosophy of Nature

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Leunissen, Mariska Elisabeth Maria Philomena Johannes

2007-01-01

This dissertation explores Aristotle’s use of teleology as a principle of explanation, especially as it is used in the natural treatises. Its main purposes are, first, to determine the function, structure, and explanatory power of teleological explanations in four of Aristotle’s natural treatises,

Generative mechanistic explanation building in undergraduate molecular and cellular biology

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Southard, Katelyn M.; Espindola, Melissa R.; Zaepfel, Samantha D.; Bolger, Molly S.

2017-09-01

When conducting scientific research, experts in molecular and cellular biology (MCB) use specific reasoning strategies to construct mechanistic explanations for the underlying causal features of molecular phenomena. We explored how undergraduate students applied this scientific practice in MCB. Drawing from studies of explanation building among scientists, we created and applied a theoretical framework to explore the strategies students use to construct explanations for 'novel' biological phenomena. Specifically, we explored how students navigated the multi-level nature of complex biological systems using generative mechanistic reasoning. Interviews were conducted with introductory and upper-division biology students at a large public university in the United States. Results of qualitative coding revealed key features of students' explanation building. Students used modular thinking to consider the functional subdivisions of the system, which they 'filled in' to varying degrees with mechanistic elements. They also hypothesised the involvement of mechanistic entities and instantiated abstract schema to adapt their explanations to unfamiliar biological contexts. Finally, we explored the flexible thinking that students used to hypothesise the impact of mutations on multi-leveled biological systems. Results revealed a number of ways that students drew mechanistic connections between molecules, functional modules (sets of molecules with an emergent function), cells, tissues, organisms and populations.

Turing patterns and biological explanation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Serban, Maria

2017-01-01

, promoting theory exploration, and acting as constitutive parts of empirically adequate explanations of naturally occurring phenomena, such as biological pattern formation. Focusing on the roles that minimal model explanations play in science motivates the adoption of a broader diachronic view of scientific......Turing patterns are a class of minimal mathematical models that have been used to discover and conceptualize certain abstract features of early biological development. This paper examines a range of these minimal models in order to articulate and elaborate a philosophical analysis...

An Exploration Of Engagement, Motiviation And Student-Centered Learning In Physical Education

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Barbara WARNER

2015-12-01

Full Text Available This author examines the discrepancy between the known benefits of physical activity and the startling statistics of obesity in children between the ages of 12 and 17. She queries if it is time to look at educators as contributing to this problem and questions if our current teaching styles and curriculum are working for students. In addition, the author explores the question if by allowing our students autonomy, will this equate to engagement and motivation to continue to participate in physical activities? Through a discussion of her personal experiences and a literature review focusing on the areas of autonomy, engagement and motivation, the author shares input into how and why some students experience physical education in a negative manner, and some things that educators can do to improve student engagement and motivation. Her argument demonstrates that an autonomous, student-centered teaching approach will positively affect student engagement, which in turn causes motivation and a desire to participate in life-long physical activity.

Promoting Vicarious Learning of Physics Using Deep Questions with Explanations

Science.gov (United States)

Craig, Scotty D.; Gholson, Barry; Brittingham, Joshua K.; Williams, Joah L.; Shubeck, Keith T.

2012-01-01

Two experiments explored the role of vicarious "self" explanations in facilitating student learning gains during computer-presented instruction. In Exp. 1, college students with low or high knowledge on Newton's laws were tested in four conditions: (a) monologue (M), (b) questions (Q), (c) explanation (E), and (d) question + explanation (Q + E).…

Exploring Elementary-School Students' Engagement Patterns in a Game-Based Learning Environment

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Hsieh, Ya-Hui; Lin, Yi-Chun; Hou, Huei-Tse

2015-01-01

Unlike most research, which has primarily examined the players' interest in or attitude toward game-based learning through questionnaires, the purpose of this empirical study is to explore students' engagement patterns by qualitative observation and sequential analysis to visualize and better understand their game-based learning process. We…

Generative Mechanistic Explanation Building in Undergraduate Molecular and Cellular Biology

Science.gov (United States)

Southard, Katelyn M.; Espindola, Melissa R.; Zaepfel, Samantha D.; Bolger, Molly S.

2017-01-01

When conducting scientific research, experts in molecular and cellular biology (MCB) use specific reasoning strategies to construct mechanistic explanations for the underlying causal features of molecular phenomena. We explored how undergraduate students applied this scientific practice in MCB. Drawing from studies of explanation building among…

MyMoon: Engaging the “Missing Link” in Lunar Science Exploration through New Media

Science.gov (United States)

Shaner, A.; Shupla, C.; Shipp, S. S.; Eriksson, A.

2009-12-01

NASA’s new scientific exploration of the Moon, coupled with the public’s interest in the Moon and innovative social networking approaches, is being leveraged to engage a fresh adult audience in lunar science and exploration. In July 2009 the Lunar and Planetary Institute (LPI) launched a lunar education new media portal, MyMoon. LPI is collaborating with lunar scientists, educators, artists - and the public - to populate the site with science content, diverse media exhibits, events, and opportunities for involvement. Through MyMoon, the general public interacts with lunar content that informs them about lunar science research and missions, and engages them in future plans for lunar exploration and eventual habitation. MyMoon’s objectives are to: 1) develop a dynamic, new media learning portal that will enable the general public, with a focus on adults ages 18-35; 2) host a growing, active audience that becomes further involved in NASA’s lunar exploration by sharing their ideas about lunar topics, creating their own materials, and participating in events and experiences; 3) build a community of enthusiasts through social networking media; 4) create a model for online engagement of audiences 18 to 35, and provide detailed evaluation data on best practices and strategies for success. Immersive new media technologies are changing the way that people interact, work, learn, and teach. These provide potentially high-impact opportunities for reaching an audience of young adults, age 18 to 35, that largely is not accessed by, or accessing, NASA (Dittmar, 2004). MyMoon strives to engage - and involve - this audience to build a community of enthusiasts for lunar scientific exploration through social networks and current and emerging new media platforms, including posting videos on YouTube, photo contests on Flickr, and sharing events and challenges on Facebook and Twitter. MyMoon features interactive exhibits that are audience driven and added on a quarterly basis

Exploring the MACH Model’s Potential as a Metacognitive Tool to Help Undergraduate Students Monitor Their Explanations of Biological Mechanisms

Science.gov (United States)

Trujillo, Caleb M.; Anderson, Trevor R.; Pelaez, Nancy J.

2016-01-01

When undergraduate biology students learn to explain biological mechanisms, they face many challenges and may overestimate their understanding of living systems. Previously, we developed the MACH model of four components used by expert biologists to explain mechanisms: Methods, Analogies, Context, and How. This study explores the implementation of the model in an undergraduate biology classroom as an educational tool to address some of the known challenges. To find out how well students’ written explanations represent components of the MACH model before and after they were taught about it and why students think the MACH model was useful, we conducted an exploratory multiple case study with four interview participants. We characterize how two students explained biological mechanisms before and after a teaching intervention that used the MACH components. Inductive analysis of written explanations and interviews showed that MACH acted as an effective metacognitive tool for all four students by helping them to monitor their understanding, communicate explanations, and identify explanatory gaps. Further research, though, is needed to more fully substantiate the general usefulness of MACH for promoting students’ metacognition about their understanding of biological mechanisms. PMID:27252295

Never Eat In That Restaurant, I Did!: Exploring why people engage in negative word-of-mouth communication

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wetzer, I.M.; Zeelenberg, M.; Pieters, R.

2007-01-01

What do consumers want to achieve when they engage in negative word-of-mouth communication (N-WOM)? Two studies explore this question and reveal that consumers pursue specific goals when engaging in N-WOM and that these goals systematically differ between the specific negative emotions that are

Is the bias for function-based explanations culturally universal? Children from China endorse teleological explanations of natural phenomena

Science.gov (United States)

Schachner, Adena; Zhu, Liqi; Li, Jing; Kelemen, Deborah

2017-01-01

Young children in Western cultures tend to endorse teleological (function-based) explanations broadly across many domains, even when scientifically unwarranted. For instance, in contrast to Western adults, they explicitly endorse the idea that mountains were created for climbing, just like hats were created for warmth. Is this bias a product of culture, or a product of universal aspects of human cognition? In two studies, we explored whether adults and children in Mainland China, a highly secular, non-Western culture, show a bias for teleological explanations. When explaining both object properties (Exp. 1) and origins (Exp. 2), we found evidence that they do. While Chinese adults restricted teleological explanations to scientifically warranted cases, Chinese children endorsed them more broadly, extending them across different kinds of natural phenomena. This bias decreased with rising grade level across first, second and fourth grade. Overall, these data provide evidence that children’s bias for teleological explanations is not solely a product of Western Abrahamic cultures. Instead, it extends to other cultures including the East Asian secular culture of modern-day China. This suggests that the bias for function-based explanations may be driven by universal aspects of human cognition. PMID:28110152

Task Characteristics and Work Engagement: Exploring Effects of Role Ambiguity and ICT Presenteeism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sang-Hoon Lee

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In order to secure organizational sustainability in a rapidly changing environment, it is necessary to implement a decentralized and flexible work environment. In such work environments, normally individuals are provided with autonomy and independence in performing tasks, thus allowing them to further engage in their given work. This study investigated task antecedents of work engagement, and further explored the process of how task characteristics affect work engagement. It focused on examining the mediating effect of role ambiguity on the task characteristics-work engagement relationship and the moderating effect of information and communication technology (ICT presenteeism on the task characteristics–role ambiguity relationship through multiple regression analyses and a bootstrapping procedure on survey data collected from 202 South Korean employees. It found that task interdependence and autonomy were negatively associated with role ambiguity. Of the two task characteristics, only task interdependence had a negative relationship with role ambiguity, and this relationship was significantly moderated by ICT presenteeism such that the negative association between task interdependence and role ambiguity was more pronounced when ICT presenteeism was high than when it was low.

Eliciting explanations: Constraints on when self-explanation aids learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Rittle-Johnson, Bethany; Loehr, Abbey M

2017-10-01

Generating explanations for oneself in an attempt to make sense of new information (i.e., self-explanation) is often a powerful learning technique. Despite its general effectiveness, in a growing number of studies, prompting for self-explanation improved some aspects of learning, but reduced learning of other aspects. Drawing on this recent research, as well as on research comparing self-explanation under different conditions, we propose four constraints on the effectiveness of self-explanation. First, self-explanation promotes attention to particular types of information, so it is better suited to promote particular learning outcomes in particular types of domains, such as transfer in domains guided by general principles or heuristics. Second, self-explaining a variety of types of information can improve learning, but explaining one's own solution methods or choices may reduce learning under certain conditions. Third, explanation prompts focus effort on particular aspects of the to-be-learned material, potentially drawing effort away from other important information. Explanation prompts must be carefully designed to align with target learning outcomes. Fourth, prompted self-explanation often promotes learning better than unguided studying, but alternative instructional techniques may be more effective under some conditions. Attention to these constraints should optimize the effectiveness of self-explanation as an instructional technique in future research and practice.

Towards an Explanation Generation System for Robots: Analysis and Recommendations

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Ben Meadows

2016-10-01

Full Text Available A fundamental challenge in robotics is to reason with incomplete domain knowledge to explain unexpected observations and partial descriptions extracted from sensor observations. Existing explanation generation systems draw on ideas that can be mapped to a multidimensional space of system characteristics, defined by distinctions, such as how they represent knowledge and if and how they reason with heuristic guidance. Instances in this multidimensional space corresponding to existing systems do not support all of the desired explanation generation capabilities for robots. We seek to address this limitation by thoroughly understanding the range of explanation generation capabilities and the interplay between the distinctions that characterize them. Towards this objective, this paper first specifies three fundamental distinctions that can be used to characterize many existing explanation generation systems. We explore and understand the effects of these distinctions by comparing the capabilities of two systems that differ substantially along these axes, using execution scenarios involving a robot waiter assisting in seating people and delivering orders in a restaurant. The second part of the paper uses this study to argue that the desired explanation generation capabilities corresponding to these three distinctions can mostly be achieved by exploiting the complementary strengths of the two systems that were explored. This is followed by a discussion of the capabilities related to other major distinctions to provide detailed recommendations for developing an explanation generation system for robots.

Constructing Scientific Explanations: a System of Analysis for Students' Explanations

Science.gov (United States)

de Andrade, Vanessa; Freire, Sofia; Baptista, Mónica

2017-08-01

This article describes a system of analysis aimed at characterizing students' scientific explanations. Science education literature and reform documents have been highlighting the importance of scientific explanations for students' conceptual understanding and for their understanding of the nature of scientific knowledge. Nevertheless, and despite general agreement regarding the potential of having students construct their own explanations, a consensual notion of scientific explanation has still not been reached. As a result, within science education literature, there are several frameworks defining scientific explanations, with different foci as well as different notions of what accounts as a good explanation. Considering this, and based on a more ample project, we developed a system of analysis to characterize students' explanations. It was conceptualized and developed based on theories and models of scientific explanations, science education literature, and from examples of students' explanations collected by an open-ended questionnaire. With this paper, it is our goal to present the system of analysis, illustrating it with specific examples of students' collected explanations. In addition, we expect to point out its adequacy and utility for analyzing and characterizing students' scientific explanations as well as for tracing their progression.

Ethical stakeholder engagement: Exploring the relationship between corporations and NGOs in Thailand, Romania, and the UK

OpenAIRE

Grigore, Georgiana; Theofilou, Anastasios; Watson, Tom; Sthapitanonda, P.

2015-01-01

The under-theorised field of ethical stakeholder engagement is explored in a three-country study of business-NGO relationships. The influence of the relationships upon the formation of corporate social responsibility (CSR) practice and theory is considered through discussion of stakeholder theory and ethical stakeholder engagement and the practices of business-NGO linkages in Romania, Thailand and the United Kingdom. The study applied a qualitative approach with 32 in-depth interviews with se...

Exploring Multilevel Factors for Family Engagement in Home Visiting Across Two National Models.

Science.gov (United States)

Latimore, Amanda D; Burrell, Lori; Crowne, Sarah; Ojo, Kristen; Cluxton-Keller, Fallon; Gustin, Sunday; Kruse, Lakota; Hellman, Daniela; Scott, Lenore; Riordan, Annette; Duggan, Anne

2017-07-01

The associations of family, home visitor and site characteristics with family engagement within the first 6 months were examined. The variation in family engagement was also explored. Home visiting program participants were drawn from 21 Healthy Families America sites (1707 families) and 9 Nurse-Family Partnership sites (650 families) in New Jersey. Three-level nested generalized linear mixed models assessed the associations of family, home visitor and site characteristics with family receipt of a high dose of services in the first 6 months of enrollment. A family was considered to have received a high dose of service in the first 6 months of enrollment if they were active at 6 months and had received at least 50% of their expected visits in the first 6 months. In general, both home visiting programs engaged, at a relatively high level (Healthy Families America (HFA) 59%, Nurse-Family Partnership (NFP) 64%), with families demonstrating high-risk characteristics such as lower maternal education, maternal smoking, and maternal mental health need. Home visitor characteristics explained more of the variation (87%) in the receipt of services for HFA, while family characteristics explained more of the variation (75%) in the receipt of services for NFP. At the family level, NFP may improve the consistency with which they engage families by increasing retention efforts among mothers with lower education and smoking mothers. HFA sites seeking to improve engagement consistency should consider increasing the flexible in home visitor job responsibilities and examining the current expected-visit policies followed by home visitors on difficult-to-engage families.

Exploring User Engagement in Information Networks: Behavioural – based Navigation Modelling, Ideas and Directions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vesna Kumbaroska

2017-04-01

Full Text Available Revealing an endless array of user behaviors in an online environment is a very good indicator of the user’s interests either in the process of browsing or in purchasing. One such behavior is the navigation behavior, so detected user navigation patterns are able to be used for practical purposes such as: improving user engagement, turning most browsers into buyers, personalize content or interface, etc. In this regard, our research represents a connection between navigation modelling and user engagement. A usage of the Generalized Stochastic Petri Nets concept for stochastic behavioral-based modelling of the navigation process is proposed for measuring user engagement components. Different types of users are automatically identified and clustered according to their navigation behaviors, thus the developed model gives great insight into the navigation process. As part of this study, Peterson’s model for measuring the user engagement is explored and a direct calculation of its components is illustrated. At the same time, asssuming that several user sessions/visits are initialized in a certain time frame, following the Petri Nets dynamics is indicating that the proposed behavioral – based model could be used for user engagement metrics calculation, thus some basic ideas are discussed, and initial directions are given.

Transforming Biology Assessment with Machine Learning: Automated Scoring of Written Evolutionary Explanations

Science.gov (United States)

Nehm, Ross H.; Ha, Minsu; Mayfield, Elijah

2012-01-01

This study explored the use of machine learning to automatically evaluate the accuracy of students' written explanations of evolutionary change. Performance of the Summarization Integrated Development Environment (SIDE) program was compared to human expert scoring using a corpus of 2,260 evolutionary explanations written by 565 undergraduate…

Engaging Karen refugee students in science learning through a cross-cultural learning community

Science.gov (United States)

Harper, Susan G.

2017-02-01

This research explored how Karen (first-generation refugees from Burma) elementary students engaged with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) practice of constructing scientific explanations based on evidence within the context of a cross-cultural learning community. In this action research, the researcher and a Karen parent served as co-teachers for fourth- and fifth-grade Karen and non-Karen students in a science and culture after-school programme in a public elementary school in the rural southeastern United States. Photovoice provided a critical platform for students to create their own cultural discourses for the learning community. The theoretical framework of critical pedagogy of place provided a way for the learning community to decolonise and re-inhabit the learning spaces with knowledge they co-constructed. Narrative analysis of video transcripts of the after-school programme, ethnographic interviews, and focus group discussions from Photovoice revealed a pattern of emerging agency by Karen students in the scientific practice of constructing scientific explanations based on evidence and in Karen language lessons. This evidence suggests that science learning embedded within a cross-cultural learning community can empower refugee students to construct their own hybrid cultural knowledge and leverage that knowledge to engage in a meaningful way with the epistemology of science.

Exploring the Use of Interactive Digital Storytelling Video: Promoting Student Engagement and Learning in a University Hybrid Course

Science.gov (United States)

Shelton, Catharyn C.; Warren, Annie E.; Archambault, Leanna M.

2016-01-01

This study explores interactive digital storytelling in a university hybrid course. Digital stories leverage imagery and narrative-based content to explore concepts, while appealing to millennials. When digital storytelling is used as the main source of course content, tensions arise regarding how to engage and support student learning while…

Engaging boundary objects in OMS and STS? Exploring the subtleties of layered engagement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Zeiss, R.; Groenewegen, P.

2009-01-01

This paper considers STS aspirations to engage with the field of Organization and Management Studies (OMS). It does so by investigating the employability of the concept of boundary object in OMS. Through an extensive literature review, the paper shows that rather than a simple engagement between STS

Association of goal orientation with work engagement and burnout in emergency nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Adriaenssens, Jef; De Gucht, Veronique; Maes, Stan

2015-01-01

Goal orientation is a mindset towards the achievement of work-related goals, and it has been found to be related to occupational well-being. This study explored to what extent the 4-dimensional model of goal orientation adds additional variance to the explanation of burnout and work engagement in emergency nurses, after controlling for demographics, job characteristics and organizational variables. Self-report questionnaires including the Leiden Quality of Work Questionnaire for Nurses, Goal Orientation Questionnaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale were completed by 170 out of 274 emergency nurses from 13 secondary Belgian hospitals (response rate 62%). Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were conducted. Goal orientation explained 14 and 13% of the variance in burnout and work engagement respectively. Job control was predictive of both outcomes. Job demands was a predictor of burnout, and social support predicted work engagement. Reward was related to work engagement. The mastery-approach goal orientation was strongly related to an increase in work engagement and to a decrease in burnout. The performance-avoidance goal orientation was strongly related to a decrease in work engagement and to an increase in burnout. The performance-approach and mastery-avoidance goal orientations were not predictive for the two outcome variables. Goal orientation explains additional variance in burnout and work engagement over and above work characteristics and organizational variables. A mastery-approach goal orientation appears to be beneficial while a performance-avoidance goal orientation is not. Hospital management should therefore invest in personal involvement and growth of ER-nurses and in a rewarding organizational culture.

Children's success at detecting circular explanations and their interest in future learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Mills, Candice M; Danovitch, Judith H; Rowles, Sydney P; Campbell, Ian L

2017-10-01

These studies explore elementary-school-aged children's ability to evaluate circular explanations and whether they respond to receiving weak explanations by expressing interest in additional learning. In the first study, 6-, 8-, and 10-year-olds (n = 53) heard why questions about unfamiliar animals. For each question, they rated the quality of single explanations and later selected the best explanation between pairs of circular and noncircular explanations. When judging single explanations, 8- and 10-year-olds, and to some extent 6-year-olds, provided higher ratings for noncircular explanations compared to circular ones. When selecting between pairs of explanations, all age groups preferred noncircular explanations to circular ones, but older children did so more consistently than 6-year-olds. Children who recognized the weakness of the single circular explanations were more interested in receiving additional information about the question topics. In Study 2, all three age groups (n = 87) provided higher ratings for noncircular explanations compared to circular ones when listening to responses to how questions, but older children showed a greater distinction in their ratings than 6-year-olds. Moreover, the link between recognizing circular explanations as weak and interest in future learning could not be accounted for solely by individual differences in verbal intelligence. These findings illustrate the developmental trajectory of explanation evaluation and support that recognition of weak explanations is linked to interest in future learning across the elementary years. Implications for education are discussed.

Student Engagement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Conduit, Jodie; Karpen, Ingo; Farrelly, Francis

2017-01-01

system (the university), the narrow service system (the course), and the individual dyadic level of engagement (the student-lecturer interaction). These findings could be further considered and empirically tested in other engagement contexts (e.g. employee engagement, customer engagement).......Universities are seeking to actively and strategically manage student engagement through providing opportunities for students to interact and engage with the institution on a range of levels and in different ways. However, this increasingly complex and multi-layered nature of student engagement...... within a tertiary education environment is not well understood. Through qualitative focus groups and a series of interviews with undergraduate and postgraduate students, this study explores and articulates the cognitive, emotional, behavioural and social dimensions of engagement that depict the nature...

Exploring Lifelong Learners Engaged in an Astronomy-Related Massively Open Online Course

Science.gov (United States)

Buxner, Sanlyn; Impey, Chris David; Wenger, Matthew; Formanek, Martin; Romine, James M.

2016-01-01

Massively open online courses (MOOCs) are becoming increasingly popular ways to reach diverse lifelong learners all over the world. Although MOOCs resemble more formal classes (e.g. videos of content, quizzes, activities), they are often used by informal audiences from home. Recently, MOOCs have become more utilized by universities to conduct outreach as they explore how to use MOOCs to reach new potential learners. Despite the rapid adaption of MOOCs, little is known about individuals who choose to take a MOOC, how they interact with the course materials, and what motivates them to finish the course.We present results of a study of lifelong learners engaged in an astronomy "101" MOOC. Through analysis of registered learners' behaviors as well as self-reported responses to a survey about science, we were able to characterize a subset of the learners engaged in the MOOC during its first offering. Overall, 25363 learners from over 100 countries registered for the MOOC. Of those, 14900 accessed at least one part of the course. Learners were recruited to complete a survey of their knowledge and attitudes towards science. Of the learner group who opened the course, 2889 individuals completed the survey, 2465 of those were able to be linked to their usage of the MOOC through a unique identifier.Learners represented a wide-range of ages, professions, and previous science experience. The best predictors for MOOC completion were engagement in the first activity and first writing assignment and engagement in the online forum. Learners were very interested in science prior to their registration, had higher basic science knowledge that most undergraduate students enrolled in a parallel astronomy course, and used online searches and science sites to get their information about science. As we reach out to a worldwide audience to learners in these massively open online courses, understanding their motivations and behaviors will be essential. This work is helping us understand and

(No) Harm in Asking: Class, Acquired Cultural Capital, and Academic Engagement at an Elite University

Science.gov (United States)

Jack, Anthony Abraham

2016-01-01

How do undergraduates engage authority figures in college? Existing explanations predict class-based engagement strategies. Using in-depth interviews with 89 undergraduates at an elite university, I show how undergraduates with disparate precollege experiences differ in their orientations toward and strategies for engaging authority figures in…

Grassroots origins, national engagement: exploring the professionalization of practicing healthcare ethicists in Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Frolic, Andrea

2012-09-01

Canadian ethicists have a long legacy of leadership in advocating for standards and quality in healthcare ethics. Continuing this tradition, a grassroots organization of practicing healthcare ethicists (PHEs) concerned about the lack of standardization in the field recently formed to explore potential options related to professionalization. This group calls itself "practicing healthcare ethicists exploring professionalization" (PHEEP). This paper provides a description of the process by which PHEEP has begun to engage the Canadian PHE community in the development of practice standards and related projects. By making our process and its ethical and cultural underpinnings transparent, we hope to prompt PHEs around the world to reflect on the importance of context, process and principles (not just outcomes) in the exploration of and possible movement towards professionalization. By sharing some of our key successes and challenges, we also hope to inspire our colleagues to recognize the value in developing practice standards and to contribute to this endeavor.

Exploration Into the Business Priorities Related to Corporate Engagement in Community Health Improvement Partnerships.

Science.gov (United States)

Pronk, Nicolaas P; Baase, Catherine; May, Jeanette; Terry, Paul; Moseley, Karen

2017-11-01

To explore factors that matter to business in making decisions regarding engagement in community health improvement efforts. Using qualitative methods, domains of interest were identified through literature reviews and expert interviews. Relevance of the domains in terms of potential priorities for action was tested through employer and community stakeholder interviews. Factors that employers considered important to sustained community collaboration as a business priority included (1) credibility of the convener, (2) broad representation of the community, (3) strong mission and goals, (4) individual commitment to health, (5) organizational commitment to health, and (6) demonstrated commitment from leadership. Priorities have been identified for engaging business in community health efforts. Implications for research, practice, and policy include the need for measurement, transparency in reporting, and agreement on principles for public-private partnership in this area.

Socially responsible investment engagement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Goessling, T.; Buijter, Bas; Freeman, R.E.; Kujala, J.; Sachs, S.

2017-01-01

This study explores engagement in socially responsible investment (SRI) processes. More specifically, it researches the impact of shareholder salience on the success of engagement activities. The research question asks: What is the relationship between shareholder salience and engagement effort

Why have socio-economic explanations between favoured over ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

explanations trump cultural ones in the South African HIV aetiological literature? In this article, we explore how three factors (a belief in monogamy as a universal norm, HIV's emergence in a time of the construction of non-racialism, and a simplified understanding of HIV epidemiology) have intersected to produce this bias ...

The use of theoretical and empirical knowledge in the production of explanations and arguments in an inquiry biology activity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maíra Batistoni e Silva

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Agreeing with the scientific literacy as the purpose of science education and with the recent propositions that in order to achieve it we should favor the engagement of students in practices of scientific culture, this study intends to analyze the production of explanations and arguments in an inquiry based teaching activity in order to characterize students' mobilization of theoretical and empirical knowledge by engaging in these practices. Analyzing the scientific reports elaborated by the students (14-15 years old after the inquiry activity on population dynamics, we highlight the importance of empirical knowledge about the experimental context as a repertoire for construction of explanations, especially when students deal with anomalous data. This knowledge was also important for production of valid arguments, since most of the justifications were empirical, regardless of whether or not the data were in accordance with the explanatory model already known. These results reinforce the importance of students' engagement in inquiry activities, as already defended by different authors of this research area, and indicate that the inquiry practice allowed the engagement in epistemic practices, since the knowledge about the experimental conditions and the procedures of data collection provided a repertoire for the production of explanations and arguments. Finally, we discuss the relevance of this research to the field of biology teaching, seeking to defend the promotion of inquiry activities with an experimental approach as an opportunity to integrate conceptual and epistemic objectives and overcome the difficulties generated by the specificities of this area of knowledge in relation to the other disciplines in nature sciences.

Exploring public engagement with geothermal energy in southern Italy: A case study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pellizzone, Anna; Allansdottir, Agnes; De Franco, Roberto; Muttoni, Giovanni; Manzella, Adele

2015-01-01

This paper presents the results of an assessment of public views on eventual geothermal energy development in Sicily. The research was carried out under a much wider research project, VIGOR, with the aim to explore the feasibility of geothermal energy utilization in southern Italy. This study has two primary objectives: (1) to explore the views and opinions of local communities regarding the potential of geothermal energy applications; (2) to contribute to the growing literature on public engagement with energy issues. In order to explore public views towards geothermal technologies, we conducted a case study using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Although Italy has enormous geological potential for geothermal energy production, levels of knowledge of this energy source amongst the public are low. The results indicate that the issue is shrouded in uncertainty and that the Sicilian public expresses a diffused lack of trust in decision-making processes. Taken together, these factors are likely to strongly impact eventual further developments in this sector. The results clearly show the need for further societal dialogue supported by a sound communication action strategy as the first stage in a public participation

Exploring the facilitators and barriers to engagement in physical activity for people with multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Kayes, Nicola M; McPherson, Kathryn M; Schluter, Philip; Taylor, Denise; Leete, Marta; Kolt, Gregory S

2011-01-01

To explore the relationship that cognitive behavioural and other previously identified variables have with physical activity engagement in people with multiple sclerosis (MS). This study adopted a cross-sectional questionnaire design. Participants were 282 individuals with MS. Outcome measures included the Physical Activity Disability Survey--Revised, Cognitive and Behavioural Responses to Symptoms Questionnaire, Barriers to Health Promoting Activities for Disabled Persons Scale, Multiple Sclerosis Self-efficacy Scale, Self-Efficacy for Chronic Diseases Scales and Chalder Fatigue Questionnaire. Multivariable stepwise regression analyses found that greater self-efficacy, greater reported mental fatigue and lower number of perceived barriers to physical activity accounted for a significant proportion of variance in physical activity behaviour, over that accounted for by illness-related variables. Although fear-avoidance beliefs accounted for a significant proportion of variance in the initial analyses, its effect was explained by other factors in the final multivariable analyses. Self-efficacy, mental fatigue and perceived barriers to physical activity are potentially modifiable variables which could be incorporated into interventions designed to improve physical activity engagement. Future research should explore whether a measurement tool tailored to capture beliefs about physical activity identified by people with MS would better predict participation in physical activity.

Service user engagement: A co-created interview schedule exploring mental health recovery in young adults.

Science.gov (United States)

McCauley, Claire-Odile; McKenna, Hugh; Keeney, Sinead; McLaughlin, Derek

2017-10-01

The aim of this study was to co-create of an interview schedule exploring mental health recovery in collaboration with young adult service users. Service user involvement in research has been increasingly recognized as providing a vital authentic insight into mental health recovery. Engagement and collaboration with service users have facilitated the exploration of inaccessible or under-investigated aspects of the lived experience of mental health recovery, not only directing the trajectory of research, but making it relevant to their own contextual experience. A qualitative content analysis framework was employed in the co-creation of a semi-structured interview schedule through an engagement process with service users. Two separate engagement groups took place at the premises of the service user organizations, between January - February 2014. Miles and Huberman's analysis framework was chosen for this phase as it enabled the visual presentation of factors, concepts or variables and the established relationship between them. The lived experience of mental ill health in young adulthood and how this was understood by others was a particularly relevant theme for participants. Further themes were identified between the impact of painful experiences at this developmental life stage leading to a deeper understanding of others through finding meaning in their own mental health recovery journey. Our findings identified that suffering painful experiences is an integral aspect in the process of mental health recovery. This understanding has particular relevance to mental health nursing practice, ensuring the care delivered is cognizant of the suffering or painful experiences that young adults are encountering. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Sixth Graders' Co-Construction of Explanations of a Disturbance in an Ecosystem: Exploring Relationships between Grouping, Reflective Scaffolding, and Evidence-Based Explanations

Science.gov (United States)

Kyza, Eleni A.; Constantinou, Costas P.; Spanoudis, George

2011-01-01

We report on a study investigating the relationship between cognitive ability grouping, reflective inquiry scaffolding, and students' collaborative explanations of an ecosystem disturbance which took place when a number of flamingo birds died in a salt lake because of nearby intensive human activities. Twenty-six pairs of students from two intact…

Civil society engagement in multi-stakeholder dialogue: a qualitative study exploring the opinions and perceptions of MeTA members.

Science.gov (United States)

Buckland-Merrett, Gemma L; Kilkenny, Catherine; Reed, Tim

2017-01-01

The Medicines Transparency Alliance (MeTA) is an initiative that brings together all stakeholders in the medicines market to create a multi-stakeholder dialogue and improve access, availability and affordability of medicines. Key to this multi-stakeholder dialogue is the participation of Civil Society Organisations. A recent MeTA annual review, identified uneven engagement of civil society organisations in the multi-stakeholder process. This study was designed to explore the engagement of Civil Society Organisations in the MeTA multi-stakeholder process and the factors influencing their participation. Participants were drawn from a convenience sample of key MeTA informants attending a MeTA global meeting in Geneva in 2014. Study participants consisted of members of MeTA, which included representatives from government, the private sector and civil society. In-depth semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted to identify perceptions around the barriers to civil society engagement in the multi-stakeholder process. Interviews were guided by a conceptual framework exploring the three main themes of the political environment, relative stakeholder strength and agenda setting/gatekeepers. Interviews were structured to enable additional themes to emerge and be explored. Fifteen interviews were conducted. The interviews were audio recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using a general inductive approach. All interviewees provided written informed consent. Findings were captured within three main overarching themes: the political environment, relative stakeholder strength and agenda setting/gatekeepers, with the opportunity for additional themes to emerge in the interviewing process. The study conformed these three themes were important in the engagement process. Participants reported that civil society engagement is particularly limited by those who set the agenda. It was largely seen that the political environment was the significant factor that enabled or

Experimental Philosophy of Explanation Rising: The Case for a Plurality of Concepts of Explanation.

Science.gov (United States)

Colombo, Matteo

2017-03-01

This paper brings together results from the philosophy and the psychology of explanation to argue that there are multiple concepts of explanation in human psychology. Specifically, it is shown that pluralism about explanation coheres with the multiplicity of models of explanation available in the philosophy of science, and it is supported by evidence from the psychology of explanatory judgment. Focusing on the case of a norm of explanatory power, the paper concludes by responding to the worry that if there is a plurality of concepts of explanation, one will not be able to normatively evaluate what counts as good explanation. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Analogy, explanation, and proof

Science.gov (United States)

Hummel, John E.; Licato, John; Bringsjord, Selmer

2014-01-01

People are habitual explanation generators. At its most mundane, our propensity to explain allows us to infer that we should not drink milk that smells sour; at the other extreme, it allows us to establish facts (e.g., theorems in mathematical logic) whose truth was not even known prior to the existence of the explanation (proof). What do the cognitive operations underlying the inference that the milk is sour have in common with the proof that, say, the square root of two is irrational? Our ability to generate explanations bears striking similarities to our ability to make analogies. Both reflect a capacity to generate inferences and generalizations that go beyond the featural similarities between a novel problem and familiar problems in terms of which the novel problem may be understood. However, a notable difference between analogy-making and explanation-generation is that the former is a process in which a single source situation is used to reason about a single target, whereas the latter often requires the reasoner to integrate multiple sources of knowledge. This seemingly small difference poses a challenge to the task of marshaling our understanding of analogical reasoning to understanding explanation. We describe a model of explanation, derived from a model of analogy, adapted to permit systematic violations of this one-to-one mapping constraint. Simulation results demonstrate that the resulting model can generate explanations for novel explananda and that, like the explanations generated by human reasoners, these explanations vary in their coherence. PMID:25414655

Analogy, Explanation, and Proof

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John eHummel

2014-11-01

Full Text Available People are habitual explanation generators. At its most mundane, our propensity to explain allows us to infer that we should not drink milk that smells sour; at the other extreme, it allows us to establish facts (e.g., theorems in mathematical logic whose truth was not even known prior to the existence of the explanation (proof. What do the cognitive operations underlying the (inductive inference that the milk is sour have in common with the (deductive proof that, say, the square root of two is irrational? Our ability to generate explanations bears striking similarities to our ability to make analogies. Both reflect a capacity to generate inferences and generalizations that go beyond the featural similarities between a novel problem and familiar problems in terms of which the novel problem may be understood. However, a notable difference between analogy-making and explanation-generation is that the former is a process in which a single source situation is used to reason about a single target, whereas the latter often requires the reasoner to integrate multiple sources of knowledge. This small-seeming difference poses a challenge to the task of marshaling our understanding of analogical reasoning in the service of understanding explanation. We describe a model of explanation, derived from a model of analogy, adapted to permit systematic violations of this one-to-one mapping constraint. Simulation results demonstrate that the resulting model can generate explanations for novel explananda and that, like the explanations generated by human reasoners, these explanations vary in their coherence.

Burnout and Work Engagement: Exploring Individual and Psychophysiological Differences

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Langelaan, S.

2007-01-01

Burnout has been a major topic in occupational health psychology for the past three decades, and work engagement, presumed to be burnout's opposite, recently gained increasing interest. The two main research questions of this thesis were: (1) To what extent can burnout and work engagement be

Burnout and work engagement : Exploring individual and psychophysiological differences

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Langelaan, S.

2007-01-01

Burnout has been a major topic in occupational health psychology for the past three decades, and work engagement, presumed to be burnout's opposite, recently gained increasing interest. The two main research questions of this thesis were: (1) To what extent can burnout and work engagement be

Exploring Discipline Differences in Student Engagement in One Institution

Science.gov (United States)

Leach, Linda

2016-01-01

Student engagement has become increasingly important in higher education in recent years. Influenced internationally by government drivers to improve student outcomes, many countries and institutions have participated in surveys such as the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) and its progeny, the Australasian Survey of Student Engagement…

Teachers' Cognitive Flexibility on Engagement and Their Ability to Engage Students: A Theoretical and Empirical Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Stein, Kristy Cooper; Miness, Andrew; Kintz, Tara

2018-01-01

Background: Student engagement is a cognitively complex domain that is often oversimplified in theory and practice. Reliance on a single model overlooks the sophisticated nature of student engagement and can lead to misconceptions and limited understandings that hinder teachers' ability to engage all of their students. Assessing varied models…

Creating visual explanations improves learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Bobek, Eliza; Tversky, Barbara

2016-01-01

Many topics in science are notoriously difficult for students to learn. Mechanisms and processes outside student experience present particular challenges. While instruction typically involves visualizations, students usually explain in words. Because visual explanations can show parts and processes of complex systems directly, creating them should have benefits beyond creating verbal explanations. We compared learning from creating visual or verbal explanations for two STEM domains, a mechanical system (bicycle pump) and a chemical system (bonding). Both kinds of explanations were analyzed for content and learning assess by a post-test. For the mechanical system, creating a visual explanation increased understanding particularly for participants of low spatial ability. For the chemical system, creating both visual and verbal explanations improved learning without new teaching. Creating a visual explanation was superior and benefitted participants of both high and low spatial ability. Visual explanations often included crucial yet invisible features. The greater effectiveness of visual explanations appears attributable to the checks they provide for completeness and coherence as well as to their roles as platforms for inference. The benefits should generalize to other domains like the social sciences, history, and archeology where important information can be visualized. Together, the findings provide support for the use of learner-generated visual explanations as a powerful learning tool.

Radiometric method and abnormal explanation of landslide survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ye Shulin; Sun Zhanxue; Luo Liangsheng

2003-01-01

Radioactivity exploration mechanism of landslide is researched. Radioactive measure technical and its anomaly explanation models of application is introduced. Test verification result of landslide body geological form (boundary and landslide body thickness) in the district of Wanzhou 233 of Chongqing city ancients landslide and the Yunyang new county Zhaiba landslide shows, it can be used in determining the body boundary (reason) line, investigating the underground current direction and landslide body moving direction, explaining that calculation of weathered zone thickness of landslide body. It can also increase the geological effect of landslide exploration in adaption with geology and drilling

Change-supportive employee behavior – A career identity explanation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lysova, E.; Richardson, J.; Khapova, S.N.; Jansen, P.G.W.

2015-01-01

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore how career identity informs employees’ willingness to engage in organizational change initiatives. Design/methodology/approach - The paper draws on the findings of a qualitative case study exploring the experiences of 29 employees involved in a

Examining the Effects of Combining Self-Explanation Principles with an Educational Game on Learning Science Concepts

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Chung-Yuan; Tsai, Chin-Chung

2013-01-01

Educational researchers have indicated that although computer games have the potential to promote students' motivation and engagement, the work on how to design effective games that fulfil educational purposes is still in its infancy. This study aimed to examine how integration of self-explanation into a computer game affected primary schoolers'…

Theological imagination as hermeneutical device: Exploring the hermeneutical contribution of an imaginal engagement with the text

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anneke Viljoen

2016-07-01

Full Text Available In the past, biblical scholarship has neglected the hermeneutical contribution that an imaginal engagement with the text may make. The author’s aim in this article was to develop theological imagination as a hermeneutical device. This was done by briefly considering the concurrence in the hermeneutic contributions of three interpreters of biblical texts, with specific regard to their understanding of biblical imagination. These were Walter Brueggemann, Paul Ricoeur and Ignatius of Loyola. Their hermeneutical contributions concur in their understanding of a biblically informed imagination, and it is specifically this aspect of the concurrence of their thought that was explored. An illustration from Proverbs 14:27, which draws on the metaphor and biblical motif of the fountain or source of life, was put forward to demonstrate how the concurrence in the contributions of these biblical interpreters may influence an imaginal engagement with the text. Keywords: Old Testament; Proverbs; Hermeneutics; The fear of the Lord/Yahweh;  Walter Brueggemann; Paul Ricoeur;  Ignatius of Loyola; Imaginal engagement

Exploring Undergraduate Engagement With The Consequences of Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Young, N.; Danielson, R.; Lombardi, D.

2013-12-01

Engendering conceptual change from naive to scientifically sophisticated beliefs is a difficult task. One factor that fosters conceptual change is greater engagement with a topic. Yet if one asks about a topic in the wrong way, one may fail to find engagement where it exists or assume it exists where it does not. Climate change is an immense topic with consequences across many domains and people may be more concerned with specific consequences than with the topic generally. Therefore, it may be helpful to disambiguate the various risks to see which consequences people find especially engaging and which they do not. We asked 188 undergraduate students at a large university in California to rate twenty-five potential consequences of climate change on several questions. The questions were drawn from constructs that lead to greater engagement with a topic according to the Cognitive Reconstruction of Knowledge Model (Dole & Sinatra, 1998). Scores were then combined to create engagement scores. We found that two potential consequences of climate change were rated as more engaging than climate change generally: air pollution and increases in the price of food. Many consequences were rated as less engaging, including floods, stronger hurricanes, and melting permafrost. This implies that some consequences that scientists consider potentially worthy of concern are nonetheless not considered engaging by many. We also asked participants several open-ended questions about their perceptions of climate change and what consequences they especially cared about. Results were broadly similar but demonstrated many misconceptions about the mechanics and consequences of climate change. Several participants expressed concerns about increases in earthquakes, changes to the ozone layer, and dangerous changes to the density of the atmosphere. We asked participants about the relationship between the terms climate change and global warming. There was considerable disagreement on how these two

Supporting 3rd-grade students model-based explanations about groundwater: a quasi-experimental study of a curricular intervention

Science.gov (United States)

Zangori, Laura; Vo, Tina; Forbes, Cory T.; Schwarz, Christina V.

2017-07-01

Scientific modelling is a key practice in which K-12 students should engage to begin developing robust conceptual understanding of natural systems, including water. However, little past research has explored primary students' learning about groundwater, engagement in scientific modelling, and/or the ways in which teachers conceptualise and cultivate model-based science learning environments. We are engaged in a multi-year project designed to support 3rd-grade students' formulation of model-based explanations (MBE) for hydrologic phenomenon, including groundwater, through curricular and instructional support. In this quasi-experimental comparative study of five 3rd-grade classrooms, we present findings from analysis of students' MBE generated as part of experiencing a baseline curricular intervention (Year 1) and a modelling-enhanced curricular intervention (Year 2). Findings show that students experiencing the latter version of the unit made significant gains in both conceptual understanding and reasoning about groundwater, but that these gains varied by classroom. Overall, student gains from Year 1 to Year 2 were attributed to changes in two of the five classrooms in which students were provided additional instructional supports and scaffolds to enhance their MBE for groundwater. Within these two classrooms, the teachers enacted the Year 2 curriculum in unique ways that reflected their deeper understanding about the practices of modelling. Their enactments played a critical role in supporting students' MBE about groundwater. Study findings contribute to research on scientific modelling in elementary science learning environments and have important implications for teachers and curriculum developers.

