Quandaries for Neuroeducators

ABSTRACT— Ethical quandaries abound in the emerging field of neuroeducation. Concepts and findings from the GoodWork® Project may help neuroeducators deal ethically with these quandaries. In particular, ethical work is easier to carry out when all stakeholders concur on the means and goals of the profession. Similarly, when professionals wear only one occupational hat, ethical work is more readily achieved than when the professionals need to reconcile two conflicting hats. Such quandaries need not be tackled alone. An organization like the International Mind, Brain, and Education Society is a promising venue for discussing and perhaps resolving these quandaries.     

Practical precooling: effect on cycling time trial performance in warm conditions

The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of two practical precooling techniques (skin cooling vs. skin + core cooling) on cycling time trial performance in warm conditions. Six trained cyclists completed one maximal graded exercise test (VO2(peak) 71.4 +/- 3.2 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1)) and four approximately 40 min laboratory cycling time trials in a heat chamber (34.3 degrees C +/- 1.1 degrees C; 41.2% +/- 3.0% rh) using a fixed-power/variable-power format. Cyclists prepared for the time trial using three techniques administered in a randomised order prior to the warm-up: (1) no cooling (control), (2) cooling jacket for 40 min (jacket) or (3) 30-min water immersion followed by a cooling jacket application for 40 min (combined). Rectal temperature prior to the time trial was 37.8 degrees C +/- 0.1 degrees C in control, similar in jacket (37.8 degrees C +/- 0.3 degrees C) and lower in combined (37.1 degrees C +/- 0.2 degrees C, P < 0.01). Compared with the control trial, time trial performance was not different for jacket precooling (-16 +/- 36 s, -0.7%; P = 0.35) but was faster for combined precooling (-42 +/- 25 s, - .8%; P = 0.009). In conclusion, a practical combined precooling strategy that involves immersion in cool water followed by the use of a cooling jacket can produce decrease in rectal temperature that persist throughout a warm-up and improve laboratory cycling time trial performance in warm conditions.     

The Gender Mix Among Staff in Schools for Pupils with Severe and Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulties and its Impact

Phil Goss has extensive experience as a practitioner and manager in schools for pupils with severe and profound and multiple learning difficulties. In this article, he reports on his enquiries into the gender mix among staff in these schools. He finds that there are significantly more women than men working as teachers and in support roles in these specialist contexts. Phil Goss goes on to discuss the outcomes of his research into headteachers' perceptions of the impact of this gender imbalance. In concluding, he makes a series of proposals for future policy on recruitment and staff development, for teachers and teaching assistants. Phil Goss argues that we need to find ways to bring more men into this work.