SYNOPSIS: This lesson introduces students to the benefits of an aquaponics system, especially in areas where clean soil and water are scarce.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson demonstrates the importance of sustainable agriculture and how gardening without soil can provide positive results. This is a hands-on activity for students to engage in gardening. Aquaculture and hydroponics are discussed in good detail. All the materials featured in the lesson have been verified, and this lesson is recommended for teaching.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson creates a collaborative learning environment as students engage with a variety of science and engineering practices.
-Connections are made between the school garden in NJ and other locations where gardening may be difficult for a variety of environmental reasons.
-Project-based learning and hands-on activities promote engagement and participation from all learners.
-This lesson features vocabulary development which broadens student understanding of the concept of aquaponics.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-The lesson takes ~60 minutes, but students will continue 10-15 minutes one day a week for recording observations in their digital or paper journals.
-Students will need a basic understanding of what seeds and plants need to grow and produce food.
-Additionally, students would benefit from an opportunity to plant seeds in soil and observe the life cycle from seed germination to food production prior to this lesson.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-If teaching remotely, students can have access to teacher slides and digital resources, including journals to participate from home.
-This lesson provides opportunities for students to learn about the topic using different modalities including visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile.
-Groups of students with mixed abilities can collaborate on their journal definitions, predictions, and observations.
-Teachers can structure the learning around explaining or solving a social or community-based issue.
-An extension activity can be a salad party. After lettuce grows, students will have the opportunity to pick, wash, and taste their own lettuce.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Undergoing a second operation to reconstruct a torn anterior cruciate ligament , or A-C-L, is difficult for anyone. But it could be particularly hard for those who don’t play sports after surgery. A new study shows that among patients undergoing a repeat ACL reconstruction, those who play one or more sports following their procedure report reduced knee symptoms, better knee function, and higher activity level than those who play no sports. These findings could help clinicians and patients build better pathways to recovery from ACL injury. Using a questionnaire, researchers followed up with more than 900 patients 2 years after revision ACL reconstruction. Slightly more than half of the patients were male, and patients’ average age was 26. In addition to questions regarding knee injury history and knee-specific outcomes, patients were asked whether they had participated in sports since undergoing surgery; and if so, which one—or ones..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

This lesson plan is meant to be a follow up to lesson plan one pertaining to Emma Bell Miles’ and Thoreau’s poetry. This lesson is meant to focus on the authorial Point of View that comes through in these author’s poetry. This lesson also discusses different literary periods from the times of these authors.

This lesson plan is meant to follow the structure of using the author background video, the point of view video, and then the handout. A good follow up would be giving the students a journal prompt to write about and expand on one of the topics from the handout. A longer project could be created where students present on one of the topics from the handout.

A selection of Library of Congress primary sources exploring political cartoons in U.S. history. This set also includes a Teacher's Guide with historical context and teaching suggestions

This is a module framework. It can be viewed online or downloaded as a zip file.

As taught Autumn Semester 2010/2011.

This module will introduce students to key debates in the study of political behaviour. The module will focus specifically on the core ‘pillars’ of political behaviour (elections, voting, political participation and, to a lesser extent, public opinion). Through the module students will explore theories and methodologies used by political scientists to study these key aspects of political behaviour. Voters, political parties, party members and activists, and forms of political participation more generally will be addressed.

The module will build on the knowledge students might have gained during their undergraduate degrees while introducing them to new debates and literatures. Students will be introduced to, and encouraged to critically assess, major approaches to studying these political phenomena and will gain a firm understanding of the interplay between theory and empirical research.

Module Code: M13128

Suitable for study at: Undergraduate level 3

Credits:20

Dr Matthew Goodwin, School of Politics and International Relations

Dr Matthew Goodwin obtained his BA (First Class Hons) in Politics and Contemporary History at the University of Salford and MA in Political Science at the University of Western Ontario. He completed his PhD at the Department of European Studies and Modern Languages at the University of Bath, under the supervision of Professor Roger Eatwell and Professor Anna Cento Bull. Before being appointed Lecturer at the University of Nottingham, Dr Goodwin was Temporary Lecturer at the University of Bath, Research Associate at the University of Manchester and an ESRC Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Manchester).

