A degree of employability: a research agenda towards curricula design

The challenge of providing commercial science and technology skills in an academic environment stimulates considerable debate, with industry suggesting it cannot be done. In investigating enhancing employability skills of STEM graduates many institutions are considering new initiatives and policies. This research works towards developing models to change practice in curriculum design by embedding industry frameworks. The application of SFIA in course design intends to improve the student journey from undergraduate to graduate to employee by incorporating skills and language required by professionals, into the heart of HE curricula. The paper reflects the efforts to meet these goals and sets out an agenda for research to identify the impact of the approach. A key deliverable is a transferable model for the development of fit-for-purpose academic curricula in HEIs, fully aligned with industry requirements and needs. The research progresses to clarify the impact and effectiveness of this approach

Turbidity influences individual and group level responses to predation in guppies, Poecilia reticulata

© 2015 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Increasing turbidity (either sedimentary or organic) from anthropogenic sources has significant negative impacts on aquatic fauna, both directly and indirectly by disrupting behaviour. In particular, antipredator responses of individuals are reduced, which has been attributed to a reduced perception of risk. Here, we explored the effect of turbidity on shoaling behaviour, which is known to carry important antipredator benefits, predicting that fish in turbid water should show reduced shoal cohesion (increased interindividual distances) and reduced responses to a simulated predatory threat. We explored both the individual and shoal level responses to a predation threat at four different levels of turbidity. At the shoal level, we found that shoals were less cohesive in more turbid water, but that there was no effect of turbidity on shoal level response to the predation threat. At an individual level, guppies in turbid water were more likely to freeze (rather than dart then freeze), and those that darted moved more slowly and over a shorter distance than those in clear water. Fish in turbid water also took longer to recover from a predation threat than fish in clear water. We suggest that because fish in turbid water behaved in a manner more similar to that expected from lone fish than to those in a shoal, the loss of visual contact between individuals in turbid water explains the change in behaviour, rather than a reduced perception of individual risk as is widely supposed. We suggest that turbidity could lead to a reduced collective response to predators and a loss of the protective benefits of shoaling

Method for continuous variation of propellant flow and thrust in propulsive devices Patent

Continuous variation of propellant flow and thrust by application of liquid foam flow theory to injection orific

Use of feed-forward mechanisms in a novel research-led module

I describe a novel research-led module that combines reduced academic marking loads with increased feedback to students, and allows students to reflect on and improve attainment prior to summative assessment. The module is based around eight seminar-style presentations (one per week), on which the students write 500-word ‘news & views’ style articles (short pieces highlighting new results to a scientific audience). Students receive individual written feedback (annotated electronically on the work), plus an indicative mark, on their first submitted report. For subsequent reports, only a subset is marked each week, such that each student receives feedback on two further submissions. Simultaneously, they have access to written feedback on their peers’ reports (a total of two reports per student enrolled on the module). Students are encouraged to read and apply the general and specific messages from all the feedback to their own subsequent work (using it as feed-forward). At the end of the module, students self-assess their eight submissions and select the two they believe are their best pieces to put forward for summative assessment. Combining data from three cohorts, student attainment increased throughout the module, with higher marks for the two chosen reports than for the two marked reports or their first report. Students selecting previously unmarked reports also showed a greater increase in their mark for the module than students selecting reports that had previously received a mark. Module evaluation forms revealed that the students found access to feedback on others’ work helpful in shaping their own assignments

Assessing the Readiness of Nairobi Deaf Youth to Accept a Best-practice HIV/AIDS Intervention

After nearly forty years of HIV/AIDS research in the global community, data on HIV/AIDS in the Deaf population is still disproportionately neglected. No surveillance system is in place to monitor prevalence, awareness or mode of HIV infection in the Deaf community. Additionally, prevention and education interventions have yet to be tailored to meet the specific needs of this highly vulnerable population. Purpose: This project attempted to assess the readiness of the Nairobi Deaf youth community to accept a best-practice HIV/AIDS intervention. The broad objective of this research was to assess HIV awareness, perceptions and behaviors of Deaf youth in regards to HIV/AIDS in Nairobi, Kenya. Method: This project used the snowball sampling method to conduct a survey using a combination of pre-coded, and open-answer questions conducted with 60 Deaf youth (18-35) in Nairobi, Kenya. Interviews included topics of HIV/AIDS knowledge, risk perception, and risk behaviors. Results: The Nairobi Deaf youth community is unequipped to accept a best practice HIV/AIDS intervention at this time. Efforts need to be made to increase risk perception and develop social support. Also, comprehensive prevalence research needs to be conducted in this population. Conclusion: Based on the data collected in this survey and a review of literature, a peer-led, extracurricular education campaign seems to be the most acceptable best-practice intervention for targeting Deaf youth. Additionally, a supplementary, video-based, multifaceted language component would be suggested

'Selfish herds' of guppies follow complex movement rules, but not when information is limited

Under the threat of predation, animals can decrease their level of risk by moving towards other individuals to form compact groups. A significant body of theoretical work has proposed multiple movement rules, varying in complexity, which might underlie this process of aggregation. However, if and how animals use these rules to form compact groups is still not well under- stood, and how environmental factors affect the use of these rules even less so. Here, we evaluate the success of different movement rules, by comparing their predictions with the movement seen when shoals of guppies ( Poecilia reticulata ) form under the threat of predation. We repeated the experiment in a turbid environment to assess how the use of the movement rules changed when visual information is reduced. During a simulated predator attack, guppies in clear water used complex rules that took multiple neighbours into account, forming compact groups. In turbid water, the difference between all rule predictions and fish movement paths increased, particularly for complex rules, and the resulting shoals were more fragmented than in clear water. We conclude that guppies are able to use complex rules to form dense aggregations, but that environmental factors can limit their ability to do so

LSS 1135: an O-Type Spectroscopic Binary in the galactic OB association Bochum 7

From radial velocities derived from optical spectroscopic observations performed at CTIO, Chile, and CASLEO, Argentina, we have discovered that LSS 1135 is a single--lined O-type binary system with an orbital period of 2.7532 days. We present an analysis of the orbital elements of this system based on radial velocities of the He absorption lines. We classify the spectrum of LSS 1135 as O6.5V((f)). We also present spectral classifications and radial velocities for other seven OB stars in the region of Bochum 7, an OB association to which LSS 1135 belongs. Our data indicate a distance of 5.0 kpc for this star group.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, many tables, uses aa.cls version 4.05. Accepted for publication in A&

The Development of Instruments for Assessment of Instructional Practices in Standards-Based Teaching

We provide a description and rationale for the development of two instruments: 1) a classroom observation protocol; and, 2) a teacher interview protocol—designed to document the impact of reform-based professional development with undergraduate mathematics and science faculty, and its impact on the resultant preparation of teachers. Constructed upon review of the research on teaching and standards documents in mathematics and science, these instruments form the basis for data collection in a three-year longitudinal study of teaching practice among early career teachers as well as undergraduate college faculty. In addition, we suggest further applications of the observation protocol beyond the original purpose of our research study