Clinician-Scientists in-and-between Research and Practice: How Social Identity Shapes Brokerage

Minerva - Clinician-scientists (CSs) are vital in connecting the worlds of research and practice. Yet, there is little empirical insight into how CSs perceive and act upon their in-and-between...     

Hypertext vs boolean-based searching in a bibliographic database environment: A direct comparison of searcher performance

The purpose of this study is to carry out a direct comparison of a hypertext-based bibliographic retrieval system with a traditional Boolean-based retrieval system, each using the same database. Novice and experienced searchers were assigned to either a prototype hypertext system called HyperLynx or to a traditional Boolean system and were asked to perform a set of search tasks. The study revealed that the Boolean system performed better than the hypertext system for search tasks with a large number of relevant items. Searcher experience level did not play a significant role for either system. Findings of the study have implications for the design of future information retrieval systems that take advantage of the best features of both approaches for more effective and efficient retrieval of highly structured databases.     

Effects of Classroom Seating Arrangements on Children's question-asking

This study investigated the relationship between classroom seating arrangements and the question-asking of fourth-graders. Data were collected during 53 lessons spread over 8 weeks. Children were assigned to sit in a semicircle and then in a row-and-column seating arrangement for 2 weeks each. This rotation was repeated. Both children's questions and the teacher's verbal reactions were recorded using an observational system based on Kearsley's question taxonomy. The results showed that children asked more questions in the semicircle than in the row-and-column arrangement, and that the pattern of question characteristics was stable over time. The findings also revealed that, within the row-and-column arrangement, there was an action-zone in which children asked more questions per lesson. The results are interpreted in terms of Steinzor's postulation that social interaction is encouraged when individuals are able to establish face-to-face contact. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Problems in the Perception of Perspective in Drawing

It is well known that the shape and size of objects visually changes if the object's distance from the viewer and the position of the object changes. For these reasons, drawing three-dimensional objects on a picture plane demands not only knowledge of their external peculiarities, but also skills in matching the shape of objects to the peculiarities of visual perception which allows us to represent objects ‘truthfully’. However, this is one of the hardest tasks in drawing. It needs specific theoretical training in the construction of perspective. A review of textbooks and resource books on drawing published in different countries during the last 30 years reveals that a body of rules for linear perspective has evolved which is stable and interpreted similarly. However, explanations of the practical implementation of one-point perspective are not quite logical. This article covers some of the problems of the perception of perspective, and offers methodical recommendations for implementing perspective in training for drawing.     

'Finding the Perfect Balance'

This article is the result of research into the tension between structural planning and individual autonomy in the teaching of English and the dynamics of English departmental work in secondary schools. In particular, I look at the nature of constraints to individuals' autonomy, such as the National Curriculum, in order to arrive at tentative conclusions as to whether they constitute a threat to, or an opportunity for, imaginative English teaching.     

What Is Inside the Earth?

This article studies the conceptions of the interior of the Earth held by Portuguese elementary school children and senior citizens. Several studies were conducted regarding conceptions related to Earth sciences, such as rocks, minerals, earthquakes geological time, and Earth structure. Most of these studies involved students enrolled in compulsory education, some involved higher education students, several involved teachers, and only a few involved adults. The majority of the results showed that many misconceptions are held by people of all ages. Similar results were found in this study, as both children and senior citizens revealed several misconceptions. The research resorted to a questionnaire based on a drawing task so as to find out the way that children and senior citizens imagine the structure and composition of the interior of our planet. A comparison between children’s and senior citizens’ drawings was made, as well as a comparison between those drawings and the historical models of the internal structure of the Earth. We found that only a small number of children and even a smaller number of senior citizens recognize that the interior of the Earth is organized in concentric layers. They assume that soil and water are a common part of the internal composition of our planet. Similarities between the drawings and the historical models were identified, particularly similarities related to Gautier’s model, which accepts the possibility of the existence of life in the interior of the planet as it happens on its surface.