Effect of a pilot multi-component intervention on motor performance and metabolic risks in overweight/obese youth

This study evaluated the effect of a multi-component intervention on motor performance (MP) and metabolic risk markers (MRM) in overweight/obese youth. A secondary aim was to examine whether changes in MP are associated to changes in MRM. A 3-month multi-component intervention was performed, consisting of physical exercise sessions (twice/week;1h), nutritional education sessions (once/month), and parental support (twice/week). The sample included 35 volunteers (7–13 y.o), allocated to intervention (INT, n = 17) and control (CONT, n = 18) group. Variables were measured pre (T0) and post intervention (T1). Fasting blood samples were analyzed for MRM. MP tests included the measurement of health related physical fitness components and motor coordination performance (KTK battery). To assess food intake, a 24-hour recall diary was used. GLM-ANCOVA was performed. Standardized scores were calculated for the outcome variables, and multilinear regressions were applied to analyze associations between the key variables. INT group showed improvements in MP, glycolytic and hepatic profiles. After adjustments for MVPA, SB, total intake and maturational stage, negative associations between %ΔMP and %Δglycolytic (β = -.424; 95%CI:-0.343:-0.022), and %Δhepatic scores (β = -.382 95%CI:-0.001:-0.009) were observed. The intervention produced a moderate-to-high effect on the MP and some MRM. Changes in MP were inversely associated with changes in glycolytic and hepatic markers.     

Assessment matters: The strength of mixed research methods for the assessment of learning communities

At Georgia State, combining quantitative and qualitative techniques provides greater insight than using either method alone.     

What We Learned about Using Metaphors in College Teaching: Methods and Meanings

The field of education is rich with metaphors that reveal one's perspective on the nature of teaching and learning—ideas are “covered,” students “absorb” information, teachers offer writing “clinics.” Each of these metaphors indicate nuanced ideas about what schooling is and is for—to be checked off? Taken in unquestioningly? For those who are sick? Two teacher educators in the field of early childhood education share insights from their own experiences in considering novice teachers' metaphors in their preparatory experiences, particularly wondering what these unveil about heretofore unanalyzed beliefs and what instructors can learn so as to form further instruction. Methods are shared and reflection led educators to find important instructional and relationship-building implications for working with novice teachers.     

Assessing quality characteristics of center-based early childhood environments in Germany and Portugal: A cross-national study

Based on the knowledge that direct assessment of the quality of early childhood educational environments is becoming more and more important, this article deals with a coordinated adaptation of the Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (ECERS) in Germany and Portugal. The ECERS, developed by Harms and Clifford (1980), is a complex rating scale, comprising 37 items, which is implemented to assess major quality characteristics of early childhood classrooms and has been used quite extensively in the US as well as in other countries. In this article we describe how the scale was adapted and we report selected results of a jointly coordinated comparative study on a sample of 103 early childhood classrooms in Germany and 88 in Portugal. The classrooms were classified according to three different types in each country. In particular, we report the item characteristics of the adapted versions, reliabilities and intercorrelations of the total scale and the apriori-subscales, and results of factor analyses. A one-way ANOVA indicates group differences between the six types of classrooms which can be meaningfully interpreted.     

Methodological considerations for studying science-in-the-making in educational settings

In this paper we explore the methodological implications of sociocultural approaches for the study of scientific knowledge and practices. Research in science studies and science education is reviewed with a focus on methodological considerations. Informed by empirically-based studies of scientific practices from multiple disciplinary perspectives, we describe our perspective for investigating science education which combines ethnography and discourse analysis. This theoretical position on the discursive nature of the social construction of school science-in-the-making forms the basis for theoretical and methodological critique and discussion. We provide a review of the history of nature of science (NOS) research to trace the methodological influence of Science and Technology Studies in science education. Four methodological issues associated with studying science as cultural practices are discussed: the local and contingent nature of situated definitions of science; theory dependence and coherence of research methodologies; attention to the study of school science-in-the-making; and reflexivity.     

Analysis of the Phonological Skills of Children with Down Syndrome from Single Word and Connected Speech Samples

Phonological analysis of the speech of five children with Down syndrome was compared across single word samples elicited from tests and connected speech samples elicited during play. Analyses indicated that connected speech samples provided fewer total words and word tokens and, in some cases, failed to target certain later developing phonemes. CVCs were similarly represented across single word and connected speech samples, but differences across the sampling conditions included an over‐representation of clusters and an under‐representation of VC and CV forms in single word samples. Overall accuracy for vowels was greater than for consonant production, but no difference in phoneme accuracy was found across the conditions. Differences in phonetic inventories for some subjects indicated the possibility that children may, in their connected speech, avoid phonemes which they have yet to master. Phonological process analysis indicated that differences across the two conditions were restricted to their relative impact on each subject's overall intelligibility. Both similarities and differences with previous studies comparing sampling conditions with other populations are discussed, as are clinical implications.     

Design of Learner-centered Tools for Continuous Training in SMEs

Multimedia and networked educational tools may provide an effective answer to the training needs of small-medium enterprises (SMEs). In accordance with this idea, we are developing a project called Qualification 2000 supported by the E.C.'s Adapt initiative. The project focuses on the use of educational technology for continuous training in informatics and its applications in office automation. The target is women employed in small-medium enterprises. The attitude of the target towards innovation makes the design of effective tools a particularly delicate problem; thus, careful design of the interface is particularly important to make these kinds of tools productive. With these ideas in mind, we carried out a series of interviews with employees, aimed at deriving a core of common needs and difficulties. The results of the interviews have been used to build a learner-centred interface based on experimental pedagogical assumptions. © IFIP, published by K luwer Academic Publishers     

The role of the entrepreneur in identifying international expansion as a strategic opportunity

This research explores business internationalisation as a process of recognising and exploiting business opportunities in an international context and uses Spain's natural stone industry as a case study. We differentiate internationalisation into two stages: opportunity identification and subsequent opportunity exploitation. We focus on the initial identification stage to determine the impact of entrepreneurs’ cognitive variables when gathering relevant information for internationalisation of the firm, highlighting the role of entrepreneurs’ alertness, the centre of interest, causal logic, and prior experience. We also examine the importance of the entrepreneur's environment, social networks, and institutional setting. In our empirical analysis, we find that although interested in internationalisation, entrepreneurs in the natural stone industry devote very little time and effort to gathering information. As a result, decisions related to internationalisation are restricted by uncertainty and a poor understanding of the appeal, barriers, and available support services.     

Argumentative skill deficiency and its relationship to quality of marriage

This study investigates the relationship between verbal aggression, argumentativeness, and marital quality in a sample of non‐distressed couples. The traits of verbal aggression and argumentativeness are predicted to have different effects on marital quality; specifically, verbal aggression is hypothesized to have an inverse relation to marital quality while argumentativeness is posited to have a positive relationship. Results show support for the first hypothesis and partial support for the second hypothesis. Implications of these results for conflict resolution in marriage are discussed.