At broad level Dr Goddwin's research clusters around electoral behaviour and, to a lesser extent, public policy. His research interests are mainly in extremist political parties and the roots of their support, especially extreme right-wing parties. He also has a strong interest in party membership and activism, and the study of political participation more generally. This research has been published in journals including the European Journal of Political Research, Political Studies and the Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties (JEPOP), among others. Dr Goodwin has also recently co-edited a volume - The New Extremism in 21st Century Britain (Routledge) which explores support for alternative forms of extremism and implications for public policy, police and practice.

Professor Paul Heywood defines a polical concept in 60 seconds for those with a spare minute to learn something new. This videocast focuses on corruption as a political concept.

Warning: video does contain bloopers and out takes.

May 2010

Suitable for Undergraduate study and community education

Professor Paul Heywood, School of Politics and International Relations

Professor Paul Heywood is Sir Francis Hill Professor of European Politics. He graduated with an MA in Politics (First Class) from the University of Edinburgh, then did postgraduate studies in Madrid and at the London School of Economics, from where he received his MSc(Econ) and PhD (Politics). Before joining the University of Nottingham, he taught at the University of Glasgow and at the University of London. He also worked as consultant author for the Economist Intelligence Unit, London (1989-93). He has been a member of the ESRC Research Grants Board (2001-05) and was Dean of the University of Nottingham Graduate School from 2003-07. Between 2003 and 2009 he was co-editor of the international journal Government and Opposition, and is currently Chair of the Board of Directors.

Professor Paul Heywood is author, co-author or editor of thirteen books and more than seventy journal articles and book chapters. His research focuses on political corruption, institutional design and state capacity in contemporary Europe. In 2006, he was appointed Adjunct Professor at the University of Hunan (China), where he is Senior Adviser to the Anti-Corruption Research Center. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (elected 2002) and has recently (2010) been invited to join the Publications Board of The European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) for a period of three years alongside 11 other distinguished political science experts.

Professor Paul Heywood defines a political concept in 60 seconds for those with a spare minute to learn something new. This videocast focuses on corruption as a political concept.

Warning: video does contain bloopers and out takes.

May 2010

Suitable for Undergraduate study and community education

Professor Paul Heywood, School of Politics and International Relations

Professor Paul Heywood is Sir Francis Hill Professor of European Politics. He graduated with an MA in Politics (First Class) from the University of Edinburgh, then did postgraduate studies in Madrid and at the London School of Economics, from where he received his MSc(Econ) and PhD (Politics). Before joining the University of Nottingham, he taught at the University of Glasgow and at the University of London. He also worked as consultant author for the Economist Intelligence Unit, London (1989-93). He has been a member of the ESRC Research Grants Board (2001-05) and was Dean of the University of Nottingham Graduate School from 2003-07. Between 2003 and 2009 he was co-editor of the international journal Government and Opposition, and is currently Chair of the Board of Directors.

Professor Paul Heywood is author, co-author or editor of thirteen books and more than seventy journal articles and book chapters. His research focuses on political corruption, institutional design and state capacity in contemporary Europe. In 2006, he was appointed Adjunct Professor at the University of Hunan (China), where he is Senior Adviser to the Anti-Corruption Research Center. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (elected 2002) and has recently (2010) been invited to join the Publications Board of The European Consortium for Political Research (ECPR) for a period of three years alongside 11 other distinguished political science experts.

Dr Adam Morton defines a political concept in 60 seconds for those with a spare minute to learn something new. This videocast focuses on passive revolution as a political concept.

Warning: video does contain bloopers and out takes.

May 2010

Suitable for Undergraduate study and Community education

Dr Adam Morton, School of Politics and International Relations

Dr Adam Morton is a Senior Lecturer and Fellow of the Centre for the Study of Social and Global Justice (CSSGJ) in the School of Politics and International Relations at The University of Nottingham. Before joining the University of Nottingham, he was a Lecturer in the Department of Politics and International Relations at Lancaster University (2002-5) and an Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of International Politics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth (2001-2). He specialises in the themes of political economy, state theory, historical sociology, globalisation and development.

