The effects of physical activity on children diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a review

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorder among children. Despite the noted positive aspects of the disorder, it is often associated with a range of negative outcomes for that are detrimental to children's education and wider well-being. This comprehensive scoping review examined empirical literature from seven academic journal databases and specialist journals, published over 10 years, in relation to the benefits of sport/physical activity upon the effects of ADHD. The databases and time frame were chosen to give the ‘ideal [scenario]?…?that could answer the review question’, within the limitations of journal database access and resource available; searches of grey literature were also conducted. Ten articles were included in the final review. Due to the variation of methodological approach, sample size, and, most importantly, the form of physical activity measured, it is difficult to identify the ‘best’ form of physical activity to mediate symptoms of ADHD. However, it can be plausibly claimed that physical activity interventions may provide an alternative, non-pharmaceutical approach to management of ADHD in children.     

Access to Research: An innovative and successful initiative by the UK publishing industry

• Access to Research is an online service for local libraries across the UK.
• Many large STM publishers have provided free walk‐in access to their content.
• The initiative is in response to a recommendation in the government‐commissioned ‘Finch Report’ on improving access to publically funded research.
• The service has just completed a 2‐year pilot, and toward the end of the pilot, research was commissioned to understand its impact.
• The research demonstrated the value of the service to local library users, so publishers’ local libraries have decided to continue providing the service.

     

Accessing participatory research impact and legacy: developing the evidence base for participatory approaches in health research

Action research has been characterised as systematic enquiry into practice, undertaken by those involved, with the aim changing and improving that practice: an approach designed to have impact. Whilst much has been written about the process and practice of ‘researching’, historically ‘impact’ has been somewhat taken for granted. In recent years, however, the impact of all forms of research has become the focus of interest with many funding bodies now demanding that researchers not only articulate the prospective impact of their work, but what kinds of evidence will be proffered to demonstrate that impact. This has raised questions for action researchers, not about whether their work has an impact, but what form that impact takes, how it is recognised and by whom. This paper focuses on difficulties researchers find in both articulating the impact of participatory research and demonstrating links between such forms of research and impact. We draw on discussions about the notion of impact with authors that have self-reported and published their work as participatory. These discussions revealed that not only were there difficulties in clarifying the participatory dimension of their research but that whilst authors were able to discuss particular impacts of their work, articulating and evidencing that impact was often absent from their published papers. This paper offers insights into some of issues and barriers those who undertake participatory research face in explicating, for the external audience (and indeed sometimes for ourselves), the impact of this action-based form of enquiry.     

Mapping the evolution of an after-school STEM club for African American girls using activity theory

Cultural Studies of Science Education - Research has shown that African American girls are interested in science but not as likely to pursue science-related careers as their white or male peers....     

Computer-enabled visual creativity: an empirically-based model with implications for learning and instruction

Instructional Science - This study focuses on visual creativity and how it can be supported with computer technologies and thereby be used to support learning and instruction. However, studies...     

The Common Core debate on Twitter and the rise of the activist public

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were adopted with broad bipartisan backing in 46 states in 2010. Yet by 2015 they had become a lightning rod for a range of critiques about the education system while public support declined precipitously and became increasingly partisan. Not coincidentally, the CCSS were also the first major education initiative to play out in a social media environment. In this study we used mixed methods to analyze the debate surrounding the Common Core on Twitter for a 6-month period in 2013–2014, with a focus on the central participants in the discussion and the linguistic argumentation they used. We found an active debate about the Common Core on Twitter, consisting of about 190,000 tweets from 53,000 distinct actors. Using social network analysis, we identified three major factions in the debate, which represented supporters of the CCSS, educators who opposed the CCSS, and a large contingent of opponents from outside of the education industry. We also detected that many of the most prolific participants from outside of education were individual activists, rather than members of formal advocacy organizations. Analyzing the content of the debate amongst the most influential participants, we found it to be less about the CCSS themselves than a proxy war about larger education-related social issues. Finally, through an examination of the language of the tweets, we determined that the central members used a form of linguistic argumentation called ‘politicalspeak,’ which they employed to rouse their followers and influence the public discourse. Thus, the tactics of the factions on Twitter, particularly opponents of the CCSS from outside of education, employed both issue framing and linguistic strategies to establish a dominant narrative. Based on these findings, we argue that the discourse on Twitter at the time of the study was less of a means to introduce new ideas and perspectives, then it was amplify the voices of a broader array of public activists seeking to influence the direction of public policy.