Food of paradise: Tahitian breadfruit and the autocritique of European consumption

In many ways, Tahiti was central to European colonialism, for it was there that European visitors forged a model of primitive nature that served as a comparison to, and sometimes critique of, European civilization. Tahiti was also the place from which a unique plant, the breadfruit, was brought to European colonies and to England and France during the late 18th century, at the behest of naturalists. With the breadfruit travelled contrasting perceptions of the Tahitian way of life. The autocritique of European lifestyles and the naturalization of the breadfruit are closely intertwined. The breadfruit indeed became a radical food of the end of the 18th century.     

Executive function effects and numerical development in children: Behavioural and ERP evidence from a numerical Stroop paradigm

Most research on numerical development in children is behavioural, focusing on accuracy and response time in different problem formats. However, Temple and Posner (1998) used ERPs and the numerical distance task with 5-year-olds to show that the development of numerical representations is difficult to disentangle from the development of the executive components of response organization and execution. Here we use the numerical Stroop paradigm (NSP) and ERPs to study possible executive interference in numerical processing tasks in 6–8-year-old children. In the NSP, the numerical magnitude of the digits is task-relevant and the physical size of the digits is task-irrelevant. We show that younger children are highly susceptible to interference from irrelevant physical information such as digit size, but that access to the numerical representation is almost as fast in young children as in adults. We argue that the developmental trajectories for executive function and numerical processing may act together to determine numerical development in young children.     

An investigation of academic writing in secondary schools to inform the development of diagnostic classroom assessments

Despite the high stakes attached to students’ performance on assessments of academic writing, we still know little about the challenges students face when composing in academic contexts. To begin to address this problem, two studies were designed with the following aims: to identify and describe the most prevalent types of academic writing at the secondary level, and to characterize the challenges that both English Language Learners (ELLs) and non-English-Language Learners (non-ELLs) experience with this type of writing. Findings from these studies reveal that (1) in the context of New York City schools, exposition/argument is the most prevalent genre assigned as a writing task in secondary classrooms, as well as the most valued; and that (2) while both Intermediate ELLs and non-ELLs articulated Translating (the process of articulating ideas in the conventions of written English) as the most frequent challenge, the two groups differed in the kinds of Translating challenges and in the types and range of other challenges they articulated: ELLs articulated fewer challenges specifically related to the genre of exposition than did non-ELLs. Based on these findings we suggest several new approaches to classroom diagnostic assessment of writing, and raise issues to be considered in these approaches.     

Young refugees’ and asylum seekers’ career choices: a qualitative investigation

International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance - A major challenge for refugees and asylum seekers is social and professional integration. Using constructivist and capability...     

A paradox of age in early childhood education: A review of the literature and survey of Australian educators working with three-year-old children

Educational Research for Policy and Practice - A paradox concerning age exists in early childhood education (ECE) across many countries today, evident in the literature, curriculum, policy,...     

Temporal Aspects of the VO2 Response at the Power Output Associated with VO2peak in Well Trained Cyclists—Implications for Interval Training Prescription

Abstract

The power output achieved at peak oxygen consumption (VO ₂Peak) and the time this power can be maintained (i. e., Tmax) have been used in prescribing high-intensity interval training. In this context, the present study examined temporal aspects of the VO₂ response to exercise at the cycling power that output well trained cyclists achieve their VO ₂peak (i. e., Pmax). Following a progressive exercise test to determine VO ₂peak, 43 well trained male cyclists (M age = 25 years, SD = 6; M mass = 75 kg, SD = 7; M VO₂ peak = 64.8 ml-kg¹ min^?1, SD = 5.2) performed two Tmax tests 1 week apart. Values expressed for each participant are means and standard deviations of these two tests. Participants achieved a mean VO ₂peak during the Tmax test after 176 s (SD = 40; M = 74% of Tmax, SD = 12) and maintained it for 66 s (SD = 39; M = 26% of Tmax, SD = 12). Additionally, they obtained mean 95% of VO ₂peak after 147 s (SD = 31; M = 62% of Tmax, SD = 8) and maintained it for 95 s (SD = 38; M = 38 % of Tmax, SD = 8). These results suggest that 60–70 % of Tmax is an appropriate exercise duration for a population of well trained cyclists to attain VO ₂peak during exercise at Pmax. However, due to intraparticipant variability in the temporal aspects of the VO₂ response to exercise at Pmax, future research is needed to examine whether individual high-intensity interval training programs for well trained endurance athletes might best be prescribed according to an athlete's individual VO₂ response to exercise at Pmax.     

Assessment for community service types of experiential learning in the engineering discipline

While experential learning has been increasingly explored and adopted by higher education institutions, few have researched the appropriate assessment methods that can be aligned with the learning outcomes of experential learning. A literature review on the diverse forms of assessment currently used for community service types of experiential learning in higher education is presented in this paper to review their appropriateness in assessing experential learning. The paper also describes the assessment framework of the University of Hong Kong Sichuan Reconstruction Community Service Project, which is incorporated into a multidisciplinary community service learning project. Feedback from students and teachers are reviewed to gauge their preferences towards these assessments, as well as their opinions on assigning academic credits to experential learning projects.     

Learning to play in a goal-directed practice

This study concerns the relationship between learning and play. On the basis of sociocultural theory, some ideas are put forward about how this relationship can be conceptualised in the context of goal-directed practice. Empirical data from primary school with children 6–8 years old are used to illustrate and discuss this conceptualisation. It is suggested that learning and play need to be seen as intrinsically interwoven, and that children’s play is contingent on their learning, more particularly the cultural tools they have appropriated or are in the midst of appropriating.     

Communicating About Chronic Caregiving in the Workplace: Employees’ Disclosure Preferences,Intentions, and Behaviors

A growing number of Americans are living with chronic health conditions that require informal, ongoing care from family members who are also in the paid labor force. In this exploratory study, communication privacy management is used to make sense of chronic caregiving (N = 48–64) and noncaregiving (N = 174–178) employees’ disclosure preferences, intentions, and behaviors in the workplace. We find that workers in general anticipate that they would disclose to many individuals at work about their caregiving, but employees actually disclose much less information to far fewer people at work when they occupy the chronic caregiver role. For chronic caregivers, positive perceptions about coworker supportiveness predict increased disclosure behaviors. Finally, future research directions as employers, workers, and policy makers prepare for the complex challenges associated with negotiating paid work and unpaid chronic caregiving are provided.