Dr Adam Morton was awarded the inaugural 'Latin American Perspectives Visiting Fellowship' in 2008 which involved a period of affiliation at the University of California, Riverside linked to the journal Latin American Perspectives. His monographs have been published in prominent book series and his journal publications include articles inter alia in International Studies Quarterly, Journal of Peasant Studies, Millennium: Journal of International Studies, New Political Economy, Review of International Political Economy, Review of International Studies, and Third World Quarterly. Dr Morton's published work has also been translated into Spanish, Italian, Portuguese-Brazilian, German and Japanese.

Professor Christopher Pierson defines a political concept in 60 seconds for those with a spare minute to learn something new. This videocast focuses on property as a political concept.

Warning: video does contain bloopers and out takes.

May 2010

Suitable for Undergraduate study and community education

Professor Christopher Pierson, School of Politics and International Relations

Professor Christopher Pierson is Professor of Politics at the University of Nottingham, director of teaching and lead editor of the British Journal of Politics and International Relations. He has held visiting posts at the Australian National University, Johns Hopkins University and the University of California, Santa Barbara. His expertise lies in democracy, property and the welfare state.

Professor Christopher Pierson has a long-standing interest in the problems of the modern state in general and of social democracy in particular. His earliest work was on Marxist accounts of the state and democracy and in more recent years, his attention has focused upon issues surrounding the contemporary welfare state and alternatives to classical social democracy (especially the advocacy of market socialism), the relationship between labour politics in the UK and Australia and normative justifications for existing property regimes. He is also an editor of the Oxford University Press Handbook of the Advanced Welfare States, a large international project which brings together expert opinion about comparative welfare state development from around the globe.

Objective To investigate the replication validity of biomedical association studies covered by newspapers. Methods We used a database of 4723 primary studies included in 306 meta-analysis articles. These studies associated a risk factor with a disease in three biomedical domains, psychiatry, neurology and four somatic diseases. They were classified into a lifestyle category (e.g. smoking) and a non-lifestyle category (e.g. genetic risk). Using the database Dow Jones Factiva, we investigated the newspaper coverage of each study. Their replication validity was assessed using a comparison with their corresponding meta-analyses. Results Among the 5029 articles of our database, 156 primary studies (of which 63 were lifestyle studies) and 5 meta-analysis articles were reported in 1561 newspaper articles. The percentage of covered studies and the number of newspaper articles per study strongly increased with the impact factor of the journal that published each scientific study. Newspapers almost equally covered initial (5/39 12.8%) and subsequent (58/600 9.7%) lifestyle studies. In contrast, initial non-lifestyle studies were covered more often (48/366 13.1%) than subsequent ones (45/3718 1.2%). Newspapers never covered initial studies reporting null findings and rarely reported subsequent null observations. Only 48.7% of the 156 studies reported by newspapers were confirmed by the corresponding meta-analyses. Initial non-lifestyle studies were less often confirmed (16/48) than subsequent ones (29/45) and than lifestyle studies (31/63). Psychiatric studies covered by newspapers were less often confirmed (10/38) than the neurological (26/41) or somatic (40/77) ones. This is correlated to an even larger coverage of initial studies in psychiatry. Whereas 234 newspaper articles covered the 35 initial studies that were later disconfirmed, only four press articles covered a subsequent null finding and mentioned the refutation of an initial claim. Conclusion Journalists preferentially cover initial findings although they are often contradicted by meta-analyses and rarely inform the public when they are disconfirmed.

