Momentary affect predicts bodily movement in daily life: an ambulatory monitoring study

There is converging evidence that physical activity influences affective states. It has been found that aerobic exercise programs can significantly diminish negative affect. Moreover, among healthy individuals, moderate levels of physical activity seem to increase energetic arousal and positive affect. However, the predictive utility of affective states for bodily movement has rarely been investigated. In this study, we examined whether momentarily assessed affect is associated with bodily movement in everyday life. Using a previously published data set (Schwerdtfeger, Eberhardt, & Chmitorz, 2008), we reanalyzed 12-hr ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data from 124 healthy volunteers. Electronic momentary positive-activated affect (EMA-PAA) and negative affect (EMA-NA) were assessed via handheld computers, and bodily movement was recorded via accelerosensors. Generalized linear mixed models were calculated. Results indicated that EMAPAA increases were accompanied by bodily movement increases of varying intensity. EMA-NA was also positively associated with increases in certain kinds of bodily movement. In light of previous research, this finding suggests that affect and bodily movement may have circular effects on each other.     

Interest, motivation and learning: An educational-psychological perspective

Within the last few years, researchers have shown a renewed interest in “interest”. Especially in the field of educational psychology many studies have been conducted to analyze how learning and achievement are influenced by motivational and cognitive factors, which are connected with individual and/or situational interests. In this paper, results from empirical research will be presented besides theoretical considerations concerning the interest-construct. Interest has typically been studied as an independent variable. Dependent variables have been either some aspects of learning outcome (knowledge structure, academic achievement) or hypothetical mediators, which probably can be used to explain the interest effects (e.g., learning strategies, attention, emotional experiences). There is also a growing number of studies which try to explore the conditions of interest development within educational settings. Future lines of research will be discussed in light of the demands of educational theory and practice.     

Application of experiential learning to improve student engagement and experience in a mechanical engineering course

ABSTRACT

This paper introduced how a mechanical engineering course was redesigned by applying experiential learning theory to improve student engagement and learning experience. Design of machine elements has been considered by students to be a difficult course. Traditional teaching methods tend not to be effective in engaging students. Experiential learning is a philosophy of learning by doing. In applying an experiential learning approach to the course, the design project and workshop activities were restructured in such a way that students were engaged in direct experience and focused reflection to construct knowledge. By exploring a physical gearbox model, working on subtasks for the design project, having group discussions, raising questions, getting feedback, and moving forward for next subtasks, students experienced the learning cycles of ‘DO, OBSERVE, THINK, and PLAN’ many times. Course survey results showed that application of experiential learning helped to improve student engagement and learning experience significantly.     

Observer ratings of instructional quality: Do they fulfill what they promise?

Despite considerable interest in the topic of instructional quality in research as well as practice, little is known about the quality of its assessment. Using generalizability analysis as well as content analysis, the present study investigates how reliably and validly instructional quality is measured by observer ratings. Twelve trained raters judged 57 videotaped lesson sequences with regard to aspects of domain-independent instructional quality. Additionally, 3 of these sequences were judged by 390 untrained raters (i.e., student teachers and teachers). Depending on scale level and dimension, 16–44% of the variance in ratings could be attributed to instructional quality, whereas rater bias accounted for 12–40% of the variance. Although the trained raters referred more often to aspects considered essential for instructional quality, this was not reflected in the reliability of their ratings. The results indicate that observer ratings should be treated in a more differentiated manner in the future.     

Specifics of information retrieval for young users: A survey

In this paper, we present the state of the art in the field of information retrieval that is relevant for understanding how to design information retrieval systems for children. We describe basic theories of human development to explain the specifics of young users, i.e., their cognitive skills, fine motor skills, knowledge, memory and emotional states in so far as they differ from those of adults. We derive the implications these differences have on the design of information retrieval systems for children. Furthermore, we summarize the main findings about children’s search behavior from multiple user studies. These findings are important to understand children’s information needs, their search strategies and usage of information retrieval systems. We also identify several weaknesses of previous user studies about children’s information-seeking behavior. Guided by the findings of these user studies, we describe challenges for the design of information retrieval systems for young users. We give an overview of algorithms and user interface concepts. We also describe existing information retrieval systems for children, in specific web search engines and digital libraries. We conclude with a discussion of open issues and directions for further research. The survey provided in this paper is important both for designers of information retrieval systems for young users as well as for researchers who start working in this field.     