Students' Engagement with Learning Technologies

Science.gov (United States)

Larkin, Derek; Huett, Kim C.

2013-01-01

This paper seeks to add to the discussion surrounding young adults' relationship and engagement with learning technologies, exploring whether they naturally engage with these technologies when the use of them is either compulsory or optional. We discuss our findings in relation to whether young people are truly engaging with technologies or…

Examining elementary teachers' knowledge and instruction of scientific explanations for fostering children's explanations in science

Science.gov (United States)

Wiebke, Heidi Lynn

This study employed an embedded mixed methods multi-case study design (Creswell, 2014) with six early childhood (grades K-2) teachers to examine a) what changes occurred to their subject matter knowledge (SMK) and pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) for teaching scientific explanations while participating in a professional development program, b) how they planned for and implemented scientific explanation instruction within a teacher developed unit on properties of matter, and c) what affordances their instruction of scientific explanations had on fostering their students' abilities to generate explanations in science. Several quantitative and qualitative measures were collected and analyzed in accordance to this studies conceptual framework, which consisted of ten instructional practices teachers should consider assimilating or accommodating into their knowledge base (i.e., SMK & PCK) for teaching scientific explanations. Results of this study indicate there was little to no positive change in the teachers' substantive and syntactic SMK. However, all six teachers did make significant changes to all five components of their PCK for teaching explanations in science. While planning for scientific explanation instruction, all six teachers' contributed some ideas for how to incorporate seven of the ten instructional practices for scientific explanations within the properties of matter unit they co-developed. When enacting the unit, the six teachers' employed seven to nine of the instructional practices to varying levels of effectiveness, as measured by researcher developed rubrics. Given the six teachers' scientific explanation instruction, many students did show improvement in their ability to formulate a scientific explanation, particularly their ability to provide multiple pieces of evidence. Implications for professional developers, teacher educators, researchers, policy makers, and elementary teachers regarding how to prepare teachers for and support students

The Inter-relationship of Science and Religion: A typology of engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Hanley, Pam; Bennett, Judith; Ratcliffe, Mary

2014-05-01

This study explores whether the religious background of students affects their opinions about and attitudes to engaging with scientific explanations of the origins of the universe and of life. The study took place in four English secondary schools representing three different contexts (Christian faith-based; non-faith with majority Muslim catchment; and non-faith, mixed catchment). It comprised questionnaires and focus groups with over 200 students aged 14-16, supplemented by teacher interviews. The analysis approach was informed by grounded theory and resulted in the development of an engagement typology, which has been set in the context of the cross-cultural border crossing literature. It divides students into categories depending on both the nature and amount of engagement they were prepared to have with the relationship between science and religion. The model takes into account where students sit on four dimensions. These assess whether a student's preferred knowledge base is belief-based or fact-based; their tolerance of uncertainty (do they have a need for resolution?); their open mindedness (are they unquestioning or inquiring?); and whether they conceptualise science and religion as being in conflict or harmony. Many Muslim students resisted engagement because of conflicting religious beliefs. Teachers did not always appreciate the extent to which this topic troubled some students who needed help to accommodate clashes between science and their religious beliefs. It is suggested that increased appreciation of the complexity represented by their students can guide a teacher towards an appropriate approach when covering potentially sensitive topics such as the theory of evolution.

An exploration of students’ own explanations about dropout in vocational education in a danish context

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tanggaard, Lene

2013-01-01

The present paper addresses the phenomenon of student dropout from vocational education in Denmark. It does so by addressing the need to critically discuss the term ‘drop-out’ taking the perspective of students’ own reflections on the topic. The empirical findings indicate that dropout...... is considered in terms of two very different, but intersecting broad explanations voiced by students themselves: (1) as something created in educational institutions in various situations, such as when teachers spend more time and resources on the more affluent, quick-witted and clever students or when...... there is a lack of trainee places and (2) an act resulting from individual initiative and or a lack of perseverance. Secondly, and as a result of analysing the possible interplay between and differences related to the above two broad explanations, the empirical material reveals alternatives to the dropout concept...

Older Chinese-Australian and Chinese community music engagement

OpenAIRE

Li, Sicong

2017-01-01

This research study will investigate community music engagement by both Chinese-Australians and Chinese older people at two different older people’s organizations with the aim of exploring the affects of music engagement on older people. The study seeks to explore cultural differences between Chinese-Australian older people and Chinese older people as they relate to their music engagement. The research contentions were that (1) active music engagement can enhance the quality of the life of ol...

Student Engagement in the Caribbean Region: Exploring Its Role in the Motivation and Achievement of Jamaican Middle School Students

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Tamica G.; Martin, Andrew J.; Evans, Paul

2017-01-01

Using an expectancy-value framework, the present investigation is the first to explore the generality of this theorizing and research in the emerging regional context of the Caribbean. Given high underachievement in the Caribbean region, we addressed the need to better understand the role of engagement in students' academic motivation and…

Self-Explanation, An Instructional Strategy to Foster Clinical Reasoning in Medical Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martine Chamberland

2015-12-01

positive effect of self-explanation gets stronger when students׳ diagnostic performance is tested on far-transfer clinical cases, suggesting that deeper understanding and meaningful learning do occur. Self-explanation is a practical and inexpensive technique which could be incorporated into learning activities using clinical problems to promote diagnostic reasoning of medical students. Even though self-explanation is a promising learning technique, further studies are needed to explore other conditions that could maximise its benefit on learning clinical reasoning.

Kinds and problems of geomorphological explanation

Science.gov (United States)

Cox, Nicholas J.

2007-07-01

What characterises satisfactory explanations in geomorphology is a key methodological question deserving continued analysis. In turn it raises the issue of the role played by methodology within the science. At its best, methodology can provide helpful distinctions, identify key issues and yield guidance for researchers. The substantive context for debates on explanation is the apparent complexity and difficulty of geomorphology as a science, which is arguably no greater than that of other Earth or environmental sciences. The logical view of explanation dominant in the 1950s and 1960s still has value, but a broader view is needed of explanations, related to the questions geomorphologists (and others) ask and to the answers that they find interesting. Answers may be sought in terms of purpose, history, mechanisms and statistics. Arguments over what is supposed to be reductionism can be clarified by underlining that both micro- and macro-explanations may be helpful. Although many geomorphologists aspire to mechanistic explanations, they often stop short at statistical explanations, making use of convenient functional forms such as power laws. Explanations have both social and psychological dimensions, the former much stressed in history of science and recent science studies, the latter deserving greater emphasis at present. Complicated models raise the question of how far it can be said that geomorphologists understand them in totality. A bestiary of poor explanations is needed, so that geomorphologists are not seduced by weak arguments and because they often serve as steps towards better explanations. Circular arguments, ad hoc explanations, and mistaking the name of the problem for the solution are cases in point.

Exploring and Improving Student Engagement in an Accelerated Undergraduate Nursing Program through a Mentoring Partnership: An Action Research Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Bramble, Marguerite; Maxwell, Hazel; Einboden, Rochelle; Farington, Sally; Say, Richard; Beh, Chin Liang; Stankiewicz, Grace; Munro, Graham; Marembo, Esther; Rickard, Greg

2018-05-30

This Participatory Action Research (PAR) project aimed to engage students from an accelerated 'fast track' nursing program in a mentoring collaboration, using an interdisciplinary partnership intervention with a group of academics. Student participants represented the disciplines of nursing and paramedicine with a high proportion of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) students. Nine student mentors were recruited and paired with academics for a three-month 'mentorship partnership' intervention. Data from two pre-intervention workshops and a post-intervention workshop were coded in NVivo11 using thematic analysis. Drawing on social inclusion theory, a qualitative analysis explored an iteration of themes across each action cycle. Emergent themes were: 1) 'building relationships for active engagement', 2) 'voicing cultural and social hierarchies', and 3) 'enacting collegiate community'. The study offers insights into issues for contemporary accelerated course delivery with a diverse student population and highlights future strategies to foster effective student engagement.

Model-based explanation of plant knowledge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huuskonen, P.J. [VTT Electronics, Oulu (Finland). Embedded Software

1997-12-31

This thesis deals with computer explanation of knowledge related to design and operation of industrial plants. The needs for explanation are motivated through case studies and literature reviews. A general framework for analysing plant explanations is presented. Prototypes demonstrate key mechanisms for implementing parts of the framework. Power plants, steel mills, paper factories, and high energy physics control systems are studied to set requirements for explanation. The main problems are seen to be either lack or abundance of information. Design knowledge in particular is found missing at plants. Support systems and automation should be enhanced with ways to explain plant knowledge to the plant staff. A framework is formulated for analysing explanations of plant knowledge. It consists of three parts: 1. a typology of explanation, organised by the class of knowledge (factual, functional, or strategic) and by the target of explanation (processes, automation, or support systems), 2. an identification of explanation tasks generic for the plant domain, and 3. an identification of essential model types for explanation (structural, behavioural, functional, and teleological). The tasks use the models to create the explanations of the given classes. Key mechanisms are discussed to implement the generic explanation tasks. Knowledge representations based on objects and their relations form a vocabulary to model and present plant knowledge. A particular class of models, means-end models, are used to explain plant knowledge. Explanations are generated through searches in the models. Hypertext is adopted to communicate explanations over dialogue based on context. The results are demonstrated in prototypes. The VICE prototype explains the reasoning of an expert system for diagnosis of rotating machines at power plants. The Justifier prototype explains design knowledge obtained from an object-oriented plant design tool. Enhanced access mechanisms into on-line documentation are

Model-based explanation of plant knowledge

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huuskonen, P J [VTT Electronics, Oulu (Finland). Embedded Software

1998-12-31

This thesis deals with computer explanation of knowledge related to design and operation of industrial plants. The needs for explanation are motivated through case studies and literature reviews. A general framework for analysing plant explanations is presented. Prototypes demonstrate key mechanisms for implementing parts of the framework. Power plants, steel mills, paper factories, and high energy physics control systems are studied to set requirements for explanation. The main problems are seen to be either lack or abundance of information. Design knowledge in particular is found missing at plants. Support systems and automation should be enhanced with ways to explain plant knowledge to the plant staff. A framework is formulated for analysing explanations of plant knowledge. It consists of three parts: 1. a typology of explanation, organised by the class of knowledge (factual, functional, or strategic) and by the target of explanation (processes, automation, or support systems), 2. an identification of explanation tasks generic for the plant domain, and 3. an identification of essential model types for explanation (structural, behavioural, functional, and teleological). The tasks use the models to create the explanations of the given classes. Key mechanisms are discussed to implement the generic explanation tasks. Knowledge representations based on objects and their relations form a vocabulary to model and present plant knowledge. A particular class of models, means-end models, are used to explain plant knowledge. Explanations are generated through searches in the models. Hypertext is adopted to communicate explanations over dialogue based on context. The results are demonstrated in prototypes. The VICE prototype explains the reasoning of an expert system for diagnosis of rotating machines at power plants. The Justifier prototype explains design knowledge obtained from an object-oriented plant design tool. Enhanced access mechanisms into on-line documentation are

Explanation components as interactive tools

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wahlster, W.

1983-01-01

The ability to explain itself is probably the most important criterion of the user-friendliness of interactive systems. Explanation aids in the form of simple help functions do not meet this criterion. The reasons for this are outlined. More promising is an explanation component which can give the user intelligible and context-oriented explanations. The essential requirement for this is the development of knowledge-based interactive systems using artificial intelligence methods and techniques. The authors report on experiences with the development of explanation components, in particular a number of examples from the HAM-ANS project. 12 references.

Student Engagement: Body, Mind and Heart – A Proposal for an Embedded Multi-Dimensional Student Engagement Framework

OpenAIRE

Pickford, R

2016-01-01

This paper considers student engagement in the context of a diverse higher education population and explores what institutions can do to impact positively on student engagement. The paper takes as its starting point the goals of higher education and the purposes of student engagement and reflects on the politicisation of student engagement, and the relative positioning of the student and the higher education institution in relation to student engagement. The paper suggests conditions for and ...

Who will study HSC physics? Relationships between motivation, engagement and choice

Science.gov (United States)

Abraham, Jessy

This study investigates the relationship between students' achievement motivation, sustained engagement and sustained enrolment intentions, in relation to senior secondary physics. Specifically, this study sought to determine the motivational factors that predict students' sustained engagement and sustained enrolment intentions in four physics modules, and tested whether there were gender differences. These issues were addressed through a multi-occasional exploration among senior secondary students in New South Wales during their first year of elective physics. This study pioneered an innovative approach to exploring sustained enrolment intentions in the enacted physics curriculum, since students were asked about their enrolment plans at a time when they were actually studying physics modules, rather than before they had studied the subject, which as has been the case for most research on science enrolment. An achievement motivation theoretical framework was employed to provide a more comprehensive explanation of students' sustained physics engagement and enrolment plans. A significant feature of this exploration is the topic (module) specificity of motivation. This study, based on Expectancy-Value (EV) theoretical underpinnings, has implications for strengthening physics enrolment research, and makes a significant contribution to advancing research and practice. While the declining trend in physics enrolment and the widening gender imbalance in physics participation have been explored widely, the retention of students in physics courses remains largely unexplored. The existing research mainly focuses on the main exit point from physics education, which is the transition from a general science course to non-compulsory, more specialised science courses that takes place during the transition from junior high school to senior high school in Australia. Another major exit point from physics education is the transition from senior high school to tertiary level. However

The Effects of Self-Explanation and Reading Questions and Answers on Learning Computer Programming Language

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Nancy

2013-01-01

The current study explored the differential effects of two learning strategies, self-explanation and reading questions and answers, on students' test performance in the computer programming language JavaScript. Students' perceptions toward the two strategies as to their effectiveness in learning JavaScript was also explored by examining students'…

Building long-term constituencies for space exploration: The challenge of raising public awareness and engagement in the United States and in Europe

Science.gov (United States)

Ehrenfreund, P.; Peter, N.; Billings, L.

2010-08-01

Space exploration is a multifaceted endeavor and will be a "grand challenge" of the 21st century. It has already become an element of the political agenda of a growing number of countries worldwide. However, the public is largely unaware of space exploration activities and in particular does not perceive any personal benefit. In order to achieve highly ambitious space exploration goals to explore robotically and with humans the inner solar system, space agencies must improve and expand their efforts to inform and raise the awareness of the public about what they are doing, and why. Therefore adopting new techniques aiming at informing and engaging the public using participatory ways, new communication techniques to reach, in particular, the younger generation will be a prerequisite for a sustainable long-term exploration program: as they will enable it and carry most of the associated financial burden. This paper presents an environmental analysis of space exploration in the United States and Europe and investigates the current branding stature of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the European Space Agency (ESA). We discuss how improved market research and new branding methods can increase public space awareness and improve the image of NASA and ESA. We propose a new participatory approach to engage the public as major stakeholder (along governments, the industrial space sector and the science community) that may provide sufficient resources for and sustainability of a long-term space exploration program.

Students individual engagement in GIS

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Lene Møller; Christiansen, Frederik V; Rump, Camilla Østerberg

2014-01-01

This paper develops two sets of concepts to theorize why students engage differently in Geographical Information Systems (GIS). These theoretical concepts are used as an analytical lens to explore empirical data on the experiences and engagement of students enrolled in an undergraduate GIS course...... in planning and management. The analysis shows that both the theoretical perspectives and the custom and didactical contract are important to understand students' engagement in GIS. However, it is the personal desiderata that are the key to understanding the students' different engagement. Further, a temporal...... dimension and contextual awareness are important in understanding students' engagement in a broader perspective....

Research staff and public engagement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Davies, Sarah Rachael

2013-01-01

focuses on one staff group, contract researchers, to explore the perceived challenges and opportunities of public engagement. Qualitative and quantitative data-from a web-based survey and three focus groups-are used to show that, while engagement activities are often seen as rewarding, the challenges...

Exploring a Middle Ground Engagement with Students in a Social Learning Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Anne M. J.; Campbell, Sonya

2012-01-01

The twenty first century student demands more from universities in terms of engagement that is flexible, accessible and immediate. This means universities revisiting their engagement agenda at a time when financial constraints can least afford expensive technologies and resource dependent engagement solutions. Solutions are likely to be varied…

Tutorial dialogues and gist explanations of genetic breast cancer risk.

Science.gov (United States)

Widmer, Colin L; Wolfe, Christopher R; Reyna, Valerie F; Cedillos-Whynott, Elizabeth M; Brust-Renck, Priscila G; Weil, Audrey M

2015-09-01

The intelligent tutoring system (ITS) BRCA Gist is a Web-based tutor developed using the Shareable Knowledge Objects (SKO) platform that uses latent semantic analysis to engage women in natural-language dialogues to teach about breast cancer risk. BRCA Gist appears to be the first ITS designed to assist patients' health decision making. Two studies provide fine-grained analyses of the verbal interactions between BRCA Gist and women responding to five questions pertaining to breast cancer and genetic risk. We examined how "gist explanations" generated by participants during natural-language dialogues related to outcomes. Using reliable rubrics, scripts of the participants' verbal interactions with BRCA Gist were rated for content and for the appropriateness of the tutor's responses. Human researchers' scores for the content covered by the participants were strongly correlated with the coverage scores generated by BRCA Gist, indicating that BRCA Gist accurately assesses the extent to which people respond appropriately. In Study 1, participants' performance during the dialogues was consistently associated with learning outcomes about breast cancer risk. Study 2 was a field study with a more diverse population. Participants with an undergraduate degree or less education who were randomly assigned to BRCA Gist scored higher on tests of knowledge than those assigned to the National Cancer Institute website or than a control group. We replicated findings that the more expected content that participants included in their gist explanations, the better they performed on outcome measures. As fuzzy-trace theory suggests, encouraging people to develop and elaborate upon gist explanations appears to improve learning, comprehension, and decision making.

Encouraging Civic Knowledge and Engagement: Exploring Current Events through a Psychological Lens

Science.gov (United States)

Van Camp, Debbie; Baugh, Stacey-Ann

2016-01-01

Engagement with political, social, and civil issues is a fundamental component of an educated population, but civic knowledge and engagement are decreasing among adolescents and young adults. A Psychology in Current Events class sought to increase this engagement and key skills such as critical thinking. A one-group pretest-posttest…

Interpreting Black-Box Classifiers Using Instance-Level Visual Explanations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tamagnini, Paolo; Krause, Josua W.; Dasgupta, Aritra; Bertini, Enrico

2017-05-14

To realize the full potential of machine learning in diverse real- world domains, it is necessary for model predictions to be readily interpretable and actionable for the human in the loop. Analysts, who are the users but not the developers of machine learning models, often do not trust a model because of the lack of transparency in associating predictions with the underlying data space. To address this problem, we propose Rivelo, a visual analytic interface that enables analysts to understand the causes behind predictions of binary classifiers by interactively exploring a set of instance-level explanations. These explanations are model-agnostic, treating a model as a black box, and they help analysts in interactively probing the high-dimensional binary data space for detecting features relevant to predictions. We demonstrate the utility of the interface with a case study analyzing a random forest model on the sentiment of Yelp reviews about doctors.

Style investing: behavioral explanations of stock market anomalies

OpenAIRE

Wouters, T.

2006-01-01

Abstract PhD-project The aim of this thesis is to explore the mechanisms of style investing. My project consists of two parts, each with an individual goal: 1. The first objective will be to analyze the implications of the dynamics of value and growth strategies for the US stock market. 2. The second objective will be to find explanations for stock returns by introducing the effects of collective preferences of investors into the dynamics of stock markets. We introduce style popularity as an ...

Box-and-arrow explanations need not be more abstract than neuroscientific mechanism descriptions.

Science.gov (United States)

Datteri, Edoardo; Laudisa, Federico

2014-01-01

The nature of the relationship between box-and-arrow (BA) explanations and neuroscientific mechanism descriptions (NMDs) is a key foundational issue for cognitive science. In this article we attempt to identify the nature of the constraints imposed by BA explanations on the formulation of NMDs. On the basis of a case study about motor control, we argue that BA explanations and NMDs both identify regularities that hold in the system, and that these regularities place constraints on the formulation of NMDs from BA analyses, and vice versa. The regularities identified in the two kinds of explanation play a crucial role in reasoning about the relationship between them, and in justifying the use of neuroscientific experimental techniques for the empirical testing of BA analyses of behavior. In addition, we make claims concerning the similarities and differences between BA analyses and NMDs. First, we argue that both types of explanation describe mechanisms. Second, we propose that they differ in terms of the theoretical vocabulary used to denote the entities and properties involved in the mechanism and engaging in regular, mutual interactions. On the contrary, the notion of abstractness, defined as omission of detail, does not help to distinguish BA analyses from NMDs: there is a sense in which BA analyses are more detailed than NMDs. In relation to this, we also focus on the nature of the extra detail included in NMDs and missing from BA analyses, arguing that such detail does not always concern how the system works. Finally, we propose reasons for doubting that BA analyses, unlike NMDs, may be considered "mechanism sketches." We have developed these views by critically analyzing recent claims in the philosophical literature regarding the foundations of cognitive science.

Box-and-arrow explanations need not be more abstract than neuroscientific mechanism descriptions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edoardo eDatteri

2014-05-01

Full Text Available The nature of the relationship between box-and-arrow (BA explanations and neuroscientific mechanism descriptions (NMDs is a key foundational issue for cognitive science. In this article we attempt to identify the nature of the constraints imposed by BA explanations on the formulation of NMDs. On the basis of a case study about motor control, we argue that BA explanations and NMDs both identify regularities that hold in the system, and that these regularities place constraints on the formulation of NMDs from BA analyses, and vice versa. The regularities identified in the two kinds of explanation play a crucial role in reasoning about the relationship between them, and in justifying the use of neuroscientific experimental techniques for the empirical testing of BA analyses of behavior. In addition, we make claims concerning the similarities and differences between BA analyses and NMDs. First, we argue that both types of explanation describe mechanisms. Second, we propose that they differ in terms of the theoretical vocabulary used to denote the entities and properties involved in the mechanism and engaging in regular, mutual interactions. On the contrary, the notion of abstractness, defined as omission of detail, does not help to distinguish BA analyses from NMDs: there is a sense in which BA analyses are more detailed than NMDs. In relation to this, we also focus on the nature of the extra detail included in NMDs and missing from BA analyses, arguing that such detail does not always concern how the system works. Finally, we propose reasons for doubting that BA analyses, unlike NMDs, may be considered mechanism sketches. We have developed these views by critically analyzing recent claims in the philosophical literature regarding the foundations of cognitive science.

Experiences and Explanations of ADHD

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Mikka

Research on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) usually presents the disorder from either a neurobiological perspective, describing the disorder as an impairment in executive functions, or from a critical, sociological perspective, whereby ADHD is explained as a consequence...... of the medicalization of deviant behaviour. Neither of these perspectives tells us about the experience of living with ADHD, or explains how ADHD unfolds within specific contexts and relations. Experiences and Explanations of ADHD addresses this lacuna by exploring bodily experiences of ADHD and people’s experiences...... of obtaining a diagnosis. Drawing on in-depth interviews with adults diagnosed with ADHD, the book provides an examination of how the diagnosis is understood, used and acted upon by the people receiving the diagnosis. This book delves into the phenomenology of ADHD and uncovers the experiences of a highly...

WomenÕs Advancement in the Accounting Profession: Consideration of Person-Centered and Organization-Centered Explanations

OpenAIRE

Janet S. Omundson; Richard G. Schroeder; Mary B. Stevens

1997-01-01

Today, communication skills are among the most popular content areas in employee training. This survey of training managers examined the status of communication training in businesDespite the entry of large numbers of women into the accounting profession over the last decade, few women have reached top management levels. Two alternative paradigms that attempt to explain this phenomenon are the person-centered explanation and the organization-centered explanation. This study explores the Type ...

Exploring the components of physician volunteer engagement: a qualitative investigation of a national Canadian simulation-based training programme.

Science.gov (United States)

Sarti, Aimee J; Sutherland, Stephanie; Landriault, Angele; DesRosier, Kirk; Brien, Susan; Cardinal, Pierre

2017-06-23

Conceptual clarity on physician volunteer engagement is lacking in the medical literature. The aim of this study was to present a conceptual framework to describe the elements which influence physician volunteer engagement and to explore volunteer engagement within a national educational programme. The context for this study was the Acute Critical Events Simulation (ACES) programme in Canada, which has successfully evolved into a national educational programme, driven by physician volunteers. From 2010 to 2014, the programme recruited 73 volunteer healthcare professionals who contributed to the creation of educational materials and/or served as instructors. A conceptual framework was constructed based on an extensive literature review and expert consultation. Secondary qualitative analysis was undertaken on 15 semistructured interviews conducted from 2012 to 2013 with programme directors and healthcare professionals across Canada. An additional 15 interviews were conducted in 2015 with physician volunteers to achieve thematic saturation. Data were analysed iteratively and inductive coding techniques applied. From the physician volunteer data, 11 themes emerged. The most prominent themes included volunteer recruitment, retention, exchange, recognition, educator network and quasi-volunteerism. Captured within these interrelated themes were the framework elements, including the synergistic effects of emotional, cognitive and reciprocal engagement. Behavioural engagement was driven by these factors along with a cue to action, which led to contributions to the ACES programme. This investigation provides a preliminary framework and supportive evidence towards understanding the complex construct of physician volunteer engagement. The need for this research is particularly important in present day, where growing fiscal constraints create challenges for medical education to do more with less. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of

Older persons' definitions and explanations of elder abuse in the Netherlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Mysyuk, Yuliya; Westendorp, Rudi G J; Lindenberg, Jolanda

2016-01-01

In this article we explore older persons' definitions of and explanations for elder abuse in the Netherlands by means of interviews with older persons. A qualitative study was conducted based on semistructured interviews with 35 older persons who had no experience with abuse. Our findings show that older persons participating in our study define elder abuse foremost as physical violence that is performed intentionally. The study participants explain elder abuse as a result of the dependency and vulnerability of older persons, of changing norms and values, and of changes in the position of older persons in society, which result in disrespect toward older persons and a lack of social control and responsibility. The older persons' explanations for the occurrence of abuse mainly focus on societal changes; older persons seem to regard elder abuse primarily as a societal problem. This understanding of, and explanation for, elder abuse may influence their detection and reporting behavior, as they may tend to acknowledge only severe cases of intentional physical violence that leave clear and therefore physically detectable evidence.

Institutional Level Student Engagement and Organisational Cultures

Science.gov (United States)

van der Velden, Gwen

2012-01-01

Driven by the growing presence of market forces within higher education worldwide, universities are changing the way they engage with students. This article explores how a university's internal culture relates to engagement with students and their views. It builds on wider research into student engagement and organisational cultures. The…

Public engagement on global health challenges.

Science.gov (United States)

Cohen, Emma R M; Masum, Hassan; Berndtson, Kathryn; Saunders, Vicki; Hadfield, Tom; Panjwani, Dilzayn; Persad, Deepa L; Minhas, Gunjeet S; Daar, Abdallah S; Singh, Jerome A; Singer, Peter A

2008-05-20

Experience with public engagement activities regarding the risks and benefits of science and technology (S&T) is growing, especially in the industrialized world. However, public engagement in the developing world regarding S&T risks and benefits to explore health issues has not been widely explored. This paper gives an overview about public engagement and related concepts, with a particular focus on challenges and benefits in the developing world. We then describe an Internet-based platform, which seeks to both inform and engage youth and the broader public on global water issues and their health impacts. Finally, we outline a possible course for future action to scale up this and similar online public engagement platforms. The benefits of public engagement include creating an informed citizenry, generating new ideas from the public, increasing the chances of research being adopted, increasing public trust, and answering ethical research questions. Public engagement also fosters global communication, enables shared experiences and methodology, standardizes strategy, and generates global viewpoints. This is especially pertinent to the developing world, as it encourages previously marginalized populations to participate on a global stage. One of the core issues at stake in public engagement is global governance of science and technology. Also, beyond benefiting society at large, public engagement in science offers benefits to the scientific enterprise itself. Successful public engagement with developing world stakeholders will be a critical part of implementing new services and technologies. Interactive engagement platforms, such as the Internet, have the potential to unite people globally around relevant health issues.

Public engagement on global health challenges

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minhas Gunjeet S

2008-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Experience with public engagement activities regarding the risks and benefits of science and technology (S&T is growing, especially in the industrialized world. However, public engagement in the developing world regarding S&T risks and benefits to explore health issues has not been widely explored. Methods This paper gives an overview about public engagement and related concepts, with a particular focus on challenges and benefits in the developing world. We then describe an Internet-based platform, which seeks to both inform and engage youth and the broader public on global water issues and their health impacts. Finally, we outline a possible course for future action to scale up this and similar online public engagement platforms. Results The benefits of public engagement include creating an informed citizenry, generating new ideas from the public, increasing the chances of research being adopted, increasing public trust, and answering ethical research questions. Public engagement also fosters global communication, enables shared experiences and methodology, standardizes strategy, and generates global viewpoints. This is especially pertinent to the developing world, as it encourages previously marginalized populations to participate on a global stage. One of the core issues at stake in public engagement is global governance of science and technology. Also, beyond benefiting society at large, public engagement in science offers benefits to the scientific enterprise itself. Conclusion Successful public engagement with developing world stakeholders will be a critical part of implementing new services and technologies. Interactive engagement platforms, such as the Internet, have the potential to unite people globally around relevant health issues.

Measuring Engagement at Work: Validation of the Chinese Version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale

OpenAIRE

Fong, Ted Chun-tat; Ng, Siu-man

2011-01-01

Background Work engagement is a positive work-related state of fulfillment characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. Previous studies have operationalized the construct through development of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Apart from the original three-factor 17-item version of the instrument (UWES-17), there exists a nine-item shortened revised version (UWES-9). Purpose The current study explored the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Utrecht Work Engagement ...

Engagement in Games: Developing an Instrument to Measure Consumer Videogame Engagement and Its Validation

OpenAIRE

Abbasi, Amir Zaib; Ting, Ding Hooi; Hlavacs, Helmut

2017-01-01

The aim of the study is to develop a new instrument to measure engagement in videogame play termed as consumer videogame engagement. The study followed the scale development procedure to develop an instrument to measure the construct of consumer videogame engagement. In this study, we collected the data in two different phases comprising study 1 (n=136) and study 2 (n=270). We employed SPSS 22.0 for exploratory factor analysis using study 1 respondents to explore the factors for consumer vide...

Visualized and Interacted Life: Personal Analytics and Engagements with Data Doubles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Minna Ruckenstein

2014-02-01

Full Text Available A field of personal analytics has emerged around self-monitoring practices, which includes the visualization and interpretation of the data produced. This paper explores personal analytics from the perspective of self-optimization, arguing that the ways in which people confront and engage with visualized personal data are as significant as the technology itself. The paper leans on the concept of the “data double”: the conversion of human bodies and minds into data flows that can be figuratively reassembled for the purposes of personal reflection and interaction. Based on an empirical study focusing on heart-rate variability measurement, the discussion underlines that a distanced theorizing of personal analytics is not sufficient if one wants to capture affective encounters between humans and their data doubles. Research outcomes suggest that these explanations can produce permanence and stability while also profoundly changing ways in which people reflect on themselves, on others and on their daily lives.

Exploring Group Composition among Young, Urban Women of Color in Prenatal Care: Implications for Satisfaction, Engagement, and Group Attendance.

Science.gov (United States)

Earnshaw, Valerie A; Rosenthal, Lisa; Cunningham, Shayna D; Kershaw, Trace; Lewis, Jessica; Rising, Sharon Schindler; Stasko, Emily; Tobin, Jonathan; Ickovics, Jeannette R

2016-01-01

Group models of prenatal care continue to grow in popularity. However, little is known about how group composition (similarity or diversity between members of groups) relates to care-related outcomes. The current investigation aimed to explore associations between prenatal care group composition with patient satisfaction, engagement, and group attendance among young, urban women of color. Data were drawn from two studies conducted in New Haven and Atlanta (2001-2004; n = 557) and New York City (2008-2011; n = 375) designed to evaluate group prenatal care among young, urban women of color. Women aged 14 to 25 were assigned to group prenatal care and completed surveys during their second and third trimesters of pregnancy. Group attendance was recorded. Data were merged and analyzed guided by the Group Actor-Partner Interdependence Model using multilevel regression. Analyses explored composition in terms of age, race, ethnicity, and language. Women in groups with others more diverse in age reported greater patient engagement and, in turn, attended more group sessions, b(se) = -0.01(0.01); p = .04. The composition of prenatal care groups seems to be associated with young women's engagement in care, ultimately relating to the number of group prenatal care sessions they attend. Creating groups diverse in age may be particularly beneficial for young, urban women of color, who have unique pregnancy needs and experiences. Future research is needed to test the generalizability of these exploratory findings. Copyright © 2016 Jacobs Institute of Women's Health. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Religiousness, well-being and ageing – selected explanations of positive relationships

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Woźniak Barbara

2015-12-01

Full Text Available According to research that have been conducted in the field of gerontology, sociology and psychology of ageing, there is a relationship between the level of religious involvement and health status/ well-being/quality of life in older age. How does religiousness influence aging process and health status? The aim of the article is to review explanations of a positive relationship between religiousness and health that are discussed in the literature. Those explanations may be grouped in three broad categories reflecting three functions of religion that play a role for well-being in older age. Those functions are: (1 religiousness as a source of coherence and the role of religious coping and provision of meaning in dealing with stressful life events (including ageing losses (2 religiousness as a source of positive self-perception and a sense of personal control, (3 provision of social resources (i.e. social ties and social support within religious community and emphasis on interpersonal relations (with special focus on forgiveness as a norm in interpersonal relations. Those functions of religion are discussed in the context of their potential role in successful ageing, as determined by - among others - active engagement in life.

Constituting Public Engagement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Davies, Sarah Rachael

2013-01-01

understanding of science to those of public engagement with science and technology (PEST), and the histories, or genealogies, of such models. Data from two qualitative studies-a case study of one of the United Kingdom'ssix Beacons for Public Engagement and a study of contract research staff-are used......This article uses data from two U.K. studies in order to explore the meanings attached to public engagement. It focuses on two issues of importance to contemporary discussions of science communication: the degree to which there has been a smooth transition, in practice, from models of public...... to characterize the ways in which U.K. academic communities understand PEST. It is argued that engagement is construed as multiple, relational, and outcomes oriented, with seven key outcomes ranging from better research to empowered individuals. These differences are traced to personal and professional...

Fostering Student Sense Making in Elementary Science Learning Environments: Elementary Teachers' Use of Science Curriculum Materials to Promote Explanation Construction

Science.gov (United States)

Zangori, Laura; Forbes, Cory T.; Biggers, Mandy

2013-01-01

While research has shown that elementary (K-5) students are capable of engaging in the scientific practice of explanation construction, commonly-used elementary science curriculum materials may not always afford them opportunities to do so. As a result, elementary teachers must often adapt their science curriculum materials to better support…

Students Individual Engagement in GIS

Science.gov (United States)

Madsen, Lene Møller; Christiansen, Frederik; Rump, Camilla

2014-01-01

This paper develops two sets of concepts to theorize why students engage differently in Geographical Information Systems (GIS). These theoretical concepts are used as an analytical lens to explore empirical data on the experiences and engagement of students enrolled in an undergraduate GIS course in planning and management. The analysis shows that…

Exploring Social Learning through Upstream Engagement in Science and Technology

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mortensen, Jonas Egmose

This discussion paper deliberates on how the concept of social learning can be used for evaluating upstream engagement initiatives in science and technology.  The paper briefly introduces to the concept of upstream engagement and a concrete case, the UK Citizen Science for Sustainability project...... (SuScit), as an outset for discussing how the concept of social learning can be used for analysing and understanding relations between citizen participation, Science and research, and sustainability. A number of relevant research questions and methodological considerations are distilled...

Exploring how substance use impedes engagement along the HIV care continuum: A qualitative exploration

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Marya eGwadz

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Drug use is associated with low uptake of HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART, an under-studied step in the HIV care continuum, and insufficient engagement in HIV primary care. However, the specific underlying mechanisms by which drug use impedes these HIV health outcomes are poorly understood. The present qualitative study addresses this gap in the literature, focusing on African American/Black and Hispanic persons living with HIV (PLWH who had delayed, declined, or discontinued ART and who also were generally poorly engaged in health care. Participants (N=37 were purposively sampled from a larger study for maximum variation on HIV indices. They engaged in 1-2 hour audio-recorded in-depth semi-structured interviews on HIV histories guided by a multi-level social cognitive theory. Transcripts were analyzed using a systematic content analysis approach. Consistent with the existing literature, heavy substance use, but not casual or social use, impeded ART uptake, mainly by undermining confidence in medication management abilities and triggering depression. The confluence of African American/Black or Latino race/ethnicity, poverty, and drug use was associated with high levels of perceived stigma and inferior treatment in health care settings compared to their peers. Further, providers were described as frequently assuming participants were selling their medications to buy drugs, which strained provider-patient relationships. High levels of medical distrust, common in this population, created fears of ART and of negative interactions between street drugs and ART, but participants could not easily discuss this concern with health care providers. Barriers to ART initiation and HIV care were embedded in other structural- and social-level challenges, which disproportionately affect low-income African American/Black and Hispanic PLWH (e.g. homelessness, violence. Yet, HIV management was cyclical. In collaboration with trusted providers and ancillary staff

The rules of engagement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Davies, Sarah Rachael

2013-01-01

This article reflects on the “dialogic turn,” focusing on one analytical framework for understanding the wide range of processes that fall under the rubric of engagement. The notion of power-in-interaction is explored using a case study of informal dialogue, the Dana Centre, London. Using...... that imposed hierarchies are continually re-negotiated. In concluding I reflect on some implications of using power in the analysis of engagement....

Work and organisation engagement : Aligning research and practice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Farndale, E.; Beijer, S.E.; van Veldhoven, M.J.P.M.; Kelliher, C.; Hope Hailey, V.

2014-01-01

Purpose To date, work engagement has been the domain of academics whilst organisation engagement has been the focus of practice. The purpose of this paper is to address the growing divide by exploring the construct clarity and discriminant validity of work and organisation engagement simultaneously,

Engagement through communication

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lykke, Marianne

2018-01-01

In this chapter, we work from the assumption that university engagement can be fostered by addressing the dissemination of scientific knowledge as a communication process, and we explore how university engagement can be encouraged through the communication of scientific knowledge to SMEs (small...... and potentials) in relation to scientific knowledge, which must be taken into account in attempts to communicate scientific knowledge to SMEs. Based on this analysis, we discuss solutions and outline some communicative principles that can contribute with a solution-oriented perspective on how communicating...

"Spacecraft Reveals Recent Geological Activity on the Moon": Exploring the Features of NASA Twitter Posts and Their Potential to Engage Adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Lesley, Mellinee

2014-01-01

Through a content analysis of 200 "tweets," this study was an exploration into the distinct features of text posted to NASA's "Twitter" site and the potential for these posts to serve as more engaging scientific text than traditional textbooks for adolescents. Results of the content analysis indicated the tweets and linked…

TREsPASS Book 3: Creative Engagements

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Coles-Kemp, Lizzie; Hall, Peter

2016-01-01

In this book we examine the role that creative security engagements have played in the TREsPASS project. These engagements are part of a wider creative securities approach that explores the contributions that social practices make to protection of data and information. Our most popular creative

Great Explanations: Opinionated Explanations for Recommendation

OpenAIRE

Muhammad, Khalil; Lawlor, Aonghus; Rafter, Rachael; Smyth, Barry

2015-01-01

Explaining recommendations helps users to make better, more satisfying decisions. We describe a novel approach to explanation for recommender systems, one that drives the recommendation process, while at the same time providing the user with useful insights into the reason why items have been chosen and the trade-os they may need to consider when making their choice. We describe this approach in the context ofa case-based recommender system that harnesses opinions mined from user-generated re...

Relationship quality and student engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Culver, Jennifer

The purpose of this study was to examine the qualities of support, relatedness, and negative interaction within parent-child and teacher-student relationships and their association with cognitive, psychological, and behavioral engagement. Additionally, this study explored the contributions of cognitive and psychological engagement on behavioral engagement. The role of gender, grade, and ethnicity on relationship quality and engagement was also considered. Participants (n=311) were students in grades three through five from a suburban school district in southeastern Michigan. Perceptions of teacher-student relationship quality varied by grade level. In general, younger students reported greater teacher support and relatedness in comparison to older students. Conversely, older students perceived greater conflict within the teacher-student relationship. Student engagement also varied by grade level, with younger students reporting greater engagement than older students. Ethnicity also contributed to variance in student engagement, with African American students reporting significantly more engagement than Caucasian or Multiracial students. Teacher-student relationship quality was a significant predictor of student engagement, even after controlling for student characteristics and parent-child relationship variables. Results of path analysis revealed that cognitive and psychological engagement contributed significantly to behavioral engagement.

Exploring parent attitudes around using incentives to promote engagement in family-based weight management programs

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elizabeth Jacob-Files

2018-06-01

Full Text Available Incentives can promote adult wellness. We sought to examine whether incentives might help overcome barriers to engagement in child weight management programs and the ideal value, type and recipient of incentives. In 2017, we conducted semi-structured phone interviews with parents of children ≤17 years old, formerly or currently affected by obesity, who had (n = 11 or had never (n = 12 participated in family-based behavioral treatment (FBT for obesity. Interviews explored the range and type of incentives families would be willing to accept. Interview transcripts were coded and data were analyzed using a thematic analysis. We found that some parents were skeptical about receiving cash incentives. However, once treatment-related costs were identified, some became more interested in reimbursement for out of pocket expenditures. Most parents felt up to $100/month would be adequate and that incentives should be tied to changing behaviors, not BMI. Some interviewees expressed preferences for non-cash incentives (e.g. a gift card over cash incentives. Parents were willing to share incentives with adolescents, up to $50/month, but there was concern about incentives affecting a child's intrinsic motivation for behavior change. All parents acknowledged that moderate incentives alone couldn't overcome the realities of structural and familial barriers to engaging in weight management programs. In summary, we identified aspects of an incentive program to promote engagement in FBT that would be desirable and feasible to implement. Future quantitative work can reveal the value and structure of incentives that are effective for improving obesogenic health behaviors and outcomes. Keywords: Behavioral economics, Family-based treatment, Financial incentives, Health incentives, Childhood obesity

i Engaging as an innovative approach to engage patients in their own fall prevention care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tzeng HM

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Huey-Ming Tzeng,1 Chang-Yi Yin21College of Nursing, Washington State University, Spokane, WA, USA; 2Department of History, Chinese Culture University, Taipei, TaiwanAbstract: Decreasing patient fall injuries during hospitalization continues to be a ­challenge at the bedside. Empowering patients to become active participants in their own fall ­prevention care could be a solution. In a previous study, elderly patients recently discharged from a United States hospital expressed a need for nurses to give and repeat directives about fall prevention; when the nurse left a brochure on the topic, but did not provide any (or limited verbal explanations about the content or the importance of the information, the patient felt that the information was insufficient. To address patients’ needs, we developed “i ­Engaging”, a Web-based software application for use at the bedside. i Engaging is an innovative approach that is used to engage patients in their own fall prevention care during hospital stays. The application was designed based on the assumption that patients are the best and most critical sources of information about their health status. i Engaging has not yet been tested in clinical trials.Keywords: patient, safety, hospital, nursing care, fall, consumer involvement

A mixed methods exploration of the team and organizational factors that may predict new graduate nurse engagement in collaborative practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Pfaff, Kathryn A; Baxter, Pamela E; Ploeg, Jenny; Jack, Susan M

2014-03-01

Although engagement in collaborative practice is reported to support the role transition and retention of new graduate (NG) nurses, it is not known how to promote collaborative practice among these nurses. This mixed methods study explored the team and organizational factors that may predict NG nurse engagement in collaborative practice. A total of 514 NG nurses from Ontario, Canada completed the Collaborative Practice Assessment Tool. Sixteen NG nurses participated in follow-up interviews. The team and organizational predictors of NG engagement in collaborative practice were as follows: satisfaction with the team (β = 0.278; p = 0.000), number of team strategies (β = 0.338; p = 0.000), participation in a mentorship or preceptorship experience (β = 0.137; p = 0.000), accessibility of manager (β = 0.123; p = 0.001), and accessibility and proximity of educator or professional practice leader (β = 0.126; p = 0.001 and β = 0.121; p = 0.002, respectively). Qualitative analysis revealed the team facilitators to be respect, team support and face-to-face interprofessional interactions. Organizational facilitators included supportive leadership, participation in a preceptorship or mentorship experience and time. Interventions designed to facilitate NG engagement in collaborative practice should consider these factors.

