‘This is the country of premature old men’ Ageing and Aged Miners in the South Wales Coalfield,c.1880–1947*

Abstract

This article considers the effects of work in the south Wales coal industry either side of the turn of the twentieth century and, specifically, the ways in which work aged workers prematurely. It examines the consequences of working practices for miners’ bodies, the expedients utilized by miners to try and cope with the effects of premature ageing, and the consequences for their living standards, experiences and status. It situates these phenomena in the contexts of industrial relations and welfare provision. In so doing, the article engages with historiographies of the life-cycle, the aged, and pensions provision in modern Britain.     

Cluster score performance of learning disabled students on the Woodcock-Johnson psycho-educational battery

Research suggests that the Woodcock-Johnson may be ineffective in its ability to identify learning disabled students, to depict their aptitude accurately, and to highlight processing strengths and deficits. Seventy-one previously identified learning disabled students were given the WJPEB, and their cluster score performance was evaluated. Using three different methods of obtaining discrepancies, only slightly more than half of the LD students were identified. Memory deficits were apparent. Support is given for cautious use of the WJPEB in LD diagnosis.     

Utility of international normative 20 m shuttle run values for identifying youth at increased cardiometabolic risk

The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of international normative centiles for the 20 m shuttle run test (20mSRT) to identify youth at increased cardiometabolic risk. This was a cross-sectional study involving 961 children aged 10–17 years (53% girls) from the United Kingdom. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves determined the discriminatory ability of cardiorespiratory fitness percentiles for predicting increased cardiometabolic risk. ROC analysis demonstrated a significant but poor discriminatory accuracy of cardiorespiratory fitness in identifying low/high cardiometabolic risk in girls (AUC = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.54–0.63; p = 0.04), and in boys (AUC = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.54–0.63; p = 0.03). The cardiorespiratory fitness cut-off associated with high cardiometabolic risk was the 55^th percentile (sensitivity = 33.3%; specificity = 84.5%) in girls and the 60^th percentile (sensitivity = 42.9%; specificity = 73.6%) in boys. These 20mSRT percentile thresholds can be used to identify children and adolescents who may benefit from lifestyle intervention. Nonetheless, further work involving different populations and cardiometabolic risk scores comprising of different variables are needed to confirm our initial findings.     

The influence of hand positions on biomechanical injury risk factors at the wrist joint during the round-off skills in female gymnastics

The aim of this study was to examine the biomechanical injury risk factors at the wrist, including joint kinetics, kinematics and stiffness in the first and second contact limb for parallel and T-shape round-off (RO) techniques. Seven international-level female gymnasts performed 10 trials of the RO to back handspring with parallel and T-shape hand positions. Synchronised kinematic (3D motion analysis system; 247 Hz) and kinetic (two force plates; 1235 Hz) data were collected for each trial. A two-way repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) assessed differences in the kinematic and kinetic parameters between the techniques for each contact limb. The main findings highlighted that in both the RO techniques, the second contact limb wrist joint is exposed to higher mechanical loads than the first contact limb demonstrated by increased axial compression force and loading rate. In the parallel technique, the second contact limb wrist joint is exposed to higher axial compression load. Differences between wrist joint kinetics highlight that the T-shape technique may potentially lead to reducing these bio-physical loads and consequently protect the second contact limb wrist joint from overload and biological failure. Highlighting the biomechanical risk factors facilitates the process of technique selection making more objective and safe.     

Sex bias in clinical judgment among school psychologists

Using an analogue case study format, sex bias in clinical judgment among school psychologists was examined. The sex of an adolescent student was varied in the case studies, and two types of problems were presented in this 2 × 2 (sex of student by problem type) design. School psychologists were asked to read a case study and answer a series of questions relating to the extent of perceived disturbance and the importance of intervention. The main finding of the study was that it was rated as more important to intervene when the case study subject was a male, but there were no sex differences on the disturbance rating. Research and practical implications are discussed.     

Current Research on Child Maltreatment: Implications for Educators

The increasing rate of child abuse and neglect is a special concern for educators who are legally mandated reporters of suspected maltreatment, are often the first to identify and refer children who have been harmed, are in contact with parents and are aware of the family conditions contributing to child maltreatment, and who must often work closely with other professionals in their efforts to support child victims and prevent further abuse. Moreover, children's emotional or behavioral problems, learning disabilities, or other difficulties often reflect broader problems that are associated with abuse or neglect. Consequently, understanding the causes and consequences of child maltreatment, and contemporary child protection efforts, is essential to educators in their efforts to assist victimized children. This article surveys current research on child maltreatment with particular attention to the challenges of child protection, the multidimensionality of child maltreatment (distinguishing physical abuse, physical neglect, sexual abuse, and psychological maltreatment), and hopeful new avenues for prevention. The implications of this research for educational professionals are emphasized.     

Action,Autobiography and Aesthetics in Young Children’s Self-Initiated Drawings

Lark-Horovitz, Lewis, and Luca [1973] described the emergence of ‘subject matter specialists,’ children who create series of self-initiated or voluntary drawings featuring consistent themes, characters, or settings that seem particularly compelling to them. A decade-long study of the images preschool and kindergarten children create when invited to draw in their own sketchbooks in the context of a weekly art class suggests that the choice of what to draw shapes the process of learning how to draw in decisive ways. The interests young children develop and pursue in drawing and in other forms of symbolic play are influenced by gender and by culture, by personality and circumstance. The choices children make inevitably open certain possibilities and foreclose others, shaping early artistic learning in decisive ways. Many early childhood educators [e.g., Katz, 1993] maintain that young children’s learning should be firmly grounded in first-hand experience. However, children whose drawings are autobiographical in content may be less consistent in choosing topics for drawing and prone to pass the time between significant images by drawing designs and symbols which seem less personally meaningful and engaging. Children who draw upon imaginative themes seem to have an inexhaustible source of inspiration ready at hand when they begin to draw. According to Egan [1988], the fictional or mythic nature of these representations may serve young children’s quest to make sense of their experiences in ways that explorations of the everyday do not.     

International Education: Perceptions of Teachers in International Schools

As a contribution to research in the field of international education, this study investigated the views of a number of teachers based in 'international schools' around the world with respect to the importance of a range of different factors in contributing to the experience of international education for students. In considering responses with a view to identifying the key features of such an education from the teacher perspective, responses were categorised in terms of their relationship to a number of dimensions including exposure to other students within school, the influence of teachers, the formal curriculum, links with the local community and informal aspects of school. Results showed a clear perception of the importance of the influence of teachers and of exposure to other students within school, with informal activities being considered least important. Comparison with a previous study investigating the perceptions of undergraduates with respect to their own school-based international education suggests differences in perceived importance between the two groups. Results suggest the direction for future research in this area, including consideration of the perceptions of students still at school with respect to the same set of issues.     

Teaching English Language Learners At Risk for Reading Disabilities to Read: Putting Research into Practice

The purpose of this article is to describe features of interventions that are empirically validated for use with first‐grade students at risk for reading disabilities who are English language learners (ELLs) and whose home language is Spanish. The empirical evidence supporting these interventions is summarized. Interventions for improving oral language and reading abilities with struggling readers who are ELLs taught in either Spanish or English are described as a means to assist school districts and teachers in defining and implementing effective interventions for ELLs at risk for reading difficulties. The interventions described may be useful to educators seeking information about Response to Intervention as a means of identifying ELLs who require services for learning disabilities.