A national profile of school-based transition programs for deaf adolescents.

In this study, the transition programs of 326 secondary educational programs for deaf and severely hearing-impaired adolescents were surveyed. Three types of programs were surveyed: residential, mainstream, and "other" (a combination of the first two programs). Sixty-four items depicting desirable transition characteristics were included in the survey, and each item was rated by the programs on a value scale and an implementation scale. Analyses of variance were calculated to determine if there were statistically significant differences among the three program types for each individual survey item on the two rating scales. Based on the data, it appears that the residential schools had higher implementation rates than the mainstream and other programs. All three respondent groups valued the transition items more than they had implemented them (i.e., the value scores were higher than the implementation scores). The data point out the need for researchers and educators to develop and implement more effective transition programs for deaf and severely hearing-impaired students.     

Relationships between teachers’ perceived leadership style,students’ learning style,and academic achievement: a study on high school students

There is debate about whether the leadership style of the teacher or the learning style of the student affects academic achievement more. A large sample (n = 746) of eighth‐grade students in Istanbul, Turkey, participated in a study where the leadership style of the teacher was assessed in terms of people orientation and task orientation. The learning styles examined were: group, individual, visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic. Multiple discriminant analysis indicated that teacher leadership style was the main factor affecting academic performance. No significant relationship was found between learning style and academic achievement.     

Cangleska Wakan: The ecology of the sacred circle and the role of tribal colleges and universities

International Review of Education - Indigenous education and philosophy are rooted in the concept of relationality – the relatedness of all things – within the framework of place-based...     

Biomechanical differences in soccer kicking with the preferred and the non-preferred leg

The aims of this study were to examine the release speed of the ball in maximal instep kicking with the preferred and the non-preferred leg and to relate ball speed to biomechanical differences observed during the kicking action. Seven skilled soccer players performed maximal speed place kicks with the preferred and the non-preferred leg; their movements were filmed at 400 Hz. The inter-segmental kinematics and kinetics were derived. A coefficient of restitution between the foot and the ball was calculated and rate of force development in the hip flexors and the knee extensors was measured using a Kin-Com dynamometer. Higher ball speeds were achieved with the preferred leg as a result of the higher foot speed and coefficient of restitution at the time of impact compared with the non-preferred leg. These higher foot speeds were caused by a greater amount of work on the shank originating from the angular velocity of the thigh. No differences were found in muscle moments or rate of force development. We conclude that the difference in maximal ball speed between the preferred and the non-preferred leg is caused by a better inter-segmental motion pattern and a transfer of velocity from the foot to the ball when kicking with the preferred leg.     

Future teacher scholarship programs for science education: Rationale for teaching in perceived high-need areas

Data from Oklahoma Future Scholarship Recipients were collected covering awards over a seven-year period. Scholarships ($1000–$1500 per year) were awarded by the State Regents for Higher Education to attract and retain potential teachers into the teaching of science. The study focused on the reasons that these teachers (N=58) went into the teaching of science. From the survey teachers went into teaching because (in ranked order) they want to teach subject matter; they were committed to social change; they liked to work with and be a positive force in the life of children (adolescents), etc. They did not go into teaching for money, because it was easy, because they drifted into it, or because it was not their first choice. The teachers who received scholarships like teaching science, liked teaching, and are (they say) likely to stay in the field, but they would have gone into teaching anyway: 82% were not enticed into either the field or the discipline of science by their scholarships. Those who would use scholarships in the $1000–$1500 per year range, as a marketing strategy, to attract students to a discipline such as science should rethink the efficacy of this approach.     

Subitizing, magnitude representation, and magnitude retrieval in deaf and hearing adults

This study examines basic number processing (subitizing, automaticity, and magnitude representation) as the possible underpinning of mathematical difficulties often evidenced in deaf adults. Hearing and deaf participants completed tasks to assess the automaticity with which magnitude information was activated and retrieved from long-term memory (using a Stroop-like paradigm to assess congruity effects), the representational format of magnitude information (by analysis of distance and Spatial Numerical Association of Response Codes effects), and the ability to rapidly enumerate small sets (subitizing). Both groups showed distance effects taken to indicate the use of a visual-spatial analog number line representing approximate quantity. Furthermore, both groups showed similar patterns of performance on the subitizing tasks and showed similar amounts of interference in an analysis of congruity effects. This is taken as evidence against the notion that idiosyncratic differences in basic number processing account for mathematical difficulties experienced by deaf individuals.     

奥运会:新生的北京需要开明的头脑

2008年8月8日晚,第29届奥林匹克运动会在北京拉开序幕。辉煌的古都烟花绚烂,激情放飞。这是一个万众瞩目的日子,全世界的热情目光聚焦中国,炎黄子孙的百年梦想化为现实。这一刻,全球华夏儿女为北京自豪,为奥运喝彩!     

Influence of foot-stretcher height on rowing technique and performance

Strength, technique, and coordination are crucial to rowing performance, but external interventions such as foot-stretcher set-up can fine-tune technique and optimise power output. For the same resultant force, raising the height of foot-stretchers on a rowing ergometer theoretically alters the orientation of the resultant force vector in favour of the horizontal component. This study modified foot-stretcher heights and examined their instantaneous effect on foot forces and rowing technique. Ten male participants rowed at four foot-stretcher heights on an ergometer that measured handle force, stroke length, and vertical and horizontal foot forces. Rowers were instrumented with motion sensors to measure ankle, knee, hip, and lumbar–pelvic kinematics. Key resultant effects of increased foot-stretcher heights included progressive reductions in horizontal foot force, stroke length, and pelvis range of motion. Raising foot-stretcher height did not increase the horizontal component of foot force as previously speculated. The reduced ability to anteriorly rotate the pelvis at the front of the stroke may be a key obstacle in gaining benefits from raised foot-stretcher heights. This study shows that small changes in athlete set-up can influence ergometer rowing technique, and rowers must individually fine-tune their foot-stretcher height to optimise power transfer through the rowing stroke on an ergometer.     

Inventory for appraising adult creativity

An adult creativity survey, the Preference Inventory (PI), was based upon the assumptions that creatively productive persons, more than the average, mentally examine and play with ideas. Such people also are very curious, strong in needs to create, and are highly original. Scores on the PI were significantly correlated with scores on the Sounds and Images test, ratings of art and writing samples, and an objectively scored Statement of Past Creative Activities (SPCA). The SPCA was considered the most reasonable validating criterion. A regression analysis showed that different patterns of PI subscales were the best predictors of different criterion measures.