Fifteen pupils’ positive approach to primary school science: when does it decline?

The decline in secondary school pupils’ attitudes towards science is well documented. However, recent research has shown that pupils’ attitudes to science appear to become fixed during their primary school years. This study investigated end of Key Stage 1 (Yr 2 (ages six to seven years)) and end of Key Stage 2 (Yr 6 (ages 10–11 years)) pupils’ attitudes to science, using Klopfer’s themes (1971 Klopfer, L.E. 1971. “Evaluation of learning in science”. In Handbook on summative and formative evaluation of student learning, Edited by: Bloom, B.S., Hastings, J.T. and Madaus, G.F. 559–641. New York: McGraw‐Hill.  [Google Scholar]), through a paired activity and interview for Yr 2 pupils and a pre‐ and post‐Test of Science‐Related Attitudes questionnaire (adapted) for Yr 6 pupils. The questionnaire was analysed using the mean and chi square values and Cronbach’s alpha was calculated to test reliability. The results revealed that while Yr 2 pupils exhibit a thirst for knowledge and enthusiasm for science, Yr 6 pupils’ attitudes over the period of one academic year did not change: their attitude towards science was fixed. This insight raises some implications and responsibilities for primary school teachers.     

FRFT-OFDM系统联合同步算法

研究OFDM系统中的同步问题. 通过对LFM信号在分数阶傅里叶域能量汇聚性的分析,提出一种基于FRFT的具有较低复杂度的联合载波频率、采样频率以及符号定时的同步算法.该算法在分数阶傅里叶域对由插入到OFDM符号中的LFM信号所产生的对称点进行搜索,结合FRFT的时移、相移以及分数阶卷积等性质,对3种偏差进行估计.仿真结果表明,该算法的性能随LFM信号长度的增加而提高,且优于其他同类算法.     

‘Playing Dead’ and Killing Off Amateurism: Bribery Scandals,Illegal Player Payments,Rule Expunging,and the Victorian Football League’s Authorization of Professionalism in 1911

Abstract

Australian football is an indigenous game codified in 1859. In Melbourne, the code’s birthplace, the game remained officially committed to the amateur ideal for over a half-century. Illegal player payments nonetheless became increasingly commonplace. Moreover, periodically rumours swirled of champion footballers taking bribes to ‘play dead’. By the early 1900s, the code’s leading competition, the Victorian Football League (VFL), was derided with the ‘shamateurism’ label. Following a sensational match-fixing investigation that resulted in two players receiving five-year bans, in 1911 the VFL expunged its rule prohibiting player payments. Was the timing merely coincidental or was the League’s historic switch to professionalism a deliberate countermeasure to redirect press attention, renew public confidence, and restore the game’s integrity? By consulting the League’s official records and contemporary press articles, this work examines the overlooked yet discernible linkages between rising match-fixing allegations and the VFL’s decision to eschew amateurism and embrace professionalism. It argues that Australian football offers an instructive historical perspective of a sporting body tackling mounting concerns over corruption, taking back the ascendency by amending its rules to better govern over dishonest players and duplicitous club officials, thereby growing its popularity and restoring public perception of its integrity in the process.     

International experience,universities support and graduate employability – perceptions of Chinese international students studying in UK universities

Recent policy developments in English Higher Education have resulted in employability placed in the spotlight, whereby the success of universities will be measured based on graduate employment. This represents the latest focus placed on employability in the sector, as universities are increasingly expected to provide employment-ready graduates to meet the demands of a global economy. In response universities have invested considerable energy into initiatives and services to enhance the employability outcomes of graduates. However, institutions have largely been UK-centric on their focus, with limited attention paid to the employability needs of international students. In this paper, we report the outcomes of a study centred on the largest group of non-EU domiciled international students in the UK, those from Mainland China. Drawing on survey data we examine Mainland Chinese students’ attitudes to their employability and the support they engage with through their UK University. We pay specific attention to the opportunities presented through the ‘international’ nature of the HE experience, and consider how these are utilised by both the students, and their institutions, to develop their future employability. We conclude by proposing recommendations for universities and institutions to enhance the support offered to this often overlooked, but significant group of students.     

Effects of Ventilation on Segmental Bioimpedance Spectroscopy Measures Using Generalizability Theory

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of three ventilation conditions (i.e., normal, regimented, and no-ventilation) on the reproducibility of bioimpedance scores in humans for the forearm and trunk segments. One hundred able-bodied North American men and women, from 18 to 71 years of age, volunteered as participants. The experimenters used a Xitron Bio-Impedance Analyzer System model 4200 instrument with Hydra software (Xitron Technologies, San Diego, California, USA) to collect bioimpedance data on extracellular fluid and intracellular fluid scores. The experimenters analyzed the data using the generalizability theory,with persons as the facet of differentiation and time as the facet of generalization. The major findings were (a) ventilation conditions did not have a significant impact on the reproducibility of the test scores, (b) the forearm segment produced consistently higher intracellular fluid generalizability coefficients across three ventilation conditions for both gender groups when compared to the trunk segment, (c) the trunk segment produced intracellular fluid generalizability coefficients that were higher for the male group, and (d) the measurement error affected extracellular fluid scores less than segmental intracellular fluid scores.     

网上互动教学设计的实践与思考

本文提出网上教学设计的关键在于加强互动的观点,并结合电大开放教育试点“货币银行学”课程的具体实践,从“一个中心、两个结合、三个原则”等方面进行了具体阐述。     

Anxiety and cueing in a visual concept learning task

This study investigated the relationship of two anxiety measures to performance on a visual concept acquisition task. Criterial information was embedded at two levels for the noncued treatment group and made salient by color cues for the cued treatment group. Two-way analyses of variance were used and indicated a significant interaction between cueing treatment andState-Trait Anxiety Inventory (stai) anxiety scores for the heavily embedded figures. Further research is suggested utilizing different populations and cueing techniques. The addition of cues is suggested for deeply embedded criterial information for use with high-anxiety students.     

Becoming a mature student: How adult appplicants weigh the advantages and disadvantages of higher education

The data presented in this paper is taken fromthe results of two much larger studies ofmature student decision-making and HigherEducation (HE), which considerprocesses of agency from initial considerationof the possibility of becoming a studentto eventually becoming one. In thispaper, six categories of applicant to HE arediscussed: `Delayed traditional students', `Late starters' who have undergone alife-transforming event e.g. redundancy ordivorce and require `a new start'. `Single parents' `Careerists', who are currently in employment who seek a qualification to make progress in their existing careers, `Escapees' who are currently in employment who want a qualification as a way out of `dead-end' jobs, Finally, the `personal growers', a small number pursuing education for its own sake.These categories of applicants are discussed inlight of the factors that both catalyse andinhibit individuals' decision-making duringapplication to HE.