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Unleashing the Power of Learning Analytics in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
No full textThis chapter explores how artificial intelligence (AI)-driven learning analytics (LA) might help how students learn. With the increased use of digital tools in education, massive volumes of student data are produced, necessitating effective analysis to improve learning processes and results. LA provides a systematic way to measuring, collecting, and analyzing data, allowing for insights into student performance, engagement, and targeted interventions. The incorporation of AI, particularly generative AI (GenAI), expands the capabilities of LA by offering predictive and prescriptive models that provide real-time feedback, and identify at-risk learners. However, using AI with LA is not without its challenges. Ethical considerations for data privacy, transparency, and regulatory compliance remain critical. This chapter emphasizes the need for strong frameworks and regulations, such as the European Union’s AI Act and UK guidelines, to ensure responsible AI use in education. It also discusses the practical uses of AI-powered LA with four applications, such as early alert systems and personalized career guidance, while emphasizing the significance of clear legal frameworks. It continues by advocating for a balanced strategy that prioritizes ethical issues in order to assure both educational impact and student well-being
What effective mentoring looks like for Practice Tutors
No full textWhat does effective mentoring look like for Practice Tutors? Our research shows how flexible, peer-informed approaches boost confidence, shape workload, and strengthen staff development at the Open University
How Accurately Can Obscured Galaxy Luminosities Be Measured Using Spectral Energy Distribution Fitting of Near- through Far-infrared Observations?
No full textInfrared-luminous galaxies are important sites of stellar and black hole mass assembly at most redshifts. Their luminosities are often estimated by fitting spectral energy distribution (SED) models to near- to far-infrared data, but the dependence of these estimates on the data used is not well understood. Here, using observations simulated from a well-studied local sample, we compare the effects of wavelength coverage, signal-to-noise ratio, flux calibration, angular resolution, and redshift on the recovery of starburst, active galactic nucleus (AGN), and host luminosities. We show that the most important factors are wavelength coverage that spans the peak in a SED, and dense wavelength sampling. Such observations recover starburst and AGN infrared luminosities with systematic bias below 20%. Starburst luminosities are best recovered with far-infrared observations, while AGN luminosities are best recovered with near- and mid-infrared observations, though the recovery of both are enhanced with near/mid-infrared and far-infrared observations, respectively. Host luminosities are best recovered with near/far-infrared observations, but are usually biased low, by ≳20%. The recovery of starburst and AGN luminosity is enhanced by observing at high angular resolution. Starburst-dominated systems show more biased recovery of luminosities than do AGN-dominated systems. As redshift increases, far-infrared observations become more capable and mid-infrared observations less capable at recovering luminosities. Our results highlight the transformative power of a far-infrared instrument with dense wavelength coverage, from tens to hundreds of microns, for studying infrared-luminous galaxies. We tabulate estimates of systematic bias and random error for use with JWST and other observatories
Addressing Sustainability Challenges through Social Innovations and CSR Communication: A Multi-sector and International Exploration
No full textFactors underlying public attitudes towards loneliness among elderly people with chronic illnesses
No full textThe objectives of the study were to examine public attitudes towards the joint incidence of loneliness, old age, and chronic illness and to identify possible influences on stigmatising attitudes towards lonely elderly individuals with chronic illnesses sometimes held by members of the general public. A survey questionnaire methodology was applied involving 604 responses to a questionnaire that queried, among other things, a participant's levels of ableism, ageism, individualism, empathetic disposition, and religiosity. The demographic profile of the sample members matched that of the UK as a whole in terms of key demographics. Findings from the study indicated that ableism, empathy, ageism, and individualism had significant effects on attitudes, as did certain demographic factors (gender, age, and educational background). Religiosity was not significant. Outcomes to the study have implications for the design and execution of anti-stigma campaigns intended to improve public attitudes towards lonely elderly people with chronic illnesses
