Psychological grit is over-rated as the key to retention in distance education: a South African study debunks the myth [The Conversation, February 2023]

Title:

Psychological grit is over-rated as the key to retention in distance education: a South African study debunks the myth

 

Author:

Kelly Anne Young

Senior Researcher, University of South Africa

 

Published:

The Conversation, 21 February 2023

https://theconversation.com/psychological-grit-is-over-rated-as-the-key-to-retention-in-distance-education-a-south-african-study-debunks-the-myth-199022

 

From the article:

Psychological grit has garnered a lot of interest in the last decade, particularly in the higher education arena. It’s typically defined as passion and perseverance for long-term goals. A great deal has been written about it and the role it plays in the retention and success of tertiary students. Kelly Anne Young explored the role grit played in determining postgraduate retention among historically disadvantaged students enrolled at the University of South Africa (Unisa) – the largest provider of open, distance e-learning in Africa.

University of Southern Denmark (SDU), Denmark - Research in quantum mechanics is like a journey of discovery into the future (February 2023)

Title:

Research in quantum mechanics is like a journey of discovery into the future 

 

Author:

Sune Holst

 

Published:

University of Southern Denmark, 14 February 2023

https://www.sdu.dk/en/nyheder/forskningsnyheder/polima

 

From the news article:

New quantum technologies have the potential to reshape our entire society. At the centre for basic research POLIMA, researchers are particularly curious about interactions between light and matter, as these could potentially form the whole basis of the quantum technologies of the future.

MOZAMBIQUE - New law provides for slew of changes in university system [University World News, February 2023]

Title:

New law provides for slew of changes in university system 

 

Author:

Elísio Muchanga  

 

Published:

University World News, 16 February 2023 

 

From the article:

A new higher education law approved in December 2022 in Mozambique establishes and extends the power of the National Council for the Assessment of Higher Education Quality (in Portuguese, the Conselho Nacional de Avaliação da Qualidade or CNAQ) to undertake quality assurance in the country’s higher education.  

 

The agency – established in 2007 – will henceforth be responsible for the “assessment and accreditation of distance-learning courses and programmes” in Mozambique’s higher education.

 

Recent Advances in Educational Robotics by S.A. Chatzichristofis [Scholarly Article - Electronics, February 2023]

Title:

Recent Advances in Educational Robotics

 

Author:

Savvas A. Chatzichristofis 

Intelligent Systems Laboratory, Department of Computer Science, Neapolis University Pafos, Pafos 8042, Cyprus

Published:

Electronics, Volume 12, Issue 4, 12 February 2023

https://www.mdpi.com/2079-9292/12/4/925

Abstract:

The widespread use of artificial intelligence and robotics contributes, among other things, to create a new scientific field that aims to modernize and disrupt education. The term ’educational robotics’ is being introduced as a learning tool and definitively transforming young people’s education. At the same time, however, it is helping to create a fast-growing new industry that produces educational robots and tools. Companies with a long tradition, either in the creation of robotic equipment or in the production and distribution of toys, are setting up appropriate divisions and supplying the market with electronic devices for educational robotics. This new market is overgrowing and is rapidly becoming an investment attraction. According to MarketsandMarkets research, the educational robotics market is projected to grow from USD 1.3 billion in 2021 to USD 2.6 billion by 2026. Notably, the educational robotics market is expected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 16.1% from 2021 to 2026. At the same time, however, the field is attracting many startups securing independent funding for equipment design and implementation and independent efforts competing for funding from crowdfunding platforms. More than 2000 ideas have recently secured funding to build and distribute educational robotics tools through Kickstarter-type platforms. However, what is educational robotics, and how is it expected to transform how the next generation is educated?

Trajectory of doctoral education and training in Uganda [Scholarly Article - Higher Education, February 2023]

Title:

Trajectory of doctoral education and training in Uganda 

 

Authors:

Irene Etomaru, K. Fred Edward Bakkabulindi & Tom Darlington Balojja 

 

Published:

Higher Education, 14 February 2023

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10734-023-01006-y

 

Abstract:

To participate fully in the global knowledge economy, all countries require strong research and innovation eco-systems. This crucially depends on the efficiency of doctoral education and training. We examined the trajectory of doctoral education in Uganda over the past four decades focusing on number of doctoral awards and equity in regard to sex, STEM versus Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and private versus public providers. We collected data from all institutions providing doctoral education in Uganda through comprehensive review of documents. Our analysis of data revealed low capacity for doctoral education in Uganda. There was under production of doctorates depicted by the low number of doctoral awards; and inequalities in regard to sex, STEM versus Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and the public versus private providers. We argue that the trends in equity and number of doctoral awards translate into low number of researchers per million inhabitants, low number of researchers engaged in research and development (R&D), and gender disparity in researchers’ participation in R&D. We conclude that the low number and inequalities in doctoral awards have deterring implications to the attainment of national development goals. We proffer desired trajectories for the future of doctoral education and training in Uganda.

 

SOUTH AFRICA - Hunger in South Africa: study shows one in five are at risk [The Conversation, February 2023]

Title:

SOUTH AFRICA - Hunger in South Africa: study shows one in five are at risk 

 

Author:

Asanda Mtintsilana 

Postdoctoral researcher, University of the Witwatersrand

 

Published:

The Conversation, 15 February 2023

https://theconversation.com/hunger-in-south-africa-study-shows-one-in-five-are-at-risk-199133

 

From the article:

In terms of income distribution, South Africa is one of the most unequal countries in the world. The impact of COVID-19 on the economy has worsened this inequality and increased social vulnerability among poor people. Poverty is inherently associated with food insecurity – a state in which socially vulnerable people can’t get enough nutritious and safe food. 

 

Oldest fossil record of larval neuropterans found in Inner Mongolia [Phys.org, February 2023]

Title:

Oldest fossil record of larval neuropterans found in Inner Mongolia

 

Author:

Bob Yirka

 

Published:

Phys.org, 15 February 2023

https://phys.org/news/2023-02-oldest-fossil-larval-neuropterans-mongolia.html

 

From the article:

A team of paleontologists at the Shenzhen Campus of Sun Yat-sen University, working with a colleague from the State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, both in China, has identified the oldest known fossil record of larval neuropterans. 

 

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Title:

Giant Jurassic dragon lacewing larvae with lacustrine palaeoecology represent the oldest fossil record of larval neuropterans 

 

Authors:

Xuheng Du, Kecheng Niu & Tong Bao 

 

Published:

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 15 February 2023

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2022.2500

 

Abstract:

Neuropterans seem to be less specious among holometabolans, while they are in fact the relicts of a diverse group from the Mesozoic era. Their early radiation resulted in great family level morphological heterogeneity of extant neuropterans, especially of their larvae. The earliest previously reported fossil larvae of this group were from the Early Cretaceous, where they already showed high taxonomic diversity and an extremely wide range of variations in morphotypes. In this work, the earliest record of the larva of the neuropteran Palaeoneurorthus baii gen. et sp. nov. from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou Beds of China is described. The larvae, which have large and elongated bodies, straight stylets with curved apices, an extremely elongated cervix and an extended anterior lobe of pronotum, are placed in Nevrorthidae. The elongated cervix is probably a specialized adaptation for hunting small organisms. The palaeoenvironment of these larvae indicates that larvae of Nevrorthidae have exhibited stable aquatic ecology since the Middle Jurassic, and underwent a possible shift from lakes to more lotic yet constricted modern mountain rivulet habitats over time.