Book review

Non‐verbal communication

KINESICS AND CONTEXT: ESSAYS ON BODY MOTION COMMUNICATION. By Ray L. Birdwhistell. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1970; pp. xiv + 338. $15.00; paper, $4.45.

A PRIMER OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION. By Warren A. Wandling and Mark L. Knapp. Wilwaukee, Wisconsin: NVC Business Communications, 1969; filmstrip and 33 1/3 r.u.m. 12 inch record or tape cassette. $41.25.     

Index for Volume 56 (1985)

Abstract

This study was a staff experiment carried out in 1953 as a follow-up to several preliminary experiments by graduate students at the University of Illinois, School of Physical Education. The studies were carried out in the Physical Fitness Research Laboratory. The preliminary studies as well as the staff experiment of 1953 and the reversal experiment of 1954 all showed some advantage for supplementary feedings of wheat germ oil (WGO) administered during or immediately following physical conditioning periods of conditioning exercises and swimming in an indoor pool with water temperature 74°-76° F. The subjects were adult men, 26–60 years of age, mainly sedentary, volunteers from the nonphysical education staff.

The WGO capsules (20 capsules per day, 3 minims each, and each containing 175 mg. of WGO and 0.44 mg. of mixed tocopherol) were fed for eight weeks in connection with the progressive physical training experiment. Two groups of eight men each were matched in treadmill-running time, the brachial pulse wave and age. Two other inactive control groups of 5 men each were tested at the beginning (T₁) and at the end (T₂) of the eight week period. The group results show significant advantage for the experimental subjects who took WGO over those who did not in both performance (willpower dominated) tests and in naive (non-willpower) tests.

The physiological advantage is shown in terms of running endurance in “all-out” treadmill runs, T-wave of the ECG (CR_iv-vlead), lower systolic blood pressure, the Schneider Index and the Illinois total body reaction-time test in response to light, sound, and combined signals. Individual differences in response are shown and some of the factors which cause such variations are identified.     

Efficacy of a Reading Intervention for Middle School Students Identified with Learning Disabilities

This experimental study reports findings on the effects from a year-long reading intervention providing daily, 50-minute sessions to middle-school students with identified learning disabilities (n = 65) compared with similar students who did not receive the reading intervention (n = 55). All students continued to receive their special education services as provided by the school. Results indicated statistically significant findings favoring the treatment group for sight word reading fluency following intervention. Small effects were found for phonemic decoding fluency and passage comprehension. No other statistically significant differences were noted between groups. The findings suggest that while gains on word reading fluency resulted from the additional reading treatment, accelerating the reading performance of students identified with learning disabilities may be unlikely to result from a one-year, daily intervention provided to students in groups of 10-15.     

The rain

I used to be a boy deeply loving the rain.Running in the rain without my beautiful umbrella was once one of my favorite things.However,as time went by,I was not even the half the one I had been.The rain would bring me some convenience,like no P.E.class that day.In another way,it made me depressed.Loneliness came to bother me all day.Facing the crowded bus,I felt somewhat complicated.Though it took me more time and strength,I still enjoyed walking home.At least I didn't have to stay out of breath on the hot wet bus...     

An evaluation of intensive intervention for students with persistent reading difficulties

To evaluate the effects of an intensive tertiary reading intervention, 27 students with severe reading difficulties and disabilities, 14 of whom had demonstrated an inadequate response to 1-2 tiers of prior reading instruction, received a 16-week intervention package involving decoding and fluency skills. The decoding intervention was provided for 2 hours per day for 8 weeks and was based on the Phono-Graphix program. The fluency intervention followed the decoding intervention and involved 1 hour of daily instruction for 8 weeks based on the Read Naturally program. The 16-week intervention resulted in significant improvement in reading decoding, fluency, and comprehension. Although individual responses to the intervention were variable, 12 of the 27 students showed a significant response to these interventions. Students who had participated in previous Tier 1 plus Tier 2 interventions but remained impaired had a stronger response to intervention in the current study than students who had previously participated only in Tier 1 intervention and students who had not received prior intervention outside of special education.     

