<Emphasis Type="Italic">Negativity</Emphasis> and the <Emphasis Type="Italic">new</Emphasis> in John Dewey’s theory of learning and democracy

Zusammenfassung Negativit?t und das Neue in John Deweys Theorie vom Lernen und der Demokratie — Für einen erneuten Blick auf Lernkulturen Die Rolle des Neuen in Lernprozessen bezieht sich auf die grundlegende Frage, wie Lernen überhaupt m?glich ist und wo es beginnt. In diesem Beitrag wird zun?chst John Deweys Lernkonzeption als Basis für die Analyse entwickelt. Dann wird die Beziehung zwischen Negativit?t und dem Neuen erarbeitet. Beim übergang vom Alten zum Neuen und vom Gewussten zum Ungewussten entstehen Verwirrungen und Schwierigkeiten, die in diesem Papier als Negativit?t im Lernprozess untersucht werden. Au?erdem vermittelt der Beitrag Einsichten in praktische p?dagogische Probleme, etwa bezüglich der Frage, wie Lehrer und andere Erzieher Lernprozesse f?rdern und wie Lernkulturen als besondere Lernumwelten Lehr-Lern-Prozesse unterstützen k?nnen.

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Negativity and the new in John Dewey’s theory of learning and democracy Toward a renewed look at learning cultures

Summary The role of the New in learning processes relates to basic questions of how learning is possible, and where learning begins. Using John Dewey’s concept of learning as the basis for analysis, this inquiry looks into the relation between Negativity and the New and seeks to uncover the negativity in learning processes associated with the perplexities and difficulties which arise in the transitions from Old to New and Known to Unknown. Furthermore, it offers insight into practical pedagogical issues, such as how teachers and educators can support learning processes and how learning cultures, as particular environments for learning, can assist processes of teaching and learning.

     

The <Emphasis Type="Italic">Synergies</Emphasis> research–practice partnership project: a <Emphasis Type="Italic">2020 Vision</Emphasis> case study

This paper, describes Synergies, an on-going longitudinal study and design effort, being conducted in a diverse, under-resourced community in Portland, Oregon, with the goal of measurably improving STEM learning, interest and participation by early adolescents, both in school and out of school. Authors examine how the work of this particular research–practice partnership is attempting to accommodate the six principles outlined in this issue: (1) to more accurately reflect learning as a lifelong process occurring across settings, situations and time frames; (2) to consider what STEM content is worth learning; (3) to examine learning as a cultural process, involving varied repertoires of practice across learners’ everyday lives; (4) to directly involve practitioners (and learners) in the research process; (5) to document how existing and emerging technologies and new media are, and will continue, to shape and redefine the content and practice of STEM learning research; and, (6) to take into account the broader socio-cultural–political contexts of the needs and concerns of the larger global society.     

Apigenin-7-<Emphasis Type="Italic">O</Emphasis>-β-<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">d</Emphasis>-glycoside isolation from the highly copper-tolerant plant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Elsholtzia splendens</Emphasis>

Elsholtzia splendens (Lamiaceae) is a copper-tolerant plant species growing on copper deposits in the south of China. Chromatographic separation of n-BuOH extracts from the flowering aerial biomass afforded apigenin-7-O-β-d-glycoside, using macroporous resin, Sephadex? LH-20 gel, polyamide resin as well as preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (P-HPLC) columns. Chemical structure was elucidated using HPLC/ESI-MS (electrospray ionization-mass spectrometry), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR), and ¹D- and ²D-nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Apigenin-7-O-β-d-glycoside could be the post-harvesting product from E. splendens biomass.     

Euclid and ‘<Emphasis Type="Italic">The Elements</Emphasis>’

When a crime is committed and the culprit responsible for the crime is nabbed, the job of the investigators is not over. To convince the judge, they have to prove beyond doubt that it was the accused who committed the crime. Likewise, mathematical statements require proofs for their veracity to be established. Further, to make these statements precise we need to have a set of proper definitions. It was Euclid, who more than two thousand years ago, started this tradition when he bequeathed to the world his book entitled The Elements. This tradition has continued since then. Definitions, proofs besides axioms have become an inalienable part of mathematical lore. We owe all this to Euclid, one of the greatest pioneers of rigour and reasoning. In this article we discuss the work of Euclid.     

