Dissolving boundaries: cross-national co-operation through technology in education

This article reports research on cross-national co-operation through Information and Communications Technology (ICT) within the statutory curricula of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Using quantitative and qualitative methods, the views and experiences of teachers in partner schools in the north and south of Ireland were sought on the capacity and potential of asynchronous computer conferencing and videoconferencing to generate collaborative work in a cross-border setting, to promote cultural awareness among primary and post-primary pupils, and to improve teacher and pupil competence in ICT. The results showed a significant improvement in ICT competence, and also revealed that technical training, enthusiasm and commitment were the key factors for success, and that not only did the pupils develop an awareness of the cultural identity of distant peers, but their sense of responsibility, self-esteem and motivation grew. This particularly helped less able and quieter pupils. There was unexpected rôle reversal when children helped their teachers within an ICT context, a situation not found elsewhere in the curriculum. Additionally, there were beneficial effects on literacy, group work and independent learning, and the skills acquired were transferable. The commitment of the teachers to continue this cross-national work with limited support is a measure of its potential sustainability.     

夜的声音

The sound so beautiful
Yet cold inside
Cleela, Cleela,
The crckets chirp.     

Reliability and validity evidence for the EARLI literacy probes

The purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of scores from six early literacy probes developed for use with preschool‐age children. The literacy probes were administered to 84 preschoolers at three time points over a 6‐month period. Also, a criterion measure of early literacy skills was administered to a subset of students. Results indicated that the probes demonstrate adequate reliability for screening decisions, moderate to strong concurrent relationships with a criterion measure, and developmentally appropriate changes in children's early literacy skills over time. These results add to the growing body of evidence supporting the technical adequacy of general outcome measurement for use in monitoring the progress of preschoolers' academic skill development. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Effect of a randomised 12-week resistance training programme on muscular strength,cross-sectional area and muscle quality in women having undergone Roux-en-Y gastric bypass

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of a 12-week resistance training programme on fat-free mass (FFM), muscle cross-sectional area, muscular strength and muscle quality in women who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. Participants were 16 women (mean age = 44.9 ± 10.2 years) from bariatric surgical groups who were randomly assigned into either a control or an intervention group. Air displacement plethysmography measured FFM and magnetic resonance imaging measured quadriceps muscle cross-sectional area and whole thigh muscle cross-sectional area. Muscular strength and quality was assessed using an estimated 1-Repetition Maximum assessment. All measurements were collected twice, at baseline and at a 12-week follow-up. There were significantly greater improvements in leg press strength (mean differences = 55.4%, P < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 2.4), leg extension strength (mean differences = 18.0%, P = 0.014, Cohen’s d = 0.86) and leg press muscle quality (mean differences = 54.5%, P < 0.001, Cohen’s d = 1.9) in the intervention group compared to the control group following the resistance training programme. The resistance training intervention significantly improved muscular strength and quality; however, it did not illicit changes in FFM or muscle cross-sectional area in women who underwent Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery.     

“You have to do something beyond containing”: developing inclusive systems in a partnership of primary schools

Reducing fixed term exclusions (FTE) in primary schools is a difficult proposition. This research discusses how a partnership of primary schools developed more inclusive systems to support students previously given FTEs for disciplinary purposes. Longitudinal data from interviews and documentary sources trace the development of an approach amongst primary schools with previously high levels of FTE. The process of developing a model of transferred inclusion (TI) within the partnership led to schools changing practices around behaviour management, thus developing more inclusive systems. The paper elaborates on partnership work around the TI project that opened up discussion and questioning of practice around behaviour, leading to schools thinking about their systemic practice. The benefits of TI, therefore, were a prompt for development, rather than just an intervention to reduce exclusions. Changes in practice supported through the TI process lead to claims that substantive change would not have happened without the TI project.     

Applying decision tree induction for identification of important attributes in one-versus-one player interactions: A hockey exemplar

Abstract

Decision tree induction is a novel approach to exploring attacker-defender interactions in many sports. In this study hockey was chosen as an example to illustrate the potential use of decision tree inductions for the purpose of identifying and communicating characteristics that drive the outcome. Elite female players performed one-versus-one contests (n = 75) over two sessions. Each contest outcome was classified as either a win or loss. Position data were acquired using radio-tracking devices, and movement-based derivatives were calculated for two time epochs (5 to 2.5 seconds, and 2.5 to zero seconds before the outcome occurred). A decision tree model was trained using these attributes from the first session data, which predicted that when the attacker was moving at ≥ 0.5 m · s^?1 faster than the defender during the early epoch, the probability of an attacker's win was 1.00. Conversely, when the speed difference at that time was below this threshold the probability of a loss was 0.78. Secondary attributes included defender speed in the lateral direction during the early epoch, and angle of attack (i.e., angle between the respective velocity vectors of the attacker and defender) during the late epoch. The model was then used to predict outcomes of one-versus-one contests from the second session (accuracy = 0.643; area under the Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve = 0.712). Moreover, decision trees provide an intuitive framework for relating spatial-temporal concepts to coaches, and the suitability of decision trees for analysing the features of one-versus-one exchanges are discussed.