Application of dimensional reasoning to thermal systems

A variant of dimensional analysis, called the method of synthesis, is described and its application to thermal systems is discussed. The method focuses attention on the development of a dimensional equation, which is composed of terms having linear dimensions, as an interim stage in the formation of non-dimensional relationships. It is demonstrated that this approach provides considerably greater flexibility than conventionaL methods of analysis and that convenient solutions may be quickly, and easily, generated.     

I still wanna be an engineer! Women,education and the engineering profession

Women's low enrolment in post-school engineering degrees continues to be a problem for engineering faculties and the profession generally. A qualitative interview-based study of Australian women engineers across the range of engineering disciplines showed the relevance of success in math and science at school to their enrolling in engineering at university. However, for a significant number of the women the positive self-image connected with school success was not maintained by their workplace experience. Using a mixed methods approach, further investigations of the attitudes and experiences of working engineers at three large firms suggest that engineering workplaces continue to be uneasy environments for professional women. Particular issues for women working as professional engineers are identified in this paper and some educational strategies are suggested in order to better prepare engineers for an inclusive and participatory professional life.     

Assessing the Validity of a Stage Measure on Physical Activity in a Population-Based Sample of Individuals With Type 1 or Type 2 Diabetes

This study was designed to test the validity of a transtheoretical model's physical activity (PA) stage measure with intention and different intensities of behavior in a large population-based sample of adults living with diabetes (Type 1 diabetes, n?=?697; Type 2 diabetes, n?=?1,614) and examine different age groups. The overall specificity (classified correctly as inactive) for Type 1 diabetes was 69.3% based on the percentage of individuals in precontemplation, contemplation, and preparation not meeting Canada's PA guidelines. Sensitivity (classified correctly as active) was 82.5% based on the proportion of active participants in action and maintenance. In the Type 2 diabetes group, the overall specificity and sensitivity was 63.9% and 88.2%, respectively. No significant differences were found between the diabetes groups for stage distribution patterns, and sensitivity and specificity values. The majority of the study hypotheses related to intention and behaviors were confirmed, providing further supportive evidence for the utility of this PA staging measure for the diabetes population.     

Write this way: examining teachers’ supportive strategies to facilitate children’s early writing in preschool

Reading and Writing - Writing is essential for communication in literate societies, and its successful acquisition and development is central to academic achievement. Beginning in early childhood,...     

Gendered experiences of sexual abuse of teenagers and children in Mexico

The prevalence of sexual abuse during childhood and adolescence in a national representative sample of Mexican youngsters is examined from a gender perspective using data from the 2007 National Survey on Exclusion, Intolerance and Violence in Public Institutions of High School Level Education. Of those surveyed, 1.76% were forced into their first experience of intercourse, and 6.43% had their genitalia touched or their first sexual interaction imposed against their will. In this sample, 6.82% had experienced sexual abuse before the age of 18. Child sexual abuse was most commonly perpetrated by family members and neighbors. Only 20% reported being abused by an unknown person. Males and females had different victimization experiences. Forty percent disclosed information about the abuse to another person, and 7% reported their experiences to law enforcement agencies. Males and females stated different reasons for not disclosing. These findings are discussed within the context of the social construction of the male and female body and sexuality in the Mexican context.     

Exploring metacognitive strategy use during note-taking for students with learning disabilities

This mixed-methods study analysed over 200 interviews from 20 seventh-grade students with learning disabilities (LD). Students were instructed how to use a note-taking intervention during science lectures. The interview analyses were supported by pre- and post-intervention quantitative data. Data suggest that the intervention helped students identify important information; systematised the process of listening to, interpreting and using that information; and offered students a means by which to organise the information they were hearing. A discussion about metacognition and attention explores how these processes altered students’ awareness of their own learning, as well as how they equipped students with a new strategy for holding onto and translating information from their science lectures into a useful set of notes. These findings have implications for how theorists conceptualise the relationship between metacognition and attention and how teachers use scaffolding to support the learning of students with LD.     

Professional Learning Community Assessment-Revised (PLCA-R) questionnaire: translation and validation in Spanish context

Learning Environments Research - The analysis of professional community is a good indicator of the degree of professional and institutional development of a school. The Professional Learning...     

The use of computers in sports science

A survey of UK sports scientists was carried out to identify the extent and nature of uses for computers, it was found that over 40% of those surveyed use computers for teaching and research. Whilst a number of areas were shown to be amenable to computer application, exercise science was the most common. Generally the software was considered to be robust, flexible and of great value. Approximately two thirds of all software was commercial in origin. Many people were unsure about licence agreements and copyright but all expressed a keen desire for better communication between users and a greater sharing of information.     

Ratings in the Research Assessment Exercise 2001 – the Patterns of University Status and Panel Membership

Ratings awarded to university departments in the UK Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2001 were analysed to determine whether they were influenced either by the status of the university (pre‐1992 or post‐1992) or by whether the university was represented on the panel that determined the ratings. There was little evidence that panel membership has any effect on ratings, but an analysis of covariance also showed that, among universities not on the panel, pre‐1992 universities were more favourably assessed, relative to post‐1992 universities, than would be expected on the basis of their ratings in the 1996 RAE. This finding, along with the preponderance of pre‐1992 universities on all panels (even those where the majority of the research is conducted by post‐1992 universities), is used to urge strongly that in future RAEs, panel membership should be made much more representative of higher education in general and of the institutions submitting the research considered by each panel in particular.     

Letter coding affects movement production in word writing: an English–Italian cross-linguistic study

Reading and Writing - The present research is a cross-linguistic study indicating that the timing of motor production not only depends on the shape of a letter and the activation of its motor...