The Progression of Prospective Teachers’ Conceptions of School Science Content

The purpose of the present work is to describe the progression in the conceptions of prospective primary teachers about school science content while they were participating in three teacher education courses following the same constructivist oriented strategy. The participants’ written output was analyzed in various categories—selection of content, types of content and their relationships, levels of complexity, and presentation of content to pupils. There was evidence for some progress in their conceptions of the content from a traditional view to another that we termed intermediate since it did not reach the vision that we consider to be the most complex. Finally, we present a General Itinerary of Progression on school content that could serve as a referent for initial teacher education.     

Reading achievement in relation to phonological coding and awareness in deaf readers: a meta-analysis

The relation between reading ability and phonological coding and awareness (PCA) skills in individuals who are severely and profoundly deaf was investigated with a meta-analysis. From an initial set of 230 relevant publications, 57 studies were analyzed that experimentally tested PCA skills in 2,078 deaf participants. Half of the studies found statistically significant evidence for PCA skills and half did not. A subset of 25 studies also tested reading proficiency and showed a wide range of effect sizes. Overall PCA skills predicted 11% of the variance in reading proficiency in the deaf participants. Other possible modulating factors, such as task type and reading grade level, did not explain the remaining variance. In 7 studies where it was measured, language ability predicted 35% of the variance in reading proficiency. These meta-analytic results indicate that PCA skills are a low to moderate predictor of reading achievement in deaf individuals and that other factors, most notably language ability, have a greater influence on reading development, as has been found to be the case in the hearing population.     

A cross-cultural study of possible iatrogenic effects of gifted education programs: tenth graders’ perceptions of academically high performing classmates

Previous empirical studies have yielded inconclusive results about peer perceptions of academically high performing students. The purpose of this study was to investigate students’ perceptions of the intellectual ability, positive social qualities, and popularity of a hypothetical new high performing classmate. Participants were 1060 Vietnamese, South Korean, British, Australian, Peruvian, and Spanish boys and girls in 10th grade. The results revealed that the perceptions of academically high performing classmates differed by country group. Positive perceptions of intellectual ability and social qualities were commonly found in all countries except the two Asian countries (Vietnam and South Korea), where the students reported more neutral views of high performers. In conclusion, it is argued that there is no evidence for possible iatrogenic effects of gifted education programs aiming at high achievements     

Optimal and robust control for linear state-delay systems

This paper presents the optimal regulator for a linear system with state delay and a quadratic criterion. The optimal regulator equations are obtained using the maximum principle. Performance of the obtained optimal regulator is verified in the illustrative example against the best linear regulator available for linear systems without delays. Simulation graphs demonstrating better performance of the obtained optimal regulator are included. The paper then presents a robustification algorithm for the obtained optimal regulator based on integral sliding mode compensation of disturbances. The general principles of the integral sliding mode compensator design are modified to yield the basic control algorithm oriented to time-delay systems, which is then applied to robustify the optimal regulator. As a result, the sliding mode compensating control leading to suppression of the disturbances from the initial time moment is designed. The obtained robust control algorithm is verified by simulations in the illustrative example.     

Chinese and Indian higher education students go abroad: listening to them to determine what their needs are

Tertiary Education and Management - This paper voices the opinions of international students’ from China and India, and highlights the intentional process of integrating their perceptions of...     

Analysis of the distances covered and technical actions performed by professional tennis players during official matches

The purpose of this study was to analyse the physical and technical performances of professional tennis players during official matches. The trajectories of eight players were obtained during matches, using an automatic tracking method. The distances covered and technical performances were analysed for the first and second sets. The athletes covered (mean ± standard deviation) a total of 1702.4 ± 448.2 m in the first set, 1457.6 ± 678.1 m in the second set and 3160.0 ± 880.1 in the entire match. No differences were found between the sets for the physical variables (lateral and forward displacements, distance covered per rally, per game and per set, and the percentage of time spent in each range of velocity). However, the distances covered by the athletes during the rallies in which they were serving (median = 5.2; interquartile range (IQR) = 6.7 m) were statistically smaller than when they were returning (median = 6.2; IQR = 7.7 m). Forehand ground stroke proficiency decreased from the first (mean ± standard deviation: 75.2 ± 4.11%) to the second set (mean ± standard deviation = 65.5 ± 14.3%). In conclusion, tennis players did not present reduced physical performance from the first to the second set.     

“Suited to Their Needs”: White Innocence as a Vestige of Segregation

Discourses that supported de jure segregated schools often invoked White innocence in the form of altruistic motivations. These same invocations are found in more contemporary school policy discourses. The authors of this article argue, based on the concept of intertextuality of discourse, the existence of contemporary schooling policies as vestiges of segregation.     

The Use of Generic Frames in Elite Press: Between Conflict,Neutrality, and an Empowered Journalist

ABSTRACT

We propose to submit the existence of the five generic frames advanced by Semetko and Valkenburg [2000. “Framing European Politics: A Content Analysis of Press and Television News.” Journal of Communication 50 (2): 93–109. doi:10.1111/j.1460-2466.2000.tb02843.x] to a qualitative validation test. We strive to enrich this theory, given its potential to do comparative research across borders, testing it outside the cultural context where it was created, and thus contributing to perfecting its research methods and application, with the inclusion of local frames, better adapted to the Latin American cultural space. A three-year sample of political coverage was analyzed in two Chilean mainstream newspapers often accused of uniform ideological perspective. Although the five frames are used, a simplified form of the conflict frame practically eclipses the other four in use. Two others were identified (“defense” and “informative”), as well a narrative perspective, almost like a meta-frame, which installs the perception that the journalist knows more than ordinary citizens, their colleagues and other political actors.