Google Scholar's Coverage of the Engineering Literature 10 years Later

In 2008 Meier and Conkling first tested Google Scholar's coverage of the engineering literature against citations gathered from the Compendex database. Since that time, other studies have used the same methodology and found improvement in Google Scholar's coverage. This study uses engineering dissertations from Proquest Dissertations & Theses to create a data set of citations for the comparison of fee-based databases, Compendex and Scopus, against Google Scholar. From 1950 to 2017 Google Scholar outperformed both Compendex and Scopus in discoverability of citations in nine engineering subjects. These results have implications for collection management and information literacy program planning for librarians.     

The Development of Chemical Language Usage by “Non-traditional” Students: the Interlanguage Analogy

Research in Science Education - Students commonly find specialist scientific language problematic. This study investigated developments in chemical language usage by six non-traditional students...     

Math Fluency: Accuracy Versus Speed in Preoperational and Concrete Operational First and Second Grade Children

Cognitive abilities as well as math fluency play an important role in mathematical skills. Understanding the relationship between cognitive abilities and mathematical skills is imperative to teaching effective arithmetic skills. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between cognitive ability and math fluency with 38 first and second grade elementary aged children. Results demonstrate that preoperational children lacked the speed of concrete operational children but achieved comparable levels of accuracy when completing arithmetic problems.     

Inclusion in Malaysian integrated preschools

Inclusive education has been introduced through a number of policy developments in Malaysia over the last 10 years but there is little research investigating the extent and nature of inclusive education for preschoolers with special educational needs (SEN). This study surveyed both regular and special education teachers in Malaysian integrated preschools asking them about the level and nature of inclusion taking place in their preschools and their perceptions and beliefs about inclusion. There was little evidence of practices of inclusion taking place. Both regular and special educators agreed that SEN should be educated alongside their peers in a school but were unlikely to agree that the SEN students should be in the same classroom. Factors identified as influencing inclusion included school culture, skills and competency, guidance and information, workload and students' disabilities. More guidelines and support are required for successful inclusion in Malaysian integrated preschools.     

From Interaction to Intersubjectivity: Facilitating online group discourse processes

This article examines the online discourse that took place in representative threads from two classes, seeking to document indicators that students did or did not engage in co‐construction of knowledge. Stahl's (2006 Stahl, G. 2006. Group cognition: Computer support for building collaborative knowledge, Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.  [Google Scholar]) social theory of computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is used along with discourse analysis methods to examine these course dialogues. Findings show the class that had a peer‐like, consistent facilitative instructor and discussion anchored around questions and shared artifacts was more likely to engage in discussion leading to the negotiation of knowledge and understanding. This class relied on social acknowledgements, questions, and shared exploration of perspectives and theories throughout their discussion. These elements and strategies appear to be important components that make up for lower levels of tacit understanding in online environments, thus enabling learners to interact in social learning processes. The other class, which lacked a facilitative instructor, did not have the same results. Although interaction levels were equal and students carried topical motifs such as the phrase “faster, better, cheaper” from message to message, students in this other class did not engage deeply or develop new understanding of the course material through the discussion.     

Behind the Findings: Yes,the Science Explorations Program Worked,but Why?

Abstract The Science Explorations program was developed by the Milwaukee Public Museum (MPM) out of a desire to use the unique resources of MPM to advance informal science education and to address a community need of local and national concern: improving science education and accessibility for underserved audiences. In 2002, with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and private donors, MPM launched this after‐school program for a target group of urban, mostly minority, middle school girls, a group at risk for underachievement in science and technology. The museum staff built a combined program with five middle schools and also sought to reach out to family members of the participating girls in order to increase support for the young women's science endeavors. A three‐year evaluation of the Science Explorations program demonstrated positive findings from primarily quantitative data. An aim of this article is to present findings from the qualitative data to shed light on the reasons this program met nearly all of its targets. Findings from case studies and qualitative interviews suggest that the museum staff's efforts to demystify science—a process that provided ongoing access to real scientific endeavors and invited personal contact with scientists—influenced the program's success. Findings also suggest that strong school liaisons may help increase family support for young women's scientific pursuits, which can in turn play a role in their success in this program.     

The Hit & Turn Tennis Test: An acoustically controlled endurance test for tennis players

Abstract

This study was conducted to validate and evaluate the “Hit & Turn Tennis Test”, an acoustically progressive on-court endurance test for tennis players. Ninety-eight competitive tennis players (53 males, 45 females) of different age groups participated in the study. For validation, the adult male players completed three Hit & Turn tests, one on a clay court and two on a carpet surface, a tennis-specific ball machine test and an incremental treadmill run in a randomized order. A stronger correlation between maximal performance (r = 0.81, P < 0.01) and maximal oxygen uptake (r = 0.96, P < 0.01) was observed between the Hit & Turn test and the ball machine test, than between the Hit & Turn test and the treadmill test. For test–retest, we found a significant correlation between maximal performance on the same (r = 0.83, P < 0.01) and on different surfaces (r = 0.74, P < 0.01). During test evaluation, maximal performance was higher in males than in females (P < 0.01) and increased by consecutive age group in boys (P < 0.01) but not in girls (P = 0.97). In conclusion, Hit & Turn maximum test performance can be recommended as a valid and reliable indicator for tennis-specific endurance.     

