Which Penguin Is This? Attributing False Beliefs About Object Identity at 18 Months

Recent research has shown that infants as young as 13 months can attribute false beliefs to agents, suggesting that the psychological-reasoning subsystem necessary for attributing reality-incongruent informational states (Subsystem-2, SS2) is operational in infancy. The present research asked whether 18-month-olds' false-belief reasoning extends to false beliefs about object identity. Infants watched events involving an agent and 2 toy penguins; 1 penguin could be disassembled (2-piece penguin) and 1 could not (1-piece penguin). Infants realized that outdated contextual information could lead the agent to falsely believe she was facing the 1-piece rather than the 2-piece penguin, suggesting that 18-month-olds can attribute false beliefs about the identity of objects and providing new evidence for SS2 reasoning in the 2nd year of life.     

Reforming intellectual property rights and the Bt cotton seed industry in China: Who benefits from policy reform?

China has been one of the leaders in agricultural biotechnology research and the adoption of transgenic plants. Despite this, critics argue that China's biotechnology policies could be improved to provide more benefits to farmers. The objective of the paper is to examine if policy changes could improve the welfare of farmers in the cotton industry. The paper first reviews recent changes in laws and policies that affect China's plant biotechnology sector—with a focus on IPR legislation and seed industry reform. Next, using a primary data set collected from 1661 plots from a sample of farmers in northern China in 1999, 2000 and 2001, we econometrically estimate the effect of changes to intellectual property rights (IPR) and seed industry reform on farmer pesticide use and yields. Our results are consistent with a conclusion that improvements to the IPR environment and greater commercialization of the seed industry can increase the benefits that farmers derive from new cotton technology.     

Prospect and Limits of China-EU Relations in Higher Education: A Danish Case Study

Along with China’s economic growth, the notable rise of its universities and innovation system has inspired growing interest in how the higher education institutions (HEIs) of the European Union (EU) cooperate with Chinese HEIs. Beginning with a review of China-EU higher education relations, this paper presents a case study of a Sino-Danish collaborative programme in which cooperation and programme quality were limited by both partners’ different aims over time, and their alternate quality assurance systems. We suggest a proper collaborative level and discipline should be developed before the establishment of cooperation by taking relevant policies, merits and disadvantages of both partners, into consideration. This paper also points out that limits in collaboration can be alleviated, if a number of elements can be used effectively, such as China’s significant EU knowledge diaspora. Given this and other listed factors, including favorable policies introduced by the Chinese government, there are substantial prospects for extending China-EU collaborative relations and exchanges.     

Real moral problems in the use of virtual reality

In this paper, we argue that, under a specific set of circumstances, designing and employing certain kinds of virtual reality (VR) experiences can be unethical. After a general discussion of simulations and their ethical context, we begin our argument by distinguishing between the experiences generated by different media (text, film, computer game simulation, and VR simulation), and argue that VR experiences offer an unprecedented degree of what we call “perspectival fidelity” that prior modes of simulation lack. Additionally, we argue that when VR experiences couple this perspectival fidelity with what we call “context realism,” VR experiences have the ability to produce “virtually real experiences.” We claim that virtually real experiences generate ethical issues for VR technologies that are unique to the medium. Because subjects of these experiences treat them as if they were real, a higher degree of ethical scrutiny should be applied to any VR scenario with the potential to generate virtually real experiences. To mitigate this unique moral hazard, we propose and defend what we call “The Equivalence Principle.” This principle states that “if it would be wrong to allow subjects to have a certain experience in reality, then it would be wrong to allow subjects to have that experience in a virtually real setting.” We argue that such a principle, although limited in scope, should be part of the risk analysis conducted by any Institutional Review Boards, psychologists, empirically oriented philosophers, or game designers who are using VR technology in their work.     

Validity and reliability of measures assessing social-cognitive determinants of physical activity in low-active Australian adults

This cross-sectional study of 504 community-dwelling Australian adults (328 females, 176 males, mean age 50.8 ± 13.0 years) sought to examine the reliability and validity of measurement scales for physical activity (PA) self-efficacy and outcome expectations. Participants completed demographic and anthropometric measurements, and a 23-item psychosocial questionnaire pertinent to an intervention target of 10,000 steps per day. Exploratory (n = 252) and confirmatory (n = 252) factor analyses were conducted to determine psychometric properties of the measures. Based on theory and goodness-of-fit indices, six factors were extracted from the questionnaire: PA self-efficacy; PA barriers self-efficacy (including general, personal, and conflict); and physical and mental outcome expectations. From confirmatory factor analysis, the model demonstrated good data fit in four out of five indices: CFI = 0.99; TLI = 0.99; SRMR = 0.03; RMSEA = 0.03, 90%CI = 0.01–0.05, χ² = 113.14 (88), p = 0.04; including good fit by sex, age, weight status, education, and birth country. PA interventions can employ our psychometrically sound social cognitive measures.     

