Observations sur la dimension pratique dans la formation des enseignants

The strongpoints on which to plan the initial education and training of teachers are dealt with. On the training side two elements are considered: that part of training linked to learning processes, and the other part facing the social life of classroom and school, social and affective growth, civic education. It is advocated that the interaction between subject‐matter and its construction/transmission could take place through practical experimental paths within the actual work of school.     

The difficulty of sit-ups tests: an empirical investigation.

This study estimated the difficulty of various sit-ups tests using an item response theory (IRT) model, the Rasch Poisson Counts model. Scores were obtained on 18 sit-ups tests. All tests were thought to vary in difficulty based on clinical observations. Item difficulty was defined by the Poisson model as the difficulty of Step 1, where the difficulty of a step represented the difficulty of completing a sit-up. The difficulty values of the tests ranged from -4.02 to -3.57. The easiest test was executed with hands on thighs and feet anchored. Most tests had good fit values. The results demonstrated that a variety of sit-ups tests can provide a range of difficulties and variety in forming a sit-ups test bank.     

Drivers of spin-off performance in industry clusters: Embodied knowledge or embedded firms?

Numerous studies attest to the distinctive performance of intra-industry spin-offs located in agglomerated regions. Besides entrepreneurs’ pre-entry experience, both superior hires and regional embeddedness have been suggested as factors contributing to this pattern. We employ linked employer-employee data to assess their relevance in the empirical context of the Portuguese plastic injection molds industry. We find that the longevity of entrants is associated with the number and quality of early employees hired from within the industry, consistent with the importance of embodied knowledge flows. Our findings do not suggest that entrants’ centrality in the regional industry network enhances their longevity.     

Movement behaviors and their association with depressive symptoms in Brazilian adolescents: A cross-sectional study

Background:Physical activity,sleep,and sedentary behaviors compose 24-h movement behaviors and have been independently associated with depressive symptoms.However,it is not clear whether it is the movement behavior itself or other contextual factors that are related to depressive symptoms.The objective of the present study was to examine the associations between self-reported and accelerometer-measured movement behaviors and depressive symptoms in adolescents.Methods:Cross-sectional data from 610 adolescents(14-18 years old)were used.Adolescents answered questions from the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression scale and reported time spent watching videos,playing videogames,using social media,time spent in various physical activities,and daytime sleepiness.Wrist-worn accelerometers were used to measure sleep duration,sleep efficiency,sedentary time,and physical activity.Mixed-effects logistic regressions were used.Results:Almost half of the adolescents(48%)were classified as being at high risk for depression(score≥20).No significant associations were found between depressive symptoms and accelerometer-measured movement behaviors,self-reported non-sport physical activity,watching videos,and playing videogames.However,higher levels of self-reported total physical activity(odd ratio(OR)=0.92,95%confidence interval(95%CI):0.86-0.98)and volume of sports(OR=0.88,95%CI:0.79-0.97),in minutes,were associated with a lower risk of depression,while using social media for either 2.0-3.9 h/day(OR=1.77,95%CI:1.58-2.70)or>3.9 h/day(OR=1.67,95%CI:1.10-2.54),as well as higher levels of daytime sleepiness(OR=1.17,95%CI:1.12-1.22),were associated with a higher risk of depression.Conclusion:What adolescents do when they are active or sedentary may be more important than the time spent in the movement behaviors because it relates to depressive symptoms.Targeting daytime sleepiness,promoting sports,and limiting social media use may benefit adolescents.     

High-volume resistance training reduces postprandial lipaemia in postmenopausal women

