Altitude and wind effects on long jump performance with particular reference to the world record established by Bob Beamon

An analysis of long jump performance, including both the approach and aerial phases, is applied to Bob Beamon's legendary leap at the Mexico City Olympic Games of 1968. It is shown that the combined effects of altitude and wind assistance yielded an increment in the length of the jump of about 31 cm, compared to a corresponding jump at sea level under still air conditions. The main factor is shown to be the increased sprinting speed attained under favourable conditions of wind and altitude.     

Medical informatics: the Pittsburgh experience

This column reports the results of a survey conducted of medical librarian participants in medical informatics training at the University of Pittsburgh. This small study was undertaken in order to identify issues in training different kinds of library and information science practitioners in medical informatics.     

Integrating Undergraduate Peer Mentors into Liberal Arts Courses: A Pilot Study

This article presents research and narratives on the integration of course-based peer learning assistants into seven courses. A new curricular peer mentoring program was piloted in the 2005–2006 academic year in an interdisciplinary liberal arts college at a large Canadian research university. Undergraduate students enrolled in a practicum course which supported their learning while they collaborated with the “host instructor” of the course in which they served as peer mentor. Assistants’ roles varied and included individual tutoring, help via email, online discussion facilitation, small group facilitation, in-class presentation and discussion facilitation, and extracurricular study groups. Their integration into scheduled class activities resulted in participating students’ perception of enhanced learning. Data included peer mentors’ assignments, host instructor feedback, and student surveys.

Pedagogical and technological augmentation of mobile learning for young children interactive learning environments

The ubiquity and educational potential of mobile applications are well acknowledged. This paper proposes six theory-based, pedagogical strategies to guide interaction design of mobile apps for young children. Also, to augment the capabilities of mobile devices, we used a humanoid robot integrated with a smartphone and developed an English-learning app that applied the design strategies to this environment. Our observations of children's one-on-one use support the promise of the strategies and the combined use of robots and mobile devices to be a viable option to help optimize mobile learning.     

The Educational Aspirations and Expectations of Japanese Immigrant Mothers: Narratives of Raising Bicultural Nikkei Children in the Post-1965 Diaspora

This qualitative case study analyzed the diverse narratives of 10 Japanese immigrant mothers who reared their second-generation children in a midsize metropolitan community in the Midwest. The primary research questions are as follows: How have Japanese immigrant mothers envisioned academic success in relation to contemporary interpretations of diasporic Nikkei identity? How have the participants made sense of and negotiated their educational aspirations against the expectations of U.S. K–12 schools? Based on focus groups, individual interviews, and narrative analyses, this study captured the multiple ways by which Japanese immigrant mothers facilitated opportunities for their children to maintain a distinct but flexible Nikkei or diasporic Japanese identity (Nukaga, 2012; Takamori, 2010) that was centrally focused on rearing academically successful children who also exhibited cultural competence and confidence as bicultural Americans.     

Family feelings

Rachel Theilheimer teaches early childhood education at Borough of Manhattan Community College in New York City.