The effect of early diagenetic processes on the quantification of fossil micrometeorite abundance and flux in the geological record
No full textFossil micrometeorites (MMs) recovered from lithified sedimentary rocks, particularly iron‐rich (I‐type) cosmic spherules (CSs) provide valuable insights into past dust‐forming events. Their abundances, when combined with estimates of local sedimentation rates can be used to reconstruct the flux of extraterrestrial dust. However, their preservation in the geological record is highly susceptible to postdepositional diagenetic processes, complicating their quantification and past flux calculations. This study investigated lenticular calcitic concretions as potential sites of enhanced preservation of fossil MMs. A total of 17–18 I‐types (but no silicate dominated spherules, S‐types) were recovered from Cenomanian sediments within the Cretaceous Chalk Supergroup at Lulworth Cove, England. The I‐types, identified by optical and SEM–EDX analyses, exhibited typical dendritic textures and varying degrees of alteration, including mottled surfaces and loss of Ni and Cr by leaching. Calcitic concretions yielded a comparable concentration of I‐types to the surrounding hosting marl, but due to the added carbonate cementation during their growth, preservation per original sediment volume was shown to be enhanced (potentially by up to ~60%). Calcitic concretions can therefore act as microenvironments that enhance fossil MM preservation by limiting complete dissolution and loss of I‐types. To constrain possible diagenetic effects on fossil MM quantification, future studies should compare cosmic dust yields across multiple sites exposing the same targeted sedimentary horizon
Breathless BEARS: [O iii ] 88 μm Emission of Dusty Star-Forming Galaxies at z = 3 − 4
No full textWe present [O iii] 88 μm observations towards four Herschel-selected dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs; log10μLIR/L⊙ = 13.5 − 14 at z = 2.9 − 4) using the Atacama Compact Array (ACA) in Bands 9 and 10. We detect [O iii] emission in all four targets at >3σ, finding line luminosity ratios ( to 10−3) similar to local spiral galaxies, and an order of magnitude lower when compared with local dwarf galaxies as well as high-redshift Lyman-break galaxies. Using the short-wavelength capabilities of the ACA, these observations bridge the populations of galaxies with [O iii] emission at low redshift from space missions and at high redshift from ground-based studies. The difference in [O iii] emission between these DSFGs and other high-redshift galaxies reflects their more evolved stellar populations (>10 Myr), larger dust reservoirs (Mdust ∼ 109 − 11 M⊙), metal-rich interstellar medium (Z ∼ 0.5 − 2 Z⊙), and likely weaker ionization radiation fields. Ancillary [C ii] emission on two targets provide ratios at 0.3 − 0.9, suggesting that ionized gas represents a smaller fraction of the total gas reservoir in DSFGs, consistent with theoretical models of DSFGs as transitional systems between gas-rich, turbulent disks and more evolved, gas-poor galaxies. Expanding samples of DSFGs with [O iii] emission will be key to place this heterogeneous, poorly-understood galactic phase in its astrophysical context
Front Cover: Revisiting CN − Formation Mechanisms in Electron Collisions with Benzonitrile (ChemPhysChem 1/2026)
No full textGraphical Abstract
The Front Cover shows how aromatic cyano compounds might have played an important role in the molecular complexity associated with the origin of life. Benzonitrile interacts with low-energy electrons to produce CN− anions through coupling between π* and σ* orbitals, which leads to C─CN bond cleavage. More information can be found in the Research Article by L. M. Cornetta, F. Ferreira da Silva and co-workers (DOI: 10.1002/cphc.202500206)
The Islamic Republic of Iran and International and Regional Orders: A Roundtable Discussion
No full textSAGE-RAI: Design Patterns for Transparent RAG Systems
No full textRetrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) systems are increasingly deployed in web-based educational environments, yet transparency can be seen as a primarily ethical, and, too often, optional, concern, rather than foundational. This paper presents design patterns for building transparent RAG systems, derived from developing and deploying SAGE-RAI, an advanced multi-purpose RAG system, in an educational context. Through systematic evaluation combining quantitative rating data (n=26, mean rating=4.62/5) and qualitative interviews (n=4), we demonstrate that transparency serves dual pedagogical and ethical functions. Our empirical findings reveal high user satisfaction (92.3% rating 4-5 stars) while identifying critical tensions between AI assistance and learning independence. Our findings suggest that as RAG systems increasingly mediate access to web-based knowledge, transparency must evolve from an optional feature to an architectural requirement