READING MATHEMATICS REPRESENTATIONS: AN EYE-TRACKING STUDY

We use eye tracking as a method to examine how different mathematical representations of the same mathematical object are attended to by students. The results of this study show that there is a meaningful difference in the eye movements between formulas and graphs. This difference can be understood in terms of the cultural and social shaping of human perception, as well as in terms of differences between the symbolic and graphical registers.

     

Effects of the use of raised line drawings on blind people’s cognition

The creation of inclusive schools is no simple process as it implies huge changes that might generate resistance and fears, which can undermine the process of change. Quite often the changes in the legislation do not correspond to changes in the conceptions and/or practices of the actors involved in the process. As such, it is important to study what is happening in schools and to understand how they are managing to implement the political changes and overcome the tensions and difficulties they face. This is a comparative case study, aimed at describing five mainstream school teachers, their beliefs and practices, and how these are related to other schooling conditions. This study raises some questions, namely about the importance of an adequate regular school teacher support and an adequate education.     

Corporate governance and innovation: The UK compared with the US and ‘insider’ economies

How well does the UK corporate governance and financial system (CG&FS) support and encourage innovation? Each CG&FS faces four challenges which vary by sector: novelty, reconfiguration, visibility and spill-overs. High novelty in technologies and markets requires high industry-wide expertise; need for radical reconfiguration requires strong pressure for shareholder value. Low visibility of innovation processes requires shareholder engagement; high spill-overs to and from stakeholders require substantial stakeholder inclusion. The UK CG&FS is rated in these terms against the US and ‘insider’ economies, drawing on recent fieldwork, and the ratings are shown to account well for the relative R&D intensity and specialisation of UK-owned firms.     

Aerobic training but no resistance training increases SIRT3 in skeletal muscle of sedentary obese male adolescents

In recent years, prevalence of obesity in children and adolescents has increased. A strategy for prevention and management of obesity is aerobic training (AT) due to its effectiveness to decrease fat mass. AT increases the content of SIRT3, a mitochondrial protein that increases the expression of PGC-1α and NFR1, thereby enhances mitochondrial function and metabolic health. Resistance training (RT) provides metabolic benefits but its effect on SIRT3 content is unknown. To compare the effect of AT and RT on SIRT3, PGC-1α and NRF-1 protein levels in skeletal muscle of sedentary obese adolescents. Twenty-seven sedentary obese male adolescents (age: 16.7?±?0.9 years; BMI: 33.7?±?4.3?kg/m²) completed a 1-month control period prior to randomization to one of two supervised exercise protocols: AT (3 days/week, 40 min/day, 70–80% peak heart rate) or RT (3 days/week, 11 exercises, 2 sets/exercise, 12 repetitions/set) for 12 weeks. Biopsies were obtained from the vastus lateralis muscle before and after 12 weeks to analyse SIRT3, PGC-1α and NRF-1 proteins content. Peak oxygen consumption (VO_2peak) and anthropometric variables were evaluated before and after training. AT increased SIRT3 content, which was associated with improvements in PGC-1α content and body fat percentage. RT did not affect SIRT3 or PGC-1α. VO_2peak increased only in AT. The increase in muscle mitochondrial SIRT3 was observed only following AT. In contrast, RT increased muscle mass without improving SIRT3 in obese male adolescents.