Textbook Usage Research Articles

Systems Biology Graphical Notation: Entity Relationship language Level 1

AbstractStandard graphical representations have played a crucial role in science and engineering throughout the last century. Without electrical symbolism, it is very likely that our industrial society would not have evolved at the same pace. Similarly, specialised notations such as the Feynmann notation or the process flow diagrams did a lot for the adoption of concepts in their own fields. With the advent of Systems Biology, and more recently of Synthetic Biology, the need for precise and unambiguous descriptions of biochemical interactions has become more pressing. While some ideas have been advanced over the last decade, with a few detailed proposals, no actual community standard has emerged. The Systems Biology Graphical Notation (SBGN) is a graphical representation crafted over several years by a community of biochemists, modellers and computer scientists. Three orthogonal and complementary languages have been created, the Process Descriptions, the Entity Relationships and the Activity Flows. Using these three idioms a scientist can represent any network of biochemical interactions, which can then be interpreted in an unambiguous way. The set of symbols used is limited, and the grammar quite simple, to allow its usage in textbooks and its teaching directly in high schools. The first level of the SBGN Entity Relationship language has been publicly released. Shared by the communities of biochemists, genomicians, theoreticians and computational biologists, SBGN languages will foster efficient storage, exchange and reuse of information on signalling pathways, metabolic networks and gene regulatory maps.

Systems Biology Graphical Notation: Process Description language Level 1

AbstractStandard graphical representations have played a crucial role in science and engineering throughout the last century. Without electrical symbolism, it is very likely that our industrial society would not have evolved at the same pace. Similarly, specialised notations such as the Feynmann notation or the process flow diagrams did a lot for the adoption of concepts in their own fields. With the advent of Systems Biology, and more recently of Synthetic Biology, the need for precise and unambiguous descriptions of biochemical interactions has become more pressing. While some ideas have been advanced over the last decade, with a few detailed proposals, no actual community standard has emerged. The Systems Biology Graphical Notation (SBGN) is a graphical representation crafted over several years by a community of biochemists, modellers and computer scientists. Three orthogonal and complementary languages have been created, the Process Diagrams, the Entity Relationship Diagrams and the Activity Flow Diagrams. Using these three idioms a scientist can represent any network of biochemical interactions, which can then be interpreted in an unambiguous way. The set of symbols used is limited, and the grammar quite simple, to allow its usage in textbooks and its teaching directly in high schools. The first level of the SBGN Process Diagram has been publicly released. Software support for SBGN Process Diagram was developed concurrently with its specification in order to speed-up public adoption. Shared by the communities of biochemists, genomicians, theoreticians and computational biologists, SBGN languages will foster efficient storage, exchange and reuse of information on signalling pathways, metabolic networks and gene regulatory maps.

The Net Generation and E-Textbooks

The traditional college student of today is part of the Net Generation who has been raised in an era of instant access. Their communication and learning is complemented by the Internet, a major influence on this cohort. The regular method of contact is text messaging, instant messaging and cell phones. Learning methods for the Net Generation include Internet tools such as Web-CT, Blackboard, online courses, online journals and i-pod downloads. Are they ready to also change from print textbooks to Internet based textbooks? This paper describes the attitudes of some Net Generation students towards the usage of electronic textbooks. Three case studies were conducted: one class used an online textbook and two other classes used e-chapter supplements. Students were questioned on their perceptions of using and learning with e-textbooks. Their views describe some changing thoughts towards network connected media that is the mantra of this generation.

Systems Biology Graphical Notation: Process Description language Level 1

AbstractStandard graphical representations have played a crucial role in science and engineering throughout the last century. Without electrical symbolism, it is very likely that our industrial society would not have evolved at the same pace. Similarly, specialised notations such as the Feynmann notation or the process flow diagrams did a lot for the adoption of concepts in their own fields. With the advent of Systems Biology, and more recently of Synthetic Biology, the need for precise and unambiguous descriptions of biochemical interactions has become more pressing. While some ideas have been advanced over the last decade, with a few detailed proposals, no actual community standard has emerged. The Systems Biology Graphical Notation (SBGN) is a graphical representation crafted over several years by a community of biochemists, modellers and computer scientists. Three orthogonal and complementary languages have been created, the Process Diagrams, the Entity Relationship Diagrams and the Activity Flow Diagrams. Using these three idioms a scientist can represent any network of biochemical interactions, which can then be interpreted in an unambiguous way. The set of symbols used is limited, and the grammar quite simple, to allow its usage in textbooks and its teaching directly in high schools. The first level of the SBGN Process Diagram has been publicly released. Software support for SBGN Process Diagram was developed concurrently with its specification in order to speed-up public adoption. Shared by the communities of biochemists, genomicians, theoreticians and computational biologists, SBGN languages will foster efficient storage, exchange and reuse of information on signalling pathways, metabolic networks and gene regulatory maps.

