Academic Self-Concept: Modeling and Measuring for Science

In this study, the author developed a model to describe academic self-concept (ASC) in science and validated an instrument for its measurement. Unlike previous models of science ASC, which envisage science as a homogenous single global construct, this model took a multidimensional view by conceiving science self-concept as possessing distinctive facets including conceptual and procedural elements. In the first part of the study, data were collected from 1,483 students attending eight secondary schools in England, through the use of a newly devised Secondary Self-Concept Science Instrument, and structural equation modeling was employed to test and validate a model. In the second part of the study, the data were analysed within the new self-concept framework to examine learners’ ASC profiles across the domains of science, with particular attention paid to age- and gender-related differences. The study found that the proposed science self-concept model exhibited robust measures of fit and construct validity, which were shown to be invariant across gender and age subgroups. The self-concept profiles were heterogeneous in nature with the component relating to self-concept in physics, being surprisingly positive in comparison to other aspects of science. This outcome is in stark contrast to data reported elsewhere and raises important issues about the nature of young learners’ self-conceptions about science. The paper concludes with an analysis of the potential utility of the self-concept measurement instrument as a pedagogical device for science educators and learners of science.     

Needs assessment in STEM disciplines: reliability,validity and factor structure of the Student Support Needs Scale (SSNS)

Retention is a major problem in most colleges and universities. High dropout rates, especially in the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and mathematics), have proved intractable despite the offering of supplemental instruction. A broad model of support systems that includes psychological factors is needed to address retention in STEM fields. The purpose of our study was to develop an instrument to identify the support needs of college students. We adapted the theoretical model of the performance pyramid to create a 48-item measure called the Student Support Needs Scale. We examined the psychometric properties of our scale by subjecting the measure to a principal component analysis, which resulted in a robust 36-item, six-factor solution. Finally, we established the reliability and validity of the resulting instrument. Once student needs have been assessed using our scale, interventions may be tailored to the needs of a minority group, discipline, geographic area and/or institution. This instrument could help university programmes to make informed decisions about resource allocation based on students’ needs.     

Historians, archivists, and social activism: benefits and costs

This article explores how activism by historians and archivists relates to and affects their work and how their work affects their activism. The findings are based on a survey of 195 historians (including educators) and archivists who self-identified as “someone who takes part in activities that are intended to achieve social or political change, especially someone who is a member of an organization.” The respondents participate in a wide variety of causes. Typically, their activities as activists reflect their professional skills and concerns, with a large majority involved in collecting and preserving the records of activist organizations. The article examines the benefits and costs for employers of employee activism, concluding the benefits outweigh the costs. The article also examines how activism affects the relationship between employers and their activist employees. While many activists receive recognition and other benefits from their employers for their activism, a minority suffers negative consequences up to and including firing and a substantial number feel inhibited from activism by their employers. The article also explores the effects of activism for the different occupational groups, determining that they are relatively similar but with some differences.     

复杂性理论的启示:管理学研究需要多元化方法

介绍了复杂性理论研究的主要哲学原则,比较了实证主义、后现代主义与复杂性理论的本体论与认识论原则,讨论了复杂性理论原则如何能被应用到社会科学尤其是管理学中,提出关于管理学诸多研究方法的再评价问题.研究结论是管理学研究中需要发展多元化研究方法.     

Upper limb joint muscle/tendon injury and anthropometric adaptations in French competitive tennis players

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between the upper limb anthropometric dimensions and a history of dominant upper limb injury in tennis players. Dominant and non-dominant wrist, forearm, elbow and arm circumferences, along with a history of dominant upper limb injuries, were assessed in 147 male and female players, assigned to four groups based on location of injury: wrist (n = 9), elbow (n = 25), shoulder (n = 14) and healthy players (n = 99). From anthropometric dimensions, bilateral differences in circumferences and in proportions were calculated. The wrist group presented a significant bilateral difference in arm circumference, and asymmetrical bilateral proportions between wrist and forearm, as well as between elbow and arm, compared to the healthy group (6.6 ± 3.1% vs. 4.9 ± 4.0%, P < 0.01; ?3.6 ± 3.0% vs. ?0.9 ± 2.9%, P < 0.05; and ?2.2 ± 2.2% vs. 0.1 ± 3.4%, P < 0.05, respectively). The elbow group displayed asymmetrical bilateral proportions between forearm and arm compared to the healthy group (?0.4 ± 4.3% vs. 1.5 ± 4.0%, P < 0.01). The shoulder group showed significant bilateral difference in elbow circumference, and asymmetrical bilateral proportions between forearm and elbow when compared to the healthy group (5.8 ± 4.7% vs. 3.1 ± 4.8%, P < 0.05 and ?1.7 ± 4.5% vs. 1.4 ± 4.3%, P < 0.01, respectively). These findings suggest that players with a history of injury at the upper limb joint present altered dominant upper limb proportions in comparison with the non-dominant side, and such asymmetrical proportions would appear to be specific to the location of injury. Further studies are needed to confirm the link between location of tennis injury and asymmetry in upper limb proportions using high-tech measurements in symptomatic tennis players.