Assessing the productivity of schools through two “what works” inputs, <Emphasis Type="Italic">teacher quality</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">teacher effectiveness</Emphasis>

This paper is a critique of the school education productivity evaluation and two research constructs germane to it, teacher quality and teacher effectiveness. The paper will argue that policy inceptions of teacher quality and teacher effectiveness proxy for the productive capacity of schools and more broadly, school systems. Student achievement scores as determined by high stakes testing are the school education outputs of policy significance in current times while inputs thought to matter are increasingly tapered towards the particular characteristics of classroom teachers, specifically their quality (usually credentials) and effectiveness (teaching behaviours). The paper finds that attributing school system success largely to teachers and their work, especially in terms of their classroom teaching practice(s), distorts the school education policy agenda so that evaluations of school productivity purely serve accountability purposes.     

Vapour–Liquid Equilibrium for <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-Dimethylformamide + Benzene + Thiophene via Gibbs Ensemble Molecular Simulation

The selection and design of an optimal solvent for extractive distillation require reliable vapour–liquid phase equilibrium data and knowledge of extraction mechanisms. Compared with time-consuming experiments, molecular simulation presents great potential in research on the properties of fluids. Therefore, in this work, Gibbs ensemble Monte Carlo was applied to successfully predict the vapour–liquid phase equilibrium data of binary and ternary systems containing benzene, thiophene and N, N-dimethylformamide (DMF) at P = 101.3 kPa. The explicit hydrogen version of the transferable potentials for phase equilibria potential model was chosen for benzene and thiophene, whereas the OPLS potential model was selected for DMF. The predicted phase diagrams were compared with experimental data and the UNIQUAC thermodynamic model. A good agreement was obtained, which corroborated the validity of the potential models. In addition, the extraction mechanism was explored by radial distribution function (RDF) of the liquid-phase structure. The RDFs showed that thiophene and benzene shared a similar liquid-phase structure because of the intermolecular interaction. The distinct difference between the RDFs of DMF/benzene and those of DMF/thiophene is that the oxygen atom of DMF is more associated with hydrogen atoms of thiophene than that of benzene, which may be responsible for the extraction effect of DMF.     

Syntheses and characterizations of alloyed Co<Subscript><Emphasis Type=\"Italic\">x</Emphasis></Subscript>Ni<Subscript>1−<Emphasis Type=\"Italic\">x</Emphasis></Subscript>O nanocrystals

Alloying is an effective way to manipulate the composition and physico-chemical properties of functional materials. We demonstrated the syntheses of alloyed Co _x Ni_1?x O nanocrystals using a nonaqueous approach, with x continuously tuned from 0 to 1 by varying the molar ratios of the cobalt precursor in the reagents. The morphological, structural, and compositional properties of the alloyed Co _x Ni_1?x O nanocrystals were characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS). The results showed that the cobalt and nickel atoms were homogeneously distributed in the alloyed nanocrystals. The as-prepared Co _x Ni_1?x O nanocrystals can be applied as the hole-transporting layers in polymer light emitting diodes (PLEDs). Our study provides a good example for the syntheses of alloyed oxide nanocrystals with continuously tunable composition.     

Surviving the “School of Slavery”: Acculturation in Sharon Draper’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">Copper Sun</Emphasis> and Joyce Hansen’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">The Captive</Emphasis>

Although children’s literature has long alluded to cultural connections between Africans and African Americans, very few texts establish clear lines of influence between particular African ethnic groups and African American characters and communities. Joyce Hansen’s The Captive (1994) and Sharon Draper’s Copper Sun (2006) stand out in portraying protagonists Kofi’s and Amari’s reliance on their past upbringing as Ashanti and Ewe, respectively. As Kofi and Amari endure the traumas of the Middle Passage and slavery in eighteenth-century America, they adapt by relying on their past socialization in traditional West African societies. The two novels challenge the idea of cultural erasure promoted in Elizabeth Yates’ Amos Fortune, Free Man (1950), which is still a fixture on multicultural reading lists for middle school students. The Captive and Copper Sun do provide sharply contrasting visions of their protagonist’s relationships to American society. Copper Sun indicates that a black girl’s concerns, including her need for subsistence and protection, and her desire for creative expression and personal autonomy, can complement the economic and military interests of the state. By contrast, The Captive insists on the necessity for its emancipated protagonist to maintain an adversarial role within a stratified, white-dominated U.S. culture. The novels thus highlight the very different messages about social identity and participation that recent multicultural children’s literature can convey.     

