Better Red than Dead—Putting an End to the Social Irrelevance of Postwar Philosophy of Science

This paper asks what is necessary in a theory of science adequate to the task of empowering philosophers of science to participate in public debate about science in a social context. It is argued that an adequate theory of science must be capable of theorizing the role of values and motives in science and that it must take seriously the irreducibly social nature of scientific knowledge.

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(Un)Critical times? Situating distributed leadership in the field

It is time to situate distributed leadership as a critical conceptualisation of school leadership; its popularisation has generally preceded conceptual and empirical development. Over the last 10 years distributed leadership has often been presented as a new construct of school leadership, though critique against education policy reforms and conceptual and historical links to the wider leadership field have generally been underemphasised. The theorisation and research of distributed leadership is currently situated at a critical point in its development; it is at the ‘crossroads’ of where it could dominantly be situated in the field of school leadership. A review of the literature and research suggests that distributed leadership is tending towards an uncritical position that is decoupled from critique of past and present education reforms and predominantly silent on how power relations at the local school level shape leadership activity.     

Connecting photosynthesis and cellular respiration: Preservice teachers' conceptions

The biological processes of photosynthesis and plant cellular respiration include multiple biochemical steps, occur simultaneously within plant cells, and share common molecular components. Yet, learners often compartmentalize functions and specialization of cell organelles relevant to these two processes, without considering the interconnections as well as the significance of the plant as an independent biological system functioning as a nested component within local and global ecosystems. Understanding connections among biological systems at macro and micro levels is important to biological literacy. This study examined preservice elementary teachers' conceptions of photosynthesis and plant cellular respiration, with attention to interconnections and systems. Participants were limited in their understanding of the processes impacting multiple ecological levels, and they held inadequate representations of interconnections between the processes. Participants' views were laden with sociological and egocentric components. They often compared plant functions with analogous human functions. Most participants viewed plants as dependent on humans while having societal use. Justifications for views included nominal knowledge of the processes; experiential authoritarian reasoning; and anthropomorphism. We discuss instructional implications in light of the findings. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 46: 791–812, 2009     

Agreement between Polar and SRM mobile ergometer systems during laboratory-based high-intensity,intermittent cycling activity

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the agreement between two mobile cycle ergometer systems for recording high-intensity, intermittent power output. Twelve trained male cyclists (age 31.4 ± 9.8 years) performed a single 3 min intermittent cycle test consisting of 12 all-out efforts, separated by periods of passive recovery ranging from 5 to 15 s. Power output was recorded using a Polar S710 heart rate monitor and power sensor kit and an SRM Powercrank system for each test. The SRM used torque and angular velocity to calculate power, while the S710 used chain speed and vibration to calculate power. Significant differences (P < 0.05) in power were found at 8 of the 12 efforts. A significant difference (P = 0.001) was also found when power was averaged over all 12 intervals. Mean power was 556 ± 102 W and 446 ± 61 W for the SRM and S710 respectively. The S710 underestimated power by an average of 23% with random errors of ?/÷ 24% when compared with the SRM. Random errors ranged from 36% to 141% with a median of 51%. The results indicate there was little agreement between the two systems and that the Polar S710 did not provide a valid measure of power during intermittent cycling activity when compared with the SRM. Power recorded by the S710 system was influenced greatly by chain vibration and sampling rates.     

Stimulus Velocity,Duration and Uncertainty as Determiners of Response Structure and Timing Accuracy

Abstract

The present experiments examined the effects of stimulus velocity, stimulus duration, and stimulus uncertainty on the spatial-temporal structure and timing accuracy of coincident timing responses. The results of Experiment 1 indicated that the response structure for aimed movements differed from that of ballistic movements but response accuracy was comparable for both movement conditions. However, when information concerning the stimulus velocity was provided, the responses to the faster stimuli (i.e., stimuli of shorter duration) appeared to be “speeded up” copies of those to slower stimuli and response accuracy increased as the stimulus velocity increased (i.e., stimulus duration decreased). When the stimulus velocity was not known, subjects initiated a common response for approximately 260 msec and response accuracy appeared to decrease as the stimulus velocity increased (i.e., stimulus duration decreased). Experiment 2 indicated that the stimulus duration rather than the stimulus velocity was the major determiner of both the spatial-temporal structure and timing accuracy and that a very fast and a very slow stimulus will be responded to similarly when the stimulus duration remains constant.     

Do special education teachers use IEPs to guide instruction?

Teachers in a large urban school system were surveyed with a self-administered questionnaire and a modified nominal group technique to assess their views about IEPs and identify impediments to implementing the IEPs of their students. Teachers indicated that they viewed the IEP more as a legal requirement than as an important guide for planning instruction. Frequently they were not involved in the development of their students' IEPs. The article specifies reasons given by teachers for not adhering to their students IEPs and provides recommendations for increasing teacher involvement in IEP preparation. It also presents recommendations for improving instructional conditions and practices which may facilitate IEP implementation.