The assessment of minority students: Are adaptive behavior scales the answer?

The use of adaptive behavior scales in the assessment of minority children was discussed. Postive and negative characteristics of the scales developed by Mercer and Lambert were identified and discussed. Recommendations included cautions for the use of such scales in the evaluation of culturally different minority children.     

Kinematic analysis of the double side kick in pointfighting,kickboxing

The double side kick is a frequently used technique in pointfighting on which most offensive kicking techniques are based on. The aim of the study was to identify parameters, e.g., trunk and leg positions, durations and velocities that affect successful technique execution.

44 fighters, male and female, including European and World champions, participated in the research. The participants performed double side kicks to a punching bag with the target at chest level. 10 international experts scored (1–10 points; interrater correlation ICC (3,1): 0.952) videos of the best individual trial for quality of technique execution. Based on the average of the scores participants were categorised into 2 equally sized groups. For kinematic data acquisition, a Vicon 3D-motion capturing system was used. The normalised knee height of the kick leg (KHK), normalised absolute distance to the frontal shoulder (DKS) at the end of both chambering phases, the horizontal velocity during both chambering phases (KEV), the durations of all 6 functional phases and total duration, were analysed.

KHK1, KHK2, DKS1 and DKS2, total duration as well as 4 out of 6 phase durations and KEV1 showed significant differences between groups in two-sided t-test or Mann–Whitney U-test for not normally distributed variables.     

Developing Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Online Technical Communication Programs: Emerging Frameworks at University of Texas at El Paso

ABSTRACT

This article addresses emerging calls for online education and cross-cultural technical communication training, specifically by outlining and reporting on the development and sustainability of two online programs: the graduate online technical and professional writing certificate and the emerging undergraduate bilingual professional writing certificate at the University of Texas at El Paso. Data presented suggest cultural and linguistic diversity should be embedded and streamlined across all aspects of online technical communication programs.     

Use of Social Emotional Learning Skills to Predict Future Academic Success and Progress Toward Graduation

This study evaluated the degree to which a range of social emotional learning skills—academic self-efficacy, academic motivation, social connections, importance of school, and managing psychological and emotional distress and academic stress— could be used as an indicator of future academic outcomes. Using a sample of 4,797 from a large urban school district, we found that high school students classified as performing in the lowest 25% of their grade reported lower social emotional skills than students classified in the top 25% of academic performers by the end of the 8th grade. Two variables, perceived importance of attending college and psychological and physical stress, accounted for nearly 26% of the variance in cumulative high school GPA after controlling for 9th-grade GPA. Finally, the results indicated that a combination of 5 social emotional learning subscales effectively discriminated between students making positive progress towards high school graduation and those identified as having dropped out of or failed more than 14% of their courses.     

Ubiquitous computing in sports: A review and analysis

Abstract

Ubiquitous (pervasive) computing is a term for a synergetic use of sensing, communication and computing. Pervasive use of computing has seen a rapid increase in the current decade. This development has propagated in applied sport science and everyday life.

The work presents a survey of recent developments in sport and leisure with emphasis on technology and computational techniques. A detailed analysis on new technological developments is performed. Sensors for position and motion detection, and such for equipment and physiological monitoring are discussed. Aspects of novel trends in communication technologies and data processing are outlined.

Computational advancements have started a new trend – development of smart and intelligent systems for a wide range of applications – from model-based posture recognition to context awareness algorithms for nutrition monitoring. Examples particular to coaching and training are discussed. Selected tools for monitoring rules' compliance and automatic decision-making are outlined. Finally, applications in leisure and entertainment are presented, from systems supporting physical activity to systems providing motivation.

It is concluded that the emphasis in future will shift from technologies to intelligent systems that allow for enhanced social interaction as efforts need to be made to improve user-friendliness and standardisation of measurement and transmission protocols.     

Advancing the literate behaviors of a Hmong American fifth grader through cross‐age,paired, interactive tutoring

The adoption and teaching of multicultural education appears not to have transformed society's responses to difference in any obvious way. Consequently, it is proposed that multicultural education, as it is currently practiced, which focuses on teaching about other cultures, be refocused in favor of moral education, which will provide participants with a set of moral principles they can refer to when confronted by difference. To arrive at this proposal, a context is constructed, in which the disputatious nature of the concept, culture, is presented. This shows its controversial nature, yet it is used as an unproblematised point of departure in multicultural education. Social constructions of culture are then discussed and these are shown to be caricatures of what culture really is; yet these caricatures are often communicated as being representative of people's cultures. Finally, it is contended that the political dimension of multicultural education is not confronted; yet this dimension is crucial to our understanding of the asymmetrical relations of power that continue to characterize multicultural societies, and this is perpetuated by unchallenged assumptions that are made in the teaching of multicultural education.     

Near-peer teaching in an anatomy course with a low faculty-to-student ratio

Near-peer teaching is an educational format which utilizes tutors who are more advanced in a curriculum's content to supervise students' activities and to act as instructors in laboratory settings. This format is often used in anatomy laboratory courses. The goal of the present study is to describe the design and implementation of near-peer teaching in an anatomy course and to evaluate students' perceptions of the program. A total of 700 students were registered for this anatomy course which employed near-peer instructors. Of enrolled students, 558 (79.7%) agreed to participate in this study. In general, the practical section (e.g., the clinical hour, image-based anatomy session, and gross anatomy laboratory) of the course was viewed more favorably compared to the theory section (54.8%, n = 306), with dissection and prosection in the laboratory rated as the most valued experiences (34.9%, n = 195). Near-peer teaching is a viable option that satisfies the demands of modern curricula using small groups. This format stimulates learning within courses that have large numbers of students and low faculty-to-student ratios.