The Long, Long Way: Young Children Explore the Fabula and Syuzhet of Shortcut

In the picture book Shortcut (1995), the mediated telling of the fabula (the story) by David Macaulay results in a nonlinear and nonsequential syuzhet (the plot). Several metafictive devices used in the construction of the syuzhet of Shortcut draw attention to its status as text and fiction. Although researchers and theorists have written about metafiction, there is a lack of research that has explored students' literary understandings of and responses to books with metafictive characteristics. As well as defining metafiction and identifying various metafictive devices described in the literature, this article discusses young children's responses to and understandings of some of the metafictive devices in Shortcut.     

Information Technology and Gender. Problems and Proposals

The paper examines the possible reasons why there is a gender bias towards males studying computing at secondary school level. The authors have surveyed recent research in the area of information technology (IT) and gender, highlighted some of the major areas for discussion and made a number of recommendations for improving classroom practice. The recommendations are arranged under five headings: access to the curriculum; course design; teachers' attitudes and teaching styles; language; assessment issues; and the role of technology. The aim is to alert teachers to the importance of considering how gender bias is being perpetuated, and then to examine how practice can be improved. The recommendations follow the example already set by the Association for Science Education in the United Kingdom, and note the work done in Scotland by the General Teaching Council in addressing gender as a key issue. Although the discussion focuses upon the Scottish context and in particular the development of computing studies, many of the points apply equally well to the introduction of IT as a cross‐curricular theme at both the primary and secondary stages. This is particularly relevant as IT is a significant development within the 5‐14 Programme in Scotland and mirrors innovation in the area of IT in England and Wales.     

Deaf and hard-of-hearing adolescents’ experiences of inclusion and exclusion in mainstream and special schools in Sweden

This study examines the question of which school environment – special or mainstream school – is more favourable for deaf and hard-of-hearing students in Sweden, when it comes to their well-being, and their social and academic inclusion. The aim is threefold: first to compare the well-being of adolescents who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, who are deaf or hard-of-hearing and have additional disabilities, and who have no disabilities; second to compare the adolescents from the two deaf and hard-of-hearing groups and their experiences of inclusion and exclusion in school; and third to ascertain if any gender differences exist between the two groups of deaf and hard-of-hearing students concerning their experiences of inclusion and exclusion. A total of 7865 adolescents (13–18 years of age) answered a total survey about the life and health of young people in a county in Sweden. The results show that both boys and girls in the hard-of-hearing groups rated their well-being lower and were less satisfied with their lives than pupils without disabilities. They also show that the hard-of-hearing boys and girls attending special school were more satisfied with their lives and to a greater extent felt included both socially and academically than students in mainstream school.     

Factors Influencing Positive Interactions Across Race for African American, Asian American, Latino, and White College Students

This study explores the various factors that promote positive interactions across race for African American, Asian American, Latino, and White college students. A longitudinal survey was administered to all incoming students at nine public institutions (with a follow-up survey given at the end of their second year), examining activities related to cross-racial interaction and outcomes. This knowledge will be useful for college administrators, institutional researchers, and faculty as they work to meet the challenge of preparing students for a pluralistic society. The results of this study begin to delineate the conditions under which positive intergroup relations can be fostered in college and the key factors that inhibit or restrain the benefits such interactions bring to the development of students for a diverse workplace and pluralistic democracy.     

The influence of lexical and sublexical variables in normal and poor Spanish readers

The main aim of our study was to find out the effect of several lexical and sublexical variables (lexical category, lexical frequency, syllabic structure, and word length) in the acquisition of reading in a transparent language such as Spanish. The second goal of our study was the comparison of the effect of these variables in normal and poor Spanish readers. One hundred and forty children (aged between 6 and 12), twenty of whom were poor readers, were tested using a reading test of 306 items in which we balanced all the variables. The dependent variable was the percentage of correct responses in a decontextualized word reading test. Our results showed that all the above mentioned variables produced a significant effect on the number of errors made by the children. This pattern of results suggests no difference between the processes involved in the reading acquisition of Spanish and those implicated in deep orthographies such as English. Our results also showed no qualitative differences between normal and poor readers. The four variables studied showed the same behaviour in their effect on reading performance for both normal and poor readers, indicating that poor readers also use both the lexical and the phonological route. Our data suggest the universality of the dual route model, independent of the transparency or opaqueness of the different alphabetical languages.     

DETERMINANTS OF INTERNATIONAL FACULTY MOBILITY

This article opens with a discussion of the position of international faculty mobility in university organizations. It then turns to an analysis of the motivations which induce faculty members to perform their tasks and more specifically to take part in this type of mobility. The analysis leads to the presentation of a conceptual framework for international faculty mobility; and following sections present some of its major professional and personal determinants. The article concludes with a discussion of how it can best be encouraged by organizational strategies.     

From Behind the Pupil's Desk to the Teacher's Desk: A qualitative study of student teachers' professional learning in Hong Kong

This paper presents a qualitative study of student teachers' school-based learning in a teacher education program for secondary school teachers in Hong Kong. Learning to teach is examined through the lens of a personal-professional conceptualization of learning. An in-depth study of two cases of student teachers' professional learning is reported. Research methods used include interviewing, tape-recording supervisory meetings, field observation and document analysis. Through an inquiry into the individual's interaction with pre-training influences, the teacher education program and the teaching practice context in the two cases, this study extends our understanding of student teachers' professional learning in terms of the formation of the teaching self and the process of framing in the action and socio-professional contexts of teaching practice.     

Effects of breakfast with different calorigenic amounts on blood glucose, insulin and glucagon levels

This study was aimed to investigate the relationship between breakfast and serum glucose, insulin and glucagon concentrations in order to establish a model breakfast appropriate for Chinese. Twenty-four volunteers were randomly assigned to four study groups: high carbohydrate breakfast, high fat and protein breakfast, the typical breakfast and fasting. Each subject had serum and urine samples collected while fasting and at 1,2 and 3.5 hours following the meal. The concentration of serum glucose, insulin and glucagon was measured. The levels of serum glucose in group A,B and C differed significantly at 1 and 2 hour after meal compared to those at fasting (P<0.05). The serum glucose in group A increased insignificantly after meal. The serum insulin levels were in group A,B and C significant different compared with control group(P<0.05).Those peaked at 1 hour after meal ,with group C rising the furthest. Compared with the fasting group, the serum glucagons rose and maintained the increase after breakfast in group A,B and C (P<0.05).The data suggested that various diets with different calorigenic amounts increased hormone concentration to various extents. We found that a breakfast rich in carbohydrates could maintain proper blood glucose level.     

Elaborating the structures of a science discipline to improve problem-solving instruction: An account of Classical Genetics' theory structure,function, and development

Situating the conceptual knowledge of a science discipline in the context of its use in the solving of problems allows students the opportunity to develop: a highly structured and functional understanding of the conceptual structure of the discipline; general and discipline-specific problem-solving strategies and heuristics; and insight into the nature of science as an intellectual activity. In order realize these potential learning outcomes, the reconstructions of scientific theories used in problem solving must provide a detailed account of (1) realistic scientific problems and their solutions; (2) problem-solving strategies and patterns of reasoning of disciplinary experts; (3) the various ways that theories function for both disciplinary experts and students; and (4) the way theories, as solutions to realistic scientific problems, develop over time. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to provide further specificity regarding a philosophical reconstruction of the structure of Classical Genetics Theory that can facilitate problem-solving instruction. We analyze syntactic, semantic and problem-based accounts of theory structure with respect to the above criteria and develop a reconstruction that incorporates elements from the latter two. We then describe how that reconstruction can facilitate realistic problem solving on the part of students.