Temperament Dimensions in Preschool Children: Links With Cognitive and Affective Theory of Mind

Research Findings: The present cross-sectional study investigated the question of whether 6 different temperament dimensions (inhibition to novelty, social orientation, motor activity, positive emotionality, negative emotionality, and attention) influenced cognitive and affective theory of mind (ToM) in 168 children (86 three/four-year-olds and 82 four/five-year-olds). Temperament was measured via a parent-report questionnaire, cognitive ToM via a classical false-belief task, and affective ToM via a comprehensive test tapping 3 levels of emotion comprehension (external, mental, and reflexive). In addition, language competence was assessed with a direct test evaluating both receptive and expressive language. The results showed that after we controlled for language ability, inhibition to novelty predicted higher levels of cognitive ToM in 4/5-year-old children. In addition, higher levels of social orientation predicted better comprehension of the external aspects of emotion in both younger and older children. Practice or Policy: Our results highlight the importance of the early identification of less sociable children, who might benefit from training interventions aimed at increasing their affective ToM abilities. At the same time, they are also consistent with previous evidence indicating that an inhibited approach to social interaction can promote false-belief understanding.     

How full is your luggage? Background knowledge of zoo visitors regarding sharks

For the general population, sharks have a reputation that does not really fit with their biological and ecological nature. Informal surveys often classify sharks as dangerous, aggressive and/or man-eaters. This apparent common knowledge seems difficult to detach from the conscience of many worldwide zoo visitors, even with the help of shark-focused educational programmes. As so, how can zoos and aquariums contribute to a change in this paradigm? Are the education and conservation strategies effective to the average zoo visitor? In this study, young visitors’ perceptions regarding sharks were assessed with the goal of identifying a valid Learning Progression, thus helping to update and develop different and more effective educational strategies and methodologies. The study took place at Zoomarine, an oceanographic park located in southern Portugal, with visitors aged between 8 and 16. A case study was conducted using a qualitative research approach (drawings and interviews) resulting in a Learning Progression Hypothesis. The proposed Learning Progression is composed of three knowledge levels for the participants’ biological perceptions regarding sharks. The results of this study showed a clear predominance of anthropomorphic and anthropocentric visions, as well as a utilitarian view of sharks and ecosystem, thus conditioning the visitors’ epistemological knowledge.     

What makes a landmark effective? Sex differences in a navigation task

In Experiment 1, two groups of female rats were trained in a triangular pool to find a hidden platform whose location was defined in terms of a single a landmark, a cylinder outside the pool. For one group, the landmark had only a single pattern (i.e., it looked the same when approached from any direction), while for the other, the landmark contained four different patterns (i.e., it looked different when approached from different directions). The first group learned to swim to the platform more rapidly than the second. Experiment 2 confirmed this difference when female rats were trained in a circular pool but found that male rats learned equally rapidly (and as rapidly as females trained with the single-pattern landmark) with both landmarks. This second finding was confirmed in Experiment 3. Finally, in Experiment 4a and 4b, male and female rats were trained either with the same, single-pattern landmark on all trials or with a different landmark each day. Males learned equally rapidly (and as rapidly as females trained with the unchanged landmark) whether the landmark changed or not. We conclude that male and female rats learn rather different things about the landmark that signals the location of the platform.     

The Smithsonian Folklife Festival and Cultural Heritage Policy in Colombia: A Case Study

As Colombia began to develop its Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH) policy, it signed an agreement with the Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage to collaborate on a Smithsonian Folklife Festival of Colombia's national living traditions, to be shown on the National Mall in 2011. This essay addresses the role of the Smithsonian Folklife Center in advocating for a cultural heritage policy grounded in cultural democracy and intercultural dialogue, as well as its collaboration with UNESCO in crafting the 2003 convention for the protection of intangible cultural heritage. We focus on the Center's signature collaborative program, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, and on our experience with the 2011 Festival program, Colombia: The Nature of Culture. We examine the relationship between the Festival and Colombia's intangible cultural heritage communities, policies, and practices, through intercultural dialogues that contribute to shaping Intangible Cultural Heritage policy from the bottom up.     

Feasibility and concurrent validity of a cardiorespiratory fitness test based on the adaptation of the original 20 m shuttle run: The 20 m shuttle run with music

ABSTRACT

The purpose was to examine the feasibility of the 20m shuttle run test with music and to test its concurrent validity with the original 20m shuttle run test. A total of 386 adolescents (14.5±1.6 years old, 48.9% boys) participated in our study. A self-reported questionnaire was used to assess student’s perception about the 20m shuttle run test with music and the original and to assess perceived exertion. Participants performed randomly the 20m shuttle run test with music and original two weeks apart. Average and maximum heart rate were monitored with heart rate monitors. The 20m shuttle run with music was a feasible test for measuring cardiorespiratory fitness in adolescents. The concurrent validity showed mean differences of 5.1±14.6 for shuttles, 0.3±0.8 km/h for speed, 0.5±4.1 for stages, and 1.5±4.1 for VO2max (all p<0.001) in favour of the 20m shuttle run with music vs. the original 20m shuttle run test. Mean difference for the rating of perceived exertion was 0.4±2.5 points (p=0.003). No significant difference was found between boys and girls. In conclusion, the 20mSRT-music is feasible and presents a good concurrent validity in adolescents, independently of the sex and it will be an alternative and good approach to assess cardiorespiratory fitness.     