Automated Explanation for Educational Applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Suthers, Daniel D.

1991-01-01

Artificial intelligence techniques available for generating explanations for teaching purposes are surveyed, and the way in which they are combined in a computer program that provides explanations is described. The program responds to questions in the physical sciences. Potential contributions of this technology to computer-based education are…

The Engagement Gap

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tartari, Valentina; Salter, Ammon

2015-01-01

In recent years, the debate about the marginality of women in academic science has been extended to academics’ engagement with industry and their commercial efforts. Analyzing multi-source data for a large sample of UK physical and engineering scientists and employing a matching technique...... the presence of women in the local work setting and their wider discipline, and the institutional support for women’s careers in their organization. We explore the implications of these findings for policies to support women’s scientific and technical careers and engagement with industry....

Exploring the impact of resilience, self-efficacy, optimism and organizational resources on work engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Mache, Stefanie; Vitzthum, Karin; Wanke, Eileen; Klapp, Burghard F; Danzer, Gerhard

2014-01-01

The German health care system has undergone radical changes in the last decades. These days health care professionals have to face economic demands, high performance pressure as well as high expectations from patients. To ensure high quality medicine and care, highly intrinsic motivated and work engaged health care professionals are strongly needed. The aim of this study was to examine relations between personal and organizational resources as essential predictors for work engagement of German health care professionals. This investigation has a cross-sectional questionnaire study design. Participants were a sample of hospital doctors. Personal strengths, working conditions and work engagement were measured by using the SWOPE-K9, COPE Brief Questionnaire, Perceived Stress Questionnaire, COPSOQ and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Significant relations between physicians' personal strengths (e.g. resilience, optimism) and work engagement were evaluated. Work related factors showed to have a significant influence on work engagement. Differences in work engagement were also found with regard to socio-demographic variables. Results demonstrated important relationships between personal and organizational resources and work engagement. Health care management needs to use this information to maintain or develop work engaging job conditions in hospitals as one key factor to ensure quality health care service.

Older persons' definitions and explanations of elder abuse in the Netherlands

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mysyuk, Yuliya; Westendorp, Rudi G J; Lindenberg, Jolanda

2016-01-01

persons in society, which result in disrespect toward older persons and a lack of social control and responsibility. The older persons' explanations for the occurrence of abuse mainly focus on societal changes; older persons seem to regard elder abuse primarily as a societal problem. This understanding of......In this article we explore older persons' definitions of and explanations for elder abuse in the Netherlands by means of interviews with older persons. A qualitative study was conducted based on semi-structured interviews with 35 older persons who had no experience with abuse. Our findings show...... that older persons participating in our study define elder abuse foremost as physical violence that is performed intentionally. The study participants explain elder abuse as a result of the dependency and vulnerability of older persons, of changing norms and values, and of changes in the position of older...

Analytic cognitive style predicts paranormal explanations of anomalous experiences but not the experiences themselves: Implications for cognitive theories of delusions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Robert M; Hartig, Bjoern; McKay, Ryan

2017-09-01

It has been proposed that delusional beliefs are attempts to explain anomalous experiences. Why, then, do anomalous experiences induce delusions in some people but not in others? One possibility is that people with delusions have reasoning biases that result in them failing to reject implausible candidate explanations for anomalous experiences. We examine this hypothesis by studying paranormal interpretations of anomalous experiences. We examined whether analytic cognitive style (i.e. the willingness or disposition to critically evaluate outputs from intuitive processing and engage in effortful analytic processing) predicted anomalous experiences and paranormal explanations for these experiences after controlling for demographic variables and cognitive ability. Analytic cognitive style predicted paranormal explanations for anomalous experiences, but not the anomalous experiences themselves. We did not study clinical delusions. Our attempts to control for cognitive ability may have been inadequate. Our sample was predominantly students. Limited analytic cognitive style might contribute to the interpretation of anomalous experiences in terms of delusional beliefs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Community-Engaged Attribute Mapping: Exploring Resources and Readiness to Change the Rural Context for Obesity Prevention.

Science.gov (United States)

John, Deborah; Winfield, Tammy; Etuk, Lena; Hystad, Perry; Langellotto, Gail; Manore, Melinda; Gunter, Kathy

2017-01-01

Individual risk factors for obesity are well-known, but environmental characteristics that influence individual risk, especially in rural communities, are not confirmed. Rural communities face unique challenges to implementing environmental strategies, such as walkability, aimed at supporting weight healthy lifestyles. Cooperative Extension, a community-embedded weight health partner, convened and engaged community members in self-exploration of local resources and readiness to change environmental characteristics perceived to promote unhealthy eating and inactivity. This approach leveraged Extension's mission, which includes connecting rural communities with land-grant university resources. HEAL MAPPS™ (Healthy Eating Active Living Mapping Attributes using Participatory Photographic Surveys) was developed as a participatory action research methodology. Adopted by Extension community partners, HEAL MAPPS™ involved residents in photomapping, characterizing, and communicating lived experiences of their rural community, and prioritizing interventions to change the obesogenic context. Extension educators serving rural communities in six Western U.S. states were trained to implement HEAL MAPPS™. Extension engaged community members who mapped and evaluated their encounters with environmental attributes that shape their dietary and activity patterns. The method partnered residents with decision makers in identifying issues, assessing resources and readiness, and prioritizing locally relevant environmental strategies to reduce access disparities for rural populations with high obesity risk. HEAL MAPPS™ revealed differences in resource availability, accessibility, and affordability within and among rural communities, as well as in readiness to address the obesogenic context. Extension functioned successfully as the backbone organization, and local community health partner, cooperatively implementing HEAL MAPPS™ and engaging constituents in shaping weight healthy

The Diboson Excess: Experimental Situation and Classification of Explanations; A Les Houches Pre-Proceeding

CERN Document Server

Brehmer, Johann; Cacciapaglia, Giacomo; Carmona, Adrian; Chivukula, R.Sekhar; Delgado, Antonio; Goertz, Florian; Hewett, JoAnne L.; Katz, Andrey; Kopp, Joachim; Lane, Kenneth; Martin, Adam; Mohan, Kirtimaan; Morse, David M.; Nardecchia, Marco; No, Jose Miguel; Oliveira, Alexandra; Pollard, Chris; Quiros, Mariano; Rizzo, Thomas G.; Santiago, Jose; Sanz, Veronica; Simmons, Elizabeth H.; Tattersall, Jamie

2015-01-01

We examine the `diboson' excess at $\\sim 2$ TeV seen by the LHC experiments in various channels. We provide a comparison of the excess significances as a function of the mass of the tentative resonance and give the signal cross sections needed to explain the excesses. We also present a survey of available theoretical explanations of the resonance, classified in three main approaches. Beyond that, we discuss methods to verify the anomaly, determining the major properties of the various surpluses and exploring how different models can be discriminated. Finally, we give a tabular summary of the numerous explanations, presenting their main phenomenological features.

Qualitative explanations for red giant formation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bhaskar, R.; Nigam, A.

1991-01-01

Recent research on giant formation has focused on the need for qualitative explanations. The explanations have the following general, qualitative form: the polytrope n assumes a certain value, that makes (d ln r)/(d ln z) take on a very large value; large increases in r can then be explained in terms of small changes in the variable z. This form is applicable to all the explanations current in the literature: they all have (1) either implicitly or explicitly, both a hydrostatic component and a luminosity-opacity component, and (2) a reliance on singular solutions. Dimensional analysis reveals that power laws that assume the polytrope n to 5 are identical in both the hydrostatic and luminosity-based explanations. 12 refs

Engaging Students Emotionally: The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Predicting Cognitive and Affective Engagement in Higher Education

Science.gov (United States)

Maguire, Rebecca; Egan, Arlene; Hyland, Philip; Maguire, Phil

2017-01-01

Student engagement is a key predictor of academic performance, persistence and retention in higher education. While many studies have identified how aspects of the college environment influence engagement, fewer have specifically focused on emotional intelligence (EI). In this study, we sought to explore whether EI could predict cognitive and/or…

Responsive and Responsible: Faculty Encouragement of Civic Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Cole, Eddie R.; Howe, Elijah C.; Laird, Thomas F. Nelson

2016-01-01

This study explores how often faculty members encourage students to engage with campus, local, state, national, and global issues. Using data from the 2013 administration of the Faculty Survey of Student Engagement (FSSE), the results show that faculty members are more likely to encourage students to engage in state, national, or global issues…

A Decade of Community Engagement Literature: Exploring Past Trends and Future Implications

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, Diann Olszowy; Lee, Joonghee

2017-01-01

Academic journals play a lead role in disseminating community-campus engagement scholarship. However, assessment of the content, methodologies, and authorship of this published body of works is lacking. This study was performed to review publication trends in the "Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement" ("JHEOE"),…

Engagement: Looking beyond the mirror to understand action understanding.

Science.gov (United States)

Reddy, Vasudevi; Uithol, Sebo

2016-03-01

In this paper, we argue that the current focus on mirroring as the route to explaining the development of action understanding is misleading and problematic. It facilitates a fundamentally spectatorial stance, ignoring engagement and dialogue; it focuses on similarity between self and other and neglects difference; and it succumbs to the static terminology of mechanism rather than a dynamic language of process. Contrary to this view, dialogic exchanges are evident from the start of life, revealing infants' ability to engage with and respond appropriately to actions that are outside their own motor repertoire. We suggest that engagement rather than mirroring better accounts for many current findings in action understanding. The neurological evidence to date shows that action perception involves a process of continuous synchronization and change, suggesting that it might be more fruitful for research and theory to look beyond mirroring and instead adopt dynamic processual explanations of action understanding within interaction. © 2015 The British Psychological Society.

Beyond "Monologicality"? Exploring Conspiracist Worldviews.

Science.gov (United States)

Franks, Bradley; Bangerter, Adrian; Bauer, Martin W; Hall, Matthew; Noort, Mark C

2017-01-01

Conspiracy theories (CTs) are widespread ways by which people make sense of unsettling or disturbing cultural events. Belief in CTs is often connected to problematic consequences, such as decreased engagement with conventional political action or even political extremism, so understanding the psychological and social qualities of CT belief is important. CTs have often been understood to be "monological," displaying the tendency for belief in one conspiracy theory to be correlated with belief in (many) others. Explanations of monologicality invoke a nomothetical or "closed" mindset whereby mutually supporting beliefs based on mistrust of official explanations are used to interpret public events as conspiracies, independent of the facts about those events (which they may ignore or deny). But research on monologicality offers little discussion of the content of monological beliefs and reasoning from the standpoint of the CT believers. This is due in part to the "access problem": CT believers are averse to being researched because they often distrust researchers and what they appear to represent. Using several strategies to address the access problem we were able to engage CT believers in semi-structured interviews, combining their results with analysis of media documents and field observations to reconstruct a conspiracy worldview - a set of symbolic resources drawn on by CT believers about important dimensions of ontology, epistemology, and human agency. The worldview is structured around six main dimensions: the nature of reality, the self, the outgroup, the ingroup, relevant social and political action, and possible future change. We also describe an ascending typology of five types of CT believers, which vary according to their positions on each of these dimensions. Our findings converge with prior explorations of CT beliefs but also revealed novel aspects: A sense of community among CT believers, a highly differentiated representation of the outgroup, a personal

Beyond quality improvement: exploring why primary care teams engage in a voluntary audit and feedback program.

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, Daniel J; Durbin, Janet; Barnsley, Jan; Ivers, Noah M

2017-12-02

Despite its popularity, the effectiveness of audit and feedback in support quality improvement efforts is mixed. While audit and feedback-related research efforts have investigated issues relating to feedback design and delivery, little attention has been directed towards factors which motivate interest and engagement with feedback interventions. This study explored the motivating factors that drove primary care teams to participate in a voluntary audit and feedback initiative. Interviews were conducted with leaders of primary care teams who had participated in at least one iteration of the audit and feedback program. This intervention was developed by an organization which advocates for high-quality, team-based primary care in Ontario, Canada. Interview transcripts were coded using the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research and the resulting framework was analyzed inductively to generate key themes. Interviews were completed with 25 individuals from 18 primary care teams across Ontario. The majority were Executive Directors (14), Physician leaders (3) and support staff for Quality Improvement (4). A range of motivations for participating in the audit and feedback program beyond quality improvement were emphasized. Primarily, informants believed that the program would eventually become a best-in-class audit and feedback initiative. This reflected concerns regarding existing initiatives in terms of the intervention components and intentions as well as the perception that an initiative by primary care, for primary care would better reflect their own goals and better support desired patient outcomes. Key enablers included perceived obligations to engage and provision of support for the work involved. No teams cited an evidence base for A&F as a motivating factor for participation. A range of motivating factors, beyond quality improvement, contributed to participation in the audit and feedback program. Findings from this study highlight that efforts to

Exploring Engaging Gamification Mechanics in Massive Online Open Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Chang, Jen-Wei; Wei, Hung-Yu

2016-01-01

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have developed rapidly and become tremendously popular because of their plentiful gamification designs, such as reputation points, rewards, and goal setting. Although previous studies have mentioned a broad range of gamification designs that might influence MOOC learner engagement, most gamified MOOCs fail to…

Conceptualising Work Engagement: An Individual, Collective and Organisational Efficacy Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Fearon, Colm; McLaughlin, Heather; Morris, Lynn

2013-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of multi-level forms of efficacy and organisational interactions necessary for promoting effective work engagement. Design/methodology/approach: Work engagement is explored from a multi-level efficacy perspective (self, collective and organisational). Based on the ideas of Bandura,…

Experience Corps Baltimore: Exploring the Stressors and Rewards of High-intensity Civic Engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Varma, Vijay R; Carlson, Michelle C; Parisi, Jeanine M; Tanner, Elizabeth K; McGill, Sylvia; Fried, Linda P; Song, Linda H; Gruenewald, Tara L

2015-12-01

Experience Corps (EC) represents a high-intensity, intergenerational civic engagement activity where older adults serve as mentors and tutors in elementary schools. Although high-intensity volunteer opportunities are designed to enhance the health and well being of older adult volunteers, little is known about the negative and positive aspects of volunteering unique to intergenerational programs from the volunteer's perspective. Stressors and rewards associated with volunteering in EC were explored in 8 focus group discussions with 46 volunteers from EC Baltimore. Transcripts were coded for frequently expressed themes. Participants reported stressors and rewards within 5 key domains: intergenerational (children's problem behavior, working with and helping children, observing/facilitating improvement or transformation in a child, and developing a special connection with a child); external to EC (poor parenting and children's social stressors); interpersonal (challenges in working with teachers and bonding/making social connections); personal (enjoyment, self-enhancement/achievement, and being/feeling more active); and structural (satisfaction with the structural elements of the EC program). Volunteers experienced unique intergenerational stressors related to children's problem behavior and societal factors external to the EC program. Overall, intergenerational, interpersonal, and personal rewards from volunteering, as well as program structure may have balanced the stress associated with volunteering. A better understanding of stressors and rewards from high-intensity volunteer programs may enhance our understanding of how intergenerational civic engagement volunteering affects well being in later life and may inform project modifications to maximize such benefits for future volunteers and those they serve. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e

Employee engagement, organisational performance and individual wellbeing: Exploring the evidence, developing the theory

OpenAIRE

Truss, C.; Shantz, A.; Soane, E.; Emma, C.; Alfes, K.; Delbridge, R.

2013-01-01

The development of mainstream human resource management (HRM) theory has long been concerned with how people management can enhance performance outcomes. It is only very recently that interest has been shown in the parallel stream of research on the link between employee engagement and performance, bringing the two together to suggest that engagement may constitute the mechanism through which HRM practices impact individual and organisational performance. However, engagement has emerged as a ...

Evolutionary Explanations for Antibiotic Resistance in Daily Press, Online Websites and Biology Textbooks in Sweden

Science.gov (United States)

Bohlin, Gustav; Höst, Gunnar E.

2015-01-01

The present study explores the extent and precision of evolutionary explanations for antibiotic resistance in communication directed toward the Swedish public. Bacterial resistance develops through evolutionary mechanisms and knowledge of these helps to explain causes underlying the growing prevalence of resistant strains, as well as important…

A Case Study Exploring the Reading Engagement of Middle Grades English Learners

Science.gov (United States)

Protacio, Maria Selena

2017-01-01

This study investigates the reading engagement of four middle school English learners in their English or English as a Second Language classroom. Students with high levels of reading engagement are those who (a) are motivated to read, (b) use strategies when reading, (c) use reading as a way to construct meaning from texts, and (d) participate in…

Relationship between learning environment characteristics and academic engagement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Opdenakker, Marie-Christine; Minnaert, Alexander

The relationship between learning environment characteristics and academic engagement of 777 Grade 6 children located in 41 learning environments was explored. Questionnaires were used to tap learning environment perceptions of children, their academic engagement, and their ethnic-cultural

WPPSS debacle: explanations and lessons

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Meyer, M.B.

1984-01-01

Principal explanations for the WPPSS events to date can be more or less satisfactorily derived. Five explanations appear to dominate: (1) the long and previously successful history of public power in the Pacific Northwest; (2) overoptimism by architect/engineers and consulting engineers about construction costs and construction durations; (3) laxness by bond counsel in scrutinizing and disclosing potential legal impediments to the various transactions involved; (4) WPPSS easy access to capital markets, combined with naivete in those markets; and (5) the inability of WPPSS to manage and oversee the construction process. This paper explains the specific reasons for, and the importance of, each of these five explanations for the WPPSS debacle. It then develops lessons and conclusions for the future which can be derived from this debacle. 12 references

Seeking salience in engaging art: A short story about attention, artistic value, and neuroscience.

Science.gov (United States)

Seeley, William P

2018-01-01

It has recently been suggested that research in neuroscience of art has failed to bring art into focus in the laboratory. Two general arguments are brought to bear in the regard. The common perceptual mechanisms argument observes that neuroscientists working within this field develop models to explain art relative to the ways that artworks are fine-tuned to the operations of perceptual systems. However, these perceptual explanations apply equally to how viewers come to recognize and understand art and nonart objects and events. Therefore these explanations fail to disambiguate artworks from other things. They fail to locate art. This observation points to a deeper problem. What interests us in art is how what we perceive has been used to show us what the work represents. Our understanding of art is governed by a range of productive and evaluative normative conventions that govern how we ought to look at a work and evaluate how it was made. The normative dimension of appreciation argument suggests that these aspects of our engagement with artworks lie outside the scope of neuroscientific explanations of art. This chapter provides a sketch of a diagnostic recognition framework for engaging art that resolves both problems and helps explains how artworks function within the social institution of the artworld to facilitate a communicative exchange between artists and consumers. © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Applying Computerized-Scoring Models of Written Biological Explanations across Courses and Colleges: Prospects and Limitations

Science.gov (United States)

Ha, Minsu; Nehm, Ross H.; Urban-Lurain, Mark; Merrill, John E.

2011-01-01

Our study explored the prospects and limitations of using machine-learning software to score introductory biology students' written explanations of evolutionary change. We investigated three research questions: 1) Do scoring models built using student responses at one university function effectively at another university? 2) How many human-scored…

Anxiety type modulates immediate versus delayed engagement of attention-related brain regions.

Science.gov (United States)

Spielberg, Jeffrey M; De Leon, Angeline A; Bredemeier, Keith; Heller, Wendy; Engels, Anna S; Warren, Stacie L; Crocker, Laura D; Sutton, Bradley P; Miller, Gregory A

2013-09-01

Background Habituation of the fear response, critical for the treatment of anxiety, is inconsistently observed during exposure to threatening stimuli. One potential explanation for this inconsistency is differential attentional engagement with negatively valenced stimuli as a function of anxiety type. Methods The present study tested this hypothesis by examining patterns of neural habituation associated with anxious arousal, characterized by panic symptoms and immediate engagement with negatively valenced stimuli, versus anxious apprehension, characterized by engagement in worry to distract from negatively valenced stimuli. Results As predicted, the two anxiety types evidenced distinct patterns of attentional engagement. Anxious arousal was associated with immediate activation in attention-related brain regions that habituated over time, whereas anxious apprehension was associated with delayed activation in attention-related brain regions that occurred only after habituation in a worry-related brain region. Conclusions Results further elucidate mechanisms involved in attention to negatively valenced stimuli and indicate that anxiety is a heterogeneous construct with regard to attention to such stimuli.

Microbiologists’ Public Engagement Views and Behaviors †

Science.gov (United States)

Besley, John; Kahlor, Lee Ann; Koh, Hyeseung; Copple, Jacob; Yuan, Shupei

2018-01-01

In this study, we present results from an extensive survey of US-based microbiologists (adults) to explore these scientists’ perceptions and behaviors related to communicating their research. Specifically, we explored the frequency with which microbiologists engage in public communication, how they evaluate their public communication experiences, and the factors associated with their willingness to engage in face-to-face and online public communication in the future. Data from a multi-wave online survey suggest that microbiologists (N = 903) are somewhat frequent communicators who derive great value from their outreach efforts. The results further suggest that social and psychological drivers of future intentions to engage with the public are consistent with the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). Specifically, microbiologists with more positive attitudes toward engagement were more willing to partake in direct and online communication activities. Similarly, microbiologists who believe they possess communication skills are more willing than their less efficacious colleagues to do either type of outreach. Our results also indicate that more-senior and more-active researchers are more willing to participate in direct and online engagement. Implications for communication training are discussed. PMID:29904524

Scientific Explanations and Piagetian Operational Levels.

Science.gov (United States)

Bass, Joel E.; Maddux, Cleborne D.

1982-01-01

Examined effects of operational levels of ninth-grade (N=16) and college (N=40) students on causal explanations they recalled after instruction. Results indicate concrete/formal students recalled explanations requiring chaining of two implication statements while formal subjects outperformed concrete subjects in reconstruction of complex…

Exploring positive pathways to care for members of the UK Armed Forces receiving treatment for PTSD: a qualitative study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dominic Murphy

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Objective: To examine the factors which facilitate UK military personnel with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD to engage in help-seeking behaviours. Methods: The study recruited active service personnel who were attending mental health services, employed a qualitative design, used semi-structured interview schedules to collect data, and explored these data using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA. Results: Five themes emerged about how participants were able to access help; having to reach a crisis point before accepting the need for help, overcoming feelings of shame, the importance of having an internal locus of control, finding a psychological explanation for their symptoms and having strong social support. Conclusions: This study reported that for military personnel who accessed mental health services, there were a number of factors that supported them to do so. In particular, factors that combated internal stigma, such as being supported to develop an internal locus of control, appeared to be critical in supporting military personnel to engage in help-seeking behaviour.

Measuring Engagement at Work: Validation of the Chinese Version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale

OpenAIRE

Ng, Sm; Fong, TCt

2011-01-01

Background: Work engagement is a positive work-related state of fulfillment characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. Previous studies have operationalized the construct through development of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Apart from the original three-factor 17-item version of the instrument (UWES-17), there exists a nine-item shortened revised version (UWES-9). Purpose: The current study explored the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Utrecht Work Engagemen...

Electrodermal activity : Explorations in the psychophysiology of engagement with social robots in dementia

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Perugia, Giulia; Rodriguez-Martin, Daniel; Boladeras, Marta DIaz; Mallofre, Andreu Catala; Barakova, Emilia; Rauterberg, Matthias

2017-01-01

The study of engagement is central to improve the quality of care and provide people with dementia with meaningful activities. Current assessment techniques of engagement for people with dementia rely exclusively on behavior observation. However, novel unobtrusive sensing technologies, capable of

Discovery Learning, Representation, and Explanation within a Computer-Based Simulation: Finding the Right Mix

Science.gov (United States)

Rieber, Lloyd P.; Tzeng, Shyh-Chii; Tribble, Kelly

2004-01-01

The purpose of this research was to explore how adult users interact and learn during an interactive computer-based simulation supplemented with brief multimedia explanations of the content. A total of 52 college students interacted with a computer-based simulation of Newton's laws of motion in which they had control over the motion of a simple…

Engaging Personas and Narrative Scenarios

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Lene

2004-01-01

design ideas. The concept of engaging personas and narrative scenario explores personas in the light of what what it is to identify with and have empathy with a character. The concept of narrative scenarios views the narrative as aid for exploration of design ideas. Both concepts incorporate...... a distinktion between creating, writing and reading. Keywords: personas, scenarios, user-centered design, HCI...

Research traditions and evolutionary explanations in medicine.

Science.gov (United States)

Méthot, Pierre-Olivier

2011-02-01

In this article, I argue that distinguishing 'evolutionary' from 'Darwinian' medicine will help us assess the variety of roles that evolutionary explanations can play in a number of medical contexts. Because the boundaries of evolutionary and Darwinian medicine overlap to some extent, however, they are best described as distinct 'research traditions' rather than as competing paradigms. But while evolutionary medicine does not stand out as a new scientific field of its own, Darwinian medicine is united by a number of distinctive theoretical and methodological claims. For example, evolutionary medicine and Darwinian medicine can be distinguished with respect to the styles of evolutionary explanations they employ. While the former primarily involves 'forward looking' explanations, the latter depends mostly on 'backward looking' explanations. A forward looking explanation tries to predict the effects of ongoing evolutionary processes on human health and disease in contemporary environments (e.g., hospitals). In contrast, a backward looking explanation typically applies evolutionary principles from the vantage point of humans' distant biological past in order to assess present states of health and disease. Both approaches, however, are concerned with the prevention and control of human diseases. In conclusion, I raise some concerns about the claim that 'nothing in medicine makes sense except in the light of evolution'.

Civic Engagement and Associationalism

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Alexander, Damon Timothy; Barraket, Jo; Lewis, Jenny

2012-01-01

use a large survey to explore these questions empirically by focusing on the membership patterns and civic engagement practices of 4,001 citizens drawn from eight suburbs across Greater Melbourne, Australia. Our findings indicate that, while associational intensity is positively related to civic...

Beyond “Monologicality”? Exploring Conspiracist Worldviews

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bradley Franks

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Conspiracy theories (CTs are widespread ways by which people make sense of unsettling or disturbing cultural events. Belief in CTs is often connected to problematic consequences, such as decreased engagement with conventional political action or even political extremism, so understanding the psychological and social qualities of CT belief is important. CTs have often been understood to be “monological,” displaying the tendency for belief in one conspiracy theory to be correlated with belief in (many others. Explanations of monologicality invoke a nomothetical or “closed” mindset whereby mutually supporting beliefs based on mistrust of official explanations are used to interpret public events as conspiracies, independent of the facts about those events (which they may ignore or deny. But research on monologicality offers little discussion of the content of monological beliefs and reasoning from the standpoint of the CT believers. This is due in part to the “access problem”: CT believers are averse to being researched because they often distrust researchers and what they appear to represent. Using several strategies to address the access problem we were able to engage CT believers in semi-structured interviews, combining their results with analysis of media documents and field observations to reconstruct a conspiracy worldview – a set of symbolic resources drawn on by CT believers about important dimensions of ontology, epistemology, and human agency. The worldview is structured around six main dimensions: the nature of reality, the self, the outgroup, the ingroup, relevant social and political action, and possible future change. We also describe an ascending typology of five types of CT believers, which vary according to their positions on each of these dimensions. Our findings converge with prior explorations of CT beliefs but also revealed novel aspects: A sense of community among CT believers, a highly differentiated

Beyond “Monologicality”? Exploring Conspiracist Worldviews

Science.gov (United States)

Franks, Bradley; Bangerter, Adrian; Bauer, Martin W.; Hall, Matthew; Noort, Mark C.

2017-01-01

Conspiracy theories (CTs) are widespread ways by which people make sense of unsettling or disturbing cultural events. Belief in CTs is often connected to problematic consequences, such as decreased engagement with conventional political action or even political extremism, so understanding the psychological and social qualities of CT belief is important. CTs have often been understood to be “monological,” displaying the tendency for belief in one conspiracy theory to be correlated with belief in (many) others. Explanations of monologicality invoke a nomothetical or “closed” mindset whereby mutually supporting beliefs based on mistrust of official explanations are used to interpret public events as conspiracies, independent of the facts about those events (which they may ignore or deny). But research on monologicality offers little discussion of the content of monological beliefs and reasoning from the standpoint of the CT believers. This is due in part to the “access problem”: CT believers are averse to being researched because they often distrust researchers and what they appear to represent. Using several strategies to address the access problem we were able to engage CT believers in semi-structured interviews, combining their results with analysis of media documents and field observations to reconstruct a conspiracy worldview – a set of symbolic resources drawn on by CT believers about important dimensions of ontology, epistemology, and human agency. The worldview is structured around six main dimensions: the nature of reality, the self, the outgroup, the ingroup, relevant social and political action, and possible future change. We also describe an ascending typology of five types of CT believers, which vary according to their positions on each of these dimensions. Our findings converge with prior explorations of CT beliefs but also revealed novel aspects: A sense of community among CT believers, a highly differentiated representation of the

Engagement in Digital Lecture Halls: A Study of Student Course Engagement and Mobile Device use During Lecture

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gwendolyn Witecki

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Universities have experienced increases in technology ownership and usage amongst students entering undergraduate programs. Almost all students report owning a mobile phone and many students view laptops and tablets as educational tools, though they also report using them for non-academic activities during lectures. We explored the relationship between student course engagement and the use of smartphones, laptops, cell phones, and tablets during lecture. Undergraduate students responded to an online survey asking about both course engagement and mobile device habits. Results show that smartphone use was most strongly related to lowered course engagement and while laptop use was related to lowered engagement, it was to a lesser extent. In contrast, overall engagement of students using tablets or cell phones was not significantly different than those who did not.

Imagining engagement: youth, social media and electoral processes.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

D. Dumitrica (Delia)

2016-01-01

textabstractThe case of the 2010 municipal elections in Calgary, Canada, is used here to explore the discursive construction of social media in relation to political engagement. This article examines the way in which 59 undergraduate students at the University of Calgary discuss political engagement

Class Anxiety in Secondary Education: Exploring Structural Relations with Perceived Control, Engagement, Disaffection, and Performance.

Science.gov (United States)

González, Antonio; Faílde Garrido, José María; Rodríguez Castro, Yolanda; Carrera Rodríguez, María Victoria

2015-09-14

The aim of this study was to assess the relationships between class-related anxiety with perceived control, teacher-reported behavioral engagement, behavioral disaffection, and academic performance. Participants were 355 compulsory secondary students (9th and 10th grades; Mean age = 15.2 years; SD = 1.8 years). Structural equation models revealed performance was predicted by perceived control, anxiety, disaffection, and engagement. Perceived control predicted anxiety, disaffection, and engagement. Anxiety predicted disaffection and engagement, and partially mediated the effects from control on disaffection (β = -.277, p anxiety and performance was mediated by engagement and disaffection (β = -.295, p Anxiety, engagement, and disaffection mediated the effects of control on performance (β = .352, p < .003; CI = .279, .440). The implications of these results are discussed in the light of current theory and educational interventions.

Employee Engagement: Motivating and Retaining Tomorrow's Workforce

Science.gov (United States)

Shuck, Michael Bradley; Wollard, Karen Kelly

2008-01-01

Tomorrow's workforce is seeking more than a paycheck; they want their work to meet their needs for affiliation, meaning, and self-development. Companies willing to meet these demands will capture the enormous profit potential of a workforce of fully engaged workers. This piece explores what engagement is, why it matters, and how human resource…

Two-country study of engagement, supervisors and performance appraisal

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Farndale, Elaine

2017-01-01

Purpose Multinational enterprises are increasingly interested in improving employee engagement across diverse geographies, signifying the importance of understanding antecedents of engagement across different national business systems. This study aims to explore the relationship between an important

Engagement in Games: Developing an Instrument to Measure Consumer Videogame Engagement and Its Validation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amir Zaib Abbasi

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The aim of the study is to develop a new instrument to measure engagement in videogame play termed as consumer videogame engagement. The study followed the scale development procedure to develop an instrument to measure the construct of consumer videogame engagement. In this study, we collected the data in two different phases comprising study 1 (n=136 and study 2 (n=270. We employed SPSS 22.0 for exploratory factor analysis using study 1 respondents to explore the factors for consumer videogame engagement and reliability analysis. Results of EFA resulted with six-factor solution. We further used SmartPLS 3.0 software on study 2 respondents to further confirm the six-factor solution as reflective measurement model on the first-order level, and three second-order formative constructs on the second-order or higher-order level as formative measurement model. Results of the reflective measurement model and formative measurement model evidenced that consumer videogame engagement has strong psychometric properties and is a valid instrument to measure engagement in videogame play. Results also confirmed that consumer videogame engagement is a multidimensional construct as well as a reflective-formative construct. The study is unique in its investigation as it develops an instrument to measure engagement in videogame play which comprises the cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions.

Exploring engagement in a virtual community of practice in pediatric rehabilitation: who are non-users, lurkers, and posters?

Science.gov (United States)

Hurtubise, Karen; Pratte, Gabrielle; Rivard, Lisa; Berbari, Jade; Héguy, Léa; Camden, Chantal

2017-12-20

Communities of practice are increasingly recognized in rehabilitation as useful knowledge transfer tools; however, little is known about their users. This exploratory study describes the characteristics of participants and non-participants invited to engage in a pediatric rehabilitation virtual community of practice. In addition, we explored virtual community of practice utilization behaviors, engagement predictors, and the impact of strategies designed to foster engagement. Participants' demographics including information-seeking style and organization e-readiness, as well as online platform frequency of use data were collected and analyzed using descriptive, comparative, and predictive statistics. Seventy-four percent of those invited used the virtual community of practice. Users had less years of experience in pediatric rehabilitation than non-users. Among the users, 71% were classified as "lurkers," who engaged through reading content only; while 29% were classified as "posters," editing online content. Predictive factors were not uncovered, however an increased number of forum visits correlated with being a poster, a non-information seeker, an employee of an organization demonstrating e-readiness, and regularly working with children with the virtual community of practice specific condition. User-engagement strategies increased visits to the forum. These findings will assist rehabilitation leaders in leveraging rehabilitation-specific virtual community of practice to improve knowledge transfer and practice in pediatric rehabilitation and disability management. Implications for Rehabilitation Communities of practice are increasingly recognized as useful knowledge transfer tools for rehabilitation professionals and are made more accessible thanks to virtual technologies. Our virtual community of practice was found to be optimized in health care organizations with an electronic culture, when the topic area had daily relevance to its target audience, and was

Axis: Generating Explanations at Scale with Learnersourcing and Machine Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Joseph Jay; Kim, Juho; Rafferty, Anna; Heffernan, Neil; Maldonado, Samuel; Gajos, Krzysztof Z.; Lasecki, Walter S.; Heffernan, Neil

2016-01-01

While explanations may help people learn by providing information about why an answer is correct, many problems on online platforms lack high-quality explanations. This paper presents AXIS (Adaptive eXplanation Improvement System), a system for obtaining explanations. AXIS asks learners to generate, revise, and evaluate explanations as they solve…

The active engagement model of applied ethics as a structure for ethical reflection in the context of course-based service learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Nesbit, Kathryn C; Jensen, Gail M; Delany, Clare

2018-01-01

The purpose of this case report is to explore the active engagement model as a tool to illuminate the ethical reflections of student physical therapists in the context of service learning in a developing country. The study participants were a convenience sample of six students. The study design is a case report using a phenomenological perspective. Data were collected from students' narrative writing and semi-structured interviews. The steps of the active engagement model provided the structural framework for student responses. The analysis process included open coding, selective coding, and member checking. Results showed the emergence of two main themes: 1) gathering rich detail and 2) developing independent moral identity. Students' descriptions of their relationships were detailed and included explanations about the complexities of the sociocultural context. Independent and deliberate agency was evident by the students' preparedness to be collaborative, to raise ethical questions, to identify ethically important aspects of their practice and to describe their professional roles. The students noted that the use of the model increased their engagement in the ethical decision-making process and their recognition of ethical questions. This case report illustrates attributes of the active engagement model which have implications for teaching ethical reflection: scaffolding for ethical reflection, use of narrative for reflection, reflection in action, and illumination of relevant themes. Each of these attributes leads to the development of meaningful ethical reflection. The attributes of this model shown by this case report have potential applications to teaching ethical reflection.

Exploring physical activity engagement and barriers for asylum seekers in Australia coping with prolonged uncertainty and no right to work.

Science.gov (United States)

Hartley, Lisa; Fleay, Caroline; Tye, Marian E

2017-05-01

This paper explores the engagement in physical activity as a potential coping strategy for asylum seekers living in the Australian community without the right to work and with prolonged uncertainty, and benefits or barriers to undertaking such activity. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were held with 29 asylum seekers who had arrived to Australia by boat and were living in the community in the cities of Perth, Sydney or Melbourne in July-October 2013 after their release from immigration detention. The ratio of the numbers of men and women interviewed (23 men and 6 women) was comparable to the ratio of men and women who came by boat to Australia seeking asylum in 2012-2013. Nine participants reported that they participated in physical activity as a coping strategy. Seven other participants were so worried about their future and their families that they did not have the mental or physical energy to engage in physical activity. A further six wanted to participate in physical activity but faced a number of barriers to doing so. The seven remaining participants were either not asked about their physical activity engagement because they focused their discussion on other challenges or did not elaborate on why they were not engaging in physical activity. The findings suggest that physical activity, coupled with other coping strategies, are important for some asylum seekers in trying to manage the distress of being denied the right to work and living with prolonged uncertainty. In addition, these findings highlight the critical barrier that government policy plays in disabling engagement in physical activity, which further compounds social exclusion. This includes the lack of welfare support provided, which hinders people's financial ability to access activities and support in the community. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Athletic Engagement and Athletic Identity in Top Croatian Sprint Runners.

Science.gov (United States)

Babić, Vesna; Sarac, Jelena; Missoni, Sasa; Sindik, Josko

2015-09-01

The aim of the research was to determine construct validity and reliability for two questionnaires (Athlete Engagement Questionnaire-AEQ and Athletic Identity Measurement Scale-AIMS), applied on elite Croatian athletes-sprinters, as well as the correlations among the dimensions in these measuring instruments. Then, we have determined the differences in the dimensions of sport engagement and sport identity, according to gender, education level and winning medals on international competitions. A total of 71 elite athletes-sprinters (former and still active) are examined, from which 27 (38%) females and 44 (62%) males. The results of factor analyses revealed the existence of dimensions very similar as in the original instruments, which showed moderate to-high reliabilities. A small number of statistically significant correlations have been found between the dimensions of sport engagement and sport identity, mainly in male sprinter runners. Small number of statistically significant differences in the dimensions of sport engagement and sport identity have been found according to the gender, education level and winning medals on the international competitions. The most reasonable explanation of these differences could be given in terms of very similar characteristics of elite athletes on the same level of sport excellence.

Amazing Space: Explanations, Investigations, & 3D Visualizations

Science.gov (United States)

Summers, Frank

2011-05-01

The Amazing Space website is STScI's online resource for communicating Hubble discoveries and other astronomical wonders to students and teachers everywhere. Our team has developed a broad suite of materials, readings, activities, and visuals that are not only engaging and exciting, but also standards-based and fully supported so that they can be easily used within state and national curricula. These products include stunning imagery, grade-level readings, trading card games, online interactives, and scientific visualizations. We are currently exploring the potential use of stereo 3D in astronomy education.

Managing radioactive waste safely. Engaging Scotland

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Elrick, D.; Boyes, L.; McCormick, J.

2002-01-01

The report presents findings from a study to explore how best to engage the public and other stakeholders in decision-making processes on the safe management of radioactive waste. Scottish Council Foundation conducted extended focus groups with the Scottish public in 4 locations, as well as group and one-to-one interviews with stakeholders from the nuclear industry, environment non-governmental organisations (NGOs), bodies experienced in using other public engagement methods, Community Planning partners and media reporters. A review of literature on public involvement in radioactive waste issues and public engagement more generally was also conducted

Exploring two teachers’ engagement with their students in an online writing environment

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nagaletchimee Annamalai

2015-09-01

Full Text Available Little research in the ESL context has examined the online teaching and learning activities in high schools. One main reason is the lack of appropriate theoretical framework rather than the learners or the environment. Using data from twelve high school students and two teachers from two Malaysian schools, the current study adapted Borup et al.’s framework to identify the teachers’ interaction with the students while engaged in the online writing environment. Borup et al. termed the construct as teacher engagement. Findings revealed that the teacher from the urban school was actively engaged in the interactions. However, the interactions of the sub-urban teacher were limited. The implications of this study suggest that teachers who are seen as digital immigrants need to consider the use of technology. Appropriate training and a checklist will be helpful to encourage the adoption of technology by teachers.

Why Agencies Budget For Results : Exploring Institutional Explanations for Performance Budgeting: The Case of Forestry and Air Traffic Control

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M. de Jong (Maarten)

2016-01-01

markdownabstractSummary This PhD research examines institutional explanations for the use of performance information (PI) to learn and improve by government agencies. Despite widespread criticism of and disappointment with New Public Management (NPM) reforms, performance budgeting (PB) is

Economic explanations for concurrent sourcing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mols, Niels Peter

2010-01-01

Concurrent sourcing is a phenomenon where firms simultaneously make and buy the same good, i.e. they simultaneously use the governance modes of market and hierarchy. Though concurrent sourcing seems to be widespread, few studies of sourcing have focused on this phenomenon. This paper reviews...... different economic explanations for why firms use concurrent sourcing. The distinctive features of the explanations are compared, and it is discussed how they may serve as a springboard for research on concurrent sourcing. Managerial implications are also offered....

Employee engagement and job satisfaction in the information technology industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamalanabhan, T J; Sai, L Prakash; Mayuri, Duggirala

2009-12-01

Employee engagement has been identified as being important to employee productivity and performance. Measures of employee engagement and job satisfaction in the context of information technology (IT) were developed to explore how employee engagement affects perceived job satisfaction. In a sample of IT professionals (N = 159), controlling for age, sex, job tenure, and marital status, employee engagement had a significant and positive correlation with job satisfaction.

Why Sketching May Aid Learning From Science Texts: Contrasting Sketching With Written Explanations.

Science.gov (United States)

Scheiter, Katharina; Schleinschok, Katrin; Ainsworth, Shaaron

2017-10-01

The goal of this study was to explore two accounts for why sketching during learning from text is helpful: (1) sketching acts like other constructive strategies such as self-explanation because it helps learners to identify relevant information and generate inferences; or (2) that in addition to these general effects, sketching has more specific benefits due to the pictorial representation that is constructed. Seventy-three seventh-graders (32 girls, M = 12.82 years) were first taught how to either create sketches or self-explain while studying science texts. During a subsequent learning phase, all students were asked to read an expository text about the greenhouse effect. Finally, they were asked to write down everything they remembered and then answer transfer questions. Strategy quality during learning was assessed as the number of key concepts that had either been sketched or mentioned in the self-explanations. The results showed that at an overall performance level there were only marginal group differences. However, a more in-depth analysis revealed that whereas no group differences emerged for students implementing either strategy poorly, the sketching group clearly outperformed the self-explanation group for students who applied the strategies with higher quality. Furthermore, higher sketching quality was strongly related to better learning outcomes. Thus, the study's results are more in line with the second account: Sketching can have a beneficial effect on learning above and beyond generating written explanations; at least, if well deployed. Copyright © 2017 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Why Acting Environmentally-Friendly Feels Good : Exploring the Role of Self-Image

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Venhoeven, Leonie A.; Bolderdijk, Jan Willem; Steg, Linda

2016-01-01

Recent research suggests that engagement in environmentally-friendly behavior can feel good. Current explanations for such a link do not focus on the nature of environmentally-friendly behavior itself, but rather propose well-being is more or less a side-benefit; behaviors that benefit environmental

Lunar and Planetary Science XXXV: Engaging K-12 Educators, Students, and the General Public in Space Science Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

2004-01-01

The session "Engaging K-12 Educators, Students, and the General Public in Space Science Exploration" included the following reports:Training Informal Educators Provides Leverage for Space Science Education and Public Outreach; Teacher Leaders in Research Based Science Education: K-12 Teacher Retention, Renewal, and Involvement in Professional Science; Telling the Tale of Two Deserts: Teacher Training and Utilization of a New Standards-based, Bilingual E/PO Product; Lindstrom M. M. Tobola K. W. Stocco K. Henry M. Allen J. S. McReynolds J. Porter T. T. Veile J. Space Rocks Tell Their Secrets: Space Science Applications of Physics and Chemistry for High School and College Classes -- Update; Utilizing Mars Data in Education: Delivering Standards-based Content by Exposing Educators and Students to Authentic Scientific Opportunities and Curriculum; K. E. Little Elementary School and the Young Astronaut Robotics Program; Integrated Solar System Exploration Education and Public Outreach: Theme, Products and Activities; and Online Access to the NEAR Image Collection: A Resource for Educators and Scientists.

