Main Challenges and Opportunities in Higher Education to Promote Sustainable Development Goals. The Effectiveness of Digital Teaching Methods in Times of COVID-19

The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created big challenges and opportunities in Higher Education (HE). In this situation, several universities worldwide have responded with digital methods and hybrid classes in a short period of time. The aim of this paper is to show how the universities have adapted teaching methods to digital platforms in the academic year 2020–21. This case study is based on the experience of 37 postgraduate communication students in the course Business and Communication from a Communication Programme. The objective of this course was to promote the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) in business and following the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) of the United Nations. To do this, the students provided different solutions related to the SDGs and developed a communication strategy to inform and engage the stakeholders in the companies analyzed in a hybrid class. The results show that using this methodology and working in digital platforms, students have learned the importance of SDGs through implementing specific solutions linked to the corporate social responsibility (CSR) strategy. Based on this analysis, they also developed a communication strategy showing how companies can improve society with specific actions through the lens of the SDG perspective.

Natural hybridization among three Rhododendron species (Ericaceae) revealed by morphological and genomic evidence

Background Natural hybridization can influence the adaptive response to selection and accelerate species diversification. Understanding the composition and structure of hybrid zones may elucidate patterns of hybridization processes that are important to the formation and maintenance of species, especially for taxa that have experienced rapidly adaptive radiation. Here, we used morphological traits, ddRAD-seq and plastid DNA sequence data to investigate the structure of a Rhododendron hybrid zone and uncover the hybridization patterns among three sympatric and closely related species. Results Our results show that the hybrid zone is complex, where bi-directional hybridization takes place among the three sympatric parental species: R. spinuliferum, R. scabrifolium, and R. spiciferum. Hybrids between R. spinuliferum and R. spiciferum (R. ×duclouxii) comprise multiple hybrid classes and a high proportion of F1 generation hybrids, while a novel hybrid taxon between R. spinuliferum and R. scabrifolium dominated the F2 generation, but no backcross individuals were detected. The hybrid zone showed basically coincident patterns of population structure between genomic and morphological data. Conclusions Natural hybridization exists among the three Rhododendron species in the hybrid zone, although patterns of hybrid formation vary between hybrid taxa, which may result in different evolutionary outcomes. This study represents a unique opportunity to dissect the ecological and evolutionary mechanisms associated with adaptive radiation of Rhododendron species in a biodiversity hotspot.

Impact of Stratified Interventions in University Reopenings

More than 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. are scheduled to start a new semester in August or September, 2021. Many colleges require Covid-19 vaccination, as well as some combination of face coverings or diagnostic testing, while others do not (in some cases due to governance structure). Large state universities may especially have limitations and are not requiring vaccination, testing, or indoor face coverings, nor offering hybrid classes (to promote physical distancing). Group living quarters or classrooms with densely packed students are among the riskiest settings for infectious disease spread.

A Systematic and Comparative Analysis of Four Major Classes of DFT Functionals to Compute Linear and Nonlinear Optical Properties of Benchmark Molecules

This study spotlights the fundamental insights about the systematic and comparative analysis of four famous hybrid classes of density functional theory (DFT) methods and their efficacy to calculate the linear and nonlinear optical (NLO) polarizabilities. For this study, urea and para-nitroaniline ([Formula: see text]-NA) molecular geometries are used as prototypes to calculate their linear and NLO properties. For comparative purposes, these molecules are often used as reference organic molecules for determination of NLO response properties and there is a dire need for such a benchmark database to be utilized by the researchers. We report systematically a range of functionals including hybrid (B3LYP, PBE1PBE, BH and HLYP), meta-hybrid (M06, M06-2X, M06-HF, M06-L), long-range corrected (CAM-B3LYP, LC-BLYP, LC-B97D, LC-B97D3) and functional with dispersion correction ([Formula: see text]B97, [Formula: see text]B97X, [Formula: see text]B97XD, HSEH1PBE). These groups are evaluated and their efficiency to calculate linear and NLO properties is graphically compared with each other. Overall, there are less deviations among different functionals for calculating dipole moments of [Formula: see text]-NA and urea while these deviations enhance as one moves from dipole moment to linear polarizability and nonlinear hyperpolarizabilities. In general, if we look at the trends, the polarizability values of B3LYP, M06-L, CAM-B3LYP and HSEH1PBE are relatively large and can be compared with each other. The dispersion corrected and long-range corrected functionals show more systematic deviations. For instance, among dispersion corrected functionals, the amplitudes of dipole moments, linear polarizability and NLO polarizabilities show an increasing trend as [Formula: see text]. It is also important to note that LC-B97D and LC-B97D3 of long-range corrected functional have observed exactly the same values of all the calculated parameters. A good agreement is being observed in static first and second hyperpolarizabilities of urea (B3LYP, M06-L, M06 and HSEH1PBE) and [Formula: see text]-NA (B3LYP, M06, M06-L, CAM-B3LYP and HSEH1PBE). Thus, we believe that the current investigation will provide the benchmark data of reference NLO molecules at different methods for theoretical community and molecular level insights for experimental community to design better NLO materials for hi-tech NLO applications.

