Karaoke Night at the Tower of Babel: The Cacophonous Discourse of School Reform

Written for the general public, this article unpacks the “dialogue gap” in education and raises concerns about what can happen when groups dependent on one another are not talking. Part of the problem involves a matter of scale; policymakers rarely talk about children as individuals as opposed to as aggregates. The larger policy context loses the child in the push to have standardized assessments drive instruction. We are challenged to include students in conversations about assessment and achievement so that they might embrace our ambitions and achieve the standards they hold for themselves.     

Determination of the swing technique characteristics and performance outcome relationship in golf driving for low handicap female golfers

Previous studies on the kinematics of the golf swing have mainly focused on group analysis of male golfers of a wide ability range. In the present study, we investigated gross body kinematics using a novel method of analysis for golf research for a group of low handicap female golfers to provide an understanding of their swing mechanics in relation to performance. Data were collected for the drive swings of 16 golfers using a 12-camera three-dimensional motion capture system and a stereoscopic launch monitor. Analysis of covariance identified three covariates (increased pelvis-thorax differential at the top of the backswing, increased pelvis translation during the backswing, and a decrease in absolute backswing time) as determinants of the variance in clubhead speed (adjusted r (2) = 0.965, P < 0.05). A significant correlation was found between left-hand grip strength and clubhead speed (r = 0.54, P < 0.05) and between handicap and clubhead speed (r = -0.612, P < 0.05). Flexibility measures showed some correlation with clubhead speed; both sitting flexibility tests gave positive correlations (clockwise: r = 0.522, P < 0.05; counterclockwise: r = 0.711, P < 0.01). The results suggest that there is no common driver swing technique for optimal performance in low handicap female golfers, and therefore consideration should be given to individual swing characteristics in future studies.     

Problem Interpretation and Resolution via Visual Stimuli: The Use of ‘Mood Boards’ in Design Education

This paper defines and discusses ‘mood boards’– those assemblages of images and, less frequently, objects, which are used to assist analysis, creativity and idea development in design activity. There is need for discussion since little published information currently exists to guide students and tutors. The paper proposes that mood boards can assist problem finding as well as problem solving. Primarily, mood boards provide a mechanism for students and practising designers to respond to perceptions about the brief, the problem as it emerges and the ideas as they develop. The construction of mood boards potentially stimulates the perception and interpretation of more ephemeral phenomena such as colour, texture, form, image and status. They are, like Debono's lateral thinking techniques, partly responses to an inner dialogue and partly provocation to become engaged in such a dialogue. Examples are drawn from recent work in the field of industrial design at Loughborough University.     

Live entertainment at the seaside: a benchmarking exercise for local authority theatres

Live entertainment has been a ‘given’ part of the total cultural offer since seaside resorts began. As resorts have changed, particularly in the 1990s, the type of live entertainment on offer has also been changing and it has become more important to consider whether such live entertainment continues to meet the needs of seaside theatre-goers, be they tourists, day-visitors, residents or people living within an appropriate drive time. The need for such analysis is also partly a response by seaside theatre operators to the government's requirement for the accountability of local authority cultural provision, but it primarily comes from recognition that greater knowledge, perhaps in relation to other resorts, might lead to a better appreciation of the difficulties facing theatre managers and policy makers at seaside resorts at the beginning of the 21st century. This article discusses the setting up, and first three years' operation, of a benchmarking exercise for live entertainment at seaside resorts. The initiative is a joint collaboration between the British Resorts Association and the Centre for Resort Theatre. The former is well known for its positive campaigning on behalf of seaside resorts and has joined with the latter to help present an accurate picture of an important part of the cultural offer at the seaside, the live entertainment. The Centre for Resort Theatre is an independent consultancy run by the author to ‘shine a light’ on seaside entertainment and develop research in this area. An analysis of the data collected through the benchmarking exercise reveals that seaside theatre operators are achieving good results, but that the potential of the material in the Centre for Resort Theatre database has only been partially exploited. The possibilities for greater use are implied. These could include tactical aspects of theatre operations (for example, which acts to book), or strategic aspects (such as issues concerning the long-term future ownership/control of seaside theatres).     

Toward a research-based assessment of dyslexia: using cognitive measures to identify reading disabilities

One hundred five participants from a random sample of elementary and middle school children completed measures of reading achievement and cognitive abilities presumed, based on a synthesis of current dyslexia research, to underlie reading. Factor analyses of these cognitive variables (including auditory processing, phonological awareness, short-term auditory memory, visual memory, rapid automatized naming, and visual processing speed) produced three empirically and theoretically derived factors (auditory processing, visual processing/speed, and memory), each of which contributed to the prediction of reading and spelling skills. Factor scores from the three factors combined predicted 85% of the variance associated with letter/sight word naming, 70% of the variance associated with reading comprehension, 73% for spelling, and 61% for phonetic decoding. The auditory processing factor was the strongest predictor, accounting for 27% to 43% of the variance across the different achievement areas. The results provide practitioner and researcher with theoretical and empirical support for the inclusion of measures of the three factors, in addition to specific measures of reading achievement, in a standardized assessment of dyslexia. Guidelines for a thorough, research-based assessment are provided.