Re‐asserting the place of context in explaining student (under‐)achievement

One popular view of student achievement is that the quality of teaching students receive plays an important part in whether or not they do well at school. In this article we draw attention to ‘context’ as a complementary explanation, particularly regarding achievement differences between students from different socio‐economic backgrounds. In making these observations, we utilise data from one Australian secondary school located in an economically depressed rural community. Drawing on the insights of Bourdieu, our focus is on the broader social and economic influences that can adversely position students and schools, as well as work to inform the institutional stance that schools take in relation to their students.     

Motivational variables involved in commitment of female soccer players at different competitive levels

Today more and more women are playing sport and choosing activities previously considered the exclusive domain of men, such as soccer. The main purpose of this study was to analyse the role of motivational variables (individual and team) regarding the commitment to and future expectations of playing higher levels of competition in a sample of female association soccer players (N = 117) at different levels of competition (local, regional and national leagues). Results confirm that the highest league shows high values in perception of success (ego orientation and task orientation), transactional psychological contract and future expectations. On the other hand, the local league produces high values in relational contracts. A path analysis tests a theoretical model with all the motivational variables as predictors of sporting commitment and future expectations. It shows the power of individual and team motivational variables in terms of predicting the involvement of women in soccer.     

Effect of dual-attention task on attack and defensive actions in fencing

The objectives of this study were to investigate the effect that the presence of two stimuli that require two different responses (dual-attention) has both, on offensive reaction-response time to a light stimulus, and on defensive response time when the stimulus is a real fencing attack. Twenty-five elite fencers and a fencing master were included in the study. The equipment included four force plates adapted to a scaffold that served as a fencing piste. Two force plates were placed, at the start position, under the fencer’s feet and another two plates were placed under the master’s feet. The results demonstrate that choice reaction time to visual stimuli increases in dual-task conditions with respect to simple reaction time, whereas the mean horizontal force tends to decrease in dual-task. However, when the stimulus was an opponent’s movement, dual-task conditions did not have any effect on the time required to initiate a defensive action. The changes in reaction time when real movements were used as stimuli challenge the validity of the reaction time to visual stimuli paradigm as a predictor of performance in fencing. Also, the results obtained demonstrate that perceptual and attentional processes play a major role in fencer performance in real competition.     

Attitude and commitment to school of successful secondary school students / Actitud y compromiso hacia la escuela en estudiantes de secundaria considerados de éxito escolar

In this article, we analyse the attitude toward school that successful students of post-compulsory education possess. We understand school success as a concept that takes into account academic results, but also includes the desire to continue studying, while often overcoming difficulties at school. The data were taken from a sample of 26 students (12 girls and 14 boys) enrolled in Baccalaureate studies and vocational training. It was collected from detailed interviews, context questionnaires and the photolanguage technique. The results show that students are clearly committed to education, which takes the form of positive attitudes toward schoolwork and tasks (perseverance, effort, respect for the rules) and to the development of a defined life project and a high-level of satisfaction with their education. Baccalaureate students, particularly girls, more clearly express these traits.     

Blinded by the sun: The role of prosumers as niche actors in incumbent firms’ adoption of solar power during sustainability transitions

While extant research discusses how niche innovations develop in protected market niches and trigger regime shifts along sustainability transition pathways, we know less about the direct role of different niche actors as competitors in affecting regime incumbents’ investments in niche innovations. This study addresses this gap and builds on Strategic Niche Management and the Multi-level Perspective to distinguish two different niche actors: prosumers on the demand-side applying a niche innovation in a disruptive way to regime incumbents’ business model, and new entrants on the supply-side applying the niche innovation symbiotically with the regime. We examine incumbent responses to these different niche actors in different competitive and policy environments. Studying the United States’ electricity industry's sustainability transition toward solar from 2010-2017, we find that as more niche actors enter, regime incumbents are more likely to invest in the niche innovation, but the effect is influenced by policy and competitiveness of the environment. In competitive environments, incumbents are more likely to respond to disruptive niche actors (prosumers), while in traditional monopoly-like markets they are more likely to respond to symbiotic niche actors. We also find that the prosumer effect is stronger when the time that policies in support of the niche innovation have existed is shorter, indicating a potential substituting relationship of niche actors and policy. Our work contributes to the extant literature by demonstrating that the interplay between different niche actors needs to be understood within the context of policy, and that considering policy without accounting for the competitive environment may omit an important aspect of how regime actors become active participants in sustainability transitions.     

对外汉语口语教学中面临的问题及思考

分析当前对外汉语口语课所肩负的任务,以及其中所存在的问题。某些口语课依然存在以讲授语言点为重点,而不是侧重语言技能的训练。教学进度与练习时间冲突。在语言环境不够真实的情况下,教学方法又太过传统。在教学实践中,各任课教师集体备课,协调词汇语法教学任务。以及走出课堂,充分利用学校和社会语言环境等方法对提高口语课的实效都很有帮助。     

如何淘到二手好货

正不知不觉中,"二手货"的定义早已悄悄发生了变化,这也源于人们观念的转变——曾经的二手货陈旧、单调,是旧货的代名词;而如今的二手货则被赋予了全新的概念:闲置品、奢侈品、收藏品成为了二手货市场的主力军。由于购买二手货不光省钱,而且"绿色、环保",因此这种消费方式也逐渐成为了一种时尚,影响着人们生活的方方面面。如何才能淘到二手好货?购买二手货时应该注意什么?看看我们为你提供的建议吧!