Diagram, gesture, agency: theorizing embodiment in the mathematics classroom

In this paper, we use the work of philosopher Gilles Chatelet to rethink the gesture/diagram relationship and to explore the ways mathematical agency is constituted through it. We argue for a fundamental philosophical shift to better conceptualize the relationship between gesture and diagram, and suggest that such an approach might open up new ways of conceptualizing the very idea of mathematical embodiment. We draw on contemporary attempts to rethink embodiment, such as Rotman’s work on a “material semiotics,” Radford’s work on “sensuous cognition”, and Roth’s work on “material phenomenology”. After discussing this work and its intersections with that of Chatelet, we discuss data collected from a research experiment as a way to demonstrate the viability of this new theoretical framework.     

Incorporating technologies into a flexible teaching space

Higher education institutions are increasingly exploring how they can use emerging technologies to develop and enhance the learning experiences offered to students. These activities have mainly focused on developing student‐centred facilities. The University of Warwick has taken the next step by developing a space (the Teaching Grid) specifically designed to meet the needs of teaching staff across the institution. This paper describes how the Teaching Grid supports teachers by providing a flexible experimental space together with a rich collection of established and new technologies, and with comprehensive staff support. We analysed the use of the facility during the first 30 months of operation, using data collected from 119 case studies, in order to present a perspective on how they have used the technologies and how this has impacted on their teaching practice. We present a taxonomy that provides a concrete framework to support future analysis of and comparisons between such spaces.     

The entrepreneurial subjectivity of successful researchers

This article begins the work of examining what kind of doctoral experiences positively influence researcher development, and what other attributes may contribute to a successful research career. It reports preliminary findings from the analysis of survey responses by a sample of successful mid-career researchers. Positive doctoral experiences and the early establishment of research activity are found to be important to researcher development. Successful researchers were also found to be able to acknowledge the importance of their ‘soft skills’, and to have flexible, responsive and adaptive dispositions. We term this disposition ‘an entrepreneurial subjectivity’ and argue that it is an important and under-examined characteristic of the successful researcher.     

British Media Works

DYNAMICS OF THE BRITISH PRESS, 1961–1984: PATTERNS OF CIRCULATION AND COVER PRICES by Harry Henry (NTC Publications, Symot House, 22 Reading Rd., Henley-on-Thames, Oxon RG9 1AG, 1986, 178 pp.—L40, paper, no ISBN)

STRIKES AND THE MEDIA: COMMUNICATION AND CONFLICT by Nicholas Jones (Oxford: Blackwell, 1986, 220 pp.—L17.50, ISBN 0-631-14697-0)

LEARNING THE MEDIA: AN INTRODUCTION TO MEDIA TEACHING by Manuel Alvarado, et al. (Basingstoke: Macmillan Educational, 1987, 306 pp.—L25, ISBN 0-333-30522-1)

POWER WITHOUT RESPONSIBILITY: THE PRESS AND BROADCASTING IN BRITAIN by James Curran and Jean Season (London: Routledge, 1988, 372 pp. price not given, paper, ISBN 0-415-00653-8)

IMAGES INCORPORATED: ADVERTISING AS INDUSTRY AND IDEOLOGY by John Sinclair (London: Croom Helm, 1987, 214 pp.—L9, paper, no ISBN given)

NOISE: THE POLITICAL ECONOMY OF MUSIC by Jacques Attali (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1985, 180 pp.—L7.50, paper, no ISBN given)

POLICING DESIRE: PORNOGRAPHY, AIDS AND THE MEDIA by Simon Watney (London: Comedia, 1987, 160 pp—L7, paper, no ISBN given)

BEHIND AND IN FRONT OF THE SCREEN: TELEVISION'S INVOLVEMENT WITH FAMILY LIFE by Barrie Gunter and Michael Svennevig (London: John Libbey, 1987, 98 pp.—L9.50, paper, no ISBN given)

TELEVISION AND SOCIAL CONTROL by Mallory Wober and Barrie Gunter (Aldershot: Gower, 1988, 274 pp.—L25, ISBN 0-566-00764-9)

VIOLENCE ON TELEVISION: WHAT THE VIEWERS THINK by Barrie Gunter and Mallory Wober (London: John Libbey & Co. Ltd., 1988, 74 pp.—L9.50, paper, ISBN 0-86196-172-2)

SEX, CLASS AND REALISM: BRITISH CINEMA, 1956–1963 by John Hill (London: British Film Institute, 1986, 228 pp.—L7.95, paper, ISBN 0-85170-133-7)

BOND AND BEYOND: THE POLITICAL CAREER OF A POPULAR HERO by Tony Bennett and Janet Woollacott (Basingstoke: Macmillan Educational, 1987, 316 pp.—L6.95, paper, ISBN 0-333-28621-9)

CINEMA, LITERATURE & SOCIETY: ELITE AND MASS CULTURE IN INTERWAR BRITAIN by Peter Miles and Malcolm Smith (London: Croom Helm, 1987, 271 pp.—L25, no ISBN given)

NATIONAL BROADCASTING UNDER SEIGE: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF AUSTRALIA, BRITAIN, ISRAEL, AND WEST GERMANY by Eva Etzioni-Halevy (Basingstoke: Macmillan Press, 1987, 228 pp. price and ISBN not given)

THE UN, UNESCO, AND THE POLITICS OF KNOWLEDGE by Clare Wells (London: Macmillan, 1987, 282 pp., L29.50, no ISBN given)