Is there a low-back cost to hip-centric exercise? Quantifying the lumbar spine joint compression and shear forces during movements used to overload the hips

The aim of this study was to quantify joint compression and shear forces at L4/L5 during exercises used to overload the hips. Nine men performed 36 "walking" trials using two modalities: (1) sled towing and (2) exercise bands placed around the ankles. Participants completed forward, backward, and lateral trials with bent and straight legs at three separate loads. Surface electromyography (EMG) was recorded bilaterally from eight torso and thigh sites, upper body and lumbar spine motion were quantified, and hand forces were measured. An EMG-driven musculoskeletal model was used to estimate the muscular contribution to joint compression and shear. Peak reaction, muscle and joint compression and shear forces, and peak gluteus medius and maximus activity were calculated. Significant differences were noted in each dependent measure; however, they were dependent on direction of travel, leg position, and load. The highest joint compression and shear forces for the sled and band conditions were 4378 N and 626 N, and 3306 N and 713 N, respectively. In general, increasing the band tension had little effect on all dependent measures, although a load-response was found during the sled conditions. Before using any exercise to improve hip function, the potential benefits should be weighed against "costs" to neighbouring joints.     

The relative effects of group size on reading progress of older students with reading difficulties

This study reports findings on the relative effects from a yearlong secondary intervention contrasting large-group, small-group, and school-provided interventions emphasizing word study, vocabulary development, fluency, and comprehension with seventh- and eighth-graders with reading difficulties. Findings indicate that few statistically significant results or clinically significant gains were associated with group size or intervention. Findings also indicate that a significant acceleration of reading outcomes for seventh- and eighth-graders from high-poverty schools is unlikely to result from a 50 min daily class. Instead, the findings indicate, achieving this outcome will require more comprehensive models including more extensive intervention (e.g., more time, even smaller groups), interventions that are longer in duration (multiple years), and interventions that vary in emphasis based on specific students’ needs (e.g., increased focus on comprehension or word study).     

A ‘break with tradition’ in interwar teacher education

British teacher education in the interwar years was a contested field, dominated numerically by women but regulated by the Board of Education. The traditional perception of women’s residential training colleges was that they were autocratic and socially isolated. By focusing on Gipsy Hill Training College (GHTC), the first specialist training college for nursery school teachers, and its foundation principal, Lillian de Lissa, I challenge this perception. I explore the relationships between young women students’ social worlds, teacher educators’ understandings, teacher education curriculum and GHTC’s institutional culture. The main argument is that under de Lissa’s leadership GHTC was a socially and educationally progressive and democratic institution that focused on shaping students’ identities as women, teachers and citizens.     

Information adequacy, job satisfaction and organizational culture in a dispersed-network organization

This investigation examined the relationship of information adequacy to job satisfaction and organizational culture in a healthcare organization with both office and field personnel. Information adequacy was assessed in four areas: personal performance, organizational policies, organizational performance, and organizational objectives. Comparisons of field and office personnel indicated that they did not differ on information adequacy or job satisfaction; they did, however, differ on several dimensions of organizational culture. Also, the relationship of information inadequacy to job satisfaction and organizational culture differed for employees depending on whether they worked primarily in the field or primarily in the office. Implications of the findings are drawn for organizations with a dispersed-network structure.     

Parent involvement in an early childhood special education program: A descriptive analysis of parent demographics and level of involvement

The present study was conducted to evaluate the level of parent involvement in an early childhood special education program in a large midwestern urban school district. Areas surveyed included parents' current input, participation, and desired level of participation in the initial eligibility evaluation, the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) meeting, and the initial Individual Education Plan (1EP). Additional areas assessed included parent-teacher contact, overall satisfaction with the early childhood program, and services the parent might be interested in receiving. Generally, parents were satisfied with their involvement and input in their child's educational program. Differences between parents' level of income, education, race, gender, and marital status and their subsequent level of involvement in their child's education were noted.