Challenges facing child protection

The challenges facing children in the 21st century are immense and will need to be faced if we are to achieve the goal of child protection for all. Three specific constraints on child protection are examined in this article, namely poverty, HIV/AIDS infection, and war. The authors use their experience in Africa to raise issues of resilience and adaptation, dangers to child protection programs, and possible solutions. Poverty can be both financial and psychological, and this affects the effect of prevention programs. In many African and Asian countries, the AIDS pandemic has changed the social structure of society with AIDS orphans and children infected and affected by HIV/AIDS becoming more common. The impact has devastating effects on the way we view child protection and in particular child sexual abuse. The consequences of post-traumatic stress resulting from war needs to be addressed, and the development of programs that place children in the center of relief programs to foster a culture of child protection is essential. Finally, the article notes that the picture is not overly pessimistic and the examines the achievements in the field of children's rights which underpin all programs aimed at protecting children and the future need to consolidate successes achieved.     

Technology student learning preferences and the design of flexible learning programs

The learning preferences of three hundred and thirty eighttechnology students enrolled in sub-degree programs at an Australian institution of Technical andFurther Education were tested using the Canfield Learning Styles Inventory (CLSI). The results have been interpreted in a learning preferences framework and providesupportive evidence for the preferences factors of print-nonprint, collaborative, dependent,and autonomous learning identified by Sadler-Smith & Riding (1999). Although theresearch focussed on learning preferences the analysis also indicated support for theWholist-Analytic cognitive style proposed by Riding & Cheema (1991). Genderdifferences were shown for the Interest subscales of the CLSI. Age-group differenceswere shown for several Conditions of Learning and Modes of Learning subscales.Implications for the design of training programs, and the skillsthat may need to be developed in technology learners to enable effective use offlexible delivery, are also discussed.     

Support and Challenge in Learning to Teach: the role of the mentor

The increased emphasis on school‐based programmes as part of initial teacher education has resulted in renewed efforts to forge more effective partnerships between higher education institutions and schools. The University of Bath has established a mentor development programme to ensure that subject mentors have an opportunity to examine ways to engage novice teachers in critical reflection about their practice while providing the support and challenge necessary to help them develop as teachers. This study is based on experienced mentors’ and their perspective on their work with novice teachers and it is a follow‐up to earlier research based on Daloz’ model (1986, Effective Teaching and Mentoring, San Francisco, Jossey Bass) of support and challenge. It examines an emerging mentoring pedagogy through which experienced mentors attempt to engage novice teachers in shaping their own vision of teaching. Three mentor profiles are discussed—the laissez‐faire, the collaborative and the imperial mentor.     

PIRUS2: individual article usage statistics — developing a practical,global standard

The most granular level at which COUNTER currently requires reporting of usage is for the individual journal. A number of developments have, however, meant that it is now practical to investigate the development of a COUNTER standard for the recording, reporting, and consolidation of usage statistics at the individual article level. The aim of PIRUS2 (Publisher and Institutional Repository Usage Statistics 2) was to take forward the outcomes of the original PIRUS project and build on its recommendations, by developing a prototype service (including technical, organizational, and economic models) that will enable publishers, repositories, and other organizations to generate and share authoritative, trustworthy usage statistics for the individual articles and other items that they host. The PIRUS2 project was completed in June 2011. This article covers the aims, objectives, outputs and recommendations of the project.     

Nutrition for the sprinter

The primary roles for nutrition in sprints are for recovery from training and competition and influencing training adaptations. Sprint success is determined largely by the power-to-mass ratio, so sprinters aim to increase muscle mass and power. However, extra mass that does not increase power may be detrimental. Energy and protein intake are important for increasing muscle mass. If energy balance is maintained, increased mass and strength are possible on a wide range of protein intakes, so energy intake is crucial. Most sprinters likely consume ample protein. The quantity of energy and protein intake necessary for optimal training adaptations depends on the individual athlete and training demands; specific recommendations for all sprinters are, at best, useless, and are potentially harmful. However, if carbohydrate and fat intake are sufficient to maintain energy levels, then increased protein intake is unlikely to be detrimental. The type and timing of protein intake and nutrients ingested concurrently must be considered when designing optimal nutritional strategies for increasing muscle mass and power. On race day, athletes should avoid foods that result in gastrointestinal discomfort, dehydration or sluggishness. Several supplements potentially influence sprint training or performance. Beta-alanine and bicarbonate may be useful as buffering agents in longer sprints. Creatine may be efficacious for increasing muscle mass and strength and perhaps increasing intensity of repeat sprint performance during training.     

