Service projects and women's agency in Salalah, Oman: A portrait of pre-service Dhofari English teachers

This research examines the service learning activities and written discourse of pre-service teachers from a cohort of 50 young women who were among the first generation in their community to complete a local university education with BA degrees in English language and literature combined with a subsequent teaching diploma to become English teachers. Based on written reports about service projects completed at the end of teacher training, the dominant theme that emerges is that of women's agency. Discourse analysis is used to create a portrait of how Dhofari women are learning to take agency and gradually developing their own unique views within student-centered learning.     

Young People,Schools, Sport and Government Policies

Abstract

This paper compares the policies and assumptions in Sport: Raising the Game, with the findings of three recent national surveys. These show, contrary to the assumptions in the government policy statement, that England's schools have been increasing, not cutting back on their sports teaching and facilities, and that young people are now playing more sport in and out of school than in earlier decades. Also, the drop‐out rate in late‐adolescence has declined substantially over the last generation which seems to be due mainly to the spread of community provisions rather than the school‐club links whose importance is emphasised in the policy statement. This statement makes no reference to equal opportunities, which may be considered justified by the research findings that social class differences have become blurred, that girls now receive equal treatment in school sport, and the persistence of sex differences in out of school participation is caused by the sexes’ prior orientations rather than their different experiences in school. However, the recent evidence also shows that there are still pronounced social class and gender differences in sport participation, and that equal opportunities issues remain unresolved.     

Effect of aerobic and strength training on pain tolerance,pain appraisal and mood of unfit males as a function of pain location

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of aerobic and strength conditioning on pain tolerance, pain appraisal and mood as a function of upper and lower limb pain location. Unfit males (n=48) were randomly assigned to one of four groups: aerobic training, strength training, combined aerobic and strength training, and a ‘no training’ (control) group. The fitness regimens consisted of exercising at least three times per week for 12 weeks. Pain tolerance and appraisal and mood were ascertained before the treatment (baseline), and after 6 and 12 weeks. Statistical analyses using MANOVA indicated that the presence of aerobic training increased upper limb pain tolerance but was also linked to a more severe pain appraisal compared with the absence of aerobic training. Aerobic work also improved vigour while decreasing fatigue, tension and depression. Strength training had no influence on pain tolerance and positive mood states, but increased depression. Lower limb pain tolerance was unaffected by the treatments.     

Relative Effectiveness of an Instant Replay Videotape Recorder in Teaching Trampoline

Abstract

The problem undertaken in this investigation was to examine the effects of teaching sports skills with and without an instant replay videotape recorder. Two random groups of freshman students at Washington State University were taught a 12-week unit in beginning trampoline. The experimental group used the VTR. The post-test-only control group design was used. Evaluation of performance was made by a three-man jury. The group means for the experimental and control groups were 80.57 and 79.36 respectively, clearly not significant at the preset level of acceptance of .10 (t = .27).     

Inter- and Intra-Individual Variations during the Progress of Motor Learning

Abstract

The effects of practice and the passage of time on individual differences (true-score variance) and intra-individual variation were investigated. One hundred and twenty male university students were tested on a Koerth type pursuit rotor. One group was tested on six days spaced over a three-week period. Another group performed the same motor task two days only—test and retest being separated by an interval of three weeks. Each day of practice was the same for both groups—sixty 15-second trials separated by a 10-second intertrial rest. It was concluded that true-score variance as well as intra-individual variance tend to parallel the initial increases in performance and then stabilize in later practice. Since the true-score variance increased greatly as compared with intra-individual variance in early performance, the correlation between adjacent trials increased. The effect of the lay-off was to increase both individual differences and intra-individual variance to a substantial and statistically significant degree.     

Dissonance Between Parent‐Selected Bedtimes and Young Children's Circadian Physiology Influences Nighttime Settling Difficulties

Nighttime settling difficulties (i.e., bedtime resistance, sleep‐onset delay) occur in about 25% of young children and are associated with attentional, behavioral, and emotional problems. We examined whether the timing of internal (endogenous) circadian melatonin phase (i.e., dim light melatonin onset; DLMO) and its relationship with parent‐selected bedtimes were related to nighttime settling behaviors. Fourteen regularly napping preschoolers (8 females; 30–36 months) participated in a 6‐day protocol (parent‐report of nighttime settling, actigraphic assessment of sleep onset latency, evening salivary DLMO). Average DLMO clock time was 07:40 p.m. ± 00:48 minutes, occurring 29 minutes ± 32 minutes prior to bedtime (lights‐out). Children with later DLMOs had longer sleep‐onset latencies (r = .62) and poorer success in falling asleep (r = ?.59). Children whose bedtimes were closer to their DLMO had longer sleep‐onset latencies (r = .72) and increased bedtime resistance (r = ?.54). We conclude that dissonance between parent‐selected bedtimes and children's circadian physiology may contribute to the development of nighttime settling difficulties in early childhood.     

An Engineering Report Writing Course that Works

In a world literature course, an instructor faces the challenge of engaging the students in classical texts that are historically, geographically, and linguistically “alien” to them. Through a three-step instructional model that includes approximation, thematic relevance, and application, the instructor tries to help students identify, engage, and interact with the texts. Several trials of this strategy have shown that this approach is promising because it promotes the students' active participation in class and ownership of the course content. Therefore, its implications in praxis will extend beyond the discipline of literature to other disciplines in college teaching.     

APIs and Libraries

Abstract

This column introduces application programming interfaces (APIs) and discusses how APIs are used in various library projects. APIs allow developers to use and reuse information in new ways and on a larger scale. In the landscape of digital libraries, APIs are enabling exciting new endeavors and simplifying routine tasks. Included is a table of library-related APIs from organizations such as OCLC, Ex Libris, and the New York Public Library.