Developing teachers’ subject didactic competence through problem posing

Problem posing (not only in lesson planning but also directly in teaching whenever needed) is one of the attributes of a teacher’s subject didactic competence. In this paper, problem posing in teacher education is understood as an educational and a diagnostic tool. The results of the study were gained in pre-service primary school teacher education. Students were asked to pose problems containing some given data (namely fractions). The subsequent analysis of the problems posed by the students revealed shortcomings in their conceptual understanding of fractions. Classroom-based joint reflection became the means of reeducation.     

The influence of warning messages on the public's perception of substance use: A theoretical framework

We bring different theories together to develop a theoretical framework that helps to understand how early warning messages about (new) dangerous drugs can influence the public's perception of substance use. We bring together the agenda setting theory, framing theory, dual processing theory, social learning theory, health belief model, theory of planned behavior, and cultivation theory in order to explain how warning messages diffused through the mass media can have an impact on the receivers' perceptions. Based on these insights we construct the Integrated Media Effect Framework (IMFE) that takes into account the role of cultural and structural contexts in the realm of early warning systems (EWS). Ultimately, this framework provides valuable guidelines for conceptualizing EWS and for developing applications by governments.     

好好先生

打电话和卢宁军联系采访的时候,他先说,网上都有,你去找吧。我说我们需要报道一下您本人,老卢听罢爽快地说,“那你来郑州吧,我给你一天时间,然后再和我老婆、女儿以及我的朋友聊聊。”     

Acute effects of walking on inflammatory and cardiovascular risk in sedentary post-menopausal women

Biochemical markers of inflammation are emerging as new predictors of risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and may alter acutely with exercise. Few studies have been conducted on the effects of walking on these markers or whether different walking intensities elicit varied effects. As there is growing interest in modifiable lifestyle factors such as walking to reduce CVD risk, these inflammatory responses warrant investigation. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of walking at 50% versus 70% of predicted maximal heart rate on C-reactive protein (CRP), plasma fibrinogen, and triglycerides in sedentary post-menopausal women. Twelve post-menopausal women (mean age 58 years, s +/-6; stature 1.62 m, s+/-0.06; body mass 66.8 kg, s +/-6.2) completed two 30-min treadmill walks in a randomized cross-over design. Fasted blood samples were taken (for the determination of plasma fibrinogen, CRP, and lipids) before, immediately after, and 1 and 24 h after exercise. Triglyceride concentrations decreased from pre-exercise to 24 h post exercise at both walking intensities (time x group interaction, P < 0.05). No significant effects were observed for plasma fibrinogen, CRP, total cholesterol, low-density or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (time x group interaction, P > 0.05). The results of this study suggest that fasting plasma triglycerides are decreased on the morning after 30 min of brisk walking at either 50% or 70% of maximal heart rate (moderate and vigorous intensity).     

Comparison of bilingual children on the WISC-R and the Escala de Inteligencia Wechsler Para Ninos

A comparison was made of bilingual Puerto Rican students' scores on the WISC-R and the Escala de Inteligencia Wechsler Para Ninos to see whether there were any differences in scores based on the language in which they were tested. These children were determined to be equally proficient in English and Spanish, based on scores from the Dailey Language Facility Test. There were no significant differences between the Full Scale and the Verbal Scale scores on both tests, but significant differences were found between the Verbal and Performance Scale scores on both tests. Caution in testing bilingual children before determination of bilinguality, as well as further research into development of intelligence tests for individual culture groups, is recommended.     

Recent Publications in Natural History

Principal Review: Edwards, Stephen R., Bruce M. Bell, and Mary Elizabeth King , comps. Pest control in museums: a status report (1980). Principal Review: Dubos, René . The Wooing of Earth: new perspectives on man's use of nature.     

Fabricating and prefabricating language: troubling trends in libraries

Librarians are succumbing to the influence of the easy-to-adopt, prefab, impersonal, ugly, and often impenetrable jargon borrowed from business and computer technology. Thus, they are in danger of beginning to think of libraries as businesses that provide primarily electronic information and facts rather than materials to support humanistic knowledge and insight.     

Voices of Experience: Renewing Higher Education with Alumni Studies

This paper presents an alumni researchstudy as a model for assessing how well highereducation prepares graduates for changing professionaland labour market realities. Results revealed that,while alumni valued the innovative curriculum, theyrecommended increased focus on functional skills; morebalance between team work and individual work; andexpansion of the programme's area of specialisation. Policy recommendations advocated strengthening theemphasis on functional skills; intensifying the rigourof technical and financial coursessemi; linking thefaculty as mentors to students for career developmentsemi;and expanding the school's reputation for excellencein finance as well as in entrepreneurship.     

Kids Don't Like Wearing the Same Jeans as their Mums and Dads: so whose ‘life’ should be in significant life experiences research?

In this article I respond to the special issue of Environmental Education Research (EER) by problematising significant life experiences research from the perspective of research and commentaries on intergenerational differences, environment‐related research with youth, and the silences in significant life experiences (SLE) research on gender, race and class. I argue that the youth of today are very different from older generations, so the achievement of the goals of environmental education through the extension of significant life experiences for older generations to the youth of today is a questionable activity. If our goal is the achievement of environmentally literate youth through environmental education, and, if we are going to use significant life experience research at all, then we need to be investigating the experiences which have been significant to youth at the end of the 20th century, not the experiences of those who were youths decades ago.