The formation of the willing citizen – Tracing reactive nihilism in late capitalist adult education

The role of education in citizen training has been well mapped out in youth education. What has been less studied is how this role comes into being in adult education. By providing illustrative empirical examples from a recently completed study of adult students enrolled in adult education, this article aims to offer a theoretical response to the question of the role of adult education in adult student citizen subjectivity formation. Taking on Diken’s concept of ‘reactive nihilism’, we wish to make the following arguments. First, that citizen formation in adult education, when students are asked about it, is actualised as processes of re(dis)covery of will in order to be(come) a successful and happy citizen in society. Secondly, that these processes point towards a role of adult education as one where these formation processes work in tandem with those of the reactive nihilists. This means that the citizen formation processes made possible in this educational site are those marked out by the desire to mobilise one’s will formation so that it adapts to the prevailing societal situation—that of late capitalism, which is a situation not considered by the adult students as possible to change.     

Inertia in response to non-paradigmatic change: The case of meta-organizations

We add a new perspective to research on organizational response to non-paradigmatic change by studying an irregular yet increasingly important form of organizing: meta-organizations (MOs), i.e., associations whose members are organizations, rather than individuals. We use extensive revelatory field data from three longitudinal case studies of German industry associations and their reactions to the emergence of online trade to show that MOs, similar to other organizations, respond with inertia when they are confronted with discontinuous breakthroughs. However, our data also demonstrate that MO inertia is idiosyncratic in that it stems from distinct MO characteristics, particularly a culture of consensus and an elitist identity, which in turn reinforce MOs’ lack of champions, limited environmental intimacy, and protracted decision-making. We also find that inertial forces in MOs are partially offset by various enablers of change that are either anchored in a given MO's constitution or embedded in its routines. We contribute to existing research on discontinuous change and theory of MOs by inducing a formal model of MO inertia and its underlying mechanisms. Our mid-range theory has important implications for the administration of MOs, in particular during periods of environmental turbulence.     

Extreme case learning: the manager perspective on rare knowledge and capabilities development

International strategy is enhanced by organizations’ ability to learn in host markets; yet, it remains ambiguous how post-entry knowledge gaps between home – and host country shape MNE’s absorptive capacity. This article builds on the specific contributions of ‘extreme case’ internationalization to advance literature in this field. We foster the understanding of the role of rare knowledge and the mechanisms that link knowledge acquisition to absorptive capacity dynamics used in the internationalization path of multinational enterprises (MNEs). We opt for in-depth qualitative research into the post-entry phase of ‘extreme’ (thus particularly crude) international joint venture (IJV) investment, and analyze the perspective of managers from a developed economy MNE located in a high-risk, weak-institutions host country. The firm’s absorptive capacity and its interaction with external environments that are categorized into four distinct contexts are found to be contingent upon pro-active experiential learning, concurrent to managerial willingness and simultaneous organizational commitments to learning and to exploiting rare knowledge. We thus uncover managerial perceptions of a knowledge gap identified as host-country challenges and resulting managerial solutions, which reveal rare learning opportunities and knowledge exploitation dynamics. The capacity to compensate for knowledge gaps is a critical key within the design and consolidation of an alternative internationalization path for developed-country MNEs. This challenges the traditional risk–return–commitment dependencies in prior literature.     

Physical Exercise During the Morning School‐Break Improves Basic Cognitive Functions

Physical activity has not only been associated with increased physical and mental health, but also with beneficial effects on various cognitive and brain functions. This study investigated the effects of a motor and coordination oriented exercise intervention on academic achievements, attention/concentration ability, and on different facets of creative potential in a sample of school‐aged children between 11 and 14 years. The intervention was conducted during the morning school‐break over a time period of 4 weeks (5 units per week). The intervention was associated with beneficial effects on attention/concentration ability, basic arithmetic competence, and the fluency facet of creative potential. The finding that regular physical exercise during the morning break improves some basic academic and cognitive functions may motivate efforts to implement physical activity programs as promising and effective tools in the everyday school‐routine of the children to stimulate basic neurocognitive functions.