Classroom materials

Your Energy World Published by U.S. Department of Energy

Blue Wings Flying by Elizabeth DeHuff Pictures by Dorothea Sierra Addison‐Wesley Publishing Co. Readding, Mass. 01867

Early Childhood Filmstrips Series Part I: About Myself Myself and Other People — Alike and Different My Family and Other Families—Alike and Different Everyone Needs Many Things by Ruth Jaynes, Beatrice Woodbrldge & Nancy Curry Bowmar/Noble Publishers, Inc. 4563 Colorado Los Angeles, CA 90039

“Man and His Gods: An Inquiry Into The Nature of Religions” Published by The Center for Humanities, Inc. 2 Holland Ave. White Plains, NY 10603

Alcohol: Facts, Myths and Decisions Published by Science and Mankind, Inc. Communications Park, Box 200 White Plains, New York 10601     

Cardiorespiratory and perceptual responses to arm crank and wheelchair exercise using various handrims in male paraplegics

The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of 10-in [0.25-m] versus 16-in [0.41-m] wheelchair handrims on cardiorespiratory and psychophysiological exercise responses during wheelchair propulsion at selected velocities. Fifteen male paraplegics (27.0 +/- 5.5 yrs) performed three discontinuous exercise tests (ACE = arm crank ergometer; WERG = wheelchair roller ergometer) and two 1600-m performance-based track trials (TRACK) under simulated race conditions. There were no significant differences in HR, VO2, VE, HLa, or category-ratio ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) using different handrims during wheelchair propulsion at 4 km.h-1. In contrast, at 8 km.h-1 subjects demonstrated a 13% lower steady state VO2 (p less than .05) using the 10-in handrims, coincident with a 23% lower VE. Steady state HR during WERG at 8 km.h-1 using the 10-in (124.4 +/- 3.9 b.min-1) or 16-in (130.6 +/- 4.6 b.min-1) handrims were not significantly different. There were also no significant differences between ACE or WERG conditions during maximal effort for VO2 or VE. However, HRpeak during ACE was 7% higher than HRpeak during WERG16 (183 +/- 15 b.min-1 vs. 171 +/- 12 b.min-1, p less than .05), and whole blood HLa during ACE was also significantly higher (by 2.3-2.5 mmol; p less than .05) compared to WERG. There were no significant differences for HR, performance time, or RPE between trials using different handrim diameters during the 1600-m event.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The Unbearable Insecurity of the Electronic Resources Librarian

The article will outline the Core Competencies for Electronic Resources Librarians (NASIG Core Competencies Task Force [July 2013]) and intersect them with the practical everyday working experiences of an e-resources and periodicals librarian. The aim of the article is to convey an understanding of working in a practical library office environment, while being aware of the complexity of the theoretical competencies that are desirable and recommended. While it is aimed mainly at librarians, it should also be of interest to publishers and other vendors as they gain an understanding of what it is that librarians (their customers) do all day.     

Gaming personality and game dynamics in online discussion instructions

Gamification is the use of game mechanics to drive game-like engagements and actions. It applies game mechanics, dynamics and frameworks to promote desired learning behaviours. Positive and effective gamification could enhance learning and engage learners in more social and context-rich decision-making for problem-solving in learning tasks. Effective gamification design should understand the game personalities of learners, social engagement styles, and intrinsic- and extrinsic-motivated user styles initially and evaluate and select appropriate game mechanics, game dynamics, to create ideal gamification instructions. The research question this study investigated is: How will four types of gaming personalities (i.e. Explorer, Socialiser, Killer and Achiever) predict the level of game dynamics in online discussion environments? This study concluded that examining how gaming personalities relate to game dynamics in a gamified online discussion instruction is not sufficient to design effective gamification. It suggests future studies in game instructions should focus on the relationships between game dynamics, gamification contexts, gaming personalities or preferences, dynamic gaming engagement styles, etc.     

Independence and obedience in the United States and Japan

Are some Americans and Japanese beginning to think more similarly about independence and obedience? Middle-class adult respondents from the suburbs of Chicago and Tokyo (U.S.: 43 males and 54 females: Japan: 71 males and 80 females) were surveyed about their sex-role values. This report focuses on two values which have been recognised as constituting fundamental differences between Japanese and Americans: personal independence and obedience. The survey used a metric multidimensional scaling technique called Galileo^®. Analyses of the data and results of other comparative studies suggest that any convergence taking place between the two societies is occurring primarily within American society. There is growing evidence, including the findings of this study, that Americans are moving away from their traditional stress on the importance of the individual in society. The Japanese respondents did show a more liberal conceptualization of the ideal woman with respect to obedience, however, there was no indication that this less traditional image of women extended to their other traditional roles in society.     

Farmers’ reasons for changing or not changing to more sustainable practices: An exploratory study of arable farming in the Netherlands

Abstract

The paper describes the results of an exploratory study of farmers’ reasons for changing or not changing to more sustainable production methods in arable farming in the Netherlands. The background of the research is the disappointing adoption of Integrated Arable Farming Systems (iafs). Perceived production risk was expected to be an important factor constraining adoption. This study suggests, however, that perceived risk is not a satisfactory explanation. One reason is that iafs as it has become in Dutch practice cannot be easily distinguished from conventional arable farming systems. A continuum of gradual adoption of iafs methods, mainly for economic reasons, was observed. A real watershed difference was observed between partial adopters of iafs and organic farmers who used no chemicals at all. Secondly, dealing with production risks, such as weather‐dependent problems with weeds, pests and diseases, is considered part of professionalism of both conventional and iafs farmers and hence not a reason for avoiding a specific crop husbandry technique. However, uncertainties emanating from market conditions and environmental policy were found to be important considerations. JAgr Educ Ext (2001, 7, 3, pp 153–166)     

Assessing Reading Comprehension: The Effects of Text-Based Interest,Gender, and Ability

Previous research has established that interest in a text is related to better comprehension and recall, but the impact of interest on comprehension in testing situations has not been widely investigated. This study used Hierarchical Linear Models (HLM) to examine the relationship between students' interest in reading passages and their performance on reading comprehension test items over those passages. The study involved 19,735 students in Grades 4 through 8. Stimuli consisted of 98 different reading passages. A small but significant relationship between interest and test performance was found, which was stronger for girls and for students of higher ability levels. A second HLM analysis was employed to explore whether certain passage characteristics were associated with higher or lower interest. The implications for test construction are discussed.