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of 11 weeks of low-volume resistance training (LVRT) and high-volume resistance training (HVRT) on muscle strength, muscle thickness (MT), and postprandial lipaemia (PPL) in postmenopausal women. Thirty-six healthy and untrained postmenopausal women (age, 58.9 ± 5.8 years; 68.6 ± 10.3 kg; and BMI, 26.9 ± 4.8 kg · m^?2) participated in resistance training 3× per week for 11 weeks (HVRT = 12; LVRT = 13; and control group = 11). Biochemical variables, both pretraining and post-training, were evaluated 16 h after the administration of an oral fat tolerance test (OFTT) and metabolic variable during [energy expenditure (EE)] and after training session [excess postexercise oxygen consumption (EPOC)]. Muscle strength (1 RM) and MT were also calculated, and no significant differences were observed between the groups for PPL (mmol · L^?1 per 5 h) as measured by glucose, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, and total cholesterol. EE total (EE + EPOC; 6.12 ± 1.21 MJ vs. 2.26 ± 0.85 MJ), resting fat oxidation (5.52 ± 1.69 g · h^?1 vs. 4.11 ± 1.12 g · h^?1); MT (vastus medialis, 21.4 ± 1.8 mm vs. 18.4 ± 1.2 mm and vastus lateralis 22.3 ± 1.2 mm vs. 20.8 ± 1.3 mm); triacylglycerol (TAG) 0, 1, 2, 4; and 5 h after OFTT, TAG area under the curve (AUC) (5.79 ± 0.42 vs. 7.78 ± 0.68), and incremental AUC (?46.21 ± 14.42% vs. 7.78 ± 4.68%) were all significantly different post-training for HVRT versus LVRT, respectively (P < 0.05). The results of this investigation suggest that HVRT reduces PPL in postmenopausal women.     

The understanding of monsters at the Royal Society in the first half of the eighteenth century

In tune with an Enlightenment sensibility that focused on the search for order and regularities, monsters were given a marginal position in eighteenth-century medical works. By contrast, they had an important place at the Royal Society during the second half of the century. This article first focuses on the general interest in monsters within the context of the natural historical agenda and corporate activity of the Society and then addresses the medical understanding of monsters by members of the Society. Finally, it discusses some of the moral and social implications of their medicalization in eighteenth century England.     

Five themes in a thought-full curriculum

Curriculum, instruction, learning and assessment are the pulse of the school. They are what drive everything else. They are the currency through which we exchange thoughts and ideas. They are the passions that bind our organization together. Educators recognize the growing need for informed, skilled, thoughtful and compassionate citizens who value truth, openness, creativity, interdependence, balance and love as well as the search for personal and spiritual freedom in all areas of one's life. This demands that the school's curriculum must be open and flexible enough to accommodate these new perspectives. In this article, five themes will be presented as “lenses” with which to view a thought-filled curriculum.     

Perspectives on the Origins of Life in Science Textbooks from a Christian Publisher: Implications for Teaching Science

This paper presents the results of research regarding approaches to the origin of life featured in science textbooks produced by an Evangelical publisher. The research nature was qualitative with document analysis and an interpretive framework based on Epistemological Pluralism. Overall, the results indicate that there are four perspectives on the origin of life in textbooks under study. These perspectives do not distinguish scientific knowledge from religious knowledge but present a hybrid of scientific and religious knowledge. There are scientific inaccuracies in the perspectives, which emphasize biblical arguments over scientific arguments. Data analysis and conclusions take into account the central argument of Epistemological Pluralism about the importance of demarcation of science in relation to other knowledge systems and its consequences for learning science.     

Factors affecting corporate image from the perspective of distance learning students in public higher education institutions

New information technologies enable different interactions in the educational environment, affecting how the image of educational institutions adopting distance-learning programmes is perceived. This article identifies factors affecting the perception of corporate image from the viewpoint of distance-learning students at public higher education institutions. The results indicate that the institution’s image is a translation of impressions generated from the individual’s interaction with various organisational components, based on relevant cognitive and affective aspects according to the way of observing the environment. The study demonstrated both the multidimensionality of the image and that the institution’s overall image is associated most strongly with its affective image. The study also demonstrated that the virtual environment was the factor most strongly associated with affective image.     

A ‘power law’ based method to reduce size-related bias in indicators of knowledge performance: An application to university research assessment

The knowledge production provided by universities is essential to sustaining a country’s long-term economic growth and international competitiveness. Many nations are thus driving to create sustainable and effective funding environments. The evaluation of university knowledge, productivity and research quality becomes critical, with ever increasing share of public funding allocated on the basis of research assessment exercises. Nevertheless, the existing methods to assess the universities’ knowledge production are often affected by limits and biases, extensively discussed in the scientific literature.In this paper we study how to reduce the effect of size-related bias due to university size on the indicators of knowledge performance used in evaluation exercises. We propose an innovative utilization of the scale-free property of the power laws as a scaling relationship, to normalize research productivity indicators, and provide results independent by the university size. Our method has evident policy implications and gives a contribution for the future design of assessment exercises.We apply our findings in a recent Italian research assessment exercise.