Determinants and patterns of physical activity practice among Spanish university students

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the socio-demographic and lifestyle determinants of physical activity practice, as well as the motivations for being or not being physically active in Spanish university students. A representative sample of students from a Spanish university (n = 2,051; 42.1% males; mean age 21.9, s = 4.8 years) participated in the present cross-sectional study. A questionnaire including questions regarding lifestyle, dietary habits, parents' characteristics, and physical activity habits was administered to the students. The socio-demographic and lifestyle determinants of physical activity practice were assessed using multivariable logistic regression. 68.4% of men and 48.4% of women reported to practise physical activity in the present sample. Those who practised physical activity consumed more fruits and were less likely to be smokers compared to non-physically active students. Also, physically inactive men spent more time in front of the computer and physically inactive women spent more time in front of the TV and were more likely to be frequent alcohol consumers. Maternal educational level and maternal physical activity habits were also important determinants of physical activity practice among men and women respectively. In conclusion, physically active students tended to engage in other healthy habits in the present population, suggesting the clustering of healthy or unhealthy lifestyle factors among specific subgroups.     

Acculturation preferences of majority and minority adolescents in Germany in the context of society and family

Four hundred and fifteen adolescents (134 German majority and 281 minority members) completed a questionnaire which measured attitudes towards acculturation, life satisfaction and intergroup relation variables. German majority members preferred integration followed by assimilation (according to Berry's taxonomy), while minority members had a clear preference for integration. Integration was more strongly associated with favourable intergroup relations and, in the case of minority members, life satisfaction, than the other acculturation orientations. Furthermore the study showed that discrepancies between own acculturation attitudes and perceived attitudes of the other group may influence life satisfaction and intergroup attitudes. Perceived acculturation preferences of the respondents’ parents were also examined. German majority adolescents perceived their parents’ attitudes as more favourable to exclusion than their own, and minority members perceived their parents’ attitudes as leaning more towards separation than their own. In the majority sample, these discrepancies were not related to any of the outcome variables, but in the minority sample they influenced life satisfaction, perceived quality of intergroup relations, and tolerance.     

Threats to validity when using open-ended items in international achievement studies: Coding responses to the PISA 2012 problem-solving test in Finland

Open-ended (OE) items are widely used to gather data on student performance in international achievement studies. However, several factors may threaten validity when using such items. This study examined Finnish coders’ opinions about threats to validity when coding responses to OE items in the PISA 2012 problem-solving test. A total of 6 discussions during 6 coder practice sessions (on 6 OE items) and an interview between 5 coders were audiorecorded and analyzed by means of content analysis, and 3 main threats to validity were found: (1) unclear and complex questions; (2) arbitrary and illogical coding rubrics; and (3) unclear and ambiguous responses. Suggestions are given as to how to respond to these threats in order to improve the validity of international achievement studies.     

Development of Math Attitudes and Math Self-Concepts: Gender Differences,Implicit–Explicit Dissociations,and Relations to Math Achievement

Three hundred and ninety-one children (195 girls; M_age = 9.56 years) attending Grades 1 and 5 completed implicit and explicit measures of math attitudes and math self-concepts. Math grades were obtained. Multilevel analyses showed that first-grade girls held a strong negative implicit attitude about math, despite no gender differences in math grades or self-reported (explicit) positivity about math. The explicit measures significantly predicted math grades, and implicit attitudes accounted for additional variance in boys. The contrast between the implicit (negativity for girls) and explicit (positivity for girls and boys) effects suggest implicit–explicit dissociations in children, which have also been observed in adults. Early-emerging implicit attitudes may be a foundation for the later development of explicit attitudes and beliefs about math.     

Pupils’ Participation in and Response to Sustainable Food Education in Swedish Home and Consumer Studies: A Case-Study

The aim of this study is to explore conditioning factors influencing learning opportunities in food-related education taught from a perspective of sustainable development. Over the course of the eighth-grade school year, data were derived from field studies of two classes taught in Home and Consumer Studies with an exploratory case-study design. Data were analyzed using thematic and ideal-type analysis, resulting in four ideal-type portrayals: the Convinced, the Easygoing, the Unable, and the Skeptical, which characterize how pupils participate in and respond to sustainable food education in different ways. The characteristics of each of the four ideal types imply contextual frames that condition unequal learning opportunities in sustainable food education. By identifying, scrutinizing, and accommodating to existing conflicts and related structures, educational policy makers and practicing teachers can increase opportunities for pupils to develop informed reasoning, regardless of their ideal type characteristics.     

Low-stakes performance testing in Germany by the VERA assessment: analysis of the mode effects between computer-based testing and paper-pencil testing

The German school system employs centrally organized performance assessments (some of which are called “VERA”) as a way of promoting lesson development. In recent years, several German federal states introduced a computer-based performance testing system which will replace the paper-pencil testing system in the future. Scores from computer-based testing are required to be equivalent to paper-pencil testing scores so that the new testing medium does not lead to disadvantages for students. Therefore, the current study aimed at investigating the size of the mode effect and the moderating impact of students’ gender, academic achievement and mainly spoken language in everyday life. In addition, the variance of the mode effect across tasks was investigated. The study was conducted in four German federal states in 2019 using a field experimental design. The test scores of 5140 eighth-graders from 165 schools in the subject German were analysed. The results of multi-level modelling revealed that students’ test scores in the computerized version of the VERA test were significantly lower than in the paper-pencil version. Students with a lower academic achievement were more disadvantaged by the VERA computerized test. The results were inconsistent regarding the interactions between testing mode and students’ gender and mainly spoken language in everyday life. The variance of the mode effect across tasks was high. Research into different subjects and in other federal states and countries under different testing conditions might yield further evidence about the generalizability of these results.

     

照片档案遗产:敦煌、探险摄影与罗氏档案

首先简要概述了该档案本身,包括罗寄梅的资料与拍摄方法的自然特征,将该档案定位为探险与纪实摄影的实例,并突出其对于历史、文化与艺术研究的重要意义,然后在此基础上考察了罗氏档案对敦煌艺术研究的贡献。     

Mathematische Literalität unter einer sprachlich-kulturellen Perspektive

Im Beitrag werden zun?chst die verschiedenen in der mathematikdidaktischen Diskussion zu mathematical literacy vertretenen Positionen referiert sowie die Umsetzung von mathematical literacy als erkenntnisleitende Bildungskonzeption in der internationalen PISA-Studie sowie die Orientierung der deutschen Erg?nzungsstudie an dem Konzept einer mathematischen Grundbildung reflektiert. In einem zweiten Teil wird der Frage nachgegangen, welche Anforderungen an eine Konzeption mathematischer Literalit?t zu stellen sind, die den Bedingungen einer mehrsprachigen Schülerschaft gerecht wird. An einem Beispiel aus der eigenen empirischen Forschung wird dabei die Notwendigkeit der Berücksichtigung sprachlicher Prozesse beim Mathematiklernen aufgezeigt. Anschlie?end werden auf dieser Basis überlegungen zu einer eigenen Auffassung mathematischer Literalit?t als Bildungsziel mathematischer Erziehung formuliert.     

On Rational Madness: Love and Reason in Socrates and Lacan (Winner of the Taylor & Francis ICA Philosophy of Communication Division Best Paper Award 2008)

Drawing on a close reading of Lacan's Seminar XX: Encore, regarding the idea of love's centrality in every human intersubjective experience, this article explores the artificially constructed division between Eros and Logos that since the Enlightenment pervades most of the cultural renditions of western images of love, and argues that this separation forecloses an overarching unity, put forth by Lacan trough the concept Y a l'Un (there is One).