A confluence of new technology and the right to water: experience and potential from South Africa’s constitution and commons

South Africa’s groundbreaking constitution explicitly confers a right of access to sufficient water (section 27). But the country is officially ‘water-stressed’ and around 10 % of the population still has no access to on-site or off-site piped or tap water. It is evident that a disconnect exists between this right and the reality for many; however the reasons for the continuation of such discrepancies are not always clear. While barriers to sufficient water are myriad, one significant factor contributing to insufficient and unpredictable access to water is the high percentage of broken water pumps. Previous studies have reported that between 20 and 50 % of all hand operated water pumps installed on the African continent are broken, or out of use. Monitoring and maintenance of pumps, which in South Africa is the responsibility of local municipalities is often ineffective, in part due to the distances between municipal centres and rural communities and the consequent costs of site visits, as well as breakdowns within the local bureaucratic system. The emergence of new telemetry tools that can remotely monitor water applications constitutes a novel and cost-efficient alternative to undertaking regular sites visits. Sustainable, appropriate, low-cost telemetry systems are emerging that could be used to monitor the operational performance of water pumps, or a wide range of other field parameters, and to communicate this information swiftly and cheaply to water service providers, using SMS messages. Data on the performance of water pumps could also be made available to the public online. This is an example of how ICT can be used for water resources management and environmental regulation, as well as in the governance of socio-economic rights: helping to optimize water allocation by improving communication and strengthening accountability.     

Poetic Representations in Sport and Physical Education: Insider Perspectives 1

As part of the emergence of new writing practices in the social sciences, qualitative researchers have begun to harness the potential of poetic representations as a means of analysing social worlds and communicating their findings to others. To date, this genre has been little used within the domains of sport and physical education. Accordingly, in this article, we provide examples of poetic representations and seek to generate insights into the process of their construction by exploring the perspectives of their authors. A rationale for choosing this genre is outlined and the potential benefits and risks of making this choice for both the researcher and the audience are considered. It is concluded that poetic representations are a worthy addition to the analytical repertoire in qualitative research.     

Science achievement as it relates to science curricula and programs at the sixth grade level in montana public schools

This study deals primarily with the relationship between pupil achievement in science and factors in the science program. An inventory of science attitudes, interests, and appreciations was constructed and administered in connection with an advanced science test to a large sample of sixth graders. Their teachers completed science teaching questionnaires. The results of the study are significant and are a contribution to the field.     

Choice of operation in verbal problems with decimal numbers

This article examines the conceptual problems that children experience when attempting to solve verbal problems which contain decimal numbers. After discussing the existing research, we then describe an experiment that was designed in three phases:

1. Exploratory interviews to discover existing conceptions and difficulties and to discover how pupils made use of diagrams, simpler numbers, and strategies. These interviews exposed difficulties with the understanding of place value, the effect of multiplying and dividing by a positive number less than one, the symbolisms of division and its noncommutative nature, the units associated with the numbers and also with familiar names for the operations. The three strategies were all found to be unfamiliar to pupils and their difficulties are discussed.
2. The design and administration of a diagnostic test, based on the results of these interviews, to a class of less able 14 year olds.
3. The preparation and use of calculator enriched teaching materials designed to remedy the identified misconceptions. From the pre- and post-test results we note the dramatic success of the teaching in improving pupils' understanding of place value, although there is a more modest improvement in enabling pupils to choose the correct operation by drawing diagrams, using easier numbers and estimating.

     

Professional learning through the collaborative design of problem-solving lessons

This article analyses lesson study as a mode of professional learning, focused on the development of mathematical problem solving processes, using the lens of cultural-historical activity theory. In particular, we draw attention to two activity systems, the classroom system and the lesson-study system, and the importance of making artefacts instrumental in both. We conceptualise the lesson plan as a boundary object and use this to illustrate how professional learning takes place through the introduction of carefully designed artefacts that draw on teachers’ professional knowledge of potential student approaches, and to the nature of progression in problem-solving processes. We identify the roles of instrumentalisation and instrumentation in supporting professional learning as these artefacts are prepared for use before a lesson and as they are again used as catalysts for reflection in post-lesson discussions. These artefacts are seen to effectively facilitate the socially situated learning of all participants. We conclude that the design of artefacts as boundary objects that support teaching and professional learning in their respective activity systems may be fundamental to the success of lesson study as a collaborative venture.     

