The place of the closed book,invigilated final examination in a knowledge economy

This paper examines the origin and implications of adult learners’ emotions in the context of an online distance learning programme at the Open University of Cyprus. Various methods for gathering data about learners’ emotions related to online learning are used, such as emotion diaries, semi‐structured interviews, and email messages. The paper highlights the multiple directions adult learners’ emotions can take and the significance of learners’ interpretations of their emotions in relation to the online learning methodology. The issues of social and emotional communication and contact emerge as critical in the exploration of adult learners’ emotions in the context of online learning.

Le rôle des émotions dans l’expérience de l’apprentissage en ligne: Défis et possibilités

Cet article examine l’origine et les implications des émotions qu’éprouvent les apprenants adultes dans le contexte d’un programme d’apprentissage en ligne à l’Université Ouverte de Chypre. On a utilisé différentes méthodes pour recueillir des données sur les émotions que ressentent les apprenants par rapport à l’apprentissage en ligne, citons les journaux personnels d’émotions, les entretiens semi‐structurés et les courriels. L’article fait apparaître les directions multiples que peuvent prendre les émotions des apprenants adultes et la signification de leurs différentes interprétations de ces émotions par rapport à la méthodologie de l’apprentissage en ligne. Les problèmes de communication sociale et émotionnelle et de contact apparaissent critiques dans cette exploration des émotions des apprenants adultes dans le contexte de l’apprentissage en ligne.

Die Rolle von Emotionen in der Praxis des Online‐Learning: Herausforderungen und Möglichkeiten

In diesem Papier werden Entstehung und Folgen von Emotionen erwachsener Lerner im Rahmen eines Online – Fernlehrgangs an der Open University of Cyprus untersucht. Es werden dazu verschiedene Methoden der Datenerfassung von Emotionen bezüglich des Online‐Lernens benutzt, z.B. Gefühle‐Tagebücher, halb strukturierte Interviews und E‐Mail‐Nachrichten. Dieses Papier beleuchtet die vielen Richtungen, in die die Emotionen erwachsener Lerner gehen können und die Bedeutung, die die Interpretation ihrer Gefühle in Bezug auf ihre Online‐Lern‐Methodologie hat. Die Fragen nach sozialer und emotionaler Kommunikation und nach Kontakt erweisen sich als kritisch bei der Untersuchung der Emotionen erwachsener Lerner in Zusammenhang mit dem Online‐Lernen.

El papel de las emociones en las experiencias de aprendizaje en línea: desafíos y oportunidades

El presente artículo examina el origen y las implicaciones de las emociones de los estudiantes adultos dentro del contexto de un programa de aprendizaje a distancia de la Universidad Abierta de Chipre. Se utilizan varios métodos para recoger datos sobre las emociones de los estudiantes relacionadas con el aprendizaje en línea. Podemos mencionar los diarios de emociones, las entrevistas semi‐estructuradas y los mensajes de correo electrónico. El presente trabajo pone de manifiesto las multiples direcciones que las emociones de los estudiantes adultos pueden tomar y la significación de las interpretaciones de sus propias emociones con respecto a la metodología de aprendizaje en línea. Las cuestiones de la comunicación y del contacto social y emocional son elementos críticos en la exploración de las emociones de los estudiantes adultos dentro del contexto de aprendizaje en línea.     

Academic progress in the 16–19 curriculum: some senior staff perceptions of current monitoring systems and operational procedures

In outlining its programme of target-setting for post-16 provision in 1997, the DfEE sought to promote the monitoring of academic progress in order to raise achievement both at institutional level and also at the individual student level. This article, based on research conducted in schools and colleges in North and West Yorkshire, focuses on the latter and examines senior staff perceptions of current monitoring systems and operational procedures. The article gives an overview of the main systems used and how these are adapted to suit the circumstances of a particular institution. The authors suggest that in general the implementation of target-setting has been viewed positively, largely due to the current flexibility for senior staff to adapt whatever system best suits their needs. It recommends that this should be seen as a strength of the current situation and that the introduction of more uniform systems should be avoided if it is at the expense of meaningful procedures adapted to local requirements.     

Demophilia: A Discursive Counter to Demophobia in the Early Republic

The term “democracy” is ambivalent—in the history of the United States, it has played both god term and devil term, and inspired both sacrifice and trembling. Robert L. Ivie has mapped the discourse by which American policy elites have said “no” to democracy—the rhetoric of “demophobia.” This essay complements his analysis by mapping the discourse by which Americans began to say “yes” to democracy during President Thomas Jefferson's administration—the rhetoric of “demophilia.” Understood as a discursive formation, demophilia creates space for rhetoric and deliberation that is closed by demophobia. In the process, demophilia disciplines democracy by producing deliberative subjects properly attuned to civil speech.     