Watching the Detectives: Mark Haddon’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time</Emphasis> and Kevin Brooks’ <Emphasis Type="Italic">Martyn Pig</Emphasis>

Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time was the cross-over publishing sensation of 2003. It has been the subject of widespread critical and commercial acclaim and has won prestigious UK prizes including the Whitbread Book of the Year and the Guardian’s Children’s Fiction Prize. It is still enjoying considerable commercial success in the best-seller lists. This essay reads Haddon’s novel alongside Kevin Brooks’ Martyn Pig (2002), winner of the Branford Boase Award and short-listed for the Clip Carnegie Medal. Brooks’ hero, Martyn has a troubled teenage life, and like Haddon’s Christopher, he turns to detective fiction in order to shape his own experience. The essay develops the idea that “every life is in search of a narrative” (Richard Kearney, On Stories, p. 4) and argues that detective fiction, in particular, provides structures that allow Brooks’ and Haddon’s first person narrators to make sense of their confusing worlds.Ruth Gilbert is senior lecturer in English at University College, Winchester, England. She has published on gender and sexuality in early modern literature. Recent research has focused on memory and identity in contemporary British Jewish fiction. This article stems from an ongoing interest in teenage and “cross-over” fiction and creative writing. She is currently writing a novel for teenagers.     

ASSESSING STUDENTS’ EXPERIMENTATION PROCESSES IN <Emphasis Type="Italic">GUIDED INQUIRY</Emphasis>

In recent science education, experimentation features ever more strongly as a method of inquiry in science classes rather than as a means to illustrate phenomena. Ideas and materials to teach inquiry abound. Yet, tools for assessing students’ achievement in their processes of experimentation are lacking. The present study assumes a basal, non-exclusive process model of inquiry in experimentation that can be considered a consensus from multiple approaches: (1) finding an idea/hypothesis, (2) planning and conducting an experiment, and (3) drawing conclusions from evidence. The study confronted 339 secondary level students with three guided inquiry experimentation tasks on 3 days. Selected working groups were videotaped while experimenting. All the students reported their processes in a structured report form simultaneous to their progress. The generated videos and reports were analysed in a two-stepped way: (1) Experimentation was coded according to the process model into process plots; on basis of these, (2) process-focused performance scores were calculated considering logical coherence and immediacy of the inquiry processes. Correlative analyses show for two of the tasks that the report format yielded comparable performance scores to those generated from video data after students have had opportunity to learn the surveying formats (r _S?>?.80). A first suggestion of a process-oriented assessment tool for inquiry in experimentation can be drawn from this study. It might be used to inform and complement secondary science instruction.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Clockwork</Emphasis>: Philip Pullman’s Posthuman Fairy Tale

This article examines the connections between posthumanism and narrative form in Philip Pullman’s Clockwork. Beginning with an account of Pullman’s materialism, it argues that the novel represents consciousness and agency as emergent properties of matter, a position that manifests itself first in the tale’s figurative language and later in the cybernetic inventions of Dr. Kalmenius. As Pullman effaces the boundaries between animate and inanimate, human and non-human, he generates uncanny effects that are best understood in terms of the posthuman condition and narrative modes that reject liberal humanist models of subjectivity. Clockwork’s uncanny elements, metafictive qualities, and distribution of narrative voice across multiple perspectives thus represent narrative accommodations demanded by the tale’s rejection of the Cartesian mind/body dualism that grounds the liberal humanist subject. Clockwork’s acceptance of the posthuman condition is, however, incomplete and anxiety-laden, and the fairy-tale transformation of Prince Florian at the end of the novel represents a partial recuperation of liberal humanist morality.     