Correlates of simulated hill climb cycling performance

The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between several commonly used aerobic and anaerobic cycle ergometer tests and performance during a treadmill cycling hill climb. Eight competitive cyclists (age 27+/-7 years; body mass 73.2+/-5.2 kg; height 177+/-6 cm; mean +/- s) completed six tests in random order: a lactate minimum test; a Wingate anaerobic power test; and two 6-km climbs at 6% and two 1-km climbs at 12% gradient performed on a motorized treadmill. The mean times and power outputs for the 6-km and 1-km climbs were 16:30+/-1:08 min: s and 330+/-17.8 W, and 4:19+/-0:27 min: s and 411+/-24.4 W, respectively. The best individual predictor of 6-km and 1-km performance times was the time for the corresponding climb at the other distance (r = 0.97). The next strongest predictor of both hill climb performances was the average power produced during the Wingate test divided by body mass. Stepwise regression analysis showed that the two variables contributing most to the prediction equation for both climbs were the Wingate average power per unit of body mass and maximal aerobic power divided by total mass (rider + bike), which together accounted for 92 and 96% of the variability in the 6-km and 1-km climbs. In conclusion, among competitive cyclists, the Wingate average power per unit of body mass was the best single predictor of simulated cycling hill climb performance at the distance and gradient used.     

Developing a community of inquiry instrument: Testing a measure of the Community of Inquiry framework using a multi-institutional sample

This article reports on the multi-institutional development and validation of an instrument that attempts to operationalize Garrison, Anderson and Archer's Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework (2000). The results of the study suggest that the instrument is a valid, reliable, and efficient measure of the dimensions of social presence and cognitive presence, thereby providing additional support for the validity of the CoI as a framework for constructing effective online learning environments. While factor analysis supported the idea of teaching presence as a construct, it also suggested that the construct consisted of two factors—one related to course design and organization and the other related to instructor behavior during the course. The article concludes with a discussion of potential implications of further refinement of the CoI measures for researchers, designers, administrators, and instructors.     

Dimensions of problem behaviors of emotionally disturbed children as seen by their parents and teachers

Compared the factor structure of parents' and teachers' ratings of children's behavior problems. Data were analyzed for a heterogeneous group of 194 emotionally disturbed boys and girls aged 3–13 years. Three factors emerged based on parents' ratings, and highly similar factors were obtained from teachers' ratings. The factors closely resemble the dimensions isolated in numerous previous studies, such as Quay's Conduct Problem, Inadequacy-Immaturity, and Personality Problem factors. The importance of the findings is discussed, especially pertaining to the analysis of parents' ratings.     

Analysis of macroethics teaching practices and perceptions in engineering: a cultural comparison

ABSTRACT

Students must be taught to understand the ethical issues associated with engineering and technology, which includes microethics and macroethics. This research examined the influence of cultural environment by comparing ethics-related education outcomes between educators in (1) the United States, (2) non-US Anglo, and (3) Western European countries who teach engineering students. In an increasingly globalised world where companies and projects draw from talent across countries, it is important to understand how different cultures educate future engineers about their ethical responsibilities. Survey results revealed that a majority of educators in all three groups viewed undergraduate and postgraduate education on ethics as insufficient. A higher percentage of non-US Anglo and Western European educators taught sustainability and environmental issues in their courses compared to US respondents. US educators taught codes of ethics, ethics in design, and safety more than those in Western Europe. Open-ended responses illuminated challenges and opportunities to improve ethics education.