Material characterization and preservation guidance for a collection of prosthetic limbs developed since 1960

National Museums Scotland has collections relating to many areas of science and technology, including medical science. This paper considers technical and conservation issues of an important collection of more than 150 prosthetic limbs. Much of the collection is of prosthetics developed for children born lacking or with malformed upper limbs caused by the prenatal morning sickness drug Thalidomide. However, many other examples are represented and the collection showcases a timeline of bioengineering development covering the past five decades. A wide range of plastics and metals were observed within the pieces examined, with many visibly degraded and degrading. The identification and characterization of these materials and their condition are fundamental to interpreting the development of the collection, for deciding on treatment, and for setting a strategy for future preservation. In addition to visual inspection, three analytical techniques were used to examine the various parts of the selected examples: Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy for polymer identification and condition; X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy to identify the metals and alloys present, and X-radiography to reveal the internal mechanisms of the limbs. Interpretation of the results was greatly enhanced by documentation and conversation with engineers and scientists involved in research and development of the limbs. The combination of different materials, some with conflicting environmental requirements, makes storage and display challenging as the goal is to prevent degradation of any part the object. Some objects were found to be actively degrading and for these separate storage solutions have been recommended to slow the emission of volatile degradation products that would cause further damage throughout the collection.     

The Spotification of public service media

This article investigates contemporary cultural policy reforms enabled by paid digital media distribution services, taking the case of the integration of Spotify into the Swedish public media system. Specifically, it reflects on the conflicts arising over the prioritization of digital distribution over cultural preservation, during the gradual substitution of the Spotify digital services for the services provided by the traditional material media archive, the Grammofonarkivet. It considers the factors influencing changes in the Swedish cultural policy environment and the nature of the complaints and human rights claims made by employees of the Grammofonarkivet to UNESCO regarding its structural transformation. It also postulates a “Spotification” model of public service media emerging in Sweden but potentially affecting other countries with public media systems served by traditional media archives.     

Sex-Related Responses to Eccentric-Only Resistance Training in Knee-Extensors Muscle Strength and Architecture

Purpose: The present study aimed to investigate whether or not eccentric-only training induced different sex-related adaptations in vastus lateralis muscle architecture and knee extensors strength. Methods: Thirteen healthy women and 13 healthy men were recruited. Vastus lateralis pennation angle, fascicle length, and muscle thickness, as well as knee extensors eccentric, isometric, and concentric peak torque and one-repetition maximum (1RM) were measured. Both women and men underwent a unilateral iso-load knee-extension eccentric-only training with 120% of the concentric 1RM, consisting of 4 sets × 10 repetitions twice a week for a total of 8 weeks. Results: Pennation angle increased in women (+ 14%, 95% CI [10, 17], effect size [ES] = 1.54) but not in men (+ 5%, 95% CI [?1, 11], ES = 0.28), while fascicle length increased in both women (+ 7%, 95% CI [4, 10], ES = 1.02) and men (+ 12%, 95% CI [8, 16], ES = 1.82) and muscle thickness increased in women (+ 13%, 95% CI [8, 18], ES = 1.11) and men (+ 11%, 95% CI [7, 15], ES = 0.89). In both women and men, eccentric (18%, 95% CI [11, 25], ES = 0.96, and 16%, 95% CI [9, 22], ES = 0.82, respectively), isometric (17%, 95% CI [11, 23], ES = 0.53, and 17%, 95% CI [10, 24], ES = 0.62), concentric (12%, 95% CI [7, 16], ES = 0.49, and 9%, 95% CI [5, 13], ES = 0.42) peak torque and 1RM (10%, 95% CI [6, 14], ES = 0.53, and 10%, 95% CI [5, 15], ES = 0.50) similarly increased after the intervention. Conclusions: This study showed that the adaptations in strength are not sex-dependent, but the increases in pennation angle only in women suggest that the changes in muscle architecture may depend on sex.     

P.S.: I Survived: An Activism Project to Increase Student and Community Trauma Awareness

Social work students created a community activism project to raise awareness about trauma prevalence and impact. Trauma theory describes silencing as the mechanism that hinders individual and community healing. Therefore, students sought to create an interactive opportunity to heighten trauma visibility on campus. They created a physical mailbox and invited community members respond to the prompt, “I am a survivor because …” and to read others’ responses. Through the project, students were able to document participants’ trauma experiences, increase community trauma awareness, and enhance their own learning. Moreover, the authors believe that this assignment successfully fostered student integration of micro and macro social work skills.     

