Teaching cause-effect text structure through social studies content to at-risk second graders

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a comprehension program integrated with social studies instruction designed for at-risk second graders. The program included instruction in cause-effect text structure, emphasizing clue words, generic questions, graphic organizers, and the close analysis of specially constructed cause-effect target paragraphs. This program was compared (a) to a content-only program that focused only on social studies and did not include text structure instruction and (b) to a no-instruction control. Fifteen classroom teachers, randomly assigned to treatment, provided the instruction. The program improved the comprehension of instructional cause-effect texts, and there were transfer effects on some comprehension measures. The performance of the 2 instructed groups did not differ on any of the content measures, indicating that such integrated instruction can be accomplished without a loss in the amount of content acquired. This study supports our previous findings on the effectiveness of explicit instruction at the primary-grade level.     

Development of the social network b-learning in the University of Alicante

This work describes the genesis, articulation and consolidation from 2007 of a social network of b-learning （blended learning） in the UA （University of Alicante） （Spain）, with the institutional backing of the Office of the Vice President for Education Technology and Innovation, and the momentum and advice of professor Angel Fidalgo （UNESCO （United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization） chair for University of Management and Policy）. The social network currently has more than 25 teachers, working on different work linkages with the university, implementing or intending to apply the teaching methodologyb-learning during the course 2007-2008 in a variety of courses and degrees. To do so, several resource centers （blogs, wikis, Wimba Create （before CourseGenie）, etc.）, and digital platforms （Virtual Campus of the UA, Moodle, etc.） are used.     

通过话轮交替模式分析《茶花女》中的人物性格

本文运用会话分析中的话轮交替模式来分析Alexandre Dumas fils的剧本《茶花女》第九章的一段对话,展示戏剧中人物性格。本文中具体分析话轮交替机制主要包括的三个方面,即话轮分配、话轮分布和话轮序列。     

Scope and patterns of innovation cooperation in Spanish service enterprises

Examining 2148 innovating service firms from the Spanish Technological Innovation Panel 2004, this paper utilizes Latent Class Analysis to appraise the scope of innovation cooperation in services in the Spanish economy, in accordance with the growing weight of external information flows throughout innovation processes. The empirical evidence indicates that the nature of the service activity affects both the partner chosen and the cooperation intensity. The results lead to the creation of a typology of cooperation composed of three broad profiles: service firms intensive in techno-scientific cooperation, intensive in interactions with clients and a profile with low intensity in cooperation, called lonely innovators. The probability that a firm belongs to the latter profile is 59%, which makes it reasonable to affirm that innovation cooperation is not a common practice in Spanish innovating service enterprises. Innovation output variables have been included in order to examine the relationship between patterns of cooperation and innovation performance. The findings also underline the co-existence of different cooperation patterns within the same industry.     

Validity and reliability of the Very Short form of the Physical Self-Inventory among Turkish adolescents

The study aimed to test the validity and reliability of the Very Short form of the Physical Self-Inventory (PSI-VS) among a sample of 635 Turkish adolescents. These adolescents have completed the 12 original items of the PSI-VS, plus a positively worded reformulation of the single reverse-keyed item of the physical attractiveness subscale. A series of confirmatory factor analyses was used to examine the psychometric properties of the original and modified versions of the PSI-VS. Findings revealed superior psychometric properties with the modified version than with the original set of items. The modified version was thus subsequently used to examine its factor structure invariance across sexes, age groups and sport practice involvement. Results not only report that this version was fully invariant across, but also that latent means were significantly different across sexes and sport practice involvement. In sum, the Turkish modified version of the PSI-VS presents acceptable psychometric properties and may be used to repeatedly and/or intensively assess participants’ physical self-perceptions in the context of sport and exercise interventions.     

Activity profile of top-class association football referees in relation to fitness-test performance and match standard

The aim of this study was to examine the kinematic activity profiles, cardiovascular responses and physical fitness of top-class football referees (n=11) during the FIFA Confederations Cup 2005. Computerised match-analyses (n=9) were performed with a two-dimensional photogrammetric video system, and the cardiovascular demand imposed on the referees (n=12) was measured using heart rate recordings. Total distance covered was 10,218, s=643 m of which 3531, s=510 m was covered at high intensities (>3.6 m.s(-1)). Both total distance covered (r2=0.59; P=0.02) and high-intensity activities (r2=0.44; P=0.05) were related to the distance covered by the ball in the same match. The referees ran at high speed 37% further (P=0.01) in the actual tournament than during under-17 top-level officiating. After the 5-min interval during which high-speed running peaked, in the following 5 min the performance was reduced by 19% (P=0.01) in relation to the mean of the game. Mean heart rate was 161, s=9 b.min(-1) (86, s=3% of maximal heart rate (HRmax)). Mean heart rate (expressed as percentage of HRmax) was related in part (r2=0.36; P<0.01) to the number of high-intensity activities performed in the same 5-min interval. The results of this study show that: (1) kinematic activity profiles of top-class referees can be influenced by the distance covered by the ball; (2) the amount of high-speed running (>5 m.s(-1)) best describes the physical performance of referees; (3) heart rate recording can be a useful tool to determine the most intense periods of a match and (4) the new fitness tests adopted by FIFA were poor predictors of match activities.     

The implications of a connectivist learning blog model and the changing role of teaching and learning

While the use of Web 2.0 tools and specifically blogs is becoming increasingly popular within higher education (HE) and has been shown to promote learning, relatively little is known about the manner in which such tools may affect how teaching and learning may change as a result of the use of such tools. It is within this context that a connectivist learning model was created and has been further developed within this paper in order to consider the implications of how the use of blogs may change the manner in which teaching and learning occurs. Within this research, a case study of the use of collective student blogs utilized as part of a formally assessed module, undertaken within an HE institution, is utilized to explore the manner in which teaching and learning can be seen to change through a connectivist learning model of blog usage. From this case study, it appears that connectivism does provide a theoretical model for the way in which teaching and learning may change as a result of the use of blogs by learners. However, the experience of staff and students who undertook the project suggests that while a number of elements of the connectivist model can be identified, these are not seen universally among all students.