Attitudinal impact of hybridized writing about a socioscientific issue

The development of scientifically literate citizens remains an important priority of science education; however, growing evidence of students' disenchantment with school science continues to challenge the realization of this aim. This triangulation mixed methods study investigated the learning experiences of 152 9th grade students as they participated in an online science‐writing project on the socioscientific issue of biosecurity. Students wrote a series of hybridized scientific narratives, or BioStories, that integrate scientific information about biosecurity with narrative storylines. The students completed an online Likert‐style questionnaire, the BioQuiz, which examined selected aspects of their attitudes toward science and science learning, prior to their participation in the project, and upon completion of the writing tasks. Statistical analyses of these results and interview data obtained from participating students suggest that hybridized writing about a socioscientific issue developed more positive attitudes toward science and science learning, particularly in terms of the students' interest and enjoyment. Implications for research and teaching are also discussed. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 48: 878–900, 2011     

Little more than personality: Dispositional determinants of test anxiety (the Big Five, core self-evaluations, and self-assessed intelligence)

This study attempted a hierarchical integration of several dispositional determinants of test anxiety (TA) [Sarason, I.G. (1984). Stress, anxiety and cognitive interference: Reactions to tests. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 46, 929–938.], namely the Big Five personality traits [Costa, P.T. Jr., & McCrae, R.R. (1992). Revised NEO personality inventory (NEO-PI-R) and NEO five-factor inventory (NEO-FFI): Professional manual. Odessa: Psychological Assessment Resources.], core self-evaluations (CSE) [Judge, T.A., Erez, A., Bono, J.E., & Thoreson, C.J. (2003). The Core Self-Evaluation Scale: Development of a measure. Personnel psychology, 56, 303–331.], and self-assessed intelligence (SAI) [Furnham, A. (2001). Self-estimates of intelligence: Culture and gender difference in self and other estimates of both general (g) and multiple intelligences. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 1381–1405.] in a sample of 388 US and UK university students. Structural equation models showed that TA was largely a function of Neuroticism, and that CSE and SAI do not contribute to the prediction of TA over established personality traits. Furthermore, the relationship between CSE and TA was fully accounted for by personality traits, whereas SAI was not a significant predictor of TA. The results undermine the notion that self-beliefs affect TA and suggest that wider dispositions play a salient role determining individual differences in TA. Theoretical and applied implications are discussed, particularly in regards to educational settings.     

雅典奥运会之前和期间与一名急流回旋划艇教练合作

1 急流回旋划艇运动及心理要求 急流回旋划艇运动在斯洛伐克很流行,也是最成功的运动项目之一.雅典奥运会的赛道是在赛前一年建好的,是难度最大的赛道之一,因为赛道充满了咸水,浮力很大,被称作"泡沫"赛道.水流会随时变化,使得运动员会在一瞬间碰到好的或坏的水流.女子激流回旋皮艇比赛分为3轮,在两天内完成.运动员们必须在第一天参加预赛,前30名运动员进入第二天的半决赛,成绩最好的前10名运动员进入决赛.     

Implicit and explicit attitudes towards sport among young elite athletes with high versus low burnout symptoms

The development of cynical attitudes towards elite sport is a core symptom of athlete burnout and has been associated with dropout from elite sport. To date, this phenomenon has mainly been studied by investigating explicit attitudes towards sport, whereas athletes’ automatic evaluations (i.e. implicit attitudes) that have been shown to influence behavior as well were not considered. This study aimed to compare explicit and implicit attitudes towards sport of young elite athletes with high (N = 24) versus low (N = 26) burnout symptoms. Using self-reported measures, general and athlete burnout symptoms were assessed. Additionally, a single-target implicit association test was administered to examine participants’ automatic evaluation of sport. Statistical analysis revealed greater emotional/physical exhaustion and sport devaluation in athletes reporting high compared to low burnout symptoms. Implicit attitudes towards sport did not significantly differ between the groups. Furthermore, no significant correlations were observed between different athlete burnout symptoms and implicit attitudes. Athletes with high burnout symptoms show a tendency to explicitly detach themselves from sport, thus fostering sport devaluation as a core symptom of athlete burnout. However, this process does not seem to be reflected in their implicit attitudes towards sport.     

Consumer databases as practical accomplishments: the making of digital objects in three movements

This paper aims to reflect on some key issues linked to the production of digital objects in business settings. In doing so, it problematizes current social science scholarship, which emphasizes the analysis of digital data and analytics, and reinforces the magnitude of its consequences and ‘data power’. The paper proposes making three corrective ‘movements’ that might enrich our approaches to how databases and analytics are assembled in business settings. The first movement involves the problem of ethnographic access to data-making practices. We propose taking seriously the issue of fabricating an ethnographic encounter where the process of making digital objects is exposed. The second movement concerns the visibility and the type of politics taking place in data practices. We argue for the need to displace attention from data impacts and results to the myriad of mundane practices and devices through which these objects are assembled. The third movement we suggest requires a focus on examining error and failure as key aspects of the manufacturing of consumer databases. Each of these movements is illustrated by ethnographic vignettes from a 9-month ethnographic experiment that involved participating in the first stages of the manufacturing of an online financial retail company's consumer database.     

