Important research is being left behind: here’s how a change to the funding system could help

With Christmas not far off, universities will be hoping for some early presents in the form of good results in the UK’s long-awaited assessment of the quality of university research. Although the funding formula upon which university research is based won’t be published until the new year, in many ways universities already know the financial outcomes of the Research Excellence Framework (REF) results – because the status quo is unlikely to shift. The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) will allocate its research funding depending on quality research rated as four-star or three-star in the REF exercise. Four-star is awarded to research deemed to be “world-leading” and three-star to be “internationally-excellent”. The great majority of the £2bn a year of research funding is likely to continue to go to the top six institutions as identified recently by HEFCE: Cambridge, Imperial, King’s College London, UCL, Manchester and Oxford. Most of what remains will go to the next 20 institutions and the scraps will be divided among the remaining 100 or so. It is unlikely that any of the post-1992 universities that grew out of old polytechnics, or have developed since, will receive more than 10% of their HEFCE-related income (including fees) through funding linked to research rated as four-star or three-star

Complex Structure of Dynamic Stall on Wind Turbine Airfoils

Fluid dynamics video demonstrating the evolution of dynamic stall on a wind turbine blade.Comment: 2 pages with 2 attached movie

Trusted advisers build business success

The role of the trusted and most loyal adviser has been a crucial one to family concerns throughout the ages. During the Korean Joseon Dynasty, Kim Cheo-Seon, a eunuch, advised successive kings wisely. Sir Francis Walsingham, Principal Secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England, is remembered still by history as a powerful adviser unwavering in his loyalty to the throne. Popular culture portrayed the role dramatically in the film The Godfather in which the character Tom Hagen serves as consigliere to the Corleone family’s underworld empire

Host plant recognition by the root feeding clover weevil, Sitona lepidus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

This study investigated the ability of neonatal larvae of the root-feeding weevil, Sitona lepidus Gyllenhal, to locate white clover Trifolium repens L. (Fabaceae) roots growing in soil and to distinguish them from the roots of other species of clover and a co-occurring grass species. Choice experiments used a combination of invasive techniques and the novel technique of high resolution X-ray microtomography to non-invasively track larval movement in the soil towards plant roots. Burrowing distances towards roots of different plant species were also examined. Newly hatched S. lepidus recognized T. repens roots and moved preferentially towards them when given a choice of roots of subterranean clover, Trifolium subterraneum L. (Fabaceae), strawberry clover Trifolium fragiferum L. (Fabaceae), or perennial ryegrass Lolium perenneL. (Poaceae). Larvae recognized T. repens roots, whether released in groups of five or singly, when released 25 mm (meso-scale recognition) or 60 mm (macro-scale recognition) away from plant roots. There was no statistically significant difference in movement rates of larvae

A high omega-3 fatty acid multinutrient supplement benefits cognition and mobility in older women: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot ptudy

Background. Mobility is a key determinant of frailty in older persons, and a variety of dietary factors, such as the omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), are positively associated with decreased frailty and improved mobility and cognition in older persons. Methods. The effects of a multinutrient supplement on mobility and cognition were assessed in postmenopausal women (60–84 years). Participants received either Efalex Active 50+ (1 g DHA, 160 mg eicosapentaenoic acid, 240mg Ginkgo biloba, 60mg phosphatidylserine, 20mg d-αtocopherol, 1mg folic acid, and 20μg vitamin B12 per day; N = 15) or placebo (N = 12) for 6 months. Mobility was assessed by VICON 9 motion capture camera system synchronized with Kistler force plates, cognitive performance by computerized cognitive function tests, and blood fatty acid levels by pin-prick analysis. Results. Significant effects of treatment were seen in two of the four cognitive tests, with shorter mean latencies in a motor screening task (p < .05) and more words remembered (p < .03), and one of the three primary mobility measures with improved habitual walking speed (p < .05). Compared with the placebo group, supplementation also resulted in significantly higher blood DHA levels (p < .02). Conclusions. In this pilot study, multinutrient supplementation impro ved cognition and mobility in able older females at clinically relevant levels, suggesting a potential role in reducing the decline to frailty

Penggunaan Model Problem Solving Dalam Menyelesaikan Soal Cerita Matematika Di SD Al Hikmah Surabaya

Permasalahan yang terdapat dalam penelitian ini adalah kesulitan peserta didik dalam menyelesaikan soal cerita matematika sehingga guru menggunakan model problem solving agar peserta didik menjadi lebih mudah memahami maksud dari soal cerita tersebut dan dapat menyelesaikannya. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan subjek penelitian adalah kepala sekolah, guru matematika, peserta didik, dan wali murid kelas 4 dengan teknik pengumpulan data adalah wawancara, observasi, dan studi dokumentasi. Penelitian ini termasuk ke dalam deskriptif kualitatif. Hasil dari penelitian ini menunjukkan dengan perencanaan, pelaksanaan, evaluasi penggunaan model problem solving yang baik akan dapat menyelesaikan masalah, dengan hambatan dan upaya yang dilakukan akan semakin bertambah baik hasil yang di dapatkan

Reinventing College Physics for Biologists: Explicating an epistemological curriculum

The University of Maryland Physics Education Research Group (UMd-PERG) carried out a five-year research project to rethink, observe, and reform introductory algebra-based (college) physics. This class is one of the Maryland Physics Department's large service courses, serving primarily life-science majors. After consultation with biologists, we re-focused the class on helping the students learn to think scientifically -- to build coherence, think in terms of mechanism, and to follow the implications of assumptions. We designed the course to tap into students' productive conceptual and epistemological resources, based on a theoretical framework from research on learning. The reformed class retains its traditional structure in terms of time and instructional personnel, but we modified existing best-practices curricular materials, including Peer Instruction, Interactive Lecture Demonstrations, and Tutorials. We provided class-controlled spaces for student collaboration, which allowed us to observe and record students learning directly. We also scanned all written homework and examinations, and we administered pre-post conceptual and epistemological surveys. The reformed class enhanced the strong gains on pre-post conceptual tests produced by the best-practices materials while obtaining unprecedented pre-post gains on epistemological surveys instead of the traditional losses.Comment: 35 pages including a 15 page appendix of supplementary material

Space shuttle abort separation pressure investigation. Volume 2, Part B: Orbiter data at Mach 5

For abstract, see