The role of stimulus salience in young children's ability to discriminate two-dimensional rotations: Reflections on a paradigm

Children's ability to discriminate reflections and rotations of visual stimuli was examined within the confines of a mental rotation task. It was hypothesized that success would be affected by both characteristics of the stimulus and by the subtlety of the discrimination required. Forty 3- to 4-year-old children were directed to mentally rotate a stimulus a given number of degrees and to discriminate the appearance of the rotated stimulus from among a set of alternatives. Four stimuli differing in the number of visual orientation cues were utilized across 24 trials. A significant effect was found for number of orientation cues, and data indicated the difficulty children experienced detecting reflections, a task which bears close resemblance to the yes/no option in prototypic rotation studies. Children were only successful with a limited range of stimuli when discrimination of a reflected foil was not required. Results are discussed in light of discrepant findings about children's kinetic imagery ability and the advisability of using this particular paradigm with young Children.     

Techniques for Tracking Perpetual Access

Tracking perpetual access entitlements is a challenging task that is too often simply ignored. Here, the presenter makes the case for the importance of systematically tracking perpetual access and outlines the information that is necessary to record. The presenter also draws on the literature and conversations with ten librarians working on the issue to provide a set of techniques for this task. These techniques incorporate several different systems common to academic libraries and include scenarios that illustrate the use in common situations.     

The effect of breast support and breast pain on upper-extremity kinematics during running: implications for females with large breasts

The relationship between inappropriate breast support and upper-extremity kinematics for female runners is unclear. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of breast support and breast pain on upper-extremity kinematics during running. Eleven female recreational runners with larger breasts (UK D and E cup) completed a 7 min 20 s treadmill run (2.58 m · s^?1) in a high and low breast support condition. Multi-planar breast and upper-extremity kinematic data were captured in each breast support condition by eight infrared cameras for 30 s towards the end of the run. Breast pain was rated at the end of each treadmill run using a numeric analogue scale. The high support bra reduced breast kinematics and decreased breast pain (P < 0.05). Upper-extremity kinematics did not differ between breast support conditions (P > 0.05), although some moderate positive correlations were found between thorax range of motion and breast kinematics (r = 0.54 to 0.73). Thorax and arm kinematics do not appear to be influenced by breast support level in female runners with large breasts. A high support bra that offers good multi-planar breast support is recommended for female runners with larger breasts to reduce breast pain.     

The movement of the trunk and breast during front crawl and breaststroke swimming

Breast displacement has been investigated in various activities to inform bra design, with the goal of minimising movement; however, breast motion during swimming has yet to be considered. The aim was to investigate trunk and breast kinematics whilst wearing varying levels of breast support during two swimming strokes. Six larger-breasted females swam front crawl and breaststroke (in a swimming flume), in three breast support conditions while three video cameras recorded the motion of the trunk and right breast. Trunk and relative breast kinematics were calculated. Greater breast displacement occurred mediolaterally in the swimsuit condition (7.8, s = 1.5 cm) during front crawl and superioinferiorly in the bare-breasted condition (3.7, s = 1.6 cm) during breaststroke, with the sports bra significantly reducing breast displacements. During front crawl, the greatest trunk roll occurred in the sports bra condition (43.1, s = 8.3°) and during breaststroke greater trunk extension occurred in the swimsuit condition (55.4, s = 5.0°); however, no differences were found in trunk kinematics between the three breast support conditions. Results suggest that the swimsuit was ineffective as a means of additional support for larger-breasted women during swimming; incorporating design features of sports bras into swimsuits may improve the breast support provided.     

Reinforcing attitudes in a gatewatching news era: Individual-level antecedents to sharing fact-checks on social media

Despite the prevalence of fact-checking, little is known about who posts fact-checks online. Based upon a content analysis of Facebook and Twitter digital trace data and a linked online survey (N?=?783), this study reveals that sharing fact-checks in political conversations on social media is linked to age, ideology, and political behaviors. Moreover, an individual’s need for orientation (NFO) is an even stronger predictor of sharing a fact-check than ideological intensity or relevance, alone, and also influences the type of fact-check format (with or without a rating scale) that is shared. Finally, participants generally shared fact-checks to reinforce their existing attitudes. Consequently, concerns over the effects of fact-checking should move beyond a limited-effects approach (e.g., changing attitudes) to also include reinforcing accurate beliefs.     

Social capital in the classroom: a study of in-class social capital and school adjustment

Social capital is generally considered beneficial for students’ school adjustment. This paper argues that social relationships among pupils generate social capital at both the individual and the class levels, and that each has its unique effect on pupils’ performance and well-being. The sample in this study consists of 1036 children in 60 first-grade classes in 46 Dutch elementary schools. Multilevel regression results show that a substantial proportion of the variance in school adjustment can be attributed to the class level and that both individual-level and classroom-level social capital have substantial effects on school adjustment. At the individual level, the size of one’s network is more important than its structure. At the collective level, social capital also has a ‘dark side’ because it can have negative effects on adjustment, lowering the academic performance in a class.     

Building Inclusive Pedagogy: Recommendations From a National Study of Students of Color in Higher Education and Student Affairs Graduate Programs

In this study, we share the racialized experiences of 29 students of color in higher education and student affairs graduate programs, focusing specifically on their relationships with faculty, their experiences in classrooms, and the strategies they recommend for inclusion. Participants indicated that they are expected to serve as the racial expert in classrooms and that many faculty fail to effectively facilitate discussions related to race and racism and to intervene in instances of racial microaggressions. Participants convey effective strategies to build racially-inclusive classrooms which include authenticity, vulnerability, and validation.     

In search of systemic innovation for sustainable development: A design praxis emerging from a decade of social learning inquiry

Processes of designing for systemic innovation for sustainable development (SD) through the lens of three long-term case studies are reported. All case studies, which originated from the SLIM (Social Learning for the Integrated Management and Sustainable Use of Water at Catchment Scale) Project, funded within the EU Fifth Framework Program (2001–2004), constitute inquiry pathways that are explored using a critical incident approach. The initial starting conditions for each inquiry pathway are compared; significant pathway dependencies are identified which foster the development of social learning processes locally, but constrain their uptake and embedding across the wider system of interest. In the first case study, in England & Wales, promising developments in the application of social learning approaches to river basin planning over an initial 3-year period were subsequently marginalised, only to resurface towards the end of the 10-year period of study. In the second, South African case study, significant spaces for social learning and innovation in integrated water resources management were opened up over a five year period but closed down again, primarily as the result of lack of policy support by national government. The third, Italian, case study was designed to assess options for adapting to climate change by opening up new learning spaces between researchers, stakeholders and policy makers. A case for investing in local level systemic innovation through social-learning praxis design approaches and in learning processes around well contextualised case-studies is supported. However, concomitant investment by policy makers in social learning as an alternative, but complementary, governance mechanism for systemic innovation for SD is needed.