Student Involmement in University Governance: A Need for Negotiated Educational Aims?

The paper argues for the need toincrease student participation in universitygovernance, especially in relation tohigh-level decision-making concerning the aimsand mission of tertiary institutions. The paperexamines the arguments in favour of, andagainst, student participation in universitygovernance. It also provides an overview ofthe findings of recent empirical studies on thetopic. The need for a process of negotiation inthe setting of higher education aims isemphasised and several suggestions are offeredregarding ways of increasing studentinvolvement in the aims-setting process.     

Reading and spelling development in Brazilian Portuguese

This paper describes the development of reading and spelling procedures in Portuguese speaking children from 1st to 4th grade and discusses whether the developmental models of Frith, Seymour and Stuart & Coltheart may account for this development. This study is based on reaction time and error measurements of the reading and spelling of isolated words and pseudowords. The words varied in frequency, length and spelling-to-sound-regularity and the non-words varied only in length and spelling-to-sound regularity. The results indicated that the children tested did not pass through a logographic stage and that their reading and spelling initially involved a non-lexical process which from the beginning was influenced by a developing lexical process (that became progressively more important as development progressed), suggesting the use of overlapping processes. This finding contradicts Frith's strictly sequential theory but not Seymour's model, which allows for concurrent development of processes. Despite the fact that the present data do not fit into the definition of Seymour's orthographic stage, there were indications of a shift from the alphabetic to the orthographic stage and also that the process of lexicalization occurs more rapidly in reading than in spelling. Another finding was that the dual-process reading/spelling model, developed in English, can be extended to Portuguese.     

Bimodal compositions of gesture and vocalization at the beginning of verbal communication / Composiciones bimodales de gesto y vocalización en el inicio de la comunicación verbal

Abstract

This study contributes empirical evidence regarding the central role that gesture plays in the general process of language acquisition. Previous studies have highlighted this factor during the holophrastic stage (12–18 months), however a void exists in relation to the stage immediately following and immediately preceding the appearance of grammatical structures, the two-word stage. A single case longitudinal study was performed using the constant comparative method. Frequency data were obtained, indicating a permanent choice of the oral communication modality over the gestural modality, while at the same time a prevalence of bimodal compositions (gesture-vocalization) over oral unimodal compositions was seen. This suggests that bimodal compositions function as a cognitive-communicative procedural antecedent of the exclusively oral compositions that will prevail with the arrival of two words before the handling of grammatical structures, in other words, before the (relative) unimodalization of verbal expression. These results subscribe to the non-modularistic theory of language from the role of gesture in the language acquisition process.     

Electromyographic analysis of lower limb muscles during the golf swing performed with three different clubs

The aim of this study was to describe and compare the EMG patterns of select lower limb muscles throughout the golf swing, performed with three different clubs, in non-elite middle-aged players. Fourteen golfers performed eight swings each using, in random order, a pitching wedge, 7-iron and 4-iron. Surface electromyography (EMG) was recorded bilaterally from lower limb muscles: tibialis anterior, peroneus longus, gastrocnemius medialis, gastrocnemius lateralis, biceps femoris, semitendinosus, gluteus maximus, vastus medialis, rectus femoris and vastus lateralis. Three-dimensional high-speed video analysis was used to determine the golf swing phases. Results showed that, in average handicap golfers, the highest muscle activation levels occurred during the Forward Swing Phase, with the right semitendinosus and the right biceps femoris muscles producing the highest mean activation levels relative to maximal electromyography (70–76% and 68–73% EMG_MAX, respectively). Significant differences between the pitching wedge and the 4-iron club were found in the activation level of the left semitendinosus, right tibialis anterior, right peroneus longus, right vastus medialis, right rectus femuris and right gastrocnemius muscles. The lower limb muscles showed, in most cases and phases, higher mean values of activation on electromyography when golfers performed shots with a 4-iron club.     