The Journal of Physiology and British Journal of Pharmacology jointly published an editorial series in 2011 to improve standards in statistical reporting and data analysis. It is not known whether reporting practices changed in response to the editorial advice. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of reporting practices in a random sample of research papers published in these journals before (n = 202) and after (n = 199) publication of the editorial advice. Descriptive data are presented. There was no evidence that reporting practices improved following publication of the editorial advice. Overall, 76-84% of papers with written measures that summarized data variability used standard errors of the mean, and 90-96% of papers did not report exact p-values for primary analyses and post-hoc tests. 76-84% of papers that plotted measures to summarize data variability used standard errors of the mean, and only 2-4% of papers plotted raw data used to calculate variability. Of papers that reported p-values between 0.05 and 0.1, 56-63% interpreted these as trends or statistically significant. Implied or gross spin was noted incidentally in papers before (n = 10) and after (n = 9) the editorial advice was published. Overall, poor statistical reporting, inadequate data presentation and spin were present before and after the editorial advice was published. While the scientific community continues to implement strategies for improving reporting practices, our results indicate stronger incentives or enforcements are needed.

Serial Storytelling examines the ways the passing and unfolding of time structures narratives in a range of media. From Rembrandt's lifetime of self-portraits to The Wire, Charles Dickens' Pickwick Papers to contemporary journalism and reportage, we will focus on the relationships between popular culture and art, the problems of evaluation and audience, and the ways these works function within their social context.

This course focuses on popular music, i.e. music created for and transmitted by mass media. Various popular music genres from around the world will be studied through listening, reading and written assignments, with an emphasis on class discussion. In particular, we will consider issues of musical change, syncretism, Westernization, globalization, the impact of recording industries, and the post-colonial era. Case studies will include Afro-pop, reggae, bhangra, rave, and global hip-hop.

Our purpose is to consider some of the most elaborate and thoughtful efforts to define and delineate "all-mastering," and to consider some of the delineations of "all-mastering the intellect" in various guises - from magicians to master spies to detectives to scientists (mad and otherwise). The major written work of the term will be an ongoing reading journal, which you will circulate to your classmates using an e-mail mailing list. The use of that list is fundamental - it is my intention to generate a sort of ongoing cyberconversation.

This tutorial outlines the differences between different types of sources: scholarly journals, popular magazines, trade journals, newspapers, and book reviews.

Many studies show that open access (OA) articles—articles from scholarly journals made freely available to readers without requiring subscription fees—are downloaded, and presumably read, more often than closed access/subscription-only articles. Assertions that OA articles are also cited more often generate more controversy. Confounding factors (authors may self-select only the best articles to make OA; absence of an appropriate control group of non-OA articles with which to compare citation figures; conflation of pre-publication vs. published/publisher versions of articles, etc.) make demonstrating a real citation difference difficult. This study addresses those factors and shows that an open access citation advantage as high as 19% exists, even when articles are embargoed during some or all of their prime citation years. Not surprisingly, better (defined as above median) articles gain more when made OA.

This resource is a video abstract of a research paper created by Research Square on behalf of its authors. It provides a synopsis that's easy to understand, and can be used to introduce the topics it covers to students, researchers, and the general public. The video's transcript is also provided in full, with a portion provided below for preview:

"Most arthroscopic procedures of the hip involve a perineal post. Positioning patients against this padded column gives surgeons access to the area in need of repair. But a new concept is seeing clinicians go postless. While seemingly gentler on the patient, the effects of this innovation on muscles, nerves, and blood flow had never been captured—until now. New research indicates that this postless approach is a safer arthroscopic alternative that can reduce the risk of unwanted surgical complications. The use of a post in hip arthroscopy poses a risk of complications such as skin tearing, nerve injury, and sexual dysfunction. While past research has proposed that the risk of these complications is relatively low, usually less than 1.5%, new evidence suggests that the number might actually be closer to 25%. For an elective procedure performed mostly on young athletes, that’s a signal for much-needed improvement..."

The rest of the transcript, along with a link to the research itself, is available on the resource itself.

In 1962, an American activist named Michael Harrington wrote a relatively short but influential study on the problem of poverty in the United States. 'The Other America' ultimately found its way into the hands of President John F. Kennedy, and the book had a profound impact on bringing poverty issues to public attention. It ultimately contributed to the launch of the government's "War on Poverty."