Evolutionary Explanations of Eating Disorders

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Igor Kardum

2008-12-01

Full Text Available This article reviews several most important evolutionary mechanisms that underlie eating disorders. The first part clarifies evolutionary foundations of mental disorders and various mechanisms leading to their development. In the second part selective pressures and evolved adaptations causing contemporary epidemic of obesity as well as differences in dietary regimes and life-style between modern humans and their ancestors are described. Concerning eating disorders, a number of current evolutionary explanations of anorexia nervosa are presented together with their main weaknesses. Evolutionary explanations of eating disorders based on the reproductive suppression hypothesis and its variants derived from kin selection theory and the model of parental manipulation were elaborated. The sexual competition hypothesis of eating disorder, adapted to flee famine hypothesis as well as explanation based on the concept of social attention holding power and the need to belonging were also explained. The importance of evolutionary theory in modern conceptualization and research of eating disorders is emphasized.

The status of functional explanation in psychology: reduction and mechanistic explanation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gervais, H.; Looren De Jong, H.

2013-01-01

The validity of functional explanations as they are commonly used in psychology has recently come under attack. Kim's supervenience argument purports to prove that higher-level generalizations have no causal powers of their own, and hence are explanatorily irrelevant. In a nutshell, the

Increasing Student Engagement in Online Educational Leadership Courses

Science.gov (United States)

Deschaine, Mark E.; Whale, David E.

2017-01-01

Utilization of online instruction continues to increase at universities, placing more emphasis on the exploration of issues related to adult graduate student engagement. This reflective case study reviews nontraditional student engagement in online courses. The goals of the study are to enhance student focus, attention, and interaction. Findings…

Engagement with physics across diverse festival audiences

Science.gov (United States)

Roche, Joseph; Stanley, Jessica; Davis, Nicola

2016-07-01

Science shows provide a method of introducing large public audiences to physics concepts in a nonformal learning environment. While these shows have the potential to provide novel means of educational engagement, it is often difficult to measure that engagement. We present a method of producing an interactive physics show that seeks to provide effective and measurable audience engagement. We share our results from piloting this method at a leading music and arts festival as well as a science festival. This method also facilitated the collection of opinions and feedback directly from the audience which helps explore the benefits and limitations of this type of nonformal engagement in physics education.

Outcomes in Child Health: Exploring the Use of Social Media to Engage Parents in Patient-Centered Outcomes Research.

Science.gov (United States)

Dyson, Michele P; Shave, Kassi; Fernandes, Ricardo M; Scott, Shannon D; Hartling, Lisa

2017-03-16

With the rapid growth of technology and its improved accessibility globally, social media is gaining an increasingly important role in health care. Patients are frequently engaging with social media to access information, share content, and interact with others in online health communities. However, the use of social media as a stakeholder engagement strategy has been minimally explored, and effective methods for involving participants in research on the identification of patient-centered outcomes remain unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the process of using social media to engage parents in identifying patient-centered outcomes, using acute respiratory infections in children as an example to gauge feasibility. We conducted a process evaluation of a two-phase Web-based strategy to engage parents in research on patient-centered outcomes. In the first phase, we developed a website and study-specific Facebook and Twitter accounts to recruit parents to complete a Web-based survey identifying patient-centered outcomes. In the second phase, we used Facebook to host discussion with parents based on the survey results. The reach of social media as an engagement strategy and the characteristics of the population recruited were assessed. During the first phase, there were 5027 visits to the survey site, 110 participants completed the survey, 553 unique users visited the study website (675 visits), the Facebook page received 104 likes, and the Twitter account gained 52 followers over the 14-week study period. Most survey respondents identified Facebook (51.8%, 57/110) or a friend (45.5%, 50/110) as their source of referral. It was found that 70.0% (77/110) of respondents resided in Canada, in urban centers (92.7%, 102/110), and 88.2% (97/110) had a college or university degree or higher. The median year of birth was 1978 and 90.0% (99/110) were female. Most survey responses (88.2%, 97/110) were completed during the first month of the study. In the second phase, 4

Situating Engagement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Korn, Matthias

Our mobile phone is with us at all times. Habitually, we pick it up in the morning and carry it around on our daily routes and routines. Increasingly, we use it to locate ourselves and the things and people around us. With ubiquitous computing, technology is moving into the very fabric of our....... First, situationally appropriate forms of engagement that align well with citizens’ own conceptions are necessary in order to provide relevance and meaning of issues in the moment. Second, situated engagement requires a technological setup which facilitates the co-location of people, place...... with sophisticated prototypes in the wild. It proposes walkshops as a technique for collaborative exploration within actual outdoor environments and the use of field trials as part of an iterative design process in order to look ahead toward use practices that are still in the making....

Enhancing Student Engagement through Simulation in Programming Sessions

Science.gov (United States)

Isiaq, Sakirulai Olufemi; Jamil, Md Golam

2018-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of a simulator for teaching programming to foster student engagement and meaningful learning. Design/methodology/approach: An exploratory mixed-method research approach was adopted in a classroom-based environment at a UK university. A rich account of student engagement dimensions…

Preceptor engagement in distributed medical school campuses

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thomas Piggott

2015-12-01

Conclusions: Barriers to engagement in teaching primarily focused on differences in job structure in the community, administrative barriers both at the hospital and through the medical school, and lack of knowledge on how to teach.  As medical schools look to expand the capacity of distributed campuses, misperceptions should be addressed and opportunities to improve engagement should be further explored.

Exploring Employee Engagement from the Employee Perspective: Implications for HRD

Science.gov (United States)

Shuck, M. Brad; Rocco, Tonette S.; Albornoz, Carlos A.

2011-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine an employee's unique experience of being engaged in their work. Design/methodology/approach: Following Yin's case study design method, researchers collected documents, conducted semi-structured interviews and recorded observations at a large multinational service corporation ranked as one of the…

Engaging Undergraduates in Feminist Classrooms: An Exploration of Professors' Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Spencer, Leland G.

2015-01-01

This article reports the results of a feminist action research project that sought to ascertain professors' best practices for engaging undergraduates in feminist classrooms. In semi-structured interviews, professors recommended assigning readings from a variety of positionalities; creating a safe space for class discussion; relying on data to…

Music Researchers' Musical Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Wollner, Clemens; Ginsborg, Jane; Williamon, Aaron

2011-01-01

There is an increasing awareness of the importance of reflexivity across various disciplines, which encourages researchers to scrutinize their research perspectives. In order to contextualize and reflect upon research in music, this study explores the musical background, current level of musical engagement and the listening habits of music…

Supporting students' scientific explanations: A case study investigating the synergy focusing on a teacher's practices when providing instruction and using mobile devices

Science.gov (United States)

Delen, Ibrahim

Engage students in constructing scientific practices is a critical component of science instruction. Therefore a number of researchers have developed software programs to help students and teachers in this hard task. The Zydeco group, designed a mobile application called Zydeco, which enables students to collect data inside and outside the classroom, and then use the data to create scientific explanations by using claim-evidence-reasoning framework. Previous technologies designed to support scientific explanations focused on how these programs improve students' scientific explanations, but these programs ignored how scientific explanation technologies can support teacher practices. Thus, to increase our knowledge how different scaffolds can work together, this study aimed to portray the synergy between a teacher's instructional practices (part 1) and using supports within a mobile devices (part 2) to support students in constructing explanations. Synergy can be thought of as generic and content-specific scaffolds working together to enable students to accomplish challenging tasks, such as creating explanations that they would not normally be able to do without the scaffolds working together. Providing instruction (part 1) focused on understanding how the teacher scaffolds students' initial understanding of the claim-evidence-reasoning (CER) framework. The second component of examining synergy (part 2: using mobile devices) investigated how this teacher used mobile devices to provide feedback when students created explanations. The synergy between providing instruction and using mobile devices was investigated by analyzing a middle school teacher's practices in two different units (plants and water quality). Next, this study focused on describing how the level of synergy influenced the quality of students' scientific explanations. Finally, I investigated the role of focused teaching intervention sessions to inform teacher in relation to students' performance. In

Digital Natives: Fifth-Grade Students' Authentic and Ritualistic Engagement with Technology

Science.gov (United States)

Dietrich, Trevor; Balli, Sandra J.

2014-01-01

Thirty four fifth-grade students were interviewed about classroom learning and technology. Interview data were considered through Schlechty's (2002) levels of engagement framework to explore students' authentic or ritualistic engagement during technology supported lessons. Student engagement is defined as interest in and commitment to learning.…

Pupils' evaluation and generation of evidence and explanation in argumentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Glassner, Amnon; Weinstock, Michael; Neuman, Yair

2005-03-01

Studies on argument have found that participants tend to prefer explanations to evidence. This apparent bias toward explanation has been qualified recently by research that has found it to diminish with the availability of evidence. This study examines the use of explanation versus evidence in the context of argumentation with reference to the goals of particular argument situations. Seventy-nine eighth-grade pupils at a regular, urban middle school. The pupils read argumentation scenarios, each having the stated goal of either explaining or proving a claim. The pupils rated the degree to which each of two provided assertions (one a theoretical explanation, and the other evidence-based) helped achieve the goal of the argument. On a second task, the pupils chose which of the two assertions should be more effective in achieving the argument goal. On the third task, the pupils generated either an explanation or evidence for each of the argumentation scenarios. Pupils demonstrated sensitivity to the relative epistemic strength of explanation and evidence. They rated explanations as more advantageous in achieving the explanation goal, and evidence as more advantageous in achieving the proof goal. Conversely, however, when asked to generate or recall an explanation or evidence, pupils produced more explanations than evidence independent of the argumentation goal. The study refines the definition of argumentation context to include specific goals. Pupils were sensitive to the context of the argumentation situation (e.g.goals, availability of evidence). However, they appeared to have a disposition toward explanation when asked to produce an explanation or evidence-based justification.

Understanding the Dynamics of EngagingIinteraction in Public Spaces

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dalsgaard, Peter; Dindler, Christian; Halskov, Kim

We present an analysis of three interactive installations in public spaces, in terms of their support of engagement as an evolving process. In particular, we focus on how engagement unfolds as a dynamic process that may be understood in terms of evolving relations between cultural, physical......, content-related, and social elements of interactive environments. These elements are explored through the literature on engagement with interaction design, and it is argued that, although valuable contributions have been made towards understanding engagement with interactive environments, the ways...

Generating Explanations for Internet-based Business Games

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Fischer

2007-06-01

Full Text Available It is widely established debriefing in business games is important and influences the students' learning performance. Most games only support game statistics instead of explaining solution paths. We suggest the automatic generation of explanations for internet-mediated business games to improve the debriefing quality. As a proof of concept we developed a prototype of an internet-based auction game embedding an open simulation model and an automatic explanation component helping students and teachers to analyse the decision making process. This paper describes the usefulness of automated explanations and the underlying generic software architecture.

Teaching social justice using a pedagogy of engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Belknap, Ruth Ann

2008-01-01

Teaching an undergraduate level diversity course with a health focus requires specific teaching methods. A pedagogy of engagement provides an effective strategy for exploring issues of race, class, gender, and structural inequalities that underlie health disparities. Engagement learning enhances understanding of theories of oppression and liberation presented in the course and highlights social justice issues.

Person-organization fit and turnover intention: exploring the mediating effect of work engagement and the moderating effect of demand-ability fit.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Jui-Chen; Lee, Yin-Ling; Tseng, Mei-Man

2014-03-01

Person-organization (P-O) fit is an important influencing factor on the intentions and attitudes of hospital nurses. The authors used a motivation-mechanism approach to conceptualize work engagement as a mediator and demand-ability (D-A) fit as a moderator to elicit the role of P-O fit in the turnover intention of nurses. This article explores whether the work engagement of nurses mediates the relationship between P-O fit and turnover intention and examines whether D-A fit moderates this relationship. The sample comprised 349 nurses working for two regional hospitals in Yilan County, Taiwan. Linear regression modeling analysis was conducted to test the proposed hypotheses. Results indicate that P-O fit has a negative effect on participant turnover intention. In addition, the work engagement of participants was found to mediate the impact of P-O fit on turnover intention. A new significant interactive relationship was discovered such that high D-A fit strengthened the negative relationship between P-O fit and turnover intention. The work engagement of professional nurses has attracted increasing attention in the literature on fit, particularly with regard to the linkage between P-O and fit-turnover intention. This study enhances the understanding of the function of P-O fit by considering perceived D-A fit. Nurse turnover is the main reason for the current shortage of nurses in Taiwan. Therefore, if the cognitive values of nurses and the organizational culture fit with hospital value systems, common values may facilitate a higher degree of nurse work engagement and, in turn, decrease turnover intention. In addition, recruiting employees with high D-A fit may help hospitals enhance the negative relationship between P-O fit and nurse turnover intention.

Gamification to Improve First Year Engagement

OpenAIRE

Colleran, John; Lloyd McKernan, Aoife; Naughton, Julie Ann; Vaughan, Brian

2016-01-01

The purpose of this project was to examine the role of Gamification in increasing first year student engagement within the third level educational setting. A literature review was carried out in order to explore the teaching philosophy behind gamification in education and review the quantitative and qualitative evidence regarding its use. Gamification can be broadly described as the application of gaming methods and elements in non-gaming contexts in order to improve user engagement and user ...

Exploring the Effect of Embedded Scaffolding within Curricular Tasks on Third-Grade Students' Model-Based Explanations about Hydrologic Cycling

Science.gov (United States)

Zangori, Laura; Forbes, Cory T.; Schwarz, Christina V.

2015-01-01

Opportunities to generate model-based explanations are crucial for elementary students, yet are rarely foregrounded in elementary science learning environments despite evidence that early learners can reason from models when provided with scaffolding. We used a quasi-experimental research design to investigate the comparative impact of a scaffold…

Generating explanations via analogical comparison.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoyos, Christian; Gentner, Dedre

2017-10-01

Generating explanations can be highly effective in promoting learning in both adults and children. Our interest is in the mechanisms that underlie this effect and in whether and how they operate in early learning. In adult reasoning, explanation may call on many subprocesses-including comparison, counterfactual reasoning, and reasoning by exclusion; but it is unlikely that all these processes are available to young children. We propose that one process that may serve both children and adults is comparison. In this study, we asked whether children would use the results of a comparison experience when asked to explain why a model skyscraper was stable. We focused on a challenging principle-that diagonal cross-bracing lends stability to physical structures (Gentner et al., Cognitive Science, 40, 224-240, 2016). Six-year-olds either received no training or interacted with model skyscrapers in one of three different conditions, designed to vary in their potential to invite and support comparison. In the Single Model condition, children interacted with a single braced model. In the comparison conditions (Low Alignability and High Alignability), children compared braced and unbraced models. Following experience with the models, children were asked to explain why the braced model was stable. They then received two transfer tasks. We found that children who received highly alignable pairs were most likely to (a) produce brace-based explanations and (b) transfer the brace principle to a dissimilar context. This provides evidence that children can benefit from analogical comparison in generating explanations and also suggests limitations on this ability.

An exploration in kitchen blender interactions aimed at designing for high levels of engagement

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Rheden, V.; Hengeveld, B.J.

2015-01-01

This paper illustrates three novel kitchen blender interactions aimed at bringing about a higher level of engagement with interactive products, as a response to current, seemingly un-engaging interactions. We describe our starting points and approach after which we present the designed blender

Problematizing Public Engagement within Public Pedagogy Research and Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Sandlin, Jennifer A.; Burdick, Jake; Rich, Emma

2017-01-01

In this article, we explore issues related to how scholars attempt to "enact public pedagogy" (i.e. doing "public engagement" work) and how they "research public pedagogy" (i.e. framing and researching artistic and activist "public engagement" as public pedagogy). We focus specifically on three interrelated…

Interactive Digital Textbooks and Engagement: A Learning Strategies Framework

Science.gov (United States)

Bikowski, Dawn; Casal, J. Elliott

2018-01-01

This mixed-methods study explored non-native English speaking students' learning processes and engagement as they used a customized interactive digital textbook housed on a mobile device. Think aloud protocols, surveys of anticipated and actual engagement with the digital textbook, reflective journals, and member checking constituted data…

School Engagement for Academically At-Risk Students: A Participatory Research Project

Science.gov (United States)

O'Toole, Nadia; Due, Clemence

2015-01-01

While past literature has explored school engagement in older students, there is less research for younger children specifically, and very little which engages children themselves in the research process. This paper provides insight into school engagement for academically at-risk students in the second year of school through a participatory…

5 CFR 1201.101 - Explanation and definitions.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-01-01

... definitions. (a) Explanation. An ex parte communication is an oral or written communication between a decision... outcome of a proceeding before the Board. (2) Decision-making official means any judge, officer or other... 5 Administrative Personnel 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Explanation and definitions. 1201.101...

An exploration of spousal separation and adaptation to long-term disability: six elderly couples engaged in a horticultural programme.

Science.gov (United States)

Martin, Linda; Miranda, Baldwin; Bean, Michelle

2008-01-01

The main objective of the present study was to explore the impact of separation on couples where one spouse lives in a skilled nursing facility and the other spouse lives alone in the community. Six couples participated in a 10-week gardening group. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at the beginning of the study and observations were made and discussions engaged through the 10-week horticultural programme. Thematic analysis of interviews and discussions revealed reduced social participation of community-dwelling spouses in an effort to maintain their marital role. In one or more cases the non-institutionalized spouse adapted to separation by developing social roles and relationships within the skilled nursing facility and continuing as a caregiver to their spouse. Occupational therapists are encouraged to include spouses in programmes to nurture healthy spousal roles. Further research is needed to explore how elderly couples may support each other through purposeful occupation while one spouse is in a long-term care facility. (c) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Student Engagement and Classroom Variables in Improving Mathematics Achievement

Science.gov (United States)

Park, So-Young

2005-01-01

The study explored how much student engagement and classroom variables predicted student achievement in mathematics. Since students were nested within a classroom, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was employed for the analysis. The results indicated that student engagement had positive effects on student academic growth per month in math after…

Engagement enacted: Essentials of initiating an action research project

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Prof Tineke Abma; Dr Theo Niessen; Drs Miranda Snoeren

2011-01-01

Engagement is seen as an important characteristic of action research. The term is often used to refer to the participation and involvement of the research participants. Within this article we take another angle and explore the concept of engagement in relation to the main action researcher. Using an

Engagement enacted: Essentials of initiating an action research project

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Snoeren, M.M.W.C.; Niessen, T.J.H.; Abma, T.A.

2012-01-01

Engagement is seen as an important characteristic of action research. The term is often used to refer to the participation and involvement of the research participants. Within this article we take another angle and explore the concept of engagement in relation to the main action researcher. Using an

The Social Rewards of Engagement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Robison, Joshua

2017-01-01

Political interest is a crucial precursor to political engagement, but little is known about how to stimulate greater interest. The article explores the role social motives have in generating interest. A laboratory experiment is used in which it is possible to manipulate beliefs about the social...... rewards of political engagement as well as external efficacy beliefs. Across two types of measures for political interest (self-reports and revealed preferences), connecting political engagement with social rewards led to substantial increases in political interest. Moreover, these effects were...... particularly strong among individuals with low levels of external efficacy. Ultimately, the data provide clear evidence that political interest can be positively stimulated with social rewards mobilisation techniques and that it is rooted in beliefs about the potential motives pursuable through politics...

The Kids are All Right? Income Inequality and Civic Engagement among Our Nation's Youth.

Science.gov (United States)

Godfrey, Erin B; Cherng, Hua-Yu Sebastian

2016-11-01

Prior work suggests that income inequality depresses civic participation among adults. However, associations between income inequality and youth civic engagement have not been assessed. This is true despite evidence that other features of communities influence youth civic development. To fill the gap, we examine associations between county-level income inequality and civic engagement among a nationally representative sample of 12,240 15-year-olds (50 % female). We find opposite patterns than those suggested by the adult literature. Higher county-level income inequality is associated with slightly more civic engagement (greater importance of helping others, higher rates of volunteering often), and this is particularly true for low-socioeconomic status and racial/ethnic minority youth. Potential developmental and structural explanations for these differences are offered. In addition, practical implications of these findings are drawn, and future research directions for scholars studying youth are proposed.

Academic Performance Differences among Ethnic Groups: Do the Daily Use and Management of Time Offer Explanations?

Science.gov (United States)

Meeuwisse, Marieke; Born, Marise Ph.; Severiens, Sabine E.

2013-01-01

This explorative study describes time use and time management behaviour of ethnic minority and ethnic majority students as possible explanations for the poorer study results of ethnic minority students compared to those of majority students. We used a diary approach in a small sample to examine students' daily time use in both a lecture week…

Interactive cinema : engagement and interaction

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Vosmeer, M.; Schouten, B.; Mitchell, A.

2014-01-01

Technologies that were initially developed to be applied within the domain of video games are currently being used in experiments to explore their meaning and possibilities for cinema and cinema audiences. In this position paper we examine how narrativity, interactivity and engagement are mutually

Life satisfaction and student engagement in adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Ashley D; Huebner, E Scott; Malone, Patrick S; Valois, Robert F

2011-03-01

Situated within a positive psychology perspective, this study explored linkages between adolescent students' positive subjective well-being and their levels of engagement in schooling. Specifically, using structural equation modeling techniques, we evaluated the nature and directionality of longitudinal relationships between life satisfaction and student engagement variables. It was hypothesized that adolescents' life satisfaction and student engagement variables would show bidirectional relationships. To test this hypothesis, 779 students (53% female, 62% Caucasian) in a Southeastern US middle school completed a measure of global life satisfaction and measures of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral engagement at two time points, 5 months apart. A statistically significant bidirectional relationship between life satisfaction and cognitive engagement was found; however, non-significant relationships were found between life satisfaction and emotional and behavioral student engagement. The findings provide important evidence of the role of early adolescents' life satisfaction in their engagement in schooling during the important transition grades between elementary and high school. The findings also help extend the positive psychology perspective to the relatively neglected context of education.

Bayesianism and inference to the best explanation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Valeriano IRANZO

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Bayesianism and Inference to the best explanation (IBE are two different models of inference. Recently there has been some debate about the possibility of “bayesianizing” IBE. Firstly I explore several alternatives to include explanatory considerations in Bayes’s Theorem. Then I distinguish two different interpretations of prior probabilities: “IBE-Bayesianism” (IBE-Bay and “frequentist-Bayesianism” (Freq-Bay. After detailing the content of the latter, I propose a rule for assessing the priors. I also argue that Freq-Bay: (i endorses a role for explanatory value in the assessment of scientific hypotheses; (ii avoids a purely subjectivist reading of prior probabilities; and (iii fits better than IBE-Bayesianism with two basic facts about science, i.e., the prominent role played by empirical testing and the existence of many scientific theories in the past that failed to fulfil their promises and were subsequently abandoned.

Assessing the place of neurobiological explanations in accounts of a family member's addiction.

Science.gov (United States)

Meurk, Carla; Fraser, Doug; Weier, Megan; Lucke, Jayne; Carter, Adrian; Hall, Wayne

2016-07-01

The brain disease model of addiction posits that addiction is a persistent form of neural dysfunction produced by chronic drug use, which makes it difficult for addicted persons to become and remain abstinent. As part of an anticipatory policy analysis of addiction neuroscience, we engaged family members of addicted individuals to assess their views on the place and utility of brain-based accounts of addiction. Fifteen in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted and used to develop a quantitative online survey that was completed by 55 family members. This article reports responses on what addiction is and how it is caused and responses to explanations of the brain disease model of addiction. Participants gave multiple reasons for their family members developing an addiction and there was no single dominant belief about the best way to describe addiction. Participants emphasised the importance of both scientific and non-scientific perspectives on addiction by providing multifactorial explanations of their family members' addictions. Most family members acknowledged that repeated drug use can cause changes to the brain, but they varied in their reactions to labelling addiction a 'brain disease'. They believed that understanding addiction, and how it is caused, could help them support their addicted relative. Participants' beliefs about neurobiological information and the brain disease model of addiction appeared to be driven by empathetic, utilitarian considerations rather than rationalist ones. We discuss the importance of providing information about the nature and causes of addiction. [Meurk C, Fraser D, Weier M, Lucke J, Carter A, Hall W. Assessing the place of neurobiological explanations in accounts of a family member's addiction. Drug Alcohol Rev 2016;35:461-469]. © 2015 Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs.

Life With and Without Coding: Two Methods for Early-Stage Data Analysis in Qualitative Research Aiming at Causal Explanations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Gläser, Jochen; Laudel, Grit

2013-01-01

Qualitative research aimed at "mechanismic" explanations poses specific challenges to qualitative data analysis because it must integrate existing theory with patterns identified in the data. We explore the utilization of two methods—coding and qualitative content analysis—for the first steps in the

Student Engagement with Computer-Generated Feedback: A Case Study

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhe

2017-01-01

In order to benefit from feedback on their writing, students need to engage effectively with it. This article reports a case study on student engagement with computer-generated feedback, known as automated writing evaluation (AWE) feedback, in an EFL context. Differing from previous studies that explored commercially available AWE programs, this…

Connecting internal communication and organizational engagement. An employee-centered perspective

OpenAIRE

Alvarez Garcia, Patricia

2013-01-01

Connections between organizational engagement and internal communication have gained much interest in recent years, due to existing evidence suggesting that employees who engage with their organization affect organization’s effectiveness and that, in turn, internal communication can influence organizational engagement. However, there is little evidence about such connection seen from an employee perspective and therefore, this study sought to explore linkages between employee organizational e...

The Impact of Organizational Stress and Burnout on Client Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Landrum, Brittany; Knight, Danica K.; Flynn, Patrick M.

2011-01-01

This paper explores the impact of organizational attributes on client engagement within substance abuse treatment. Previous research has identified organizational features, including small size, accreditation, and workplace practices that impact client engagement (Broome, Flynn, Knight, & Simpson, 2007). The current study sought to explore how aspects of the work environment impact client engagement. The sample included 89 programs located in 9 states across the U.S. Work environment measures included counselor perceptions of stress, burnout, and work satisfaction at each program, while engagement measures included client ratings of participation, counseling rapport, and treatment satisfaction. Using multiple regression, tests of moderation and mediation revealed that staff stress negatively predicted client participation in treatment. Burnout was related to stress, but was not related to participation. Two additional organizational measures – workload and influence – moderated the positive relationship between staff stress and burnout. Implications for drug treatment programs are discussed. PMID:22154029

Using Games to Engage Students in Inquiry

Science.gov (United States)

Byrne, Martha

2017-01-01

This paper discusses the author's experiences of getting advanced undergraduate math students to engage in mathematical inquiry by using games as a vehicle for exploration. The students explored the mathematics behind SET®1, Spot it!®2, Blokus®3, and Six®4. Specifically, we present the experience of the instructor and students and how the games…

HIV, breast cancer and vaccines: what do high-profile cases reveal about stakeholder engagement in research?

Science.gov (United States)

Morain, Stephanie R; Concannon, Thomas W; Wittenberg, Eve

2017-01-01

Substantially engaging stakeholders in research involves making extensive changes to the full life cycle of research, from the initial stage of selecting research priorities to the final stages of dissemination and implementation. Recent scholarship has explored logistical and methodological challenges, including the time, training and resources required for engagement. However, inadequate attention has been given to the intended ends or goals of engagement - what do we want engagement to achieve? An examination of historical case studies can yield important insights regarding engagement and its intended ends. Using historical perspective methods, we explore how clarity about the ends of engagement can inform the design of engagement efforts and lead to better outcomes. We present several lessons for improving stakeholder-engaged research.

Exploring Engagement in Shared Reading Activities Between Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and Their Caregivers.

Science.gov (United States)

Fleury, Veronica P; Hugh, Maria L

2018-06-05

Reading aloud to children is a valued practice to promote emergent literacy and language skills that form the foundation for future reading success. We conducted a descriptive study of shared book reading practices between caregivers and their children with autism spectrum disorder (n = 17) and caregivers and their typically developing children (n = 20) to identify factors that can promote or inhibit children's engagement in reading. Caregivers and their children read nine books (familiar, non-fiction, fiction). Children with ASD demonstrated lower levels of passive engagement (looking at the book) and higher levels of non-engaged behavior compared to typically developing children. Caregiver reading quality and book type contributed to joint engagement during reading. Implications of these findings for intervention development are discussed.

Students' reasons for preferring teleological explanations

Science.gov (United States)

Trommler, Friederike; Gresch, Helge; Hammann, Marcus

2018-01-01

The teleological bias, a major learning obstacle, involves explaining biological phenomena in terms of purposes and goals. To probe the teleological bias, researchers have used acceptance judgement tasks and preference judgement tasks. In the present study, such tasks were used with German high school students (N = 353) for 10 phenomena from human biology, that were explained both teleologically and causally. A sub-sample (n = 26) was interviewed about the reasons for their preferences. The results showed that the students favoured teleological explanations over causal explanations. Although the students explained their preference judgements etiologically (i.e. teleologically and causally), they also referred to a wide range of non-etiological criteria (i.e. familiarity, complexity, relevance and five more criteria). When elaborating on their preference for causal explanations, the students often focused not on the causality of the phenomenon, but on mechanisms whose complexity they found attractive. When explaining their preference for teleological explanations, they often focused not teleologically on purposes and goals, but rather on functions, which they found familiar and relevant. Generally, students' preference judgements rarely allowed for making inferences about causal reasoning and teleological reasoning, an issue that is controversial in the literature. Given that students were largely unaware of causality and teleology, their attention must be directed towards distinguishing between etiological and non-etiological reasoning. Implications for educational practice as well as for future research are discussed.

Perceived Calling and Work Engagement Among Nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Ziedelis, Arunas

2018-03-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of perceived calling and work engagement in nursing over and above major work environment factors. In all, 351 nurses from various health care institutions completed the survey. Data were collected about the most demanding aspects of nursing, major job resources, the degree to which nursing is perceived as a meaningful calling, work engagement, and main demographic information. Hierarchical linear regression was applied to assess the relation between perceived calling and work engagement, while controlling for demographic and work environment factors, and perceived calling was significantly related to two out of three components of nurses' work engagement. The highest association was found with dedication component, and vigor component was related insignificantly. Results have shown that perceived calling might motivate nurses to engage in their work even in burdensome environment, although possible implications for the occupational well-being of nurses themselves remains unclear.

Investigating Island Evolution: A Galapagos-Based Lesson Using the 5E Instructional Model.

Science.gov (United States)

DeFina, Anthony V.

2002-01-01

Introduces an inquiry-based lesson plan on evolution and the Galapagos Islands. Uses the 5E instructional model which includes phases of engagement, exploration, explanation, elaboration, and evaluation. Includes information on species for exploration and elaboration purposes, and a general rubric for student evaluation. (YDS)

Engaged patients, engaged partnerships: singles and partners dealing with an acute cardiac event.

Science.gov (United States)

Bertoni, Anna; Donato, Silvia; Graffigna, Guendalina; Barello, Serena; Parise, Miriam

2015-01-01

A few studies examine patients' (and partners') individual and relational functioning after an acute cardiac event and no research focuses on the individual and relational factors associated with the patient's engagement in his/her disease management. The present study aimed at exploring these variables in male and female patients as well as their partners. We pursued our objectives by taking advantage of a dyadic research design that involved both partners in the data collection, when present, and by including women patients in the sample. Findings showed that patients in a couple, compared to single patients, perceive that their illness had less serious consequences for their life and they were more engaged in their health care; that patients and partners showed comparable levels of distress; and that less depressed, more confident, and better informed patients were more likely to actively engage in their treatment. Findings are discussed in light of their implications for clinical practice.

Reasoning in explanation-based decision making.

Science.gov (United States)

Pennington, N; Hastie, R

1993-01-01

A general theory of explanation-based decision making is outlined and the multiple roles of inference processes in the theory are indicated. A typology of formal and informal inference forms, originally proposed by Collins (1978a, 1978b), is introduced as an appropriate framework to represent inferences that occur in the overarching explanation-based process. Results from the analysis of verbal reports of decision processes are presented to demonstrate the centrality and systematic character of reasoning in a representative legal decision-making task.

A new explanation of the extinction paradox

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Berg, M.J.; Sorensen, C.M.; Chakrabarti, A.

2011-01-01

This work presents a new explanation for the extinction paradox and shows that the canonical explanations are incorrect. This paradox refers to the large size limit of a particle's extinction cross section. It is called a paradox because the geometrical optics approximation, which should be valid in this limit, predicts a cross section that is half of the true value. The new explanation is achieved by formulating the scattered wave in terms of an integral over the particle's surface where the seemingly unrelated Ewald-Oseen theorem appears in the formulation. By expressing the cross section in terms of this surface integral, the Ewald-Oseen theorem is analytically connected to the cross section. Several illustrations are used to reveal the significance of this connection: The paradox is seen to be a consequence of the requirement that the incident wave be canceled within the particle by secondary radiation from its own internal field. Following this, the canonical explanations are examined to reveal serious problems. In the process, the same asymptotic extinction behavior is shown to occur for small highly refractive dielectric particles, and thus is not just a large particle size or small wavelength effect as is often stated. The traditional explanations cannot account for this behavior while the new one actually predicts it. All in all, this work constitutes a fundamental reworking of 60 years of accepted understanding for the cause of the asymptotic behavior of the extinction cross section.

Bipolar disorder: idioms of susceptibility and disease and the role of 'genes' in illness explanations.

Science.gov (United States)

Baart, Ingrid; Widdershoven, Guy

2013-11-01

This qualitative study explores (1) how members of the Dutch Association for People with Bipolar Disorder explain the affliction of bipolar disorder; (2) the relationship between genetic, environmental and personal factors in these explanations and (3) the relationship between illness explanations, self-management and identity. A total of 40 participants took part in seven different focus group discussions. The results demonstrate that there are two different explanatory idioms, each one centred around an opposing concept, that is, susceptibility and disease. Individuals who construct explanations around the concept of 'disease' attach more importance to 'genes and chemicals' than to environmental components in the onset of the disorder, whereas individuals adhering to the central concept of 'susceptibility' tend to do this much less. Compared with individuals using the 'susceptibility' idiom, those who use a 'disease' idiom tend to observe fewer possibilities for self-management and are less inclined to construct normalcy through a quest for personal growth. Stories of suffering seem more integral to the 'disease' idiom than to the 'susceptibility' idiom. The 'disease' idiom seems less integrated in a contemporary surveillance psychiatric discourse than the 'susceptibility' idiom; however, both vocabularies can offer normative constraints.

Modeling systems-level dynamics: Understanding without mechanistic explanation in integrative systems biology.

Science.gov (United States)

MacLeod, Miles; Nersessian, Nancy J

2015-02-01

In this paper we draw upon rich ethnographic data of two systems biology labs to explore the roles of explanation and understanding in large-scale systems modeling. We illustrate practices that depart from the goal of dynamic mechanistic explanation for the sake of more limited modeling goals. These processes use abstract mathematical formulations of bio-molecular interactions and data fitting techniques which we call top-down abstraction to trade away accurate mechanistic accounts of large-scale systems for specific information about aspects of those systems. We characterize these practices as pragmatic responses to the constraints many modelers of large-scale systems face, which in turn generate more limited pragmatic non-mechanistic forms of understanding of systems. These forms aim at knowledge of how to predict system responses in order to manipulate and control some aspects of them. We propose that this analysis of understanding provides a way to interpret what many systems biologists are aiming for in practice when they talk about the objective of a "systems-level understanding." Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exploring Science Through Polar Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Pfirman, S. L.; Bell, R. E.; Zadoff, L.; Kelsey, R.

2003-12-01

Exploring the Poles is a First Year Seminar course taught at Barnard College, Columbia University. First Year Seminars are required of incoming students and are designed to encourage critical analysis in a small class setting with focused discussion. The class links historical polar exploration with current research in order to: introduce non-scientists to the value of environmental science through polar literature; discuss issues related to venturing into the unknown that are of relevance to any discipline: self-reliance, leadership, preparation, decisions under uncertainty; show students the human face of science; change attitudes about science and scientists; use data to engage students in exploring/understanding the environment and help them learn to draw conclusions from data; integrate research and education. These goals are met by bringing analysis of early exploration efforts together with a modern understanding of the polar environment. To date to class has followed the efforts of Nansen in the Fram, Scott and Amundsen in their race to the pole, and Shackleton's Endurance. As students read turn-of-the-century expedition journals, expedition progress is progressively revealed on an interactive map showing the environmental context. To bring the exploration process to life, students are assigned to expedition teams for specific years and the fates of the student "expeditions" are based on their own decisions. For example, in the Arctic, they navigate coastal sea ice and become frozen into the ice north of Siberia, re-creating Nansen's polar drift. Fates of the teams varied tremendously: some safely emerged at Fram Strait in 4 years, while others nearly became hopelessly lost in the Beaufort Gyre. Students thus learn about variability in the current polar environment through first hand experience, enabling them to appreciate the experiences, decisions, and, in some cases, the luck, of polar explorers. Evaluation by the Columbia Center for New Media, Teaching

Are better sleepers more engaged workers? A self-regulatory approach to sleep hygiene and work engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Barber, Larissa; Grawitch, Matthew J; Munz, David C

2013-10-01

Previous research has emphasized facets of both the organizational environment and individual differences as predictors of work engagement. This study explored sleep hygiene as another important behavioural factor that may be related to work engagement. With a sample of 328 adult workers, we tested a multiple mediator model in which sleep hygiene predicts work engagement through one's appraisals of resource depletion stemming from demands (psychological strain) and general self-regulatory capacity (self-control). Results indicated that individuals who frequently engaged in poor sleep hygiene behaviours had lower self-regulatory capacity, experienced higher subjective depletion and were less engaged at work. Additionally, the path from poor sleep hygiene to decreased work engagement was attributed to perceptions of personal resources that are needed to exert self-regulatory energy at work. This is consistent with current self-regulatory theories suggesting that individuals have a limited amount of resources to allocate to demands and that the depletion of these resources can lead to stress and lower self-regulatory functioning in response to other demands. Specifically, poor sleep hygiene results in the loss of self-regulatory resources needed to be engaged in work tasks by impairing the after-work recovery process. Practical and research implications regarding sleep hygiene interventions for well-being and productivity improvement are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Engaging Students with Audio Feedback

Science.gov (United States)

Cann, Alan

2014-01-01

Students express widespread dissatisfaction with academic feedback. Teaching staff perceive a frequent lack of student engagement with written feedback, much of which goes uncollected or unread. Published evidence shows that audio feedback is highly acceptable to students but is underused. This paper explores methods to produce and deliver audio…

· Digital Natives: Fifth-Grade Students’ Authentic and Ritualistic Engagement with Technology

OpenAIRE

Trevor Dietrich; Sandra J. Balli

2014-01-01

Thirty four fifth-grade students were interviewed about classroom learning and technology. Interview data were considered through Schlechty’s (2002) levels of engagement framework to explore students’ authentic or ritualistic engagement during technology supported lessons. Student engagement is defined as interest in and commitment to learning. Results indicated that students were engaged in classroom learning when using technology, particularly when they had control of ...

Scaffolding student engagement via online peer learning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Casey, M M; Bates, S P; Galloway, K W; Galloway, R K; Hardy, J A; Kay, A E; Kirsop, P; McQueen, H A

2014-01-01

We describe one aspect of a UK inter-institutional project wherein an online tool was used to support student generation of multiple choice questions. Across three universities and in five modules in physics, chemistry and biology, we introduced the PeerWise online system as a summative assessment tool in our classes, the desire being to increase student engagement, academic attainment and level of cognitive challenge. Engagement with the system was high with many students exceeding the minimum requirements set out in the assessment criteria. We explore the nature of student engagement and describe a working model to enable high-impact student-learning and academic gain with minimal instructor intervention. (paper)

Cultural Explanations of Sleep Paralysis in Italy: The Pandafeche Attack and Associated Supernatural Beliefs.

Science.gov (United States)

Jalal, Baland; Romanelli, Andrea; Hinton, Devon E

2015-12-01

The current study examines cultural explanations regarding sleep paralysis (SP) in Italy. The study explores (1) whether the phenomenology of SP generates culturally specific interpretations and causal explanations and (2) what are the beliefs and local traditions associated with such cultural explanations. The participants were Italian nationals from the general population (n = 68) recruited in the region of Abruzzo, Italy. All participants had experienced at least one lifetime episode of SP. The sleep paralysis experiences and phenomenology questionnaire were orally administered to participants. We found a multilayered cultural interpretation of SP, namely the Pandafeche attack, associated with various supernatural beliefs. Thirty-eight percent of participants believed that this supernatural being, the Pandafeche-often referred to as an evil witch, sometimes as a ghost-like spirit or a terrifying humanoid cat-might have caused their SP. Twenty-four percent of all participants sensed the Pandafeche was present during their SP. Strategies to prevent Pandafeche attack included sleeping in supine position, placing a broom by the bedroom door, or putting a pile of sand by the bed. Case studies are presented to illustrate the study findings. The Pandafeche attack thus constitutes a culturally specific, supernatural interpretation of the phenomenology of SP in the Abruzzo region of Italy.

Re-orienting discussions of scientific explanation: A functional perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Woody, Andrea I

2015-08-01

Philosophy of science offers a rich lineage of analysis concerning the nature of scientific explanation, but the vast majority of this work, aiming to provide an analysis of the relation that binds a given explanans to its corresponding explanandum, presumes the proper analytic focus rests at the level of individual explanations. There are, however, other questions we could ask about explanation in science, such as: What role(s) does explanatory practice play in science? Shifting focus away from explanations, as achievements, toward explaining, as a coordinated activity of communities, the functional perspective aims to reveal how the practice of explanatory discourse functions within scientific communities given their more comprehensive aims and practices. In this paper, I outline the functional perspective, argue that taking the functional perspective can reveal important methodological roles for explanation in science, and consequently, that beginning here provides resources for developing more adequate responses to traditional concerns. In particular, through an examination of the ideal gas law, I emphasize the normative status of explanations within scientific communities and discuss how such status underwrites a compelling rationale for explanatory power as a theoretical virtue. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Potential of Social Networking Sites for Distance Education Student Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Lester, Jaime; Perini, Michael

2010-01-01

This chapter explores the potential of social networking sites for increasing student engagement for distance education learners. The authors present a modified student engagement model with a focus on the integration of technology, specifically social networking sites for community college distance education learners. The chapter concludes with…

A Role for Technology in Enhancing Students' Engagement with Feedback

Science.gov (United States)

Parkin, Helen J.; Hepplestone, Stuart; Holden, Graham; Irwin, Brian; Thorpe, Louise

2012-01-01

This paper explores the potential of technology-enabled feedback to improve student learning. "Technology, Feedback, Action!: The impact of learning technology upon students' engagement with their feedback" aimed to evaluate how a range of technical interventions might encourage students to engage with feedback and formulate actions to…

Automatic analysis of children’s engagement using interactional network features

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kim, Jaebok; Truong, Khiet Phuong

We explored the automatic analysis of vocal non-verbal cues of a group of children in the context of engagement and collaborative play. For the current study, we defined two types of engagement on groups of children: harmonised and unharmonised. A spontaneous audiovisual corpus with groups of

Content and discontent: a qualitative exploration of obstacles to elearning engagement in medical students.