Perceived environment in relation to objective and self-reported physical activity in Spanish youth. The UP&DOWN study

The aims of the present study were to assess the association of environmental perception with objective and self-reported physical activity (PA) and the relation between environmental perception and meeting PA recommendations on children and adolescents. A sample of 1520 youth (770 boys) aged 8–18 years (12.1 ± 2.5 years) from the UP&;DOWN study were included in the data analyses. Environmental perception was assessed with the short adapted version of the ALPHA environmental questionnaire. PA was objectively (accelerometers) and self-reported measured (PA Questionnaire for Children, Patient-centered Assessment and Counseling for Exercise Questionnaire and Finnish PA Index). Linear regression models were used to assess the association of environmental perception with PA. Bivariate logistic regression models were used to assess differences between environmental perception and meeting PA recommendations. Environmental perception was positively associated with both objective and self-reported PA. Some differences were found in the association of environmental perception and PA between sex- and age-specific groups. Youth who perceived a more favourable environment were more likely to meet PA recommendations (at least 60 min · day^?1 of moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA)). Results suggest that environmental perceptions of children and adolescents may play an important role in achieving higher levels of PA.     

The mattress makers: emotions and value proposal in Atlético de Madrid

Atlético de Madrid (ATM) Football Club has a single-hearted fan base regardless of the sport results, unlike megaclub’s fandoms (like Real Madrid, from the same city) that demand a steady stream of sporting triumphs. Literature is sparse about how second line clubs that must compete with megaclubs from the same city for a fan base develop a sustainable value proposal based on their fans’ emotions. We analyse the content of interviews with followers, TV-ads and financial statements to deal with ATM’s emotional base comprised of eleven emotions. Emotions like pride secure a fandom base loyal to ATM even in the absence of wins. Findings suggest that ATM’s value proposal (based on fandom satisfaction) focuses on a niche of fierce modern-style supporters with emotions attuned to the club’s performance.     

Using an Undergraduate Geometry Course to Challenge Pre-service Teachers' Notions of Discourse

This investigation uses classroom discoursein an undergraduate mathematics course tochallenge pre-service secondary mathematicsteachers' notions about mathematical discourse,what it might resemble in the classroom, andhow its various forms can be cultivated byclassroom teachers. The research setting was arequired geometry course taught by the author.Eleven pre-service mathematics teachers intheir junior or senior year of an undergraduate program participated. Results indicated participants made a transition toward an image of discourse as an active process by which students use the collective knowledge of their peers to build mathematical understanding and developed in their ability to participate in such discourse.This awareness, along with participants'analyses of their own habits of discourse asclassroom teachers, prompted shifts in theirprojected image of the role of discourse intheir future practices of teaching. Resultssuggested further that the undergraduatemathematics classroom (as opposed to themethods classroom) offers a powerful and uniqueforum in which pre-service secondary teacherscan practice, articulate, and collectivelyreflect on reform-minded ways of teaching.     

The Achievement Gap Among Newcomer Immigrant Adolescents: Life Stressors Hinder Latina/o Academic Success

This study compares life stressors and school outcomes among newcomer immigrant adolescents from Latin America, Asia, and the Caribbean. Participants attended a predominantly low-income, urban international public high school in the northeast. The Latina/o students were exposed to more life stressors and had lower attendance and achievement than non-Latina/o students. Life stressors mediated the relationship between ethnicity and academic outcomes. Results deepen experts’ understanding of the achievement gap, suggesting that newcomer immigrant adolescents from Latin America face unique risks and deserve intervention efforts focused on sociocontextual stressors that may prevent these students from achieving their full academic potential.     

Collaborative action research between schools,a continuing professional development centre for teachers and the university: a case study in Spain

This article describes a collaborative action research project developed over the course of the 2011/12 academic year in the Faculty of Education at Cordoba University (Spain). The RIECU school–continuing professional development centre for teachers–university learning network is part of this research process. The aim is to create and consolidate a community of practice made up of continuing professional development advisers to teachers, infant education teachers, university students who are training to become infant education teachers and university teaching staff. The most relevant findings, which respond to the questions raised, are: the action research conducted indicates that teamwork between teacher, adviser, researcher and university student is an effective strategy to facilitate the acquisition of professional competences among student teachers; and student-teachers involved in the case study have evolved in their conception and approach to childhood and have had the opportunity to learn by modelling the professional conduct of their mentor teachers.