To develop autonomy: A critique of R.F. Dearden,and two proposals

This paper is concerned with the craft knowledge of teaching, that is, the professional knowledge gained by experience which teachers use everyday in their classrooms but which is rarely articulated in any conscious manner. The notion of craft knowledge emerged as part of a wider study, which used life-history interviews to investigate the identity and work practices of ten learning support teachers (LSTs) in primary schools in the east coast of Ireland. Craft knowledge was just one of the themes distilled from their accounts which offer a glimpse into the lives and perspectives of these LSTs. Those who are privileged enough to observe successful teachers recognise their craft-knowledge at work even though they often struggle to define it coherently. It is suggested in this paper that even though it is at the heart of effective teaching, teachers’ craft-knowledge has been undervalued and under-researched. In the current educational climate of change, with its emphasis on teachers’ continuous professional development, there is much to be gained from studying the craft knowledge of teaching, particularly from the perspective of the teacher.     

Impacts of perceived country image,institution image and self-image on students’ intention to study abroad: a study in Hanoi,Vietnam

ABSTRACT

This study examined high school students’ evaluations of a country image, institution image and self-image with regards to their intention to attend a foreign university. Using data gathered from students in Hanoi (n?=?403), this study found that the students have more positive perceptions of the host country, the host institution and their desired self-image if they choose to study abroad as compared to those of their home country (Vietnam). In addition, the perceived image of the host country and host institution can generate a significant impact on the formation of the students’ desired self-image. However, the most important antecedent of the students’ intention is the discrepancy between the perceived image of the host country and the perceived image of the home country. Based on these findings, implications for foreign institutions and home institutions in recruiting and retaining students are discussed.     

Matching Index Expressions for Information Retrieval

The INN system is a dynamic hypertext tool for searching and exploring the WWW. It uses a dynamically built ancillary layer to support easy interaction. This layer features the subexpressions of index expressions that are extracted from rendered documents. Currently, the INN system uses keyword based matching. The effectiveness of the INN system may be increased by using matching functions for index expressions. In the design of such functions, several constraints stemming from the INN must be taken into account. Important constraints are a limited response time and storage space, a focus on discriminating (different notions of) subexpressions for index expressions, and domain independency. With these contextual constraints in mind, several matching functions are designed and both theoretically and practically evaluated.     

Performing pull-ups with small climbing holds influences grip and biomechanical arm action

Pull-ups are often used by sport-climbers and other athletes to train their arm and back muscle capabilities. Sport-climbers use different types of holds to reinforce finger strength concomitantly. However, the effect of grip types on pull-up performance had not previously been investigated. A vertical force platform sensor measured the force exerted by climbers when performing pull-ups under six different grip conditions (gym-bar, large climbing hold, and four small climbing holds: 22mm, 18mm, 14mm, and 10mm). The electromyography of finger flexors and extensor muscles were recorded simultaneously. The maximal arm power and summed mechanical work were computed. The results revealed that the number of pull-ups, maximal power, and summed mechanical work decreased significantly with the size of the climbing hold used, even if no differences were found between a large climbing hold and a gym-bar. Electromyography of the forearm muscles revealed that the use of a climbing hold generated finger flexor fatigue and that the level of cocontraction was impacted by the different segment coordination strategies generated during the pull-ups. These findings are likely to be useful for quantifying training loads more accurately and designing training exercises and programs.     

A social network perspective on the management of product development programs

Creativity is essential to the performance of product development programs (PDPs). Most PDPs are designed around teams that jointly work together according to the product decomposition into components, the design and development procedure, and the methods of the final integration. Since the creative product development task requires the teams to combine and integrate input from multiple other teams, the team's structure of interaction is an important determinant of their creativity. In research and practice, however, little is known about the social networks of the teams and their creativity within PDPs. In this study we investigate different structural aspects of social networks of such teams and their creativity within two multinational PDPs. The main results of our investigation imply that many direct network contacts around a weekly intensity stimulate the creativity of teams of PDPs, whereas very open networks with a high information variety minimizes the team's creativity.