Systems Biology Graphical Notation: Entity Relationship language Level 1

Standard graphical representations have played a crucial role in science and engineering throughout the last century. Without electrical symbolism, it is very likely that our industrial society would not have evolved at the same pace. Similarly, specialised notations such as the Feynmann notation or the process flow diagrams did a lot for the adoption of concepts in their own fields. With the advent of Systems Biology, and more recently of Synthetic Biology, the need for precise and unambiguous descriptions of biochemical interactions has become more pressing. While some ideas have been advanced over the last decade, with a few detailed proposals, no actual community standard has emerged. The Systems Biology Graphical Notation (SBGN) is a graphical representation crafted over several years by a community of biochemists, modellers and computer scientists. Three orthogonal and complementary languages have been created, the Process Descriptions, the Entity Relationships and the Activity Flows. Using these three idioms a scientist can represent any network of biochemical interactions, which can then be interpreted in an unambiguous way. The set of symbols used is limited, and the grammar quite simple, to allow its usage in textbooks and its teaching directly in high schools. The first level of the SBGN Entity Relationship language has been publicly released. Shared by the communities of biochemists, genomicians, theoreticians and computational biologists, SBGN languages will foster efficient storage, exchange and reuse of information on signalling pathways, metabolic networks and gene regulatory maps.

The Net Generation and E-Textbooks

The traditional college student of today is part of the Net Generation who has been raised in an era of instant access. Their communication and learning is complemented by the Internet, a major influence on this cohort (Roberts, 2005). The regular method of contact is text messaging, instant messaging and cell phones. Learning methods for the Net Generation include Internet tools such as Web-CT, Blackboard, online courses, online journals and i-pod downloads (Nicholas, 2008). Are they ready to also change from print textbooks to Internet based textbooks? This paper describes the attitudes of the Net Generation towards the usage of electronic textbooks. Two pilot studies were conducted with one class using an online textbook and another class using an e-chapter supplement. Students were surveyed for their attitudes on using and learning with e-textbooks. Their views depict the changing attitudes towards media as precipitated by network connectivity that is the mantra of this generation.

Language of textbooks in narrative subjects: Understanding words in the seventh grade of primary school

Hermetic textbook language poses a significant problem in education of the young in our country. The goal of this paper is to point out to the complexity of vocabulary in textbooks, which contributes to students' lack of understanding of what they are reading. Since we established that textbooks in narrative subjects - history, geography and biology - are mostly used during studying and that students mark them as especially difficult for understanding, the subject of this research is precisely the analysis of words which seventh-grade students from primary school state as unfamiliar on a randomly selected, but balanced in terms of length, textbook text of those subjects. The results of frequency analysis indicate that there are a lot of unfamiliar expert words, and frequently the same number, or even more, of common Serbian words in textbook texts, especially in history. Approximately the same or even larger number of unfamiliar words occurs in familiar texts when compared to unfamiliar, which indicates that the previous usage of texts does not contribute to their understanding. Based on correlation analysis referring to the number of unfamiliar words, frequency of textbook usage, perception of difficulty of the text in textbook, general and the achievement in the particular subject, it was determined that unfamiliar words are not only mentioned by students with low grades, although they do it more often, nor that only these students are the ones complaining how difficult textbooks are to them. Based on regression analysis, the number of unfamiliar words, especially in the history textbook, even figures as a predictor of success, which seems contradictory and can be interpreted differently. The results point out to the fact that inaccessibility of textbook language mostly does not guide the students to learn new words, but causes revolt and thus disables the development of language, scientific concepts and acquiring professional terminology, which remains inaccessible even after having been studied in school.

Literary education curriculum and institutional contexts: Textbook content and teachers’ textbook usage in Dutch literary education, 1968–2000

This article examines how curriculum content in secondary education has developed at the meso- and micro-levels. It does so via the case of Dutch literary education between 1968 and 2000. Textbooks and teachers may wish to focus on literary authors because of their alleged artistic merits or rather strive for literary authors considered likable by students. To examine this issue, we analyze the content of textbooks as well as teachers’ usage of them. Results show author representation in textbooks increasingly resembles students’ reading preferences at the expense of selections made by literary experts. At the same time, teachers have increasingly adopted textbooks that regarded students’ preferences the most. These trends seem to be the result of changes in the student population rather than teachers’ professional characteristics.