Dystopian Visions of Global Capitalism: Philip Reeve’s <Emphasis Type=\"Italic\">Mortal Engines</Emphasis> and M.T Anderson’s <Emphasis Type=\"Italic\">Feed</Emphasis>

This article examines Philip Reeve’s novel for children, Mortal Engines, and M.T. Anderson’s young adult novel, Feed, by assessing these dystopias as prototypical texts of what Ulrich Beck calls risk society. Through their visions of a fictional future, the two narratives explore the hazards created by contemporary techno-economic progress, predatory global politics and capitalist excesses of consumption. They implicitly pose the question: “In the absence of a happy ending for western civilisation, what kind of children can survive in dystopia?”     

What has <Emphasis Type="Italic">Harry Potter</Emphasis> Done for Me? Children’s Reflections on their ‘<Emphasis Type="Italic">Potter</Emphasis> Experience’

This article reports findings from a small-scale focus-group study funded by the British Academy. Drawing on Herbert Marsh and Richard Shavelson’s notion of “Academic Self-Concept” and David Barton and Mary Hamilton’s view of literacy as context-specific social practices, the authors examine what young British Harry Potter enthusiasts perceive as the influence of the novels on their subsequent reading behaviour and academic development. Specifically, they consider whether these children feel that Harry Potter has helped improve their literacy skills and whether they think the books have changed their attitudes to reading. Moreover, the article sheds light on the role of the films and the possible effect of gender. The authors conclude that the Potter enthusiasts they have interviewed see the series as formative in terms of their literacy. However, regarding gender, intra-group variation (differences among individual readers in a group of either boys or girls) is far more significant than inter-group variation (differences between single-sex groups of boys and girls).     

Delay-dependent robust<Emphasis Type="Italic">H</Emphasis><Subscript>∞</Subscript> control for a class of uncertain switched systems with time delay

For linear switched system with both parameter uncertainties and time delay, a delay-dependent sufficient condition for the existence of a new robustH _∞ feedback controller was formulated in nonlinear matrix inequalities solvable by an LMI-based iterative algorithm. Compared with the conventional state-feedback controller, the proposed controller can achieve better robust control performance since the delayed state is utilized as additional feedback information and the parameters of the proposed controllers are changed synchronously with the dynamical characteristic of the system. This design method was also extended to the case where only delayed state is available for the controller. The example of balancing an inverted pendulum on a cart demonstrates the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed design methods. Project (No. 2002CB312200) supported by the National Basic Research Program (973) of China     

When Participants Don’t Wish to Participate in Participatory Action Research,and When Others Participate on Their Behalf: The Representation of Communities by <Emphasis Type="Italic">Real</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Faux</Emphasis> Participants

This article focuses on methodological and epistemological issues arising from a research project with two Gypsy communities (2010–2012) in the South West of England. Although the two communities seem to share cultural roots and values, and live within a few miles of each other, they have contrasting experiences within the education system and very different relationships with the surrounding mainstream communities. The article explores difficulties emerging as a consequence of the contrasting positions of the participant communities, the differing research aspirations and practices across the research team, and also the tensions between ethnographic work and participatory action research. It queries the problematic nature of participation, and proposes the concept of the faux-participant.     

The Effects of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Positive Action</Emphasis> on Preschoolers’ Social–Emotional Competence and Health Behaviors

Children from low-income families are at greater risk for poor social–emotional development and physical health and may be in need of intervention. This study examined the extent to which the Positive Action (PA) preschool lessons improved low-income children’s social–emotional competence and health behaviors. Mixed findings emerged with regard to whether the lessons facilitated growth in child outcomes. Results showed positive effects of PA on children’s directly assessed social problem solving skills and their parent-rated social–emotional competence and health behaviors. Unexpectedly, program effects on teacher ratings of social–emotional competence were in the opposite direction. These findings provide preliminary evidence that PA may be effective in promoting positive social–emotional and health behavior outcomes for children, particularly when outcomes are assessed directly and by parents.     