Science.gov (United States)

Reid, Helen J; Thomson, Clare; McGlade, Kieran J

2016-07-22

Elearning is ubiquitous in healthcare professions education. Its equivalence to 'traditional' educational delivery methods is well established. There is a research imperative to clarify when and how to use elearning most effectively to mitigate the potential of it becoming merely a 'disruptive technology.' Research has begun to broadly identify challenges encountered by elearning users. In this study, we explore in depth the perceived obstacles to elearning engagement amongst medical students. Sensitising concepts of achievement emotions and the cognitive demands of multi-tasking highlight why students' deeply emotional responses to elearning may be so important in their learning. This study used focus groups as a data collection tool. A purposeful sample of 31 participated. Iterative data gathering and analysis phases employed a constant comparative approach to generate themes firmly grounded in participant experience. Key themes that emerged from the data included a sense of injustice, passivity and a feeling of being 'lost at sea'. The actual content of the elearning resource provided important context. The identified themes have strong emotional foundations. These responses, interpreted through the lens of achievement emotions, have not previously been described. Appreciation of their importance is of benefit to educators involved in curriculum development or delivery.

Measuring engagement at work: validation of the Chinese version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale.

Science.gov (United States)

Fong, Ted Chun-tat; Ng, Siu-man

2012-09-01

Work engagement is a positive work-related state of fulfillment characterized by vigor, dedication, and absorption. Previous studies have operationalized the construct through development of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. Apart from the original three-factor 17-item version of the instrument (UWES-17), there exists a nine-item shortened revised version (UWES-9). The current study explored the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale in terms of factorial validity, scale reliability, descriptive statistics, and construct validity. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted in 2009 among 992 workers from over 30 elderly service units in Hong Kong. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed a better fit for the three-factor model of the UWES-9 than the UWES-17 and the one-factor model of the UWES-9. The three factors showed acceptable internal consistency and strong correlations with factors in the original versions. Engagement was negatively associated with perceived stress and burnout while positively with age and holistic care climate. The UWES-9 demonstrates adequate psychometric properties, supporting its use in future research in the Chinese context.

Barriers to women engaging in collective action to overcome sexism.

Science.gov (United States)

Radke, Helena R M; Hornsey, Matthew J; Barlow, Fiona Kate

2016-12-01

Over centuries women have fought hard to obtain increasing gender equality, but despite these successes absolute equality remains an elusive goal. Theoretically, women's numerical strength makes them well-placed to take effective collective action, and millions of women engage in feminist collective action every day. In this article, however, we argue that women also face barriers to engaging in feminist collective action; barriers that are associated with the social construction and experience of what it means to be a woman. Our review synthesizes sexism research under a contemporary collective action framework to clarify our current understanding of the literature and to offer novel theoretical explanations for why women might be discouraged from engaging in feminist collective action. Using the antecedents of collective action identified by van Zomeren, Postmes, and Spears' (2008) meta-analysis, we critically review the sexism literature to argue that women face challenges when it comes to (a) identifying with other women and feminists, (b) perceiving sexism and expressing group-based anger, and (c) recognizing the efficacy of collective action. We then outline a research agenda with a view to investigating ways of overcoming these barriers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Social class, sense of control, and social explanation.

Science.gov (United States)

Kraus, Michael W; Piff, Paul K; Keltner, Dacher

2009-12-01

Lower social class is associated with diminished resources and perceived subordinate rank. On the basis of this analysis, the authors predicted that social class would be closely associated with a reduced sense of personal control and that this association would explain why lower class individuals favor contextual over dispositional explanations of social events. Across 4 studies, lower social class individuals, as measured by subjective socioeconomic status (SES), endorsed contextual explanations of economic trends, broad social outcomes, and emotion. Across studies, the sense of control mediated the relation between subjective SES and contextual explanations, and this association was independent of objective SES, ethnicity, political ideology, and self-serving biases. Finally, experimentally inducing a higher sense of control attenuated the tendency for lower subjective SES individuals to make more contextual explanations (Study 4). Implications for future research on social class as well as theoretical distinctions between objective SES and subjective SES are discussed.

Young British readers' engagement with manga

OpenAIRE

Tsai, Yi-Shan

2015-01-01

This thesis presents young British readers’ engagement with manga regarding literary, aesthetic, social, and cultural dimensions. The study explores young readers’ points of views of their reading preference – manga. I investigated how children interpreted manga, with respect to the artistic techniques, the embedded ideologies, and the cultural elements therein. I also looked into children’s participation in manga fandom and its social meanings. This allowed me to explore what attracted Briti...

Spirituality: The Bridge between Engagement and Resistance in The Workplace

Science.gov (United States)

Lawton, Dianne Ford

2017-01-01

This theoretical article explores the role spirituality plays in engagement and resistance in the workplace. These qualities exist at the opposite ends of the continuum in adult education in the workplace: engagement in learning and resistance to adult learning. By employing Mezirow's learning framework, the researcher illustrates how spirituality…

Projections on museum exhibits - engaging visitors in the museum setting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Basballe, Ditte Amund; Halskov, Kim

2010-01-01

Using animation, text, and visual effects as elements of projections on the Danish rune stone, Mejlbystenen (the Mejlby stone), we have explored approaches to engaging museum visitors. The installation positions itself in the field of previous installations and experiments exploring projection...... on physical objects, but is unique in focusing on fusing the projection and the object in an engaging approach to communicating information at a cultural heritage museum. The Mejlby stone installation is now a permanent installation at a cultural and historical museum, and, based on observation as well...

The many roles of "explanation" in science education: a case study

Science.gov (United States)

Rocksén, Miranda

2016-12-01

In this paper the role of explanations is discussed in relation to possible consequences originating in the polysemy of the word explanation. The present study is a response to conceptual confusions that have arisen in the intersection between theory and practice, and between science education literature and communication in authentic science classroom settings. Science classroom communication is examined in terms of one teacher's word use during eleven lessons about evolution. The study contributes empirical examples of how disciplinary norms of valid explanations are manifested in science classroom communication. A dialogical analysis shows how the teacher provides three conversational structures: asking for acts of explanation, providing opportunities to talk about what explanations are in this context and providing opportunities to talk about explanations constructed by students. These three structures facilitate the process of learning how to evaluate and justify explanations. Three potential meanings of the word "explanation" are pointed to: an everyday meaning, a pedagogical-professional meaning and a scientific meaning of the word. It is suggested that the co-existence of these three potential meanings has communicative consequences in science education.

Hierarchy, causation and explanation: ubiquity, locality and pluralism

Science.gov (United States)

Love, Alan C.

2012-01-01

The ubiquity of top-down causal explanations within and across the sciences is prima facie evidence for the existence of top-down causation. Much debate has been focused on whether top-down causation is coherent or in conflict with reductionism. Less attention has been given to the question of whether these representations of hierarchical relations pick out a single, common hierarchy. A negative answer to this question undermines a commonplace view that the world is divided into stratified ‘levels’ of organization and suggests that attributions of causal responsibility in different hierarchical representations may not have a meaningful basis for comparison. Representations used in top-down and bottom-up explanations are primarily ‘local’ and tied to distinct domains of science, illustrated here by protein structure and folding. This locality suggests that no single metaphysical account of hierarchy for causal relations to obtain within emerges from the epistemology of scientific explanation. Instead, a pluralist perspective is recommended—many different kinds of top-down causation (explanation) can exist alongside many different kinds of bottom-up causation (explanation). Pluralism makes plausible why different senses of top-down causation can be coherent and not in conflict with reductionism, thereby illustrating a productive interface between philosophical analysis and scientific inquiry. PMID:23386966

Suckers for Science.

Science.gov (United States)

Haugen, Heidi Helene

2001-01-01

Introduces an inquiry-based program on leeches that features five components: (1) engagement; (2) exploration; (3) explanation; (4) evaluation; and (5) extension/elaboration. Investigates the anatomy and environmental conditions of leeches. (YDS)

Teaching and Learning Science Through Song: Exploring the experiences of students and teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Governor, Donna; Hall, Jori; Jackson, David

2013-12-01

This qualitative, multi-case study explored the use of science-content music for teaching and learning in six middle school science classrooms. The researcher sought to understand how teachers made use of content-rich songs for teaching science, how they impacted student engagement and learning, and what the experiences of these teachers and students suggested about using songs for middle school classroom science instruction. Data gathered included three teacher interviews, one classroom observation and a student focus-group discussion from each of six cases. The data from each unit of analysis were examined independently and then synthesized in a multi-case analysis, resulting in a number of merged findings, or assertions, about the experience. The results of this study indicated that teachers used content-rich music to enhance student understanding of concepts in science by developing content-based vocabulary, providing students with alternative examples and explanations of concepts, and as a sense-making experience to help build conceptual understanding. The use of science-content songs engaged students by providing both situational and personal interest, and provided a mnemonic device for remembering key concepts in science. The use of songs has relevance from a constructivist approach as they were used to help students build meaning; from a socio-cultural perspective in terms of student engagement; and from a cognitive viewpoint in that in these cases they helped students make connections in learning. The results of this research have implications for science teachers and the science education community in developing new instructional strategies for the middle school science classroom.

Changes in Students' Explanations for Gender Differences after Taking a Psychology of Women Class: More Constructionist and Less Essentialist

Science.gov (United States)

Yoder, Janice D.; Fischer, Ann R.; Kahn, Arnold S.; Groden, Jessica

2007-01-01

We explored how students' endorsements of essential (biological and personality) and constructed (socialization and contextual) explanations for gender differences changed from the start to the end of Psychology of Women (POW) classes along with their feminist attitudes. Results from surveys of 120 POW students from three universities indicated…

Motivation in the museum - Mediating between everyday engagement and cultural heritage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dindler, Christian; Iversen, Ole Sejer

We explore the concepts of motivation and motives in relation to creating engaging museum exhibitions. Drawing on Cultural Historical Activity Theory, we present a theoretical conception of motivation and motives and their relation to museum engagement. We propose an approach for creating...

New Postgraduate Student Experience and Engagement in Human Communication Studies

Science.gov (United States)

Steele, Godfrey A.

2015-01-01

New postgraduate students' feedback on their learning offers insights into engagement. Student feedback to students and teachers can contribute to teacher feedback to students. When this happens, students can feel engaged or connected to their learning experiences. Adopting a more inclusive notion of feedback on learning, this paper explores the…

Conceptualizing Culturally Infused Engagement and Its Measurement for Ethnic Minority and Immigrant Children and Families

Science.gov (United States)

Pottick, Kathleen J.; Chen, Yun

2017-01-01

Despite the central role culture plays in racial and ethnic disparities in mental health among ethnic minority and immigrant children and families, existing measures of engagement in mental health services have failed to integrate culturally specific factors that shape these families' engagement with mental health services. To illustrate this gap, the authors systematically review 119 existing instruments that measure the multi-dimensional and developmental process of engagement for ethnic minority and immigrant children and families. The review is anchored in a new integrated conceptualization of engagement, the culturally infused engagement model. The review assesses culturally relevant cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioral mechanisms of engagement from the stages of problem recognition and help seeking to treatment participation that can help illuminate the gaps. Existing measures examined four central domains pertinent to the process of engagement for ethnic minority and immigrant children and families: (a) expressions of mental distress and illness, (b) causal explanations of mental distress and illness, (c) beliefs about mental distress and illness, and (d) beliefs and experiences of seeking help. The findings highlight the variety of tools that are used to measure behavioral and attitudinal dimensions of engagement, showing the limitations of their application for ethnic minority and immigrant children and families. The review proposes directions for promising research methodologies to help intervention scientists and clinicians improve engagement and service delivery and reduce disparities among ethnic minority and immigrant children and families at large, and recommends practical applications for training, program planning, and policymaking. PMID:28275923

Small groups, contexts, and civic engagement: A multilevel analysis of United States Congregational Life Survey data.

Science.gov (United States)

Whitehead, Andrew L; Stroope, Samuel

2015-07-01

Prior research suggests that church-goers are more civically engaged than their non-church-going counterparts. Little is known, however, about how the popular phenomenon of small groups factors into this equation. In the present study, we examine relationships between small group participation at individual and congregation levels and civic engagement. Using multilevel modeling and national data on congregations and individuals from the U.S. Congregational Life Study (n=82,044), we find that: (1) individual-level small group involvement is associated with four measures of civic engagement; (2) congregation-level small group participation is associated with both lower and higher civic engagement in the case of two outcomes; and (3) in the case of three civic outcomes, congregation-level small group participation moderates individual-level small group involvement such that small group members' civic activity more closely resembles the lower civic engagement of small group nonparticipants. In the case of one civic outcome, at high levels of overall small group participation, small group members' civic engagement drops below that of small group nonparticipants. Explanations for these findings, including a "crowding out" effect, are examined including their complex implications for debates regarding small groups, religious involvement, and civic engagement. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Happiness Is the Way: Paths to Civic Engagement between Young Adulthood and Midlife

Science.gov (United States)

Fang, Shichen; Galambos, Nancy L.; Johnson, Matthew D.; Krahn, Harvey J.

2018-01-01

Directional associations between civic engagement and happiness were explored with longitudinal data from a community sample surveyed four times from age 22 to 43 (n = 690). Autoregressive cross-lagged models, controlling for cross-time stabilities in happiness and civic engagement, examined whether happiness predicted future civic engagement,…

Addiction and Engagement: An Explorative Study Toward Classification Criteria for Internet Gaming Disorder.

Science.gov (United States)

Lehenbauer-Baum, Mario; Klaps, Armin; Kovacovsky, Zuzana; Witzmann, Karolin; Zahlbruckner, Raphaela; Stetina, Birgit U

2015-06-01

The DSM-5 introduced Internet gaming disorder (IGD) as a condition needing more research. Proposed criteria include tolerance, preoccupation, deceiving, or continued excess despite psychosocial problems. However, studies suggest differences between addicted and engaged players. Therefore, this study investigated differences between engagement and addiction in a German-speaking sample of expert World of Warcraft players. Using an online-based questionnaire, 682 participants were surveyed (Mage=23.26 years; 84.9% male) from German-speaking areas. An adapted version of the "Asheron's call" questionnaire (which covers six addiction criteria, including salience, euphoria, and tolerance), the WHOQOL-BREF, the Gaming Motivation Scale, the BDI, the SPIN, and a brief version of the personality questionnaire BFI-10 were used. The average gamer in the sample played on level 87.93 and had been playing for 5.42 years. Addicted players had higher scores on the BDI and SPIN and significantly lower scores in all dimensions of quality of life. Addicted gamers played for 39.25 hours per week (engaged players: 11.93 hours per week) with significantly higher scores in items tapping achievement and immersion. There were differences regarding the BFI-10 in terms of "agreeableness," "conscientiousness," and "neuroticism." The results suggest that factors such as achievement and immersion set engaged and addicted users apart. Addiction seems to be significantly more connected to other psychopathologies such as depression and social anxiety. The results suggest that euphoria, tolerance, and cognitive salience should be handled with caution when it comes to a classification of IGD similar to (behavioral) addiction.

Employee Engagement and a Culture of Safety in the Intensive Care Unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Collier, Susan L; Fitzpatrick, Joyce J; Siedlecki, Sandra L; Dolansky, Mary A

2016-01-01

A descriptive, retrospective design was used to explore the relationship between employee engagement and culture of safety in ICUs within a large Midwestern healthcare system. Results demonstrated a strong positive relationship between total engagement score and total patient safety score (r = 0.645, P engagement score and the 12 safety culture dimensions. These findings have implications for improving managerial strategies relative to employee engagement that may ultimately impact perceptions of a safety culture.

Teacher Explanation of Physics Concepts: A Video Study

Science.gov (United States)

Geelan, David

2013-01-01

Video recordings of Year 11 physics lessons were analyzed to identify key features of teacher explanations. Important features of the explanations used included teachers' ability to move between qualitative and quantitative modes of discussion, attention to what students require to succeed in high stakes examinations, thoughtful use of…

A problem with levels: how to engage a diverse IPE

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Naeem Inayatullah

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Though welcome, Cohen's call for exchange across diverse perspectives in international political economy (IPE evades the question: why have we remained unaware of or insensitive to the diversity that already exists? We follow John Hobson's claim that racism, imperialism and Eurocentrism disallow a western-dominated social science from engaging with diverse viewpoints. We argue further that a disciplinary bias towards a unit-level or atomistic understanding of social science precludes and disallows epistemological encounters in which actual diversity might be harnessed. We support this claim in two steps. First, we draw on Ghassan Hage's analysis of exigophobia, or the fear that social explanation inadvertently justifies horrendous actions and humanises their perpetrators. Exigophobia activates what we call the condemnation imperative: an eagerness to condemn an individual or group act, of fierce violence, for example, before one has tried to understand or explain it. Second, building on Nicholas Onuf's work on levels, we show that the disciplinary bias towards explanations which 'see' from the level of individual actors treats Europe or the west, in Hobson's terms, as 'self-constituting and exceptional'. When one neglects the structuring features of the whole, and assumes western 'pioneering agency', it is easy to treat non-western inferiority (irrationality, backwards culture, and so on as an explanation of the relative successes and failures of a flattened planet of autonomous units. Though we endorse forms of social explanation that start from the whole as opposed to the parts, we favour the view that there are only simultaneous and continuous processes whose seeming mystical flow our descriptions cannot but freeze. We suggest that there are no levels, simply parts and wholes in process.

Exploring Student Engagement and Collaborative Learning in a Community-Based Module in Fine Art

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John McGarrigle

2013-05-01

Full Text Available This article is based on masters research1 into student and civic engagement using a case study of an innovative Community Based Module in a Fine Art degree course (McGarrigle, 2009. 2 (Flyvbjerg, 2006 notes that contrary to some common misunderstandings around case study research, it is possible to use individual case study to test theory particularly in relation to falsification. The research presented here is based on student’s repsonses to Coates’ (2007 quantitative study of student engagement and attempts to test his engagement typology which identifies the terms passive, intense, independent or collaborative to apply to students’ approaches to online and general campus learning. In a participatory action research framework, low agreement was found between students (n=13 and lecturers (n=3 in assigning these terms to student postings to online discussion fora. This presents a challenge to the validity of such a narrow typology, and discussions with this student group suggested the addition of ‘adaptive’ as a valid student approach to the varied demands of third level learning. Further evidence from the case study found greater student collaboration in discussion fora when linked to practical course activity. Qualitative analysis of discussion threads using conversation analysis provided evidence for collaboration in deeper knowledge construction when supported by lecturers’ contributions. Collaborative approaches to learning may support learning within a social constructivist paradigm, though acknowledgement must be made of the context of an individualistic society where competition may present real or imagined barriers to student collaboration. An argument is made for Pedagogies for Community Engagement to promote these ways of learning to in order to develop active and engaged citizens of the future.

Simple explanations and reasoning: From philosophy of science to expert systems

Science.gov (United States)

Rochowiak, Daniel

1988-01-01

A preliminary prototype of a simple explanation system was constructed. Although the system, based on the idea of storytelling, did not incorporate all of the principles of simple explanation, it did demonstrate the potential of the approach. The system incorporated a hypertext system, an inference engine, and facilities for constructing contrast type explanations. The continued development of such a system should prove to be valuable. By extending the resources of the expert system paradigm, the knowledge engineer is not forced to learn a new set of skills, and the domain knowledge already acquired by him is not lost. Further, both the beginning user and the more advanced user can be accommodated. For the beginning user, corrective explanations and ES explanations provide facilities for more clearly understanding the way in which the system is functioning. For the more advanced user, the instance and state explanations allow him to focus on the issues at hand. The simple model of explanation attempts to exploit and show how the why and how facilities of the expert system paradigm can be extended by attending to the pragmatics of explanation and adding texture to the ordinary pattern of reasoning in a rule based system.

Examining the Effects of Two Computer Programming Learning Strategies: Self-Explanation versus Reading Questions and Answers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nancy Lee

2017-08-01

Full Text Available The study described here explored the differential effects of two learning strategies, self-explanation and reading questions and answers, on learning the computer programming language JavaScript. Students’ test performance and perceptions of effectiveness toward the two strategies were examined. An online interactive tutorial instruction implementing worked-examples and multimedia learning principles was developed for this study. Participants were 147 high school students (ages 14 to 18 of a computer introductory course in six periods which were randomly divided into two groups (n = 78; n = 69 of three periods each. The two groups alternated learning strategies to learn five lessons. Students’ prerequisite knowledge of XHTML and motivation to learn computer programming languages were measured before starting the tutorial. Students largely expressed their preference toward self-explanation over reading questions and answers. They thought self-explanation incurred much more work yet was more effective. However, the two learning strategies did not have differential effects on students’ test performance. The seeming discrepancy arising from students’ preferred strategy and their test performance was discussed in the areas of familiar versus new strategy, difficulty of learning materials and testing method, and experimental duration.

Algorithms and Their Explanations

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Benini, M.; Gobbo, F.; Beckmann, A.; Csuhaj-Varjú, E.; Meer, K.

2014-01-01

By analysing the explanation of the classical heapsort algorithm via the method of levels of abstraction mainly due to Floridi, we give a concrete and precise example of how to deal with algorithmic knowledge. To do so, we introduce a concept already implicit in the method, the ‘gradient of

· Digital Natives: Fifth-Grade Students’ Authentic and Ritualistic Engagement with Technology

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Trevor Dietrich

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Thirty four fifth-grade students were interviewed about classroom learning and technology. Interview data were considered through Schlechty’s (2002 levels of engagement framework to explore students’ authentic or ritualistic engagement during technology supported lessons. Student engagement is defined as interest in and commitment to learning. Results indicated that students were engaged in classroom learning when using technology, particularly when they had control of the technology. Control and choices inherent in the learning task support authentic engagement with lesson content more than does technology alone.

Cortisol levels, burnout and engagement in university employees

OpenAIRE

Ortiz-Valdés, Juan A.; Vega-Michel, Claudia

2009-01-01

People’s psychological relationship with work can be conceptualized as a continuum ranging from negative experiences of professional burnout to positive experiences, known as engagement. A retrospective ex post facto study was carried out for the purpose of exploring and measuring the degree of relation of professional burnout and job engagement to cortisol levels and the filing of claims for medical costs among university employees. One hundred ninety-nine subjects participated. A weak posit...

Workaholism, work engagement and work-home outcomes: exploring the mediating role of positive and negative emotions.

Science.gov (United States)

Clark, Malissa A; Michel, Jesse S; Stevens, Gregory W; Howell, Julia W; Scruggs, Ross S

2014-10-01

This study examines the mechanisms through which workaholism and work engagement impact work-home conflict and enrichment, respectively. Specifically, we examine the mediating role of positive and negative emotions (e.g. joviality and guilt) in the relationship between workaholism, work engagement and work-home outcomes. Results, based on a sample of 340 working adults participating in a two-wave study, indicate that negative emotions-particularly anxiety, anger and disappointment-mediate the relationship between workaholism and work-home conflict and positive emotions-particularly joviality and self-assurance-mediate the relationship between work engagement and work-home enrichment. These results provide further evidence that workaholism and work engagement are related to distinct sets of emotional variables and disparate work and home outcomes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Parental Engagement: Beyond Parental Involvement in Science Education

Science.gov (United States)

St. Louis, Kathleen

This study critically analyzes parents' complex stories of engagement in school and science education. The purpose is not to essentialize parental involvement, but rather to understand the processes of parental involvement and push forward the current discourse on the engagement of low-income minority and immigrant parents in schools and specifically science education. Employing critical grounded theory methods over a four-year span, this study had three areas of focus. First, voices of marginalized parents in the context of various spaces within the school system are examined. Using a qualitative approach, informal, formal, and research spaces were explored along with how minority parents express voice in these various spaces. Findings indicate parents drew on capital to express voice differently in different spaces, essentially authoring new spaces or the type of engagement in existing spaces. Second, the values and beliefs of traditionally marginalized people, the Discourse of mainstream society, and how they can inform a third, more transformative space for parental engagement in science are considered. The voices of low-income, marginalized parents around science and parental engagement (i.e., first space) are contrasted with the tenets of major national science policy documents (i.e., second space). Findings indicate a disparity between the pathways of engagement for low-income parents and policymakers who shape science education. Third, methodological questions of responsibility and assumption in qualitative research are explored. The author's complex struggle to make sense of her positionality, responsibilities, and assumptions as a researcher is chronicled. Findings focused on insider/outsider issues and implications for culturally sensitive research are discussed. Finally, the implications for policy, teaching, and research are discussed.

Engaging teenagers productively in service design.

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Bowen, Simon; Sustar, Helena; Wolstenholme, Daniel; Dearden, Andy

2013-09-01

Engaging young people in participatory design can be challenging, particularly in health-related projects. In a study co-designing diabetes support and information services with teenagers, we found framing activities using popular culture was a useful strategy. Various cultural references helped us stage activities that were productive for the design process, and were engaging for our young participants (e.g. exploring practical implications through discussions in a 'Dragons' Den'). Some activities were more effective than others and the idea of language-games , which has been widely explored in participatory design, explains why our strategy was successful when there was a clear 'family resemblance' between the popular cultural references and certain essential stages of designing. However, attention is required in selecting appropriate cultural references if this strategy is adopted elsewhere, and design facilitators should focus first on devising accessible language-games, rather than expecting popular cultural references to provide complete solutions to the challenge of staging participatory design.

Engaging design materials, formats and Framings in specific, situated co-designing

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Agger Eriksen, Mette

Engaging co-designers in specific situations of co- designing often also means engaging tangible working materials. However, it can be challenging, so rather than seeing it as applying design methods, the paper propose applying what I call a micro-material perspective. The practical concept captu......-design situations" clustered in three quite well- known types of co-design situations framed for; Exploring Current Use(r) Practices, Mapping Networks and Co-Designing (Possible) Futures.......Engaging co-designers in specific situations of co- designing often also means engaging tangible working materials. However, it can be challenging, so rather than seeing it as applying design methods, the paper propose applying what I call a micro-material perspective. The practical concept...... captures both paying attention to the physical design materials, the formats of their exploration and the framings of focus when understanding and planning such specific co-design situations. To exemplify applying the perspective, the paper describes and discusses six specific examples of "co...

Self-Explanation and Explanatory Feedback in Games: Individual Differences, Gameplay, and Learning

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Killingsworth, Stephen S.; Clark, Douglas B.; Adams, Deanne M.

2015-01-01

Previous research has demonstrated the efficacy of two explanation-based approaches for increasing learning in educational games. The first involves asking students to explain their answers (self-explanation) and the second involves providing correct explanations (explanatory feedback). This study (1) compared self-explanation and explanatory…

Projections on museum exhibits - engaging visitors in the museum setting

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Basballe, Ditte Amund; Halskov, Kim

2010-01-01

Using animation, text, and visual effects as elements of projections on the Danish rune stone, Mejlbystenen (the Mejlby stone), we have explored approaches to engaging museum visitors. The installation positions itself in the field of previous installations and experiments exploring projection on...

Warm and Supportive Parenting Can Discourage Offspring's Civic Engagement in the Transition to Adulthood.

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Pavlova, Maria K; Silbereisen, Rainer K; Ranta, Mette; Salmela-Aro, Katariina

2016-11-01

It is widely believed that warm and supportive parenting fosters all kinds of prosocial behaviors in the offspring, including civic engagement. However, accumulating international evidence suggests that the effects of family support on civic engagement may sometimes be negative. To address this apparent controversy, we identified several scenarios for the negative effects of supportive parenting on youth civic engagement and tested them using four waves of data from the Finnish Educational Transitions Studies. They followed 1549 students (55 % female) from late adolescence into young adulthood, included both maternal (n = 231) and offspring reports of parental support, and assessed civic engagement in young adulthood. Control variables included socioeconomic status, other sociodemographic indicators, church belonging, personality traits, and earlier civic engagement. Higher maternal warmth and support and a stronger identification with the parental family in adolescence predicted offspring's lower political activism up to 10 years later. Perceived parental support in young adulthood predicted lower volunteering 2 years later. There were no significant effects on general organizational involvement (e.g., in student and hobby associations). None of the a priori scenarios that we identified from the literature appeared to explain the pattern of results satisfactorily. We put forth cultural and life stage explanations of our findings.

Transforming Biology Assessment with Machine Learning: Automated Scoring of Written Evolutionary Explanations

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Nehm, Ross H.; Ha, Minsu; Mayfield, Elijah

2012-02-01

This study explored the use of machine learning to automatically evaluate the accuracy of students' written explanations of evolutionary change. Performance of the Summarization Integrated Development Environment (SIDE) program was compared to human expert scoring using a corpus of 2,260 evolutionary explanations written by 565 undergraduate students in response to two different evolution instruments (the EGALT-F and EGALT-P) that contained prompts that differed in various surface features (such as species and traits). We tested human-SIDE scoring correspondence under a series of different training and testing conditions, using Kappa inter-rater agreement values of greater than 0.80 as a performance benchmark. In addition, we examined the effects of response length on scoring success; that is, whether SIDE scoring models functioned with comparable success on short and long responses. We found that SIDE performance was most effective when scoring models were built and tested at the individual item level and that performance degraded when suites of items or entire instruments were used to build and test scoring models. Overall, SIDE was found to be a powerful and cost-effective tool for assessing student knowledge and performance in a complex science domain.

Cognitive science as an interface between rational and mechanistic explanation.

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Chater, Nick

2014-04-01

Cognitive science views thought as computation; and computation, by its very nature, can be understood in both rational and mechanistic terms. In rational terms, a computation solves some information processing problem (e.g., mapping sensory information into a description of the external world; parsing a sentence; selecting among a set of possible actions). In mechanistic terms, a computation corresponds to causal chain of events in a physical device (in engineering context, a silicon chip; in biological context, the nervous system). The discipline is thus at the interface between two very different styles of explanation--as the papers in the current special issue well illustrate, it explores the interplay of rational and mechanistic forces. Copyright © 2014 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Perspective-Taking Increases Willingness to Engage in Intergroup Contact

OpenAIRE

Wang, Cynthia S.; Kenneth, Tai; Ku, Gillian; Galinsky, Adam D.

2014-01-01

The current research explored whether perspective-taking increases willingness to engage in contact with stereotyped outgroup members. Across three studies, we find that perspective-taking increases willingness to engage in contact with negatively-stereotyped targets. In Study 1, perspective-takers sat closer to, whereas stereotype suppressors sat further from, a hooligan compared to control participants. In Study 2, individual differences in perspective-taking tendencies predicted individual...

Using Collective Argumentation to Engage Students in a Primary Mathematics Classroom

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Brown, Raymond

2017-01-01

This article focuses on using sociocultural theory to support student engagement with mathematics. The sociocultural approach used, collective argumentation (CA), is based on interactive principles necessary for coordinating student engagement in the discourse of the classroom. A goal of the research was to explore the affordances and constraints…

Student Engagement: Stakeholder Perspectives on Course Representation in University Governance

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Carey, Philip

2013-01-01

Student engagement has become a key feature of UK higher education policy and analysis. At the core of this is a notion of engagement characterised by dialogue and joint venture. The article explores this by considering the role of student representation in university governance. It focuses on the system of course representation that is a feature…

The Limits of Materialism: Auspicious for Teleological Explanation?

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Athearn, Daniel

2012-09-01

The idea that scientific explanation runs up against certain inherent limits beyond which the field is open for other kinds of explanation is based on flawed assumptions. Modern physical knowledge, as I read it, does contain at least one important implication for theology having to do with how "Creation" is understood, if indeed the term remains usable and suitable.

Reasoning with alternative explanations in physics: The cognitive accessibility rule

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Heckler, Andrew F.; Bogdan, Abigail M.

2018-06-01

A critical component of scientific reasoning is the consideration of alternative explanations. Recognizing that decades of cognitive psychology research have demonstrated that relative cognitive accessibility, or "what comes to mind," strongly affects how people reason in a given context, we articulate a simple "cognitive accessibility rule", namely that alternative explanations are considered less frequently when an explanation with relatively high accessibility is offered first. In a series of four experiments, we test the cognitive accessibility rule in the context of consideration of alternative explanations for six physical scenarios commonly found in introductory physics curricula. First, we administer free recall and recognition tasks to operationally establish and distinguish between the relative accessibility and availability of common explanations for the physical scenarios. Then, we offer either high or low accessibility explanations for the physical scenarios and determine the extent to which students consider alternatives to the given explanations. We find two main results consistent across algebra- and calculus-based university level introductory physics students for multiple answer formats. First, we find evidence that, at least for some contexts, most explanatory factors are cognitively available to students but not cognitively accessible. Second, we empirically verify the cognitive accessibility rule and demonstrate that the rule is strongly predictive, accounting for up to 70% of the variance of the average student consideration of alternative explanations across scenarios. Overall, we find that cognitive accessibility can help to explain biases in the consideration of alternatives in reasoning about simple physical scenarios, and these findings lend support to the growing number of science education studies demonstrating that tasks relevant to science education curricula often involve rapid, automatic, and potentially predictable processes and

The application of contrast explanation to energy policy research: UK nuclear energy policy 2002–2012

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heffron, Raphael J.

2013-01-01

This paper advances the application of the methodology, contrast explanation, to energy policy research. Research in energy policy is complex and often involves inter-disciplinary work, which traditional economic methodologies fail to capture. Consequently, the more encompassing methodology of contrast explanation is assessed and its use in other social science disciplines explored in brief. It is then applied to an energy policy research topic—in this case, nuclear energy policy research in the UK. Contrast explanation facilitates research into policy and decision-making processes in energy studies and offers an alternative to the traditional economic methods used in energy research. Further, contrast explanation is extended by the addition of contested and uncontested hypotheses analyses. This research focuses on the methods employed to deliver the new nuclear programme of the UK government. In order to achieve a sustainable nuclear energy policy three issues are of major importance: (1) law, policy and development; (2) public administration; and (3) project management. Further, the research identifies that policy in the area remains to be resolved, in particular at an institutional and legal level. However, contrary to the literature, in some areas, the research identifies a change of course as the UK concentrates on delivering a long-term policy for the nuclear energy sector and the overall energy sector. - Highlights: ► Energy policy research is interdisciplinary and needs additional methodological approaches. ► New method of contrast explanation advanced for energy policy research. ► This methodology is based on dialectical learning which examines conflict between sources of data. ► Research example used here is of UK nuclear energy policy. ► Major issues in UK nuclear energy policy are planning law, public administration, and project management

Counterbalancing work-related stress? Work engagement among intensive care professionals.

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van Mol, Margo M C; Nijkamp, Marjan D; Bakker, Jan; Schaufeli, Wilmar B; Kompanje, Erwin J O

2018-07-01

Working in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is increasingly complex and is also physically, cognitively and emotionally demanding. Although the negative emotions of work-related stress have been well studied, the opposite perspective of work engagement might also provide valuable insight into how these emotional demands may be countered. This study focused on the work engagement of ICU professionals and explored the complex relationship between work engagement, job demands and advantageous personal resources. This was a cross-sectional survey study among ICU professionals in a single-centre university hospital. Work engagement was measured by the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, which included items about opinions related to the respondent's work environment. Additionally, 14 items based on the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy were included to measure empathic ability. A digital link to the questionnaire was sent in October 2015 to a population of 262 ICU nurses and 53 intensivists. The overall response rate was 61% (n=193). Work engagement was negatively related both to cognitive demands among intensivists and to emotional demands among ICU nurses. No significant relationship was found between work engagement and empathic ability; however, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability were highly correlated with work engagement. Only the number of hours worked per week remained as a confounding factor, with a negative effect of workload on work engagement after controlling for the effect of weekly working hours. Work engagement counterbalances work-related stress reactions. The relatively high workload in ICUs, coupled with an especially heavy emotional burden, may be acknowledged as an integral part of ICU work. This workload does not affect the level of work engagement, which was high for both intensivists and nurses despite the known high job demands. Specific factors that contribute to a healthy and successful work life among ICU professionals need

Explanation-based learning in infancy.

Science.gov (United States)

Baillargeon, Renée; DeJong, Gerald F

2017-10-01

In explanation-based learning (EBL), domain knowledge is leveraged in order to learn general rules from few examples. An explanation is constructed for initial exemplars and is then generalized into a candidate rule that uses only the relevant features specified in the explanation; if the rule proves accurate for a few additional exemplars, it is adopted. EBL is thus highly efficient because it combines both analytic and empirical evidence. EBL has been proposed as one of the mechanisms that help infants acquire and revise their physical rules. To evaluate this proposal, 11- and 12-month-olds (n = 260) were taught to replace their current support rule (that an object is stable when half or more of its bottom surface is supported) with a more sophisticated rule (that an object is stable when half or more of the entire object is supported). Infants saw teaching events in which asymmetrical objects were placed on a base, followed by static test displays involving a novel asymmetrical object and a novel base. When the teaching events were designed to facilitate EBL, infants learned the new rule with as few as two (12-month-olds) or three (11-month-olds) exemplars. When the teaching events were designed to impede EBL, however, infants failed to learn the rule. Together, these results demonstrate that even infants, with their limited knowledge about the world, benefit from the knowledge-based approach of EBL.

Getting Students Outside: Using Technology as a Way to Stimulate Engagement

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Boyce, Carrie J.; Mishra, Chandrani; Halverson, Kristy L.; Thomas, Aimée K.

2014-12-01

Informal environments provide students with unique experiences that allow them to actively participate in activities while promoting a positive attitude toward and an increased interest in science. One way to enhance informal science experiences is through the integration of mobile technologies. This integration is particularly useful in engaging underrepresented students in learning science. Our informal environmental science program engages underrepresented, fifth-grade students in an informal learning environment supplemented with mobile tablet technology (iPads). The purpose of this study was to explore how fifth-grade students interacted with nature using mobile technology during a nature hike series. Participants included 55 fifth-grade students from two low-income schools. We found that students used the mobile technology to explore nature and stay engaged throughout the hike. The iPads were used as references, data collectors, and engagement tools. Students had an intense desire in returning to the site and responded positively toward interacting with nature. Prior research has indicated that students in this age group are likely to lose interest in science and the incorporation of field-friendly technology that engages students with nature, not technology alone, is a useful tool for keeping students interested in science.

Borehole logging for uranium exploration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1982-01-01

The present text has been prepared taking into account the requirements of both developing countries, which might be at an incipient stage of uranium exploration, and industrialized countries, where more advanced exploration and resource evaluation techniques are commonly in use. While it was felt necessary to include some discussion of exploration concepts and fundamental physical principles underlying various logging methods, it was not the intention of the consultants to provide a thorough, detailed explanation of the various techniques, or even to give a comprehensive listing thereof. However, a list of references has been included, and it is strongly recommended that the serious student of mineral logging consult this list for further guidance

Teachers' Engagement in Professional Learning: Exploring Motivational Profiles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jansen in de Wal, Joost; Den Brok, Perry; Hooijer, Janneke; Martens, Rob; Van den Beemt, Antoine

2017-01-01

This study investigated to what extent secondary school teachers are motivated to work on their professional learning. To this end, profiles ofmotivational dimensions fromself-determination theorywere explored in a sample of 2360 teachers by means of latent profile analysis. The motivational

Staff and Student Experiences of Dialogue Days, a Student Engagement Activity

Science.gov (United States)

Asghar, Mandy

2016-01-01

This paper reports the findings from a descriptive phenomenological exploration of the lived experience of dialogue days, a student engagement activity, from the perspectives of staff and students. I suggest that dialogue days enhance the relational and emotional aspects of learning with the potential to impact on future student engagement and…

Exploring physics students' engagement with online instructional videos in an introductory mechanics course

Science.gov (United States)

Lin, Shih-Yin; Aiken, John M.; Seaton, Daniel T.; Douglas, Scott S.; Greco, Edwin F.; Thoms, Brian D.; Schatz, Michael F.

2017-12-01

The advent of new educational technologies has stimulated interest in using online videos to deliver content in university courses. We examined student engagement with 78 online videos that we created and were incorporated into a one-semester flipped introductory mechanics course at the Georgia Institute of Technology. We found that students were more engaged with videos that supported laboratory activities than with videos that presented lecture content. In particular, the percentage of students accessing laboratory videos was consistently greater than 80% throughout the semester. On the other hand, the percentage of students accessing lecture videos dropped to less than 40% by the end of the term. Moreover, the fraction of students accessing the entirety of a video decreases when videos become longer in length, and this trend is more prominent for the lecture videos than the laboratory videos. The results suggest that students may access videos based on perceived value: students appear to consider the laboratory videos as essential for successfully completing the laboratories while they appear to consider the lecture videos as something more akin to supplemental material. In this study, we also found that there was little correlation between student engagement with the videos and their incoming background. There was also little correlation found between student engagement with the videos and their performance in the course. An examination of the in-video content suggests that students engaged more with concrete information that is explicitly required for assignment completion (e.g., actions required to complete laboratory work, or formulas or mathematical expressions needed to solve particular problems) and less with content that is considered more conceptual in nature. It was also found that students' in-video accesses usually increased toward the embedded interaction points. However, students did not necessarily access the follow-up discussion of these

Life Satisfaction and Student Engagement in Adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Ashley D.; Huebner, E. Scott; Malone, Patrick S.; Valois, Robert F.

2011-01-01

Situated within a positive psychology perspective, this study explored linkages between adolescent students' positive subjective well-being and their levels of engagement in schooling. Specifically, using structural equation modeling techniques, we evaluated the nature and directionality of longitudinal relationships between life satisfaction and…

Engaging Students In The Science Of Climate Change

Science.gov (United States)

Rhew, R. C.; Halversen, C.; Weiss, E.; Pedemonte, S.; Weirman, T.

2013-12-01

Climate change is arguably the defining environmental issue of our generation. It is thus increasingly necessary for every member of the global community to understand the basic underlying science of Earth's climate system and how it is changing in order to make informed, evidence-based decisions about how we will respond individually and as a society. Through exploration of the inextricable interconnection between Earth's ocean, atmosphere and climate, we believe students will be better prepared to tackle the complex issues surrounding the causes and effects of climate change and evaluate possible solutions. If students are also given opportunities to gather evidence from real data and use scientific argumentation to make evidence-based explanations about climate change, not only will they gain an increased understanding of the science concepts and science practices, the students will better comprehend the nature of climate change science. Engaging in argument from evidence is a scientific practice not only emphasized in the Framework for K-12 Science Education and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), but also emphasized in the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies and Science (CCSS). This significant overlap between NGSS and CCSS has implications for science and language arts classrooms, and should influence how we support and build students' expertise with this practice of sciences. The featured exemplary curricula supports middle school educators as they address climate change in their classrooms. The exemplar we will use is the NOAA-funded Ocean Sciences Sequence (OSS) for Grades 6-8: The ocean-atmosphere connection and climate change, which are curriculum units that deliver rich science content correlated to the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) Disciplinary Core Ideas and an emphasis on the Practices of Science, as called for in NGSS and the Framework. Designed in accordance with the latest

Teachers' engagement in professional learning : exploring motivational profiles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Jansen in de Wal, J.; Brok, den P.J.; Hooijer, J.G.; Martens, R.L.; Beemt, van den A.A.J.

2014-01-01

This study investigated to what extent secondary school teachers are motivated to work on their professional learning. To this end, profiles of motivational dimensions from self-determination theory were explored in a sample of 2360 teachers by means of latent profile analysis. The motivational

Meeting the Challenge: Creating Engaging and Powerful Contexts for Literacy Learning

Science.gov (United States)

Wilhelm, Jeffrey D.

2007-01-01

This article explores the conditions of "flow" experience from two studies into the literate lives of young men (Smith and Wilhelm 2002; 2006) that were explanatory, when present, of motivation and engagement in various activities including literacy, and when absent, of a lack of motivation and engagement in various activities including literacy.…

Preventing Violence against Women: Engaging the Fathers of Today and Tomorrow

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Crooks, Claire V.; Goodall, George R.; Baker, Linda L.; Hughes, Ray

2006-01-01

Although fathers play a key role in helping their children develop ideas about gender relations and close relationships, they have been largely overlooked as a resource to help prevent violence against women. This paper explores some of the reasons why fathers have not been successfully engaged in violence prevention. Engaging fathers to promote…

Scientific explanations in Greek upper secondary physics textbooks

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Velentzas, Athanasios; Halkia, Krystallia

2018-01-01

In this study, an analysis of the structure of scientific explanations included in physics textbooks of upper secondary schools in Greece was completed. In scientific explanations for specific phenomena found in the sample textbooks, the explanandum is a logical consequence of the explanans, which in all cases include at least one scientific law (and/or principle, model or rule) previously presented, as well as statements concerning a specific case or specific conditions. The same structure is also followed in most of the cases in which the textbook authors explain regularities (i.e. laws, rules) as consequences of one or more general law or principle of physics. Finally, a number of the physics laws and principles presented in textbooks are not deduced as consequences from other, more general laws, but they are formulated axiomatically or inductively derived and the authors argue for their validity. Since, as it was found, the scientific explanations presented in the textbooks used in the study have similar structures to the explanations in internationally known textbooks, the findings of the present work may be of interest not only to science educators in Greece, but also to the community of science educators in other countries.

