Challenges of assuring the development of graduate attributes in a Bachelor of Arts

All universities in Australia are asked to develop various attributes in their degrees. From 2011, the Australian Qualifications Framework has stipulated some of these attributes for the various levels of qualifications. There are many challenges that face assuring the development of graduate attributes in a Bachelor of Arts as the degree typically has very few core units (if any), a wide choice of subjects, a limited prerequisite structure and, unlike many professional degrees, the BA does not have an external accrediting body. This paper describes an approach used to identify the pathway undertaken by each individual student in a History major of the Bachelor of Arts. This pathway was used to identify the graduate attributes that each student should have developed, as articulated by the lecturers. Student perceptions were then compared with the graduate attributes that were intended to be developed through each individual's combination of units studied. In summary, through analysing the two methods (student perceptions and unit pathway) we found that they concurred with respect to only three-quarters of the graduate attributes. Possible reasons for the discrepancies and future research are discussed. The need for multiple methods of providing evidence of the development of graduate attributes is confirmed.     

The self experience of the gifted person: Theory and definitions

Recent articles on the gifted self are characterized by theoretical confusion and lack of definitional clarity. This article, anchored in current self psychology theory, defines the self experience as the person's subjective experience of organization and meaning, the maintenance of which is crucial to normal functioning. Interactions with others are a formative part of the self experience. Traits of giftedness, and the reactions of others to these, contribute to the gifted self experience. Social and emotional problems of giftedness, such as those that arise with asynchronous development and perfectionism, are based on a compromised sense of cohesion and unity of the self experience.     

Comparison of oil and egg tempera paint systems using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry

Time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF-SIMS) is quickly becoming a critical tool in the field of art conservation. This technique provides high-resolution spatial maps of both inorganic and organic components located within cross-sectional samples collected from works of art. With recent advances in surface analysis, ToF-SIMS can now be used to identify specific amino acids present in protein-containing materials as well as fatty acids in drying oils. For example, the detection of the ion fragment associated with the amino acid hydroxyproline can be used to confirm the use of animal glue in a paint sample. As an analytical technique, ToF-SIMS avoids the need for derivatization/silylation reagents, with no interference by the presence of pigments. Furthermore, the layered systems that are often encountered in historical paint samples remain intact throughout the analytical procedure. This allows for the co-localization of organic and inorganic species in specific layers (e.g. egg yolk paint atop a glue ground). Because of this ability to localize the analytical signal to approximately 6?µm or less, the mass spectral information can be used to produce mass-resolved and spatially-resolve images which can be correlated to previous studies of the same samples. In this study, ToF-SIMS was used to analyze a paint cross section obtained from a painting attributed to Raphael, and another from a painting by the Sienese artist Matteo di Giovanni.     

Rugby,Modernity and Controversy: Le P'tit Parigot (1926) by René Le Somptier

The history of sports literature has enjoyed renewed interest over the last few years, with a noticeable increase in the number of Anglo-Saxon works and the revival of French research. Through fiction, it is possible to understand the processes whereby ideas spread and collective imaginaries are constructed. In this regard, this article revisits the history of rugby union through the prism of a cine-novel, Le P'tit Parigot (1926), which was presented in serialised form via the newspaper L'Intransigeant and as a six-episode film in cinemas. It depicts the misfortunes of Georges Grigny-Latour, also known as the ‘P'tit Parigot’, son of an academic and captain of the French rugby union football team. This sport serial is a historical source of precious and useful information enabling us to address the representations of rugby at the time. The article aims to characterise the ambiguous identity of the sport during the Roaring Twenties, an identity that was torn between a Parisian spirit cultivating the idea of rugby as the inheritance of Anglo-Saxon values, and a provincial vision using it as a means of territorial expression.     

The expected value of possession in professional rugby league match-play

This study estimated the expected point value for starting possessions in different field locations during rugby league match-play and calculated the mean expected points for each subsequent play during the possession. It also examined the origin of tries scored according to the method of gaining possession. Play-by-play data were taken from all 768 regular-season National Rugby League (NRL) matches during 2010–2013. A probabilistic model estimated the expected point outcome based on the net difference in points scored by a team in possession in a given situation. An iterative method was used to approximate the value of each situation based on actual scoring outcomes. Possessions commencing close to the opposition’s goal-line had the highest expected point equity, which decreased as the location of the possession moved towards the team’s own goal-line. Possessions following an opposition error, penalty or goal-line dropout had the highest likelihood of a try being scored on the set subsequent to their occurrence. In contrast, possessions that follow an opposition completed set or a restart were least likely to result in a try. The expected point values framework from our model has applications for informing playing strategy and assessing individual and team performance in professional rugby league.     

