Materials and techniques: Early Buddhist wall paintings and sculptures at Sumda Chun,Ladakh

An assemblage of Buddhist wall paintings and sculptures dating to the twelfth/early thirteenth century are found distributed over the interiors of the temple complex at Sumda Chun, Ladakh. Detailed investigations carried out as part of a conservation project shed light on their antiquity and production technology. The sculptures are constructed with fine mud mortar applied over a wooden armature and affixed to the walls without any support from the ground. In both the sculptures and wall paintings, the paint layer is applied over a thin gypsum ground that functions as a white colourant where unpainted. For the paint layer, azurite, vermilion, and orpiment are the dominant mineral pigments utilized. Minium (red lead) has been used for preparatory drawings and as paint. Highlighting of special areas was achieved using a laminate of tin–lead alloy and gold on relief. Overall the material and techniques employed in the execution of the wall paintings and sculptures are consistent with those reported for other early sites in the region.     

Impact of grade retention and school engagement on student intentions to enrol in higher education in Portugal

Grade retention and inequalities that derive from grade retention can influence student school trajectories and careers. Grade retention can discourage students from education, and increase school failure and dropout. This study explored the relationship between grade retention and student intentions to enrol in higher education. We also studied the role of school identification and behavioural engagement in this relationship. The analysis is based on a sample of 1,089 students (grades 6 to 10) from Portugal, one of the European countries with the highest rates of grade retention. We employed multilevel probit regression modelling with random intercept and fixed slopes to explore both the individual and school level effects of grade retention. The analyses showed that retained students had a lower probability of intent to enrol in higher education and that there was a contextual effect of the number of retained students in the school, on students' probability of intent to enrol in higher education. This association was partially explained at the individual level by students' school identification. Retained students presented lower levels of school identification, which in turn results in lower probabilities of enrolling in higher education. Student behavioural engagement was not associated with grade retention nor student intentions. Our findings suggest the need for interventions that foster students' school identification to overcome the adverse effects of grade retention.     

Determination of a quantitative parameter to evaluate swimming technique based on the maximal tethered swimming test

The aim of this study was to propose a new force parameter, associated with swimmers’ technique and performance. Twelve swimmers performed five repetitions of 25 m sprint crawl and a tethered swimming test with maximal effort. The parameters calculated were: the mean swimming velocity for crawl sprint, the mean propulsive force of the tethered swimming test as well as an oscillation parameter calculated from force fluctuation. The oscillation parameter evaluates the force variation around the mean force during the tethered test as a measure of swimming technique. Two parameters showed significant correlations with swimming velocity: the mean force during the tethered swimming (r = 0.85) and the product of the mean force square root and the oscillation (r = 0.86). However, the intercept coefficient was significantly different from zero only for the mean force, suggesting that although the correlation coefficient of the parameters was similar, part of the mean velocity magnitude that was not associated with the mean force was associated with the product of the mean force square root and the oscillation. Thus, force fluctuation during tethered swimming can be used as a quantitative index of swimmers’ technique.     

Validating chemical and structural changes in painting materials by principal component analysis of spectroscopic data using internal mineral standards

This work shows the capability of principal component analysis (PCA) to detect molecular, chemical and mineralogical changes in historic painting materials subjected to a thermal ageing test (< 250 °C). To simulate the heat-induced alterations an ageing accelerated process was performed on two sets of samples containing two mineral phases (hydroxyapatite and quartz) and two organic compounds (collagen and albumin). The chosen minerals behaved as internal standards during the tests since they are stable and chemically inert at the tested temperatures. Raman microscopy (RM) was applied to characterise one set of samples made of bone, containing ca. 70% hydroxyapatite and 30% collagen. Attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy was used to study the other set of samples made of four different quartz/albumin mixtures with quartz contents of 30%, 50%, 70% and 90% (w/w). The aim was to identify the ideal proportion of internal standard to be validated by ATR-FTIR and PCA, determined to be 70%. PCA analyses detected changes in the molecular structures of the organic components while the internal mineral standard remained stable. Moreover, the internal standard IR/Raman bands were constant during the tests and confirmed that the results of PCA analyses were independent of instrumental and technical factors, as well as sample collecting and handling. This demonstrates the potential benefits of our approach to study historical painting materials, which have suffered any type of heat-induced alteration.     

The EFQM self-assessment processes in HEIs in Spain and in Jordan

The purpose of this paper is to compare the European Foundation for Quality Management （EFQM） self-assessment model in higher education institutions （HEIs） in Spain and in Jordan. Case study methodology on eight services provided by a public university in Spain and seven services provided by one public university and one private university in Jordan is used. The findings show the steps that an administrative service may follow in order to apply the questionnaire approach to conduct self-assessment in a successful manner and the difficulties, benefits and success factors in both countries by comparing the results. This paper provides lessons for decision makers and managers of other universities in developing countries, who wish to perform an exercise in self-assessment using a questionnaire approach.     

Extending the purposes of science education: addressing violence within socio-economic disadvantaged communities

Current discourses about science education show a wide concern towards humanisation and a more socio-cultural perspective of school science. They suggest that science education can serve diverse purposes and be responsive to social and environmental situations we currently face. However, these discourses and social approaches to science education tend to focus on global issues. They do not respond to the immediate needs and local context of some communities. I discuss in this paper why the purposes of science education need to be extended to respond to the local issue of violence. For this, I present a case study with a group of 38 students from a poor population in Bogotá, Colombia, located in one of the suburbs with highest levels of crime in the city. I examine the ways that science education contributes to and embodies its own forms of violence and explore how a new approach to science education could contribute to break the cycle of violence.     

Do executive functions contribute to writing quality in beginning writers? A longitudinal study with second graders

Reading and Writing - Writing is an important activity that involves many demanding processes. Given the complexity and goal-directed nature of writing, this activity is heavily dependent on...     

Reading together in the classroom. A study of the difference between teacher and student interactions and the requirements of the Ministry of Education in Chile / Lectura conjunta en el aula. Un estudio sobre la distancia entre la interacción profesores alumnos y las prescripciones del Ministerio de Educación Chileno

Abstract

In this article we describe the reading comprehension teaching practices of three Chilean teachers, to contrast them with the proposed guidelines from the Chilean Ministry of Education. To do this, we have analysed what contexts of interaction were created in the classroom and which reading processes were promoted by the questions the students were asked. The results show how the teachers’ practices were closer to the ministerial guidelines when they were asked to create specific contexts of interaction, but deviated from these guidelines when the objective was to promote a reflective and critical understanding of the texts.     

Evaluación de la percepción visual en el jardín de infancia

RESUMEN

Se presenta una batería de evaluación de la percepción visual en la edad preescolar, momento clave para subsanar cualquier trastorno y valorar sus posibles incidencias en el aprendizaje de la lectoescritura. Basándose en los planteamientos con los que Frostig elaboró su test de desarrollo de la percepción visual se intentan evaluar las siguientes funciones: reconocimiento de la forma, distinción figura-fondo, orientación de un objeto en relación con el observador, transposición o reproducción de ángulos y líneas, y coordinación visomotora. A la vista de los resultados obtenidos en la aplicación de este test en una población escolar de 184 niños de párvulos y 93 del primer curso de EGB, se elaboran unos cuadros y gráficos de referencia y se describe el nivel de eficiencia y el rendimiento mínimo exigible en cada grupo de edad.