Making sense of learners making sense of written language: the selected works of Kenneth S. Goodman and Yetta M. Goodman

It is not an easy task to describe how an organization affects educational processes or events. First, the organization is a blend of multiple countries and changes dynamically; second, a segment of educational processes like the reforms of educational media are changing permanently as well. The changes are induced by institutional, legal, financial and other various factors as well. It is important to emphasize that the reforms in educational media were greatly influenced by the improvements in technology of the recent years. It is exciting and interesting to explore what actual and secondary effects an organization had in its field, that Hungary has been a member of for over 30 years. To analyse these effects, we have to give an overview of two things. First, we have to detail the role of educational media reform in the past, especially during a period when Hungary joined this international organization; second, we have to describe the curricula that was in effect during the implementation of the reforms. We also have to introduce the international organization and the changes in its goals, structure and function.

Die Wirkung von ICEM auf den Entwicklungsprozeß von Bildungsmedien in Ungarn

Es ist keine leichte Aufgabe, zu beschreiben, wie eine Organisation Bildungsprozesse oder ‐ereignisse beeinflußt. Erstens ist die Organisation eine Mischung der Einflüsse vieler Länder und ändert sich dynamisch, zweitens verändert sich ebenso durch die permanenten Reformen der Bildungsmedien ein Segment der Bildungsprozesse selbst. Die Änderungen werden aber ebenfalls von institutionellen, rechtlichen, finanziellen und anderen verschiedenen Faktoren herbeigeführt. Es ist wichtig, hervorzuheben, daß in den letzten Jahren die Reformen der Bildungsmedien sehr von Verbesserungen der Technologie beeinflußt wurden. Es ist aufregend und interessant, zu erkunden, welche tatsächlichen Effekte und Nebenwirkungen eine Organisation, der Ungarn seit über 30 Jahren angehört, in ihrem Feld hatte. Um diese Wirkungen analysieren zu können, müssen wir uns zwei Dinge genauer anschauen: Einmal die Rolle der Bildungsmedienreform in der Vergangenheit, insbesondere während der Zeit, als Ungarn sich dieser internationalen Organisation anschloss, zum anderen müssen wir die Lehrpläne beschreiben, die während der Durchführung der Reformen gültig waren. Wir müssen auch die internationale Organisation, die Änderungen in ihren Zielen, ihrer Struktur und ihrer Funktion vorstellen.     

Role of vitamin B12 on methylmalonyl-CoA mutase activity

Vitamin B₁₂ is an organometallic compound with important metabolic derivatives that act as cofactors of certain enzymes, which have been grouped into three subfamilies depending on their cofactors. Among them, methylmalonyl-CoA mutase (MCM) has been extensively studied. This enzyme catalyzes the reversible isomerization of L-methylmalonyl-CoA to succinyl-CoA using adenosylcobalamin (AdoCbl) as a cofactor participating in the generation of radicals that allow isomerization of the substrate. The crystal structure of MCM determined in Propionibacterium freudenreichii var. shermanii has helped to elucidate the role of this cofactor AdoCbl in the reaction to specify the mechanism by which radicals are generated from the coenzyme and to clarify the interactions between the enzyme, coenzyme, and substrate. The existence of human methylmalonic acidemia (MMA) due to the presence of mutations in MCM shows the importance of its role in metabolism. The recent crystallization of the human MCM has shown that despite being similar to the bacterial protein, there are significant differences in the structural organization of the two proteins. Recent studies have identified the involvement of an accessory protein called MMAA, which interacts with MCM to prevent MCM’s inactivation or acts as a chaperone to promote regeneration of inactivated enzyme. The interdisciplinary studies using this protein as a model in different organisms have helped to elucidate the mechanism of action of this isomerase, the impact of mutations at a functional level and their repercussion in the development and progression of MMA in humans. It is still necessary to study the mechanisms involved in more detail using new methods.     

