COPING IN BASKETBALL: DIFFERENCES ACCORDING TO ABILITY AND GENDER

The strategies used to cope with performance problems were investigated in 206 basketball players. A total of 127 males and 79 female players, recruited from teams representing different levels of basketball ability, were administered the Ways of Coping with Sport questionnaire (Madden, 1987; Kirkby & McDonald, 1989). A 2x2 muUivariate analysis of variance showed that players of higher ability could be differentiated from those of lower abiltiy by their use of four scales of the questionnaire: General Problem‐focused Coping; Emphasizing the Positive; Detachment; Increased Effort and Resolve. Females could be differentiated from males by their increased tendency to use Seeking Social Support. Separate analysis by ANOVA revealed a gender x ability interaction in the use of General Emotionality coping processes. The findings indicated that the relationship between ability, gender, and coping is more complex than previously thought.     

Apps for Behavior Management,Communication, and Learning: Using Sociocultural Theory to Understand Mobile Technology in PK-12 Settings

ABSTRACT

Mobile applications (apps) are currently used for classroom management, communication with parents, and student learning. Although teachers have acknowledged an unfamiliarity with tools to support their selection of apps for effective use with students, they have welcomed guidance for such evaluations. Thus, we have reviewed mobile technology (apps) from a sociocultural perspective, synthesized evidence-based research, and offered directions for future research.     

Elite universities,fields of study and top salaries: Which degree will make you rich?

This article assesses the chances of entering the top 5% of earners for a British cohort currently in their 40s. We assess the difference made by a university degree from an elite (Russell Group) or non‐elite university, and from different undergraduate fields of study. Our study uses rich longitudinal data from the 1970 British Cohort Study (BCS70). This allows us to control for an unusually large range of potential confounding factors, including childhood socio‐economic circumstances, cognitive scores, secondary schooling and prior qualifications. We find that large raw differences in the chances of achieving a top salary are strongly attenuated by our controls, but substantial differences between degree subject areas remain. The large gap between men and women in the chance of gaining a top salary is not explained by the type of degree achieved, and we found no evidence of gender differences in the gains from institutional prestige or particular fields of study.     

Doctors diagnose,teachers label: the unexpected in pre-service teachers’ talk about labelling children with ADHD

A study in an Australian university investigated 150 pre-service teachers’ responses to and participation in discourses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Interesting data surfaced around the notion of ‘labelling’ children with ADHD. It seemed that the pre-service teachers did not believe ‘ADHD’ to be a label. Whilst the literature reviewed acknowledged diagnosing a child with ADHD to be tantamount to labelling (that is, ‘ADHD’ is a medical diagnostic label), the pre-service teachers in this study differentiated diagnosis from labelling and cast labelling as occurring in the classroom sometime pre- or post- diagnosis. Speaking of diagnosis and labelling in this way re-defines an object of dominant labelling discourse: ‘doctor as labeller’ is replaced with notions of ‘teacher as labeller’. Using Foucault’s ‘rules of discursive formations’ to frame its analysis, this study pondered the pre-service teachers’ conceptions of labelling and in doing so revealed a ‘teacher as labeller’ discursive formation. This article provides examples of how this discursive formation features in pre-service teachers’ talk and outlines an important implication of the ‘teacher as labeller’ discursive formation, namely that it enables teachers to cement their role in the ADHD medical diagnostic apparatus.     

An Initial Investigation into Naturally Occurring Loss- and Gain-Framed Memorable Breast Cancer Messages

Memorable message research examines interpersonal messages "…remembered for extremely long periods of time and which people perceive as a major influence on the course of their lives" (Knapp, Stohl, & Reardon, 1981, p. 27). They can also guide actions, such as health behaviors. This exploratory research examined self-reported memorable messages about breast cancer to determine if they were framed, emphasizing either the benefits (gain-framed) or the costs (loss-framed) of a behavior. About one-fourth of the messages were framed, with most being gain-framed. The messages tended to emphasize early detection actions. Study limitations and implications for future research are discussed.     

