Resisting,Rejecting, and Redefining Normative Pathways to the Professoriate: Faculty of Color in Higher Education

The Faculty of Color Cohort 2014 (FOCC2014) consists of 20 scholars in faculty positions across the country. Here we use the theory of transformational resistance and data from our private Facebook group webpage as a way to understand the resistance enacted by the FOCC2014 as first-year faculty members. Through critical discourse analysis, we investigate how the FOCC2014 Facebook webpage is used to encourage members to actively resist, reject, and redefine what it means to be a faculty member in higher education. Findings provide empirical evidence of the utility of social media as a space for engagement and community for faculty of color across multiple campuses where the racial/ethnic diversity of faculty is limited.     

Crosscutting concepts and achievement: Is a sense of size and scale related to achievement in science and mathematics?

This study examined the relationship between students' (N = 229) concepts of size and scale and students' achievement in science and mathematics over a 3-year period. Size and scale are considered one of the big ideas in science that permeates disparate science and mathematics content areas, yet little is known about the relationship between students' conceptualization of size and scale and students' achievement in science and mathematics. The study used a modified panel longitudinal design to follow the same class of students over a 3-year period. The goal was to explore whether understandings of size and scale are related to achievement in mathematics and science. Results indicated a strong positive significant relationship existed between students' understanding of size and scale and students' science achievement in grades 5 and 8. There was a positive significant relationship between students' concepts of size and scale and students' mathematics achievement in grades 5, 6, 7, and 8. An examination of the relationships is included as well as a discussion of the integration of crosscutting concepts into science and mathematics instruction as a way to support deep learning.     

Early number and arithmetic performance of Ecuadorian 4-5-year-olds

This study aimed at (a) constructing a reliable and valid test to assess Ecuadorian 4–5-year olds’ number and arithmetic skills; (b) providing empirical data on Ecuadorian 4–5-year olds’ number and arithmetic skills; and (c) confronting these children’s actual performances with the performances expected by national experts in this domain. We administered the Test of Early Number and Arithmetic (TENA), developed on the basis of the Ecuadorian mathematics standards to 86 Preschoolers and 127 Kindergartners and asked 10 experts to evaluate TENA’s validity and predict children’s performances on it. Results supported the overall reliability and validity of the TENA. Furthermore, we observed differences in number and arithmetic competencies between and within Preschoolers and Kindergartners, but not between boys and girls. Finally, experts overestimated children’s performances on the test. The scientific and practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Reliability of a Cryoscopic Micro-Osmometer Using 15-µL Plasma Samples to Measure Hydration Status in Varied Environmental Conditions

Measurement of plasma osmolality (P_osm) remains popular for assessing hydration status in exercise science. However, a controlled reliability assessment of micro-osmometry using small sample volumes to measure P_osm remains to be performed. This study aimed to examine the reliability of a cryoscopic micro-osmometer requiring 15-μL samples across varied environmental conditions. Thirteen young adults (26.4 ± 5.7 years) completed a 20-min steady-state cycling protocol on separate occasions in cool/dry conditions and hot/humid conditions. P_osm was assessed using fingertip capillary samples taken in duplication prior to and following 20-min acclimatization and recovery periods around the cycling bout. Absolute (typical error of measurement = .62–.83 mOsmol·kg^–1; coefficient of variation = .9% to 1.3%) and relative (intraclass correlation coefficient = .60–.85) reliability of this approach were supported. These findings suggest micro-osmometry requiring small plasma samples (15 μL) can be reliably used by practitioners to assess longitudinal changes and cross-sectional hydration status in varied environmental conditions.     

The continuing bonds of US expatriates living in Egypt

This study used the continuing bonds model, which describes the process of loss and mourning, to build a theory about the acculturation process of US expatriates. We examined six case studies of US expatriates permanently residing and working in Egypt. Participants were interviewed about the loss of their US culture and their cultural experiences in Egypt. All participants acknowledged losing aspects of their US culture, and kept continuing bonds with it, but these bonds took different forms depending on the way they responded to their loss and the way they negotiated the influences of both host and native cultures. We present three of these case studies in this paper due to space limitations. One participant believed that his continuing bonds might be imagined or outdated and used religion to avoid the influences of both US and Egyptian cultures in his life. Another participant used his continuing bonds to inspire marginalized Egyptians and refugees. The third participant used his continuing bonds to isolate himself from the Egyptian culture and lead an exclusive American lifestyle. External factors such as political climate of host country, family members, privilege, circumstances of coming to Egypt, and age influenced the mourning process.     

Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Intercultural Communication Competence

This study examined the process of developing intercultural communication competence (ICC) with particular attention to cross-cultural differences in communication patterns. A qualitative approach involving 40 interviews with Americans living in Sweden and Swedes living in the US was employed in order to gain a nuanced, in-depth, and contextual understanding of how immigrants and expatriates experience the process. Several differences in verbal and nonverbal communication patterns between the two cultures emerged. The findings provide insights into how ICC is developed differently across cultures, as well as how the cognitive, affective, and behavioral components of ICC are interrelated and influenced by culture-specific aspects.     

Sing a song please: Musical contexts and language learning

Abstract

Language for children who have special educational needs is generally recognised to be an educational objective in its own right. In the last decade, the pragmatic perspective has currently focussed attention on the contexts within which the structures of language develop and are used. It is suggested that naturalistic interactions between children and adults provide appropriate contexts for language learning. The focus of the present study was to examine the possible relationship between a musical context and language learning. A group of six language‐impaired children was studied in two routinized contexts, a lesson‐without‐music and a singing session. Child‐teacher talk in the musical and non‐musical contexts was analysed using a conversational participation coding system, which included measures of turn‐taking, initiation and imitation. The findings suggest that the addition of music to a routinized context has the potential to increase the language‐impaired child's ability to interact non‐verbally.