The suitability of Sanders’ model for calculation of the propulsive force generated by the hands during sculling motion

This study examined whether Sanders’ model is suitable for estimating accurately the propulsive force generated by the hands’ motion in swimming comparing the calculated force obtained using the model and the measured force during an actual propulsive action. The measured and calculated forces were obtained from 13 swimmers who, while tethered, performed a sculling motion in a prone position for the purpose of displacing the body by moving it forward. Kinematic analyses were conducted to obtain the calculated force, while the measured force was obtained via the use of a load cell. The calculated force was lower than the measured force and accounted for only a small part of the variation in the measured force. The forces could not be used interchangeably, and there were fixed and proportional differences between them. Consequently, this study indicates that Sanders’ model is not suitable for estimating accurately the propulsive force generated by the swimmer’s hands during sculling motion. However, research that integrates analyses from different approaches could result in improvements to the model that would render it applicable for estimating the propulsive forces during movements that are characterised by directional changes of the hands.     

‘We want to be seen as partners,not vultures of the world:’ perspectives of Canadian stakeholders on migration of international students studying in health professions in Canada

ABSTRACT

According to UNESCO, the number of international students worldwide will reach 7 million by 2020. This pilot study examined the Canadian stakeholders’ perspectives on migration and integration of international students enrolled in health professions’ studies in Canada. Qualitative interviews with representatives of migration, education, and health sector communities revealed that international students are a desirable group of immigrants, but their ‘non-immigrant’ status creates a unique set of disadvantages for those intending to stay in Canada. In conclusion, we discuss the role of institutional policy in migration and professional integration of international students in Canada and globally.     

ISPCAN Child Abuse Screening Tools Retrospective version (ICAST-R): Delphi study and field testing in seven countries

ObjectivesTo gain consensus among an ethnically and linguistically diverse group of international child protection experts on the structure and content of a new survey tool for retrospective measurement of child abuse, and to determine the performance of the instrument through an international field trial with young adults.MethodsThe questionnaire was developed through focus group discussions with international experts, and then subjected to a Delphi study in two waves to determine the perceived importance and translatability of items. The resultant questionnaire was translated into six languages and field tested in seven countries with convenient samples of young adults aged 18–26 years (N = 842).ResultsChild maltreatment experts from 28 countries provided input to questionnaire development. Satisfactory agreement on draft item inclusion and exclusion and the translatability of items was gained. The tool includes 15 primary questions about potentially abusive physical, sexual and emotional events, with follow-up questions about perpetrator characteristics, frequency of acts and periods in childhood when the recalled abuse occurred. The field test revealed lifetime prevalence per item usually exceeded 10% (11/15 items; range 2.1–49.5%). Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) was moderate to high for each of three item sub-sets (between .61 and .82) and the rates of missing data were low (less than 1.5% for 14 of 15 items). The great majority of respondents nominated either peer and/or adult perpetrators (between 82.3% and 98.2% depending upon the item), and among these, child/adolescent peers and non-family adults (including teachers for emotional and physical acts) were nominated often.ConclusionsThe ICAST-R is based on consensus from international experts, translates clearly and has satisfactory properties for adoption as a survey tool to estimate prevalence and describe perpetrators and other contextual aspects of child abuse.Practice implicationsThis tool can be utilized in a broad range of cultures and languages and may contribute to improved research practice. Although the core items are limited to just 15 acts of maltreatment, if these behaviorally specific questions are adopted as key indicators and incorporated into comprehensive local, national or regional surveys, eventually there should be greater comparability in survey estimates.     

The development and piloting of the ISPCAN Child Abuse Screening Tool—Parent version (ICAST-P)

