Childhood movement skills: predictors of physical activity in Anglo American and Mexican American adolescents?

We assessed the relationship between young children's movement skills and their physical activity in early adolescence. Balance, agility, eye-hand coordination, and skinfold thicknesses in 207 Mexican American and Anglo American children (104 boys, 103 girls) were measured at ages 4, 5, and 6 years. Habitual physical activity was assessed at the age of 12 years by two interviewer-administered 7-day recalls. Ethnic differences in movement skills were not found. Young girls were better at jumping and balancing, and young boys were better at catching. Tracking of skills was low, and children's early childhood skills were not related to their physical activity 6 years later. Further studies involving additional movement skills and other populations are recommended to determine if enhanced movement skills in children promote subsequent physical activity.     

Gaining and Sustaining TEL in a 1:1 Laptop Initiative: Possibilities and Challenges for Teachers and Students

The uptake and use of digital technologies is studied in Unos Umeå, a joint one-to-one (1:1) research project between Umeå University and the municipality of Umeå in Sweden. This article presents the results of the third phase of the classroom work with laptops. Using the ecology of resources model (Luckin, 2010), these possibilities and challenges can be interpreted as the manifestation of filters in the learning environment. Alleviating technical problems, targeting low student laptop use, teacher collaboration, and teacher professional development (TPD) may help teachers and students gain and sustain technology-enhanced learning (TEL) in this 1:1 initiative.     

Compliance with freedom of information legislation by public bodies in South Africa

In South Africa, freedom of information (FOI) is entrenched in section 32 of the Constitution, which guarantees every citizen the right of access to any information held by the state or by any other person that is to be used for the protection or exercise of any right. The Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) is the law that gives effect to section 32 of the Constitution. Regardless of a remarkable trend towards the adoption of FOI laws, international trends have shown this does not automatically translate into fulfilment of people's right to information. This study utilised mixed method research through the explanatory sequential design to assess compliance with FOI legislation by public bodies in South Africa, with a view to develop a model for implementation of FOI. The study first conducted a quantitative study by analysing the reports of the South African Human Rights Commission from the reporting years 2006/07 to 2016/07 to assess compliance with sections 14, 15, 16, 17 and 32 of the PAIA. Thereafter, a qualitative study through interviews with purposively chosen participants was conducted to substantiate the findings of a quantitative study. Key results suggest that over the years, there were problems in the implementation of the FOI legislation in South Africa and its use was limited. Where implementation has taken place, it has been partial and inconsistent. The responsibility for the implementation of FOI legislation in most public bodies is assigned to legal departments that do not have knowledge of what records are created, and where and how they are kept. With regard to compliance, in terms of the degree of comparison, the situation was better in national departments, worse in provincial departments and worst in municipalities. The study recommends the establishment of an information governance unit to implement FOI in public bodies. Failure to assign responsibility to a relevant unit would perpetuate the non-compliance with FOI legislation by public bodies in South Africa. A model for the implementation of PAIA within a public body is suggested.     

Introduction of Molecular Methods into a Food Microbiology Curriculum

Maintaining current, relevant curriculum in undergraduate Food Microbiology courses is essential for training future experts in food quality and safety. Having an understanding of the fundamental techniques (for example, polymerase chain reaction [PCR]) that are used in the food industry and regulatory agencies is critical for students entering the workforce. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of integrating molecular methods into an undergraduate Food Microbiology course in both lecture and laboratory settings. Modules on PCR and pulsed‐field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), both of which are currently used by government agencies and the food industry to investigate the presence and persistence of foodborne pathogens, were developed, introduced, and evaluated among 269 students over 4 y. Multiple teaching and learning styles were incorporated through (i) traditional lecture format on the basics of PCR and PFGE; (ii) hands‐on group activities to build upon the lecture instruction; (iii) performing PCR and PFGE in the laboratory; and (iv) group discussions to analyze results from laboratory exercises. Pre‐ and postinstruction evaluations revealed significant increases in understanding and application of both methods in lecture and laboratory settings as demonstrated by 0.60 and 0.51 mean normalized gains for respective PCR and PFGE lectures and 0.50 and 0.56 mean normalized gains in respective labs. Academic year significantly impacted score improvement, potentially due to hidden factors, such as previous exposure to material and student aptitude. This study provides the platform for successful introduction of molecular techniques in an undergraduate Food Microbiology course. The guidelines and materials developed by our group are publicly available for use by other institutions.     

Integration of Sequential Information for Shape Perception by Infants: A Developmental Study

Perception of form by spatiotemporal integration was investigated in 3 experiments. In the first, infants aged 8, 10, and 12 months were tested using a novelty-preference procedure to determine the earliest age at which recognition of rectilinear and curvilinear form occurred. Infants were shown a light-point tracing of the outline of a figure, followed by simultaneous presentation of 2 test objects, one of the same shape as the tracing and one of a different shape. The tracing was double the size of the test objects. Only infants in the oldest group responded selectively by looking longer at the object of different shape. In the second experiment with 12-month-old infants only, it was shown that recognition of rectilinear, but not curvilinear, form occurred despite a difference in the orientation and size of tracing and object. Computer-generated tracings were used in the final experiment to compare form recognition for 2D and 3D stimuli. Selective responding occurred only for the latter. These findings show that by 12 months infants perceive the correspondence between the figural properties of a tracing and its extended form, but that this perception is dependent on the provision of depth cues.     

URI和数字对象唯一标识符*

数字对象唯一标识符作为数字图书馆的基础设施，具备网络环境下数字对象的标识、定位、管理等多种职能。本文分析了唯一标识符的类型、组成和构造原则，从逻辑标识、命名域相关、复杂性、完整性和互操作等角度论述唯一标识符的需求。在W3C提供的URI背景下，比较URI、URL和URN，并分析了相关命名语法和标识框架。最后介绍了COOL URL的概念和命名需求。