Classification of lunge biomechanics with multiple and individual inertial measurement units

Lunges are a common, compound lower limb resistance exercise. If completed with aberrant technique, the increased stress on the joints used may increase risk of injury. This study sought to first investigate the ability of inertial measurement units (IMUs), when used in isolation and combination, to (a) classify acceptable and aberrant lunge technique (b) classify exact deviations in lunge technique. We then sought to investigate the most important features and establish the minimum number of top-ranked features and decision trees that are needed to maintain maximal system classification efficacy. Eighty volunteers performed the lunge with acceptable form and 11 deviations. Five IMUs positioned on the lumbar spine, thighs, and shanks recorded these movements. Time and frequency domain features were extracted from the IMU data and used to train and test a variety of classifiers. A single-IMU system achieved 83% accuracy, 62% sensitivity, and 90% specificity in binary classification and a five-IMU system achieved 90% accuracy, 80% sensitivity, and 92% specificity. A five-IMU set-up can also detect specific deviations with 70% accuracy. System efficiency was improved and classification quality was maintained when using only 20% of the top-ranked features for training and testing classifiers.     

Rethinking the ownership of information in the 21st century: Ethical implications

This paper discusses basic concepts and recentdevelopments in intellectual property ownership in theUnited States. Various philosophical arguments havepreviously been put forward to support the creation andmaintenance of intellectual property systems. However, in an age of information, access toinformation is a critical need and should beguaranteed for every citizen. Any right of controlover the information, adopted as an incentive toencourage creation and distribution of intellectualproperty, should be subservient to an overriding needto ensure access to the information. The principlesunderlying intellectual property regimes in the UnitedStates recognize and embody this. In addition, thephilosophical/ethical dimensions of this debate couldalso be structured to support this attitude as well. Intellectual property is fast becoming digitalproperty. New technologies allow owners to extendtheir control of both legitimate uses and misuses ofthe intellectual property. Recent trends demonstratethat the access principle has not always beenparamount in judicial or legislative applications. Thetrend rather is to allow a proprietarianism factor todominate the analysis. Finally, several principles areforwarded which would assist adjudicators and policymakers in reaffirming the basic purpose of theintellectual property law, which is to benefit thepublic at large.     

Comparing Imitation Responding and IBT for children with ASD,a preschool intervention

The present study examined the effectiveness of two interventions, Imitation Responding (IR) and Intensive Behavior Treatment (IBT) used as initial treatment programs for autistic children enrolled in ordinary preschools. The interventions were carried out by parents and/or preschool teachers with supervision from Child Adolescent Habilitation and Health Clinics. Children were randomly assigned to either the IR group or the IBT group. The IR group received a new focused imitation treatment averaging 2.2 hours per week, while the children in the IBT group received 14.4 hours treatment per week. The outcome was measured with subscales from PEP‐3 and Vineland‐II, covering language and social domains. The between‐group comparison revealed no significant differences in effect of treatment during the 5 months that encompassed the period from pre‐ to posttest. Within‐group comparisons revealed significant changes on four subscales for the IR‐group, with the highest effect sizes for play and expressive language, while for the children in the IBT‐group a significant gain was evident for five subscales with the highest effect sizes observed for expressive and receptive language. These findings suggest that IR can be used as an initial and complementary method in settings where IBT is usually the primary treatment of choice.     

Twelve weeks of low volume sprint interval training improves cardio-metabolic health outcomes in overweight females

This study compared the effects of 12-week sprint interval training (SIT), high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and moderate-intensity continuous training (MICT) on cardiorespiratory fitness (V?O_2peak), body mass and insulin sensitivity in overweight females. Forty-two overweight women (age 21.2 ± 1.4 years, BMI 26.3 ± 2.5 kg·m^?2) were randomized to the groups of SIT (80 × 6-s sprints + 9-s rest), and isoenergetic (300KJ) HIIT (~9 × 4-min cycling at 90% V?O_2peak + 3-min rest) and MICT (cycling at 60% V?O_2peak for ~ 61-min). Training intervention was performed 3 d·week^?1 for 12 weeks. After intervention, all three groups induced the same improvement in V?O_2peak (~ +25%, p < 0.001) and a similar reduction in body mass (~ – 5%, p < 0.001). Insulin sensitivity and fasting insulin levels were improved significantly on post-training measures in SIT and HIIT by ~26% and ~39% (p < 0.01), respectively, but remain unchanged in MICT. In contrast, fasting glucose levels were only reduced with MICT (p < 0.01). The three training strategies are equally effective in improving V?O_2peak and reducing body mass, however, the SIT is time-efficient. High-intensity training (i.e. SIT and HIIT) seems to be more beneficial than MICT in improving insulin sensitivity.

Abbreviations: BMI: body mass index; CVD: cardiovascular disease; HIEG: hyperinsulinaemic euglycaemic glucose; HIIT: high-intensity interval training; HOMA-IR: homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance; HR: heart rate; MICT: moderate-intensity continuous training; RPE: ratings of perceived exertion; SIT: sprint interval training; T2D: type 2 diabetes; V?O_2peak: peak oxygen consumption     

Soft skills in higher education: importance and improvement ratings as a function of individual differences and academic performance

Three UK studies on the relationship between a purpose‐built instrument to assess the importance and development of 15 ‘soft skills’ are reported. Study 1 (N = 444) identified strong latent components underlying these soft skills, such that differences between‐skills were over‐shadowed by differences between‐students. Importance and improving ratings on these skills predicted academic performance and accounted for the effects of personality on academic performance. Study 2 replicated the structure of the soft skills inventory and associations with academic performance in a larger sample (N = 1309). Examination of mean differences across faculties (humanities, life sciences, hard sciences) revealed higher soft skills ratings in ‘softer’ courses. Study 3 (N = 87) incorporated an IQ measure, which was found to be negatively related to importance ratings on soft skills. Results highlight the cohesive structure of beliefs concerning various non‐academic skills and their significant links to educationally relevant individual differences. Theoretical, methodological and applied implications are considered.