Collective memory and sacred space in post-genocide Rwanda: Reconciliation and rehumanization processes in Mureithi’s ICYIZERE

ABSTRACT

We assess Mureithi's 2009 documentary, ICYIZERE: hope (Motion Picture, Josiah Films), as a document of representational space and collective memory. We argue that the post-genocide reconciliation workshop represented in the film embodies and constructs a sacred/secular space. The reconciliatory space is produced through (1) negotiations of dialectical tensions between past/present as well as individual/collective memory, and (2) (re)presentations of rehumanization within the workshop whereby participants (and audiences) can (re)interpret the Other. We analyze the rehumanization process in the documentary via identity widening theory (Ellis, D.G., 2006, Transforming conflict: Communication and ethnopolitical conflict. Boulder, CO: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers) and empathetic human interaction. Finally, we detail how the documentary situates participants within a transformative space of negotiated memories of the genocide with current day reconciliation efforts.     

Multiple Perspectives on Family Relationships: A Latent Variables Model

Many scholars are skeptical of family member reports on their interpersonal relationships. Familial reports are assumed to be biased by social desirability as well as other factors. In this study, a latent variables modeling approach was employed to evaluate rater reliability and bias in mother, father, and child ratings of parent-child negativity. Results based on 78 clinical families demonstrate that family member ratings contain a significant "true score" component that correlates with observer ratings of parental behavior. The presence of systematic rater effects is also demonstrated. The latent variables approach, which provides statistical control for rater effects, is recommended for the analysis of this type of data.     

To Each Their Own: Students Asking Questions Through Individualized Projects

Abstract

As mathematics educators we want our students to develop a natural curiosity that will lead them on the path toward solving problems in a changing world, in fields that perhaps do not even exist today. Here we present student projects, adaptable for several mid- and upper-level mathematics courses, that require students to formulate their own questions and to begin to develop the basic research skills needed to answer these questions. These projects, where each student is given an individualized object to study, allow students to take ownership over their own learning while introducing them to the joy and challenge of discovery and research. Each student is directed to use the concepts and techniques presented in class as a set of tools to guide the investigation of their object. We discuss our experiences–both positive and negative–with these inquiry-based projects.     

Mentors and Muses: New Strategies for Academic Success

Mentoring programs in higher education institutions have met with mixed success. In response to the limitations inherent in the dominant approaches to mentoring, we present an example of a unusual mentoring program, the New Scholars Network (NSN). The NSN is a variant of traditional mentoring approaches, having evolved from mentoring into musing. Framed within a radical humanist philosophy, musing is a process of creating peer communities that facilitates connections between naturally developing relationships, shared power, and collective action. Through mentoring as musing new faculty have the potential to evolve as change agents in the institution, instead of assimilating into the existing system.     

Throwing in cricket

This paper considers the kinematic characteristics of overarm throwing with particular emphasis on the techniques of throwing and pitching in baseball. The technique is subdivided into: (1) sequential pattern of throwing, (2) lead foot contact, (3) preparatory phase, (4) arm acceleration and (5) instant of ball release. Specific biomechanical principles that underpin throwing and their application within baseball are identified. The paper also presents a case study of the three-dimensional characteristics of throwing technique in cricket. The aim was to compare the skill in cricket to that previously researched in baseball. The findings for throwing in cricket are similar to those reported for baseball, indicating that there is a definite crossover in the rationale of how an individual should throw specific to the demands of cricket and baseball. The differences noted--greater elbow flexion at lead foot contact and less external rotation during the preparation phase--can be attributed to the demands placed on the fielder and pitcher specific to their respective sports.     

