Data and graph interpretation practices among preservice science teachers

The interpretation of data and construction and interpretation of graphs are central practices in science, which, according to recent reform documents, science and mathematics teachers are expected to foster in their classrooms. However, are (preservice) science teachers prepared to teach inquiry with the purpose of transforming and analyzing data, and interpreting graphical representations? That is, are preservice science teachers prepared to teach data analysis and graph interpretation practices that scientists use by default in their everyday work? The present study was designed to answer these and related questions. We investigated the responses of preservice elementary and secondary science teachers to data and graph interpretation tasks. Our investigation shows that, despite considerable preparation, and for many, despite bachelor of science degrees, preservice teachers do not enact the (“authentic”) practices that scientists routinely do when asked to interpret data or graphs. Detailed analyses are provided of what data and graph interpretation practices actually were enacted. We conclude that traditional schooling emphasizes particular beliefs in the mathematical nature of the universe that make it difficult for many individuals to deal with data possessing the random variation found in measurements of natural phenomena. The results suggest that preservice teachers need more experience in engaging in data and graph interpretation practices originating in activities that provide the degree of variation in and complexity of data present in realistic investigations. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 1063–1088, 2005     

Education deans’ perspectives on factors contributing to their longevity

Tertiary Education and Management - This study explored the construct of longevity for education deans and the perceived impact that endurance in the role exerts on the welfare of schools and...     

Letter names, letter sounds and phonological awareness: an examination of kindergarten children across letters and of letters across children

In this study 149 kindergarten children were assessed for knowledge of letter names and letter sounds, phonological awareness, and cognitive abilities. Through this it examined child and letter characteristics influencing the acquisition of alphabetic knowledge in a naturalistic context, the relationship between letter-sound knowledge and letter-name knowledge, and the prediction of Grade 1 phonological awareness and word identification from these variables. Knowledge of letter sounds was better for vowels and for letters with consonant–vowel names than for those with vowel–consonant names or names bearing little relationship to their sounds. However, there were anomalies within each category reflecting characteristics of the individual letters. Structural equation modelling showed that cognitive ability, comprising receptive vocabulary, non-verbal reasoning, rapid automatized naming of colours, and phonological memory significantly contributed to alphabetic knowledge and phonological awareness. In turn, letter-name knowledge but not phonological awareness predicted letter-sound knowledge and subsequent reading skill.This research was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada to the first author. Thank you is extended to the participating schools and children and to Ian Newby-Clark for his orientation to AMOS. Michelle Bell, Shelly Moretti and Jodi Page have since graduated from the University of Guelph     

人类极限

去年12月一位64岁的德鲁斯老妇摔倒在冰上,由于关节炎而无法站立。她在雪中躺了好几个小时,体温降至70华氏度（约21摄氏度）,心跳一度停止,生命垂危。但在医生的抢救下恢复了过来。现代医学仍在研究人类身体承受的极限,但杜克大学的医师德劳德·皮恩塔多斯称过了某个临界点,医生也无力回天。以下就是关于人类承受极限的一些数值。     

Helpful components involved in the cognitive-experiential model of dream work

The purpose of the study was to examine the helpful components involved in the Hill’s cognitive-experiential dream work model. Participants were 27 volunteer clients from colleges and universities in northern and central parts of Taiwan. Each of the clients received 1–2 sessions of dream interpretations. The cognitive-experiential dream work model was applied to these clients by three therapists. The processes of the dream work were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim. The transcribed data, which included a total of 38 sessions for the 27 clients, were analyzed by the Consensus Qualitative Research (CQR) approach to examine the helpful components of the dream work. The results indicated that the general and typical helpful components involved in the process of dream interpretation included four domains: waking-life association, parts of self exploration, gaining insight, and action ideas.     

How should organizational leaders use employee engagement survey data?

This evaluation study explores how a nonprofit health insurance provider responds to the results of its annual employee engagement survey. The study answers two questions: (a) What do organizational leaders do with the data collected? and (b) How do leaders perceive the usefulness of the survey? It provides study results, discussions, and recommendations relevant to human performance technology practitioners, to help maximize the value of an organizational survey by increasing its usefulness as a catalyst for change.     

抖音短视频对厦门城市旅游形象的建构研究

[目的/意义]为研究抖音短视频传播对厦门城市旅游形象的建构状况.[方法/过程]运用内容分析法与问卷调查法等研究方法,探讨短视频传播过程中厦门城市旅游形象建构的现状、评价、重要性.[结果/结论]抖音对于建构厦门城市旅游形象确实存在很大助力,但仍有提升空间;从加强多方联合与引导,推动优质内容创作,增强线上线下互动,增加地域...     

重构职务专利归属制度

职务专利的归属立法关乎劳动者创造性的激励,对于我国实施创新驱动发展战略有着至关重要的作用。根据我国现行《专利法》,单位是职务专利的权利人;虽然该法律同时规定单位应当支付给发明、设计人一定的奖励或报酬,但对奖励和报酬的数额规定过低,这显然不利于劳动者创造性的激发。应当改革现有职务专利归属制度,综合平衡发明人利益、单位需求和专利效益最大化,赋予发明人部分专利权的同时,规定单位有发明人服务期间的排他使用权和发明人离职时的强制赎买权;同时,为了防止单位滥用自己作为雇主的优势地位损害发明人正当利益,应该对单位和发明人之间的约定加以限制。     

Lexical decision with left,right and center visual field presentation: a comparison between dyslexic and regular readers by means of electrophysiological and behavioral measures

This study examined the differences in processing between regular and dyslexic readers in a lexical decision task in different visual field presentations (left, right, and center). The research utilized behavioral measures that provide information on accuracy and reaction time and electro-physiological measures that permit the examination of brain activity during cognitive processing. Two groups of university students, regular and dyslexic readers, were matched on age, gender, intelligence, socioeconomic status, and handedness. A lexical decision task was used in order to examine the processes during word recognition. Subjects were required to decide whether a sequence of letters constituted a real word existing in spoken language or whether the stimulus seen was not an accurate word. For the behavioral measures, it was found that the dyslexics read slower and with more errors than the regular readers. Moreover, the ERP components appeared later in dyslexics as compared to regular readers in this task. The performance of the dyslexics improved and even approached that of the regular readers when the stimuli were presented to the left visual field. Thus, it seems that the dyslexics were relying more on their right hemisphere for linguistic processing, whereas the regular readers were relying more on their language areas in the left hemisphere.