Coeducational and single-sex physical education: students’ situational interest in learning tasks centred on technical skills

Background: A student’s choice to engage in a learning task is highly related to the student’s environmental stimuli and his or her perception of interest. From this perspective, the construct of situational interest (SI) has been used to interpret students’ motivation in task engagement. SI is assumed to be transitory, environmentally activated, and context specific. It has been conceptualized as a multidimensional construct with five dimensions: instant enjoyment, exploration intention, attention demand, novelty, and challenge. Few prior studies have compared SI between girls and boys in physical education (PE) contexts, and these studies have offered contrasting findings. They were conducted in coeducational (coed) or single-sex contexts and used learning tasks centred on a variety of outcomes: technical or tactical skills, creativity and cultural understanding.

Purpose: In the context of the debate on single-sex and coed classes in PE, this study aimed to estimate the effects of single-sex and coed PE classes on students’ situational interest (SI) within learning tasks centred on technical skills. The researchers decided to study learning tasks centred on the development of students’ technical skills, since these tasks are often used by teachers in PE.

Participants: The sample consisted of 177 Swiss secondary school students, aged 11–17 years (M?=?14.07, SD?=?1.41, 96 boys, 81 girls).

Data collection: The students completed the French 15-item SI Scale after practising a technical learning task in single-sex and coed PE contexts. The researchers chose five physical activities (i.e. athletics, basketball, dance, gymnastics, and volleyball), which are commonly taught in the state of Vaud (Switzerland) and provide a balance between masculine and feminine activities.

Data analysis: A two-way repeated-measures MANOVA was performed to examine the main and interaction effects of student sex and class sex composition on the five SI dimensions.

Findings: The results showed a main effect of class sex composition on student SI but no main effect of student sex and no interaction effect of student sex and class sex composition. More precisely, the scores for three SI dimensions (i.e. instant enjoyment, exploration intention, and attention demand) were higher in the coed context than in the single-sex context.

Conclusions: This study encourages teachers to propose coed PE classes to enhance students’ motivation and engagement when practising learning tasks centred on technical skills. This study offers supplementary evidence of the teacher’s role in promoting student SI. Beyond accounting for students’ dispositional factors (e.g. sex), PE teachers can significantly impact students’ SI in technical learning tasks through instructional choices.     

Transition Services for Students with Intellectual Disabilities: A Case Study of a Public School Program on a Community College Campus

Students with intellectual disabilities aged 18–21 are increasingly receiving transition services on college campuses during the last years of public schooling. These students may attend college courses, work in the community, access community recreational activities, and engage in age-appropriate experiences with peers without disabilities. However, there is little research that documents the types of practices included, the perspectives of consumers, or the outcomes of these transition services. Results from this case study depict how one public school program on a community college campus incorporated recommended transition practices and how students with intellectual disabilities and their families perceived these practices.     

New insights into brazilwood lake pigments manufacture through the use of historically accurate reconstructions

A multi-analytical approach for the study of brazilwood and its lake pigments was carried out based on historically accurate reconstructions. Recipes for brazilwood lakes from the fifteenth century technical text Livro de como se fazem as cores and the Winsor & Newton nineteenth century colourman's archive were reproduced and compared. Both primary sources allowed for the successful preparation of brazilwood lake pigments with colours that vary from light pink to dark red. The main steps and ingredients for the manufacture of these pigments were common in both sources, particularly the addition of Al³⁺ in the form of alum, and calcium carbonate (chalk). Reconstructions revealed that the latter acts as a pH buffer and filler, controlling the pH at which the lake pigment precipitates. The main difference between the two sources is that the nineteenth century recipes give the quantities for all ingredients, the precise temperatures and time, and achieved higher relative pigment yields (75% versus 45%). Full chemical characterisation of the reconstructions provided detailed information on the individual steps in the pigment manufacture and revealed that the presence of calcium sulphate dihydrate (gypsum) in the final pigment was a result of its formation in situ. Infrared, reflectance, and fluorescence spectroscopy proved to be essential and complementary techniques: while infrared was used to characterise additives and binders, reflectance and fluorescence data were fundamental for identifying the chromophore. The pigments and paints produced can now be used as standards for the identification and investigation of brazilwood lake pigments found in artworks.