Multimodality and New Materialism in Science Learning: Exploring Insights from an Introductory Physics Lesson

Science disciplines are inherently multimodal, involving written and spoken language, bodily gestures, symbols, diagrams, sketches, simulation and mathematical formalism. Studies have shown that explicit multimodal teaching approaches foster enhanced access to science disciplines. We examine multimodal classroom practices in a physics extended curriculum programme (ECP) through the lens of new materialism. As De Freitas and Sinclair note in their book, Mathematics and the Body, there is growing research interest in embodiment in mathematics (and science) education—that is, the role played by students’ bodies, in terms of gestures, verbalisation, diagrams and their relation to the physical objects with which they interact. Embodiment can be viewed from a range of theoretical perspectives (for example, cognitive, phenomemological, or social semiotic). However, they argue that their new materialist approach, which they term “inclusive materialism”, has the potential for framing more socially just pedagogies. In this article, we discuss a multimodal and new materialist analysis of a lesson vignette from a first-year extended curriculum physics course. The analysis illuminates how an assemblage of bodily-paced steps-gestures-diagrams becomes entangled with mathematical concepts. Here, concepts arise through the interplay of modes of diagrams, gestures and bodily movements. The article explores how multimodal and new materialist perspectives might contribute to reconfiguring pedagogical practices in extended curriculum programmes in physics and mathematics.

The Educational Quality of the Doctoral Programs in Public Affairs

Public affairs scholars have been concerned about the quality of education in their field for some decades. To assess the program quality, the authors analyzed the National Research Council's most recent data. In the comparative analyses between the public affairs programs and the programs in other social science disciplines, they found that public affairs doctoral programs were behind their peer fields on most of the input-based metrics (students fully funded in their first year of education, median quantitative GRE scores, and percentage of international students in programs) but ahead of them in student-faculty ratios. The results of the outcome-based metrics were mixed. Public affairs students graduated earlier on average, but smaller percentages of them had plans for employment in academic positions. Also, the faculty productivity was lower in public affairs programs compared to the other social science disciplines. Among the subfields of public affairs, public management and public policy had more favorable input- and outcome-based results compared to public administration.

A View on the Impact of Gamified Services in the Wake of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The chapter examines the researchers' objective to see how gamification has been investigated in various science disciplines during the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact by grouping the findings into central concerns and core issues. The PRISMA approach is used to narrow down the list of relevant articles. The necessity for gamified interventions in the retail, education, and health domains is deliberated in this chapter. The findings suggest that academicians take the chance to collect empirical data and evaluate it in real-time to better understand the impact of gamification in a variety of professions.

Instructional Leadership Capacity of Secondary School Science Heads of Department in Gauteng, South Africa

Natural sciences (NS) is an amalgam of five science disciplines, but the teachers of this subject are usually generalists, or have specialised in a maximum of two of the disciplines. This poses a major challenge to heads of department (HoDs), who are expected to lead instruction in these disciplines. We investigate science HoDs’ capacity to provide instructional leadership in South African secondary schools. The study was quantitative in nature and adopted the survey design. The investigation involved 77 secondary schools out of the 243 schools in the Gauteng province of South Africa. A data set from 142 participants (HoDs = 30; teachers = 112) was used to explore the capacity of science HoDs to provide instructional leadership in secondary schools, using questionnaires. The findings suggest that the capacity of science HoDs to lead instruction is limited by their inability to differentiate between curriculum management and instructional leadership and the relatively insufficient time allocated to provide instructional leadership. Unless schools and local district offices review the grouping of subjects in science departments and in the allocation of natural science teachers and HoDs, much stronger subject-based instructional leadership may potentially continue to remain a mirage. We recommend more focused subject-specific training in natural sciences for both teachers and HoDs, and that leadership should be distributed along science disciplines.