Systems Biology Graphical Notation: Process Diagram Level 1

AbstractStandard graphical representations have played a crucial role in science and engineering throughout the last century. Without electrical symbolism, it is very likely that our industrial society would not have evolved at the same pace. Similarly, specialised notations such as the Feynmann notation or the process flow diagrams did a lot for the adoption of concepts in their own fields. With the advent of Systems Biology, and more recently of Synthetic Biology, the need for precise and unambiguous descriptions of biochemical interactions has become more pressing. While some ideas have been advanced over the last decade, with a few detailed proposals, no actual community standard has emerged. The Systems Biology Graphical Notation (SBGN) is a graphical representation crafted over several years by a community of biochemists, modellers and computer scientists. Three orthogonal and complementary languages have been created, the Process Diagrams, the Entity Relationship Diagrams and the Activity Flow Diagrams. Using these three idioms a scientist can represent any network of biochemical interactions, which can then be interpreted in an unambiguous way. The set of symbols used is limited, and the grammar quite simple, to allow its usage in textbooks and its teaching directly in high schools. The first level of the SBGN Process Diagram has been publicly released. Software support for SBGN Process Diagram was developed concurrently with its specification in order to speed-up public adoption. Shared by the communities of biochemists, genomicians, theoreticians and computational biologists, SBGN languages will foster efficient storage, exchange and reuse of information on signalling pathways, metabolic networks and gene regulatory maps.

Textbook language: Incentive or obstacle

The criticism of the current language in school textbooks indicates the gravity of this problem in our environment and the need to solve it. The first step in approaching this problem is studying the reception of primary school textbooks. In the first part of the paper we discuss all primary school textbooks from the fifth to the eighth grade with regard to the frequency of textbook usage and the perception of the difficulty of textbook language. In the second part of the paper there is an additional analysis of history, geography, biology, physics and chemistry textbooks from the fifth to the eighth grade with regard to the reasons for which pupils find them difficult. This preliminary research comprised in total 120 pupils from an urban school, thirty from each fifth to eighth grade. We analyzed the textbooks of the Institute for Textbook Publishing and Teaching Aids, which are used most frequently in our educational practice, and hence can represent the general situation of the problem. Bearing in mind the limited size of the sample of pupils, the results are used only as an illustration and should encourage new studies on a more extensive sample. Textbook language is often difficult since it is mostly insufficiently comprehensible, longwinded and with many data. In natural sciences, physics and chemistry, pupils give up studying from the textbook. The textbooks in narrative subjects lead the way with respect to their usage, among which everybody finds history textbooks most difficult. Geography and biology textbooks were evaluated differently, depending on the grade and success of the pupils declaring themselves. The results present a guideline to the current and new writers of our textbooks, critics and publishing houses.

Electronic textbooks that transform how textbooks are used

PurposeThis paper's goals are to motivate the design of an electronic textbook that seeks to transform how textbooks are used inside and outside the classroom. In particular, it seeks to show that merely creating an electronic form of an existing paper textbook is not a sufficiently motivating condition for instructors and students to move from paper to electronic textbooks, and doing so misses much of the opportunities presented by electronic media to enhance learning from textbooks.Design/methodology/approachAn electronic textbook application running on Microsoft's TabletPC operating system was implemented and used as the primary text in three offerings of an Introductory Computer Science course, with one section used as a control group. Student learning was assessed via course examinations and overall grades, and student perceptions and use of the textbook were assessed via surveys.FindingsNo significant differences in student learning or textbook usage were observed between students using the electronic and paper versions of the textbook. The surveys indicated a generally neutral reaction to the electronic textbook.Research limitations/implicationsThe number of students used to evaluate the electronic textbook's effectiveness was small, and the text was not evaluated in multiple types of courses.Practical implicationsInstructors often teach and assess students in such a way that reading the text is not required for success. If instructors continue to assign textbooks, a way must be found to motivate their use and improve the way students use them.Originality/valueThis paper gives guidance to those seeking to design and implement electronic books in an educational setting.

