Non-Invasive Measurements of Physical Maturity in Children

Abstract

Serial data for 268 normal children (144 boys, 124 girls) have been used to calculate predicted adult statures without using skeletal age. Present statures at an age have been used with these predicted values to obtain ratios that are significantly correlated (p <.05 or < .01) with accepted measures of physical maturity from 5 to 15 years in boys, and from 3 to 13 years in girls. Reference values for this ratio are provided. It is recommended that this non-invasive method of measuring maturity be used when irradiation cannot be justified or when the invasion of personal privacy is inappropriate.     

Cardiovascular Fitness and Maximal Heart Rate Differences among Three Ethnic Groups

Abstract

The current study examines maximal heart rate and maximal treadmill time differences among three ethnic groups. In 1985, 1,047 city employees (572 male, 475 female) participated in a comprehensive health promotion program. Data were collected from a self-administered health and lifestyle questionnaire, maximal treadmill exercise stress test, and other clinical measures. The participants were divided into white male (n = 368), black male (n = 159), Mexican-American male (n = 45), white female (n = 256), black female (n = 189), and Mexican-American female (n = 30) subgroups based on self-reported ethnic identity. Univariate analyses revealed no significant differences in age-adjusted maximal heart rate or maximal treadmill time for males. Mean age-adjusted treadmill time for black females (478.0 ± 228.2 s) was significantly lower than for white (652.5 ± 227.7 s) and Mexican-American (594.5 ± 226.7 s) females (p <. 05). Mean age-adjusted maximal heart rate for black females (174.4 ± 12.4 beats/min) was significantly lower than for white (179.3 ± 13.4 beats/min) and Mexican-American (182.0 ± 13.5 beats/min) females (p < .05). Following adjustment for cardiovascular fitness level, that is, treadmill time, as well as age, these differences were no longer apparent. We concluded that the comparatively low maximal heart rate of black females may be partially explained by a significantly lower cardiovascular fitness level relative to white and Mexican-American females.     

Marguerite Sechehaye and Renee: a feminist reading of two accounts of a treatment

In this paper I explore what it means to write as a woman by uncovering Marguerite Sechehaye's unclaimed contributions to psychoanalysis through a feminist reinterpretation of her writing. Analyzing two discrepant accounts of a treatment relationship, a first‐hand account written by Renee, a young woman who was Sechehaye's patient, and Sechehaye's own writing about this case, I interpret the shifting voices in these accounts and discover a method of “locating the feminine not‐said” [Showalter, 1985] in women's writing. This feminist understanding of Sechehaye's work involves entering women's stories, often informed and inflected by male perspectives, in order to uncover subtexts of resistance to and revision of a dominant view. I argue that the dilemma Sechehaye faced reflects a contradiction in the education of women: to learn a dominant discourse is necessary to gaining entry and voice within any of the professions, yet taking on a dominant discourse often means leaving one's knowledge as a woman largely unclaimed, obscuring a critical and original perspective.     

Meeting Student Needs Through the Levels Program and Grade Weighting

Action research is often included in teacher education programs to improve teacher reflection and practice; however, there is little indication of its impact on students. In this article, the authors examine action research conducted by 114 experienced teachers enrolled in a masters of education program. The teachers came from a range of disciplines and grade levels. Based on their investigation, the authors determined that action research provided a vehicle for teachers to (a) establish more personal relationships with students, (b) develop a better understanding of students as learners, and (c) give students a voice in the classroom. The authors illustrate these themes with three portraits of exemplar teachers.     

Exploring and Interpreting Leadership Stories

This article considers why central government policies are often insensitive to the range of contexts in which they are to be implemented. It reports on small-scale research into one instance of such 'policy insensitivity' associated with the low take-up of candidature for the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) among teachers in small primary schools during the early years of the original NPQH assessment and training scheme in Wales. Findings are reported on perceptions of LEA advisers, aspiring headteachers and their headteachers about the under-recruitment problem. It is noted how the revised NPQH policy appears to be addressing some of the problems identified. The wider significance of policy insensitivity for centralised policy making is highlighted.     

Changes in perceptions of studying for the GCSE among Year 10 and Year 11 pupils

This research aimed to explore whether pupils’ perceptions of studying for the General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) altered during the two‐year period of study of this qualification. Six hundred and forty four pupils from eight schools in outer London completed a self‐report questionnaire on two occasions, once in Year 10 and once in Year 11, which elicited their responses to statements about studying. Overall, throughout the course pupils remained anxious about coursework, examinations and homework and the time required for them. There was little evidence that pupils developed an increased level of understanding about the demands of the GCSE or a wider range of study strategies to support effective learning. That the students in this research remained as uncertain about the demands of coursework and the quality of their work in Year 11 as Year 10 warrants attention from those who plan and deliver the GCSE.