The effect of culture on the learning of science in non‐western countries: the results of an integrated research review

Abstract

An increasing number of researchers are investigating the effect of students’ prior knowledge and beliefs on their development of scientific concepts. Much of this research is taking place within the framework of constructivism, and is attracting the attention of science educators in non‐western countries. This integrative research review has been undertaken to help researchers and practitioners to identify issues for further investigation and reflection. The results suggest that ‘cosmetic’ attempts to nationalize western science curricula in non‐western countries are likely to prove ineffective because the problem, from the students’ perspective, is one of poor ‘fit’ between their world‐views, language meanings and prior beliefs and those inherent in the subject. A constructivist paradigm seems to offer good prospects for both understanding the problem and formulating learning strategies in science education which are better suited to non‐western cultures. Nevertheless, constructivist pedagogies imported from the West should be examined for their cultural appropriateness.     

Talk

The publication and subsequent distribution and dissemination of Birth to Three Matters, A Framework to Support Children in their Earliest Years (DfES, 2002) marks a significant breakthrough in government recognition of the importance of the years from birth to three in shaping children's later learning. However, the Curriculum Guidance for the Foundation Stage, published the previous year, focuses upon the years from three to five. In this paper, Lesley Abbott and Ann Langston challenge the view that the Foundation Stage begins as children reach their third birthday, but rather that children are competent learners from birth, and it is at this very early stage that true foundations are laid.     

Can changes in resistance exercise workload influence internal load,countermovement jump performance and the endocrine response?

This study examined the influence of differing volume load and intensity (%1 repetition maximum[%1RM]) resistance exercise workouts on session rating of perceived exertion (sRPE) countermovement jump (CMJ) performance and endocrine responses. Twelve participants performed a workout comprising four exercises (bench press, back squat, deadlift and prone bench pull) in randomised order as either power (POW); 3 sets × 6 repetitions at 45%1RM × 3 min inter-set rest, strength (ST); 3 sets × 3 repetitions at 90%1RM × 3 min inter-set rest, or hypertrophy (HYP); 3 sets × 10 repetitions at 70%1RM × 1 min inter-set rest in a randomised-crossover design. CMJ performance and endocrine responses were measured immediately pre-, post-, 12, 24, 48 and 72 h post-exercise. POW sRPE (3.0 ± 1.0) was lower than ST (4.5 ± 1.0) (P = 0.01), and both were lower than HYP (8.5 ± 1.0) (P = 0.01). Duration of CMJ decrement was longer (P ≤ 0.05) for HYP (72 h) compared to POW (12 h) and ST (24 h). Testosterone concentration was greater (P ≤ 0.05) immediately post-exercise in HYP compared to POW and ST. In conclusion, less inter-set rest, greater volume load and intensity (%1RM) may increase sRPE, duration of CMJ performance decrement and testosterone responses in resistance exercise.     

Effects of Class Size and Equipment Availability on Student Involvement in Physical Education

This study examined the effects of two different environmental conditions upon the classroom behaviors of teachers and students. Three primary school physical education teachers were videotaped teaching introductory soccer lessons to year 5 and 6 students. Class sizes were 12, 24, and 44; equipment availability was either unlimited or limited to two balls and four markers. The “academic learning time-physical education” instrument was used to measure teachers’ time allocations to subject matter and student involvement. Students in the double-sized class conditions spent significantly more time in nonacademic tasks and in game/scrimmage motor activities, whereas more time in the half-sized class condition was spent in skill practice. Student involvement showed significantly more motor-appropriate activity and more cognitive and less organizational activity in classes where there were unlimited amounts of equipment available, irrespective of class size. These data are interpreted as demonstrating that teacher decision making and resultant pupil opportunity to respond are strongly influenced by environmental variables and that such influence can be both systematic and predictable. The reporting of significant environmental features and increased attention to their effects is thus seen as essential for future research in the teaching of physical education.