Authentic school partnerships for enabling inclusive education in Hong Kong

Education reform towards a whole school approach to catering for diversity within Hong Kong government schools has seen the initiation of several strategies to support mainstream schools in this transition. One of these approaches is the use of a resource school model. Special and mainstream schools in Hong Kong are being invited to establish themselves as resource support hubs for partner mainstream schools. This paper investigates how this model is being implemented by considering one of each type of resource school. Three broad themes have emerged that relate to the type of support being offered and sought: the school ethos and culture of the partner schools; and management issues. The effectiveness of a resource model is evaluated for its use in Hong Kong.     

纽约——繁荣与奢华的摇篮

在第82届奥斯卡颁奖晚会上,法国作品《商标的世界》（Logorama）获得了最佳动画短片奖,这部短片以让人应接不暇的商标对人们造成视觉冲击,几乎包罗了所有世界顶级的品牌。     

Predicting individual differences in reading comprehension: a twin study

We examined the Simple View of reading from a behavioral genetic perspective. Two aspects of word decoding (phonological decoding and word recognition), two aspects of oral language skill (listening comprehension and vocabulary), and reading comprehension were assessed in a twin sample at age 9. Using latent factor models, we found that overlap among phonological decoding, word recognition, listening comprehension, vocabulary, and reading comprehension was primarily due to genetic influences. Shared environmental influences accounted for associations among word recognition, listening comprehension, vocabulary, and reading comprehension. Independent of phonological decoding and word recognition, there was a separate genetic link between listening comprehension, vocabulary, and reading comprehension and a specific shared environmental link between vocabulary and reading comprehension. There were no residual genetic or environmental influences on reading comprehension. The findings provide evidence for a genetic basis to the “Simple View” of reading.     

Hot hands,cold feet? Investigating effects of interacting constraints on place kicking performance at the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup

Place kicks in Rugby Union present valuable opportunities to score points outside the spatiotemporal dynamics of open play but are executed under varying performance constraints. We analysed effects of specific task constraints and relevant contextual factors on place kick performance in the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup. Data were collected from television broadcasts for each place kick. In addition to kick outcomes, contextual factors, including time of the kick in the match, score margin at the time of the kick, and outcome of the kicker’s previous kick, were recorded. Effects of spatial task constraints were analysed for each kick, using distance (m) and angle (°) of the kick to the goalposts. A binomial logistic regression model revealed that distance from, and angle to, the goalposts were significant predictors of place kick outcome. Furthermore, the success percentage of kickers who missed their previous kick was 7% lower than those who scored their previous kick. Place kick success percentage in the 10 minutes before half-time was 8% lower than the mean tournament success percentage, which was 75% (95% CI 71–78%). The highest kick success percentage was recorded when scores were level (83%; 95% CI 72–91%). Our data highlighted how subtle changes in task constraints and contextual factors can influence performance outcomes in elite performers in international competition. Fluctuations in place kick success suggested that individual constraints, such as thoughts, emotions and fatigue, induced during competition, could interact with perceptions to influence emergent performance behaviours.     

Ergogenic effects of precooling with cold water immersion and ice ingestion: A meta-analysis