Developing health information literacy: a needs analysis from the perspective of preprofessional health students

Objective:

The research identified the skills, if any, that health preprofessional students wished to develop after receiving feedback on skill gaps as well as any strategies they intended to use to address these gaps.

Methods:

A qualitative approach was used to elicit students'' reflections on building health information literacy skills. First, the students took the Research Readiness Self-Assessment instrument, which measured their health information literacy, and then they received individually tailored feedback about their scores and skill gaps. Second, students completed a post-assessment survey asking how they intended to close identified gaps in their skills on these. Three trained coders analyzed qualitative comments by 181 students and grouped them into themes relating to “what skills to improve” and “how to improve them.”

Results:

Students intended to develop library skills (64% of respondents), Internet skills (63%), and information evaluation skills (63%). Most students reported that they would use library staff members'' assistance (55%), but even more respondents (82%) planned to learn the skills by practicing on their own. Getting help from librarians was a much more popular learning strategy than getting assistance from peers (20%) or professors (17%).

Conclusions:

The study highlighted the importance of providing health preprofessional students with resources to improve skills on their own, remote access to library staff members, and instruction on the complexity of building health literacy skills, while also building relationships among students, librarians, and faculty.

Highlights

• After receiving feedback on skill gaps, most preprofessional health students intend to develop their information literacy skills.
• Some students report that a trip to the library is a barrier to using library resources.
• Students see the need to build their information evaluation skills, knowledge of citations and plagiarism, and library skills, which they differentiate from Internet skills.
• Students are more likely to identify librarians as sources for assistance in finding information than faculty or peers after receiving individual feedback explaining the role of libraries and library staff members.

Implications

• Students'' health information competencies can be built through assessment and feedback that reveals skill gaps, highlights misconceptions, and offers ideas on how to improve.
• Access to professionally designed self-study resources is needed for students who intend to develop health information competencies on their own.

     

Second Graders Learn Animal Adaptations through Form and Function Analogy Object Boxes

This study examined the use of form and function analogy object boxes to teach second graders (n = 21) animal adaptations. The study used a pretest–posttest design to examine animal adaptation content learned through focused analogy activities as compared with reading and Internet searches for information about adaptations of animals followed by making an informative puppet play. Students participated in six week‐long lesson sets, each addressing adaptations of two animals, which alternated between the two conditions. In the analogy condition, students matched cards explaining form and function analogies of animal body parts or homes to analogous manufactured items. They mapped analogies, thought of alternate manufactured items, and created new analogies. Students scored similarly on material to be taught through both conditions on the pretest, but made significantly higher posttest mean scores (76.1% analogy versus 57.2% traditional condition) with large effect size (partial η² = 0.58) on animal adaptation content learned through the analogy activities. This study shows the usefulness of form and function analogies in teaching product innovations to second‐grade students, indicating that early childhood students are able to successfully engage in sophisticated analogy activities. Efficacy of the analogy activities was related to objects that focused attention, motivated, and gave concrete representations of concepts; to cards and graphic organizers for organization, connections, and memory; and to complex thinking activities that challenged students and promoted peer interaction.     

The influence of maturation,body size and physical self-perceptions on longitudinal changes in physical activity in adolescent girls

Abstract

The aim of this study was to adopt a longitudinal design to explore the direct effects of both absolute and relative maturation and changes in body size on physical activity, and explore if, and how, physical self-perceptions might mediate this effect. We recruited 208 girls (11.8 ± 0.4 years) at baseline. Data were collected at three subsequent time points, each 6 months apart. At 18 months, 119 girls remained in the study. At each time point, girls completed the Physical Activity Questionnaire for Children, the Pubertal Development Scale (from which, both a measure of relative and absolute maturation were defined) and the Physical Self-Perception Profile, and had physical size characteristics assessed. Multilevel modelling for physical activity indicated a significant negative effect of age, positive effect for physical condition and sport competence and positive association for relatively early maturers. Absolute maturation, body mass, waist circumference and sum of skinfolds did not significantly contribute to the model. Contrary to common hypotheses, relatively more mature girls may, in fact, be more active than their less mature peers. However, neither changes in absolute maturation nor physical size appear to directly influence changes in physical activity in adolescent girls.