Peripheral vision and simple catching: The screen paradigm revisted

The importance of effector visual feedback has previously been indicated using an opaque screen to prevent sight of the catching hand for the final 150–200 ms of a flight path of 850 ms in total. Attention was drawn to the finding that the ability to position the arm correctly in the line of flight of the ball deteriorated as a consequence of the number of trials without visual feedback. However, the use of only 20 test trials allows a possibility that the proprioceptive system may be able to re‐establish predominant control under conditions of prolonged visual decrement. In order to verify this notion, the number of experimental trials was quadrupled for 24 subjects of mixed sex in a replication of the initial paradigm.

The results provided preliminary support for the view that the positioning of the catching arm is more seriously affected by visual occlusion than the timing of the grasp phase. However, increments in accuracy of limb orientation were evidenced in all screen conditions, as the number of trials increased. The grasp component of one‐handed catching appeared to remain unaffected by the increase in experimental trials. The relative influence of skill level on catching errors was next addressed by comparing the performance of the six best and worst catchers in the group.

The results did not support previous research which found a relation between skill level and error type. The number of position, but not grasp, errors decreased as a function of task practice for both subgroups. Future investigations should, perhaps, focus on the developmental nature of movement control in one‐handed catching to obtain a clearer picture of this relation.     

People with Disabilities in China: Changing outlook— new solutions— growing problems

One new child is born with a serious disability every 40 seconds in China. With the number of people with a disability already exceeding 50,000,000 (approaching the size of the whole population of the UK) it can be seen that this rapidly developing third world country is facing a monumental task in rehabilitation and education. This paper does not attempt to offer solutions, but describes the variety and complexities of the problems facing the People’s Republic of China at the present time and makes estimates of its future needs. It also describes some of the ways China is trying to deal with the problems and gives a realistic appraisal of the difficulties faced by academic, clinical, and social welfare authorities.     

The Long-Term Conservation of the Australopithecus-bearing Member 4 Excavation Walls at the Sterkfontein Caves,South Africa

The Sterkfontein Caves UNESCO World Heritage site represents one of South Africa’s most valuable cultural heritage resources and is one of the world’s most prolific palaeoanthropological sites with its fossiliferous deposits spanning the last 3.5 million years. One of the most famous fossil-bearing deposits at Sterkfontein is the 2.5 million-year-old Member 4. This is the world’s richest Australopithecus-bearing deposit and has yielded iconic fossils like StS 5 – Mrs Ples, StW 53, two partial skeletons, and two species of Australopithecus. After 80 years of research, Member 4 continues to provide crucial evidence for human origins research. Over the last 35 years, since excavation of the Member 4 started exposing the walls of the deposit, their deterioration has been accelerating. The implications of this deterioration and impending collapse are severe, not only from a palaeoanthropological perspective but also a heritage management point of view. This article focuses on our efforts to conserve the deteriorating areas of the Member 4 excavation site. The project required the development of a comprehensive set of strategies that had to be adapted to the specific requirements of the national and local heritage management agencies and remain sensitive to ongoing research programmes. The strategy developed included: multiscale integrative documentation of the exposed deposits; comprehensive, independent but cohesive stabilization of the different components of the deposit while maintaining visibility for ongoing and future research; and installation of stabilization infrastructure that could be adapted to the long-term conservation excavation plan while maintaining deposit integrity and site safety.     

Evaluating the effects of team-skills training on subjective workload

This study evaluated the impact of a team-skills training intervention on students’ subjective experience of workload when working in collaborative groups. Three cohorts of students (N = 295) taking an undergraduate degree unit were compared across three successive years, in which presence or absence of training was varied. Students in trained groups reported lower levels of subjective workload than those in untrained groups and also performed better across a range of academic exercises. This effect was moderated by whether students were regrouped half-way through the academic year. Results are discussed in terms of theories of team-skill acquisition and issues in skill transferability caused by regrouping.     

