Presentation of Type I and Type II Error Rates to Non‐statisticians

This article describes a simple computer program which graphically demonstrates both Type I and Type II statistical errors.     

Educational aspirations in inner city schools

This research aimed to assess the nature and level of pupils’ educational aspirations and to elucidate the factors that influence these aspirations. A sample of five inner city comprehensive secondary schools were selected by their local authority because of poor pupil attendance, below‐average examination results and low rates of continuing in full‐time education after the age of 16. Schools were all ethnically mixed and coeducational. Over 800 pupils aged 12–14 completed a questionnaire assessing pupils’ experience of home, school and their peers. A sub‐sample of 48 pupils, selected by teachers to reflect ethnicity and ability levels in individual schools, also participated in detailed focus group interviews. There were no significant differences in aspirations by gender or year group, but differences between ethnic groups were marked. Black African, Asian Other and Pakistani groups had significantly higher educational aspirations than the White British group, who had the lowest aspirations. The results suggest the high aspirations of Black African, Asian Other and Pakistani pupils are mediated through strong academic self‐concept, positive peer support, a commitment to schooling and high educational aspirations in the home. They also suggest that low educational aspirations may have different mediating influences in different ethnic groups. The low aspirations of White British pupils seem to relate most strongly to poor academic self‐concept and low educational aspirations in the home, while for Black Caribbean pupils disaffection, negative peers and low commitment to schooling appear more relevant. Interviews with pupils corroborated the above findings and further illuminated the factors students described as important in their educational aspirations. The results are discussed in relation to theories of aspiration which stress its nature as a cultural capacity.     

Policy Development in Physical Education … The Last Best Chance?

In this article, I provide a brief historical perspective on how state-level policy was an integral part of the rise of school physical education in the first half of the twentieth century, as well as the evolution of sport pedagogy as a subdiscipline within the field of kinesiology. The role and importance of policy in changing behavior are presented using reductions in tobacco use and improvements in automobile safety as examples. “Impact” of best available research evidence is presented as a multilayered concept, from surface level impact at the personal level to “deep impact” that would be reflected in improved professional practice. The influence of the changing landscapes in K-12 and higher education present both external and internal barriers that, coupled with a lack of awareness (or neglect?) of the role and impact of policy, have hamstrung any appreciable progress in professional practice. In the final section, I argue that unless kinesiology becomes proactive in advocacy toward state-level policy development, school physical education will retain its marginalized place. Initial suggestions are provided to help initiate greater involvement in such policy development.     

Modeling knowledge sharing among high-tech professionals in culturally diverse firms: mediating mechanisms of social capital

Drawing upon social capital theory, this research postulates cultural intelligence as a key driver of knowledge sharing through the mediation of social capital among employees from culturally diverse organizations. An empirical testing of the proposed model, by investigating Taiwanese professionals from high-tech foreign companies in Taiwan, reveals the applicability of social capital theory in understanding the relationship between cultural intelligence and knowledge sharing. The study’s test results show that cultural intelligence indirectly influences knowledge sharing through different dimensions of social capital. This research further provides managerial implications and limitations.     

Evaluation of comparative and combined antimutagenic potential of vitamin C and vitamin E using histidine mutant <Emphasis Type="Italic">Salmonella typhimurium</Emphasis> strains

Chemoprevention represents a new intervention strategy to control some type of carcinogenesis especially in subjects at high risk for cancer development. Experimental and epidemiological data indicate that a variety of nutritional factors including vitamin C and E are effective to lower the risk of some types of cancer. However large prospective studies have failed to find such significant association. A comparative and combined in vitro antimutagenic potential of two antioxidant vitamins ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and α-tocopherol (vitamin E) were evaluated using Ame’s Salmonella typhimurium test assay. Directly acting mutagens such as sodium azide (NaN₃) and 4-Nitro-o-phenylenediamine (NPDA), and N-methyl-N′-nitro-N-nitrosoguanidine (MNNG) were used to induce mutation in salmonella strains TA 98 and TA 100. Vitamin C significantly (P < 0.01) and dose dependently inhibited the mutagenicity induced by all the three mutagens. The percent inhibitions of vitamin C at 15 mg/plate were 33.8% (NaN₃), 52.5 % (MNNG) and 55.4 % (NPDA). Vitamin E (15 mg/plate) was effective to inhibit mutagenicity induced by NaN3 and MNNG but did not inhibit mutation induced by NPDA. Combination of vitamins (vitamin C plus vitamin E) produced only an additive antimutagenic activity when compared to their activity at 5 mg/plate. The results of the study concluded that vitamin C is a better antimutagenic agent than vitamin E and combination of vitamins did not produce any synergistic activity.     

Assessing Cross-cultural Competence in Transnational Education: The Intercultural Development Inventory

As transnational education programmes continue to proliferate, a corresponding increase in intercultural competence on the part of faculty, curriculum developers, and support staff is required. Transnational programmes incorporating ''best practice'' curricula and the most advanced technology and facilities cannot fulfill their potential unless they meet the cultural needs of their clientele. Meeting these needs requires an understanding of intercultural competence and objective methods to measure and assess it. These requirements raise issues in terms of objectively measuring cross-cultural competence and designing and assessing training programmes in this vital area. The author introduces the Developmental Model of Intercultural Sensitivity (DMIS), Bennett's conceptual framework for understanding the developmental stages of intercultural competence, and the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), a psychometric instrument for measuring cross-cultural competence and training needs, in both individuals and groups, and assessing training outcomes.     

Accreditation,Job Opportunities,and Professional Application for Canadian Teachers Trained in Australia

Over the past decade, Australian universities have been at the forefront in the recruitment of international students into professional programmes. These students undertake a variety of postgraduate programmes in such professions as nursing, computing, and education, but there is not a great deal of documented systematic evidence regarding the effects of such training on the professional aspirations and experiences of these graduates once they return to their countries of origin. This article attempts to provide such an assessment through case studies and interviews with forty-six Canadian students who were trained in Australia to become teachers in Canada. Access to a large number of alumni is of assistance in formulating a relatively accurate picture of the value of professional training in the context of a foreign location, at least in the teaching profession.