Effects of increasing and decreasing physiological arousal on anticipation timing performance during competition and practice

The aim of this study was to investigate if the effects of changes in physiological arousal on timing performance can be accurately predicted by the catastrophe model. Eighteen young adults (8 males, 10 females) volunteered to participate in the study following ethical approval. After familiarisation, coincidence anticipation was measured using the Bassin Anticipation Timer under four incremental exercise conditions: Increasing exercise intensity and low cognitive anxiety, increasing exercise intensity and high cognitive anxiety, decreasing exercise intensity and low cognitive anxiety and decreasing exercise intensity and high cognitive anxiety. Incremental exercise was performed on a treadmill at intensities of 30%, 50%, 70% and 90% heart rate reserve (HRR) respectively. Ratings of cognitive anxiety were taken at each intensity using the Mental Readiness Form 3 (MRF3) followed by performance of coincidence anticipation trials at speeds of 3 and 8 mph. Results indicated significant condition × intensity interactions for absolute error (AE; p = .0001) and MRF cognitive anxiety intensity scores (p = .05). Post hoc analysis indicated that there were no statistically significant differences in AE across exercise intensities in low–cognitive anxiety conditions. In high–cognitive anxiety conditions, timing performance AE was significantly poorer and cognitive anxiety higher at 90% HRR, compared to the other exercise intensities. There was no difference in timing responses at 90% HRR during competitive trials, irrespective of whether exercise intensity was increasing or decreasing. This study suggests that anticipation timing performance is negatively affected when physiological arousal and cognitive anxiety are high.     

Can schools successfully meet their educational aims without the clear support of their local communities?

This short article explores some of the challenges and complexities of engaging with school communities, particularly in diverse urban contexts. The author argues for a new relationship between schools and communities which is developed by grappling with the concept of community; developing tools to ‘read’ and make sense of the community context; working with communities to redefine the notion of school success; and building trusting relationships. She concludes by suggesting that, in a global context in which many city communities are marginalized or isolated, the notion of developing a reciprocal relationship between schools and communities is not an optional extra. Only by working together will they be able to enrich the lives of young people and increase their sense of self-worth and well-being.     

Using Cloud-Based Software to Build an Interlibrary Loan Survey Databank

As an assignment for the Reference and User Services Association and as part of the American Library Association Emerging Leaders Program, the authors created a databank to house the results of a large-scale interlibrary loan staffing survey. After examining the pros and cons of several software solutions, the authors decided to use a Web-based database product, Dabble DB. The paper discusses the scope, outcomes, and value of the Reference and User Services Association interlibrary loan survey, the development of the authors’ project plan, and recommendations for the use of cloud-based database products in library operations.     

Oral history for student empowerment: capturing students’ inner voices

Through a close analysis of the oral history of Victor, a Hispanic student in an affluent Anglo institution, this paper provides an example of how oral history methods can capture student voices and uncover the silencing that often takes place in well‐intentioned educational institutions, and demonstrates how some of the multiple voices that exist within students and school communities are legitimated, while others are not. Drawing on Mikhail Bakhtin's theory of inner voice, the analysis illustrates the potential of oral history methods for probing the multiple voices and lived experience of students. It suggests how these voices help to reveal how students construct their identities in educational institutions.     

New Visuality in Art/Science: A Pedagogy of Connection for Cognitive Growth and Creativity

New visuality in art/science pedagogies challenges teachers to rethink their curriculum and the role of digital new media in facilitating conceptual thinking and the role of the creative representation of knowledge. Recent neuroscientific research on cognition, perception, memory, and emotion inform and provoke implications for 21st-century learning. Analysis of student artwork uncovers pedagogical challenges for teachers. Teachers use visual learning and its forms of higher process thinking to allow students to make cognitive connections with images, giving them the capacity to integrate concepts for the communication of art/science learning. Examples of student learning from years 3–5 and 15–17 illustrate these ideas.     

Collected Wisdom: Assessment Tools for Computer Science Programs

In this paper, we investigate the question of what assessment tools are being used in practice by United States computing programs and what the faculty doing the assessment think of the tools they use. After presenting some background with regard to the design, implementation, and use of assessment, with particular attention to assessment tools, we report on the results of two surveys, distributed to the SIGCSE mailing list and to the chairs of all ABET-CAC accredited computer science programs. This combination of community practice and advice for non-experts could be helpful to someone designing, evaluating, or improving an assessment plan.