Influence of regression model and incremental test protocol on the relationship between lactate threshold using the maximal-deviation method and performance in female runners

This study examined the influence of the regression model and initial intensity of an incremental test on the relationship between the lactate threshold estimated by the maximal-deviation method and the endurance performance. Sixteen non-competitive, recreational female runners performed a discontinuous incremental treadmill test. The initial speed was set at 7 km · h?1, and increased every 3 min by 1 km · h?1 with a 30-s rest between the stages used for earlobe capillary blood sample collection. Lactate-speed data were fitted by an exponential-plus-constant and a third-order polynomial equation. The lactate threshold was determined for both regression equations, using all the coordinates, excluding the first and excluding the first and second initial points. Mean speed of a 10-km road race was the performance index (3.04 ± 0.22 m · s?1). The exponentially-derived lactate threshold had a higher correlation (0.98 ≤ r ≤ 0.99) and smaller standard error of estimate (SEE) (0.04 ≤ SEE ≤ 0.05 m · s?1) with performance than the polynomially-derived equivalent (0.83 ≤ r ≤ 0.89; 0.10 ≤ SEE ≤ 0.13 m · s?1). The exponential lactate threshold was greater than the polynomial equivalent (P < 0.05). The results suggest that the exponential lactate threshold is a valid performance index that is independent of the initial intensity of the incremental test and better than the polynomial equivalent.     

Does sensorimotor training improve the static balance of young volleyball players?

The aim of this investigation is to assess the effectiveness of a 6-week balance training (BT) protocol, integrated in regular training sessions, on postural sway of young female volleyball players (n = 26, age 13.0 +/- 0.2 years) divided into two groups (intervention and control; 13 per group). Trials were performed for bipedal and unipedal stance conditions before and after the BT protocol, using a pressure platform to collect center-of-pressure (COP) time series that were processed to calculate sway area, COP path length, and maximum displacement range in anteroposterior and mediolateral directions. The intervention group exhibited smaller sway areas in eyes closed conditions (intervention = 42.76 mm2, control = 67.60 mm2; p < 0.05) and Romberg quotients (intervention = 1.11 mm, control = 1.82 mm) in bipedal stance, while all the other parameters were unaffected. BT also reduced sway area (intervention = 122.70 mm2, control = 187.18 mm2) and anteroposterior COP displacements (intervention = 20.18 mm, control = 22.38 mm) of the non-dominant limb for single-leg stance. No significant change was found for the dominant limb. Although it is possible to hypothesize a beneficial effect of BT on young athletes, further investigations are required to clarify its actual effect on balance performance with respect to normal volleyball training.     

Δ-distance: A family of dissimilarity metrics between images represented by multi-level feature vectors

This article presents the Δ-distance, a family of distances between images recursively decomposed into segments and represented by multi-level feature vectors. Such a structure is a quad, a quin or a nona-tree resulting from a fixed and arbitrary image partition or from an image segmentation process. It handles positional information of image features (e.g. color, texture or shape). Δ-distance is the generalized form of dissimilarity measures between multi-level feature vectors. Using different weights on tree nodes and different distances between nodes, distances between trees or visual similarity between images can be computed based on the general definition of Δ. In this article, we present three Δ-based distance families: two families of distances between tree structures, called -distance( for Tree) and -distance ( for Segment), and a family of visual distances between images, called ( for Visual). The -distance visually compares two images using their tree representation and the other two distances compare the tree structures resulting from image segmentation. Moreover, we show how existing distances between multi-level feature vectors appear to be particular cases of the Δ-distance     

Inclusive education in Spain: how do skills,resources, and supports affect regular education teachers’ perceptions of inclusion?

This study examined regular education teachers’ perceptions of inclusion in elementary and secondary schools in Spain and how these perceptions may differ depending on teaching experience, skills, and the availability of resources and supports. Stratified random sampling procedures were used to draw a representative sample of 336 general education teachers (68 kindergarten, 133 elementary, and 135 secondary teachers) from the province of Alicante. The results indicated the acceptance of the principles of inclusion, although teacher skills, time, material resources, and personal supports for inclusion were deemed insufficient. Kindergarten and elementary teachers showed more positive perceptions of inclusion than secondary education teachers, and so did teachers with more personal supports and material resources than those with less supports and resources. The results are discussed in terms of its implications for practice in order to promote more inclusive classrooms in Spain.