Shifting Lenses to Deepen Reflection and Connection in Human Sexuality Education

Photovoice, a participatory action research method, supports deep, personal reflection through the use of photography, personal narrative development, and group discussion. This lesson plan describes the use of Photovoice as a pedagogical tool in an undergraduate human sexuality course. The goal of this activity is to encourage students to 1) think beyond the texts presented in class, 2) make critical connections to their own lived experience and community context, and 3) deepen reflection through sharing and discussing with others. The lesson plan describes the process of bringing Photovoice into the classroom as well as student insights on the activity.     

A systematic approach to analysing sports performance

A systematic approach to the analysis of sporting events is discussed. The basic tenet is that objective quantification of critical events is required for a complete analysis. This approach encompasses diverse areas of methodology and research, such as quantification, biomechanics and physiology. The theoretical underpinnings are behavioural, in so far as athletes produce observable behaviour that can be quantified and ultimately changed. Several areas of analysis are linked together in a general framework and each one of these areas is dealt with in detail.     

Time–motion analysis of elite field hockey,with special reference to repeated-sprint activity

Limited information exists about the movement patterns of field-hockey players, especially during elite competition. Time–motion analysis was used to document the movement patterns during an international field-hockey game. In addition, the movement patterns of repeated-sprint activity were investigated, as repeated-sprint ability is considered to be an important fitness component of team-sport performance. Fourteen members of the Australian men's field-hockey team (age 26±3 years, body mass 76.7±5.6?kg, [Vdot]O_2max 57.9±3.6?ml?·?kg^?1?·?min^?1; mean±s) were filmed during an international game and their movement patterns were analysed. The majority of the total player game time was spent in the low-intensity motions of walking, jogging and standing (46.5±8.1, 40.5±7.0 and 7.4±0.9%, respectively). In comparison, the proportions of time spent in striding and sprinting were 4.1±1.1 and 1.5±0.6%, respectively. Our criteria for ‘repeated-sprint’ activity (defined as a minimum of three sprints, with mean recovery duration between sprints of less than 21?s) was met on 17 occasions during the game (total for all players), with a mean 4±1 sprints per bout. On average, 95% of the recovery during the repeated-sprint bouts was of an active nature. In summary, the results suggest that the motion activities of an elite field-hockey competition are similar to those of elite soccer, rugby and Australian Rules football. In addition, the investigation of repeated-sprint activity during competition has provided additional information about the unique physiological demands of elite field-hockey performance.     

Childhood aerobic fitness predicts cognitive performance one year later

Abstract

Aerobically fit children outperform less fit peers on cognitive control challenges that involve inhibition, cognitive flexibility, and working memory. The aim of this study was to determine whether, compared with less fit children, more fit 9- and 10-year-old pre-adolescents exhibit superior performance on a modified compatible and incompatible flanker task of cognitive control at the initial time of fitness testing and approximately one year later. We found that more fit children demonstrated increased flanker accuracy at both test sessions, coupled with a superior ability to flexibly allocate strategies during task conditions that required different amounts of cognitive control, relative to less fit children. More fit children also gained a speed benefit at follow-up testing. Structural MRI data were also collected to investigate the relationship between basal ganglia volume and task performance. Bilateral putamen volumes of the dorsal striatum and globus pallidus volumes predicted flanker performance at initial and follow-up testing one year later. The present findings suggest that childhood aerobic fitness and basal ganglia volumes relate to cognitive control at the time of fitness testing and may play a role in cognitive performance in the future. We hope that this research will encourage public health and educational changes that will promote a physically active lifestyle in children.     

Intelligence and experience: A neopiagetian approach

An organismic process-structural approach to the classic and modern issues of intelligence and experience is outlined. A Theory of Constructive Operators (TCO) originally designed to explicate Piaget's metatheoretical notions of stages and of equilibration is presented. The theory describes a psychological organism which is a very active semantic-pragmatic system geared to assimilatory praxis. Its organization is bilevel: a situation-bound level of subjective operators (schemes) and a situation-free level constituted either by silent operators (mental effort, learning operators, field factors, affective factors, etc.) or by basic principles which describe the dynamic articulation of subjective and silent operators (the central articulation is a principle of schematic overdetermination of performance).The presentation emphasizes the TCO's epistemological foundations and Piagetian roots. The rules governing its main constructs are given. The presentation is therefore detailed enough to make possible the theory's use and its evaluation. Some of the theory's constructs as well as the illustration of mathematical models derivable from the theory in order to make quantitative predictions in many different types of tasks are however omitted. Experimental-developmental work supporting the TCO is not presented but reference to relevant papers and unpublished dissertations is provided. Relations of the TCO to some recent information-processing models of artificial intelligence and to task analysis are explained. Five basic aspects or conceptions of intelligence are recognized: genotypic (Hebb's intelligence A), phenotypic (Hebb's intelligence B), psychometric (Vernon's intelligence C), developmental (intelligence D) and computer-simulation (i.e., CS) intelligence. All five are briefly discussed and their relations with the TCO's explication of intelligence are briefly mentioned. In this manner we tacitly suggest how the understanding of these various aspects of the complex notion of intelligence can be advanced by means of the TCO. Detailed discussion of this last issue is however beyond the scope of the paper.This paper is based on extensive unpublished material prepared by the senior author which will appear in more detail elsewhere (Pascual-Leone, in preparation). P. J. Burtis participated in the initial editing of that material and Janice Johnson assisted in the preparation of the final draft of this paper. We gratefully acknowledge their advice and effort. All rights reserved by the senior author.     

A snapchat story: how black girls develop strategies for critical resistance in school

ABSTRACT

Drawing from Black, feminist epistemologies as well as theories of critical consciousness, and adolescent digital literacies, this paper analyzes the narratives of 7 Black, female high school students who experience oppressive practices, including racial microaggressions, silencing, harsh discipline, and marginalization within a predominately White school environment. At this juncture in which race, politics, and activism intersect with school, media, and identity, this study discusses how Black, female students resist oppression and use digital and social media as well as other available tools to speak out against injustice and heighten the racial awareness of their school community. This qualitative case study uses individual and focus group interviews to examine the ways in which Black female students develop critical resistance strategies, working individually and collectively within existing structures to fight for their humanity and liberation.     

Defining and navigating ‘action’ in a Participatory Action Research project

ABSTRACT

While the ‘action’ portion of a Participatory Action Research (PAR) project is a crucial component of the process, action tends to be challenging to define, achieve, and measure. The current paper both defines and describes action within the context of a particular PAR collaboration and explores the process and challenges of navigating and implementing action in a PAR project. The specific PAR project detailed in this paper was executed within a higher education setting and involves a group of undergraduate women co-researchers studying their experiences in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) fields.