The ethics of polyvocal ethnography: empowering vs. textualizing children and teachers

Polyvocal approaches allow researchers and informants to interact on a more equal footing and informants’ voices to be heard in the final text. But research methods intended to empower informants also can be a source of unanticipated authorial power ‐ the power to confront informants with unsolicited self‐reflections and to textualize people's lives and words. The authors reflect on those ethical dilemmas in this article.     

Decreased Self-Reported Cognitive Failures after Memory Training

In recent years, attention has been focused on investigating the effectiveness of composite memory intervention programs with different age and diagnostics groups. The goal of this study was to measure changes in cognitive lapses by Cognitive Failure Questionnaire (CFQ) in a large trained, dementia free group (Mini-Mental State Examination [MMSE] > 26). The CFQ was administrated to older adults before training (Wave 1), after training (Wave 2), and in a six-month follow-up (Wave 3) to an experimental (N = 77; memory training) and control sample (N = 78, no intervention). Significant changes in subjective cognitive functioning in the experimental group and a plateau curve in the control group were observed. The results indicate support for the efficiency of a large memory-training group in promoting subjective cognitive functioning.     

Cross-cultural immersion in China: Preparing pre-service elementary teachers to work with diverse student populations in the United States

Cross-cultural immersion experiences have been considered to be an effective way to prepare American pre-service teachers for culturally responsive pedagogical practices. The literature review shows few studies have investigated pre-service teachers' cross-cultural experiences in non-English speaking countries, specifically Asian countries. This qualitative study examined ten American elementary pre-service teachers' teaching and learning experiences in China. Five themes emerged from the data analysis: understanding and respecting Chinese culture; developing empathetic dispositions towards non-English speaking students; exchanging teaching strategies and resources; reflecting on professional and personal growth; and initiating a proactive stance as culturally responsive change agents. Additionally, the study revealed that having two separate Chinese field placements may have differing pre-service teachers' teaching and learning experiences. Varying types of opportunities to study abroad are on the rise. Recommendations are provided for the type of cultural immersion experience that encourages neophyte educators to not only learn about others, but also learn from and with others.     

On building a web-based university

This paper describes some of the principles for building a freely available web-based university with open content. The ＂tutor-web＂ is an international project for web-assisted education, including such free and open access. This project was initiated by the University of Iceland in partnership with many universities around the world, among them the University of Craiova, Romania. The aim of this paper is to present this project, to point out its specificity and to arouse interest for collaboration in the project, which uses http：//tutor-web.net as the home location.     

A multifaceted approach to teacher induction

The purpose of this study was to determine the implementation and effectiveness of the components of two middle school induction programs through the perceptions of three participant groups – new teachers, mentor teachers, and principals. Effectiveness was defined as a systematic processes embedded in a healthy school climate that met new teachers' personal and professional needs. Data indicated that each element of the induction program – principal and new teacher interaction; mentor teachers; collaborative structures; professional development; and new teacher orientation – met different needs of the new teacher. This multifaceted approach appeared to effectively support new teachers.     

Effects of playing surface on physiological responses and performance variables in a controlled football simulation

Abstract

In spite of the increased acceptance of artificial turf in football, few studies have investigated if matches are altered by the type of surface used and no research has compared physiological responses to football activity on artificial and natural surfaces. In the present study, participants performed a football match simulation on high-quality artificial and natural surfaces. Neither mean heart rate (171 ± 9 beats · min^?1 vs. 171 ± 9 beats · min^?1; P > 0.05) nor blood lactate (4.8 ± 1.6 mM vs. 5.3 ± 1.8 mM; P > 0.05) differed between the artificial and natural surface, respectively. Measures of sprint, jumping and agility performance declined through the match simulation but surface type did not affect the decrease in performance. For example, the fatigue index of repeated sprints did not differ (P > 0.05) between the artificial, (6.9 ± 2.1%) and natural surface (7.4 ± 2.4%). The ability to turn after sprinting was affected by surface type but this difference was dependent on the type of turn. Although there were small differences in the ability to perform certain movements between artificial and natural surfaces, the results suggest that fatigue and physiological responses to football activity do not differ markedly between surface-type using the high-quality pitches of the present study.     

The Bat'a Company in Zlín: a shoe company or a school company?

The first part of the study focuses on the characteristics and analysis of Zlín as an example of a company town. Life in the company town is characterised as a means of forming ‘a new man’ in Bat'a’s Zlín. The second section analyses the aims of worker education in Bat'a’s Zlín (in the so-called Bat'a school of work) and highlights the methods and conditions of education for young men and women, focusing on the area of company education. The third part deals with the question of rationalisation (or scientific management) – an extended concept in the production, social and economic areas of interwar Czechoslovakia – in the context of Bat'a’s Zlín. Attention is given to the technocratic movement and to the problems of psycho-technology and its application in the production process and employee selection in the Bat'a Company.     

Beatrix Potter: A Hundred Years in Translation

This year, 2016, marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Beatrix Potter (1866–1943), the much-loved author and illustrator of children’s books. Although translation has made a vital contribution to her international success, Potter’s work remains relatively under-researched from a translation studies perspective. This article aims to provide a clearer picture of Potter’s work in translation over the last hundred years. It identifies early translated editions and discusses Potter’s involvement in their preparation, before examining the appearance of her stories in translation around the world and outlining particular trends in Potter translation. This study is based on extensive research using numerous databases, Potter’s published biographies and correspondence, and on an analysis of the first French editions of her tales. The study reveals that the first published translations of Potter’s works are both of an earlier date and more numerous than is recognised in existing scholarship. It also shows that Potter’s preferred approach in the translation of her stories into French was to adapt the tales to their new French readership, rather than staying close to the originals. Her works are found to have been extensively translated during the last century, especially into European languages, as well as into a significant number of Asian languages. Other matters discussed include the involvement of Potter’s official publisher, Warne, in the publication of international editions; the existence of translations based on American editions with new illustrations; and the posting of online translations by Potter enthusiasts.