Parental teaching styles in an open-ended teaching-learning environment

The present study extends earlier work on parental teaching style by making the task to be completed less structured, extending parent-child interaction over a 2 week time period, and equalizing the expertise of the parent relative to the child. Additionally, the study examines the effects of parental intrusiveness on a subsequent task. Subjects were 22 Caucasian middle class parent-child dyads. Audiorecordings were taped over a 2-week period while dyads were learning aspects of Logo computer programming. Even in this prolonged nonspecific learning situation, in which parents were encouraged to proceed at the child's pace, parents were overwhelmingly directive. Additionally, children of directive parents performed best on a subsequent generalization task.     

Teachers' Perceptions of Classroom Competencies over a Decade of Change

A study of four teacher samples, surveyed between 1991 and 1998, has investigated similarities and differences in teaching styles, classroom behaviours and reactions to changes between teachers nominated by their students as influential on study decisions and non-nominated classroom teachers. Differences and similarities in response of teachers over a decade marked by significant changes in policy and practice have also been examined, especially with regard to the conflict between economic rationalist/instrumental and humanistic/ affective ideologies evident in education which has intensified in recent years. Similarities between the 'exemplary' and broadly representative classroom teachers in terms of classroom ideals, constructs of teaching competencies and teaching styles are observed, along with the persisting commitment to student-centred repertoires, despite external organisational pressures. Complex responses to change are noted, including a slight reduction in stress of most recent teacher cohorts over the period, with a continuing high level of work fulfilment.     

People,records and power: what archives can learn from WikiLeaks 1

The 2012 International Council on Archives congress theme of ‘Trust. Archives Supporting Good Governance and Accountability’ invited exploration of the nexus between recordkeeping and holding powerful people and organisations to account. By comparing the formation, management and use of a set of records under currently accepted frameworks for recordkeeping in Australia with the formation, management and use of the WikiLeaks Cablegate archive, we can examine how effectively archives and recordkeeping professionals today are meeting their stated goal of upholding accountability, while ensuring the creation of an inclusive societal memory. By analysing these two cases from the point of view of recordkeeping activities supporting appraisal, access, use, trust and authenticity, it is then possible to draw conclusions about lessons that recordkeepers should be learning from WikiLeaks and the changing nature of information generally, if we are to remain relevant and useful as a profession.     

Progression and variability of competitive performance of Olympic swimmers

Estimates of progression and variability of athletic performance in competitions are useful for researchers and practitioners interested in factors that affect performance. We used repeated-measures mixed modelling to analyse 676 official race times of 26 US and 25 Australian Olympic swimmers in the 12-month period leading up to the 2000 Olympic Games. Progression was expressed as percent changes in mean performance; variability was expressed as the coefficient of variation in performance of an individual swimmer between races. Within competitions, both nations showed similar improvements in mean time from heats through finals (overall 1.2%; 95% confidence limits 1.1 to 1.3%). Mean competition time also improved over 12 months by a similar amount in both nations (0.9%; 95% confidence limits 0.6 to 1.2%). The US swimmers showed a greater improvement between the finals (a difference of 0.5%; 95% confidence limits ?0.2 to 1.1%), which paralleled changes in the medal haul of the two nations. The coefficient of variation in performance time for a swimmer between races was 0.60% (95% confidence limits 0.56 to 0.65%) within a competition and 0.80% (95% confidence limits 0.73 to 0.86%) between competitions. Our results show that: (a) to stay in contention for a medal, an Olympic swimmer should improve his or her performance by ～1% within a competition and by ～1% within the year leading up to the Olympics; (b) an additional enhancement of ～0.4% (one-half the between-competition variability) would substantially increase the swimmer's chances of a medal.     

A technology foundation course for women

The Technology Foundation Course for Women at Huddersfield Polytechnic is designed to help women compensate for their previous lack of experience in technology and to prepare them to enter diploma and degree courses in higher education. The course has several distinctive features in that it is for women only and is designed to meet the needs of mature students with family commitments. Students are allowed flexibility in their choice of subjects, enabling them to study mathematics, physics, computing or chemistry to approximately A‐level standard. Students from the first intake have evaluated the course positively and the majority are studying computing or engineering‐related subjects in higher education. The design of the course is discussed in the light of the requirements of women taking the course and the demand within industry and higher education for more qualified scientists and engineers.     

