Evaluation of the Feasibility and Perceived Value of Integrating Learn the Signs. Act Early. Developmental Monitoring Resources in Early Head Start

Early Childhood Education Journal - Many children with developmental disabilities are not identified before age 3 years of age, preventing them from being able to fully benefit from early...     

Standpoint theory,realism and the search for objectivity in the sociology of education

This paper evaluates the contribution of ‘social realism’ in resolving questions of knowledge and curriculum in the sociology of education. Social realists argue that, in the interests of educational equality, all pupils should have access to ‘powerful’ knowledge produced by specialist intellectual communities. Social realism relies upon a critique of standpoint theory, taking it to be irrealist, relativist and ignorant of the post-empiricist revolution in the philosophy of science. This paper argues however, that social realists fail to appreciate the critical realist response to the post-empiricist revolution and thereby end up critiquing a caricatured version of standpoint theory. The paper concludes that if we are concerned with restoring objectivity, in a manner that avoids both relativism and cultural elitism in school curricula, a turn away from standpoint theory in the sociology of education is not warranted and may be obstructive.     

Habituation of 10-year-old hockey players to treadmill skating

This study assessed changes in selected physiological and kinematic variables over 6 weeks of treadmill skating in an effort to understand the process of habituation to this novel training modality. Seven male, Atom-A hockey players who were injury-free and had no previous treadmill skating experience participated in the study. Players performed four 1-min skating bouts at progressively increasing speeds, each week, for 6 weeks. One speed (10.5 km/h) was repeated weekly to allow for assessment of the habituation process. Our criteria for habituation were: a decrease in stride rate, heart rate and rating of perceived exertion, and an increase in stride length, trunk angle and vertical movement of the centre of mass, leading to a plateau, over the course of the 6-week study. Significant decreases were seen in stride rate, heart rate and ratings of perceived exertion, and significant increases were found in stride length. Some of these changes were evident after only one week of training and all were present by week 4. After 6 weeks (24 min) of exposure to treadmill skating, all participants displayed a visibly more efficient skating style.     

Physiological responses to maximal intermittent exercise: Differences between endurance‐trained runners and games players

Abstract

Six games players (GP) and six endurance‐trained runners (ET) completed a standardized multiple sprint test on a non‐motorized treadmill consisting often 6‐s all‐out sprints with 30‐s recovery periods. Running speed, power output and oxygen uptake were determined during the test and blood samples were taken for the determination of blood lactate and pH. Games players tended to produce a higher peak power output (GP vs ET: 839 ± 114 vs 777 ± 89 W, N.S.) and higher peak speed (GP vs ET: 7.03 ± 0.3 vs 6.71 ± 0.3 m s^‐1, N.S.), but had a greater decrement in mean power output than endurance‐trained runners (GP vs ET: 29.3 ± 8.1% vs 14.2 ± 11.1%, P < 0.05). Blood lactate after the test was higher for the games players (GP vs ET: 15.2 ± 1.9 vs 12.4 ± 1.7 mM, P < 0.05), but the decrease in pH was similar for both groups (GP vs ET: 0.31 ± 0.08 vs 0.28 ± 0.08, N.S.). Strong correlations were found between peak blood lactate and peak speed (r = 0.90, P < 0.01) and between peak blood lactate and peak power fatigue (r = 0.92, P<0.01). The average increase in oxygen uptake above pre‐exercise levels during the sprint test was greater for endurance‐trained athletes than for the games players (ET vs GP: 35.0 ± 2.2 vs 29.6 ± 3.0 ml kg^‐1 min^‐1 , P < 0.05), corresponding to an average oxygen uptake per sprint (6‐s sprint and 24 s of subsequent recovery) of 67.5 ± 2.9% and 63.0 ± 4.5% VO ₂ max respectively (N.S.). A modest relationship existed between the average increase in oxygen uptake above pre‐exercise values during the sprint test and mean speed fatigue (r = ‐0.68, P < 0.05). Thus, the greater decrement in performance for the games players may be related to higher glycolytic rates as reflected by higher lactate concentrations and to their lower oxygen uptake during the course of the 10 sprints.     

