Poetry – Primary School Pupils’ Knowledge and Attitudes with Specific Reference to Year 5

It is probably true to say that poetry for children is still a fairly neglected area of study. There have been very few studies which have attempted to ascertain what primary pupils prefer in poetry. Such information is vital if teachers are to build upon their pupils’ tastes and experiences. Geoff Fenwick and Denis Burns here discuss the results of a small scale look at children’s poetry preferences. They raise several points which will be of interest to primary teachers interested in using poetry with their classes.     

Moving Away from “Failing Boys” and “Passive Girls”: Gender meta-narratives in gender equity policies for Australian schools and why micro-narratives provide a better policy model

In this paper I argue that the move towards devolved modes of educational governance provides significant opportunities for feminist and pro-feminist constructionist research to impact on the types of “gender work” used by schools. Research-based understandings of gender in schools have been on the defensive in Australia and elsewhere for a decade, as demands for performative social justice policies coalesce with popular and governmental attention on the educational problems of boys. However, feminist and pro-feminist researchers can re-attain legitimacy in the policy field by marketing localized understandings of gender micro-narratives as improvements on the negative “failing boy” meta-narratives pursued by mainstream gender equity policy interventionists. While the popular, media-driven understanding frames gender as a constraint on educational access and participation, constructionist research identifies masculinity and femininity as changing constructs that produce highly specific and localized power relations. In the final part of the paper I consider the positioning of constructionist gender research in the federal government commissioned report Meeting the challenge: Final report on the boys’ lighthouse project, which demonstrated that feminist and pro-feminist readings of gender can attain legitimacy at the local level.     

Representation in memory and acquisition of knowledge from text and picture: Theoretical,methodological, and practical outcomes

Over the last 10 years, text comprehension research has undergone profound theoretical and methodological upheaval. Today, psychologists study language and texts because they present the trace markers of structures and cognitive operations. A text is no longer seen as a vehicle for conveying constructed meaning. Rather, text has been redefined as merely a structured sequence of stimuli, which activates both domain-related knowledge triggered by text information and linguistic knowledge. We present the theoretical views and experimental findings of the TEXTIMA group, characterized by the importance of the connectionist concepts.     

The reluctant primary school teacher

The study attempts to identify the factors which affect teacher's reluctance to teach science, then explains an approach to help teachers teach science in a worthwhile manner over the school year while monitoring any changes in their confidence and competence. It was found that the condidence and competence of the teachers improved during the year such that they were able to teach successful science lessons on a regular basis. Specializations: primary science and technology education, curriculum development and implementation, teacher education. Specializations: primary science curriculum, early childhood education, gender and science. Specializations: primary science and technology education, issues related to girls in science and technology.     

NEW PERSPECTIVES ON ACADEMIC EXCHANGE BETWEEN EASTERN AND WESTERN EUROPE

The author begins with a consideration of the meaning of academic mobility and academic exchange and why it is desirable. He reflects on various spin‐off effects and on the motives of students and faculty members who involve themselves in mobility and exchange programmes. With regard to mobility and academic exchange between the countries of eastern and western Europe, he examines the context of academic relations between the two regions, the role of conventions and agreements, and the volume and characteristics of exchanges in recent years. Among the problems and obstacles which crop up, he cites questions of lack of knowledge of the “other” and the resulting mistrust, problems of language, administrative rigidity, and financial difficulties. But the author concludes that with the new attitudes and the environment of co‐operation created by the “glasnost” and the “perestroika” phenomena, the perspectives for increased East‐West academic mobility and exchange are greatly improved.

     

Flexible and context-dependent categorization by eighteen-month-olds

One hundred 18-month-olds were tested using sequential touching and following 4 different priming contexts using sets of toys that could be simultaneously categorized at either the basic or global level. An exact expression of the expected mean sequence length for arbitrary categories was derived as a function of the number of touches made, and a finite mixture model analytic method was also used to explore individual variability in categorization. Toddlers could categorize flexibly and spontaneously selected the level of categorization as a function of the prior prime. Perceptual Variability emerged as a predictor of the level at which infants subsequently categorized. The infants were also able to classify objects as members of both basic- and global-level categories simultaneously.     