ObjectiveChild maltreatment is a problem that has longer recognition in the northern hemisphere and in high-income countries. Recent work has highlighted the nearly universal nature of the problem in other countries but demonstrated the lack of comparability of studies because of the variations in definitions and measures used. The International Society for the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect has developed instrumentation that may be used with cross-cultural and cross-national benchmarking by local investigators.Design and samplingThe instrument design began with a team of expert in Brisbane in 2004. A large bank of questions were subjected to two rounds of Delphi review to develop the fielded version of the instrument. Convenience samples included approximately 120 parent respondents with children under the age of 18 in each of six countries (697 total).ResultsThis paper presents an instrument that measures parental behaviors directed at children and reports data from pilot work in 6 countries and 7 languages. Patterns of response revealed few missing values and distributions of responses that generally were similar in the six countries. Subscales performed well in terms of internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha in very good range (0.77–0.88) with the exception of the neglect and sex abuse subscales. Results varied by child age and gender in expected directions but with large variations among the samples. About 15% of children were shaken, 24% hit on the buttocks with an object, and 37% were spanked. Reports of choking and smothering were made by 2% of parents.ConclusionThese pilot data demonstrate that the instrument is well tolerated and captures variations in, and potentially harmful forms of child discipline.Practice implicationsThe ISPCAN Child Abuse Screening Tool – Parent Version (ICAST-P) has been developed as a survey instrument to be administered to parents for the assessment of child maltreatment in a multi-national and multi-cultural context. It was developed with broad input from international experts and subjected to Dephi review, translation, and pilot testing in six countries. The results of the Delphi study and pilot testing are presented. This study demonstrates that a single instrument can be used in a broad range of cultures and languages with low rates of missing data and moderate to high internal consistency.     

Laser scanning and digital imaging for the investigation of an ancient building: Palazzo d’Accursio study case (Bologna,Italy)

This paper describes a scientific approach aimed at studying the ancient part of Palazzo d’Accursio (Bologna, Italy), a masonry building which is part of the Italian cultural heritage. Laser scanning and the inspection of digital images are used to detect traces of restoration works and other interesting features related to both architectural marks and natural or anthropic events. One of the main elements of the method is the analysis of residual maps, obtained by computing the differences between the point coordinates of the façade and reference fit planes. The obtained results, based on both radiometric and geometrical analysis, are used to provide a reasonable hypothesis as to the original configuration of the studied building, while taking into account the available historical information about the constructive phases of the building.     

Comparing Human and Automated Essay Scoring for Prospective Graduate Students With Learning Disabilities and/or ADHD

ABSTRACT

Automated essay scoring is a developing technology that can provide efficient scoring of large numbers of written responses. Its use in higher education admissions testing provides an opportunity to collect validity and fairness evidence to support current uses and inform its emergence in other areas such as K–12 large-scale assessment. In this study, human and automated scores on essays written by college students with and without learning disabilities and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were compared, using a nationwide (U.S.) sample of prospective graduate students taking the revised Graduate Record Examination. The findings are that, on average, human raters and the automated scoring engine assigned similar essay scores for all groups, despite average differences among groups with respect to essay length and spelling errors.     

Jugando a hacer historia: los juegos de simulación como recurso didáctico

Resumen

En este artículo se presenta una nueva metodología en la enseñanza de la historia: los juegos de simulación. Se exponen las ventajas e inconvenientes de su aplicación a la escuela. Se indican las diversas variables que influyen en el éxito o fracaso de esta técnica y se muestran también los pasos necesarios para su diseño. Por último, se incluye, como ejemplo, uno de estos juegos: El Congreso de Viena, con todo el material necesario para llevarlo a cabo en clase.     

Instructor-provided summary infographics to support online learning

Infographics are a visualisation tool that can be used to improve retention, comprehension and appeal of complex concepts. The rise of infographic use in education has facilitated new forms of application and design of these tools. Instructor-provided summary infographics are a new form of infographic, whereby key learning objectives and content are summarised in graphical form at the end of a lesson. However, it is unknown whether these types of infographics can support learning in online environments. This exploratory research investigates student perceptions, retention, applications and activity generation of instructor-provided summary infographics in a massive online learning environment. Using both post-course learner survey data (n = 1,899) and text mining analysis (n = 72,490 words), results present how learners perceived instructor-provided summary infographics as useful and appealing for retaining, clarifying and understanding learning concepts. The research contributes a novel understanding of summary infographics in online learning environments, and supports their use as a design tool for educational delivery in the online space.