‘Disable them all’: SENCO and LSA conceptualisations of inclusion in physical education

There is a propensity for academics and policy makers in Britain to use the terms integration and inclusion synonymously, possibly resulting in diverse interpretations of the inclusion principles laid out in the new National Curriculum. Much of the research available relating to conceptualisations of inclusion in physical education (PE) is from the perspective of teachers. Moreover, PE as a relatively unique learning environment is often neglected in much of the research that does analyse educational inclusion. In this paper, the key theoretical tools of cultural studies, in particular the concept of cultural hegemony, are used to analyse how special educational needs coordinators (SENCOs) and learning support assistants (LSAs) conceptualise inclusion in mainstream secondary school PE in Britain. Semi-structured, individual interviews explored SENCO (n?=?12) and LSA (n?=?12) educational ideologies and experiences of SEN and inclusion in PE. Open, axial and selective coding was undertaken to systematically analyse (textual) data. The research found that most conceptualisations reflected a social ideology because they focused on how educational arrangements can be made to ensure that pupils with SEN have comparable learning experiences to their age peers. Emphasis was placed on the power and influence of PE teachers, and the importance of identifying the specific needs and capabilities of pupils with SEN, as ways of ensuring that an inclusive culture can develop and is maintained in PE. The paper concludes by arguing that PE teachers and LSAs need access to PE-specific and up-to-date guidance and learning targets so that they can use the influence they have over the norms and values of PE to cultivate an inclusive culture in that subject.     

Individualisation of speed thresholds does not enhance the dose-response determination in football training

This study examined the utility of a range of approaches used to develop player-dependent speed zones in time-motion analysis (TMA), in determining the dose-response (internal load) of daily football training. Daily external (10 Hz GPS) and internal load (heart rate metrics, ratings of perceived exertion [RPE], wellness ratings) measures were tracked for 22 International women’s football players during a 21-day training camp. High-speed (HSR) and very high speed running (VHSR) were determined according to arbitrary speed thresholds, as well as using a range of different individualization approaches that included the velocities corresponding to the heart rate deflection point, maximal aerobic speed, YYIR1 performance, and maximal sprint speed (MSS). Within-player correlations between the TMA approaches versus internal load measures quantified the dose-response to training. Correlations between HSR and VHSR vs. RPE were large (r = 0.53–0.67), with the exception of VHSR for the MSS technique (moderate; r = 0.44). HSR was very-largely associated with heart rate indices (r = 0.72–0.78), again with the exception of MSS (large; r = 0.60–0.67). Using a range of different fitness characteristics to individualise speed thresholds did not enhance the dose-response determination to daily fluctuations in external load, and was worsened with MSS per se.     

Recovery Responses to Maximal Exercise in Healthy-Weight Children and Children With Obesity

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine differences in heart rate recovery (HRRec) and oxygen consumption recovery (VO₂ recovery) between young healthy-weight children and children with obesity following a maximal volitional graded exercise test (GXTmax). Method: Twenty healthy-weight children and 13 children with obesity completed body composition testing and performed a GXTmax. Immediately after the GXTmax, HRRec and VO₂ recovery were measured each minute for 5 consecutive minutes. Results: There were no statistically significant group differences in HRRec for the 5 min following maximal exercise, Wilks’s Lambda = .885, F(4, 28) = 0.911, p = .471, between the healthy-weight children and children with obesity despite statistically significant differences in body fat percentage (BF%; healthy-weight children, 18.5 ± 6.1%; children with obesity, 41.1 ± 6.9%, p < .001) and aerobic capacity relative to body mass (VO₂ peak; healthy-weight children, 46.8 ± 8.2 mL/kg/min; children with obesity, 31.9 ± 4.7 mL/kg/min, p < .001). There were statistically significant differences in VO₂ recovery for the 5 min following exercise, Wilks’s Lambda = .676, F(4, 26) = 3.117, p = .032. There were no statistically significant correlations between HRRec and body mass index (BMI), BF%, VO₂peak, or physical activity. Conclusions: In a healthy pediatric population, obesity alone does not seem to significantly impact HRRec, and because HRRec was not related to obesity status, BMI, or BF%, it should not be used as the sole indicator of aerobic capacity or health status in children. Using more than one recovery variable (i.e., HRRec and VO₂ recovery) may provide greater insight into cardiorespiratory fitness in this population.     

The Positioning of Indigenous People in Australian History: A Historiography of the 1868 Aboriginal Cricket Tour of England

Abstract

The first international tour by an Australian sports team was the 1868 tour of England undertaken by a group of Aboriginal cricketers. In the following 148 years there have been many histories of the tour written. This paper undertakes a historiographical examination of the tour, contextualizing the writings and their place in Australian society. In doing so, it uncovers the phases of reporting, forgetting, rediscovery, exploiting, ambivalent times, and self-determination that representations of the tour go through. It is argued that these phases provide an analogy for the positioning of Indigenous people and Indigenous history in Australian society.