TeachableMoment marks the 50 year anniversary, and addresses the ongoing issue, with a series of readings and discussion questions for high school students. Readings one and two, below, give an overview of Michael Harrington's book and consider the state of poverty in the U.S. now. The next pair of readings in the series will examine the debate about who should count as poor in this country and proposals for combating poverty.

This open course introduces students to the scholarly communications system — with particular emphasis on the scholarly journal publishing mechanism — wherein new information is created, evaluated, disseminated, and preserved.

The course content is organized into three parts. First, The Fundamentals aims to acquaint students with the basic framework of contemporary scholarly publishing: how it operates, who is involved, what roles they play, etc., as well as asking students to consider how they themselves might engage with the system as consumers and producers of scholarly knowledge. Chapters include sample exercises to reinforce content, as well as recommended resources for further study. Next, (Some) Problems raises questions and issues that complicate contemporary scholarly publishing. While scholarship and research have the noble goal of building and sharing new knowledge for the public good, they are also inextricably bound to real-world economic structures and inequalities. This section examines how the scholarly publishing system intersects with money, power, and privilege. It asks students to grapple with the system’s structural, systemic failings, as well as contemplate ways in which it might be improved. Finally, the course culminates in two final Assignments that instructors can use as part of the curriculum, or that independent learners can work through on their own. These are open-ended in that there are no discrete right or wrong answers, but rather opportunities for students to grapple with and reflect on the content of the course.

Material in this course can be used in classroom settings or as self-paced tutorial. Appropriate audiences include upper-level undergraduate or graduate students who are interested in publishing their work; library & information science (LIS) students or early-career librarians interested in scholarly communications; and anyone else who wants a better understanding of the scholarly publishing system and the academic culture in which it is rooted.

SYNOPSIS: In this lesson, students use New Jersey precipitation data to create graphs and discuss climate change.

SCIENTIST NOTES: This lesson has students working on their data analysis skills through the use of graphs which help students to interpret New Jersey’s precipitation data and how it relates to climate change. A class discussion encourages students to think critically about the raw data. Students then work independently to graph the precipitation over time, finding a line of best fit and the equation for the line. This is followed by a discussion of the relationship between time and precipitation. Data forecasting is touched upon when students are asked to think about what data they would need next and what is predictable about the data. Students then choose one of two choices that allow them to compare and contrast visually represented data. This is a well-rounded lesson that relays the information of climate change through graphing and data analysis and is recommended for teaching.

POSITIVES:
-This lesson can be used independently to practice application of math and reasoning skills or as ang point for longer research into data displays.
-Students can use graph paper or any digital platform schools and teachers are already familiar with.
-Students are given voice and choice in this lesson.
-Students learn to apply math skills to current situations to explore and explain relationships in nature.
-Students defend their chosen quantities and levels of accuracy in displaying data.

ADDITIONAL PREREQUISITES:
-Students should have some basic understanding of graphing, plotting points, and the relationship between x & y-axes.
-Students should have a basic idea of an equation of a line, line of best fit, and slope.
-Students should have a basic understanding of other types and purposes of graphs and charts.

DIFFERENTIATION:
-Teachers can adjust the degree of difficulty based on the math level of each class.
-If using a digital graphing platform, teachers and students can manipulate data to explore related questions.
-Teachers can explore deeper the purpose of different kinds of graphs in highlighting different parts of the same data set.
-Teachers can bring in a variety of graphs from scientific journals or magazines, such as National Geographic, as instructional tools.
-Teachers can extend this project to have students or classes graph the relationship between precipitation and time for all 50 states. Students can then display their graphs and conclusions. Teachers can moderate discussions comparing and contrasting various states and regions or make a conclusion as a whole.
-Using the same website resources, students can explore the average maximum and minimum temperature table. They can explore the relationship between temperature and precipitation using various graphs. Teachers can then use this to discuss causation and/or correlation.
-Teachers can use the lesson to introduce causation and correlation, asking students if there is a correlation between precipitation and climate change.