Contextual Factors and Age Group Differences in Coincidence-Anticipation Performance

Abstract

Age group differences in the direction of anticipatory motor responses may be attributable to the increased susceptibility of young children to contextual factors. That is, their performances on a given trial may be influenced by the stimulus speed presented in the previous trial. Mixed-sex groups of 8–9 year-olds and adults were given 3 blocks of 18 coincidence-anticipation trials each in a counterbalanced design. One block contained stimulus speeds of 1, 3, or 5 MPH, another speeds of 3, 5, or 7 MPH, and a third speeds of 5, 7, or 9 MPH, so that the 5 MPH speed was common to all blocks. An age group by sex by testing order by trial block ANOVA of constant error on the 5 MPH trials indicated that trial block was a significant factor within an age group by block interaction. Mean scores showed that the children responded very early in the 5–7–9 MPH block to the 5 MPH stimuli while the adults did not. Testing order was also a significant factor: subjects in the 1–3–5, 5–7–9, 3–5–7 MPH order performed with significantly greater directional error. While the later finding may indicate contextual factors influenced performance, there is no strong evidence that contextual factors differentially affected the age groups.     

On the aesthetic production of atmospheres: the rhetorical workings of biopower at The CELL

Drawing upon Foucault's notion of biopower and Böhme's theory of atmospheres, we analyze The Counterterrorism Education Learning Lab (The CELL), a nonprofit institution in Denver, Colorado dedicated to preventing terrorism. Specifically, we argue that The CELL rhetorically induces visitors to submit to and actively participate in continuous surveillance by subjecting them to a strategic succession of atmospheres that affectively and emotively enlists their bodies in its cause. This largely material rhetoric utilizes the design aesthetics of controlled movement, simulation, interactivity, and pseudodialogue. We conclude by reflecting on the implications for rhetorical and security studies.     

The Development and Validation of a Measure of Science Capital,Habitus, and Future Science Interests

Research in Science Education - There is growing evidence that science capital (science-related forms of social and cultural capital) and family habitus (dispositions for science) influence STEM...     

School books or wedding dresses? Examining the cultural dissonance experienced by young Gypsy/Traveller women in secondary education

Although considerable attention has been given to issues impacting on the educational experiences of Gypsy/Traveller learners in the UK, most of the literature is oriented towards ethnicity rather than gender. This paper illuminates the experiences of young Gypsy/Traveller women who are engaging with secondary education, and functioning in a dual cultural framework, in a time of increased gender equality. The intersectionality of culture, class and religion frequently conflicts with the notions of gender equality and education, requiring young women to make difficult choices. It is suggested there is an urgent need to problematise and deconstruct stereotypes typically held about Gypsy/Traveller girls, as not all young women feel disengaged, restricted, excluded and in conflict. While some young women, as is their right, wish to conform to cultural-gendered norms, this study has revealed some strong, resilient women who critically challenge values and norms within their community, which negate their right to a full education, to bring about positive change.     

Feedback from the coal-face: how the lived experience of women casual academics can inform human resources and academic development policy and practice

Abstract

Casual academics form the backbone of learning and teaching practice in higher education in many developed countries and in many respects can be considered the norm around which academic policy and practice might be formed. Yet a narrative inquiry into the lived experience of women casual academics within Australian universities reveals that recruitment and management of casual teaching staff is generally ad hoc, and although they are committed to and enjoy teaching, casual academics rarely engage in professional and career development. Consequently, recommendations to contemporise recruitment and professional development policy for casual academics are made.     

The Home Literacy Environment as a Predictor of the Early Literacy Development of Children at Family-Risk of Dyslexia

The home literacy environment (HLE) predicts language and reading development in typically developing children; relatively little is known about its association with literacy development in children at family-risk of dyslexia. We assessed the HLE at age 4 years, precursor literacy skills at age 5, and literacy outcomes at age 6, in a sample of children at family-risk of dyslexia (n = 116) and children with no known risk (n = 72). Developmental relationships between the HLE and literacy were comparable between the groups; an additional effect of storybook exposure on phoneme awareness was observed in the family-risk group only. The effects of socioeconomic status on literacy were partially mediated by variations in the HLE; in turn, effects of the HLE on literacy were mediated by precursor skills (oral language, phoneme awareness, and emergent decoding) in both groups. Findings are discussed in terms of possible gene–environment correlation mechanisms underpinning atypical literacy development.