This review evaluated the effects of precooling via cold water immersion (CWI) and ingestion of ice slurry/slushy or crushed ice (ICE) on endurance performance measures (e.g. time-to-exhaustion and time trials) and psychophysiological parameters (core [T_core] and skin [T_skin] temperatures, whole body sweat [WBS] response, heart rate [HR], thermal sensation [TS], and perceived exertion [RPE]). Twenty-two studies were included in the meta-analysis based on the following criteria: (i) cooling was performed before exercise with ICE or CWI; (ii) exercise longer than 6?min was performed in ambient temperature ≥26°C; and (iii) crossover study design with a non-cooling passive control condition. CWI improved performance measures (weighted average effect size in Hedges’ g [95% confidence interval]?+?0.53 [0.28; 0.77]) and resulted in greater increase (ΔEX) in T_skin (+4.15 [3.1; 5.21]) during exercise, while lower peak T_core (?0.93 [?1.18; ?0.67]), WBS (?0.74 [?1.18; ?0.3]), and TS (?0.5 [?0.8; ?0.19]) were observed without concomitant changes in ΔEX-T_core (+0.19 [?0.22; 0.6]), peak T_skin (?0.67 [?1.52; 0.18]), peak HR (?0.14 [?0.38; 0.11]), and RPE (?0.14 [?0.39; 0.12]). ICE had no clear effect on performance measures (+0.2 [?0.07; 0.46]) but resulted in greater ΔEX-T_core (+1.02 [0.59; 1.45]) and ΔEX-T_skin (+0.34 [0.02; 0.67]) without concomitant changes in peak T_core (?0.1 [?0.48; 0.28]), peak T_skin (+0.1 [?0.22; 0.41]), peak HR (+0.08 [?0.19; 0.35]), WBS (?0.12 [?0.42; 0.18]), TS (?0.2 [?0.49; 0.1]), and RPE (?0.01 [?0.33; 0.31]). From both ergogenic and thermoregulatory perspectives, CWI may be more effective than ICE as a precooling treatment prior to exercise in the heat.     

Examining the Underrepresentation of Asian Americans in Special Education: New Trends from California School Districts

Despite decades of research on racial disproportionality in special education, the underrepresentation of Asian Americans in services tends to be overlooked in policy and practice. Underrepresentation, however, raises the possibility of similar concerns about misidentification, bias, and racial inequality within schools as overrepresentation. Yet, little is known about the scope and magnitude of underrepresentation for Asian Americans in special education. National and state-level data are helpful in documenting trends but tend to ignore the wide variation in Asian American representation across local areas. This study assesses Asian American underrepresentation in special education across all school districts in California and explores district-level factors that may predict these disparities. The results show that while Asian Americans are underrepresented in special education in nearly all districts, the disparities are greater in those with larger Asian American populations. In the case of autism, however, Asian Americans are overrepresented in most districts. A consistent predictor of these disparities is the racial composition of the teaching staff. Overall, the study shows that national data can underestimate the extent of Asian American underrepresentation in special education and calls attention to Asian American students who may be overlooked for needed services.     

Understanding When Teachers Disagree about Student Disability

The persistent racial and ethnic disparities in special education in the United States raise concerns about the potential misidentification of students. While previous studies have focused on how various student and school factors influence teacher decisions, there is less attention on when teachers disagree about student disability or special education. The current study uses national data from the Educational Longitudinal Study of 2002 to examine when teachers disagreed in their perception of student disability for more than 10,000 high school students. A unique feature of the data is each student is observed in two different subject classrooms, providing an opportunity to examine how differences in student achievement, behavior, and teacher characteristics influence when teachers disagreed in their judgment of student disability. The results indicate that teachers were more likely to disagree when student behavior varied across classrooms, while differences in student achievement and teacher characteristics were not related to disagreement. The study also found that teachers disagreed more for students who were Black, male, and from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. The main findings highlight how disability is often a context-dependent social construct and have implications for how students are identified for special education.     

Loaded dice: games playing and the gendered barriers of the academy

This paper explores the perceptions and experiences of women academics in the UK, participating in a small-scale qualitative study exploring career progression and encountered institutional obstacles. The accounts are considered in terms of both disadvantageous institutional strategies and interpersonal ones governing day-to-day working relationships. The findings contribute to a growing body of international research on gender constructions in the academy, where both inhibiting and exclusionary barriers are examined in focus group discussions (FGDs) in terms of gendered constructions that are perceived to impact upon the career opportunities of women academics. Analysis of data encouraged the employment of a ludic construction in this critical exploration of games playing and ‘gamesmanship’ (a masculinised term); these being themes raised in the FGDs as representing blocks and challenges to women’s academic careers.