Effects of habitual physical activity on response to endurance training

We hypothesised that habitual physical activity (PA) together with progressive endurance training contributes to the differences in training response (Δ[V(·)]O(2max)) in healthy and physically active male participants. Twenty volunteers (age 30±3 years and [V(·)]O(2max) 54±7 ml·kg?1·min?1) participated in an eight-week training program which included four to six heart rate-guided exercise sessions weekly. PA data over the whole period were collected by an accelerometer-equipped wristwatch. Individual relative intensities of endurance training and PA were separately determined by adjusting to [V(·)]O(2max) reserve and calculated as mean daily duration (min) of training and PA at light, moderate, high and very high intensity levels. [V(·)]O(2max) increased 6.4±4.1% (p < 0.0001) during the training period. Δ[V(·)]O(2max) correlated with the amount of habitual PA that was mainly of light intensity (r = 0.53, p = 0.016), but not with the duration of moderate, high or very high intensity PA (p = ns for all). Age, body mass index, and daily amount of training at any intensity level of exercise were not related to Δ[V(·)]O(2max) (p = ns for all). In conclusion, a high amount of habitual PA together with prescribed endurance training was associated with good training response in physically active males.     

Student‐led facilitation strategies in online discussions

This study explored student‐led facilitation strategies used to overcome the challenges of instructor‐dominated facilitation, enhance the sense of learning community, and encourage student participation in online discussions. It presents a series of cases of students’ facilitation strategies and using qualitative data analysis of discussion threads within the naturalistic inquiry framework, identifies three facilitation strategies: inspirational; practice‐oriented; and highly structured. The study shows that these facilitation strategies generated innovative ideas, motivated students to participate, and provided a risk‐free and relaxed atmosphere for participation.     

Beginning teachers' perceptions of school human resource practices

Human resource (HR) management is defined as the sum of activities employed by an organization to attract, develop, and retain people with the appropriate knowledge and skills for effectively and efficiently achieving organizational goals. An understanding of the HR practices in schools is important, as the assembly of a team of qualified and committed teachers, directly or indirectly, affects the quality of instruction in general and in particular in Hong Kong, where a high wastage rate of new teachers has been recorded. The literature has emphasized the importance of each HR element in school and yet not much work has been done that attempts to link the various HR elements together, even though the complementarities and interdependencies among these practices have been acknowledged. The present study aims to provide a general picture of the HR practices in schools from the perspective of beginning teachers, using a quantitative methodology. In addition, the link between these practices and the beginning teachers' commitment was also examined. The findings confirm the complexity and diversity of HR practices in Hong Kong schools and suggest that the practices in the areas of Training and Development and Working Conditions warrant special attention as they are linked to the affective commitment of new teachers to schools.     

Book Reviews

Growth, creativity and collaboration: great visions on a Great Lake – proceedings of the North American Serials Interest Group, Inc. 19th annual conference, June 17–20, 2004, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 2005 Ed. P. S. French and M. Mering The Haworth Information Press, Binghamton, NY, ISBN 0‐7890‐2976‐6 US $34.95 Communicating in style by Yateendra Joshi The Energy and Resources Institute, India, 2003, 81 7993 016 5, £7.50 Bookmaking: Editing, Design, Production by Marshall Lee W. W. Norton & Co. Ltd., 2004, hardback, ISBN 0393730182 The Institutional Repository By Richard Jones, Theo Andrew and John MacColl Chandos Publishing, 2005, ISBN 1 84334 138 7, 237pp.     

The two cultures of scholarship?

This essay examines different approaches to writing the history of science in light of the increased importance of microhistorical studies in the past two decades. It specifically examines the role of microhistory within the history of science and the importance of Thomas Kuhn's concept of the "normal exception" in early methodological statements about the function of microhistory. It also considers the possibilities for writing archivally based history of science for a general readership as a means of bridging the divide between specialized research within the subfields of the history of science and more general accounts of the nature and growth of science.     

I got rhythm: Gershwin and birth control in the 1930s

Gershwin's song 'I Got Rhythm' serves here as a backdrop representing the social context of the inter-war years. On center stage is a particular aspect of the history of birth control--the application of a new theory of ovulation to contraception. Starting in 1928, a series of experiments revealed a biochemical rhythm in the female reproductive cycle, which contradicted the widespread idea that ovulation and pregnancy could occur at any time. This discovery was applied to a new contraceptive method, the rhythm method, which enjoyed significant popularity during the 1930s, especially among Catholics. For a short period, women could join Ethel Merman in the refrain 'I got rhythm, I got my man, who could ask for anything more?' But the rhythm method has not lived to its promise, and the play goes on em leader     

School and community factors involved in Chilean students’ perception of school safety

Identifying and understanding predictors of school safety perceptions is important due to its consequences for students. However, it is not clear what school‐related factors most contribute to explaining students’ perception of school safety, and how they relate to community‐related factors such as neighborhood safety. The purpose of this study was to understand the factors associated with Chilean elementary and middle school students’ perceptions of school safety. We used a sample of 5,455 students from low socioeconomic status public schools, and analyzed the predictive value of peer physical and verbal victimization; teacher and school staff victimization; teacher's social support; and perception of safety in the students’ neighborhoods on perceptions of school safety. Findings showed that although different forms of school violence, particularly peer physical victimization and physical and sexual victimization from teachers and school staff, contribute to students’ perception of school safety, the highest contribution came from students perceiving their neighborhoods as unsafe. In contrast, teacher social support contributed to increased levels of perceived school safety. We discuss the need for school‐based interventions that address physical victimization and engage teachers in prosocial and less punitive approaches to foster a positive and safe school climate, and in fostering school–community partnerships.     

Children Making Sense of Science

This study explored the effects that the incorporation of nature of science (NoS) activities in the primary science classroom had on children’s perceptions and understanding of science. We compared children’s ideas in four classes by inviting them to talk, draw and write about what science meant to them: two of the classes were taught by ‘NoS’ teachers who had completed an elective nature of science (NoS) course in the final year of their Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree. The ‘non-NoS’ teachers who did not attend this course taught the other two classes. All four teachers had graduated from the same initial teacher education institution with similar teaching grades and all had carried out the same science methods course during their B.Ed programme. We found that children taught by the teachers who had been NoS-trained developed more elaborate notions of nature of science, as might be expected. More importantly, their reflections on science and their science lessons evidenced a more in-depth and sophisticated articulation of the scientific process in terms of scientists “trying their best” and “sometimes getting it wrong” as well as “getting different answers”. Unlike children from non-NoS classes, those who had engaged in and reflected on NoS activities talked about their own science lessons in the sense of ‘doing science’. These children also expressed more positive attitudes about their science lessons than those from non-NoS classes. We therefore suggest that there is added value in including NoS activities in the primary science curriculum in that they seem to help children make sense of science and the scientific process, which could lead to improved attitudes towards school science. We argue that as opposed to considering the relevance of school science only in terms of children’s experience, relevance should include relevance to the world of science, and NoS activities can help children to link school science to science itself.