Looking back: reasoning and metacognition with narrative texts

This study explored the abilities of 5th, 8th, and 10th graders, and College students to reason logically about what they read. Both students’ metacognitive behavior (looking back at previously read text) and their performance on logical deduction questions were recorded and analyzed in a reading task. Conditional logic premises and deductive questions were embedded in three narratives containing premise information that was factual (True Story), contrary to fact (False Story), or unverifiable via common world knowledge (Neutral Story). The texts and questions were presented one sentence at a time on a computer screen; participants controlled the presentation of sentences. For answering the questions, three response tasks were devised. One task (labeled Generate) required readers to generate their own logical conclusions in response to deduction questions. Two tasks (labeled Valid and Invalid) required readers to evaluate logically valid or logically invalid conclusions drawn by story characters in the texts. Students in early and late adolescence looked back more when asked to evaluate logical conclusions than when asked to generate conclusions on their own; College students’ lookback frequencies were not significantly affected by response task, but were greater overall than those of younger students. With conditional forms requiring an uncertainty response (Affirmed Consequent and Denied Antecedent), readers looked back more when evaluating logically invalid conclusions than when evaluating logically valid ones. Readers of all ages were more likely to agree with story characters’ (valid) uncertain conclusions with the AC and DA forms than they were to disagree with story characters’ (invalid) certain conclusions to these forms. Both lookback frequency and performance on logic questions were lowest when readers were required to reason from contrary to fact premises.     

International trends in health science librarianship: Part 4 – Four Southern European countries

This is the fourth in a series of articles exploring international trends in health science librarianship in four Southern European countries in the first decade of the 21st century. The invited authors are from Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal. Future issues will track trends in Latin America and Central Europe. JM     

Validating chemical and structural changes in painting materials by principal component analysis of spectroscopic data using internal mineral standards

This work shows the capability of principal component analysis (PCA) to detect molecular, chemical and mineralogical changes in historic painting materials subjected to a thermal ageing test (< 250 °C). To simulate the heat-induced alterations an ageing accelerated process was performed on two sets of samples containing two mineral phases (hydroxyapatite and quartz) and two organic compounds (collagen and albumin). The chosen minerals behaved as internal standards during the tests since they are stable and chemically inert at the tested temperatures. Raman microscopy (RM) was applied to characterise one set of samples made of bone, containing ca. 70% hydroxyapatite and 30% collagen. Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy was used to study the other set of samples made of four different quartz/albumin mixtures with quartz contents of 30%, 50%, 70% and 90% (w/w). The aim was to identify the ideal proportion of internal standard to be validated by ATR-FTIR and PCA, determined to be 70%. PCA analyses detected changes in the molecular structures of the organic components while the internal mineral standard remained stable. Moreover, the internal standard IR/Raman bands were constant during the tests and confirmed that the results of PCA analyses were independent of instrumental and technical factors, as well as sample collecting and handling. This demonstrates the potential benefits of our approach to study historical painting materials, which have suffered any type of heat-induced alteration.     

Popularity versus respect: school structure,peer groups and Latino academic achievement

This article begins with a discussion of recent critiques of Fordham and Ogbu’s argument on the ‘burden of acting white’. These critiques point to the stereotypical and homogeneous characterization of the black peer group by Fordham and Ogbu, as well as their inattention to the ways in which schools relegate into the lower tracks those students who behave too ethnically and who do not demonstrate proficiency with dominant cultural attributes. The second half of the article presents data showing that academic achievement is related to peer‐group membership and that schools are largely responsible for which peer group students join. Based on an ethnographic study at a predominantly Latino urban high school, I argue that Latino high achievers do not necessarily experience the ‘burden of acting white’ as Fordham and Ogbu suggest. This was due to the institutional practices at Hernandez High School, which ensured that high achievers and low achievers occupied different academic and social spaces, resulting in little interaction between the groups, and to the very different culture that prescribed the ways in which members of each group could achieve status.     

Does school physical education really contribute to accelerometer-measured daily physical activity and non sedentary behaviour in high school students?