Microcommitments: The Effect of Small Commitments on Student Success

We conducted a randomized control trial with nearly 1,000 students to test whether using a text-message-based tool that provides small commitments with social accountability helps students procrastinate less and maintain engagement with course material, yielding improved academic performance. All students received identical content via text message, but the treatment group engaged with an online platform encouraging commitments and featuring a social feed with rankings. The analysis reveals that microcommitments with social accountability improved academic performance relative to students who received simple nudges. The increase is equivalent to 3 percentage points on an exam, driven by online and hybrid classes.

Digital Technology in University Language Courses: Project Letras 2.0 at UFRJ

Project Letras 2.0, which promotes research and teacher education by using digital technologies at the Faculty of Languages and Literatures (FLL) of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), completed ten years in 2021. This paper intends to describe the goals of Project Letras 2.0 - UFRJ and discuss, through the lens of Activity Theory, some of the main conflicts and contradictions that have been or can still be perceived as opportunities for change and development. Therefore, this article may help shed light on debates on theoretical and practical debates about the use of digital technologies in language courses for undergraduate students who are being trained to be 21st-century language teachers. In addition, this paper also aims at encouraging discussions and further research on the use of digital technologies and the strategic adoption of hybrid classes in language courses in higher education.

Empathy in teaching foreign languages in a distance format at universities

Empathy is a key factor in teaching foreign languages, making it possible to establish an emotional connection both between the teacher and students and between students themselves, as well as between students and a target language, which has a positive effect on learning outcomes. The distance learning format is no exception, but it requires more attention to this factor, since there are objective obstacles to the emergence of empathy in a natural way, which often occurs in face-to-face training and requires certain awareness when it is introduced into the educational process by the teacher. The research purpose is to develop practical recommendations for language teachers at universities on the introduction of psychological-methodological elements that contribute to an increase in the empathy of all participants in distance and hybrid classes to improve the effectiveness of learning. The research methodology includes an experiment, observation, deduction, survey, post-analysis. As a result of the study, specific recommendations were formulated to build an emotional connection in distance classes in a foreign language. Thus, it is recommended to use methodological and psychological tools, gamification, and discussion format of classes, to control the dynamics of seminars. Establishing an empathic connection is facilitated by less formal and more benevolent communication at distance seminars, preferably a targeted appeal to students, to the whole group, keeping the camera on and enriching seminars with various emotionally charged and substantive elements, the teacher’s active presence in social networks during off-hours, engaging all types of work in real time: interactive whiteboard, editing shared documents.

G × E interaction studies in relation to heterosis and stability of grain yield in maize (Zea mays L.)

Interaction of homozygous inbreds and heterozygous single, three way and double crosses with environment had shown a differential response in achieving yield stability. Seven diverse maize inbreds, their 21 single crosses and 105 each of three way and double crosses obtained through diallel were evaluated for twelve characters across three diverse locations to estimate comparative stability of homozygous and heterozygous genotypes for grain yield. Contrasts in heterobeltiosis, combining ability and stability parameters in three environments and interaction effects were observed. Gain in heterobeltiosis (%) for grain yield was observed with decreased environmental quality in different hybrid classes suggesting that heterozygous hybrids are more stable due to individual buffering in single crosses and both individual and population buffering in case of three way and double crosses. Significant increase in SCA effects was observed in moderate environment at Hyderabad rather than at high yielding environment Palem. Significant G × E and Environment (linear) in all the crosses was observed for grain yield suggesting the effect of environment and its pre dominant effect on grain yield. Stability of hybrids was attributed to their superior performance over the parents in low yielding environment. Thus the potential use of selected heterozygous hybrids would allow under diverse environments is suggested to mitigate losses arising out of climate change.