Figuring out the dome

The New Millennium Experience ‐ an exhibition on the theme of time sited in a fibre‐glass dome on the Greenwich Peninsula adjacent to the Prime Meridian ‐ was the centrepiece of Millennium celebrations in Britain. From its inception in the mid‐1990s ‘the Dome’ had been controversial for several reasons, not least of which was its financial viability were it not to prove very popular with the general public. Within weeks of opening, it emerged that the Dome was financially insecure to the point of possible bankruptcy. Largely funded by the National Lottery in the first place, four extra grants from that source were required in order to keep it open during the year 2000. The Dome was regarded widely as of dubious cultural value and a drain on public resources that might have been better spent elsewhere.

This chapter of Cultural Trends does not, strictly speaking, set out to confirm or refute these common criticisms of the Dome. Instead, it aims to establish the facts and figures concerning various aspects of the project as precisely as possible. This in itself is difficult to do since, for instance, the exact value of corporate sponsorship is impossible to ascertain due to commercial confidentiality, although it was quite a small proportion of the actual funding ‐ less than 20 per cent. Further complicating matters is polling evidence of high visitor approval for the Dome which must be set against its general damnation in the media.

In effect, the chapter traces a complex process whereby an ambitious cultural project was beset by a series of seemingly intractable problems from beginning to end, including eventual disposal and future use of the site. Whether the Dome is considered an abject failure or an under‐reported success, it certainly did not meet its official targets in terms of visiting, revenue and sponsorship.     

Confounding compression: the effects of posture,sizing and garment type on measured interface pressure in sports compression clothing

The purpose of this investigation was to measure the interface pressure exerted by lower body sports compression garments, in order to assess the effect of garment type, size and posture in athletes. Twelve national-level boxers were fitted with sports compression garments (tights and leggings), each in three different sizes (undersized, recommended size and oversized). Interface pressure was assessed across six landmarks on the lower limb (ranging from medial malleolus to upper thigh) as athletes assumed sitting, standing and supine postures. Sports compression leggings exerted a significantly higher mean pressure than sports compression tights (P < 0.001). Oversized tights applied significantly less pressure than manufacturer-recommended size or undersized tights (P < 0.001), yet no significant differences were apparent between different-sized leggings. Standing posture resulted in significantly higher mean pressure application than a seated posture for both tights and leggings (P < 0.001 and P = 0.002, respectively). Pressure was different across landmarks, with analyses revealing a pressure profile that was neither strictly graduated nor progressive in nature. The pressure applied by sports compression garments is significantly affected by garment type, size and posture assumed by the wearer.     

Individual Differences in Fifth Graders’ Literacy and Academic Language Predict Comprehension Monitoring Development: An Eye-Movement Study

In this study, we investigated fifth graders’ (n = 52) fall literacy, academic language, and motivation and how these skills predicted fall and spring comprehension monitoring on an eye movement task. Comprehension monitoring was defined as the identification and repair of misunderstandings when reading text. In the eye movement task, children read two sentences; the second included either a plausible or implausible word in the context of the first sentence. Stronger readers had shorter reading times overall suggesting faster processing of text. Generally fifth graders reacted to the implausible word (i.e., longer gaze duration on the implausible vs. the plausible word, which reflects lexical access). Students with stronger academic language, compared to those with weaker academic language, generally spent more time rereading the implausible target compared to the plausible target. This difference increased from fall to spring. Results support the centrality of academic language for meaning integration, setting standards of coherence, and utilizing comprehension repair strategies.     

THE SOCIAL PATTERN OF THE LENGTH OF FULL‐TIME EDUCATION IN ESSEX

Based on the work of Barron (1966) and Hudson (1966), the hypothesis is set up that science pupils are more obsessional than arts pupils. This is confirmed on a substantial sample of sixth‐formers. However, it also appears that the possession of obsessional traits is a hindrance to performance in the sciences. The educational implications of these findings are discussed.