From Access to Engagement: African American Female Students' Engagement at a Predominantly White University in the South

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Amber R.

2016-01-01

This study explores the impact of a predominantly White university's efforts to improve engagement of African American female students through the lens of organizational theory. This qualitative study consists of 10 semistructured interviews of undergraduate, African American women. Research on psychological presence and its impact on employee…

Identifying challenges in project consultants engagement practices

Science.gov (United States)

Shariffuddin, Nadia Alina Amir; Abidin, Nazirah Zainul

2017-10-01

Construction projects, green or conventional, involve multi-faceted disciplines engaged with the goal of delivering products i.e. building, infrastructure etc. at the best quality within stipulated budgets. For green projects, additional attention is added for environmental quality. Due to the various responsibilities and liabilities involved as well as the complexity of the construction process itself, formal engagement of multi-disciplinary professionals i.e. project consultants is required in any construction project. Poor selection of project consultants will lead to a multitude of complications resulting in delay, cost escalation, conflicts and poor quality. This paper explores the challenges that occur during the engagement of project consultants in a green project. As the engagement decision involves developers and architects, these two groups of respondents with green project backgrounds were approached qualitatively using interview technique. The challenges identified are limited experience and knowledge, consultants' fee vs. quality, green complexity, conflicts of interest, clients' extended expectation and less demand in green projects. The construction shifts to green project demands engagement of project consultants with added skills. It is expected that through the identification of challenges, better management and administration can be created which would give impact to the overall process of engagement in green projects.

Pragmatic epistemology and the community of engaged actors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prodanović Srđan

2016-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper I will explore the relation between engagement and social science. I will try to argue that positivist epistemology found in the early days of social sciences still greatly influences our understanding of social engagement. In the first part of the paper, I will analyze the epistemology of social sciences advocated by Fourier and Saint-Simon and try to show that, for them, scientific method was primarily the means for taming social change, as well as projecting private desires and plans onto the public sphere. In the second part, I will offer an alternative account of social engagement using the epistemic role of the community found in pragmatism.

It takes a community to engage a community: a model for public engagement about the impacts of nuclear research and development

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dalzell, M.T.J.; Main, M.G.; Root, J.H.

2014-01-01

The Forum for Accountability and Communities Talking nuclear Science - 'nuclearFACTS' - is a cornerstone of the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation's strategy to engage the people of Saskatchewan in evidence-based conversations about the impacts of the nuclear research, development and training activities supported by the Fedoruk Centre. The event is the primary mechanism through which the Fedoruk Centre's community of researchers reports on the progress of their work to the Fedoruk Centre and to their peers in a collegial environment. Intended to be an annual event, the inaugural nuclearFACTS was held 28 August 2013, with leaders of five projects in nuclear medicine, energy and safety systems, materials research using nuclear techniques and social environmental research. The one day event included a peer-to-peer forum as well as a public colloquium and press briefing. The public colloquium clearly demonstrated that this unique approach, enlisting the participation of a willing community of experts, highlighting the impacts of their work using straightforward, concise explanations can lead to successful public engagement. This paper will discuss some of the lessons learned from the first nuclearFACTS and plans for future events. (author)

It takes a community to engage a community: a model for public engagement about the impacts of nuclear research and development

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dalzell, M.T.J.; Main, M.G.; Root, J.H., E-mail: matthew.dalzell@usask.ca, E-mail: marci.main@usask.ca, E-mail: john.root@usask.ca [Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation, Saskatoon, SK (Canada)

2014-07-01

The Forum for Accountability and Communities Talking nuclear Science - 'nuclearFACTS' - is a cornerstone of the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation's strategy to engage the people of Saskatchewan in evidence-based conversations about the impacts of the nuclear research, development and training activities supported by the Fedoruk Centre. The event is the primary mechanism through which the Fedoruk Centre's community of researchers reports on the progress of their work to the Fedoruk Centre and to their peers in a collegial environment. Intended to be an annual event, the inaugural nuclearFACTS was held 28 August 2013, with leaders of five projects in nuclear medicine, energy and safety systems, materials research using nuclear techniques and social environmental research. The one day event included a peer-to-peer forum as well as a public colloquium and press briefing. The public colloquium clearly demonstrated that this unique approach, enlisting the participation of a willing community of experts, highlighting the impacts of their work using straightforward, concise explanations can lead to successful public engagement. This paper will discuss some of the lessons learned from the first nuclearFACTS and plans for future events. (author)

Explanation for the Mystical Practice III.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Květoslav Minařík

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Concentration on feet and legs as a whole, with a special focus on their flesh, has an effect on the development of the intellect and deepening of the sensory discernment, because right here, in the legs, in the flesh of the body, the basis of the inner life is situated. The same concentration with a special focus on their bones – and in particular to the bones of knees – eliminates the instability of the usual attention; it is used to stabilize the entire inner life. The current article is a continuation of Explanation for the Mystical Practice I. and Explanation for the Mystical Practice II., published in the previous editions of Spirituality Studies.

Sublime Views and Beautiful Explanations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Barry, Daved; Meisiek, Stefan; Hatch, Mary Jo

To create a generative theory that provides beautiful explanations and sublime views requires both a crafts and an art approach to scientific theorizing. The search for generativity leads scholars to perform various theorizing moves between the confines of simple, yet eloquent beauty...

The One-Child Policy, Elder Care, and LGB Chinese: A Social Policy Explanation for Family Pressure.

Science.gov (United States)

Hildebrandt, Timothy

2018-01-03

Lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people in China consistently report family pressure as the greatest challenge they face in their daily lives. This problem has been explained primarily by highlighting sociocultural factors. While such explanations are important to understanding family pressure, they do not easily lead to actionable policy interventions to relieve it. This article suggests a new way of looking at family pressure by positing a social policy explanation. In particular, it reveals how both the one-child policy and elder care reforms have strong heteronormative biases that negatively and disproportionately affect LGB people, and it explores social policy interventions that may help address them. Beyond the China case, the article seeks to open up new avenues for research into how sexuality could be better accounted for in analyses of social policies and considered in broader discussions on defamilization and welfare state reform.

Explanations of sleep paralysis among Egyptian college students and the general population in Egypt and Denmark.

Science.gov (United States)

Jalal, Baland; Simons-Rudolph, Joseph; Jalal, Bamo; Hinton, Devon E

2014-04-01

This cross-cultural study compared explanations of sleep paralysis (SP) in two countries and two groups with different levels of education in one country. Comparisons were made between individuals having experienced SP at least once in a lifetime from Cairo, Egypt (n = 89), Copenhagen, Denmark (n = 59), and the American University in Cairo, Egypt (n = 44). As hypothesized, participants from the general Egyptian population were more likely to endorse supernatural causal explanation of their SP compared to participants from Denmark; participants from the American University in Cairo were less likely to endorse supernatural causes of their SP compared to participants from the general Egyptian population. Moreover, participants from the American University in Cairo were marginally significantly more likely to endorse supernatural causes of their SP compared to participants from Denmark. Additionally, we explored which culturally bound explanations and beliefs about SP existed in Egypt and Denmark. We found that nearly half (48%) of the participants from the general Egyptian population believed their SP to be caused by the Jinn, a spirit-like creature with roots in Islamic tradition, which constitutes a culturally bound interpretation of the phenomenology of SP in this region of the world. Case studies are presented to illustrate these findings.

Investigating Assessment Bias for Constructed Response Explanation Tasks: Implications for Evaluating Performance Expectations for Scientific Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Federer, Meghan Rector

Assessment is a key element in the process of science education teaching and research. Understanding sources of performance bias in science assessment is a major challenge for science education reforms. Prior research has documented several limitations of instrument types on the measurement of students' scientific knowledge (Liu et al., 2011; Messick, 1995; Popham, 2010). Furthermore, a large body of work has been devoted to reducing assessment biases that distort inferences about students' science understanding, particularly in multiple-choice [MC] instruments. Despite the above documented biases, much has yet to be determined for constructed response [CR] assessments in biology and their use for evaluating students' conceptual understanding of scientific practices (such as explanation). Understanding differences in science achievement provides important insights into whether science curricula and/or assessments are valid representations of student abilities. Using the integrative framework put forth by the National Research Council (2012), this dissertation aimed to explore whether assessment biases occur for assessment practices intended to measure students' conceptual understanding and proficiency in scientific practices. Using a large corpus of undergraduate biology students' explanations, three studies were conducted to examine whether known biases of MC instruments were also apparent in a CR instrument designed to assess students' explanatory practice and understanding of evolutionary change (ACORNS: Assessment of COntextual Reasoning about Natural Selection). The first study investigated the challenge of interpreting and scoring lexically ambiguous language in CR answers. The incorporation of 'multivalent' terms into scientific discourse practices often results in statements or explanations that are difficult to interpret and can produce faulty inferences about student knowledge. The results of this study indicate that many undergraduate biology majors

Exploring open innovation with a patient focus in drug discovery: an evolving paradigm of patient engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Allarakhia, Minna

2015-06-01

It is suggested in this article that patient engagement should occur further upstream during the drug discovery stage. 'Lead patients', namely those patients who are proactive with respect to their health, possess knowledge of their disease and resulting symptoms. They are also well informed about the conventional as well as non-conventional treatments for disease management; and so can provide a nuanced perspective to drug design. Understanding how patients view the management of their diseases and how they view the use of conventional versus non-conventional interventions is of imperative importance to researchers. Indeed, this can provide insight into how conventional treatments might be designed from the outset to encourage compliance and positive health outcomes. Consequently, a continuum of lead patient engagement is employed that focuses on drug discovery processes ranging from participative, informative to collaborative engagement. This article looks at a variety of open innovation models that are currently employed across this engagement spectrum. It is no longer sufficient for industry stakeholders to consider conventional therapies as the only mechanisms being sought after by patients. Without patient engagement, the industry risks being re-prioritized in terms of its role in the patient journey towards not only recovery of health, but also sustained health and wellness before disease onset.

Student Engagement at a Large Suburban Community College: Gender and Race Differences

Science.gov (United States)

Sontam, Varalakshmi; Gabriel, George

2012-01-01

Previous research shows that there are individual differences in academic achievement associated with gender and race. Research also suggests that student engagement is an important determinant of student outcomes/achievement. The present study explored student engagement at an extra-large community college. It specifically investigated possible…

Supporting cognitive engagement in a learning-by-doing learning environment: Case studies of participant engagement and social configurations in Kitchen Science Investigators

Science.gov (United States)

Gardner, Christina M.

Learning-by-doing learning environments support a wealth of physical engagement in activities. However, there is also a lot of variability in what participants learn in each enactment of these types of environments. Therefore, it is not always clear how participants are learning in these environments. In order to design technologies to support learning in these environments, we must have a greater understanding of how participants engage in learning activities, their goals for their engagement, and the types of help they need to cognitively engage in learning activities. To gain a greater understanding of participant engagement and factors and circumstances that promote and inhibit engagement, this dissertation explores and answers several questions: What are the types of interactions and experiences that promote and /or inhibit learning and engagement in learning-by-doing learning environments? What are the types of configurations that afford or inhibit these interactions and experiences in learning-by-doing learning environments? I explore answers to these questions through the context of two enactments of Kitchen Science Investigators (KSI), a learning-by-doing learning environment where middle-school aged children learn science through cooking from customizing recipes to their own taste and texture preferences. In small groups, they investigate effects of ingredients through the design of cooking and science experiments, through which they experience and learn about chemical, biological, and physical science phenomena and concepts (Clegg, Gardner, Williams, & Kolodner, 2006). The research reported in this dissertation sheds light on the different ways participant engagement promotes and/or inhibits cognitive engagement in by learning-by-doing learning environments through two case studies. It also provides detailed descriptions of the circumstances (social, material, and physical configurations) that promote and/or inhibit participant engagement in these

Strategies for research engagement of clinicians in allied health (STRETCH): a mixed methods research protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Mickan, Sharon; Wenke, Rachel; Weir, Kelly; Bialocerkowski, Andrea; Noble, Christy

2017-09-11

Allied health professionals (AHPs) report positive attitudes to using research evidence in clinical practice, yet often lack time, confidence and skills to use, participate in and conduct research. A range of multifaceted strategies including education, mentoring and guidance have been implemented to increase AHPs' use of and participation in research. Emerging evidence suggests that knowledge brokering activities have the potential to support research engagement, but it is not clear which knowledge brokering strategies are most effective and in what contexts they work best to support and maintain clinicians' research engagement. This protocol describes an exploratory concurrent mixed methods study that is designed to understand how allied health research fellows use knowledge brokering strategies within tailored evidence-based interventions, to facilitate research engagement by allied health clinicians. Simultaneously, a realist approach will guide a systematic process evaluation of the research fellows' pattern of use of knowledge brokering strategies within each case study to build a programme theory explaining which knowledge brokering strategies work best, in what contexts and why. Learning and behavioural theories will inform this critical explanation. An explanation of how locally tailored evidence-based interventions improve AHPs use of, participation in and leadership of research projects will be summarised and shared with all participating clinicians and within each case study. It is expected that local recommendations will be developed and shared with medical and nursing professionals in and beyond the health service, to facilitate building research capacity in a systematic and effective way. © Article author(s) (or their employer(s) unless otherwise stated in the text of the article) 2017. All rights reserved. No commercial use is permitted unless otherwise expressly granted.

Exploring Student Engagement in STEM Education: An Examination of STEM Schools, STEM Programs, and Traditional Schools

Science.gov (United States)

Franco, M. Suzanne; Patel, Nimisha H.

2017-01-01

High school students' perceptions and experiences regarding student engagement were investigated using 32 focus group sessions across 4 different types of STEM education settings in 2 metropolitan areas in the Midwest. Students' understandings and experiences related to student engagement were reflected via 5 categories: students' thinking of…

Self-Explanation and Explanatory Feedback in Games: Individual Differences, Gameplay, and Learning

OpenAIRE

Killingsworth, Stephen; Clark, Douglas; Adams, Deanne

2015-01-01

Previous research has demonstrated the efficacy of two explanation-based approaches for increasing learning in educational games. The first involves asking students to explain their answers (self-explanation) and the second involves providing correct explanations (explanatory feedback). This study (1) compared self-explanation and explanatory feedback features embedded into a game designed to teach Newtonian dynamics and (2) investigated relationships between learning and individual differenc...

Engaging scientists: An online survey exploring the experience of innovative biotechnological approaches to controlling vector-borne diseases.

Science.gov (United States)

Boëte, Christophe; Beisel, Uli; Reis Castro, Luísa; Césard, Nicolas; Reeves, R Guy

2015-08-10

Pioneering technologies (e.g., nanotechnology, synthetic biology or climate engineering) are often associated with potential new risks and uncertainties that can become sources of controversy. The communication of information during their development and open exchanges between stakeholders is generally considered a key issue in their acceptance. While the attitudes of the public to novel technologies have been widely considered there has been relatively little investigation of the perceptions and awareness of scientists working on human or animal diseases transmitted by arthropods. Consequently, we conducted a global survey on 1889 scientists working on aspects of vector-borne diseases, exploring, under the light of a variety of demographic and professional factors, their knowledge and awareness of an emerging biotechnology that has the potential to revolutionize the control of pest insect populations. Despite extensive media coverage of key developments (including releases of manipulated mosquitoes into human communities) this has in only one instance resulted in scientist awareness exceeding 50% on a national or regional scale. We document that awareness of pioneering releases significantly relied on private communication sources that were not equally accessible to scientists from countries with endemic vector-borne diseases (dengue and malaria). In addition, we provide quantitative analysis of the perceptions and knowledge of specific biotechnological approaches to controlling vector-borne disease, which are likely to impact the way in which scientists around the world engage in the debate about their value. Our results indicate that there is scope to strengthen already effective methods of communication, in addition to a strong demand by scientists (expressed by 79.9% of respondents) to develop new, creative modes of public engagement.

Nurse manager engagement: a concept analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Gray, Linda R

2012-01-01

This concept analysis examines the visibility of nurse manager engagement in the healthcare work environment. The term employee engagement was derived from studies of morale or the willingness of a group to accomplish objectives in the 1920s. "Following World War II group morale scores were used as predictors of speed, quality, and militancy by US Army researchers. The goal was to identify star, or high performers. A term was needed to describe emotional attachment of an individual to the organization, fellow associates, and the job" ("Employee engagement origins," 2010, p. 1). The CINAHL, MEDLINE, ABI INFORM, PsycINFO, and Ovid databases and the Internet were searched for the period of 2005-2010 for literature published in English with a focus on peer-reviewed journals from disciplines of health sciences, health administration, business, and psychology. The Walker and Avant method was used for this analysis. The experience of the author as a current and previous nurse manager was also used for this analysis. Nurse manager engagement was assumed to be present based indirectly on empirical referents and consequences, such as low or high vacancy rates for staff nurses. Further research is needed to explore the identity of the nurse serving in the role of manager/leader who is able to demonstrate the skills and talents necessary to visibly demonstrate engagement and facilitate a culture of engaged nurse managers. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Ultimate and proximate explanations of strong reciprocity.

Science.gov (United States)

Vromen, Jack

2017-08-23

Strong reciprocity (SR) has recently been subject to heated debate. In this debate, the "West camp" (West et al. in Evol Hum Behav 32(4):231-262, 2011), which is critical of the case for SR, and the "Laland camp" (Laland et al. in Science, 334(6062):1512-1516, 2011, Biol Philos 28(5):719-745, 2013), which is sympathetic to the case of SR, seem to take diametrically opposed positions. The West camp criticizes advocates of SR for conflating proximate and ultimate causation. SR is said to be a proximate mechanism that is put forward by its advocates as an ultimate explanation of human cooperation. The West camp thus accuses advocates of SR for not heeding Mayr's original distinction between ultimate and proximate causation. The Laland camp praises advocates of SR for revising Mayr's distinction. Advocates of SR are said to replace Mayr's uni-directional view on the relation between ultimate and proximate causes by the bi-directional one of reciprocal causation. The paper argues that both the West camp and the Laland camp misrepresent what advocates of SR are up to. The West camp is right that SR is a proximate cause of human cooperation. But rather than putting forward SR as an ultimate explanation, as the West camp argues, advocates of SR believe that SR itself is in need of ultimate explanation. Advocates of SR tend to take gene-culture co-evolutionary theory as the correct meta-theoretical framework for advancing ultimate explanations of SR. Appearances notwithstanding, gene-culture coevolutionary theory does not imply Laland et al.'s notion of reciprocal causation. "Reciprocal causation" suggests that proximate and ultimate causes interact simultaneously, while advocates of SR assume that they interact sequentially. I end by arguing that the best way to understand the debate is by disambiguating Mayr's ultimate-proximate distinction. I propose to reserve "ultimate" and "proximate" for different sorts of explanations, and to use other terms for distinguishing

The Engagement Continuum Model Using Corporate Social Responsibility as an Intervention for Sustained Employee Engagement: Research Leading Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Valentin, Marie Anttonitte; Valentin, Celestino C.; Nafukho, Fredrick Muyia

2015-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore implications of motivational potential that are highly correlated to the self-determination theory (SDT) (intrinsic motivating factors), in relation to corporate social responsibility (CSR). This paper specifies key antecedents of engagement within the theoretical framework of the self-determination…

How does epistemological knowledge on modelling influence students' engagement in the issue of climate change?

Science.gov (United States)

Tasquier, Giulia

2016-05-01

Involvement in climate change has been proven to be hindered by emotional and social barriers, as well as by conceptual difficulties that students may encounter in dealing with scientific content related to particular issues such as the greenhouse effect. In this study, we start from the conjecture that behind many conceptual difficulties and emotional barriers lie particular epistemological obstacles related to a naive and stereotypical view of science. These include, in particular, the belief that science still has the role and power to provide a unique, unquestionable, and certain explanation of events and processes. Such a naive idea clashes strongly with the intrinsic complexity of climate science. This paper sets out to investigate if and how the improvement of epistemological knowledge can influence behavioural habits and foster students' engagement in climate change. In order to explore such an issue, we focus on five interviews collected at the end of a teaching experience on climate change, carried out with secondary school students (grade 11; 16-year olds). This study is a follow-up of other two analytical studies aimed at investigating, respectively, the impact of the experience on students' epistemological knowledge and on their behavioural habits.

A process for developing and revising a learning progression on sea level rise using learners' explanations

Science.gov (United States)

McDonald, Robert Christopher

The purpose of this study was to explore the process of developing a learning progression (LP) on constructing explanations about sea level rise. I used a learning progressions theoretical framework informed by the situated cognition learning theory. During this exploration, I explicitly described my decision-making process as I developed and revised a hypothetical learning progression. Correspondingly, my research question was: What is a process by which a hypothetical learning progression on sea level rise is developed into an empirical learning progression using learners' explanations? To answer this question, I used a qualitative descriptive single case study with multiple embedded cases (Yin, 2014) that employed analytic induction (Denzin, 1970) to analyze data collected on middle school learners (grades 6-8). Data sources included written artifacts, classroom observations, and semi-structured interviews. Additionally, I kept a researcher journal to track my thinking about the learning progression throughout the research study. Using analytic induction to analyze collected data, I developed eight analytic concepts: participant explanation structures varied widely, global warming and ice melt cause sea level rise, participants held alternative conceptions about sea level rise, participants learned about thermal expansion as a fundamental aspect of sea level rise, participants learned to incorporate authentic scientific data, participants' mental models of the ocean varied widely, sea ice melt contributes to sea level rise, and participants held vague and alternative conceptions about how pollution impacts the ocean. I started with a hypothetical learning progression, gathered empirical data via various sources (especially semi-structured interviews), revised the hypothetical learning progression in response to those data, and ended with an empirical learning progression comprising six levels of learner thinking. As a result of developing an empirically based LP

Higher Education Civic Learning and Engagement: A Massachusetts Case Study. Promising Practices

Science.gov (United States)

Brennan, Jan

2017-01-01

This Promising Practices report explores the civic learning and engagement efforts of Massachusetts' public higher education system in five areas: vision of Preparing Citizens as a core educational commitment, development of a state higher education Policy on Civic Learning, creation of civic engagement and service-learning course designations,…

Use of Task-Value Instructional Inductions for Facilitating Engagement and Conceptual Change

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Marcus Lee; Sinatra, Gale M.

2013-01-01

This study explored the relationship between task values, engagement, and conceptual change. One hundred and sixty-six under graduate students were randomly assigned to one of three task value instructional inductions (utility, attainment, and control) to determine whether induced task values would result in different degrees of engagement and…

Explanations and expectations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Järvinen, Margaretha; Ravn, Signe

2015-01-01

drug use ‘aetiologies’ drawn upon by the interviewees. These cover childhood experiences, self-medication, the influence of friends and cannabis use as a specific lifestyle. A central argument of the article is that these explanations not only concern the past but also point towards the future......This article analyses how young people enrolled in drug addiction treatment in Copenhagen, Denmark, explain their cannabis careers and how they view their possibilities for quitting drug use again. Inspired by Mead and narrative studies of health and illness, the article identifies four different...

Mind the gap! Automated concept map feedback supports students in writing cohesive explanations.

Science.gov (United States)

Lachner, Andreas; Burkhart, Christian; Nückles, Matthias

2017-03-01

Many students are challenged with the demand of writing cohesive explanations. To support students in writing cohesive explanations, we developed a computer-based feedback tool that visualizes cohesion deficits of students' explanations in a concept map. We conducted three studies to investigate the effectiveness of such feedback as well as the underlying cognitive processes. In Study 1, we found that the concept map helped students identify potential cohesion gaps in their drafts and plan remedial revisions. In Study 2, students with concept map feedback conducted revisions that resulted in more locally and globally cohesive, and also more comprehensible, explanations than the explanations of students who revised without concept map feedback. In Study 3, we replicated the findings of Study 2 by and large. More importantly, students who had received concept map feedback on a training explanation 1 week later wrote a transfer explanation without feedback that was more cohesive than the explanation of students who had received no feedback on their training explanation. The automated concept map feedback appears to particularly support the evaluation phase of the revision process. Furthermore, the feedback enabled novice writers to acquire sustainable skills in writing cohesive explanations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

The Role of Online Games in Promoting Young Adults' Civic Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Themistokleous, Sotiris; Avraamidou, Lucy

2016-01-01

In this review, we present an argument for the need to support young adult's civic engagement and we explore the role of online games in supporting such engagement. In doing so, in the first section of the paper, we offer a definition for civic education and citizenship alongside a discussion for the pedagogical frameworks that better support…

Antecedents and consequences of work engagement among nurses.

Science.gov (United States)

Sohrabizadeh, Sanaz; Sayfouri, Nasrin

2014-11-01

Engaged nurses have high levels of energy and are enthusiastic about their work which impacts quality of health care services. However, in the context of Iran, due to observed burnout, work engagement among nurses necessitates immediate exploration. This investigation aimed to identify a suitable work engagement model in nursing profession in hospitals according to the hypothesized model and to determine antecedents and consequences related to work engagement among nurses. In this cross-sectional study, a questionnaire was given to 279 randomly-selected nurses working in two general teaching hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences (Shiraz, Iran) to measure antecedents and consequences of work engagement using the Saks's (2005) model. Structural Equation Modeling was used to examine the model fitness. Two paths were added using LISREL software. The resulting model showed good fitness indices (χ(2) = 23.62, AGFI = 0.93, CFI = 0.97, RMSEA = 0.07) and all the coefficients of the paths were significant (t ≥ 2, t ≤ -2). A significant correlation was found between work engagement and model variables. Paying adequate attention to the antecedents of work engagement can enhance the quality of performance among nurses. Additionally, rewards, organizational and supervisory supports, and job characteristics should be taken into consideration to establish work engagement among nurses. Further researches are required to identify other probable antecedents and consequences of nursing work engagement, which might be related to specific cultural settings.

Exploring the Relationship between Student Engagement, Twitter, and a Learning Management System: A Study of Undergraduate Marketing Students

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, David; Whiting, Anita

2016-01-01

Because student engagement is believed to be a predictor of academic achievement, there is significant interest in discovering methods that will improve and increase student engagement at all levels of education. This study investigated the relationship between digital and social media usage and student engagement. In particular, this study sought…

NOAA Ocean Exploration: Science, Education and Ocean Literacy Online and in Social Media

Science.gov (United States)

Keener-Chavis, P.

2012-12-01

"Engagement" in ocean science initially might seem like a simple concept, however within an agency like NOAA, with a broad mission and a wide variety of stakeholders, the concept of engagement becomes quite complex. Several years ago, a Kellogg Commission Report was submitted to NOAA's Science Advisory Board to assist the Agency with more closely defining-and refining-how it could more effectively engage with the multiple audiences with which it works. For NOAA, engagement is a two-way relationship that unfolds in a commitment of service to society. It is an Enterprise-wide capability represented in NOAA's Next Generation Strategic Plan and carries the same weight across the Agency as science and technology. NOAA's Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER) engages scientists, educators and the public through a variety of online and social media offerings explicitly tied to the exploration science of its expeditions. The principle platform for this engagement is the Ocean Explorer website (http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov). It is the single point of entry for formal and informal educators and the public to chronicled OER expeditions to little known regions of the world ocean. The site also enables access to live streaming video and audio from the United States' first ship solely dedicated to ocean exploration, the NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer and the Institute for Exploration's E/V Nautilus. Video includes footage from the remotely operated vehicles, sonar displays, navigation displays, and mapping data displays. Through telepresence technologies and other online communication tools, scientists at remote locations around the world, including Exploration Command Centers, collaborate in deep-sea exploration conducted by the Okeanos Explorer. Those wanting access to the ship's track, oceanographic data, daily updates, web logs, and imagery during an expedition can access the online Okeanos Explorer Digital Atlas. Information on archived expeditions can be accessed

Uranium exploration/development policy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Anon.

1983-01-01

The Honeymoon joint venturers have been advised that their request for compensation has been refused. This follows the South Australian Government's decision not to grant a mining lease. An application for a retention lease to the joint venturers at Beverley was also refused. The Government has formulated clear guidelines for both retention leases and exploration licences which will be applied to all companies engaged specifically in exploration for uranium

Toward a New Measure for Faith and Civic Engagement: Exploring the Structure of the FACE Scale

Science.gov (United States)

Droege, Jocelyn R.; Ferrari, Joseph R.

2012-01-01

Civic and political engagement may encourage individuals to make positive societal contributions and thus act as responsible and productive citizens. A positive relationship between civic/political engagement and the extent of one's faith-based beliefs and behaviors has been the basis for a growing field of research (e.g., Becker & Dhingra, 2001;…

Generational differences on work engagement levels of government healthcare institution employees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Veronica Hlongwane

2015-04-01

Full Text Available The objective of this study was to explore generational differences on work engagement levels of employees in a South African government healthcare institution. The Ultrech Work Engagement Scale measured the participants’ levels of work engagement and it was administered to a random sample size of government healthcare institution employees (n=289. Statistical analyses of the data were conducted and the results of ANOVA indicated that the levels of work engagement significantly differ depending on the employees’ generational cohort or group for the dimensions vigour, dedication and absorption. In terms of contributions and practical implications, recommendations are made regarding proposed organisational development interventions to enhance employees’ work engagement levels in a healthcare institution context as well as to conduct future research.

Mind and Meaning: Piaget and Vygotsky on Causal Explanation.

Science.gov (United States)

Beilin, Harry

1996-01-01

Piaget's theory has been characterized as descriptive and not explanatory, not qualifying as causal explanation. Piaget was consistent in showing how his theory was both explanatory and causal. Vygotsky also endorsed causal-genetic explanation but, on the basis of knowledge of only Piaget's earliest works, he claimed that Piaget's theory was not…

How to Program a Domain Independent Tracer for Explanations

Science.gov (United States)

Ishizaka, Alessio; Lusti, Markus

2006-01-01

Explanations are essential in the teaching process. Tracers are one possibility to provide students with explanations in an intelligent tutoring system. Their development can be divided into four steps: (a) the definition of the trace model; (b) the extraction of the information from this model; (c) the analysis and abstraction of the extracted…

The 4Ps of Innovation Culture: Conceptions of Creatively Engaging with Information

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Theresa Dirndorfer

2013-01-01

The paper provides a distillation of findings emerging from an ongoing series of investigations of the research practices of academics in a university context to foreground the creativity in our engagements with information. The empirical research involved an ethnographic exploration of the scholarly practices of two scholars engaged in the…

Maintaining a Culture of Engagement: Challenges and Opportunities in an Evolving Institution.

Science.gov (United States)

Cope, Glen Hahn; Leatherwood, Marya L.

2001-01-01

Discusses the challenges of maintaining a university culture that embraces engaged scholarship as readily as it does traditional research, using the example of the University of Illinois at Springfield. Explores the difficulties of, and opportunities for, fostering a scholarship of engagement within the context of changes brought on by the…

Particle physics explanations for ultra-high energy cosmic ray events

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

this talk I briefly summarize several proposed particle physics explanations: a breakdown ... as primaries, and magnetic monopoles with mass below 1010 GeV as primaries. .... these monopoles would be the ultimate test of this explanation.

FINESSE Spaceward Bound - Teacher Engagement in NASA Science and Exploration Field Research

Science.gov (United States)

Jones, A. J. P.; Heldmann, J. L.; Sheely, T.; Karlin, J.; Johnson, S.; Rosemore, A.; Hughes, S.; Nawotniak, S. Kobs; Lim, D. S. S.; Garry, W. B.

2016-01-01

The FINESSE (Field Investigations to Enable Solar System Science and Exploration) team of NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) is focused on a science and exploration field-based research program aimed at generating strategic knowledge in preparation for the human and robotic exploration of the Moon, Near Earth Asteroids, and the moons of Mars. The FINESSE science program is infused with leading edge exploration concepts since "science enables exploration and exploration enables science." The FINESSE education and public outreach program leverages the team's field investigations and educational partnerships to share the excitement of lunar, Near Earth Asteroid, and martian moon science and exploration locally, nationally, and internationally. The FINESSE education plan is in line with all of NASA's Science Mission Directorate science education objectives, particularly to enable STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education and leverage efforts through partnerships.

Supernatural Explanations: Science or Not?

Science.gov (United States)

Eastwell, Peter

2011-01-01

Contrary to the advice of supposedly authoritative sources, the a priori exclusion of supernatural explanations or claims from scientific scrutiny is not appropriate. This paper shows how supernatural hypotheses or claims should be treated by science and, in the process, differentiates scientific and non-scientific hypotheses or claims.…

Robotic Literacy Learning Companions: Exploring Student Engagement with a Humanoid Robot in an Afterschool Literacy Program

Science.gov (United States)

Levchak, Sofia

2016-01-01

This study was an investigation of the use of a NAO humanoid robot as an effective tool for engaging readers in an afterschool program as well as to find if increasing engagement using a humanoid robot would affect students' reading comprehension when compared to traditional forms of instruction. The targeted population of this study was…

Exploring stigma as a barrier to cancer service engagement with breast cancer survivors in Kampala, Uganda.

Science.gov (United States)

Meacham, Elizabeth; Orem, Jackson; Nakigudde, Gertrude; Zujewski, Jo Anne; Rao, Deepa

2016-10-01

To understand the role of stigma in the delay of cancer service engagement by women with breast cancer in Kampala, Uganda. Women in Sub-Saharan African countries are twice as likely to die from cancer as women in high-income countries, which is largely attributable to late diagnosis. While breast cancer-related stigma has been identified in Sub-Saharan Africa, limited research focuses on how stigma impacts the behavior of breast cancer patients in Uganda. This qualitative study used a grounded theory approach to examine illness narratives from 20 breast cancer survivors in Uganda, gathered through semistructured interviews. Thematic analysis showed that perceived and internalized stigma associated with breast cancer influenced care engagement throughout illness, delaying engagement and inhibiting treatment completion. Women identified key factors for overcoming stigma including acceptance of diagnosis, social support, and understanding of breast cancer. The growing burden of mortality associated with breast cancer in Uganda can be mitigated by improving early detection and treatment engagement through interventions which account for key psychosocial barriers such as stigma. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Practices and rationales of community engagement with wind farms: awareness raising, consultation, empowerment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aitken, Mhairi; Haggett, Claire; Rudolph, David Philipp

2016-01-01

In light of the growing emphasis on community engagement in the literature on renewable energy planning, and given the acknowledgement of the complexity of community engagement as a concept, we conducted an empirical review of practice relating to community engagement with onshore wind farms...... in the UK, exploring what is actually happening in terms of community engagement relating to onshore wind farms, and examining the rationales underpinning approaches to community engagement. We found that a wide range of engagement methods are being used in relation to onshore wind farms across the UK......-hierarchical classification of community engagement approaches: awareness raising; consultation and empowerment. This provides a useful tool for reflecting on practices and rationales of community engagement. By considering the three approaches non-hierarchically, this model allows for an examination of how such rationales...

Making context explicit for explanation and incremental knowledge acquisition

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Brezillon, P. [Univ. Paris (France)

1996-12-31

Intelligent systems may be improved by making context explicit in problem solving. This is a lesson drawn from a study of the reasons why a number of knowledge-based systems (KBSs) failed. We discuss the interest to make context explicit in explanation generation and incremental knowledge acquisition, two important aspects of intelligent systems that aim to cooperate with users. We show how context can be used to better explain and incrementally acquire knowledge. The advantages of using context in explanation and incremental knowledge acquisition are discussed through SEPIT, an expert system for supporting diagnosis and explanation through simulation of power plants. We point out how the limitations of such systems may be overcome by making context explicit.

"Hey! Today I Will Tell You about the Water Cycle!": Variations of Language and Organizational Features in Third-Grade Science Explanation Writing

Science.gov (United States)

Avalos, Mary A.; Secada, Walter G.; Zisselsberger, Margarita Gómez; Gort, Mileidis

2017-01-01

This study investigated third graders' use and variation of linguistic resources when writing a science explanation. Using systemic functional linguistics as a framework, we purposefully selected and analyzed writing samples of students with high and low scores to explore how the students' use of language features (i.e., lexicogrammatical…

Is engagement different from satisfaction and organizational commitment?: relations with intention to remain, psychological well-being and perceived physical health in volunteers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

María L. Vecina

2013-01-01

Full Text Available In a sample of volunteers, who work, but not for money, and whose managers expect them to remain with the organization over the long term and to feel well by doing good, this study examines the distinctiveness between three concepts, usually related in the work field: Engagement, organizational commitment, and satisfaction. Based on the existing literature, they are related among them and regarding three relevant outcomes for management: Intention to remain, psychological well-being, and perceived physical health. Three structural equations models make it clear that volunteer engagement does contribute to the explanation of organizational commitment, volunteer satisfaction, and psychological well-being. At the same time, it does not seem to account for levels of intention to remain neither perceived physical health. On the contrary, organizational commitment is the only predictor of intention to remain, and volunteer satisfaction is the only predictor of perceived physical health. This last result was not expected, according to the literature on work, but reinforces the distinctiveness between the concepts and may have a plausible explanation in the volunteering field.

Internal marketing for engaging employees on the corporate responsibility journey

OpenAIRE

Sanchez-Hernandez, Isabel; Grayson, David

2012-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore whether internal marketing could be a powerful tool for engaging employees on the corporate responsibility journey. Design/methodology/approach: In the absence of empirical work linking internal marketing efforts in organizations and employee engagement in corporate responsibility issues, a conceptual approach based on literature review is carried out to determine the existing possibilities provided by internal marketing to enhance corporate re...

Strategizing to Make Pornography Worthwhile: A Qualitative Exploration of Women's Agentic Engagement with Sexual Media.

Science.gov (United States)

Chadwick, Sara B; Raisanen, Jessica C; Goldey, Katherine L; van Anders, Sari

2018-03-01

Women often expect to encounter negative, problematic content when they consume pornography, yet many women use and enjoy pornography anyway. Some research has centered content type (e.g., sexist/violent vs. nonsexist/women-focused) as a key determinant of women's pornography experiences, but this precludes the notion that women are active, engaged consumers of pornography and minimizes women's role in shaping their own experiences. In the present study, we explored how a sample of sexually diverse women in the U.S. (aged 18-64; N = 73) worked toward positive experiences with pornography via active negotiation with negative content, using a secondary analysis of focus group data on women's sexual pleasure. We found that, although women often experienced pornography as risky, many women used it anyway and actively employed strategies to increase the likelihood of having a positive experience. Women's strategies were similar across sexual identity and age groups, but the heteronormative, youth-oriented portrayals of sexuality in mainstream pornography presented unique concerns for heterosexual, queer, and older women. Results have implications for how women can be conceptualized as active, rather than passive, consumers of pornography as well as for how women's agency might influence women's arousal responses to sexually explicit stimuli in research.

On the nature of explanation: A PDP approach

Science.gov (United States)

Churchland, Paul M.

1990-06-01

Neural network models of sensory processing and associative memory provide the resources for a new theory of what explanatory understanding consists in. That theory finds the theoretically important factors to reside not at the level of propositions and the relations between them, but at the level of the activation patterns across large populations of neurons. The theory portrays explanatory understanding, perceptual recognition, and abductive inference as being different instances of the same more general sort of cognitive achievement, viz. prototype activation. It thus effects a unification of the theories of explanation, perception, and ampliative inference. It also finds systematic unity in the wide diversity of types of explanation (causal, functional, mathematical, intentional, reductive, etc.), a chronic problem for theories of explanation in the logico-linguistic tradition. Finally, it is free of the many defects, both logical and psychological, that plague models in that older tradition.

Multilevel models in the explanation of the relationship between safety climate and safe behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Cheyne, Alistair; Tomás, José M; Oliver, Amparo

2013-01-01

This study examines the relationships between components of organizational safety climate, including employee attitudes to organizational safety issues; perceptions of the physical working environment, and evaluations of worker engagement with safety issues; and relates these to self-reported levels of safety behavior. It attempts to explore the relationships between these variables in 1189 workers across 78 work groups in a large transportation organization. Evaluations of safety climate, the working environment and worker engagement, as well as safe behaviors, were collected using a self report questionnaire. The multilevel analysis showed that both levels of evaluation (the work group and the individual), and some cross-level interactions, were significant in explaining safe behaviors. Analyses revealed that a number of variables, at both levels, were associated with worker engagement and safe behaviors. The results suggest that, while individual evaluations of safety issues are important, there is also a role for the fostering of collective safety climates in encouraging safe behaviors and therefore reducing accidents.

Fostering Engagement Activities To Advance Adaptation And Resiliency

Science.gov (United States)

Dissen, J.; Owen, T.; Brewer, M.; Hollingshead, A.; Mecray, E. L.; Werner, K.

2015-12-01

As the understanding of climate risks grows for public and private companies, the dissemination of meaningful climate and environmental information becomes important for improved risk management practices and innovation. In a broader effort to build capacity for adaptation and demonstrate the value of investment in resiliency, NCEI and its partners have made several shifts to showcase an improved understanding of uses and applications of climate and environmental data and information. The NOAA NCEI engagement initiative includes actively exploring ways to: 1) identify opportunities in data use and applications and 2) characterize needs and requirements from customers to help inform investment in the relevant science. This presentation will highlight: 1) NCEI's engagement initiative strategy, 2) our regional and national partnerships as agents of engagement in the region, 3) a few examples of uses of climate information with select stakeholders and 4) justification of customer engagement and requirements as a critical component in informing the science agenda.

How does epistemological knowledge on modelling influence students' engagement in the issue of climate change?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tasquier, Giulia

2015-01-01

Involvement in climate change has been proven to be hindered by emotional and social barriers, as well as by conceptual difficulties that students may encounter in dealing with scientific content related to particular issues such as the greenhouse effect. In this study, we start from the conjecture that behind many conceptual difficulties and emotional barriers lie particular epistemological obstacles related to a naive and stereotypical view of science. These include, in particular, the belief that science still has the role and power to provide a unique, unquestionable, and certain explanation of events and processes. Such a naive idea clashes strongly with the intrinsic complexity of climate science. This paper sets out to investigate if and how the improvement of epistemological knowledge can influence behavioural habits and foster students’ engagement in climate change. In order to explore such an issue, we focus on five interviews collected at the end of a teaching experience on climate change, carried out with secondary school students (grade 11; 16-year olds). This study is a follow-up of other two analytical studies aimed at investigating, respectively, the impact of the experience on students’ epistemological knowledge and on their behavioural habits.

Two Charter School Principals' Engagement in Instructional Leadership

Science.gov (United States)

Bickmore, Dana L.; Sulentic Dowell, Margaret-Mary

2014-01-01

This comparative case (Merriam, 2009) study explored two charter school principals' engagement in instructional leadership. Analysis of three data sources--interviews, observations, and documents--revealed that principals were almost exclusively focused on state accountability and possessed limited knowledge of pedagogical practices. In…

Factors Affecting Student Engagement in HEIs--It is All about Good Teaching

Science.gov (United States)

Almarghani, Eman M.; Mijatovic, Ivana

2017-01-01

The passive role of students in their learning and education and the absence of student engagement in higher education institutions (HEIs) are quite common in many higher education institutions in developing countries. The main objective of the research presented in this paper is to explore the influential factors on student engagement in HEIs in…

Testing the Transivity Explanation of the Allais Paradox

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Groes, Ebbe; Jacobsen, Hans Jørgen; Sloth, Birgitte

1999-01-01

This paper uses a two-dimensional version of a standard common consequence experiment to test the intransitivity explanation of Allais-paradox-type violations of expected utility theory. We compare the common consequence effect of two choice problems differing only with respect to whether...... intransitivity as an explanation of the Allais Paradox. The question whether violations of expected utility are mainly due to intransitivity or to violation of independence is important since it is exactly on this issue the main new decision theories differ...

Engaging with mobile methods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Martin Trandberg

2014-01-01

This chapter showcases how mobile methods are more than calibrated techniques awaiting application by tourism researchers, but productive in the enactment of the mobile (Law and Urry, 2004). Drawing upon recent findings deriving from a PhD course on mobility and mobile methods it reveals...... the conceptual ambiguousness of the term ‘mobile methods’. In order to explore this ambiguousness the chapter provides a number of examples deriving from tourism research, to explore how mobile methods are always entangled in ideologies, predispositions, conventions and practice-realities. Accordingly......, the engagements with methods are acknowledged to be always political and contextual, reminding us to avoid essentialist discussions regarding research methods. Finally, the chapter draws on recent fieldwork to extend developments in mobilities-oriented tourism research, by employing auto-ethnography to call...

