Mother and teacher ratings of maladaptive behaviour in children with special needs

ABSTRACT

Parents and teachers of 109 children selected from the Special Needs Register and living in a multiethnic urban health district participated in the study. Their perceptions of children's behaviour at home and at school were measured by the Aberrant Behavior Checklist(ABC). About two‐thirds of the subjects presented with at least one type of maladaptive behaviour of at least moderate severity within their family, and 50 per cent had similar difficulties at school. The dimensions of hyperactivity and irritability were the main causes for concern by both sources. Contrary to previous studies, high rates of parent‐teacher agreement were found. This significant association was not affected by factors such as age, ethnicity or type of school. The implications for the provision of services for children in special education are discussed.     

Are we exacerbating students’ learning disabilities? An investigation of preservice teachers’ attributions of the educational outcomes of students with learning disabilities

While claims of the importance of attribution theory and teachers’ expectations of students for student performance are repeatedly made, there is little comprehensive research identifying the perceptions preservice teachers have of students with learning disabilities (LD). Accordingly, 444 Australian preservice primary school teachers were surveyed using vignettes and Likert-scale questions, to ascertain their responses to students with and without LD. It was found that preservice primary school general education teachers held a negative attribution style towards students with LD. Preservice primary teachers perceived students with LD as a lacking ability in comparison to others in the class. Recommendations for research and training programmes conclude the paper.     

Strategies for Affecting the Necessary Course of Cognitive Growth as an Integral Part of Curricular and Instructional Planning

This paper explores the public awareness that there presently exists a crisis in mathematics education and a “dumbingdown" of the curriculum, examines the nature of this crisis and argues that there has been a lowering of cultural, pedagogical and cognitive expectations with respect to most learners. The notion of cognitive development in mathematics education is re-examined and a model of how the concepts of learners can be transformed in the very process of engaging with the conceptual revolutions that defined geometry is proposed. The importance of cultivating a meta-narrative in support of metacognition and the development of cognitive growth are stressed.     

Variability in clubhead presentation characteristics and ball impact location for golfers' drives

The purpose of the present study was to analyse the variability in clubhead presentation to the ball and the resulting ball impact location on the club face for a range of golfers of different ability. A total of 285 male and female participants hit multiple shots using one of four proprietary drivers. Self-reported handicap was used to quantify a participant's golfing ability. A bespoke motion capture system and user-written algorithms was used to track the clubhead just before and at impact, measuring clubhead speed, clubhead orientation, and impact location. A Doppler radar was used to measure golf ball speed. Generally, golfers of higher skill (lower handicap) generated increased clubhead speed and increased efficiency (ratio of ball speed to clubhead speed). Non-parametric statistical tests showed that low-handicap golfers exhibit significantly lower variability from shot to shot in clubhead speed, efficiency, impact location, attack angle, club path, and face angle compared with high-handicap golfers.     

Is there a low-back cost to hip-centric exercise? Quantifying the lumbar spine joint compression and shear forces during movements used to overload the hips

The aim of this study was to quantify joint compression and shear forces at L4/L5 during exercises used to overload the hips. Nine men performed 36 "walking" trials using two modalities: (1) sled towing and (2) exercise bands placed around the ankles. Participants completed forward, backward, and lateral trials with bent and straight legs at three separate loads. Surface electromyography (EMG) was recorded bilaterally from eight torso and thigh sites, upper body and lumbar spine motion were quantified, and hand forces were measured. An EMG-driven musculoskeletal model was used to estimate the muscular contribution to joint compression and shear. Peak reaction, muscle and joint compression and shear forces, and peak gluteus medius and maximus activity were calculated. Significant differences were noted in each dependent measure; however, they were dependent on direction of travel, leg position, and load. The highest joint compression and shear forces for the sled and band conditions were 4378 N and 626 N, and 3306 N and 713 N, respectively. In general, increasing the band tension had little effect on all dependent measures, although a load-response was found during the sled conditions. Before using any exercise to improve hip function, the potential benefits should be weighed against "costs" to neighbouring joints.     

Effects of golf shaft stiffness on strain, clubhead presentation and wrist kinematics

The aim of this study was to quantify and explain the effect of shaft stiffness on the dynamics of golf drives. Twenty golfers performed swings with two clubs designed to differ only in shaft bending stiffness. Wrist kinematics and clubhead presentation to the ball were determined using optical motion capture systems in conjunction with a radar device for capturing ball speed, launch angle, and spin. Shaft stiffness had a marginally small effect on clubhead and ball speeds, which increased by 0.45% (p < 0.001) and 0.7% (p = 0.008), respectively, for the less stiff club. Two factors directly contributed to these increases: (i) a faster recovery of the lower flex shaft from lag to lead bending just before impact (p < 0.001); and (ii) an increase of 0.4% in angular velocity of the grip of the lower flex club at impact (p = 0.003). Unsurprisingly, decreases in shaft stiffness led to more shaft bending at the transition from backswing to downswing (p < 0.001). Contrary to previous research, lead bending at impact marginally increased for the stiffer shaft (p = 0.003). Overall, and taking effect sizes into account, the changes in shaft stiffness in isolation did not have a meaningful effect on the measured parameters, for the type of shaft investigated.     

美国数学教育实习的特点及其启示

文章以美国哥伦比亚大学教师学院数学教育实习为例,介绍了其数学教育实习的目的、内容及要求、对实习生的评价以及指导教师的作用,分析了上述各项内容的特点。其对我国数学教育实习有这样几点启示：应延长数学教育时间;拓宽数学教育实习的内容和形式;明确实习指导教师的职责;规范评价的体系;使实习生成为真正的反思者。