What is Research

2023 - 2 - 13

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Image courtesy of "Australian Council for Educational Research"

Schools sought for student engagement research (Australian Council for Educational Research)

ACER's Dr Amy Berry is leading a study of student perspectives on engaging in learning at school.

As Dr Berry explains in Teacher, ‘Generally, the language of engagement in schools is about whether students are engaged or disengaged. Dr Berry’s work includes the development of a continuum of student engagement. These two things are related but they are not the same thing,’ Dr Berry explains.

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Image courtesy of "SciTechDaily"

New Research Links Obesity to Blinding Eye Disease (SciTechDaily)

A new study from Canada, published in the renowned journal Science, has shed light on a potential molecular cause of age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Normally, immune cells keep the eye healthy, but contact with pathogens such as bacteria and viruses can make them go awry. Melichar, Thomas Langmann, Jean-Sebastien Joyal, Ariel M. M. Reference: “Past history of obesity triggers persistent epigenetic changes in innate immunity and exacerbates neuroinflammation” by Masayuki Hata, Elisabeth M. - dry AMD, characterized by the accumulation of fatty deposits at the back of the eye and the death of nerve cells in the eye, It is already known that the immune system in the eye of a person with AMD becomes dysregulated and aggressive.

Historic federal investment in research is an investment in WA's future (The Seattle Times)

The research taking place at Washington State University is making fuels more sustainable, the environment cleaner, our electricity more reliable and the ...

This research doesn’t happen in a vacuum and must be supported with strong investment at every level. competitive, spurring research and innovation that improves lives and ensuring we work to build the workforce of the future. This work is critical to ensuring all our industries succeed, and funding for research plays a vital — but often overlooked — role. For more than 130 years, WSU has led research with the goal of improving lives in Washington state, the nation and around the globe. That’s why WSU works in partnership with our colleagues at the University of Washington and other Pacific Northwest colleges to educate students to meet current and future need. And today, I believe Washington state is better positioned than ever to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

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Image courtesy of "Tillamook Headlight-Herald"

$884578 for Ocean Research: Understanding, monitoring nearshore ... (Tillamook Headlight-Herald)

The Oregon Ocean Science Trust (OOST) has awarded $884578 in state funding to ocean researchers to help Oregon better understand and monitor its nearshore ...

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Image courtesy of "E-Flux"

Stepping Forward: Performance Research and Practice, Here ... (E-Flux)

421, Alserkal Arts Foundation, and New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) present Stepping Forward: Performance Research and Practice, Here, a convening that ...

(artist, India); Sofiane Ouissi (Artist, Tunisia); Nada Raza (Director, Alserkal Arts Foundation); Tina Sherwell (Director, MFA Arts and Media, New York University Abu Dhabi); Joanna Settle (Professor of Theater and Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs and Social Impact, New York University Abu Dhabi); Rattanamol Singh Johal (researcher, India/USA); and Tanzim Wahab (curator, Bangladesh). The symposium builds on conversations that took place in November 2021 during Stepping Away: Performance as Practice in the Non-West, an inaugural edition of the symposium which was hosted and produced collaboratively by 421 and Alserkal Arts Foundation. This will be preceded by preparatory closed sessions on at NYUAD that will mark the first half of the convening.

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Image courtesy of "News - The University of Sydney"

Industry research to tackle oat rust (News - The University of Sydney)

The University of Sydney will lead an industry study that aims to reduce the impact of damaging crown rust, a fungal pathogen affecting Australian oat ...

This work will accelerate our efforts to deliver oats with improved rust resistance to oat growers. Professor Park said: “Our project aims to reduce the impact of crown rust in Australian oat production. Professor Park said: “Crown rust causes severe damage to oat crops in Australia and, due to ongoing losses of important resistance genes since the early 1990s, it has become an intractable constraint to oat production.

Bold Challenges launches phase to support large-scale research ... (The University Record)

Ono charged OVPR with developing and implementing the first phase of this strategy, which emphasizes support for faculty teams to obtain large-scale funding ...

Faculty who are ready to submit a large-scale grant proposal within the next 18 months can apply to join the advanced consulting program, called Accelerate. The program includes workshops that help researchers develop team building and leadership skills. Now is the time to be bold.”

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Image courtesy of "Phys.Org"

Research links negativity bias, investment apprehension (Phys.Org)

What do your worries about public health have to do with your financial well-being? Maybe a lot more than you realize, according to new research from ...

