Twelve Years of English in Six Weeks

Abstract

Is This a College? City on a Hill: Testing the American Dream at City College By James Traub Reading, Massachusetts: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 371 pages, 1994, $25. Reviewed by Martha E. Kendall.     

Universal design for learning in anatomy education of healthcare students: A scoping review

There are concerns among healthcare practitioners about poor anatomical knowledge among recent healthcare graduates. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework developed to enhance students' experience of learning and help students to become motivated learners. This scoping review identified whether UDL has been utilized in third level healthcare education and if so, whether it had been used to enhance student motivation to study anatomy. Seven online databases were searched for studies reporting the use of UDL in the curricula of medical, dental, occupational therapy (OT) or speech and language therapy (SLT) programs. Studies were screened for eligibility with set inclusion criteria. Data were extracted and analyzed. Analysis revealed that UDL was not specifically mentioned in any of the studies thus there are no published studies on UDL being formally applied in healthcare education. However, the authors identified 33 publications that described teaching methods which aligned with UDL in anatomy curricula and a thematic analysis yielded four main themes relating to teaching strategies being employed. Universal design for learning was not mentioned specifically, indicating that educators may not be aware of the educational framework, although they appeared to be utilizing aspects of it in their teaching. The review revealed that there is a lack of research concerning the anatomy education of OT and SLT students. The role of UDL in enhancing motivation to learn anatomy in medical, dental, OT and SLT programs has yet to be explored.     

Promoting Mother–Infant Book Sharing and Infant Attention and Language Development in an Impoverished South African Population: A Pilot Study

The low rates of child literacy in South Africa are cause for considerable concern. Research from the developed world shows that parental sharing of picture books with infants and young children is beneficial for child language and cognitive development, as well as literacy skills. We conducted a pilot study to examine whether such benefits might extend to an impoverished community in South Africa, by evaluating the impact of training mothers in book sharing with their 14–18 month old infants. Seventeen mothers received book sharing training; and 13 mothers did not, but instead received a comparison training in toy play. We assessed the mothers’ behavior during both book sharing and toy play before and after training, and we also assessed infant attention and language. Mothers receiving book sharing training engaged well with it, and they also benefited from it; thus, compared to the comparison group mothers, they became more sensitive, more facilitating, and more elaborative with their infants during book sharing, and they also became more sensitive to their infants during toy play. In addition, infants whose mothers received the book sharing training showed greater benefits than the comparison group infants in both their attention and language. Training in book sharing for families living in conditions of marked socio-economic adversity in South Africa has the potential to be of considerable benefit to child developmental progress. A large scale controlled trial is required to confirm this.     

Factors associated with physical activity referral uptake and participation

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine participant and scheme characteristics in relation to access, uptake, and participation in a physical activity referral scheme (PARS) using a prospective population-based longitudinal design. Participants (n = 3762) were recruited over a 3-year period. Logistic regression analyses identified the factors associated with the outcomes of referral uptake, participation, and completion (≥80% attendance). Participant's age, sex, referral reason, referring health professional, and type of leisure provider were the independent variables. Based on binary logistic regression analysis (n = 2631), only primary referral reason was associated with the PARS coordinator making contact with the participants. In addition to the influence of referral reason, females were also more likely (odds ratio 1.250, 95% confidence interval 1.003 – 1.559, P = 0.047) to agree to be assigned to a leisure provider. Referral reason and referring health professional were associated with taking up a referral opportunity. Older participants (1.016, 1.010 – 1.023, P < 0.001) and males were more likely to complete the referral. In conclusion, the PARS format may be less appropriate for those more constrained by time (women, young adults) and those with certain referral reasons (overweight/obesity, mental health conditions). More appropriate targeting at the point of referral could improve participation rates by revealing or addressing barriers that might later result in dropout.     

Countering the Soviet Threat in the Olympic medals race: The Amateur Sports Act of 1978 and American athletics policy reform

The Olympics were a site of Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. The successes of the Soviet Union eventually captured the attention of American policy-makers, who responded with the Amateur Sports Act of 1978. This article argues that the poor performance of the American team at the 1972 Olympic Games provided a ‘focusing event’ out of which the act emerged. It will further argue that the act's focus on elite athletics was a product of a perception in the late 1960s and 1970s that losses at international sport competitions detracted from American prestige abroad. The conservative political ideologies and athletic experiences of presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford did much to shape the way in which the problems in American athletics were approached.     

当代女性主义理论和行动:六个全球性问题

21世纪女性主义者将面对许多与上个世纪全然不同的理论问题。这对女性主义理论家们构成了挑战,需要她们进行深入地反思、在全球化语境下,谁已经被解放了;这到底意味着什么;什么和谁被牺牲了;我们在哪儿失败了,又打败了谁;谁被包括在这个"我们"中;还应该再做点什么。现实状况意味着人们在观念上仍然存在着束缚,并与信息技术革命一道使问题变得格外复杂。女性主义理论不仅仅涉及女性本身,还为人们应对当前许多全球性问题提供了一个独特的视角。     

Assessing practical laboratory skills in undergraduate molecular biology courses

This study explored a new strategy of assessing laboratory skills in a molecular biology course to improve: student effort in preparation for and participation in laboratory work; valid evaluation of learning outcomes; and students’ employment prospects through provision of evidence of their skills. Previously, assessment was based on written laboratory reports and examinations, not on the demonstration of practical skills per se. This action research project involved altering the assessment design so that a greater proportion of the marks was allocated to active participation and learning in the laboratory, partially replacing a single examination with direct observation of student participation and learning over a prolonged period of weekly laboratory sessions. We ascertained staff and students’ perceptions of the new assessment processes by means of a Likert scale questionnaire, student focus group and individual staff interviews. Overall, students and staff evaluated the new assessment structure positively, citing fairness, authenticity and reward for effort. Results also revealed the need for specific training of staff in this form of assessment and indicated staff–student ratios made assessment burdensome. Four out of five students reported that an increased awareness of the importance of practical laboratory skills stimulated them to greater efforts to achieve.     

From paper to plastic: electronic benefits transfer as technology of neoliberalization

This analysis refocuses attention to the relationship between neoliberal government practice and co-conditioning rhetorical consequence through examination of Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT). Operating by a plastic card similar to consumer debit cards, EBT opens new possibilities of consumption for those receiving Food Stamps. Rather than simply signaling a disciplining governmentality, electronic food assistance functions as a technology of neoliberalization, proffering the potentiality of social equity while (re)instantiating class boundaries. I appropriate the finance term securitization to specify the disposal of liberalist logics that transform the poor from economic risk to state asset while also leaving the conditions of poverty and food insecurity unchallenged.     

Clues to Reversing the School-to-Prison Pipeline: Portrait of a Scholar

The Urban Review - The purpose of this article is to make an overlooked source of knowledge accessible to school teachers and administrators in order to challenge the prevalent discourse of...     

Examining the Effects of Changes in Classroom Quality on Within-Child Changes in Achievement and Behavioral Outcomes

This study examines whether changes in classroom quality predict within-child changes in achievement and behavioral problems in elementary school (ages spanning approximately 6–11 years old). Drawing on data from a longitudinal study of children in predominantly low-income, nonurban communities (n = 1,078), we relied on child fixed effects modeling, which controlled for stable factors that could bias the effects of classroom quality. In general, we found that changes in classroom quality had small and statistically nonsignificant effects on achievement and behavior. However, we found that moving into a high-quality classroom, particularly those rated as high in Classroom Organization, had positive effects on achievement and behavior for children with significant exposure to poverty in early life.