Social competence: An untapped dimension in evaluating head start's success

From its inception, Head Start has maintained children's social and emotional adjustment as a primary goal of intervention, but researchers have yet to settle on a consensus definition of social competence that can be used in developmental research and program evaluation. To address this gap in our knowledge base, we offer a comprehensive review of the extant research on children's social skills, including their ability to modulate their feelings, their social cognitions, and their behaviors within the context of peer interaction, as measures of social competence. We then examine definitions of social competence in light of assessments of children's performance, as assessed by parents, teachers and peers. Based upon this review, we offer a comprehensive set of concrete policy recommendations for the assessment of social competence as a key indicator of programmatic success, when evaluating early childhood intervention.     

“I believe I will go out of this class actually knowing something”: Cooperative learning activities in physical chemistry

The purposes of this study were to describe the structure of events during cooperative learning activities—Friday discussion sessions—in a graduate-level thermodynamics course and to understand what these activities meant to the students. First, we describe the structure of Friday discussion sessions in our classroom, which were used to focus student attention on conceptual issues rather than algorithmic problem solving. Second, we delineate findings which emerge from the perspective of the students. We found that cooperative learning activities move students away from rote learning strategies and toward more meaningful strategies which allowed them to integrate concepts over the entire semester. In addition, we discovered that the sharing of insights and ideas between students leads to the development of interpersonal skills and communication skills which the students perceive as an important component of the Friday discussion sessions. Implications for further classroom use, low-status versus high-status students, and assessment are discussed. J Res Sci Teach 34: 819–835, 1997.     

The isles of wonder—a new Jerusalem? British newspaper narratives about the opening ceremony of the XXXth Olympiad

The Isles of Wonder, the 2012 London Olympic Games Opening Ceremony, was viewed by a record global audience either live or through a range of electronic, social, and print media. British newspaper discourses provided reflection of the mega-sporting event as a ‘second-order’ construction, which gave readers an opportunity to reflexively decide what Britishness had come to represent. Theoretical insights about British identity were drawn from Anderson’s (1983 Anderson, B. 1983. Imagined Communities. New York: Verso. [Google Scholar]) concept of the nation as an ‘imagined community’, Tajfel and Turner’s (1986 Tajfel, H., and J. Turner. 1986. “The Social Identity Theory of Intergroup Behavior.” In Psychology of Intergroup Relations, edited by S. Worchel and W. G. Austin, 7–24. 2nd ed. Chicago: Nelson Hall Publishers. [Google Scholar]) social identity theory, and Edmunds and Turner’s (2001 Edmunds, J., and B. S. Turner. 2001. “The Re-Invention of a National Identity? Women and Cosmopolitan Englishness.” Ethnicities 1 (1): 83–108.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) juxtaposition of benign and malign nationalism. Our qualitative textual analysis revealed that although at times complex, contested, and contradictory, the narratives generally linked the internationalism of the Olympics with a progressive, benign version of Britishness that was still ‘great’. Underpinned by the aspirational New Jerusalem theme, the narratives generally acclaimed the Isles of Wonder as Britain’s first gold medal of the Games.     

Validity of the Marshall Sitting Questionnaire in people with multiple sclerosis

This study examines the validity of the Marshall Sitting Questionnaire (MSQ) in people with multiple sclerosis (MS) and presents a prediction model to improve the accuracy of the MSQ estimates. Participants (n = 63 [15M and 48F], age: 56.6 ± 7.3 years) wore an accelerometer on the hip for a 7-day period and completed the MSQ. Sedentary behaviour (SB) estimates were computed as min/day for both the MSQ and accelerometer. Associations between the two methods were examined using the Pearson correlation and agreement was assessed using a Bland-Altman plot. A linear prediction model was developed to improve the accuracy of the MSQ estimates using a selection of predictor variables routinely collected in MS research. There was a moderate correlation between MSQ and accelerometer SB estimates (r = 0.34, p < 0.01). The Bland-Altman plot indicated that the MSQ overestimated SB (mean bias: 80.54 min/day, 95% limits of agreement: ?410.5 to 571.5 min/day). The prediction model improved the MSQ estimates by 39% and virtually eliminated measurement bias (mean bias:-0.21 min/day; 95% limits of agreement:-109.8 to 109.4 min/day). The results indicate preliminary evidence for the validity of the MSQ in people with MS, and support the application of an alternative prediction model to improve the accuracy of the MSQ estimates.

Abbreviations: SB = sedentary behaviour; MS = multiple sclerosis; MSQ = Marshall Sitting Questionnaire; PA = physical activity; EDSS = Expanded Disability Status Scale; LPA = light physical activity; MVPA = moderate-to-vigorous physical activity; GLTEQ = Godin Leisure Time Exercise Questionnaire; PDDS = Patient-Determined Disease Steps; RMSE = root mean square error.     

Physical movement demands of elite-level netball match-play as measured by an indoor positioning system

ABSTRACT

Physical movement demands in elite netball match-play have been limited to notational analysis or accelerometer-derived measures, due in part to the indoor environment in which they are played. Commercially available local positioning systems (LPS) using ultra-wideband communication have been designed to bring similar capabilities as global positioning systems (GPS) to indoor environments. This study aims to quantify both spatiotemporal and traditional accelerometer-derived measures, to assess the movement demands of all playing positions, during Australian national netball league matches. Total distance, metreage per minute, acceleration density, acceleration density index, acceleration load, jumps, velocity bands, acceleration bands and PlayerLoad variables have been presented for each position. Mean total distance-covered in match-play differed substantially between positions. Centre position accumulated the highest mean distance (5462.1 ± 169.4 m), whilst the Goal Shooter consistently covered the lowest mean distance (2134 ± 102.6 m). Change of direction relative to movement area was highest for the two most restricted positions based on average acceleration per 10 m covered during match-play (Goal Shooter; 7.21 ± 0.88 m · s ^{? 2} and Goal Keeper; 6.75 ± 0.37 m · s ^{? 2}, remaining positions; 5.71 ± 0.14 m · s ^{? 2}). The positional profiles outlined in this study can assist skill and conditioning coaches to prescribe training sessions that will optimise the athlete’s physical preparation for the demands of competition.     

Perceived Norms and Marijuana Use at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Relatively little is known about the extent of marijuana use and related risk‐taking behavior by college students on historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Undergraduate students (N = 212) from an HBCU in the southern region of the United States completed anonymous questionnaires that assessed their marijuana‐related behaviors and perceptions. Logistic regression analysis revealed risk factor profiles that provide college counselors with greater insight into prevention and treatment on HBCU campuses.     

Response to Pepperberg; Herman and Uyeyama; and Shanker, Savage-Rumbaugh, and Taylor

Whether the animals studied by Pepperberg, Herman, and Savage-Rumbaugh can learn prepositions remains an open and important question, though the dolphins’ use of demonstratives and conjuctions suggests an impressive competence for at least some closed-class items. It is unlikely that human-like brain structure can explain the capacities of these animals. Their capacities may instead be built upon the cognitive mechanisms favored by social complexity