A possible explanation of the void discovered in the pyramid of Khufu on the basis of the pyramid texts

OpenAIRE

Magli, Giulio

2017-01-01

A recent exploration has shown the presence of a significant void in the pyramid of Khufu at Giza. A possible explanation of this space, interpreted as a chamber connected to the lower north channel and aimed to contain a specific funerary equipment is tentatively proposed. According to the Pyramid Texts, this equipment might consist of a Iron throne, actually a wooden throne endowed with meteoritic Iron sheets.

Criteria for deciding what is the ’best’ scientific explanation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wagemans, J.H.M.; Mohammed, D.; Lewiński, M.

2016-01-01

In justifying their choice of the ‘best’ scientific explanation from a number of candidate explanations, scientists may employ specific theoretical virtues and other criteria for good scientific theories. This paper is aimed at providing an inventory of such criteria and at analyzing how they

Structural Equations and Causal Explanations: Some Challenges for Causal SEM

Science.gov (United States)

Markus, Keith A.

2010-01-01

One common application of structural equation modeling (SEM) involves expressing and empirically investigating causal explanations. Nonetheless, several aspects of causal explanation that have an impact on behavioral science methodology remain poorly understood. It remains unclear whether applications of SEM should attempt to provide complete…

The Role of Subjective Task Value in Service-Learning Engagement among Chinese College Students.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yulan; Guo, Fangfang; Yao, Meilin; Wang, Cong; Yan, Wenfan

2016-01-01

Most service-learning studies in higher education focused on its effects on students' development. The dynamic processes and mechanisms of students' development during service-learning, however, have not been explored thoroughly. Student engagement in service-learning may affect service-learning outcomes and be affected by subjective task value at the same time. The present study aimed to explore the effect of subjective task value on Chinese college student engagement during service-learning. Fifty-four Chinese college students participated in a 9-weeks service-learning program of interacting with children with special needs. Students' engagement and subjective task value were assessed via self-report questionnaires and 433 weekly reflective journals. The results indicated that the cognitive, emotional and behavioral engagement of Chinese college students demonstrated different developmental trends during service-learning process. Subjective task value played an essential role in student engagement in service-learning activities. However, the role of subjective task value varied with different stages. Finally, the implications for implementing service-learning in Chinese education were discussed.

The Role of Subjective Task Value in Service-Learning Engagement among Chinese College Students

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yulan; Guo, Fangfang; Yao, Meilin; Wang, Cong; Yan, Wenfan

2016-01-01

Most service-learning studies in higher education focused on its effects on students’ development. The dynamic processes and mechanisms of students’ development during service-learning, however, have not been explored thoroughly. Student engagement in service-learning may affect service-learning outcomes and be affected by subjective task value at the same time. The present study aimed to explore the effect of subjective task value on Chinese college student engagement during service-learning. Fifty-four Chinese college students participated in a 9-weeks service-learning program of interacting with children with special needs. Students’ engagement and subjective task value were assessed via self-report questionnaires and 433 weekly reflective journals. The results indicated that the cognitive, emotional and behavioral engagement of Chinese college students demonstrated different developmental trends during service-learning process. Subjective task value played an essential role in student engagement in service-learning activities. However, the role of subjective task value varied with different stages. Finally, the implications for implementing service-learning in Chinese education were discussed. PMID:27445919

Gamma-ray surveys in uranium exploration

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1979-01-01

This report is intended to provide newcomers to uranium exploration with an up-to-date statement of the principal factors to be considered in planning and using gamma-ray surveys. Since the report incorporates the results of recent research, and since its preparation was influenced by the cumulative experience of its contributors, it should also be useful to those who already have some knowledge of radioactivity surveys and methods. The intention is that the information and explanations given in the report will make it possible for gamma-ray surveys to be used in the most efficient way for a given exploration task

Employee engagement, organisational performance and individual wellbeing : Exploring the evidence, developing the theory

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Truss, C.; Shantz, A.; Soane, E.; Emma, C.; Alfes, K.; Delbridge, R.

2013-01-01

The development of mainstream human resource management (HRM) theory has long been concerned with how people management can enhance performance outcomes. It is only very recently that interest has been shown in the parallel stream of research on the link between employee engagement and performance,

Psychological vulnerability and resilience of Holocaust survivors engaged in creative art.

Science.gov (United States)

Diamond, Shira; Shrira, Amit

2018-06-01

Although evidence demonstrates that engagement in art promotes favorable coping with trauma, this subject is underexplored among Holocaust survivors. Thus, the present study explored whether Holocaust survivors engaged in art differed from survivors not engaged in art in various markers of psychological vulnerability and resilience. The study further included non-Holocaust survivor comparisons, some engaged in art and some not, in order to assess whether engagement in art among Holocaust survivors relates to a unique psychological profile beyond art engagement in general. A sample of 154 community-dwelling older adults (mean age = 81.67, SD = 5.33, range = 73-97) reported exposure to the Holocaust, current engagement in art, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, general psychological distress, resilience and subjective perceptions of age and aging. Holocaust survivors (regardless of whether they engaged in art or not) reported higher PTSD symptoms relative to comparisons. However, Holocaust survivors who engaged in art reported higher resilience than all other groups (survivors not engaged in art and comparisons engaged and not engaged in art). To the best of our knowledge, these findings are the first quantitative evidence pointing toward a link between engagement in art and positive coping with the Holocaust. These findings have important implications for clinicians working with Holocaust survivors. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Employee engagement within the NHS: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Jeve, Yadava Bapurao; Oppenheimer, Christina; Konje, Justin

2015-02-01

Employee engagement is the emotional commitment of the employee towards the organisation. We aimed to analyse baseline work engagement using Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) at a teaching hospital. We have conducted a cross-sectional study within the National Health Service (NHS) Teaching Hospital in the UK. All participants were working age population from both genders directly employed by the hospital. UWES has three constituting dimensions of work engagement as vigor, dedication, and absorption. We conducted the study using UWES-9 tool. Outcome measures were mean score for each dimension of work engagement (vigor, dedication, absorption) and total score compared with control score from test manual. We found that the score for vigor and dedication is significantly lower than comparison group (Pengagement level is below average within the NHS employees. Vigor and dedication are significantly lower, these are characterised by energy, mental resilience, the willingness to invest one's effort, and persistence as well as a sense of significance, enthusiasm, inspiration, pride, and challenge. The NHS employees are immersed in work. Urgent need to explore strategies to improve work engagement as it is vital for improving productivity, safety and patient experience.

Employee engagement within the NHS: a cross-sectional study

Science.gov (United States)

Jeve, Yadava Bapurao; Oppenheimer, Christina; Konje, Justin

2015-01-01

Background: Employee engagement is the emotional commitment of the employee towards the organisation. We aimed to analyse baseline work engagement using Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) at a teaching hospital. Methods: We have conducted a cross-sectional study within the National Health Service (NHS) Teaching Hospital in the UK. All participants were working age population from both genders directly employed by the hospital. UWES has three constituting dimensions of work engagement as vigor, dedication, and absorption. We conducted the study using UWES-9 tool. Outcome measures were mean score for each dimension of work engagement (vigor, dedication, absorption) and total score compared with control score from test manual. Results: We found that the score for vigor and dedication is significantly lower than comparison group (Pemployees. Vigor and dedication are significantly lower, these are characterised by energy, mental resilience, the willingness to invest one’s effort, and persistence as well as a sense of significance, enthusiasm, inspiration, pride, and challenge. The NHS employees are immersed in work. Urgent need to explore strategies to improve work engagement as it is vital for improving productivity, safety and patient experience PMID:25674571

Arts of urban exploration

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pinder, David

2005-01-01

to the city’ and ‘writing the city’. Through addressing recent cases of psychogeographical experimentation in terms of these themes, the paper raises broad questions about artistic practices and urban exploration to introduce this theme issue on ‘Arts of urban exploration’ and to lead into the specific......This paper addresses ways in which artists and cultural practitioners have recently been using forms of urban exploration as a means of engaging with, and intervening in, cities. It takes its cues from recent events on the streets of New York that involved exploring urban spaces through artistic...

Nanoethics, Science Communication, and a Fourth Model for Public Engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Miah, Andy

2017-01-01

This paper develops a fourth model of public engagement with science, grounded in the principle of nurturing scientific agency through participatory bioethics. It argues that social media is an effective device through which to enable such engagement, as it has the capacity to empower users and transforms audiences into co-producers of knowledge, rather than consumers of content. Social media also fosters greater engagement with the political and legal implications of science, thus promoting the value of scientific citizenship. This argument is explored by considering the case of nanoscience and nanotechnology, as an exemplar for how emerging technologies may be handled by the scientific community and science policymakers.

Gender differences in attitudes toward nuclear power: a multivariate explanation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Baxter, R.K.

1987-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine gender differences in attitudes toward nuclear power and to discover what factors account for these differences. The marginality explanation for these differences suggest that women have less-favorable attitudes toward nuclear power because they are less concerned about energy supplies and economic growth and are less convinced of the benefits of nuclear power for society than are men. The irrationality explanation holds that women are less favorable toward nuclear power because they are less knowledgeable about this technology than are men. The lay-rationality explanation argues that people form attitudes toward nuclear power which are consistent with their relevant beliefs, attitudes and values; thus, this explanation suggests that women's unfavorable attitudes toward nuclear power stem from greater concern about environmental protection, exposing society to risk, and lower faith in science and technology. Data for this study were collected via a mail questionnaire administered to a state wide sample of Washington residents (n= 696)

The Concept of Employee Engagement: A Comprehensive Review from a Positive Organizational Behavior Perspective

Science.gov (United States)

Jeung, Chang-Wook

2011-01-01

Employee engagement has been understood from various academic and practical perspectives, mainly due to its recent popularity. This study explores not only positive movements--positive psychology, positive organizational scholarship (POS), and positive organizational behavior (POB)--as a background of engagement but also the conceptualization,…

Engaging patients to recover life projectuality: an Italian cross-disease framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Barello, Serena; Graffigna, Guendalina

2015-05-01

Chronic disease is recognized as having a large impact on patient quality of life (QoL), which can be defined as an individual's satisfaction or happiness with life in domains he or she considers important. Policy makers and clinicians recognize increasingly that patients can safeguard their QoL by making healthy lifestyle choices and being actively engaged in their health care. However, in the emphasis on promoting patient engagement to enhance patients' QoL, there is no consensus regarding the relationship between QOL and patient engagement, resulting in a lack of shared guidelines among clinicians on interventions. Furthermore, no studies have provided an in-depth exploration of the perspective of patients with chronic conditions who are engaged in their health care and their requirements to achieve an improved QoL. Given this theoretical gap, the present study attempted to explore the patient engagement experience and its relationship with patient QoL in the context of the Italian healthcare system and in relation to different chronic diseases. In-depth qualitative interviews on a sample of 99 patients with a wide variety of chronic conditions (heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke, diabetes, and cancer). Patient engagement in health care can be defined as a context-based and cross-disease process that appears to enable patients to recover their life projectuality, which had been impaired by the onset of chronic disease. Successful patient engagement may also be related to a positive shift in the ways in which patients perceive self and life and experience empowerment to realize their life potential, thus improving quality of life. Patient engagement is a powerful concept capable of reflecting significant psychosocial changes that promote patient QoL along the care process. There appears to be theoretical and empirical justification for a broad definition of QoL. QoL deeply depends on the patient ability to engage in their care and on the

Use of Game Theory to model patient engagement after surgery: a qualitative analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Castellanos, Stephen A; Buentello, Gerardo; Gutierrez-Meza, Diana; Forgues, Angela; Haubert, Lisa; Artinyan, Avo; Macdonald, Cameron L; Suliburk, James W

2018-01-01

Patient engagement is challenging to define and operationalize. Qualitative analysis allows us to explore patient perspectives on this topic and establish themes. A game theoretic signaling model also provides a framework through which to further explore engagement. Over a 6-mo period, thirty-eight interviews were conducted within 6 wk of discharge in patients undergoing thyroid, parathyroid, or colorectal surgery. Interviews were transcribed, anonymized, and analyzed using the NVivo 11 platform. A signaling model was then developed depicting the doctor-patient interaction surrounding the patient's choice to reach out to their physician with postoperative concerns based upon the patient's perspective of the doctor's availability. This was defined as "engagement". We applied the model to the qualitative data to determine possible causations for a patient's engagement or lack thereof. A private hospital's and a safety net hospital's populations were contrasted. The private patient population was more likely to engage than their safety-net counterparts. Using our model in conjunction with patient data, we determined possible etiologies for this engagement to be due to the private patient's perceived probability of dealing with an available doctor and apparent signals from the doctor indicating so. For the safety-net population, decreased access to care caused them to be less willing to engage with a doctor perceived as possibly unavailable. A physician who understands these Game Theory concepts may be able to alter their interactions with their patients, tailoring responses and demeanor to fit the patient's circumstances and possible barriers to engagement. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

"Ratio via Machina": Three Standards of Mechanistic Explanation in Sociology

Science.gov (United States)

Aviles, Natalie B.; Reed, Isaac Ariail

2017-01-01

Recently, sociologists have expended much effort in attempts to define social mechanisms. We intervene in these debates by proposing that sociologists in fact have a choice to make between three standards of what constitutes a good mechanistic explanation: substantial, formal, and metaphorical mechanistic explanation. All three standards are…

Developing Intentionality and L2 Classroom Task-Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Stelma, Juup

2014-01-01

This paper extends work on "intentionality", from philosophy, psychology and education to an exploration of learners' meaning-making in L2 classroom task-engagement. The paper draws on both phenomenological and folk-psychological perspectives on intentionality, and employs John R. Searle's intrinsic (mental) and derived (observable)…

Engaging parents in evidence-based treatments in schools: Community perspectives from implementing CBITS.

Science.gov (United States)

Santiago, Catherine Decarlo; Pears, Gillian; Baweja, Shilpa; Vona, Pamela; Tang, Jennifer; Kataoka, Sheryl H

2013-12-01

This study explored parent engagement in an evidence-based treatment, the Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools (CBITS), which was delivered in a school setting. To examine the successes and challenges in engaging parents in this school-based program, we conducted qualitative interviews by phone to obtain data from clinicians, parents, and other school personnel across eleven schools from 3 different regions of the United States. Almost all of these schools served low-income and ethnically diverse communities. We describe general impressions of parent engagement, parent reactions and preferences with regard to CBITS, barriers to parent engagement, and how to overcome barriers from multiple perspectives. Parent engagement across schools varied, with extensive outreach and relatively good parent engagement in CBITS described in some schools, while in other schools, efforts to engage parents were not as consistent. Implications for future efforts to engage parents in school-based treatments are discussed.

Work Engagement in Serbia: Psychometric Properties of the Serbian Version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ivana B. Petrović

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Work engagement is defined as a positive, affective-motivational state of work-related well-being characterized by vigor, dedication and absorption. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES is the most frequently used measure of work engagement. The aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Serbian versions of the UWES-17 and UWES-9. The sample consisted of 860 employees from a number of organizations and jobs across Serbia. Based on the UWES-17 findings, the data confirm both the three-factor and one-factor solutions by giving a slight advantage to the three-factor solution. As for the UWES-9, based on the PCFA and CFA, the one-factor solution was obtained as the preferred one. Taking into account the UWES-9 reliability and correlation patterns of its subscales with other well-being variables, both one- and three-factor solutions of the UWES-9 are suggested for future research. Serbian versions of both the UWES-17 and UWES-9 have satisfactory psychometric properties with high reliability, factorial structure in line with the theoretical model, and good predictive validity. The study contributes to enhanced understanding of work engagement by offering an insight from the Serbian cultural and economic context, significantly different from the UWES originating setting. There is still a need for exploring how employees from Serbia conceptualize work engagement, as well as for further, more stringent investigating of the cultural invariance of the UWES factorial structure.

Work Engagement in Serbia: Psychometric Properties of the Serbian Version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES).

Science.gov (United States)

Petrović, Ivana B; Vukelić, Milica; Čizmić, Svetlana

2017-01-01

Work engagement is defined as a positive, affective-motivational state of work-related well-being characterized by vigor, dedication and absorption. The Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) is the most frequently used measure of work engagement. The aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Serbian versions of the UWES-17 and UWES-9. The sample consisted of 860 employees from a number of organizations and jobs across Serbia. Based on the UWES-17 findings, the data confirm both the three-factor and one-factor solutions by giving a slight advantage to the three-factor solution. As for the UWES-9, based on the PCFA and CFA, the one-factor solution was obtained as the preferred one. Taking into account the UWES-9 reliability and correlation patterns of its subscales with other well-being variables, both one- and three-factor solutions of the UWES-9 are suggested for future research. Serbian versions of both the UWES-17 and UWES-9 have satisfactory psychometric properties with high reliability, factorial structure in line with the theoretical model, and good predictive validity. The study contributes to enhanced understanding of work engagement by offering an insight from the Serbian cultural and economic context, significantly different from the UWES originating setting. There is still a need for exploring how employees from Serbia conceptualize work engagement, as well as for further, more stringent investigating of the cultural invariance of the UWES factorial structure.

Dimensions of integration in interdisciplinary explanations of the origin of evolutionary novelty.

Science.gov (United States)

Love, Alan C; Lugar, Gary L

2013-12-01

Many philosophers of biology have embraced a version of pluralism in response to the failure of theory reduction but overlook how concepts, methods, and explanatory resources are in fact coordinated, such as in interdisciplinary research where the aim is to integrate different strands into an articulated whole. This is observable for the origin of evolutionary novelty-a complex problem that requires a synthesis of intellectual resources from different fields to arrive at robust answers to multiple allied questions. It is an apt locus for exploring new dimensions of explanatory integration because it necessitates coordination among historical and experimental disciplines (e.g., geology and molecular biology). These coordination issues are widespread for the origin of novel morphologies observed in the Cambrian Explosion. Despite an explicit commitment to an integrated, interdisciplinary explanation, some potential disciplinary contributors are excluded. Notable among these exclusions is the physics of ontogeny. We argue that two different dimensions of integration-data and standards-have been insufficiently distinguished. This distinction accounts for why physics-based explanatory contributions to the origin of novelty have been resisted: they do not integrate certain types of data and differ in how they conceptualize the standard of uniformitarianism in historical, causal explanations. Our analysis of these different dimensions of integration contributes to the development of more adequate and integrated explanatory frameworks. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute: Science and Technology for Lunar Exploration

Science.gov (United States)

Schmidt, Greg; Bailey, Brad; Gibbs, Kristina

2015-01-01

The NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) is a virtual institute focused on research at the intersection of science and exploration, training the next generation of lunar scientists, and development and support of the international community. As part of its mission, SSERVI acts as a hub for opportunities that engage the larger scientific and exploration communities in order to form new interdisciplinary, research-focused collaborations. The nine domestic SSERVI teams that comprise the U.S. complement of the Institute engage with the international science and exploration communities through workshops, conferences, online seminars and classes, student exchange programs and internships. SSERVI represents a close collaboration between science, technology and exploration enabling a deeper, integrated understanding of the Moon and other airless bodies as human exploration moves beyond low Earth orbit. SSERVI centers on the scientific aspects of exploration as they pertain to the Moon, Near Earth Asteroids (NEAs) and the moons of Mars, with additional aspects of related technology development, including a major focus on human exploration-enabling efforts such as resolving Strategic Knowledge Gaps (SKGs). The Institute focuses on interdisciplinary, exploration-related science focused on airless bodies targeted as potential human destinations. Areas of study represent the broad spectrum of lunar, NEA, and Martian moon sciences encompassing investigations of the surface, interior, exosphere, and near-space environments as well as science uniquely enabled from these bodies. This research profile integrates investigations of plasma physics, geology/geochemistry, technology integration, solar system origins/evolution, regolith geotechnical properties, analogues, volatiles, ISRU and exploration potential of the target bodies. New opportunities for both domestic and international partnerships are continually generated through these research and

A Convergent Mixed-Methods Exploration of the Effects of Community-Engaged Coursework on Graduate Student Learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Dinour, Lauren M; Szaro, Jacalyn; Blumberg, Renata; Bose, Mousumi

2018-03-06

To examine the impact of a community-engaged assignment on graduate student learning in the nutritional sciences. Convergent mixed-methods design with parallel data collection and terminal merging of data. Data were composed of grant proposals, reflection papers, and informal course evaluations from 2 semesters of the same course. Fall students wrote proposals on behalf of a community partner whereas spring students wrote fictitious grants to improve nutrition on their campus. A large public university in northeastern US. Students enrolled in the fall (n = 19) or spring (n = 14) semester of the same graduate nutrition course. Grant quality, student engagement, and collaboration with peers. Quantitative rubric-based rating of grant proposals, emergent and thematic qualitative coding of open-ended responses, and independent-samples t test of Likert-scale questions. Data were compared between semesters and reported in a contiguous narrative approach. Students across semesters experienced academic and personal gains from the assignment. Comparatively, fall students expressed enhanced engagement, improved group dynamics, more frequent application of the assignment to their lives, and a better aggregate grant score. Both experiential and community-engaged coursework can enhance learning outcomes at the graduate level and prepare students for careers in nutrition. Copyright © 2018 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Why acting environmentally-friendly feels good: Exploring the role of self-image

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Leonie A Venhoeven

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Recent research suggests that engagement in environmentally-friendly behavior can feel good. Current explanations for such a link do not focus on the nature of environmentally-friendly behavior itself, but rather propose well-being is more or less a side-benefit; behaviors that benefit environmental quality (e.g. spending one’s money on people rather than products also tend to make us feel good. We propose that the moral nature of environmentally-friendly behavior itself may elicit positive emotions as well, because engaging in this behavior can signal one is an environmentally-friendly and thus a good person. Our results show that engagement in environmentally-friendly behavior can indeed affect how people see themselves: participants saw themselves as being more environmentally-friendly when they engaged in more environmentally-friendly behavior (Study 1. Furthermore, environmentally-friendly behavior resulted in a more positive self-image, more strongly when it was voluntarily engaged in, compared to when it was driven by situational constraints (Study 2. In turn, the more environmentally-friendly (Study 1 and positive (Study 2 people saw themselves, the better they felt about acting environmentally-friendly. Together, these results suggest that the specific self-signal that ensues from engaging in environmentally-friendly behavior can explain why environmentally-friendly actions may elicit a good feeling.

Work Engagement: Antecedents, the Mediating Role of Learning Goal Orientation and Job Performance

Science.gov (United States)

Chughtai, Aamir Ali; Buckley, Finian

2011-01-01

Purpose: The present paper aims to explore the effects of state (trust in supervisor) and trait (trust propensity) trust on employees' work engagement. Furthermore, it seeks to investigate the mediating role of learning goal orientation in the relationship between work engagement and two forms of performance: in-role job performance and innovative…

Investigation of tool engagement and cutting performance in machining a pocket

Science.gov (United States)

Adesta, E. Y. T.; Hamidon, R.; Riza, M.; Alrashidi, R. F. F. A.; Alazemi, A. F. F. S.

2018-01-01

This study investigates the variation of tool engagement for different profile of cutting. In addition, behavior of cutting force and cutting temperature for different tool engagements for machining a pocket also been explored. Initially, simple tool engagement models were developed for peripheral and slot cutting for different types of corner. Based on these models, the tool engagements for contour and zig zag tool path strategies for a rectangular shape pocket with dimension 80 mm x 60 mm were analyzed. Experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of tool engagements on cutting force and cutting temperature for the machining of a pocket of AISI H13 material. The cutting parameters used were 150m/min cutting speed, 0.05mm/tooth feed, and 0.1mm depth of cut. Based on the results obtained, the changes of cutting force and cutting temperature performance there exist a relationship between cutting force, cutting temperature and tool engagement. A higher cutting force and cutting temperature is obtained when the cutting tool goes through up milling and when the cutting tool makes a full engagement with the workpiece.

Competence Matching Tool - Explanations and Implementation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Herder, Eelco; Kärger, Philipp

2010-01-01

Herder, E., Kärger, P. (2009) Competence Matching Tool - Explanations and Implementation. The document contains the technical specification of the competence matching tool. The tool can be found at http://tencompetence.cvs.sourceforge.net/viewvc/tencompetence/wp7/CompetenceMatcher/ and the location

NASA's Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute: Building Collaboration Through International Partnerships

Science.gov (United States)

Gibbs, K. E.; Schmidt, G. K.

2017-01-01

The NASA Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute (SSERVI) is a virtual institute focused on re-search at the intersection of science and exploration, training the next generation of lunar scientists, and community development. As part of the SSERVI mission, we act as a hub for opportunities that engage the larger scientific and exploration communities in order to form new interdisciplinary, research-focused collaborations. This talk will describe the international partner re-search efforts and how we are engaging the international science and exploration communities through workshops, conferences, online seminars and classes, student exchange programs and internships.

Work engagement and its predictors in registered nurses: A cross-sectional design.

Science.gov (United States)

Wan, Qiaoqin; Zhou, Weijiao; Li, Zhaoyang; Shang, Shaomei; Yu, Fang

2018-04-23

Nurses are key staff members of health-care organizations. Nurse engagement directly influences quality of care and organizational performance. The purpose of the present study was to understand the state of work engagement and explore its predictors among registered nurses in China by using a descriptive, cross-sectional survey design (n = 1065). Work engagement was measured with the Chinese version of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale. The results showed that the average work engagement of Chinese nurses was 3.54 (standard deviation = 1.49), and that nurses' age (β = .16, t = 5.32), job characteristics (β = .33, t = 9.43), and practice environment (β = .23, t = 6.59) were significant predictors of work engagement. Thus, nurse leaders should be encouraged to shape motivational job characteristics and create supportive practice environment so as to increase nurses' work engagement. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Evolutionary history and leaf succulence as explanations for medicinal use in aloes and the global popularity of Aloe vera

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grace, Olwen Megan; Buerki, Sven; Symonds, Matthew RE

2015-01-01

Background: Aloe vera supports a substantial global trade yet its wild origins, and explanations for its popularity over 500 related Aloe species in one of the world’s largest succulent groups, have remained uncertain. We developed an explicit phylogenetic framework to explore links between...... the rich traditions of medicinal use and leaf succulence in aloes. Results: The phylogenetic hypothesis clarifies the origins of Aloe vera to the Arabian Peninsula at the northernmost limits of the range for aloes. The genus Aloe originated in southern Africa ~16 million years ago and underwent two major...... succulence among aloes has yielded new explanations for the extraordinary market dominance of Aloe vera. The industry preference for Aloe vera appears to be due to its proximity to important historic trade routes, and early introduction to trade and cultivation. Well-developed succulent leaf mesophyll tissue...

Engaging beyond the First College Year: Exploring the Needs of Second-Year Students

Science.gov (United States)

Black, Elizabeth L.

2014-01-01

This article makes the case for librarians to engage with second-year students as part of the burgeoning movement in higher education to provide dedicated programming and experiences for second-year students. Grounded in development theories and transition theory, the article describes the special needs characteristic of typical second-year…

Exploring How Substance Use Impedes Engagement along the HIV Care Continuum: A Qualitative Study

Science.gov (United States)

Gwadz, Marya; de Guzman, Rebecca; Freeman, Robert; Kutnick, Alexandra; Silverman, Elizabeth; Leonard, Noelle R.; Ritchie, Amanda Spring; Muñoz-Plaza, Corinne; Salomon, Nadim; Wolfe, Hannah; Hilliard, Christopher; Cleland, Charles M.; Honig, Sylvie

2016-01-01

Drug use is associated with low uptake of HIV antiretroviral therapy (ART), an under-studied step in the HIV care continuum, and insufficient engagement in HIV primary care. However, the specific underlying mechanisms by which drug use impedes these HIV health outcomes are poorly understood. The present qualitative study addresses this gap in the literature, focusing on African-American/Black and Hispanic persons living with HIV (PLWH) who had delayed, declined, or discontinued ART and who also were generally poorly engaged in health care. Participants (N = 37) were purposively sampled from a larger study for maximum variation on HIV indices. They engaged in 1–2 h audio-recorded in-depth semi-structured interviews on HIV histories guided by a multilevel social-cognitive theory. Transcripts were analyzed using a systematic content analysis approach. Consistent with the existing literature, heavy substance use, but not casual or social use, impeded ART uptake, mainly by undermining confidence in medication management abilities and triggering depression. The confluence of African-American/Black or Hispanic race/ethnicity, poverty, and drug use was associated with high levels of perceived stigma and inferior treatment in health-care settings compared to their peers. Furthermore, providers were described as frequently assuming participants were selling their medications to buy drugs, which strained provider–patient relationships. High levels of medical distrust, common in this population, created fears of ART and of negative interactions between street drugs and ART, but participants could not easily discuss this concern with health-care providers. Barriers to ART initiation and HIV care were embedded in other structural- and social-level challenges, which disproportionately affect low-income African-American/Black and Hispanic PLWH (e.g., homelessness, violence). Yet, HIV management was cyclical. In collaboration with trusted providers and ancillary staff

Engaging the Homeless Paranoid Patient

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Gayatri

2007-01-01

For people who are disenfranchised from society for other reasons, especially homelessness, a paranoid delusional system can create an additional obstacle in the therapeutic engagement and treatment of such individuals. In this article, we describe a composite case of a homeless woman with paranoid schizophrenia. Through this case example, we will explore various obstacles to treatment and discuss strategies to overcome these hurdles to treatment, initiate a therapeutic alliance, and further facilitate and maintain therapy. PMID:20526407

Teachers and students' divergent perceptions of engagement: recognition of school or work place goals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jonasson, Charlotte

2012-01-01

In extant research, the concept of student engagement refers to individual behavioural patterns and traits. Recent research indicates that engagement should not only be related to the individual but also should be anchored in the social context. This ethnographic field study of students...... and teachers in a Danish vocational education and training school responds to the need for more knowledge on this theme by exploring the social dynamics of engagement perceptions. Results show that teachers and students held diverging perceptions of student engagement that rested on educational goals as well...

Engagement and learning: an exploratory study of situated practice in multi-disciplinary stroke rehabilitation.

Science.gov (United States)

Horton, Simon; Howell, Alison; Humby, Kate; Ross, Alexandra

2011-01-01

Active participation is considered to be a key factor in stroke rehabilitation. Patient engagement in learning is an important part of this process. This study sets out to explore how active participation and engagement are 'produced' in the course of day-to-day multi-disciplinary stroke rehabilitation. Ethnographic observation, analytic concepts drawn from discourse analysis (DA) and the perspective and methods of conversation analysis (CA) were applied to videotaped data from three sessions of rehabilitation therapy each for two patients with communication impairments (dysarthria, aphasia). Engagement was facilitated (and hindered) through the interactional work of patients and healthcare professionals. An institutional ethos of 'right practice' was evidenced in the working practices of therapists and aligned with or resisted by patients; therapeutic activity type (impairment, activity or functional focus) impacted on the ways in which patient engagement was developed and sustained. This exploration of multi-disciplinary rehabilitation practice adds a new dimension to our understanding of the barriers and facilitators to patient engagement in the learning process and provides scope for further research. Harmonising the rehabilitation process across disciplines through more focused attention to ways in which patient participation is enhanced may help improve the consistency and quality of patient engagement.

Creating Student Engagement Through Immersion: Exploring the MT6 Shipwreck in Puget Sound via Submersible, Using a Team Challenge Format

Science.gov (United States)

Sarason, C. P.; Hartzler, R.; Anderson, A.

2016-02-01

Educational literature has many stories describing the "aha" moment that teachers are privileged to observe: a student who suddenly grasps a concept (ding!), dives into an activity (whee!) or works tirelessly to complete a complicated project (wow!). Designing moments like these for students can be one of the great joys of teaching. Experiencing such a moment can have a lasting impact on student engagement and motivation, and is the underlying rationale for the importance of creating a wide array of outreach efforts, from field work to telepresence activities.During the spring of 2015, OceanGate Foundation and Seattle Central College partnered on a pilot program to design a program that had this kind of impact and created the Open The Oceans Challenge. Student teams responded to our Request for Proposal (RFP), which was centered around the exploration of a shipwreck in 150 meters of water just off the Seattle waterfront, the MT-6. Students spent a significant amount of time crafting their proposals and reported that they enjoyed the process of writing the proposal as a team. The two winning teams accompanied us on a series of submersible dives performed by OceanGate, Inc. and worked up the results afterward. In addition to researching the MT-6 wreck and documenting what they found, students were able to do basic observational research on the wreck, providing sonar and photographic data that will help form the basis of future expeditions to this site.We report on lessons learned from this pilot — the impact for the small set of students involved in this project was profound, but how can we expand the reach of such activities? Results from this experience suggest that providing a highly engaging topic and expedition may not be enough to inspire an "aha" moment that creates lasting engagement; the scaffolding and mentorship that surrounds a rich experience is also critical.

Examining Factors of Engagement With Digital Interventions for Weight Management: Rapid Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Sharpe, Emma Elizabeth; Karasouli, Eleni; Meyer, Caroline

2017-10-23

Digital interventions for weight management provide a unique opportunity to target daily lifestyle choices and eating behaviors over a sustained period of time. However, recent evidence has demonstrated a lack of user engagement with digital health interventions, impacting on the levels of intervention effectiveness. Thus, it is critical to identify the factors that may facilitate user engagement with digital health interventions to encourage behavior change and weight management. The aim of this study was to identify and synthesize the available evidence to gain insights about users' perspectives on factors that affect engagement with digital interventions for weight management. A rapid review methodology was adopted. The search strategy was executed in the following databases: Web of Science, PsycINFO, and PubMed. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they investigated users' engagement with a digital weight management intervention and were published from 2000 onwards. A narrative synthesis of data was performed on all included studies. A total of 11 studies were included in the review. The studies were qualitative, mixed-methods, or randomized controlled trials. Some of the studies explored features influencing engagement when using a Web-based digital intervention, others specifically explored engagement when accessing a mobile phone app, and some looked at engagement after text message (short message service, SMS) reminders. Factors influencing engagement with digital weight management interventions were found to be both user-related (eg, perceived health benefits) and digital intervention-related (eg, ease of use and the provision of personalized information). The findings highlight the importance of incorporating user perspectives during the digital intervention development process to encourage engagement. The review contributes to our understanding of what facilitates user engagement and points toward a coproduction approach for developing digital

Designing for User Engagment Aesthetic and Attractive User Interfaces

CERN Document Server

Sutcliffe, Alistair

2009-01-01

This book explores the design process for user experience and engagement, which expands the traditional concept of usability and utility in design to include aesthetics, fun and excitement. User experience has evolved as a new area of Human Computer Interaction research, motivated by non-work oriented applications such as games, education and emerging interactive Web 2.0. The chapter starts by examining the phenomena of user engagement and experience and setting them in the perspective of cognitive psychology, in particular motivation, emotion and mood. The perspective of aesthetics is expande

Separable explanations of neural network decisions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Rieger, Laura

2017-01-01

Deep Taylor Decomposition is a method used to explain neural network decisions. When applying this method to non-dominant classifications, the resulting explanation does not reflect important features for the chosen classification. We propose that this is caused by the dense layers and propose...

Why We Need to Question the Democratic Engagement of Adolescents in Europe

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Isolde De Groot

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Since the beginning of the 21st century, academics in various disciplines have stressed the need to address democratic deficits in Europe as well as lacunae in the citizenship development of European youth. In this article we explore the value of various types of democratic engagement for strengthening the democratic character of local and international communities throughout Europe. To this end, we present our democratic engagement typology and its derivation from empirical and conceptual research, and discuss several strengths and limitations of each type of engagement. We also explain the additive value of our typology in relation to existing engagement typologies, and conclude that in order to vitalize democratic communities, local and (international communities and institutions also need to cultivate a thick type of democratic engagement among European youth.

Auditory Verbal Hallucinations in Schizophrenia From a Levels of Explanation Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Hugdahl, Kenneth; Sommer, Iris E

2018-02-15

In the present article, we present a "Levels of Explanation" (LoE) approach to auditory verbal hallucinations (AVHs) in schizophrenia. Mental phenomena can be understood at different levels of explanation, including cultural, clinical, cognitive, brain imaging, cellular, and molecular levels. Current research on AVHs is characterized by accumulation of data at all levels, but with little or no interaction of findings between levels. A second advantage with a Levels of Explanation approach is that it fosters interdisciplinarity and collaboration across traditional borders, facilitating a real breakthrough in future research. We exemplify a Levels of Explanation approach with data from 3 levels where findings at 1 level provide predictions for another level. More specifically, we show how functional neuroimaging data at the brain level correspond with behavioral data at the cognitive level, and how data at these 2 levels correspond with recent findings of changes in neurotransmitter function at the cellular level. We further discuss implications for new therapeutic interventions, and the article is ended by suggestion how future research could incorporate genetic influences on AVHs at the molecular level of explanation by providing examples for animal work.

How perceptions of experience-based analysis influence explanations of work accidents.

Science.gov (United States)

Mbaye, Safiétou; Kouabenan, Dongo Rémi

2013-12-01

This article looks into how perceptions of experience-based analysis (EBA) influence causal explanations of accidents given by managers and workers in the chemical industry (n=409) and in the nuclear industry (n=222). The approach is based on the model of naive explanations of accidents (Kouabenan, 1999, 2006, 2009), which recommends taking into account explanations of accidents spontaneously given by individuals, including laypersons, not only to better understand why accidents occur but also to design and implement the most appropriate prevention measures. The study reported here describes the impact of perceptions about EBA (perceived effectiveness, personal commitment, and the feeling of being involved in EBA practices) on managers' and workers' explanations of accidents likely to occur at the workplace. The results indicated that both managers and workers made more internal explanations than external ones when they perceived EBA positively. Moreover, the more the participants felt involved in EBA, were committed to it, and judged it effective, the more they explained accidents in terms of factors internal to the workers. Recommendations are proposed for reducing defensive reactions, increasing personal commitment to EBA, and improving EBA effectiveness. © 2013.

Job resources and employee engagement : A cross-national study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Farndale, E.; Murrer, I.N.J.

2015-01-01

Purpose In light of increasing globalization of workforces, the purpose of this paper is to explore the moderating effect of country on the relationship between job resources and employee engagement. Design/methodology/approach Questionnaire responses from 19,260 employees of a large multinational

Employee Engagement within the NHS: A Cross-Sectional Study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yadava Bapurao Jeve

2015-02-01

Full Text Available Background Employee engagement is the emotional commitment of the employee towards the organisation. We aimed to analyse baseline work engagement using Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES at a teaching hospital. Methods We have conducted a cross-sectional study within the National Health Service (NHS Teaching Hospital in the UK. All participants were working age population from both genders directly employed by the hospital. UWES has three constituting dimensions of work engagement as vigor, dedication, and absorption. We conducted the study using UWES-9 tool. Outcome measures were mean score for each dimension of work engagement (vigor, dedication, absorption and total score compared with control score from test manual. Results We found that the score for vigor and dedication is significantly lower than comparison group (P< 0.0001 for both. The score for absorption was significantly higher than comparison group (P< 0.0001. However, total score is not significantly different. Conclusion The study shows that work engagement level is below average within the NHS employees. Vigor and dedication are significantly lower, these are characterised by energy, mental resilience, the willingness to invest one’s effort, and persistence as well as a sense of significance, enthusiasm, inspiration, pride, and challenge. The NHS employees are immersed in work. Urgent need to explore strategies to improve work engagement as it is vital for improving productivity, safety and patient experience.

Applied mineral exploration with special reference to uranium

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bailey, R.V.; Childers, M.O.

1977-01-01

An explanation of the fundamentals of organizing, operating, and concluding an exploration program, particularly uranium exploration, is presented. Discussion of many exploration practices currently being used in the industry and a review of some new developments or research projects which are being studied or which show promise are included. The material is presented in 13 chapters entitled: the Mineral Explorationist and the Role He Plays; Types of Uranium Deposits; Development of Idea and Preliminary Investigation: Uranium; a Review of Mining Law as it Pertains to Mineral Exploration and Development in the United States; Land Ownership and Leasing; Continuing Detailed Geologic Work; the Decision to Make a Play; Selling a Deal; Legal and Accounting Aspects; the Drilling Program; Using Geology in Planning and Executing Drilling; Transition from Exploration to Development; and a Forward Look

Comparing a telephone- and a group-delivered diabetes prevention program: Characteristics of engaged and non-engaged postpartum mothers with a history of gestational diabetes.

Science.gov (United States)

Lim, Siew; Dunbar, James A; Versace, Vincent L; Janus, Edward; Wildey, Carol; Skinner, Timothy; O'Reilly, Sharleen

2017-04-01

To explore the acceptability of a telephone- or a group-delivered diabetes prevention program for women with previous gestational diabetes and to compare the characteristics associated with program engagement. Postpartum women participated in a lifestyle modification program delivered by telephone (n=33) or group format (n=284). Semi-structured interviews on barriers and enablers to program engagement (defined as completing≥80% sessions) were conducted before (Group) and after (Group and Telephone) interventions. The Health Action Process Approach theory was used as the framework for inquiry. Psychological measures were compared between engagement subgroups before and after group-delivered intervention. In the telephone-delivered program 82% participants met the engagement criteria compared with 38% for the group-delivered program. Engaged participants (Group) had significantly higher risk perception, outcome expectancy, and activity self-efficacy at baseline (P<0.05). There was a greater decrease in body weight (-1.45±3.9 vs -0.26±3.5, P=0.024) and waist circumference (-3.56±5.1 vs -1.24±5.3, P=0.002) for engaged vs non-engaged participants following group program completion. Telephone delivery was associated with greater engagement in postpartum women. Engagement was associated with greater reduction in weight and waist circumference. Further studies are required to confirm the effectiveness of telephone-delivered program for diabetes prevention in postpartum women. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Staying Engaged: Knowledge and Research Needs in Student Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Ming-Te; Degol, Jessica

2016-01-01

In this article, we review knowledge about student engagement and look ahead to the future of study in this area. We begin by describing how researchers in the field define and study student engagement. In particular, we describe the levels, contexts, and dimensions that constitute the measurement of engagement, summarize the contexts that shape engagement and the outcomes that result from it, and articulate person-centered approaches for analyzing engagement. We conclude by addressing limitations to the research and providing recommendations for study. Specifically, we point to the importance of incorporating more work on how learning-related emotions, personality characteristics, prior learning experiences, shared values across contexts, and engagement in nonacademic activities influence individual differences in student engagement. We also stress the need to improve our understanding of the nuances involved in developing engagement over time by incorporating more extensive longitudinal analyses, intervention trials, research on affective neuroscience, and interactions among levels and dimensions of engagement. PMID:27087833

Prohloubení teorie 'Brand Engagement in Self-Concept' prostřednictvím kvalitativního výzkumu

OpenAIRE

Šenková, Simona

2012-01-01

Master's Thesis "Improvement Theory 'Brand Engagement in Self-Concept' through Qualitative Research" explains consumer-brand relationship view of new theory, which extends existing knowledge of incorporation brands into the self-concept. The main objective is to determine profiles of low and high BESC consumers by using in-depth interviews. In the theoretical part the explanation of brand identity, self-concept and the connection between them is done. It is followed by description of quantita...

Strategic Explanations for a Diagnostic Consultation System. Technical Report #8.