[research](https://phys.org/tags/research/) finds that lower-educated and lower-income individuals harbor an even stronger negativity bias on average, making these findings potentially important in mitigating wealth inequality. [lower-income families](https://phys.org/tags/lower-income+families/) build wealth, and improving general financial decision-making. Rather than trying to educate people to invest in the "For instance, in our research we are able to look back at previous studies with data on individuals' ambiguity aversion, perceived likelihood of dying of terrorism, anxiety levels, and optimism." Tapping into additional data from the panel, the research team accounted for risk aversion, optimism, ambiguity aversion, the impact of media coverage and naturally evolving views on stock market participation. Because of the panelists' history, the dataset allows researchers to connect seemingly unrelated data points through historical responses. To make those connections, the research team turned to additional data collected as part of the RAND American Life Panel, a panel of more than 5,000 respondents who researchers regularly survey. Conditions around the swine flu pandemic provided researchers the chance to dig into attitudes and better understand investor behavior. In "The Negativity Bias and Perceived Return Distributions: Evidence from a Pandemic," the Department of Finance and Real Estate's Harry Turtle and his co-authors examine the relation between people's attitudes toward swine flu and predictions about the market. Participation in beneficial financial opportunities is central to improving social welfare, including the mitigation of severe wealth inequality. "If you overestimate your belief of dying from swine flu, you're also more likely to be negatively biased in your beliefs about stock market returns," Turtle said. Maybe a lot more than you realize, according to new research from Colorado State University's College of Business.

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Image courtesy of "Phys.Org"

Study highlights importance of everyday interactions in ... (Phys.Org)

Using two case studies of watershed restoration and environmental monitoring projects in Maine, a new paper illustrates how scientists can successfully use " ...

"What makes the Meduxnekeag River watershed case study so interesting is how it helped us consider how to connect research design in community-engaged research with everyday, lived experiences of our community partners," says Clay. "In the case of eDNA, the knowledge mapping created spaces for collaborators to identify differences in how they imagined eDNA science connecting with communities, which opened up new conversations and insights about ethics and engagement." The results showed how important caring for soil is to the ways that farmers relate to, make decisions about and find value in land and water throughout the Meduxnekeag watershed. Though a seemingly simple task, focusing on elements of embodiment in collaborative communication allowed the group to reflect on and negotiate the scientists' relationship with the community—for example, the importance of ethical communication practices as an ongoing commitment for eDNA work. "This focus on embodiment draws attention to research practices that, in the process of striving for objectivity in data, may make bodies involved in that research invisible or detach them from the research context." Both focus on embodiment to structure their research processes and shape ongoing, emergent and collaborative [research practices](https://phys.org/tags/research+practices/).

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Image courtesy of "Journalist's Resource"

Don't say 'prove': How to report on the conclusiveness of research ... (Journalist's Resource)

In this tip sheet, we explain why it's rarely accurate to report that research studies prove anything — even if a press release says so.

Headlines making erroneous claims about the effectiveness of certain drugs and treatments can harm the public. “’Prove’ is a short, snappy word, so it works in a headline — but it’s usually wrong,” says Branch. Another good idea: Editors, including copy editors, could make a habit of consulting with reporters on news headlines about research, science and other technical topics. Many people are unfamiliar with the scientific process, so they need journalists’ help understanding how a single research study fits into the larger landscape of scholarship on an issue or problem. Don’t go only on the abstract to get a full sense of how strong the evidence is. Editors, especially those who are not familiar with the process of scientific inquiry, can easily make mistakes when writing or changing headlines about research. “Some familiar examples are Earth as the center of the universe, the absolute nature of time and space, the stability of continents, and the cause of infectious disease.” Gastel and Branch agree that editors would benefit from science journalism training, particularly as it relates to reporting on health and medicine. [KSJ Science Editing Handbook](https://ksjhandbook.org/) urges journalists to read press releases carefully. What sets mathematicians apart from other scientists is their use of mathematical proofs, a step-by-step argument written using words, symbols and diagrams to convince another mathematician that a given statement is true, explains Scientists typically express themselves in degrees of confidence, he notes. “Don’t go only on the news release.

Don't say 'prove': How to report on the conclusiveness of research ... (Editor And Publisher Magazine)

Studies conducted in fields outside of mathematics do not “prove” anything. They find evidence — sometimes, extraordinarily strong evidence. It's important ...

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