Developmental Brain Research With Participants From Underprivileged Communities: Strategies for Recruitment,Participation, and Retention

Challenges associated with recruitment and retention of participants from underprivileged social communities, in addition to neuroscience researchers' unfamiliarity with these communities, possibly explain the limited number of individuals from these communities who participate in neuroscience research studies. The consequence is a scarcity of data in this fast‐growing segment of the population. In particular, developmental research involving children from ethnic minorities has yet to catch up with the number of studies available for middle‐class White children (Flores et al., 2002). This underrepresentation can lead to disparities in health and social services for children from these communities, as well as to a nonrepresentative knowledge base of child neurodevelopment. Developing and utilizing innovative and culturally sensitive approaches to recruiting participants from underprivileged communities can maximize their participation in research, as behavioral researchers have known for some time. Here, based on our experience recruiting low‐socioeconomic status (SES) Latino children from Los Angeles, we offer strategies to improve recruitment, involvement, and retention. We have a special focus on techniques relevant to recruiting for neuroimaging, which is associated with new challenges not faced to the same degree in research historically. Better inclusion of underrepresented children in research can ultimately lead to the development and improvement of effective public polices to support their needs, ranging from education to health care.     

Using methodological triangulation to examine the effectiveness of a mentoring program for online instructors

In this quasi-experimental mixed methods study, we examined the effectiveness of a faculty-to-faculty mentoring program to increase student success rates in online courses at an American university. Over one semester, 24 faculty mentees worked with 6 faculty mentors on improving course organization and implementing student engagement techniques. Using methodological triangulation, we found positive results for two of our effectiveness measures (i.e., mentor and mentee feedback and mentors’ ratings of mentees’ courses). However, in terms of our third measure (i.e., student learning data), although institutional data showed that there was a 4.1% aggregate increase in online student success after the intervention, the intervention group made no significantly greater gains than two control groups. Our findings highlight some benefits and shortcomings of these types of university initiatives and also emphasize the importance of using triangulation to integrate participant feedback with formal measures of student success.     

The Role of Reform Curricular Materials in an Internship: The Case of Alice and Gregory

This report describes a case study of asecondary school mathematics internship wheremost of the elements of the internship ecologywere aligned with calls by the National Councilof Teachers of Mathematics [NCTM] for reform.Much research has been done on the lack ofimpact of teacher education programs on teacherclassroom behavior. Often this results fromdissonance between the philosophy and goals ofuniversity teacher education programs and thoseof schools. The case documented here offers aninstance of alignment between the universityprogram and the school internship site. Thefindings showed that within this supportiveatmosphere the reform curricular materialsbeing used in the classroom had a strong andlargely positive influence on the character ofthe internship experience, and on the intern'slearning. The form and content of the materials– Core-Plus Mathematics Project'sContemporary Mathematics in Context –supported reform-oriented development for theintern by providing particular foci to theplanning discussions between the intern and thementor. These areas of focus were: (a) themathematics content itself, (b) conceptualunderstanding as a main goal for instruction,and (c) the use of questioning as the bestmeans of guiding students to thatunderstanding. The findings highlight theimportance of developing reform-supportiveenvironments for intern teaching placements.     

The role of ethnic school segregation for adolescents’ religious salience

Public concerns over the possible effects of school segregation on immigrant and ethnic majority religiosity have been on the rise over the last few years. In this paper we focus on (1) the association between ethnic school composition and religious salience, (2) intergenerational differences in religious salience and (3) the role of ethnic school composition for intergenerational differences in religious salience. We perform analyses on religious salience, one five-point Likert scale item measuring religious salience among 3,612 16-year-old pupils in Belgian secondary schools. National origin was used as a proxy for ethnicity. Ethnic minority pupils in schools with a higher share of ethnic minorities tend to be more religious. This relation holds for Muslim as well as other religious and ethnic minorities. Ethnic school composition also moderates the relationship between migrant generation and religious salience: second generation migrants tend to be more religious in ethnic minority dominated schools. For ethnic Belgians the association is moderated by their religious affiliation: Catholics tend to be more religious, while non-affiliated ethnic Belgians are less religious in schools with a higher share of ethnic minority pupils.     

教师知识和教学的知识基础

作者把一切与专业有关的洞察力都看做教学的知识基础,认为它们与教师的行为有着内在的联系。由此,本文提出要把教师知识或者教师的实践性知识和正式的命题知识纳入教学的知识基础当中。虽然教师知识与个人经历及情境有着紧密的联系,但教师知识的某些特征却为所有的教师或大部分教师所共同拥有。研究教师知识就是要找出这些共同特征,从而对教师知识的复杂性和特殊性做出公正的评价,但这在方法论上可能存在困难。为了说明教师知识研究的潜在益处以及局限,作者呈现了几种研究的结果。这些研究的一个主要结论是,理解教师知识不仅能够改进教师教育而且能够促进教育改革的成功。最后,作者指出未来研究的三个重要领域。     

Self-reported symptoms and risk factors for digital ischaemia among international world-class beach volleyball players

The prevalence of ischaemia-related symptoms is remarkably high among elite indoor volleyball players. Since the exposure to sport-specific demands may be higher in beach volleyball compared to indoor volleyball, the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of ischaemia-related symptoms and associated risk factors among world-class beach volleyball players. Therefore, a questionnaire survey was performed among beach volleyball players active during the 2013 Grand Slam Beach Volleyball in the Netherlands. In total, 60 of the 128 beach volleyball players (47%) participated: 26 males and 34 females from 17 countries. The self-reported prevalence of cold or blue or pale digits in the dominant hand during or immediately after practice or competition was 38% (n = 23). Two risk factors were independently associated with symptoms of blue or pale digits: more than 14 years playing volleyball (odds ratio (OR) 4.42, 90% confidence interval (90% CI) 1.30–15.07) and sex (female) (OR 4.62, 90% CI 1.15–18.57). In conclusion, the prevalence of symptoms associated with digital ischaemia is high among international world-class beach volleyball players. Female sex and the length of the volleyball career were independently associated with an increased risk of ischaemia-related symptoms. The high prevalence of these seemingly innocuous symptoms and possible associated risk factors warrant regular monitoring since early detection can potentially prevent thromboembolic complications and irreversible tissue damage.     

Success in the Dutch Music Festival Market: The Role of Format and Content

Nowadays, music festivals are very important for generating revenue streams in the music industry. However, studies on what makes music festivals a success are scant. In this article, a conceptual model to explain the success of music festivals is introduced and tested. Such a model seems pressing now that competition in the music festival industry is increasing. Our conceptual model includes variables that are under the control of music festival organizers, namely format and content characteristics. The content features include scope of the audience, lineup, age, and having a theme or message. Budget, ticket price, location, and having a maximum visitor capacity make up the format features. The model is tested with data from 47 music festivals in the Netherlands. The results show that relatively newer festivals can achieve good growth in terms of visitor attendance, especially if they have a narrow scope (niche). Interestingly, this is true for both large and small festivals. Our findings are important with respect to music festival diversity and choice for audiences, which may be at risk due to increasing competition. The fact that several festivals have a capacity constraint seems to be beneficial for diversity as well. Interestingly, budgets (and star lineup and ticket price), theme, and location are largely nonsignificant predictors of success.