Effect of antioxidants and exercise on bone metabolism

We examined the effects of antioxidant supplementation in association with progressive aerobic training on the bone metabolism of healthy elderly individuals. For 8 weeks, 13 participants (mean age 74 years) received vitamin C (500 mg) and vitamin E (100 mg) daily and participated in a supervised progressive aerobic training programme. After the 8 weeks, 25-hydroxyvitamin D and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D concentrations were increased significantly by 42.8% (P < 0.001) and 26.8% (P < 0.01) respectively, while parathyroid hormone concentration was decreased by 17.5% (p < 0.05). Of the bone markers, only bone alkaline phosphatase decreased, by 14.6% (P < 0.05). No variation was observed for ionized calcium, insulin-like growth factor-1 or insulin-like growth factor binding protein-3. Our findings suggest that 8 weeks of combined antioxidant supplementation and aerobic training modified vitamin D metabolism and parathyroid hormone concentration. These adaptations might counterbalance the unfavourable hormonal profile frequently observed in the elderly that predisposes them to accentuated age-related bone loss.     

Effect of supramaximal exercise training on metabolic outcomes in obese adults

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of 6 weeks of supramaximal exercise training (SET) on performance variables and metabolic changes in sedentary obese adults.

Twenty-four obese adults were randomly allocated into a non-trained (NT) [n = 12; body mass index (BMI) = 33(3)] and SET group [n = 12; BMI = (33(2)]. After baseline metabolic and fitness measurements, the participants completed a 6-week SET intervention. Metabolic, anthropometric, and fitness assessments were repeated post-intervention.

For SET, fasting glucose (4.64(0.15) vs. 4.32(0.22) mmol · l^–1; P < 0.01), insulin (23.2(4.6) vs. 13.8(3.3) µmol · ml^–1; P < 0.01), homoeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance index (4.78(1.2) vs. 2.65(1.5); P < 0.01) and systolic blood pressure (127(3) vs. 120(3) mmHg; P < 0.01) were significantly lower 24-h post-intervention than at baseline and for the NT group, and these changes remained significant at 72-h and 2-weeks post-intervention (P < 0.01, respectively). Interestingly, nonesterified fatty acids (0.62(0.09) vs. 0.71(0.11) mmol · l^–1; P < 0.01) and resting fat oxidation rate (57(11) vs. 63(4)%; P < 0.01) increased significantly from baseline 24-h post-intervention in the SET group and from baseline at 72-h (P < 0.01, respectively) and 2-weeks post-intervention (P < 0.01, respectively). Six weeks of SET improved a number of metabolic and vascular risk factors in obese, sedentary adults, highlighting the potential of SET to provide an alternative exercise model for the improvement of metabolic health in this population.     

Antidoping Education Using a Lifelong Situated Activity-Based Approach: Evidence,Conception, and Challenges

Studies have shown that doping behavior emerges from contexts. Educational research would therefore be enriched by explorations of the situatedness of athletes’ activity and its dynamics of development inside sporting life courses. The principles can be summarized as (a) the connection between antidoping and athletes’ time-specific and meaningful concerns, (b) the creation of fields of possible activity that preserve athletes from doping, (c) the focus on propensities toward activities that pull athletes away from doping, and (d) the regular and timely updating of programs. Following this, the general framework for the antidoping education of elite athletes comprises four levels articulated by their distribution over the periods of athletes’ careers: (a) creating and maintaining a global antidoping culture via continuous socialization, (b) developing a sustained antidoping background via situated activities, (c) supporting punctual and specific needs with free services for all athletes, and (d) promoting tertiary prevention and post-career education.