Designing and delivering representation-focused science lessons in a digital learning environment

Educational technology research and development - Inquiry-based representation-focused approaches in science education have shown promising outcomes when students engage in knowledge building via...     

Intellectual capital and new ventures: the entrepreneur's cognizance of company management

The purpose of this research is to analyse the intellectual capital gauges most often utilized by entrepreneurs in the management of new ventures and to relate the use of these gauges to business performance. On the basis of interview data collected from 103 entrepreneurs, we provide evidence that the use of such measuring techniques impacts positively on overall business performance. Moreover, the results indicate that those entrepreneurs utilizing some form of intellectual capital (IC) measurement have superior results. Consequently, we highlight the importance of detecting, measuring and utilizing IC for new ventures stressing the potential benefits that such analysis can have on the initial steps taken by an entrepreneur in venture formation and business development.     

Student discourse on physical activity and sport among Irish young people

This article explores accounts of student discourse related to the role of physical activity and sport in the lives of Irish children and youth. The data source is a purposeful sample of student narratives based upon age of student, type of school and gender, and sought representation from both rural and urban settings. Data were derived from an original, random sample of approximately 4,100 texts written by Irish young people (ages 10–12 and 14–17). Data suggest sport plays a pervasive role in the lives of Irish primary children as they enjoy and participate in a variety of sports and physical activities. Gendered and age-related patterns emerged in their preferences of activities and in the way in which they represented their sporting selves. These findings have implications for the value of student voice in the delivery and design of models of participation that expand opportunities for physical activity within schools and beyond.     

优化电子期刊展示与标识的PIE-J规程解析

[目的/意义]通过对PIE-J的系统解析,使PIE-J在中国获得更多的关注与了解,以期电子期刊供应链上的各方合作优化电子期刊元数据,解决电子期刊难以搜寻这个长期困扰各方的问题。[方法/过程]通过归纳、实例分析等方法对PIE-J的制定背景、意义、主要内容、应用情况及其对中国电子期刊展示与标识的启示进行分析。[结果/结论]PIE-J通过简明的语言和形象的例子对电子期刊元数据的标识进行详细指引,可提高开放链接质量,提高使用者对期刊文章的查找效率和准确率,进一步完善与发展电子期刊。在我国目前尚未出台电子期刊标识标准的情况下,中国电子期刊出版商或供应商如能参照PIE-J优化电子期刊元数据,对于提高自身产品的竞争力,促进国内及海外市场的开拓将大有裨益。     

Counseling Students’ Emotions During Cultural Immersion: Impact on Reactance

Counselor trainees’ multicultural development is a process that engenders strong emotions. The authors inventoried students’ emotions in cultural immersion activities and assessed their impact on course reactance. Findings indicated that reactance was shaped by both negative and positive emotions and that cultural immersion can be universally challenging for students.     

An investigation of two-way text messaging use with deaf students at the secondary level

Deaf and hard-of-hearing students are often delayed in developing their independent living skills because of parental restrictions on activities outside the home due to worries about their child's inability to communicate, their whereabouts, and their general safety. Recent accounts of the use of two-way text messagers suggests that, like electronic mail, distance communication problems that have long plagued deaf people may be ameliorated--by the use of such technology (M. R. Power & D. Power, 2004; S. S. Rhone & Cox News Service, 2002). This project was designed as an initial foray into investigating the use of two-way text messaging technology as a way of increasing the independence of deaf adolescents and reducing their parents' anxiety about their safety and responsibility. All the deaf and hard-of-hearing students in the deaf and hard-of-hearing programs at two urban high schools (ages 13-19), the staff of the deaf departments at these two schools, and the parents/guardians of the students participated in this study. Preuse surveys, postuse surveys, and monthly statistics on the number of times each pager was used enabled us to chart how often the participants used the technology. The data were used to identify concerns that parents have about student independence and safety, the extent to which deaf students engage in independent activities, and expectations surrounding how two-way text messaging use might increase independence and literacy skills. The data collected on this project to date confirm that two-way text messaging technology is indeed useful for deaf adolescents and helps alleviate some of the concerns that have kept them from developing independence as quickly or readily as their hearing peers. The potential policy implications for this research are discussed.     

Solving ill-structured problems in asynchronous online discussions: built-in scaffolds vs. no scaffolds

Solving ill-structured problems is regarded as an important learning outcome in education as it allows learners to apply theories learnt into real practice. An asynchronous online discussion, with extended time for reflection, is an appropriate learning environment to engage learners in solving ill-structured problems. However, scaffolds may be needed to support learners in the online discussions. This study explores the effect of online scaffolds in supporting a group of graduate students' ill-structured problem-solving processes in asynchronous online discussions. The results of this study showed that the use of the online scaffolds did not lead to a significant difference in the number of ill-structured problem-solving processes. Further analysis revealed that wrong selection of message labels and under-usage of sentence openers affected the results of this study. Improvements for online scaffolds include having more precise message labels and sentence openers based on Socratic questioning approach.     

Prevalence,gender ratio and gender differences in reading‐related cognitive abilities among Chinese children with dyslexia in Hong Kong

Based on the data of the normative study of the Hong Kong test of specific learning difficulties in reading and writing, and the Test of visual‐perceptual skills (non‐motor)—Revised, 99 children aged between 6 and 10½ years were identified as children with dyslexia out of the normative sample of 690 children. By excluding 12 children known to score below average in IQ, 87 children, including 20 children not tested for IQ, could be regarded as children with dyslexia, yielding a prevalence rate of 12.6% and a boy:girl gender ratio of 1.6 to 1. The figures would become 9.7% and 2.0 to 1 if the 20 children were omitted from computation. However, gender imbalance could not be readily explained by gender differences in reading‐related cognitive abilities, as there were only minor and subtle differences. Regression analyses to evaluate the relative contribution of different cognitive abilities to reading and writing suggested that orthographic knowledge and naming speed were most important among children with dyslexia. Implications of the findings and the need for early intervention are discussed.