Reaching up and out: the audit society

Purpose This paper aims to show how The Audit Society was oriented towards, not just accounting scholars but also towards social scientific enquiry more broadly. Design/methodology/approach This is a reflective review of the impact that Mike Power’s The Audit Society has had on social science. Findings The authors find that The Audit Society successfully built conceptual bridges “up” and “out” towards other social science disciplines. Research limitations/implications The authors highlight the importance of theorizing “up” and “out” for present day accounting scholars. Originality/value The authors offer a personal reflection on The Audit Society which has influenced the own study in various ways.

Ojämlika arbetsplatser. Hierarkier, diskriminering och strategier för jämlikhet

In this research anthology, inequality in Swedish working life in a Sweden marked by increased inequality, is studied. Racialised inequality, racism and discrimination in individual workplaces are focused, but inequalities based on class and gender are also studied. The concept of inequality regime is used by several of the authors to analyse work organizations. The workplaces studied are found in different sectors, not least in healthcare. The book also includes contributions that provide comparative international perspectives and studies of the development of inequality over time. The anthology contains 12 chapters based on empirical studies of working life, one chapter that analyses working life inequality from a political theory perspective, an introduction and a closing chapter that frames and draws conclusions from the different studies, as well as an afterword. The authors are 22 researchers from different social science disciplines.

The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology and Parenting

The Oxford Handbook of Evolutionary Psychology and Parenting provides a comprehensive resource for work on how our evolutionary past informs current parenting roles and practices. It features chapters from leaders in the field covering state-of-the-art research. The handbook is designed for advanced undergraduates, graduates, and professionals in psychology, anthropology, biology, sociology, and demography, as well as many other social and life science disciplines. It is the first resource of its kind that brings together empirical and theoretical contributions from scholarship at the intersection of evolutionary psychology and parenting. Each of the authors has a PhD in evolutionary psychology, and much of their research focuses on violence and conflict in families and romantic relationships.

Analysis of Potholes on Road Using Image Processing

Image processing is a method to perform some operations on an image, in order to get an enhanced image or to extract some useful information from it. It is a type of signal processing in which input is an image and output may be image or characteristics/features associated with that image. Nowadays, image processing is one among rapidly growing technologies. It forms core research area within engineering and computer science disciplines too. Image detection on road is primarily carried out with the help of camera with Raspberry pi 3 model b+ and stimulation software. The device is built in such a way that we can identify any potholes in the respective roads and able to rectify as soon as possible with the help of the device. The data signals shared by the device will be converted to text signals from which we can get it right. These devices are fixed at top of the lamppost which is located at the corners of the road from where the device is monitoring the road at 120 degree for weekly once respectively. Keywords: Image processing, Image detection on road, Raspberry pi 3, 120 degree

A Comparative Analysis of the Needs of Firefighters and Paramedic Students for Training in Basic Medical Science Disciplines

This study aims to facilitate measures to increase the on-site response capabilities of firefighters by suggesting an appropriate curriculum for the inculcation of basic medical science disciplines through Borich needs assessment and the Locus and Focus model analysis by defining the learning outcomes. A survey was conducted among 188 firefighters and 48 paramedic students the results showed a need for microbiology (2.10) and public health (2.07) for firefighters, pharmacology (4.64) and anatomy and physiology (3.82) for paramedic student. The priority subjects identified in the High-High dimension of the Locus and Focus model for firefighters included public health, microbiology, anatomy and physiology. The learning outcomes, based on the level of present acknowledgment, showed a significant difference between the required and current level in 42 and 37 items of the questionnaires for firefighters and paramedic students respectively (p < .001). The highest discrepancy in priority, based on the level of present acknowledgment between firefighters and paramedic students were in: “sterilization and mechanism of antibiotic action (4th vs. 31st),” “pathogenesis of viral infection (1st vs. 23rd),” and “prevention of diseases and health promotion (14th vs. 36th).” The priority for paramedic students was “receptor-mediated drug response (25th vs. 4th).” Given the difference in the priority level of need of basic medical science disciplines between firefighters and students, an appropriate curriculum for paramedic students that also reflects the needs of firefighters should be developed.