The Information Revolution in Illinois:A Community Informatics Perspective

本文以社群信息学理论为基础,围绕社群信息学的重大问题,探寻信息革命在社区中的社会起源及发展.通过对信息技术在伊利诺斯州本地机构中的使用情况进行调查,探寻当地社区信息革命的社会足迹.调查发现:网速测试暴露出的数字鸥沟仍然存在;信息技术应用总体来说得到了很好的发展,但是在信息技术负责人和机构负责人之间也存在差异;所有城镇参加调研者都能讲述令人颇感意外的当地信息技术起源的历史;一些特定组织网络是地方负责人可依靠的资源.推动社区跨越数字鸿沟的主要因素有:网络组织者,作为数字技术和网络早期采纳者的本地组织,计算机素养.图1.表4.参考文献36.     

Individual differences in the interleukin-6 response to maximal and submaximal exercise tasks

Abstract

The inflammatory responsive cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) helps regulate immune responses to exercise. Evidence suggests that increases in IL-6 are related to exercise duration and intensity. However, the moderating effect of sex and underlying mediators have received limited attention. We compared plasma IL-6 responses to two cycling tasks with a resting control in young male (n = 12) and female (n = 12) recreationally active adults. Both 45 min tasks comprised an incremental test, either maximal or submaximal, followed by steady-state exercise at 55% peak power output. Interleukin-6 was elevated above baseline immediately after the maximal but not the submaximal task. Compared with the control condition, IL-6 was increased at 30 and 60 min after both exercise tasks. The IL-6 response was greater in women than men at 60 min after maximal exercise. Cortisol increased in both tasks compared with the control condition, the increase being greater after maximal than submaximal exercise. No associations were found between IL-6 responses and cortisol, heart rate, fitness or body mass index. The results show that 45 min of moderate-intensity exercise can increase IL-6 and suggest that the inclusion of maximal effort may accelerate this response. The finding that women showed a greater IL-6 response to maximal exercise may reflect a gender dimorphism in the immune response to stress.     

Cleaning data: guess the olympian

This article tackles the problem of what should be done with real textual data that are contaminated by errors of recording, particularly when the data contain words that are misspelt, unintentionally or otherwise.     

Developing research capacity among graduate students in an interdisciplinary environment

A critical review of research to date suggests a need to explore the development of graduate student research capacity from the standpoint of graduate students. Six members of an interdisciplinary graduate student colloquium at the Centre for Youth and Society (Victoria, Canada) offer their perspective. Our research involved four phases, each illustrating the processes that refined our understanding of the components that contributed to the development of our graduate student research capacity. First, we engaged in several round-table discussions and created a conceptual map depicting components that were meaningful in developing our research capacity. Second, we examined previous work on graduate student research capacity development and compared this data to the conceptual map. Third, we conducted a thematic analysis of secondary data of graduated students with similar interdisciplinary training and involvement in the Centre. Finally, the data analysis was used to refine the conceptual map that may benefit educators and future graduate students. From the standpoint of students themselves, we discuss those components perceived as best contributing to the development of graduate student research capacity and highlight the importance of an interdisciplinary context and writing process.     

Differentiating integration: special education in the Russian Federation

The paper presents an examination of the Russian special education system in the late 1990s. It is concerned with continuities and changes in ideology, policy and practice, particularly in regard to acceptance of debates around educational integration. Evidence from a study of educational practice concerning children with learning difficulties in two regional Russian cities is presented, including interview data with special educational professionals. Small-scale changes to the special education system at the local level are highlighted as positive measures to address the failures of a somewhat rigidly segregated system. The ability to make such changes and maintain the functioning of the system is notable in the context of prolonged budgetary crisis. Practitioners whose views are represented in the study are shown to have engaged with the integration debate, although there was little fundamental criticism of the underpinnings of the Russian system. Understanding and application of the notion of integration for disabled children were diverse. Indeed some interviewees used this term to describe the structures within which they worked, in spite of the system's largely segregated nature. The concept was being reworked to demonstrate awareness of international approaches, while avoiding the devaluing of the distinct, Soviet approach of defectology with its central tenet of differentiation.     

THE CONFIDENCE TO TEACH ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS: EXPLORING COURSEWORK'S ROLE IN DEVELOPING PRESERVICE TEACHERS' EFFICACY

As our schools become increasingly diverse and the effects of immigration can be felt across the nation, some states have mandated that preservice teachers take endorsement courses that focus on teaching English Language Learners (ELLs) with the purpose of ensuring that teachers are able to meet ELLs' social and academic needs. A significant factor in improving instructional practices for ELLs is preservice teachers' confidence in their ability to teach ELLs successfully. What remains to be seen, however, is how best to organize and implement endorsement courses so that they have a positive effect on teachers' confidence to use their new knowledge to teach in effective ways. In this study, we discuss how endorsement curricula can build teachers' self-efficacy for teaching ELLs by not just covering the required content, but by being conscientious in how the curricula are organized and delivered. By providing teachers with the foundational knowledge through the use of meaningful and engaging pedagogical practices, preservice teachers' efficacy and beliefs about instructing ELLs will increase. This, in turn, will provide them with the confidence to teach those who may be very different culturally and linguistically from themselves.     

Dancing in the ditches: reflecting on the capacity of a university/school partnership to clarify the role of a teacher educator

This paper used the data collected from reflective diaries, semi-structured interviews and surveys to identify and examine common themes identified in the roles required and/or perceived for teacher educators by both teachers and teacher educators. Collaboration, discussion and critique enabled personal reflection as teacher educators worked as partners to schools in a state-sponsored teaching and learning skills project. We have termed the collaboration in such an interactive project as one of ‘dancing in the ditches’, often requiring both groups to get out of their comfortable spaces and engage with each other in constantly moving situations. The teacher educators were required to be change agents at the interface of theory and practice and their experiences reflected individual journeys, but their reflections have ongoing implications for clarifying and professionalising the role of teacher educators.     

Writers develop skills through collaboration: an action research approach

Collaborative approaches designed to increase writing productivity (amount written) as well as writing quality were implemented over a period of six months with a small group of 12 six‐year‐olds in a Primary School in Newcastle, NSW, Australia. The study demonstrated the positive nature of peer interactions with an increase in quality and productivity of writing products. The classroom teacher employed action research approaches where observations informed action, which in turn was reflected upon. Some central themes emerged from this study. It was found that collaboration often meant that students shared strengths and expertise, provided encouragement and assistance, as well as provided opportunities for peer tutoring.     

What is distinctive about museum pedagogy and how can museums best support learning in schools? An action research inquiry into the practice of three regional museums

It seems uncontroversial to claim that museums are unique places of interest with the potential to inspire learners, yet what this means and how it is managed are complex questions. Museum educators’ work is currently shaped by accountability requirements typically expressed as visitor targets. Centralised teaching and learning initiatives are presented as ‘good practice’. In opposition to these factors, the action research inquiry discussed here set out to enable the participants to research and reflect upon the challenges of their individual contexts, and to develop ideas for practice that were ‘bespoke’. Deliberation on particular predicaments raised important issues, such as the relationship between schools and museums; the educational value of museums to schools; and the distinctive nature of museum pedagogy. A group of museum educators began with the question: ‘How can we support teachers in integrating learning in a museum, with the school curriculum, to help raise pupil attainment’? The paper tells the story of the project and includes reflections on the use of action research as a method of personal professional development and organisational problem-solving.