Implementing Gender Equity Policies in a University Sport Organization: Competing Discourses from Enthusiasm to Resistance

Gender policies in sports have expanded considerably in most countries in recent decades. Nevertheless, the implementation of these policies in sports organizations is by no means an automatic process. This article explores what happens when gender equity policies are applied in an university sports organization. Participatory action research over a four-year period was developed by the authors to increase the participation of women, and it also aimed to explore the perceptions and thoughts of key actors regarding equity actions. The analysis shows the participation numbers in the specific promotional campaign and reveals a wide range of responses among staff, ranging from enthusiasm and interest to resistance and fear. Gender equity actions often encounter resistance which cannot, and should not, be ignored. This article highlights certain forms of resistance that proposals of this kind should be prepared for.     

Lehrerbildung und Praxiserfahrung im ersten Berufsjahr und ihre Wirkung auf die Unterrichtskompetenzen von Studierenden und jungen Lehrpersonen im Berufseinstieg

This contribution looks at the competency development during teacher training and entry into work. The multi-perspective research design makes it possible to collate data at five stages within this transition process: at the start (t₁), in the middle (t₂) and on completion (t₃) of teacher training for primary school level (year 1–6) student teachers in two education colleges in Switzerland, as well as novice teachers at the start (t₄) and on competition (t₅) of their first year of work. The data covers eleven topic areas. This paper will present findings of data analysis for two of these topic areas for all five stages of measurement: (a) knowledge of lesson planning was captured using case vignettes and (b) teaching practice during the study program and in the first year of work was recorded on video. The same data was collated from the teaching staff involved in the practical training of the student teachers. The statements on the case vignettes were studied using content-analysis. The lesson videos were analyzed using low-inference coding for the visible occurrences during teaching and with a high-inference rating on the quality of the lessons. The results, including those for a comparison of student teachers and novice teachers with practical teacher training staff, give insights into the effectiveness of teacher training and the impact of practical experience in the first year of work on knowledge of how to plan lessons and on the form and quality of teaching. Overall, the new training at both education colleges can be given a pleasingly positive appraisal in terms of professionalization. It is, however, also possible to recognize where and to what extent a need for further developing the standard of professionalization of teaching still exists.     

The Micropolitics of Educational Inequality: The Case of Teacher–Student Assignments

Politics of education researchers have long recognized the role of micropolitics in school decision-making processes. We argue that investigating micropolitical dynamics is key to an important set of school decisions that are fundamental to inequities in access to high-quality teachers: assignments of teachers and students to classrooms. Focusing on the intraorganizational political power of experienced teachers, our analysis of survey and administrative data from a large urban district suggests that more experienced teachers have more influence over which students are assigned to their classrooms. By a variety of measures, we also find that more experienced teachers are assigned fewer disadvantaged students, on average, a pattern inconsistent with goals of ameliorating educational inequality by matching more qualified teachers with the students who need them most.     

Teaching style and academic achievement: The mediating role of learned helplessness and mastery orientation

Although several studies have investigated the roles of teaching practices during the learning process on students, the role of school learned helplessness (LH) and mastery orientation (MO) has not been deeply examined. The present study aimed to verify the dynamics between academic achievement and the perception of the students of their teacher's psychological control and autonomy support by examining the mediating role of school LH and MO. Results confirmed that perceived teacher psychological control can predict school LH, whereas perceived teacher autonomy support can predict school MO. Additionally, academic achievement was positively predicted by school MO, whereas it was negatively predicted by school LH. Finally, analyses have shown that school LH and MO play a mediating role in the relationship between academic achievement and the perceived teacher autonomy support and psychological control. Limitations and implications are discussed.     

Theory, experiment and practical application in research on visual impairment

This paper examines the relation between theories of development in conditions of visual impairment, the experimental evidence on which models are based, and methods of education and remediation. It is argued that experimental findings always need fine-tuning to be adapted to individual circumstances and needs. Equally, practical procedures are based on tacit assumptions which need to be scrutinised explicitly, so that they can be updated when the empirical evidence suggests changes in our models of the role of the sense modalities in development. Spatial skill and braille learning are used as examples. The first section discusses how theory and practice are reciprocally affected by simplistic dichotomies like the “nature-nurture” distinction, and the notion that vision is either necessary, or else irrelevant to sparial understanding. Spatial development is explained next by the CAPIN hypothesis which assumes that total absence of sight requires convergent and redundant, not just substitute, information and underlines the importance of specific task conditions. A third section focuses on the dual verbal and spatial processing demands of braille. The two final sections deal with empirical methods in asking questions about blindness in psychology and education.