The impact of scienceware and foundations on students' attitudes towards science and science classes

In this paper, we describe changes in students' ideas about science classes, attitudes about science, and motivations for studying science, in a classroom designed to support projectbased science learing. Using a survey designed to provide a measure of students' attitudes towards science classes and science, we have compared students enrolled in a traditional high school biology course, with students enrolled in an integrated, project-based science course called Foundations I. Survey responses were analyzed to look at differences between and within two groups of students over the course of one school year. In general, the results of this study suggest that providing students with opportunities to collect and analyze their own data in science classes results in a change in students' ideas about science classrooms. Foundations I students' increased tendency to agree with statements about using information, drawing conclusions, and thinking about problems, implies a change in their understanding of what it means to do science in school. These students, in contrast to students in the traditional Biology course, no longer describe their science experience as one of memorization, textbook reading, and test taking. Instead they see science class as a place in which they can collect data, draw conclusions, and formulate and solve problems.     

Down Syndrome is for Life

This paper is concerned with changing attitudes to Down syndrome over the years from early times. It looks back at the place of people with Down syndrome and argues that it is part of our rich biological inheritance rather than a condition to be pitied. The biological basis of the condition is outlined and how the search for a cause affected professional and public feelings towards those with Down syndrome and their families. Changing medical and educational treatment is discussed and the challenges facing those who care for adults with Down syndrome who can now enjoy a longer life expectancy, but it is made clear that this must be a life worth living with a reasonable degree of independence. The paper concludes with accounts of changing attitudes and treatment in developing countries and how there is a growing universal movement to bring these people more into the community.     

Secondary Students' Dynamic Modeling Processes: Analyzing,Reasoning About,Synthesizing, and Testing Models of Stream Ecosystems

In this paper, we explore dynamic modeling as an opportunity for students to think about the science content they are learning. We examined the Cognitive Strategies for Modeling (CSMs) in which students engaged as they created dynamic models. We audio- and videotape-recorded eight pairs of ninth grade science students and analyzed their conversations and actions. In analyzing appropriate objects and factors for their model, some students merely enumerated potential factors whereas others engaged in rich, substantial, mindful analysis. In reasoning about their models, students discussed relationships in depth, concentrated only on the most important key relationships, or encountered difficulty distinguishing between causal and correlational relationships. In synthesizing working models, students mapped their model to aid visualization, focused on their goal, or talked about their model's appearance or form. Students attempted to articulate explanations for their relationships, but sometimes their explanations were shallow. In testing their models, some students tested thoroughly but only a few persisted in debugging their model's behavior so that it matched their expectations. In our conclusion we suggest that creating dynamic models has great potential for use in classrooms to engage students in thought about science content, particularly in those thinking strategies best fostered by dynamic modeling: analysis, relational reasoning, synthesis, testing and debugging, and making explanations.     

Voice in Digital Education: The Impact of Instructor's Perceived Age and Gender on Student Learning and Evaluation

Instructor evaluations are influenced by implicit age and gender bias, with lower ratings and negative feedback given to instructors believed to stray from stereotypical age and gender norms. Female instructors exhibiting typically male-associated qualities such as leadership and authority, are often negatively impacted. Implicit bias also influences evaluation of digital resources and instructors, regardless of students' positive learning outcomes. As digital learning resources become the norm in education, it is crucial to explore the impact of implicit bias at various educational levels. In this study, undergraduate and graduate students were randomly exposed to one of five digital tutorials; four experimental tutorials presenting identical anatomy content with narrators of different gender and age, and a control tutorial featuring origami (paper folding) instructions without audio. Learning outcomes were measured by pre-quiz vs. post-quiz comparisons using repeated measures MANOVA. Implicit bias was analyzed by evaluation response comparisons using repeated measures MANOVA and three-way MANOVA. Post-quiz scores increased significantly in the four experimental groups (P < 0.05) but not in the control (P = 0.99). The increased performance was not statistically different across the four experimental groups (P > 0.26), suggesting that learning occurred irrespective of the instructor gender and age. Students' evaluations were consistently higher for the experimental resources than the control. There was no significant difference in evaluations across the four experimental groups but compared to the control, younger male and younger female narrators received significantly higher ratings for approachability, acceptance, inclusivity, and care for student learning. The study highlights important considerations for digital resources development and interpretation of student evaluations.