The effects of high-intensity intermittent exercise on saliva IgA, total protein and alpha-amylase

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of an acute bout of high-intensity intermittent exercise on saliva IgA concentration and alpha-amylase activity, since this type of training is commonly incorporated into the training programmes of endurance athletes and games players. Eight well-trained male games players took part in the study. They reported to the laboratory after an overnight fast and performed a 60-min cycle exercise task consisting of twenty 1-min periods at 100% VO2max, each separated by 2 min recovery at 30% VO2max. Unstimulated whole saliva was collected over a 5-min period into pre-weighed tubes and analysed for total protein, saliva IgA and alpha-amylase. The saliva flow rate ranged from 0.08 to 1.40 ml x min(-1) at rest and was not significantly affected by the exercise. The performance of the intermittent exercise bout did not affect the saliva IgA concentration, but caused a five-fold increase in alpha-amylase activity (P<0.01 compared with pre-exercise) and a three-fold increase in total protein concentration (P<0.01). These returned to pre-exercise values within 2.5 h post-exercise. It has been suggested that IgA concentration should be expressed as the ratio to total protein concentration, to correct for any concentrating effect due to evaporative loss of saliva water when breathing through the mouth (as in strenuous exercise). The present study clearly demonstrates that this is not appropriate, since there is an increase in salivary protein secretion rate immediately after exercise (571+/-77 microg x min(-1) compared with 218+/-71 microg x min(-1) pre-exercise; P<0.05). The increased saliva alpha-amylase activity after exercise may improve the protective effect of saliva, since this enzyme is known to inhibit bacterial attachment to oral surfaces. The saliva alpha-amylase secretion rate was lower immediately pre-exercise than at any other instant, which may have been due to anticipatory psychological stress, although the subjects were all familiar with interval exercise. This emphasizes the need for true resting non-stressed control conditions in future studies of the effects of exercise on saliva constituents.     

The Road from Rio to Johannesburg: Where Are the Footpaths to/from Science Education?

When the United Nations General Assembly authorized holding the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg, it was hardly a secret – or even a point in dispute – that progress in implementing sustainable development had been disappointing since the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. With poverty deepening and environmental degradation worsening, what was necessary, the General Assembly said, was not a new philosophical or political debate, but rather a summit of actions and results (United Nations, 2002). We can question the WSSD accomplishments and whether the subsequent actions and results will contribute in meaningful ways to sustainable development. However, I think it is more important for science educators to ask: What are the implications of WSSD for science education? Why is science education not more intrinsically linked to the goals of human rights, democracy, and social justice? What are the ways in which science education ought to be connected to issues of sustainable development? In essence, where are the footpaths to/from science education? I investigate such questions in this position paper, while arguing that an education in science ought to enable learners to: (a) understand how the natural world works, (b) understand how human systems are interacting with natural systems, (c) assess the status and trends of crucial natural systems, and (d) promote and follow a long-term, sustainable relationship with the natural world. These are the very ways in which an education in science (i.e., science education) ought to be connected to issues of sustainable development.     

Using person response functions to investigate areas of person misfit related to item characteristics

Individual person fit analyses provide important information regarding the validity of test score inferences for an individual test taker. In this study, we use data from an undergraduate statistics test (N = 1135) to illustrate a two-step method that researchers and practitioners can use to examine individual person fit. First, person fit is examined numerically with several indices based on the Rasch model (i.e., Infit, Outfit, and Between-Subset statistics). Second, person misfit is presented graphically with person response functions, and these person response functions are interpreted using a heuristic. Individual person fit analysis holds promise for improving score interpretation in that it may detect potential threats to validity of score inferences for some test takers. Individual person fit analysis may also highlight particular subsets of items (on which a test taker performs unexpectedly) that can be used to further contextualize her or his test performance.     

Student privacy in learning analytics: An information ethics perspective

ABSTRACT

Higher education institutions have started using big data analytics tools. By gathering information about students as they navigate information systems, learning analytics employs techniques to understand student behaviors and to improve instructional, curricular, and support resources and learning environments. However, learning analytics presents important moral and policy issues surrounding student privacy. We argue that there are five crucial questions about student privacy that we must address in order to ensure that whatever the laudable goals and gains of learning analytics, they are commensurate with respecting students' privacy and associated rights, including (but not limited to) autonomy interests. We address information access concerns, the intrusive nature of information-gathering practices, whether or not learning analytics is justified given the potential distribution of consequences and benefits, and issues related to student autonomy. Finally, we question whether learning analytics advances the aims of higher education or runs counter to those goals.