Thinking in action: Some insights from cognitive sport psychology

Historically, cognitive researchers have largely ignored the domain of sport in their quest to understand how the mind works. This neglect is due, in part, to the limitations of the information processing paradigm that dominated cognitive psychology in its formative years. With the emergence of the embodiment approach to cognition, however, sport has become a dynamic natural laboratory in which to investigate the relationship between thinking and skilled action. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore some insights into the relationship between thinking and action that have emerged from recent research on exceptional performance states (e.g., ‘flow’ and ‘choking’) in athletes. The paper begins by explaining why cognitive psychologists’ traditional indifference to sport has been replaced by a more enthusiastic attitude in recent years. The next section provides some insights into the relationship between thinking and skilled action that have emerged from research on ‘flow’ (or peak performance) and ‘choking’ (or impaired performance) experiences in athletes. The third section of the paper explores some practical issues that arise when athletes seek to exert conscious control over their thoughts in competitive situations. The final part of the paper considers the implications of research on thinking in action in sport for practical attempts to improve thinking skills in domains such as business organizations and schools.     

Camus,habitat and the art of seeing

The early essays of Camus have been underexplored as educational texts. The discussion here introduces these texts for educational consideration. The analysis uncovers themes which link to existing educational research on Camus. As these are autobiographical texts they also provide new insight on the genesis of Camus’ thinking on subjects of interest to education, and Camus’ own educational journey into the absurd. The discussion here suggests the lyrical essays explore the connections between learning and the natural landscape, and as a result, they suggest a concept of education based around seeing the world a certain way; a communion with the natural world as a basis for understanding and happiness.     

Narrative autoethnography and the promotion of spiritual well‐being in teacher research and practice

This article demonstrates through an example the usefulness of autoethnography as a mechanism for teachers acquiring clarity about their spiritual experiences, which has the potential to contribute to facilitating pupils’ spiritual growth. I begin by examining the role of the spiritual dimension in the promotion of a holistic model of education. The purposes and ethical implications of autoethnographic research and its benefits for teacher development are addressed. A story about illness, neurosurgery and rehabilitation is presented, written according to introspective and autoethnographic techniques. The narrative reflects aspects of the writer’s spiritual growth and highlights the need among teachers to explore their own spiritual well‐being as much as the spiritual well‐being of their pupils. Suggestions are made about the diverse use of narrative to promote spiritual learning experiences in the classroom. This is an important part of the work carried out by teachers in the delivery of a curriculum that prepares learners to fulfil their potential in life and work.     

Increasing the supply of secondary teachers in sub‐Saharan Africa: a stakeholder assessment of policy options in six countries

Over the next decade many countries of sub‐Saharan Africa will face a demand for qualified secondary school teachers that current systems for teacher recruitment, training, deployment and retention will be unable to meet. While strategies for increasing teacher supply to meet this shortage have been suggested, less attention has been given to investigating the acceptability of these potential solutions by those educators closest to the school and classroom level and who often serve as gatekeepers to policy implementation. Kingdon’s multiple streams model is the framework used in this study to assess the feasibility of key strategies widely offered as possible solutions to resolve the projected teacher shortage. This study investigated the responses of 114 secondary school teachers, headteachers and education officials across six countries to policy options for increasing teacher supply. While none of the groups supported options to increase the supply through changed teacher training, there was support among all three groups for options that affected retention, including increased in‐service training and distance education, more mentorship for new teachers and more opportunities for teachers to network with each other. These findings suggest that policy‐makers in sub‐Saharan African countries need to build political support among education stakeholders to find the most feasible and viable solutions to address the large teacher shortages through both increasing supply and retention.     

The place of ICT in Irish schools: Early indicators of the changes since IT2000

This study explains early school-leaving in lower secondary education in the Netherlands, taking into account background characteristics, family resources and school composition factors at the same time. We distinguish four groups of school-leavers: ‘dropouts’ (those without any qualification), those who leave school with a diploma in lower secondary education (‘low qualified’), those who complete apprentice-based tracks (‘apprentices’) and those who continue education and receive a full upper secondary qualification (‘full qualification’). The breakdown into these four groups reveals clear differences in the effects of different factors on the risk of early school-leaving.     

Peer learning in international higher education: the experience of international students in an Irish university

Some of the main concerns in international higher education are the feeling of isolation among international students and their inability to adapt to the host environment, which may result in sub-optimal academic performance. Theoretically, peer learning can be an effective method to reduce these problems since it has the capacity to address isolation and adaptability issues among international students in a way that improves their learning experience and outcomes. Given the above, our study was designed to investigate this topic, focusing on the experience of international students. In this exploratory case study of a leading Irish university, we adopted a survey method via questionnaire to quantify and compare the experiences of a sample of international students at the said university. Five aspects of peer learning were explored, namely usage rate, current practices, outcomes, challenges, and coping strategies. We also included an open-ended section in the survey instrument for respondents to offer qualitative suggestions to the host institution. Through methodological triangulation of the quantitative and qualitative data, we discovered diverse practices, challenges, and outcomes of peer learning across different groups of international students in this university. The paper concludes with a discussion of research implications and suggestions for future studies.     

异构信息知识挖掘与可视化系统处理流程解析

文章介绍了异构信息知识挖掘与可视化系统背景,异构信息知识挖掘与可视化系统所采用的开发平台和工具,构建了系统架构模型,描述了系统的总体思路和体系架构的主要模块,介绍了索引库构建、统计术语库构建和规则模块处理流程。     

What can policy makers do to encourage integration of information and communications technology? evidence from the irish school system

Abstract

While most countries have invested heavily in information and communications technology (ICT) in education in recent years, the progress with integration of ICT into the teaching of other subjects has often been disappointing. How to encourage integration remains a serious question for policy makers and teacher educators. This article proposes some answers to that question, based on examination of data from the Irish school system. It suggests that ICT integration is associated with two kinds of teacher professional development: postgraduate ICT courses, and short in-service courses focused on specific integrated uses of ICT. The data reveal a strong association between the use of ICT in the school and the ICT usage of the school principal. Finally, it calls into question the use of pilot projects as the agents of change.     

Web 数据挖掘中数据异构问题解决方法的研究

Web 是动态性极强的信息源,访问、分析信息必须研究异构数据的集成问题,并选择合适的技术进行数据 分析、集成和处理。怎样对Web 海量的数据信息进行深层次的应用已成为数据挖掘技术的研究热点。本文介绍了XML （可扩展标记语言）在Web 数据挖掘中的应用,探讨了Web 数据挖掘中的数据异构问题。通过XML技术建立数据抽取模 型,解决互联网上绝大多数因异构、非结构化所导致的Web 数据挖掘问题。     

望江楼因薛涛永恒

踏进四川省成都,问起望江楼几乎无人不晓.这座为纪念我国一位才华横溢、聪颖过人的女诗人而建于唐代的壮观木塔,因雪涛之名而永恒!