I. CHILDREN IN INSTITUTIONAL CARE: DELAYED DEVELOPMENT AND RESILIENCE

Children exposed to institutional care often suffer from “structural neglect” which may include minimum physical resources, unfavorable and unstable staffing patterns, and socially emotionally inadequate caregiver‐child interactions. This chapter is devoted to the analysis of the ill effects of early institutional experiences on resident children's development. Delays in the important areas of physical, hormonal, cognitive, and emotional development are discussed. The evidence for and against the existence of a distinctive set of co‐occurring developmental problems in institutionalized children is weighed and found to not yet convincingly demonstrate a “postinstitutional syndrome.” Finally, shared and nonshared features of the institutional environment and specific genetic, temperamental, and physical characteristics of the individual child are examined that might make a crucial difference in whether early institutional rearing leaves irreversible scars.     

The feasibility of fundamental movement skill assessments for pre-school aged children

Fundamental movement skill (FMS) assessment in preschools allows for early intervention; however it is unclear what assessments are feasible. The purpose of this review is to systematically review the feasibility of FMS assessments for pre-school aged children. The search was conducted across four databases, MEDLINE, Scopus, ERIC and SportsDiscus. Search terms included synonyms of “fundamental movement skills” and “pre-school children”. Inclusion criteria were: (i) FMS assessment; (ii) feasibility data; (iii) assessment of children aged three to six years; (iv) assessment of typically developing children; and (v) peer reviewed full text publications in English. Feasibility concepts (administration time, equipment, space, assessment type, item, training, qualification) were each coded as ‘poor = 1?, ‘average = 2? and ‘good = 3?; potential total of 21. A total of 330 full text articles were considered but a quarter (n = 86) were excluded due to no feasibility data. Sixty-five studies using 13 different FMS assessments were included. The Athletic Skills Track and DEMOST-PRE assessments were most feasible (18/21) and the Test of Gross Motor Development and Movement Assessment Battery for Children were common but among the least feasible (12–14/21). This review allows pre-school staff to choose a FMS assessment based on feasibility. Future studies need to present feasibility of assessments.     

Is three-dimensional anthropometric analysis as good as traditional anthropometric analysis in predicting junior rowing performance?

Abstract With the use of three-dimensional whole body scanning technology, this study compared the 'traditional' anthropometric model [one-dimensional (1D) measurements] to a 'new' model [1D, two-dimensional (2D), and three-dimensional (3D) measurements] to determine: (1) which model predicted more of the variance in self-reported best 2000-m ergometry rowing performance; and (2) what were the best anthropometric predictors of ergometry performance, for junior rowers competing at the 2007 and 2008 Australian Rowing Championships. Each rower (257 females, 16.3?±?1.4 years and 243 males, 16.6?±?1.5 years) completed a performance and demographic questionnaire, had their mass, standing and sitting height physically measured and were landmarked and scanned using the Vitus Smart? 3D whole body scanner. Absolute and proportional anthropometric measurements were extracted from the scan files. Partial least squares regression analysis, with anthropometric measurements and age as predictor variables and self-reported best 2000-m ergometer time as the response variable, was used to first compare the two models and then to determine the best performance predictors. The variance explained by each model was similar for both male [76.1% (new) vs. 73.5% (traditional)] and female [72.3% (new) vs. 68.6% (traditional)] rowers. Overall, absolute rather than proportional measurements, and 2D and 3D rather than 1D measurements, were the best predictors of rowing ergometry performance, with whole body volume and surface area, standing height, mass and leg length the strongest individual predictors.     

Pedagogy and performativity: Rendering laboratory lives in the documentary "Naturally obsessed: the making of a scientist"

A recently released documentary on life in a protein crystallography laboratory offers an exemplary opportunity to examine how a popular account of scientific training models narrowly defined norms of masculinity and mentorship and simultaneously sets these as the tacit conditions for success in science. Rather than treating this documentary as a good or bad representation of what life in the lab is actually like, this analysis draws attention to how the scientists featured in the film perform for the camera and how the filmmakers splice together the action to animate an engaging story. This essay shows how this popular and widely circulating documentary frames science as a game to be won and stages scientific success on an agonistic playing field. Those who can "make it" are those who are tough enough and those who are willing and able to get entangled in the taunting, jesting, and jostling relationships that appear to be required for mentorship in this lab. The essay argues that this documentary tethers this model of success in science to restrictive norms of masculinity and in so doing promotes a pedagogical culture that fosters competition, rivalry, and ritualized shame. Feminist theories of performativity are engaged to consider the iterative processes through which narrowly circumscribed masculinities and styles of pedagogy are sedimented and naturalized. This essay aims to spur renewed attention to the care historians and anthropologists might take to examine the often hidden tropes that are lurking inside the stories about science that we find so salient.