A survey of sensor devices: use in sports biomechanics

This paper examines the use of sensor devices in sports biomechanics, focusing on current frequency of use of Electromyography (EMG) device preferences. Researchers in the International Society of Biomechanics in Sports were invited to participate in an online survey. Responses on multiple sensor devices highlighting frequency of use, device features and improvements researchers sought in acquisition and analysis methods were obtained via an online questionnaire. Results of the investigation showed that the force platform is the most frequently used device, with inertial measurement units and EMG devices growing in popularity. Wireless functionality and ease of use for both the participant and the practitioner proved to be important features. The main findings of the survey demonstrated need for a simple, low power, multi-channel device which incorporates the various sensors into one single device. Biomechanists showed they were looking for more availability of wireless sensor devices with acquisition and analysis features. The study found there is a need to develop software analysis tools to accompany the multi-channel device, providing all the basic functions while maintaining compatibility with existing systems.     

Gender and Dialogue in Secondary School Physics

Previous research points up the educational value of opinion exchange between pupils, particularly in science tasks. However, established gender differences in expression of opinion might well have a substantial impact on such activity, and thus on learning. In order to investigate this, male, female and mixed‐sex pairs of 12‐15 year‐olds were videotaped whilst they worked on a computer‐based task that required them to predict the trajectories of falling objects. All progressed equally in understanding, but employed markedly different interactional styles. Male pairs attended to the implications of feedback for individual ideas, whilst female pairs avoided conflict, exploring instead what the problems had in common. Mixed pairs simply interacted in a very constrained fashion. The differences can be seen as a direct consequence of variation in methods of coping with conflict, compounded, in the mixed groups, by ignorance of the accepted behaviour for the opposite sex. Since male and female patterns separately exhibited characteristics central to scientific method, viz. empiricism and generalisation respectively, broader understanding of science might be served by encouraging each gender to adopt some of the behaviours more ‘natural’ to the other. Practical ways in which this might be achieved are suggested.     

What do you recommend? Implementation and analyses of collaborative information filtering of web resources for education

This article examines results from one pilotstudy and two empirical studies of acollaborative filtering (CF) system applied ineducational settings. CF is a populartechnology in electronic commerce, whichleverages the interests of entire communitiesto provide targeted, personalizedrecommendations of interesting products orresources to individuals. In electroniccommerce, entertainment, and related domains,CF has proven an accurate and reliable tool;yet educational applications remain limited.From analyses of data from these three studies,we believe that CF holds promise in educationnot only for the purposes of helping learnersand educators find useful resources forlearning, but as a means of bringing togetherpeople with similar interests and beliefs, andpossibly as an aid to the learning processitself.     

Overcoming barriers to using precision teaching with a web-based programme

Precision Teaching (PT) is an evidence-based intervention, which research indicates is frequently not implemented following training, with few teachers using it in schools after training events. The web-based programme in this research focuses on word-level reading skills and targets blending and segmenting skills rather than whole word reading. This research, undertaken with 10 schools, explored whether a web-based PT programme would provide favourable implementation rates, and support the fidelity of the programme delivery. The study also measured the impact of the PT programme on word decoding and sight word reading using the Test of Word Reading Efficiency. Results suggest favourable implementation rates with 7 of the 10 schools implementing the programme. Full impact data for 34 children suggest that the programme has a positive impact on decoding (effect size 0.7) and sight word reading skills (effect size 0.6). A timed assessment provides evidence that fluency improved as well as accuracy. Gains were sustained at two-month follow-up.     

Failing at Remediation? College Remedial Coursetaking,Failure and Long-Term Student Outcomes

Research in Higher Education - Colleges offer remedial coursework to help students enrolling in post-secondary education who are not adequately prepared to succeed in college-level courses. Despite...     

Re-evaluation of Environmental Modifications to an Island Cemetery after 28 Years

ABSTRACT

The Isle of the Dead served as the burial ground for the convict settlement at Port Arthur, Tasmania, Australia, from 1832 until the settlement closed in 1877. Ninety-one grave markers survive. The author first surveyed the cemetery in 1990 and immediately established environmental monitoring that continued over the following 28 years. This paper discusses the hand-in-hand role of preventive conservation in the overall preservation program, including physical interventions. Delamination of stone is not stopped by re-attachment, only by reducing the environmental causes, once these have been accurately identified. This project has exemplified the need for precise understanding of degradation to ensure that the intervention programme is not, in the long term, a futile exercise. Communicating this understanding to the management authority is essential. It is a popular misconception with outdoor objects and monuments, that to repair an object is to prevent the damage re-occurring. It is essential to convey that this simplistic concept can be very damaging for the object and is one the conservation profession needs to emphasize.