Physical education has been highlighted as an important environment for physical activity promotion, however, to our knowledge there are no previous studies examining the contribution of physical education to daily accelerometer-measured physical activity and non sedentary behaviour. The purpose was to compare the accelerometer-measured physical activity and sedentary behaviour between physical education, non-physical education and weekend days in adolescents. Of the 394 students from a Spanish high school that were invited to participate, 158 students (83 boys and 75 girls) aged 13–16 years were analyzed (wear time ≥ 600 min). Participants’ physical activity and sedentary behaviour were objectively-measured by GT3X+ accelerometers during physical education (one session), non-physical education and weekend days. Results indicated that overall adolescents had statistically significant greater physical activity levels and lower values of sedentary behaviour on physical education days than on non-physical education and weekend days (e.g., moderate-to-vigorous physical activity = 71, 54 and 57 min; sedentary = 710, 740 and 723 min) (p < 0.05). Physical education contributes significantly to reducing students’ daily physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour. Increasing the number of physical education classes seems to be an effective strategy to reduce the high current prevalence of physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour in adolescence.     

A Lost Decade? Laszlo Radvanyi and the Origins of Public Opinion Research in Mexico, 1941-1952

This article documents public opinion research activities inMexico in the 1940s and the role played by Hungarian professorLászló Radványi, who immigrated to thatcountry at the height of World War II. Our research relies onseveral of Radványi's publications archived in differentcountries, as well as on interviews with family, acquaintances,and experts on the work of his wife, the German poet Anna Seghers.During his years in Mexico, Radványi founded the ScientificInstitute of Mexican Public Opinion, in 1941, and the InternationalJournal of Opinion and Attitude Research, in 1947—a forefatherof today's IJPOR. He was also a founding member of WAPOR. Hisearly "sample surveys" raised important methodological issuesand recorded opinion results that reflect the vibrant timesof war and policy making in a modernizing country. However,Radványi's contribution to the profession has been virtuallyforgotten. Until now, accounts about how public opinion researchbegan in Mexico either ignored Radványi's works or reducedhis ten years of survey research to a single footnote. Thisarticle is an attempt to fill this enormous omission and highlightsome of Radványi's contributions to these early stagesof survey research.     

Wasting Talent: Using Counter-Storytelling to Narrate Dismal Educational Outcomes

A recent study illustrated that the educational attainment of Latina/o students has been dismal during the past decade and that many Latinas/os continue to “fall through the cracks” of the educational pipeline. Through storytelling, I juxtapose my educational trajectory as a high school graduate with that of my third-oldest brother, who “fell through the cracks” of the educational pipeline as an underclassman in high school. I provide examples of how being reprimanded for minimal misconduct negatively impacted my older brother’s overall school experiences, which ultimately prevented him from finishing high school despite his potential to succeed.     

Impact of interactive online units on learning science among students with learning disabilities and English learners

The purpose of this study was to document the design, classroom implementation, and effectiveness of interactive online units to enhance science learning over 3 years among students with learning disabilities, English learners, and general education students. Results of a randomised controlled trial with 2,303 middle school students and 71 teachers across 13 schools in two states indicated that online units effectively deepened science knowledge across all three student groups. Comparing all treatment and control students on pretest-to-posttest improvement on standards-based content-specific assessments, there were statistically significant mean differences (17% improvement treatment vs. 6% control; p?相似文献   

An assessment model for virtual communities of practice: a study in the oil and gas industry

This paper proposes a model to assess the level of maturity in Virtual Communities of Practice (VCoPs). The model is based on a theoretical construction attained from the analysis of previous frameworks proposed in literature. Using this construction, we have proposed eight main organizational, managerial and technological levers to improve the performance of VCoPs. Additionally, the model presents the analysis of four performance metrics obtained from these VCoP management levers. The model presented can be used as a benchmarking tool for analysing how companies perform in their management of VCoPs. After developing the model, we applied it to a benchmarking study of four global oil and gas companies. Our results include a performance comparison among these companies as well as the main practices and technologies they use to achieve success in the management of VCoP.