“The Effort of Reason,and the Adventure of Beauty”: The Aesthetic Rhetoric of Randolph Bourne

We are still coming to terms with the legacy of Randolph Bourne. Although he died at the age of 32 just as the United States was cheerfully entering the First World War under the banner of “democracy,” the words he penned in an unfinished essay still resonate in the American social conscience: “War is the Health of the State.” This maxim, once thought the exclusive property of leftist radicals, now can be heard echoing from every political corner of the blogosphere as progressives and libertarians alike find cause to question the motives of governmental power. Yet despite his reappearance as a symbol, Bourne in many ways remains as forgotten as ever—perhaps even more so as his once provocative claim has been transformed into a talking point. This essay endeavors to recapture the voice of Bourne in all its complexity, seeking to place him at the forefront of the contemporary American intellectual tradition as one of its most piercing critics, most visionary poets, and most eloquent rhetors. Specifically, we show how Bourne's critique of the “State” foresaw the rise of the technological society organized by ideological propaganda, how his vision of the Beloved Community anticipated our modern ideals of global transnationalism, and how his literary essays practiced a form of aesthetic rhetoric which employed dramatistic methods to bring about a new state of expanded social consciousness.     

Impact of the choice of threshold on physical activity patterns in free living conditions among adolescents measured using a uniaxial accelerometer: The HELENA study

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the choice of threshold on physical activity patterns measured in adolescents under free living conditions (FLC) using a uniaxial accelerometer. The study comprised 2043 adolescents (12.5–17.5 years) participating in the HELENA Study. Participants wore a uniaxial accelerometer for 7 days. The PA patterns were assessed using thresholds determined from six different studies. For each of the thresholds used, the number of adolescents fulfilling the recommendation of 60 min of moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) per day was also calculated. A significant difference was found between thresholds regardless of the activity level: differences of 38%, 207%, 136%, and 2780% for sedentary, light, moderate, and vigorous intensity PA, respectively (P < 0.001). Time of MVPA varied between methods from 25.3 to 55.2 min · day^–1. The number of adolescents fulfilling the recommendation varied from 5.9% to 37% according to the thresholds used. The kappa coefficient for concordance in the assessment of the number of adolescents achieving the PA recommendations was generally low. The definition of the threshold for PA intensity may considerably affect the PA patterns in FLC when assessed using a uniaxial accelerometer and the number of participants fulfilling the recommendations.     

How learning in an inverted classroom influences cooperation, innovation and task orientation

Recent technological developments have given rise to blended learning classrooms. An inverted (or flipped) classroom is a specific type of blended learning design that uses technology to move lectures outside the classroom and uses learning activities to move practice with concepts inside the classroom. This article compares the learning environments of an inverted introductory statistics class with a traditional introductory statistics class at the same university. This mixed-methods research study used the College and University Classroom Environment Inventory (CUCEI), field notes, interviews and focus groups to investigate the learning environments of these two classrooms. Students in the inverted classroom were less satisfied with how the classroom structure oriented them to the learning tasks in the course, but they became more open to cooperative learning and innovative teaching methods. These findings are discussed in terms of how they contribute to the stability and connectedness of classroom learning communities.     

Using comparative genomics for inquiry-based learning to dissect virulence of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Yersinia pestis

Genomics and bioinformatics are topics of increasing interest in undergraduate biological science curricula. Many existing exercises focus on gene annotation and analysis of a single genome. In this paper, we present two educational modules designed to enable students to learn and apply fundamental concepts in comparative genomics using examples related to bacterial pathogenesis. Students first examine alignments of genomes of Escherichia coli O157:H7 strains isolated from three food-poisoning outbreaks using the multiple-genome alignment tool Mauve. Students investigate conservation of virulence factors using the Mauve viewer and by browsing annotations available at the A Systematic Annotation Package for Community Analysis of Genomes database. In the second module, students use an alignment of five Yersinia pestis genomes to analyze single-nucleotide polymorphisms of three genes to classify strains into biovar groups. Students are then given sequences of bacterial DNA amplified from the teeth of corpses from the first and second pandemics of the bubonic plague and asked to classify these new samples. Learning-assessment results reveal student improvement in self-efficacy and content knowledge, as well as students' ability to use BLAST to identify genomic islands and conduct analyses of virulence factors from E. coli O157:H7 or Y. pestis. Each of these educational modules offers educators new ready-to-implement resources for integrating comparative genomic topics into their curricula.     

老年人的体育锻炼与身心健康

本文回顾了近十年来国外有关老年人的体育锻炼与身心健康方面的研究成果,具体讨论了老年人体育锻炼的生理心理效应,老年妇女与体育锻炼,老年人参加体育锻炼的动机以及影响老年人参加和坚持体育锻炼的因素等四个问题。