A Study of the Influence of Some Factors in Style of Composition on the Interest,Comprehension, and Rate of Reading of Fourth-Grade Pupils

The research hypothesis was that memory strategy deficits can occur because of students' failure to understand the task and to evaluate their own performance. The effect of performance feedback on memory strategy use, performance evaluation, and recall was assessed with students with and without mild mental retardation with a mental age of approximately 8.5 years. For students with retardation, feedback resulted in more accurate performance evaluation and recall, but memory strategy use did not increase. By contrast, for students without retardation, feedback resulted in more accurate performance evaluation and greater recall accuracy and memory strategy use. We concluded that students with retardation may not have the appropriate memory strategies in their repertoire and, therefore, feedback does not result in strategy use. It seems likely that memory strategy use in this population would be increased by a training package that includes strategy instruction as well as feedback.     

Autonomic response to a short and long bout of high-intensity functional training

The evaluation of Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) recovery following exercise provides insight into the transient stress placed on the cardiovascular system. High-Intensity Functional Training (HIFT) is a form of intense exercise that is prescribed in various modalities and durations; however, little is known about the influence of HIFT duration on ANS recovery. Ten apparently healthy males (28.1 ± 5.4 yrs) performed two HIFT sessions (<5-minute and 15-minute) in a crossover fashion. ANS activity was measured using plasma Epinephrine (E) and Norepineprine (NE); Heart Rate Variability markers of the log transformed Root Mean Square of Successive Differences (lnRMSSD) and High-Frequency power (lnHF). No trial dependent differences were observed in lnRMSSD (p = 0.822), lnHF (p = 0.886), E (p = 0.078), or NE (p = 0.194). A significant main time effect was observed in both trials with a depression in lnRMSSD and lnHF following the trials (p < 0.05) and recovering by 2-hours post (p = 0.141, p > 0.999) respectively. A trial dependent increase in E and NE occurred immediately post (p < 0.05) and recovered by 1-hour post (p > 0.999, p > 0.999) respectively. The HIFT bouts examined within this study demonstrated similar transient strain of the ANS.     

Joint kinetic determinants of starting block performance in athletic sprinting

The aim of this study was to explore the relationships between lower limb joint kinetics, external force production and starting block performance (normalised average horizontal power, NAHP). Seventeen male sprinters (100 m PB, 10.67 ± 0.32 s) performed maximal block starts from instrumented starting blocks (1000 Hz) whilst 3D kinematics (250 Hz) were also recorded during the block phase. Ankle, knee and hip resultant joint moment and power were calculated at the rear and front leg using inverse dynamics. Average horizontal force applied to the front (r = 0.46) and rear (r = 0.44) block explained 86% of the variance in NAHP. At the joint level, many “very likely” to “almost certain” relationships (r = 0.57 to 0.83) were found between joint kinetic data and the magnitude of horizontal force applied to each block although stepwise multiple regression revealed that 55% of the variance in NAHP was accounted for by rear ankle moment, front hip moment and front knee power. The current study provides novel insight into starting block performance and the relationships between lower limb joint kinetic and external kinetic data that can help inform physical and technical training practices for this skill.     

Silicon startup schools: technocracy,algorithmic imaginaries and venture philanthropy in corporate education reform

Technology companies are investing billions of dollars in educational technology, but also creating their own alternative schools. This article traces the emergence of four prototypical ‘silicon startup schools’ as exemplars of a technocratic mode of corporatized education reform: IBM’s P-TECH, part of its Smarter Cities program; AltSchool, a chain of schools based on ‘makerspaces’ established by a former Google executive; Kahn Lab School, a new ‘experimental’ school launched by the founder of the online Kahn Academy; and XQ Super School Project, a ‘crowdsourcing’ project to redesign American high schools funded philanthropically by the wife of Steve Jobs of Apple. Startup schools are analysed as prototype educational institutions that originate in the culture, discourse and ideals of Silicon Valley venture capital and startup culture, and that are intended to relocate its practices to the whole social, technical, political and economic infrastructure of schooling. These new schools are being designed as scalable technical platforms; funded by commercial ‘venture philanthropy’ sources; and staffed and managed by executives and engineers from some of Silicon Valley’s most successful startups and web companies. Together, they constitute a powerful shared ‘algorithmic imaginary’ that seeks to ‘disrupt’ public schooling through the technocratic expertise of Silicon Valley venture philanthropists.