Low-Temperature Selective Catalytic Reduction of NO with NH<Subscript>3</Subscript> over Fe–Ce–O<Subscript><Emphasis Type="Italic">x</Emphasis></Subscript> Catalysts

In this study, we used a simple impregnation method to prepare Fe–Ce–O _x catalysts and tested them regarding their low-temperature (200–300 °C) selective catalytic reduction (SCR) of NO using NH₃. We investigated the effects of Fe/Ce molar ratio, the gas hourly space velocity (GHSV), the stability and SO₂/H₂O resistance of the catalysts. The results showed that the FeCe(1:6)O _x (Ce/Fe molar ratio is 1:6) catalyst, which has some ordered parallel channels, exhibited good SCR performance. The FeCe(1:6)O _x catalyst had the highest NO conversion with an activity of 94–99% at temperatures between 200 and 300 °C at a space velocity of 28,800 h^?1. The NO conversion for the FeCe(1:6)O _x catalyst also reached 80–98% between 200 and 300 °C at a space velocity of 204,000 h^?1. In addition, the FeCe(1:6)O _x catalyst demonstrated good stability in a 10-h SCR reaction at 200–300 °C. Even in the presence of SO₂ and H₂O, the FeCe(1:6)O _x catalyst exhibited good SCR performance.     

A disputed evidence on obesity: comparison of the effects of <Emphasis Type=\"Italic\">Rcan2</Emphasis><Superscript>−/−</Superscript> and <Emphasis Type=\"Italic\">Rps6kb1</Emphasis><Superscript>−/−</Superscript> mutations on growth and body weight in C57BL/6J mice

It is widely accepted that body weight and adipose mass are tightly regulated by homeostatic mechanisms, in which leptin plays a critical role through hypothalamic pathways, and obesity is a result of homeostatic disorder. However, in C57BL/6J mice, we found that Rcan2 increases food intake and plays an important role in the development of age- and diet-induced obesity through a leptin-independent mechanism. RCAN2 was initially identified as a thyroid hormone (T3)-responsive gene in human fibroblasts. Expression of RCAN2 is regulated by T3 through the PI3K-Akt/PKB-mTOR-Rps6kb1 signaling pathway. Intriguingly, both Rcan2^?/? and Rps6kb1^?/? mutations were reported to result in lean phenotypes in mice. In this study we compared the effects of these two mutations on growth and body weight in C57BL/6J mice. We observed reduced body weight and lower fat mass in both Rcan2^?/? and Rps6kb1^?/? mice compared to the wild-type mice, and we reported other differences unique to either the Rcan2^?/? or Rps6kb1^?/? mice. Firstly, loss of Rcan2 does not directly alter body length; however, Rcan2^?/? mice exhibit reduced food intake. In contrast, Rps6kb1^?/? mice exhibit abnormal embryonic development, which leads to smaller body size and reduced food intake in adulthood. Secondly, when fed a normal chow diet, Rcan2^?/? mice weigh significantly more than Rps6kb1^?/? mice, but both Rcan2^?/? and Rps6kb1^?/? mice develop similar amounts of epididymal fat. On a high-fat diet, Rcan2^?/? mice gain body weight and fat mass at slower rates than Rps6kb1^?/? mice. Finally, using the double-knockout mice (Rcan2^?/?Rps6kb1^?/?), we demonstrate that concurrent loss of Rcan2 and Rps6kb1 has an additive effect on body weight reduction in C57BL/6J mice. Our data suggest that Rcan2 and Rps6kb1 mutations both affect growth and body weight of mice, though likely through different mechanisms.     

“A Constant Transit of Finding”: Fantasy as Realisation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pan’s Labyrinth</Emphasis>

This article considers Guillermo Del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth as a text which utilises key codes and conventions of children’s literature as a means of encountering the trauma of Fascism. The article begins by placing Pan’s Labyrinth at a contextual crossroads involving fairy tale and a Spanish cinematic tradition and considers the significance of the text as a hybrid creation. It then explores some of the tropes and motifs that are re-imagined within the narrative. There follows an investigation of the film as a testament to the importance of fiction and fantasy when faced with the very real consequences of war, oppression and trauma. Finally, Pan’s Labyrinth is considered alongside a heritage of children’s literature whose motifs, symbols and figures are remarkably available for appropriation, re-invention and renewal.