Teachers' Use of Textbooks: Practice in Namibian science classrooms

Incidences of prescribed textbook usage in science classrooms in Namibia have been analysed using an approach adapted from linguistic analysis. Aspects of pedagogic purpose, text genre, and the social interactions between teachers and learners were used to characterise teacher and learner engagement with textbooks, and thus categorise their usage in relation to a national policy of learner-centred education. Results indicate a teacher dominated textbook use and a low frequency and restricted range of textbook references per lesson, with some 40% of the Senior Secondary classes observed making no use of their textbook in class. The major uses of textbooks in class were for diagrams and data, and to verify factual information. Occasionally, questions in textbooks were used as homework to test and/or consolidate knowledge. Pupils rarely initiated a reference to a textbook. It is suggested that if learners are to benefit fully from the investment in textbooks then their teachers need to be helped to use the resource in more constructive ways.

Textbooks Used in Bibliographic Control Education Courses

SUMMARY As part of the study reported in this paper, the usage of textbooks in bibliographic control education was also examined. This information, which is presented in the following sixteen tables (see the Appendix), was obtained by analyzing the Web sites of the 48 ALA-accredited LIS schools in the United States, excluding only the program at the University of Puerto Rico. The course description and the syllabus for each course were examined to determine the textbooks used. If a current syllabus was not available on the Web, the school's cataloging faculty was contacted by e-mail. In a few cases, telephone interviews were conducted to obtain the needed information. Data collection occurred between September 14, 2000 and February 12, 2001. From the 48 schools in this survey, it was found that 92 individual textbook titles were being used in ALA-accredited US graduate schools in the area of bibliographic control education. The total number of textbooks required for all the courses was 422 (a figure that is made up of these 92 individual titles). This averages to 8.79 bibliographic control textbooks per school or 2.12 textbooks per course.

Teacher and student usage of science textbooks

This study examines the differences between teachers' and students' perceptions of textbook usage in the science classroom. Four categories of use were identified: teacher directed student activities; teaching/studying guidance; as a source of information for the user and as preparation for assessment. The results of the study show that differences do occur between teachers and students with respect to their perceptions of the extent to which textbooks are used in the classroom and the purposes for which they are used, namely as a teaching/studying guide and as preparation for assessment. The findings of the study should be important to all those who use, write and publish high school science textbooks.

Pronouns, gender and sex in Norwegian

In Norwegian, the third-person singular pronoun is specified for gender, the masculine variant han being used for males and the feminine variant ho or hun for females. Han was traditionally used generically and sex-indefinitely. For ideological reasons, this usage has been opposed in recent years. At first, the Norwegian Language Council introduced a set of new guidelines for avoiding the use of generic and sex-indefinite han in school textbooks. After having second thoughts, the Council decided that the feminine pronoun should be accepted in these contexts, even if such a usage is at variance with the linguistic rules and at the same time introduces a new pattern of discrimination. The stages in the development of the policy are sketched out and new information presented about usage in generic and sex-indefinite contexts today. On the basis of this information, a comparison is made between the usage in textbooks and in various other kinds of literature. A possible scenario for the future is discussed in the conclusion.

Forging an Environmental Supports Bank for Vocabulary and Verbal Reasoning Testing in Zimbabwe

This paper describes the construction and validation of a bank of environmental supports for vocabulary and verbal reasoning tests in English in Zimbabwe. The bank exploits advances in corpus linguistics to provide systematic information on word usage in Zimba bwean school textbooks. Correlations with ranked item difficulties of existing texts confirmed the validity of the bank for vocabulary tasks, which was higher for a sample from less privileged schools. The bank showed less capacity to support the verbal reasoning task. At this juncture it is not possible to discern whether the fault lies with limitations of the bank or with the artificiality of the task.

Mathematics Usage in Secondary Science Courses and Textbooks

Mathematics Usage in Secondary Science Courses and Textbooks

A clarification of the IS curve and the aggregate demand curve

This paper clarifies the current textbook interpretations of the IS curve and the aggregate demand (AD) curve. Most macroeconomic textbooks portray the IS curve as representing equilibrium in the product, goods, or commodity market. This paper illustrates that in flexible-price models the IS curve does not necessarily portray equilibrium in the goods market because the textbooks introduce two contradictory notions of equilibrium. Furthermore, it will be shown that, contrary to popular textbook usage, the AD curve, which is derived from the IS-LM framework, is not the economy's effective demand curve for goods.

Application of unobtrusive measures to the study of textbook usage by college students.

Application of unobtrusive measures to the study of textbook usage by college students.

Application of unobtrusive measures to the study of textbook usage by college students.

Application of unobtrusive measures to the study of textbook usage by college students.