Science.gov (United States)

Hasling, Diane Warner; And Others

This paper examines the problem of automatic explanation of reasoning, or the ability of a program to discuss what it is doing in some understandable way, particularly as part of an expert system. An introduction presents a general framework in which to view explanation and reviews some of the research in this area. This is followed by a…

Teachers' Engagement at Work: An International Validation Study

Science.gov (United States)

Klassen, Robert M.; Aldhafri, Said; Mansfield, Caroline F.; Purwanto, Edy; Siu, Angela F. Y.; Wong, Marina W.; Woods-McConney, Amanda

2012-01-01

This study explored the validity of the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale in a sample of 853 practicing teachers from Australia, Canada, China (Hong Kong), Indonesia, and Oman. The authors used multigroup confirmatory factor analysis to test the factor structure and measurement invariance across settings, after which they examined the relationships…

Learning at Work: Organisational Affordances and Individual Engagement

Science.gov (United States)

Bryson, Jane; Pajo, Karl; Ward, Robyn; Mallon, Mary

2006-01-01

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore the interaction between organisational affordances for the development of individuals' capability, and the engagement of workers at various levels with those opportunities. Design/methodology/approach: A case study of a large New Zealand wine company, using in-depth interviews. Interviews were…

Collaborative learning framework for online stakeholder engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Khodyakov, Dmitry; Savitsky, Terrance D; Dalal, Siddhartha

2016-08-01

Public and stakeholder engagement can improve the quality of both research and policy decision making. However, such engagement poses significant methodological challenges in terms of collecting and analysing input from large, diverse groups. To explain how online approaches can facilitate iterative stakeholder engagement, to describe how input from large and diverse stakeholder groups can be analysed and to propose a collaborative learning framework (CLF) to interpret stakeholder engagement results. We use 'A National Conversation on Reducing the Burden of Suicide in the United States' as a case study of online stakeholder engagement and employ a Bayesian data modelling approach to develop a CLF. Our data modelling results identified six distinct stakeholder clusters that varied in the degree of individual articulation and group agreement and exhibited one of the three learning styles: learning towards consensus, learning by contrast and groupthink. Learning by contrast was the most common, or dominant, learning style in this study. Study results were used to develop a CLF, which helps explore multitude of stakeholder perspectives; identifies clusters of participants with similar shifts in beliefs; offers an empirically derived indicator of engagement quality; and helps determine the dominant learning style. The ability to detect learning by contrast helps illustrate differences in stakeholder perspectives, which may help policymakers, including Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, make better decisions by soliciting and incorporating input from patients, caregivers, health-care providers and researchers. Study results have important implications for soliciting and incorporating input from stakeholders with different interests and perspectives. © 2015 The Authors. Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Types and Influence of Social Support on School Engagement of Young Survivors of Leukemia

Science.gov (United States)

Tougas, Anne-Marie; Jutras, Sylvie; Bigras, Marc

2016-01-01

The present study aimed to describe and explore the influence of social support on the school engagement of young survivors of pediatric leukemia. Fifty-three young Quebecers, previously diagnosed and treated for leukemia, completed a questionnaire measuring their school engagement and participated in an interview focusing on the support offered…

A framework for engaging stakeholders on the management of alien species.

Science.gov (United States)

Novoa, Ana; Shackleton, Ross; Canavan, Susan; Cybèle, Cathleen; Davies, Sarah J; Dehnen-Schmutz, Katharina; Fried, Jana; Gaertner, Mirijam; Geerts, Sjirk; Griffiths, Charles L; Kaplan, Haylee; Kumschick, Sabrina; Le Maitre, David C; Measey, G John; Nunes, Ana L; Richardson, David M; Robinson, Tamara B; Touza, Julia; Wilson, John R U

2018-01-01

Alien species can have major ecological and socioeconomic impacts in their novel ranges and so effective management actions are needed. However, management can be contentious and create conflicts, especially when stakeholders who benefit from alien species are different from those who incur costs. Such conflicts of interests mean that management strategies can often not be implemented. There is, therefore, increasing interest in engaging stakeholders affected by alien species or by their management. Through a facilitated workshop and consultation process including academics and managers working on a variety of organisms and in different areas (urban and rural) and ecosystems (terrestrial and aquatic), we developed a framework for engaging stakeholders in the management of alien species. The proposed framework for stakeholder engagement consists of 12 steps: (1) identify stakeholders; (2) select key stakeholders for engagement; (3) explore key stakeholders' perceptions and develop initial aims for management; (4) engage key stakeholders in the development of a draft management strategy; (5) re-explore key stakeholders' perceptions and revise the aims of the strategy; (6) co-design general aims, management objectives and time frames with key stakeholders; (7) co-design a management strategy; (8) facilitate stakeholders' ownership of the strategy and adapt as required; and (9) implement the strategy and monitor management actions to evaluate the need for additional or future actions. In case additional management is needed after these actions take place, some extra steps should be taken: (10) identify any new stakeholders, benefits, and costs; (11) monitor engagement; and (12) revise management strategy. Overall, we believe that our framework provides an effective approach to minimize the impact of conflicts created by alien species management. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Is a Transdisciplinary Theory of Engagement in Organized Settings Possible? A Concept Analysis of the Literature on Employee Engagement, Consumer Engagement and Patient Engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Graffigna, Guendalina

2017-01-01

Organizations are experiencing increased competition, disruptive innovation, and continuous changes in their social and economic context. Furthermore, the decrease of resources (economic and human) in such a demanding context make it imperative for organizations to find new models and strategies to make their service delivery more sustainable at the economic, environmental and psychological levels. In such a complex scenario the concept of engagement of the individuals involved in organized settings (either as service providers or as final receivers) is a promising lever for innovation. However, despite the number of studies on the matter, the debate on engagement is still very fragmented because the corpus of literature addressing the different areas of engagement is divided and diverse in its nature. In this paper, we discuss the results of a conceptual analysis of the literature conducted in order to investigate overlapping features and areas of divergence among three different areas of investigation and application of the engagement phenomenon in organized settings: the domains of employee engagement, consumer engagement, and patient engagement. These are deliberately selected as prototypical of the phenomenon of engagement along the "inside/outside" of organizational settings. The analysis consisted in a qualitative conceptual survey? Of the scholarly literature indexed with the key terms "employee engagement," "consumer engagement," and "patient engagement." We performed a key-word based survey? Of the literature in the Scopus database. A total of 163 articles were selected and analyzed. The analysis cast light on the following areas of conceptual overlap among employee, consumer and patient engagement: (1) engagement is different from empowerment and activation; (2) engagement is a multi-componential psychological experience; (3) engagement is a self-transformative experience; (4) engagement develops within a relational context; (5) engagement is a systemic

Is a Transdisciplinary Theory of Engagement in Organized Settings Possible? A Concept Analysis of the Literature on Employee Engagement, Consumer Engagement and Patient Engagement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Guendalina Graffigna

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Organizations are experiencing increased competition, disruptive innovation, and continuous changes in their social and economic context. Furthermore, the decrease of resources (economic and human in such a demanding context make it imperative for organizations to find new models and strategies to make their service delivery more sustainable at the economic, environmental and psychological levels. In such a complex scenario the concept of engagement of the individuals involved in organized settings (either as service providers or as final receivers is a promising lever for innovation. However, despite the number of studies on the matter, the debate on engagement is still very fragmented because the corpus of literature addressing the different areas of engagement is divided and diverse in its nature. In this paper, we discuss the results of a conceptual analysis of the literature conducted in order to investigate overlapping features and areas of divergence among three different areas of investigation and application of the engagement phenomenon in organized settings: the domains of employee engagement, consumer engagement, and patient engagement. These are deliberately selected as prototypical of the phenomenon of engagement along the “inside/outside” of organizational settings. The analysis consisted in a qualitative conceptual survey? Of the scholarly literature indexed with the key terms “employee engagement,” “consumer engagement,” and “patient engagement.” We performed a key-word based survey? Of the literature in the Scopus database. A total of 163 articles were selected and analyzed. The analysis cast light on the following areas of conceptual overlap among employee, consumer and patient engagement: (1 engagement is different from empowerment and activation; (2 engagement is a multi-componential psychological experience; (3 engagement is a self-transformative experience; (4 engagement develops within a relational context

Investigating the impact of moulage on simulation engagement - A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Stokes-Parish, Jessica B; Duvivier, Robbert; Jolly, Brian

2018-05-01

Simulation Based Education (SBE) is used as a primer for clinical education in nursing and other health professions. Participant engagement strategies and good debriefing have been identified as key for effective simulations. The environment in which the simulation is situated also plays a large role in the degree of participant engagement. Various cues are staged within simulations to enhance this engagement process. Moulage techniques are used in current-day simulation to mimic illnesses and wounds, acting as visual and tactile cues for the learner. To effectively utilise moulage in simulation, significant expense is required to train simulation staff and to purchase relevant equipment. Explore the use of moulage in simulation practice today and its influence on participant engagement. Using a systematic process to extract papers, we reviewed the literature with a critical-realist lens. CINAHL Complete, ERIC, Embase, Medline, PsycINFO, SCOPUS, Web of Science, Proquest, Science Direct and SAGE. 10 databases were systematically reviewed using the keyword "moulage" to answer the question "How does the authenticity of moulage impact on participant engagement?". 1318 records were identified prior to exclusion criterion were applied. 10 articles were targeted for review, following exclusion for English language and publication between 2005 and 2015. The resulting 10 papers were assessed for quality using the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument (MERSQI). The majority of papers were situated in dermatology teaching, with only one nursing paper. Study participants were both undergraduate and postgraduate. Most of the studies were undertaken at a university setting. No papers comprehensively addressed whether the authenticity of moulage influences learner engagement. Results were limited, yet clearly outline a widely held assumption that moulage is essential in simulation-based education for improved realism and subsequent learner engagement. Despite this

Genomics England's implementation of its public engagement strategy: Blurred boundaries between engagement for the United Kingdom's 100,000 Genomes project and the need for public support.

Science.gov (United States)

Samuel, Gabrielle Natalie; Farsides, Bobbie

2018-04-01

The United Kingdom's 100,000 Genomes Project has the aim of sequencing 100,000 genomes from National Health Service patients such that whole genome sequencing becomes routine clinical practice. It also has a research-focused goal to provide data for scientific discovery. Genomics England is the limited company established by the Department of Health to deliver the project. As an innovative scientific/clinical venture, it is interesting to consider how Genomics England positions itself in relation to public engagement activities. We set out to explore how individuals working at, or associated with, Genomics England enacted public engagement in practice. Our findings show that individuals offered a narrative in which public engagement performed more than one function. On one side, public engagement was seen as 'good practice'. On the other, public engagement was presented as core to the project's success - needed to encourage involvement and ultimately recruitment. We discuss the implications of this in this article.

Success and Motivation among College Students

Science.gov (United States)

Schweinle, Amy; Helming, Luralyn M.

2011-01-01

The present research explores college students' explanations of their success and failure in challenging activities and how it relates to students' efficacy, value, and engagement. The results suggest most students hold one primary reason for success during the challenging activity, including grade/extrinsic, mastery/intrinsic,…

Strengthening stakeholder-engaged research and research on stakeholder engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Ray, Kristin N; Miller, Elizabeth

2017-06-01

Stakeholder engagement is an emerging field with little evidence to inform best practices. Guidelines are needed to improve the quality of research on stakeholder engagement through more intentional planning, evaluation and reporting. We developed a preliminary framework for planning, evaluating and reporting stakeholder engagement, informed by published conceptual models and recommendations and then refined through our own stakeholder engagement experience. Our proposed exploratory framework highlights contexts and processes to be addressed in planning stakeholder engagement, and potential immediate, intermediate and long-term outcomes that warrant evaluation. We use this framework to illustrate both the minimum information needed for reporting stakeholder-engaged research and the comprehensive detail needed for reporting research on stakeholder engagement.

Human altruism, evolution and moral philosophy

Science.gov (United States)

2017-01-01

This paper has two central aims. The first is to explore philosophical complications that arise when we move from (i) explaining the evolutionary origins of genetically influenced traits associated with human cooperation and altruism, to (ii) explaining present manifestations of human thought, feeling and behaviour involving cooperation and altruism. While the former need only appeal to causal factors accessible to scientific inquiry, the latter must engage also with a distinctive form of explanation, i.e. reason-giving explanation, which in turn raises important philosophical questions, the answers to which will affect the nature of the ultimate explanations of our moral beliefs and related actions. On one possibility I will explore, this explanatory project cannot avoid engaging with first-order ethical theory. The second aim is to apply lessons from these explanatory complications to the critique of ‘evolutionary debunking arguments’, which seek to debunk morality, or at least objective construals of it (i.e. moral realism), by appeal to allegedly scientific debunking explanations of our moral beliefs that would defeat our justification for them. The explanatory complications brought out in the first half raise difficulties for such debunking arguments. If we avoid begging central philosophical questions then such debunking arguments pose little threat of saddling us with moral scepticism or subjectivism, though they do pose an important challenge for those developing a moral realist view. PMID:28878990

Using an engaging approach to products to help create long-term credibility

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McNeill, G.; Larkin, E.

1993-01-01

A long-term, thorough and engaging public information products plan is essential for supporting interaction between Nevadans and the scientists and staff of the US DOE Yucca Mountain Site Characterization Project (YMP). As members of the Institutional and External Affairs office on the YMP in Nevada, our focus is to create successful products for a Nevada audience, in accordance with DOE regulations. Our product plan is broad, but has the same theoretical foundation whether we are developing a new fact sheet of working with a scientist to help him or her communicate effectively. Our goals are to: Create products that help build long-term credibility; communicate honestly about risk; engage the public in meaningful, effective ways; be receptive to hearing Nevadans' concerns and questions; respond in ways that indicate that the public has been heard and respected; and to keep away from the open-quotes usclose quotes versus open-quotes themclose quotes orientation, distinguishing our communication approach from others. Explanations of our rationale, products plan, and goals and techniques for achieving them are stated, and related problems are described

Finding Futures: A Spatio-Visual Experiment In Participatory Engagement

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Davies, Sarah Rachael; Selin, Cynthia; Gano, Gretchen

2013-01-01

The Finding Futures Project explores innovative ways of deliberating the future of cities through an emphasis on embodied spatio-visual engagement with urban landscapes. The first instantiation of the project - which took place in Lisbon in 2011 - is reported through a discussion of the project's...

Enhancing human understanding through intelligent explanations

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Mioch, T.; Harbers, M.; Doesburg, W.A. van; Bosch, K. van den

2007-01-01

Ambient systems that explain their actions promote the user's understanding as they give the user more insight in the e®ects of their behavior on the environment. In order to provide individualized intelligent explanations, we need not only to evaluate a user's observable behavior, but we also need

Society by Numbers : Studies on Model-Based Explanations in the Social Sciences

OpenAIRE

Kuorikoski, Jaakko

2010-01-01

The aim of this dissertation is to provide conceptual tools for the social scientist for clarifying, evaluating and comparing explanations of social phenomena based on formal mathematical models. The focus is on relatively simple theoretical models and simulations, not statistical models. These studies apply a theory of explanation according to which explanation is about tracing objective relations of dependence, knowledge of which enables answers to contrastive why and how-questions. This th...

Comprehension through explanation as the interaction of the brain’s coherence and cognitive control networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jarrod eMoss

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Discourse comprehension processes attempt to produce an elaborate and well-connected representation in the reader’s mind. A common network of regions including the angular gyrus, posterior cingulate, and dorsal frontal cortex appears to be involved in constructing coherent representations in a variety of tasks including social cognition tasks, narrative comprehension, and expository text comprehension. Reading strategies that require the construction of explicit inferences are used in the present research to examine how this coherence network interacts with other brain regions. A psychophysiological interaction analysis was used to examine regions showing changed functional connectivity with this coherence network when participants were engaged in either a non-inferencing reading strategy, paraphrasing, or a strategy requiring coherence-building inferences, self-explanation. Results of the analysis show that the coherence network increases in functional connectivity with a cognitive control network that may be specialized for the manipulation of semantic representations and the construction of new relations among these representations.

Teaching Practices That Re-Engage Early School Leavers in Further Education: An Australian Study

Science.gov (United States)

Murray, Sara; Mitchell, Jane

2016-01-01

Re-engaging young adults who have "dropped out" of school is an important and challenging task for educators. The purpose of this study was to explore the teaching practices that encourage young people to re-engage in further learning. Through interviews with teachers and students, the study identified five major interrelated teaching…

Facilitating Engagement in New Career Goals: The Moderating Effects of Personal Resources and Career Actions

Science.gov (United States)

Praskova, Anna; Creed, Peter A.; Hood, Michelle

2013-01-01

Goal engagement in young adults is variable. We recruited university students to test whether general personal characteristics (educational ability, core self-evaluations, and well-being; study 1, N = 195) and career adaptive variables (career confidence, exploration, and planning; study 2, N = 152) facilitated career goal engagement. Goal…

Children-Engaging Social and Environmental Initiatives as Determinants of Corporate Reputation

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Ingrida Smaiziene

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Objective:  The paper aims to explore children-engaging social and green initiatives as determinants of corporate reputation.  Research Design & Methods: The research data were collected by means of a consumer survey (n=354 in Lithuania. During the research, consumers’ perception and attitudes towards companies which take children-engaging social and environmental initiatives were surveyed. Findings: The research findings indicate that consumers tend to agree that companies implementing children-engaging CSR initiatives contribute to the development of children as responsible citizens. However, consumers have a different attitude towards companies which implement children-engaging environmental initiatives and companies which take children-engaging social initiatives.  Implications & Recommendations: The research results suggest that consumers form opinions about the company not only by assessing the company’s behaviour towards them, but also by assessing the corporate performance targeted at children. Therefore, companies should consider children-engaging CSR as determinants of corporate reputation. Contribution & Value Added: The paper provides some empirical evidence on how CSR practices targeted at children may affect corporate reputation.

The association between academic engagement and achievement in health sciences students

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background Educational institutions play an important role in encouraging student engagement, being necessary to know how engaged are students at university and if this factor is involved in student success point and followed. To explore the association between academic engagement and achievement. Methods Cross-sectional study. The sample consisted of 304 students of Health Sciences. They were asked to fill out an on-line questionnaire. Academic achievements were calculated using three types of measurement. Results Positive correlations were found in all cases. Grade point average was the academic rate most strongly associated with engagement dimensions and this association is different for male and female students. The independent variables could explain between 18.9 and 23.9% of the variance (p < 0.05) in the population of university students being analyzed. Conclusions Engagement has been shown to be one of the many factors, which are positively involved, in the academic achievements of college students. PMID:23446005

Refining Students' Explanations of an Unfamiliar Physical Phenomenon-Microscopic Friction

Science.gov (United States)

Corpuz, Edgar De Guzman; Rebello, N. Sanjay

2017-08-01

The first phase of this multiphase study involves modeling of college students' thinking of friction at the microscopic level. Diagnostic interviews were conducted with 11 students with different levels of physics backgrounds. A phenomenographic approach of data analysis was used to generate categories of responses which subsequently were used to generate a model of explanation. Most of the students interviewed consistently used mechanical interactions in explaining microscopic friction. According to these students, friction is due to the interlocking or rubbing of atoms. Our data suggest that students' explanations of microscopic friction are predominantly influenced by their macroscopic experiences. In the second phase of the research, teaching experiment was conducted with 18 college students to investigate how students' explanations of microscopic friction can be refined by a series of model-building activities. Data were analyzed using Redish's two-level transfer framework. Our results show that through sequences of hands-on and minds-on activities, including cognitive dissonance and resolution, it is possible to facilitate the refinement of students' explanations of microscopic friction. The activities seemed to be productive in helping students activate associations that refine their ideas about microscopic friction.

Selective effects of explanation on learning during early childhood.

Science.gov (United States)

Legare, Cristine H; Lombrozo, Tania

2014-10-01

Two studies examined the specificity of effects of explanation on learning by prompting 3- to 6-year-old children to explain a mechanical toy and comparing what they learned about the toy's causal and non-causal properties with children who only observed the toy, both with and without accompanying verbalization. In Study 1, children were experimentally assigned to either explain or observe the mechanical toy. In Study 2, children were classified according to whether the content of their response to an undirected prompt involved explanation. Dependent measures included whether children understood the toy's functional-mechanical relationships, remembered perceptual features of the toy, effectively reconstructed the toy, and (for Study 2) generalized the function of the toy when constructing a new one. Results demonstrate that across age groups, explanation promotes causal learning and generalization but does not improve (and in younger children can even impair) memory for causally irrelevant perceptual details. Copyright © 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Exploring the Relationship between Mathematical Modelling and Classroom Discourse

Science.gov (United States)

Redmond, Trevor; Sheehy, Joanne; Brown, Raymond

2010-01-01

This paper explores the notion that the discourse of the mathematics classroom impacts on the practices that students engage when modelling mathematics. Using excerpts of a Year 12 student's report on modelling Newton's law of cooling, this paper argues that when students engage with the discourse of their mathematics classroom in a manner that…

The Coexistence of Natural and Supernatural Explanations across Cultures and Development

Science.gov (United States)

Legare, Cristine H.; Evans, E. Margaret; Rosengren, Karl S.; Harris, Paul L.

2012-01-01

Although often conceptualized in contradictory terms, the common assumption that natural and supernatural explanations are incompatible is psychologically inaccurate. Instead, there is considerable evidence that the same individuals use both natural and supernatural explanations to interpret the very same events and that there are multiple ways in…

How climate change skeptical leaders may “Trump” supporters’ pro-environmental engagement

OpenAIRE

Johnson Zawadzki, Stephanie; Bouman, Thijs; Steg, Linda; Druen, Perri B.

2017-01-01

We explored how climate change engagement may be impacted when climate skeptical leaders are elected and implement policies that contribute to climate change. We used questionnaires at 3 time points (1 day before US election, 20 days into Trump administration, 100 days into Trump administration) with independent samples. Trump supporters’ behavioral intentions, perceived risks, emotional engagement, and policy preferences lower than prior to presidential election (ps < .05), though their beli...

Talking Physics: Two Case Studies on Short Answers and Self-explanation in Learning Physics

Science.gov (United States)

Badeau, Ryan C.

This thesis explores two case studies into the use of short answers and self-explanation to improve student learning in physics. The first set of experiments focuses on the role of short answer questions in the context of computer-based instruction. Through a series of six experiments, we compare and evaluate the performance of computer-assessed short answer questions versus multiple choice for training conceptual topics in physics, controlling for feedback between the two formats. In addition to finding overall similar improvements on subsequent student performance and retention, we identify unique differences in how students interact with the treatments in terms of time spent on feedback and performance on follow-up short answer assessment. In addition, we identify interactions between the level of interactivity of the training, question format, and student attitudinal ratings of each respective training. The second case study focuses on the use of worked examples in the context of multi-concept physics problems - which we call "synthesis problems." For this part of the thesis, four experiments were designed to evaluate the effectiveness of two instructional methods employing worked examples on student performance with synthesis problems; these instructional techniques, analogical comparison and self-explanation, have previously been studied primarily in the context of single-concept problems. As such, the work presented here represents a novel focus on extending these two techniques to this class of more complicated physics problem. Across the four experiments, both self-explanation and certain kinds of analogical comparison of worked examples significantly improved student performance on a target synthesis problem, with distinct improvements in recognition of the relevant concepts. More specifically, analogical comparison significantly improved student performance when the comparisons were invoked between worked synthesis examples. In contrast, similar

Governance and Citizens' Engagement in Terms of Local Sustainable Development

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Agnieszka Sobol

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Local sustainable development emphasizes the role of a community. One of the key prerequisite of this process is therefore participation of inhabitants. Nevertheless traditional way of managing cities does not work very well in terms of public engagement. Local sustainable development requires both i.e. governance mechanisms introduced by the local authorities and positive reaction of inhabitants for the invitation for cooperation. The paper is intended to explore some critical issues and dimensions of governance and citizens' engagement in terms of local sustainable development. It shows the general outlook on the most relevant conditions, factors, problems and barriers of this process in Poland. It presents experiences of the city of Rybnik in its work towards public engagement in local development.

Memory accessibility shapes explanation: Testing key claims of the inherence heuristic account.

Science.gov (United States)

Hussak, Larisa J; Cimpian, Andrei

2018-01-01

People understand the world by constructing explanations for what they observe. It is thus important to identify the cognitive processes underlying these judgments. According to a recent proposal, everyday explanations are often constructed heuristically: Because people need to generate explanations on a moment-by-moment basis, they cannot perform an exhaustive search through the space of possible reasons, but may instead use the information that is most easily accessible in memory (Cimpian & Salomon 2014a, b). In the present research, we tested two key claims of this proposal that have so far not been investigated. First, we tested whether-as previously hypothesized-the information about an entity that is most accessible in memory tends to consist of inherent or intrinsic facts about that entity, rather than extrinsic (contextual, historical, etc.) facts about it (Studies 1 and 2). Second, we tested the implications of this difference in the memory accessibility of inherent versus extrinsic facts for the process of generating explanations: Does the fact that inherent facts are more accessible than relevant extrinsic facts give rise to an inherence bias in the content of the explanations generated (Studies 3 and 4)? The findings supported the proposal that everyday explanations are generated in part via a heuristic process that relies on easily accessible-and often inherent-information from memory.

A Teaching Model for Scaffolding 4th Grade Students' Scientific Explanation Writing

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Hsiu-Ting; Wang, Kuo-Hua

2014-08-01

Improving students scientific explanations is one major goal of science education. Both writing activities and concept mapping are reported as effective strategies for enhancing student learning of science. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a teaching model, named the DCI model, which integrates a Descriptive explanation writing activity, Concept mapping, and an Interpretive explanation writing activity, is introduced in a 4th grade science class to see if it would improve students' scientific explanations and understanding. A quasi-experimental design, including a non-randomized comparison group and a pre- and post-test design, was adopted for this study. An experimental group of 25 students were taught using the DCI teaching model, while a comparison group received a traditional lecture teaching. A rubric and content analysis was used to assess students' scientific explanations. The independent sample t test was used to measure difference in conceptual understanding between the two groups, before and after instruction. Then, the paired t test analysis was used to understand the promotion of the DCI teaching model. The results showed that students in the experimental group performed better than students in the comparison group, both in scientific concept understanding and explanation. Suggestions for using concept mapping and writing activities (the DCI teaching model) in science classes are provided in this study.

Work Engagement: Investigating the Role of Transformational Leadership, Job Resources, and Recovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Hawkes, Amy J; Biggs, Amanda; Hegerty, Erin

2017-08-18

While the relationship between job resources and engagement has been well established, a greater understanding of the upstream factors that shape job resources is required to develop strategies to promote work engagement. The current study addresses this need by exploring transformational leadership as an upstream job resource, and the moderating role of recovery experiences. It was hypothesized that job resources would mediate the relationship between transformational leadership and engagement. Recovery experiences were expected to moderate the relationship between resources and engagement. A sample of 277 employees from a variety of organizations and industries was obtained. Analysis showed direct relationships between: transformational leadership and engagement, and transformational leadership and job resources. Mediation analysis using bootstrapping found a significant indirect path between transformational leadership and engagement via job resources. Recovery experiences did not significantly moderate the relationship between job resources and engagement. To date, the majority of published literature on recovery has focused on job demands; hence the nonsignificant result offers insight of a potentially more complex relationship for recovery with resources and engagement. Overall, the current study extends the JD-R model and provides evidence for broadening the model to include upstream organizational variables such as transformational leadership.

Evolutionary explanations in medicine: how do they differ and how to benefit from them.

Science.gov (United States)

Lozano, George A

2010-04-01

Evolutionary explanations, many of which have appeared on the pages of this journal, are becoming more pervasive and influential in medicine, so it is becoming more important to understand how these types of explanations differ from the proximate approach that is more common in medicine, and how the evolutionary approach can contribute to medicine. Understanding of any biological phenomenon can occur at four levels: (1) ontogeny (2) causation, (3) function and (4) evolution. These approaches are not mutually exclusive, and whereas the first two are more common in medical practice, a complete explanation requires all four levels of analysis. Two major differences among these approaches are the apparent degree of immediacy associated with them, and the extent to which they apply to individuals rather than populations. Criticisms of adaptive explanations often arise from a failure to understand the complementary nature of these four types of explanations. Other unwarranted criticisms result from a failure to appreciate that adaptive explanations often apply to populations, not individuals. A third type of criticism is driven by the mistaken belief that adaptive explanations somehow justify morally reprehensible behaviours. Finally, evolutionary explanations sometimes face the criticism of "personal incredulity". Adaptive explanations must be consistent with basic evolutionary concepts and must adhere to the physical reality of the phenomenon in question. Their value, however, comes not in devising a seemingly rational explanation, but in their predictions. Testable predictions must be explicitly stated and clearly articulated. They must differ from those of arising from other hypotheses and must not only be interesting to evolutionary biologists, but also useful to medical practitioners. Integration of the proximate and the ultimate approaches is possible and potentially beneficial to both evolutionists and physicians, but it requires some basic understanding of our

Engaged scholarship in construction management research: the adoption of information and communications technology in construction projects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Voordijk, Johannes T.; Adriaanse, Adriaan Maria

2016-01-01

The objective is to explore what engaged scholarship (ES) could mean for construction management research in facilitating interactions between practice and theory. ES aims to develop knowledge that advances both science and practice through engagement of scholars with practice. Three types of ES are

Explanation of the 511 keV line. Cascade annihilating dark matter with the {sup 8}Be anomaly

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jia, Lian-Bao [Southwest University of Science and Technology, School of Science, Mianyang (China)

2018-02-15

A possible dark matter (DM) explanation about the long-standing issue of the Galactic 511 keV line is explored in this paper. For DM cascade annihilations of concern, a DM pair π{sub d}{sup +}π{sub d}{sup -} annihilates into unstable π{sub d}{sup 0}π{sub d}{sup 0}, and π{sub d}{sup 0} decays into e{sup +}e{sup -} with new interactions suggested by the {sup 8}Be anomaly. Considering the constraints from the effective neutrino number N{sub eff} and the 511 keV gamma-ray emission, a range of DM is obtained, 11.6 explanation about the 511 keV line. The MeV scale DM may be searched by the DM-electron scattering, and the upper limit set by the CMB s-wave annihilation is derived in DM direct detections. (orig.)

"Sure, I Would Like to Continue": A Method for Mapping the Experience of Engagement in Video Games

Science.gov (United States)

Schonau-Fog, Henrik; Bjorner, Thomas

2012-01-01

In order to explore one aspect of the engaging nature of computer games, this study will propose a method that aims at classifying the experience of engagement in video games. Inspired by a literature review, we will focus on the fundamental causes of engagement that motivate a player so much that he or she wants to continue playing. By organizing…

Perspective-taking increases willingness to engage in intergroup contact.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Cynthia S; Kenneth, Tai; Ku, Gillian; Galinsky, Adam D

2014-01-01

The current research explored whether perspective-taking increases willingness to engage in contact with stereotyped outgroup members. Across three studies, we find that perspective-taking increases willingness to engage in contact with negatively-stereotyped targets. In Study 1, perspective-takers sat closer to, whereas stereotype suppressors sat further from, a hooligan compared to control participants. In Study 2, individual differences in perspective-taking tendencies predicted individuals' willingness to engage in contact with a hooligan, having effects above and beyond those of empathic concern. Finally, Study 3 demonstrated that perspective-taking's effects on intergroup contact extend to the target's group (i.e., another homeless man), but not to other outgroups (i.e., a man of African descent). Consistent with other perspective-taking research, our findings show that perspective-taking facilitates the creation of social bonds by increasing contact with stereotyped outgroup members.

Perspective-Taking Increases Willingness to Engage in Intergroup Contact

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Cynthia S.; Kenneth, Tai; Ku, Gillian; Galinsky, Adam D.

2014-01-01

The current research explored whether perspective-taking increases willingness to engage in contact with stereotyped outgroup members. Across three studies, we find that perspective-taking increases willingness to engage in contact with negatively-stereotyped targets. In Study 1, perspective-takers sat closer to, whereas stereotype suppressors sat further from, a hooligan compared to control participants. In Study 2, individual differences in perspective-taking tendencies predicted individuals' willingness to engage in contact with a hooligan, having effects above and beyond those of empathic concern. Finally, Study 3 demonstrated that perspective-taking's effects on intergroup contact extend to the target's group (i.e., another homeless man), but not to other outgroups (i.e., a man of African descent). Consistent with other perspective-taking research, our findings show that perspective-taking facilitates the creation of social bonds by increasing contact with stereotyped outgroup members. PMID:24465648

Motivation and Engagement in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, and China: Testing a Multi-Dimensional Framework

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Martin, Andrew J.; Yu, Kai; Papworth, Brad; Ginns, Paul; Collie, Rebecca J.

2015-01-01

This study explored motivation and engagement among North American (the United States and Canada; n = 1,540), U.K. (n = 1,558), Australian (n = 2,283), and Chinese (n = 3,753) secondary school students. Motivation and engagement were assessed via students' responses to the Motivation and Engagement Scale-High School (MES-HS). Confirmatory factor…

The Many Roles of "Explanation" in Science Education: A Case Study

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Rocksén, Miranda

2016-01-01

In this paper the role of explanations is discussed in relation to possible consequences originating in the polysemy of the word explanation. The present study is a response to conceptual confusions that have arisen in the intersection between theory and practice, and between science education literature and communication in authentic science…

A Review of Patti Lather's "Engaging Science Policy from the Side of the Messy"

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Rosser, Sue V.

2011-01-01

In "Engaging Science Policy from the Side of the Messy," Patti Lather explores the relationship between science and policy. In this review Rosser explores how Lather argues for the use of all forms of research to make policy that is democratic, complex and messy.

Inside case-based explanation

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Schank, Roger C; Riesbeck, Christopher K

2014-01-01

This book is the third volume in a series that provides a hands-on perspective on the evolving theories associated with Roger Schank and his students. The primary focus of this volume is on constructing explanations. All of the chapters relate to the problem of building computer programs that can develop hypotheses about what might have caused an observed event. Because most researchers in natural language processing don't really want to work on inference, memory, and learning issues, most of their sample text fragments are chosen carefully to de-emphasize the need for non text-related reasoni

Career Engagement: Bridging Career Counseling and Employee Engagement

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Neault, Roberta A.; Pickerell, Deirdre A.

2011-01-01

In this article, the authors present a model of career engagement that helps bridge the gap between career counselors' focus on supporting individuals to find meaningful work and employers' desire for an engaged, productive, and committed workforce. They briefly review highlights of the employee engagement literature, introduce the Career…

Impact of learning adaptability and time management disposition on study engagement among Chinese baccalaureate nursing students.

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Liu, Jing-Ying; Liu, Yan-Hui; Yang, Ji-Peng

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to explore the relationships among study engagement, learning adaptability, and time management disposition in a sample of Chinese baccalaureate nursing students. A convenient sample of 467 baccalaureate nursing students was surveyed in two universities in Tianjin, China. Students completed a questionnaire that included their demographic information, Chinese Utrecht Work Engagement Scale-Student Questionnaire, Learning Adaptability Scale, and Adolescence Time Management Disposition Scale. One-way analysis of variance tests were used to assess the relationship between certain characteristics of baccalaureate nursing students. Pearson correlation was performed to test the correlation among study engagement, learning adaptability, and time management disposition. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were performed to explore the mediating role of time management disposition. The results revealed that study engagement (F = 7.20, P < .01) and learning adaptability (F = 4.41, P < .01) differed across grade groups. Learning adaptability (r = 0.382, P < .01) and time management disposition (r = 0.741, P < .01) were positively related with study engagement. Time management disposition had a partially mediating effect on the relationship between study engagement and learning adaptability. The findings implicate that educators should not only promote interventions to increase engagement of baccalaureate nursing students but also focus on development, investment in adaptability, and time management. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Moral of the Tale: Stories, Trust, and Public Engagement with Clinical Ethics via Radio and Theatre.

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Bowman, Deborah

2017-03-01

Trust is frequently discussed with reference to the professional-patient relationship. However, trust is less explored in relation to the ways in which understanding of, and responses to, questions of ethics are discussed by both the "public" and "experts." Public engagement activity in healthcare ethics may invoke "trust" in analysing a moral question or problem but less frequently conceives of trust as integral to "public engagement" itself. This paper explores the relationship between trust and the ways in which questions of healthcare ethics are identified and negotiated by both "experts" and the public. Drawing on two examples from the author's "public engagement" work-a radio programme for the British Broadcasting Corporation and work with a playwright and theatre-the paper interrogates the ways in which "public engagement" is often characterized. The author argues that the common approach to public engagement in questions of ethics is unhelpfully constrained by a systemic disposition which continues to privilege the professional or expert voice at the expense of meaningful exchange and dialogue. By creating space for novel interactions between the "expert" and the "public," authentic engagement is achieved that enables not only the participants to flourish but also contributes to trust itself.

Stability and Change in Social Goals as Related to Goal Structures and Engagement in School

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Madjar, Nir

2017-01-01

The current studies explored (a) the extended external validity of social-goal-orientation framework; (b) the mediating role of social goals between classroom goal structures and students' engagement; and (c) whether changes in social goals can be explained by classroom goal structures and engagement. Study 1 was cross-sectional (N = 317), and…

Teacher and Principal Perceptions of Authentic Leadership: Implications for Trust, Engagement, and Intention to Return

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Bird, James J.; Wang, Chuang; Watson, Jim; Murray, Louise

2012-01-01

The focus of this study was to explore the relationships between the authentic leadership of building principals and the trust, engagement, and intention to return of their teaching staffs. School principals (n = 28) and their teaching staffs (n = 633) were surveyed. Teacher trust and engagement were found to be significantly related to principal…

Engaging Elderly People in Telemedicine Through Gamification.

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de Vette, Frederiek; Tabak, Monique; Dekker-van Weering, Marit; Vollenbroek-Hutten, Miriam

2015-12-18

Telemedicine can alleviate the increasing demand for elderly care caused by the rapidly aging population. However, user adherence to technology in telemedicine interventions is low and decreases over time. Therefore, there is a need for methods to increase adherence, specifically of the elderly user. A strategy that has recently emerged to address this problem is gamification. It is the application of game elements to nongame fields to motivate and increase user activity and retention. This research aims to (1) provide an overview of existing theoretical frameworks for gamification and explore methods that specifically target the elderly user and (2) explore user classification theories for tailoring game content to the elderly user. This knowledge will provide a foundation for creating a new framework for applying gamification in telemedicine applications to effectively engage the elderly user by increasing and maintaining adherence. We performed a broad Internet search using scientific and nonscientific search engines and included information that described either of the following subjects: the conceptualization of gamification, methods to engage elderly users through gamification, or user classification theories for tailored game content. Our search showed two main approaches concerning frameworks for gamification: from business practices, which mostly aim for more revenue, emerge an applied approach, while academia frameworks are developed incorporating theories on motivation while often aiming for lasting engagement. The search provided limited information regarding the application of gamification to engage elderly users, and a significant gap in knowledge on the effectiveness of a gamified application in practice. Several approaches for classifying users in general were found, based on archetypes and reasons to play, and we present them along with their corresponding taxonomies. The overview we created indicates great connectivity between these taxonomies

Towards to An Explanation for Conceptual Change: A Mechanistic Alternative

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Rusanen, Anna-Mari

2014-07-01

Conceptual change is one of the most studied fields in science education and psychology of learning. However, there are still some foundational issues in conceptual change research on which no clear consensus has emerged. Firstly, there is no agreement on what changes in belief and concept systems constitute conceptual change and what changes do not. Secondly, there is no consensus on what the specific mechanisms of conceptual change are. Thirdly, there is no common explanatory framework of how to explain conceptual change. In this paper a sketch for explanations of conceptual change is outlined. According to this account, the explanation for conceptual change requires (1) a description for the information processing task and (2) a sufficiently accurate and detailed description of the cognitive mechanisms responsible for the task. The scope and limits of this type of explanation are discussed.

An Exploration of "Hyper-Local" Community-University Engagement in the Development of Smart Cities

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Leigh, Elaine W.

2017-01-01

The use of big data in smart cities poses new questions about higher education and community-university engagement practices in addressing longstanding social and economic exclusion in urban communities. Drawing on transdisciplinary ideas in higher education, cultural theory, and science and technology studies, primary concerns in the era of big…

Exploring the Effects of Authentic Leadership on Academic Optimism and Teacher Engagement in Thailand

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Kulophas, Dhirapat; Hallinger, Philip; Ruengtrakul, Auyporn; Wongwanich, Suwimon

2018-01-01

Purpose: In the context of Thailand's progress towards education reform, scholars have identified a lack of effective school-level leadership as an impeding factor. The purpose of this paper is to develop and validate a theoretical model of authentic leadership effects on teacher academic optimism and work engagement. Authentic leadership was…

Engaging Math-Avoidant College Students

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M. Paul Latiolais

2009-07-01

Full Text Available This paper is an informal, personal account of how we, as two college teachers, became interested in math anxiety, decided to explore it amongst students at our institution in order to inform our teaching, and became convinced that the massive problem is math avoidance. We tried discussion groups, but few students attended, although those that did made useful suggestions. Thus informed, we designed an innovative course, Confronting College Mathematics as a Humanities course with the possibility of credit toward the math requirement, but it was undersubscribed in its first offering and had to be canceled. How can we get college students who avoid math to break through the barrier of math avoidance? We have now begun to explore a new approach: Second Life, where students can engage math—and quantitative literacy—virtually, and anonymously.

Objectives for Stakeholder Engagement in Global Environmental Assessments

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Jennifer Garard

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Global environmental assessments (GEAs are among the most large-scale, formalized processes for synthesizing knowledge at the science–policy–society interface. The successful engagement of diverse stakeholders in GEAs is often described as a crucial mechanism for increasing their legitimacy, salience and credibility. However, the diversity of perspectives on the more precise objectives for stakeholder engagement remains largely unclear. The aims of this study are to categorize and characterize the diversity of perspectives on objectives for stakeholder engagement in GEAs; to explore differences in perspectives within and between different stakeholder groups and categories; and to test whether the more practical prioritization and selection of objectives in GEAs can be linked to deliberative policy learning as a higher-level rationale for stakeholder engagement. For these purposes, we conduct a grounded theory analysis and a keyword analysis of interview material and official GEA documents relating to two GEAs: UN Environment’s Fifth Global Environment Outlook and the Working Group III contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report. Based on the analysis, we identify six categories of objectives and present as hypotheses promising ways forward for prioritizing and characterizing objectives for stakeholder engagement in GEAs, as well as potential reasons for the differences between perspectives on objectives. This study draws attention to the need for future GEA processes to have more explicit discussions on the objectives for stakeholder engagement, as well as the importance of moving towards increasingly deliberative and inclusive assessment processes more broadly.

Engaging children in the development of obesity interventions: Exploring outcomes that matter most among obesity positive outliers.

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Sharifi, Mona; Marshall, Gareth; Goldman, Roberta E; Cunningham, Courtney; Marshall, Richard; Taveras, Elsie M

2015-11-01

To explore outcomes and measures of success that matter most to 'positive outlier' children who improved their body mass index (BMI) despite living in obesogenic neighborhoods. We collected residential address and longitudinal height/weight data from electronic health records of 22,657 children ages 6-12 years in Massachusetts. We defined obesity "hotspots" as zip codes where >15% of children had a BMI ≥95th percentile. Using linear mixed effects models, we generated a BMI z-score slope for each child with a history of obesity. We recruited 10-12 year-olds with negative slopes living in hotspots for focus groups. We analyzed group transcripts and discussed emerging themes in iterative meetings using an immersion/crystallization approach. We reached thematic saturation after 4 focus groups with 21 children. Children identified bullying and negative peer comparisons related to physical appearance, clothing size, and athletic ability as motivating them to achieve a healthier weight, and they measured success as improvement in these domains. Positive relationships with friends and family facilitated both behavior change initiation and maintenance. The perspectives of positive outlier children can provide insight into children's motivations leading to successful obesity management. Child/family engagement should guide the development of patient-centered obesity interventions. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Self-transcendence and work engagement in acute care staff registered nurses.

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Palmer, Beth; Quinn Griffin, Mary T; Reed, Pamela; Fitzpatrick, Joyce J

2010-01-01

The ability of human beings to find meaning by being directed toward something, or someone, other than themselves is termed "self-transcendence." Previous research indicated that the ability of nurses to self-transcend and thus derive positive meaning from patient-caring experiences increased work commitment and fostered work engagement. However, the relationship between self-transcendence and work engagement had not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to explore the levels and relationships of self-transcendence and work engagement in acute care staff registered nurses (ACSRNs). This was a descriptive correlational study using Reed's theory of self-transcendence. The Self-transcendence Scale, the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale, and a demographic questionnaire were completed by a convenience sample of 84 ACSRNs who attended an annual acute care nursing conference in northern Illinois. ACSRNs level of self-transcendence was high, similar to that of other nurses, but higher than that of nonnurses. ACSRNs level of work engagement was at the high end of the "average" range. There was a significant positive correlation between self-transcendence and work engagement. Nurses with higher levels of self-transcendence had more energy toward and were more dedicated and absorbed in their work.

Web-based feedback after summative assessment: how do students engage?

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Harrison, C.J.; Konings, K.D.; Molyneux, A.; Schuwirth, L.W.; Wass, V.; Vleuten, C.P.M. van der

2013-01-01

CONTEXT: There is little research into how to deliver summative assessment student feedback effectively. The main aims of this study were to clarify how students engage with feedback in this context and to explore the roles of learning-related characteristics and previous and current performance.

Engagement in Adolescent Career Preparation: Social Support, Personality and the Development of Choice Decidedness and Congruence