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The purpose of this study was to examine what effect performer's bodily movement may have on listeners' (N = 103) perceptions of a choral ensemble performance. A 34-voice choir was audio/video recorded performing two different musical excerpts. Each excerpt was recorded twice, once with movement and once without movement, for a total of four audio/video recordings. Additionally, the audio from each of these recordings was isolated and used as a separate stimuli. Participants were presented each stimuli (movement/non-movement, audio only/audio + video), and asked to rate each for expressivity and style. The factor of audio/video was not found to have consistently significant differences in rating. However, there was a consistent interaction effect between these two stimuli, suggesting that both the visual and auditory differences when using movement conversely effected the listeners' perception. College major did not prove to be a consistent indicator, but membership in a choral ensemble significantly impacted ratings. Implications may include a greater effect of movement when viewed by the listener than simply what can be perceived in the aural stimuli alone. Suggestions for further research include additional study between choral and instrumental music.

The primary purpose of this paper is to describe the variety of active engagements that characterize student behaviors in active learning classrooms (ALCs) across an undergraduate degree program. The number of different engagement types observed during a single class meeting varied between two and eight across 23 different courses. Three forms of engagement accounted for nearly 75% of all observed time, regardless of the subgroups (e.g., consistent in STEM vs Non-STEM courses, lower division vs upper division courses). In addition, unique patterns of student engagement characterized the pedagogical "signature" of a given course. We conclude that intensive class observation focused on student engagement not only has value for comprehensive undergraduate program review but also serves as a lever that invites faculty reflection on pedagogical practice toward course improvement.

The Department of Health in England released a new health research strategy in 2006 with far-reaching implications for both health research and research management. The explicit policy shift is towards centres of excellence and away from historical block allocations of funding to National Health Service (NHS) healthcare organisations--with these replaced by new nationally competitive funding streams. Academic researchers wishing to access these new and rich funding sources need to work more closely with healthcare providers, as grants money will be paid through the NHS. As a result, the NHS needs to develop pre- and post- award skills in addition to its traditional governance role in research management. This has led some institutions to propose joint research support offices between themselves and the NHS. This paper explores the issues raised by these developments, concentrating on the predictors for success (or failure) of these proposed new institutional arrangements as identified in the partnership literature. Implications for research management are also discussed. (Contains 3 figures.)

This paper uses literature on faculty worklife and findings from a recent study conducted by the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP) to shed light on the sources and extent of administrative burden experienced by faculty engaged in federal grant research. Discussion focuses on the implications for research administrators, including strategies for designing faculty support services that take into account a variety of factors that motivate academic engagement.

This laboratory experiment leverages the pedagogical value and multidisciplinary nature of biodiesel production from vegetable oil to introduce students to continuous-flow chemistry, a modern and rapidly growing approach to chemical synthesis. An interdisciplinary approach exposes students to the practical and conceptual aspects of modern continuous-flow chemistry while simultaneously reinforcing core organic chemistry techniques and investing students in issues of sustainability. Students screen reaction conditions in flow through an inquiry-guided approach and make evidence-based decisions to accomplish the sustainable conversion of waste cooking oil into biofuel. The laboratory experiment is designed to be highly modular and can be completed in two, three, five, or eight laboratory periods. By incorporating the burgeoning field of continuous-flow chemistry into the educational infrastructure, the experiments allow students to develop skills that are highly valued in the modern chemical workforce.

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to investigate the perceptions of students and teachers regarding the engagement of creativity within choral classes. Participants rated their perceptions of the degree to which certain activities were creative. Middle/high school chorus students (N = 314) and teachers (N = 11) completed a survey measuring the importance of purposes of music education. Most students found chorus to include creative activities, but were unable to explain which activity precipitated the creativity. Results from teacher surveys showed they valued creativity but addressed it infrequently. Interviews were conducted with two teachers, with focus groups for eight students. Findings suggested that students varied by age on process/product orientation, and generally stated that creative activities were absent from their classes. Teachers were most influenced by a lack of confidence in leading creativity lessons. Recommendations include research on teacher preparation programmes' inclusion of creativity and professional development opportunities.

PRINCE2, which stands for Projects in Controlled Environments, is a project management method covering the organisation, management, and control of projects and is widely used in both government and commercial IT and building projects in the UK. This paper describes the application of PRINCE2 to the management of large clinical trials (specifically, of a Phase III trial of a candidate microbicide to prevent vaginally acquired HIV infection). It reviews the challenge of ensuring that the project management tools add value to the project overall and are not perceived as an overly administrative burden. It reviews the requirement for high level summary reports for use by an executive committee and funding bodies, highlighting the reasons for taking this approach--in particular, not only to manage the science, but to link expenditure to activities at geographically separate trial sites and to key performance indicators, and to provide tools for monitoring risks and possible re-alignment of budgets to reflect changing activities and outputs by collaborators. The paper considers the wider costs and benefits to researchers and funders of taking this approach and explores implications for research administrators and managers at institutions involved in large, complex collaborative research projects, whether clinical or not. (Contains 3 tables and 2 figures.)

The increasing complexity and diversity of a typical portfolio of research awards coupled with advancing technology makes successful implementation and delivery of system benefits more challenging than ever. Moreover, the role of systems in knowledge management is a fundamental issue faced by all research active organizations. One of the principal drivers for introducing better systems should be to serve the academic mission and make life easier for researchers; yet most appear to perform conversely, perhaps sacrificing potential benefits to meet the requirements of administration. The principal challenge thus is to deliver a system that meets the needs of both academic and administrative communities. This paper provides a commentary on the experience gained within a research office following implementation of two systems (one pre-award, the other post-award) and identifies key elements for successful delivery. The paper contains suggestions, based on our experience, of best practices and techniques that research administrators might adopt to ensure a well-managed project and its implementation. It concludes how, post implementation, users may begin to derive maximum benefit from systems and points to the advantages that high-quality knowledge management can offer a range of stakeholders. (Contains 1 table and 1 figure.)

A case study is described that examines the beliefs and practices of a university instructor who teaches regularly in an active learning classroom. His perspective provides insights into the pedagogical practices that drive his success in these learning spaces.

In this article, the author reflects on research management and administration (RMA) as a profession. RMA arose from the need to manage growth in the number and complexity of research awards over the last fifty years, and is an activity and profession that continues to mature. It has grown in parallel with the increasing complexity of research funding, which is often larger in scale, milestone driven, multi-partner, multi-discipline, required to demonstrate impact, and subject to more audit, and arguably, greater governance and bureaucracy. It is now commonplace to find a dedicated research office in the majority of universities, particularly those that are research-intensive institutions, whose role is to offer and provide support to the individual researcher and also represent institutional needs. The majority of people employed in these offices are now highly skilled, experienced, and often expert practitioners. Gone are the days when research administrators were deemed to be "just a clerical, non-academic function." The scope of functions typically found within the remit of the research office continues to expand as the policy and funding environment changes and it is now commonplace to find teams that support policy, strategy and systems, research development and pre-award support, project and contract management, financial and post-award support, research governance and ethics and enterprise and innovation. (Contains 1 table.)