Performance differences when using 26- and 29-inch-wheel bikes in Swiss National Team cross-country mountain bikers

The purpose of this study was to analyse the effect of bike type – the 26-inch-wheel bike (26“ bike) and the 29-inch-wheel bike (29“ bike) – on performance in elite mountain bikers. Ten Swiss National Team athletes (seven males, three females) completed six trials with individual start on a simulated cross-country course with 35 min of active recovery between trials (three trials on a 26“ bike and three trials on a 29“ bike, alternate order, randomised start-bike). The course consisted of two separate sections expected to favour either the 29“ bike (section A) or the 26“ bike (section B). For each trial performance, power output, cadence and heart rate were recorded and athletes’ experiences were documented. Mean overall performance (time: 304 ± 27 s vs. 311 ± 29 s; P < 0.01) and performance in sections A (P < 0.001) and B (P < 0.05) were better when using the 29“ bike. No significant differences were observed for power output, cadence or heart rate. Athletes rated the 29“ bike as better for performance in general, passing obstacles and traction. The 29“ bike supports superior performance for elite mountain bikers, even on sections supposed to favour the 26“ bike.     

Cuba’s Challenges Hosting the 1991 Pan-American Games and the Spectacle of the Revolution’s ‘Soft Power’

Abstract

This paper examines the confluence of global, regional, and national politics in the lead up to the 1991 Pan-American Games hosted by Cuba. Cuba’s contentious selection as host was wholly underpinned by the international politics of the time. Once selected, the preparations for the Games in Havana were surrounded by an unprecedented domestic economic crisis fueled by shifts in global politics. This paper analyzes how international politics informed the hosting of the 1991 Pan-American Games, and shaped the political challenge the Cuban government faced in hosting such an event. The Revolution’s use of sport domestically and internationally came to the forefront in its efforts as host and the results of those efforts proved to be providential given the emerging political economic contexts during and in the ensuing years after the Games.     

“I Belong Here.”: Culturally Sustaining Pedagogical Praxes from an Alternative High School in Brooklyn

Despite persistent class and race inequalities in educational attainment and achievement in the U.S., hegemonic cultural ideologies and urban education politics and policies continue to proceed from an insistence that education is the great equalizer. These ideologies do not take into account the ways that normative school culture and pedagogical praxes take for granted middle-class, white-supremacist cultural assumptions that privilege student populations whose social locations already probabilize high rates of achievement and attainment. Vast research published in The Urban Review and elsewhere has demonstrated the importance and efficacy of culturally sustaining pedagogy for improving outcomes for economically marginalized students of color (Allen in Urban Rev 47(1):209–231, 2015; Delpit in Harv Educ Rev 56(4):379–386, 1995; Farinde-Wu et al. in Urban Rev 49(2):279–299, 2017; Gay in culturally responsive teaching: theory, research, and practice, Teachers College Press, New York, 2010; Graves in Berkeley Rev Educ 5(1):5–32, 2014; Jemal in Urban Rev 49(4):602–626, 2017; Ladson-Billings in Crossing over to Canaan: the journey of new teachers in classrooms, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco, 2001, The dreamkeepers: successful teachers of African American children, Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, 2009; Lee in Culture, literacy and learning: taking bloom in the midst of the whirlwind, Teachers College Press, New York, 2006; Marciano in Urban Rev 49(1):169–187, 2016; Nieto in Language, culture, and teaching: critical perspectives, Routledge, New York, 2010; Paris in Educ Res 41(3):93–97, 2012; Paris and Alim in Culturally sustaining pedagogies: teaching and learning for justice in a changing world, Teachers College Press, New York, 2017; Wiggan and Watson in Urban Rev 48(5):766–798, 2016; Yosso in Race Ethn Edu, 8(1):69–91, 2005). This article uses rich ethnographic data from a transfer school in Brooklyn, New York that serves financially insecure youth of color who are “over-age and under-credited.” These data and my analysis showcase the expertise and indigenous knowledges of teachers who practice cultural relevance and critical racial awareness in order to engage, retain, graduate and prepare students who are historically and presently marked for failure by an education system that has always been more adept at reproducing social inequality than disrupting it (Borck in Qual Inq 20(10):1–8, 2016).