Effects of aerobic exercise on overweight children's cognitive functioning: a randomized controlled trial

The study tested the effect of aerobic exercise training on executive function in overweight children. Ninety-four sedentary, overweight but otherwise healthy children (mean age = 9.2 years, body mass index 85th percentile) were randomized to a low-dose (20 min/day exercise), high-dose (40 min/day exercise), or control condition. Exercise sessions met 5 days/week for 15 weeks. The Cognitive Assessment System (CAS), a standardized test of cognitive processes, was administered individually before and following intervention. Analysis of covariance on posttest scores revealed effects on executive function. Group differences emerged for the CAS Planning scale (p = .03). Planning scores for the high-dose group were significantly greater than those of the control group. Exercise may prove to be a simple, yet important, method of enhancing aspects of children's mental functioning that are central to cognitive and social development.     

The ecological treatment of hyperkinesis

A model of hyperkinesis is introduced based on an ecological conception. The antecedents of hyperkinetic behavior are provided by a child's family environment, academic environment, and physiologic environment. These factors influence cognitive processes of the child. The consequences of hyperkinetic behavior often are undesirable, and so professional treatment is sought. Based on the ecological approach, effective treatment is multimodal and can involve the child, the family, and the school. No single approach to treatment is effective with all children.     

探索语言与文化对中澳大学教学的影响

探索中国和澳大利亚不同的语言和文化对她们大学教学影响的不同点和相似性的是很重要的一个研究课题。通过对中国和澳大利亚大学课堂教学的观察及数据记录,分析结果表明教学跟语言与文化这个理论框架紧密联系。     

Cross-Modal Transfer of Shape is Difficult to Demonstrate in One-Month-Olds

We tested 1-month-olds for cross-modal transfer of shape between touch and vision using a procedure described by Meltzoff and Borton, but including controls for side bias and stimulus preference. In Experiment 1 (N = 48), infants' looking times to smooth and nubby visual stimuli were not influenced by previous oral exposure to one of the shapes during the preceding 90 s, except for an effect on the first test trial in one group; this effect could have been due to limited cross-modal transfer, to Type 1 error, or to side bias, possibly interacting with a small stimulus preference. The failure of that effect to replicate in a group (N = 16) with less side bias (Experiment 2) suggests that it was not due to cross-modal transfer. Experiment 3 (N = 32), an exact replication of Meltzoff and Borton's experiment, also failed to yield evidence of cross-modal transfer. Overall, there is not good evidence that 1-month-olds can transfer information about these shapes from touch to vision. Future studies exploring the ability to transfer information about other shapes will be easier to interpret if they include controls for side bias and stimulus preference.     

Rating the Quality of Trials in Systematic Reviews of Physical Therapy Interventions

Physical therapists seeking to use evidence to guide their practice may have limited time to read research reports. One way to reduce the time required to identify and read about the research that is relevant to a particular clinical question is to read a systematic review that summarizes multiple studies. This paper explains the process that is used to conduct systematic reviews, which includes the establishment of a protocol, comprehensive searching, appraisal of the quality of the included studies, data extraction and metaanalysis, and consideration of the clinical and research implications of the findings. We also consider how the reader of a systematic review can determine whether the review is likely to provide an unbiased (believable) estimate of the treatment effect. A systematic review of randomized trials of a cardiopulmonary physical therapy intervention is used as an example. The issue of appraisal of quality is then discussed further, with a demonstration of how one validated tool for quality appraisal–the PEDro scale–can be used to evaluate a randomized trial in cardiopulmonary physical therapy.Key Words: systematic review, physical therapy     

Theorizing progress: Women in science,engineering, and technology in higher education

A conceptual framework of positions on women in science, engineering, and technology (SET) was developed, showing a chronological progression of the main approaches to women's underrepresentation in SET during the past 20 years. Numerous initiatives have been advocated to address women's underrepresentation in SET in higher education. This article arose out of one such initiative, Winning Women, which was intended to help higher education in Scotland move toward good practice in this field. Two members of the project team describe their key findings and experiences. They illustrate how the underrepresentation of women in SET continues to be both progressive and persistent (using an SET parity index). The conceptual framework was conceived and developed from a metaanalysis of feminist theories of the gendered politics of science and technology. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 36: 637–661, 1999     

Philosophically correct science stories? Examining the implications of heroic science stories for school science

Some people think that science is a set of facts that can be presented in plain and unadorned language. This fosters a belief that science has few stories. Actually, stories are very important in school science. In an examination of science textbooks, I have identified four different types of science stories which I call (a) heroic, (b) discovery, (c) declarative, and (d) politically correct. Each of these types of story promotes a particular set of philosophical assumptions about science. These assumptions are presented implicitly within the framework of the story as truths of science. This article specifically examines the philosophical assumptions that underpin heroic science stories and the implications of these stories in the discursive practices of the school science classroom. As teachers, we need to be critically aware of these assumptions, since they may be at odds with our beliefs about knowledge and our preferred teaching practices. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 175–187, 1998.     

The Development of Invented Spelling

Ninety-three children were tested on a variety of reading-related skills, including Tangel and Blachman's (1992) invented spelling measure, four times over 1.5 years. Results revealed that this measure of invented spelling was 1) stable, 2) highly associated with traditional phonological awareness tasks, and 3) substantially predictive of standardized spelling and word and nonword decoding tests over time. A measure of orthographic processing, as well as phonological processing, was significantly associated with time 4 invented spelling, suggesting that both orthographic and phonological processes are involved in invented spelling. These results indicate that this measure of invented spelling may be an optimal diagnostic tool for researchers and educators interested in predicting subsequent reading ability/disability in early development. Invented spelling administered in early kindergarten may be an even better predictor of subsequent decoding skills than are traditional phonological awareness tasks, for American school children.