Developing a Student-Scientist Partnership: Boreal Forest Watch

A student-scientist partnership outreach program was funded by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Boreal Ecosystem-Atmosphere Study (BOREAS) to involve students and teachers in scientific investigations pertinent to global change research occurring within the boreal region of Canada. Boreal Forest Watch was planned, designed and piloted by an interdisciplinary group of education and science professionals from the University of New Hampshire, the Prince Albert National Park, and several schools in central Saskatchewan, Canada. A two goal approach was adopted to 1) ensure the educational significance of the program and 2) introduce scientifically valid methods for collection of research data pertinent to global change scientists. Professional educators and school administrators from Saskatchewan were recruited to assist in project planning to ensure that the proposed activities fit within the existing curriculum framework. This process was essential for successful adoption of the program by participating teachers. The process and approach of initiating Boreal Forest Watch are presented in this paper. This program became fully functional in September, 1996 with the training of several participating teachers. Perspectives of the program and its future are provided by members of the design team. Boreal Forest Watch is a unique opportunity for both Canadian students and their teachers to explore their natural environment, learn scientific methods and principles, and contribute data to the global change research community.     

Collective team behaviour of Australian Rules football during phases of match play

Using the spatiotemporal characteristics of players, the primary aim of this study was to determine whether differences in collective team behaviour exist in Australian Rules football during different phases of match play. The secondary aim was to determine the extent to which collective team behaviour differed between competing teams and match half. Data was collected via 10 Hz global positioning system devices from a professional club during a 2 × 20 min, 15-v-15-match simulation drill. Five spatiotemporal variables from each team (x centroid, y centroid, length, width, and surface area) were collected and analysed during offensive, defensive, and contested phases. A multivariate analysis of variance comparing phase of match play (offensive, defensive, contested), Team (A & B), and Half (1 & 2) revealed that x-axis centroid and y-axis centroid showed considerable variation during all phases of match play. Length, width, and surface area were typically greater during the offensive phase comparative to defensive and contested phases. Clear differences were observed between teams with large differences recorded for length, width, and surface area during all phases of match play. Spatiotemporal variables that describe collective team behaviour may be used to understand team tactics and styles of play.     

The influence of match phase and field position on collective team behaviour in Australian Rules football

This study investigated the influence of match phase and field position on collective team behaviour in Australian Rules football (AF). Data from professional male athletes (years 24.4 ± 3.7; cm 185.9 ± 7.1; kg 85.4 ± 7.1), were collected via 10 Hz global positioning system (GPS) during a competitive AFL match. Five spatiotemporal metrics (x-axis centroid, y–axis centroid, length, width, and surface area), occupancy maps, and Shannon Entropy (ShannEn) were analysed by match phase (offensive, defensive, and contested) and field position (defensive 50, defensive midfield, forward midfield, and forward 50). A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) revealed that field position had a greater influence on the x-axis centroid comparative to match phase. Conversely, match phase had a greater influence on length, width, and surface area comparative to field position. Occupancy maps revealed that players repositioned behind centre when the ball was in their defensive half and moved forward of centre when the ball was in their forward half. Shannon Entropy revealed that player movement was more variable during offence and defence (ShannEn = 0.82–0.93) compared to contest (ShannEn = 0.68–0.79). Spatiotemporal metrics, occupancy maps, and Shannon Entropy may assist in understanding the game style of AF teams.     

Modeling with light

The problem of making solid objects appear as they are—three-dimensional—is largely a matter of lighting. The subject occurs in the education of children, in the illumination of statuary, in photography, and in television; and the treatment has been almost entirely qualitative and empirical.This paper attempts to raise the problem to the quantitative level by introducing a numerical modeling ratio and by showing how the lighting can be predetermined by calculation to give any desired modeling, without recourse to the cut-and-try methods prevalent in the past.     

The efficacy of demonstrations in teaching children an unfamiliar movement skill: the effects of object-orientated actions and point-light demonstrations

In Experiment 1, adult and child participants were instructed to imitate a video model performing a bowling action with or without a ball. Participants imitated the action with greater accuracy without a ball and in general adults were more accurate than children. In Experiment 2, adults and children were shown a video or point-light display of the bowling action. There was no difference in movement form between the adult point-light and video groups. In contrast, children were poorer at reproducing the action when viewing point-light compared with video sequences (P < 0.05). The novel point-light display hindered the children's ability to provide conceptual mediation between the presented information and action requirements. In Experiment 3, a child point-light group was provided with perceptual-cognitive training. The perceptual-cognitive training group demonstrated better movement reproduction than a group who viewed the point-light displays with no training (P < 0.05), although there were no differences between participants who received training and those who viewed a video. Children are able to perceive and use relative motion information from a display after some general training, and the effectiveness of demonstrations needs to be judged relative to the task context.     

‘Instead of “closing down” at our ages … we’re thinking of exciting and challenging things to do’: older people’s microadventures outdoors on (e-)bikes

ABSTRACT

This paper explores how people aged 50 and over, who were returning to cycling as part of an 8-week health and well-being trial, created their own cycling microadventures. Applying a stage model of the process of adventure to qualitative data generated from personal diaries and focus groups, we examine how older people anticipated and prepared for their microadventures, the challenges and discoveries they experienced, the benefits they gained and how electrically assisted ‘e-bikes’ can provide further opportunities for adventure. We conclude that cycles are a mode uniquely placed to facilitate microadventures and that e-bikes, in particular, offer further potential to enable older people to (re-)connect with place and other people. But while this type of activity can provide benefits in terms of health and well-being, we argue that more supportive physical and social infrastructure is required to provide opportunities for more people to undertake microadventures close to their homes.     

Differences Between Attached and Detached Cadaveric Prosections on Students' Identification Ability During Practical Examinations

Cadaveric prosections are effective learning tools in anatomy education. They range from a fully dissected, sometimes plastinated, complete cadaver (in situ prosections), to a single, carefully dissected structure detached from a cadaver (ex situ prosections). While most research has focused on the advantages and disadvantages of dissection versus prosection, limited information is available on the instructional efficacy of different prosection types. This contribution explored potential differences between in situ and ex situ prosections regarding the ability of undergraduate students to identify anatomical structures. To determine if students were able to recognize the same anatomical structure on both in situ and ex situ prosections, or on either one individually, six structures were tagged on both prosection types as part of three course summative examinations. The majority of students (61%–68%) fell into one of the two categories: those that recognized or failed to recognize the same structure on both in situ and ex situ prosections. The percentage of students who recognized a selected structure on only one type of prosection was small (1.6%–31.6%), but skewed in favor of ex situ prosections (P ≤ 0.01). These results suggest that overall students' identification ability was due to knowledge differences, not the spatial or contextual challenges posed by each type of prosection. They also suggest that the relative difficulty of either prosection type depends on the nature of the anatomical structure. Thus, one type of prosection might be more appropriate for teaching some structures, and therefore the use of both types is recommended.     

Narrative Development in Monolingual Spanish-Speaking Preschool Children

Research Findings: The purpose of this study was to describe differences in the narratives produced by 3-, 4-, and 5- year old Spanish-speaking (SS) children. Narrative productions of 104 typically developing children were collected using a story-retelling task and coded using the Index of Narrative Complexity. The results of this study indicate that 3-year-old SS children produced stories containing characters and actions. Four-year-old SS children’s stories were characterized by the use of characters, actions, and internal responses. Five-year-old SS children retold stories containing characters, settings, initiating events, actions, internal responses, formulaic markers, temporal markers, and knowledge of dialogue. Practice: Developmental information to assist educators working with SS children.