WORLD NEWSPAPER INDUSTRY by Peter J.S. Dunnett (Beckenham: Croom Helm, 1988, 276 pp.—L30, ISBN 0-07099-0834-2)

TRUTH BETRAYED by W. J. West (London: Gerald Duckworth, 1987, 262 pp.—L13, ISBN 0-7156-2182-3)

COMMUNICATIONS SATELITES: THE TECHNOLOGY OF SPACE COMMUNICATIONS by Larry Blonstein (London: Wm. Heinemann, 1987, 162 pp.—L12.95, paper, ISBN 0-434-90153-9)

EDUCATION ON DIRECT BROADCAST SATELLITES IN EUROPE: REPORT TO THE EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY by George Wedell, et al. (Manchester: The European Institute for the Media, 1987, 148 pp. price and ISBN not given, paper)

THE QUESTION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE edited by Brian P. Bloomfield (Beckenham: Croom Helm, 1987, 286 pp.—L25, no ISBN given)

COMPUTER GRAPHICS AND APLICATIONS by Dennis Harris (New York and London: Chapman & Hall, 1984, 174 pp.—L21.00, paper, no ISBN given)

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS: STUDIES IN MELODRAMA AND THE WOMEN'S FILM edited by Christine Gledhill (London: British Film Insitute, 1987, 366 pp.—L7, paper, no ISBN given)

BOXED IN: WOMEN AND TELEVISION by Helen Baehr and Gillian Dyer (London and New York: Pandora Press, 1987, 234 pp.—L8, paper, no ISBN given)

A WOMAN'S GUIDE TO JOBS IN FILM AND TELEVISION by Ann Ross Muir (London and New York: Pandora Press, 1987, 342 pp.—L7, paper, no ISBN given)

G.C.H.Q.: THE SECRET WIRELESS WAR, 1900–1986 by Nigel West (London: Coronet Books, 1987, 400 pp. L3.95, paper, ISBN 0-340-41197-X)

2MT WRITTLE: THE BIRTH OF BRITISH BROADCASTING by Tim Wander (Capella Publications, Stowmarket, Suffolk, UK, 1988, 179 pp.—L12.95, ISBN 0-946443-10-6)

THE LAST DAYS OF THE BEEB by Michael Leapman (London: Coronet Books, 1987, 381 pp.—L3.50, paper, ISBN 0-340-41107-4)

THE ECONOMICS OF TELEVISION: THE UK CASE by Richard Collins, et al. (London/Beverly Hills, CA: Sage, 1988, 136 pp.—$29.95, ISBN 0-8039-8112-0)     

New materialist ontologies in mathematics education: the body in/of mathematics

In this paper we study the mathematical body as an assemblage of human and non-human mathematical concepts. We argue that learners’ bodies are always in the process of becoming assemblages of diverse and dynamic materialities. Following the work of the historian of science Karen Barad, we argue that mathematical concepts must be considered dynamic material, and we suggest a “pedagogy of the concept” that animates concepts as both logical and ontological. We draw on the philosopher of mathematics Gilles Châtelet in order to pursue this argument, elaborating on the way that mathematical concepts partake of the mobility of the virtual, while learners, in engaging with this mobility, enter a material process of becoming. We show how the concept of virtuality allows us to look at mathematical concepts in school curriculum in new ways.     

The lower body muscle activation of intermediate to experienced kayakers when navigating white water

In white-water kayaking, the legs play a vital part in turning, stabilising and bracing actions. To date, there has been no reported information on neuromuscular activation of the legs in an authentic white-water environment. The aim of the current study was to identify lower body muscle activation, using ‘in-boat’ electromyography (EMG), whilst navigating a white-water run. Ten experienced male kayakers (age 31.5?±?12.5 yr, intermediate to advanced experience) completed three successful runs of an international standard white-water course (grade 3 rapids), targeting right and left sides of the course, in a zigzag formation. Surface EMG (sEMG) outputs were generated, bilaterally, for the rectus femoris (RF), vastus lateralis, biceps femoris and gastrocnemius, expressed as a percentage of a dynamic maximal voluntary contraction (dMVC). Only RF showed significantly higher activation than any muscle on the left side of the body, and only on the left side of the course (P?=?.004; ETA²?=?0.56). Other results showed no significant difference between muscle activation in the right and left legs during each run, nor when assessed at either the right or left side of the course (P?>?.05). These findings indicate that contralateral symmetry in lower limb muscle activation is evident during white-water kayaking. This symmetry may provide a stable base to allow more asymmetrical upper body and trunk movements to be fully optimised. Lower body symmetry development should be considered useful in targeted training programmes for white-water kayakers.     

What makes a problem mathematically interesting? Inviting prospective teachers to pose better problems

School students of all ages, including those who subsequently become teachers, have limited experience posing their own mathematical problems. Yet problem posing, both as an act of mathematical inquiry and of mathematics teaching, is part of the mathematics education reform vision that seeks to promote mathematics as an worthy intellectual activity. In this study, the authors explored the problem-posing behavior of elementary prospective teachers, which entailed analyzing the kinds of problems they posed as a result of two interventions. The interventions were designed to probe the effects of (a) exploration of a mathematical situation as a precursor to mathematical problem posing, and (b) development of aesthetic criteria to judge the mathematical quality of the problems posed. Results show that both interventions led to improved problem posing and mathematically richer understandings of what makes a problem ‘good.’