Helping children to get along: teachers’ strategies for dealing with bullying in primary schools

This brief report describes a small-scale qualitative interview study with primary school teachers in England, investigating their perceptions of bullying and strategies to prevent and manage it. Findings showed that much intervention work was situationally dependent, with teachers making subtle judgements about when and how to intervene. Prevention and intervention work centred on empathy development and teaching children skills to help them nurture effective social relationships. We suggest that this holistic approach to bullying enables teachers to address multiple agendas aligned towards promoting children’s social and emotional learning.     

Integrating Social Justice Advocacy With National Standards of Practice: Implications for School Counselor Education

Social justice in the education of all K‐12 students begins with school counselors; preparing school counselors as advocates and leaders who can implement these principles in U.S. schools begins with counselor educators. Suggestions for intentional preparation of school counselors to be social justice advocates in schools by integrating the principles of the National Center for Transforming School Counseling with the American School Counselor Association National Model for School Counseling Programs (2005) and the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs 2009 Standards are described. Ideas for educating school counselors as effective advocates in the context of specific training experiences throughout counselor training programs are provided.     

A variable drag coefficient,spatially extended numerical model of hammer throws and new wind tunnel data on current hammers

The maximum distance a hammer can be thrown depends on its mass, length and aerodynamic drag, meaning that record hammer throws performed before and after a rule change (for example, if the minimum mass is changed) cannot be compared directly. However, if all factors affecting the flight of a hammer are fully understood, and the range travelled by a hammer thrown with a given initial speed, angle and release height can be predicted, records thrown under different rules can be compared. In this work, a numerical model is developed, which includes the effects of atmospheric pressure, altitude, Coriolis Effect, gravitational variation, wind speed, ambient temperature, linear drag, torsional drag, hammer size and hammer orientation. It is based on the model of Mizera and Horvath (J Biomech 35:785–796, 2002). Two refinements are made: the drag coefficient varies with Reynolds number, and the hammer is represented as a spatially extended object with nonzero moment of inertia. New wind tunnel data on the drag of the three main components of the hammer (ball, cable and handle) are presented. This data are incorporated into the model which is then used to predict throws made at the IAAF 2011 World Athletics Championships (Daegu, Korea). The model is shown to be capable of predicting to within 1 % the distance of hammer throws where the air density, latitude, release height, release angle and release velocity are known. It is more accurate than numeric and analytic models which assume a constant drag coefficient. This may be because it does not require the user to choose the drag coefficient and automatically uses an appropriate drag coefficient regardless of conditions. With a good biomechanical model or good assumptions about release speeds, throws with different implements can be compared to compare records thrown before and after rule changes. Further work is needed to develop a biomechanical model capable of predicting the release speed an athlete can achieve with a range of different implements.     

Developing Legal Information Literate Law Students: “That Dog Will Hunt”

The legal profession has been adamant about the need for law schools to more adequately prepare law students for legal practice. Criticisms concerning a student's practical legal skills, such as the ability to conduct legal research, are prevalent. As the legal profession continues to transform, the need for law students and new attorneys to be “legal information literate” prior to being hired is quite evident. In order to instill competent legal research skills, legal research instruction must focus both on incorporating legal information literacy skills and on understanding how students learn. For this reason, teachers of legal research should rethink teaching strategies and explore different teaching methodologies.