Conceptualizing and conducting preoperative psychological assessments of cochlear implant candidates

A review of literature pertaining to psychosocial research on cochlear implantation is embedded in this formulation of how preoperative psychological assessments should be comceptualized and conducted. This article considers various purposes of such assessments, including those relevant to candidate selection, exclusion, and readiness. Particular attention is directed to the conceptualization and operational investigation of candidate readiness, which includes aspects of motivation and informed consent. Assessment in this context is framed as both a data collection and an intervention procedure. The article describes specific methodologies useful in preoperative psychological assessment, including questionnaires, interviews, and psychological tests.     

Raising awareness of uncertainty: A useful addendum to courses in the history and philosophy of science for science teachers?

A brief consideration of the need for courses in the history and philosophy of science (HPS) for science teachers is followed by the development of a suggested addendum. The rationale accepts the developmental argument that a conscious awareness of personal uncertainty of explanation provides the motor of change needed to involve science teachers in thinking critically about the nature of their subject. Following the technique pioneered in a different context by Acredolo and O'Connor (1991), the addendum is developed as a test procedure fostering the expression of uncertainties in relation to important questions about science. Using questions designed to serve our specific purposes, a form of the test is trialled on a small group of science teachers attending courses in a Graduate Certificate in Science Education, and the results used to stimulate and promote their discussion of some critical matters concerning the nature of science.     

Worldwide regional variations in home advantage in association football

Abstract

Home advantage plays an important part in determining the result of a game of football. Its existence and magnitude is well documented in England, but its causes are still not completely understood. In this study, reliable estimates of home advantage are calculated for the domestic leagues of all countries of Europe and South America, as well as a selection of countries from other continents. The results of all games during the last six seasons are used for each of these 72 countries. In Europe, home advantage in the Balkan countries, especially Bosnia and Albania, is much higher than average. It is generally lower than average in northern Europe, from the Baltic republics, through Scandinavia to the British Isles. In South America, home advantage is high in the Andean countries and lower elsewhere, especially in Uruguay. Home advantage is not unusually high or low in any of the countries from other continents. A multiple regression model for the 51 European countries, which included variables for geographical location, crowd effects and travel, accounted for 76.7% of the variability in home advantage. The large geographical variations can be interpreted in terms of territoriality being a contributing factor to home advantage.     

Measuring risk taking

Risk taking can be defined as the preparedness of a student to attempt to answer a question when not certain of the result. In this paper, three different measures of risk taking were applied to multichoce paper. Specifically, data from the Australian Mathematics Competition, one of the largest data bases of its type, for the years 1988 and 1989, are analysed to measure risk taking by groups of students classified by gender, school year, and achievement level.     

Effects of metacognitive and elaborative activity on cooperative learning and transfer

The effects of instructing pairs of students to engage in metacognitive activities (error correcting and key idea detection), elaborative activities (use of imagery, analogies, etc.), or neither during cooperative learning were examined for both initial cooperative learning and transfer to an individual learning task. The results suggest that metacognitive activity facilitates cooperative learning and elaborative activity facilitates transfer to individual learning. These findings have strong implications for the tailoring of cooperative learning strategies to instructional goals.     

Teaching and Learning Metaphor

In this study I look at recent work done by psychologists in the field of metaphor comprehension as well as longer‐established philosophical theories. I suggest that there is a great deal that English teachers can gain by having a broader understanding of metaphor. I look at how Year 7 pupils, in particular, can benefit a great deal from such notions.