Development of implanted deaf children’s conversational skills

Previous studies of preverbal development have highlighted the recurrent difficulties experienced by deaf children in acquiring knowledge of the social rules and social skills pertaining to discourse. We expected cochlear implants in children with bilateral profound deafness to improve their use of verbal language, so that their communication skill profile resembled that of younger, hearing children. Using conversation samples taken from videos recorded every 6 months over a 2-year period, we monitored the development of communication skills in a group of 18 prelingually profoundly deaf children (mean implantation age, 3 years and 5 months). Results corroborated our hypothesis that the overall communication performances of children with cochlear implants improve, both quantitatively and qualitatively, as early as the first year post-implantation.     

Estimation of reaction forces in high bar swinging

Reaction forces experienced by gymnasts swinging on the high bar may be determined indirectly using inverse dynamics analysis or may be measured using strain gauges. The accuracy of inverse dynamics analysis may be poor because of errors in the estimated inertia parameters and in the accelerations obtained from digitized data. On the other hand the use of strain gauges is not always possible in elite competition. This paper presents a method for estimating the reaction forces based on the linear displacements of the bar. The bar was modelled as a point mass attached to horizontal and vertical linear springs (obeying Hooke’s law) with stiffness coefficients determined from static loading. The stiffness coefficients of the bar were determined with three different tensions in the stabilizing cables of the high bar. A force and video analysis of backward giant circles was performed. Estimates for the reaction forces were obtained by multiplying the bar displacements from the video analysis by the stiffness coefficients determined from the static loadings. Comparisons were made between the estimated reaction forces and the reaction forces recorded using strain gauges attached to the high bar. Varying the tension in the stabilizing cables of the high bar did not effect the stiffness of the bar. Root mean squared differences between estimated and recorded reaction forces were on average within 99 N for three ‘regular’ and three ‘accelerated’ giant circles. This was less than 3.5% of the range of forces recorded. The bar displacement method was able to estimate the peak reaction forces to within 7% on average, which compares favourably with 24% reported by Gervais (1993) using inverse dynamics.     

Muscle oxygenation and EMG activity during isometric exercise in children

The aim of this study was to examine the time-course of and the relationships between muscle oxygenation, blood volume and myoelectrical manifestations during isometric exercise in children. Twelve healthy children aged 12.5 +/- 1.2 years (mean +/- s) performed an isometric knee extension at 50% of their maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) until exhaustion to assess endurance time (limit time, T(lim)). Changes in muscle oxygenation and blood volume were assessed by near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). The root mean square (RMS) amplitude and the mean power frequency (MPF) from electromyogram (EMG) signals were obtained, as NIRS parameters, from the vastus lateralis. Mean T(lim) was 117 +/- 34 s. The muscle oxygenation and blood volume curves decreased immediately at the beginning of exercise. Maximal deoxygenation occurred at 50% T(lim), and fell by 76.9% from the resting value. Similarly, minimal blood volume was observed at 50% T(lim); it reached a plateau that lasted until the end of exercise. The kinetics of the MPF and RMS curves were inversely related to time. At the last set of exercises (after 75% T(lim)), a steeper RMS curve and an abrupt decrease in the MPF curve were observed. Significant correlations (r) between muscle oxygenation, blood volume, root mean square amplitude and mean power frequency were observed, which ranged from 0.72 to 0.99. These findings suggest that the fatigue resulting from sustained isometric exercise is related to a decrease in oxygenation and blood volume.     

Making memories available: a framework for preserving rural heritage through community knowledge management (cKM)

While most of the research in Knowledge Management (KM) has focused on business communities, there is a breadth of potential applications of KM theory and practice to wider society. This paper explores the potential of KM for rural communities, specifically for those that want to preserve their social history and collective memories (what we call heritage) to enrich the lives of others. In KM terms, this is a task of accumulating and recording knowledge (using KM techniques such as story-telling and communities of practice) to enable its retention for future use (by interested people perhaps through KM systems). We report a case study of Cardrona, a valley of approximately 120 people in New Zealand's South Island. Realising that time would erode knowledge of their community a small, motivated group of residents initiated a KM programme to create a legacy for a wider community including younger generations, tourists and scholars. This paper applies KM principles to rural communities that want to harness their collective knowledge for wider societal gain, and develops a community-based framework to inform such initiatives. As a result, we call for a wider conceptualisation of KM to include motives for managing knowledge beyond business performance to accommodate community (cKM).     

Policy and Practice in Assessment in Anglophone Africa: Does globalisation explain convergence?

This paper explores policy and practice in assessment in developing countries in anglophone Africa in the context of globalisation. A simple interpretation of some globalisation theory suggests that there should be a convergence in the form and content of assessment following on from innovations in practice in metropolitan countries, in this case England. The analysis of assessment instruments shows that there has indeed been some convergence across the nine African cases examined, but that this is not best explained by the adoption of innovations current in the metropole. More powerful explanations are grounded in the structural similarity between the African systems. Amongst other things this leads to gaps between the rhetoric of assessment reform and the reality of assessment practice. These persist despite consistent projections in the assessment literature (both national and international) and in externally supported curriculum and assessment projects of what should be valued, what should be assessed, and what may be relevant to future employment.