The impact of electric overhead radiant heating on the indoor environment of historic churches

The impact of electric overhead radiant heaters on the microclimate, air flows, transport and deposition of suspended particulate matter (SPM) was monitored between March 2004 and March 2005 in the historic churches of Saint Michael Archangel in Szalowa and Saint Catherine in Cracow (Poland). The measurements show that although irradiation at the floor level increases temperature and reduces relative humidity in the interior of the church, the effect out of the heated zone and for the surfaces sheltered from irradiation is very limited, i.e. their extent is comparable with natural fluctuations inherent to the local climate of the church. The radiant heaters proved to generate little convectional flow of the air. Therefore, the heating system was not found to increase the concentration of SPM indoors; in particular, no re-suspension of particles already present in the church was observed. This work has demonstrated that the overhead radiant heaters are capable of providing localised heat to the areas where people congregate without adversely affecting painted walls and the works of arts displayed in churches. Care, however, should be taken that sensitive works of art are not exposed to the direct infrared radiation.     

The interest of Bavarian primary school pupils in geographical topics and methods – selected results of an empirical survey

Interest is a central learning prerequisite for teaching. The article deals with a survey among 1600 primary school pupils in forms 2, 3 and 4 (ages 7–10) in the German federal state of Bavaria who were interviewed on their interest in geographical topics and working methods. They were given a questionnaire including 40 items to indicate their individual interest on a five-point Likert scale. The results show that the subscale ‘natural disaster' generates the highest interest, followed by ‘phenomena of geoscience' and ‘people and peoples'. The interest in all three subscales decreases with increasing age. Furthermore, several gender-specific differences occur. Among the working methods, experimenting, films and computers hold the first three places whilst again showing significant differences concerning age group as well as gender.     

Human dignity within teacher education: A matter of individualism, competitiveness, and strategic rationality

Human dignity is a grand concept that is assumed to play an important role in education. However, no widely accepted universal definition of human dignity exists. The aim of this study was to examine the Discourse of Human Dignity within teacher education, especially with respect to how Swedish teacher educators make meaning of the concept of human dignity. Findings show that four subdiscourses are involved in the Discourse of Human Dignity within teacher education. These discursive constructions are influences by outcomes of, for example, life-science research, and British and/or American media discourses.     

A longitudinal study of religious identity and participation during adolescence

To examine the development of religious identity during the teenage years, adolescents (N = 477) from Latin American, Asian, and European backgrounds completed questionnaires in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades (10th grade age: M = 15.81, SD = 0.36). Results indicated that religious identity remained stable across high school whereas religious participation declined. Even after controlling for ethnic differences in religious affiliation, socioeconomic background, and generational status, adolescents from Latin American and Asian backgrounds reported higher levels of religious identity and adolescents from Latin American backgrounds reported higher rates of religious participation. Within individual adolescents, changes in religious identity were associated with changes in ethnic and family identities, suggesting important linkages in the development of these social identities during adolescence.     

Trait anxiety and final degree performance at the University of Oxford

A questionnaire was administered to 1,929 applicants to Oxford University, including measures of trait anxiety, behavioural response to examinations and to breakdown in relationships. 635 of these applicants were admitted to the university and of these, 383 also responded to a questionnaire administered 4 years later, just before their final examinations. The classification (first, upper and lower second, third class) and marks in the final examinations were obtained and the relationship between the personality measures and academic performance were calculated. Women showed higher anxiety scores than men at both times of testing. Women who obtained the best (first class) degrees scored significantly higher on anxiety than those who performed less well. In contrast, there was no such difference in men. Explanations for anxiety having a facilitatory effect on academic performance of women at Oxford University are proposed.     

Early contribution of phonological awareness and later influence of phonological memory throughout reading acquisition

The acquisition of reading skills is known to rely on early phonological abilities, but only a few studies have investigated the independent contribution of the different steps involved in phonological processing. This 1‐year longitudinal study, spanning the initial year of reading instruction, aimed at specifying the development of phonological discrimination, awareness and various aspects of phonological memory and at assessing their respective contributions to early reading acquisition. Our results show an increase in performance at each phonological processing step, but also suggest a qualitative evolution in their relative importance. Hierarchical regression analyses indicate that reading skills are mainly predicted by phonological awareness measured at the kindergarten stage and, subsequently, by phonological memory abilities measured at the end of first grade. More precisely short‐term memory for serial‐order information seems to contribute to the development of decoding abilities, while phonological knowledge stored in long‐term memory seems to influence word recognition.     

Positive functions of emotions in achievement sports

This article presents the results of two research projects on the emotions of men engaged in achievement outdoor sports. The conditions were analyzed under which emotions carry out positive functions. The question strikes us as a fundamental one, because it is of crucial importance when it comes to increasing sportspeople's success. The theoretical framework applied was that of microfunctionalism. The method, of a qualitative nature, was based on in-depth interviews, each lasting between 1.5 and 2 hr with a total of 14 sportspersons. The results show that in order for emotions to fulfill positive functions, three conditions must be met: (a) existence of passion, which, with its dialectical character of pleasure and suffering underlies all the other emotions and acts as a motor that pushes the sportsperson forward, despite all the contretemps he might meet on the way; (b) intense emotion work, which may be conducted only if accompanied by knowledge and experience of the natural environment acquired over the years; and (c) conciliation between emotion work and the feeling rules characteristic of each sport subculture. For those individuals who pursue achievement in outdoor sports, these results will provide more concrete indications regarding how to carry out the emotional preparation required for these sports.     

Public libraries embrace citizen science: Strengths and challenges

Can public libraries become hubs for citizen science? In line with the principles of citizen science, this question was answered collaboratively with librarians from the Barcelona Network of Public Libraries who performed two hands-on activities. One activity was a training course taken by 30 librarians from 24 different libraries which enabled them to envisage citizen science implementation at each library. The other activity consisted of co-creating a citizen social science project and involved 40 library users, seven librarians from three different cities, and professional scientists. The analysis considers the perspectives of both librarians and users, through participant observation, surveys, and a focus group to identify strengths and challenges. The overall results suggest that public libraries can offer leadership in the promotion of citizen science and contribute to the mission of public libraries to act as local community hubs. The main challenges identified were related to the complexity of collaboration, uncertainty regarding research co-creation, and participant retention strategies.     

Exploring Interactive Writing as an Effective Practice for Increasing Head Start Students’ Alphabet Knowledge Skills

The current study used a pretest–posttest randomized control group design with 73 Head Start students, ages 3–5 years. The researcher served as the interactive writing teacher for the treatment group, rotating to five different classrooms in one Head Start center 3–4 days a week for 13 weeks. Children in the treatment group received a 10–15 min interactive writing lesson each day in small groups within their own classroom settings. Children in the control group received standard literacy instruction in small groups with their own classroom teachers. Child outcome data on upper case, lower case, and letter sound identification were collected before and after the intervention for both groups. Based on the large frequency of zeros on outcomes, zero-inflated Poisson regression analyses were performed. The results of the study showed that children receiving interactive writing identified more lower case and upper case letters at the end of the study relative to children in the control, but no differences were observed on letter sounds. While continued evaluation of the interactive writing strategy is needed in the preschool setting, the evidence from the current study shows encouraging trends in alphabet knowledge skill development as a result of this strategy.