The nature of cognitive style and its relationship to educational performance

A survey is made of the literature relating to a number of dimensions of cognitive style, from which it is concluded that cognitive style has a strong theoretical potential as a predictor of academic performance. It is also noted that there have been few attempts to relate co gnitive style to academic performance, and that these have met with limited success. On the assumption that theories of individual differences should be congruent with theories of general functioning, an examination is made of the model of cognition presupposed by ,dimen sions of cognitive style. A central feature of this model is the distinction between cognitive content and cognitive structure. The origins of this distinction are traced back to the normative and experimental or quasi-experimental characteristics of research in psychology. The validity of the distinction is examined with reference to modern research findings, and the conclusion is drawn that the norma~ive experimental method is an increasingly inappropriate tool of research when applied to higher levels of cognitive functioning, as it cannot handle subject idiosyncracy or patterns of interaction. An examination of the presuppositions of educational research leads to the complementary conclusion that the research methods imply an oversimplified model of the educational situation. Two empirical studies are reported: (1) An experiment using conventional cognitive style dimensions as predictors of performance under two teaching methods (2) An attempt to predict individual differences in overall academic performance by means of a research technique which uses a questionnaire, intra-individual scoring, and an analysis of patterns of responses, and which attempts to take some account of subject idiosyncracy. The implifications of these studies for fUrther research are noted.

Design and evaluation for the future of m-interaction

Mobile technology has been one of the major growth areas in computing over recent years (Urbaczewski, Valacich, & Jessup, 2003). Mobile devices are becoming increasingly diverse and are continuing to shrink in size and weight. Although this increases the portability of such devices, their usability tends to suffer. Fuelled almost entirely by lack of usability, users report high levels of frustration regarding interaction with mobile technologies (Venkatesh, Ramesh, & Massey, 2003). This will only worsen if interaction design for mobile technologies does not continue to receive increasing research attention. For the commercial benefit of mobility and mobile commerce (m-commerce) to be fully realized, users’ interaction experiences with mobile technology cannot be negative. To ensure this, it is imperative that we design the right types of mobile interaction (m-interaction); an important prerequisite for this is ensuring that users’ experience meets both their sensory and functional needs (Venkatesh, Ramesh, & Massey, 2003). Given the resource disparity between mobile and desktop technologies, successful electronic commerce (e-commerce) interface design and evaluation does not necessarily equate to successful m-commerce design and evaluation. It is, therefore, imperative that the specific needs of m-commerce are addressed–both in terms of design and evaluation. This chapter begins by exploring the complexities of designing interaction for mobile technology, highlighting the effect of context on the use of such technology. It then goes on to discuss how interaction design for mobile devices might evolve, introducing alternative interaction modalities that are likely to affect that future evolution. It is impossible, within a single chapter, to consider each and every potential mechanism for interacting with mobile technologies; to provide a forward-looking flavor of what might be possible, this chapter focuses on some more novel methods of interaction and does not, therefore, look at the typical keyboard and visual display-based interaction which, in essence, stem from the desktop interaction design paradigm. Finally, this chapter touches on issues associated with effective evaluation of m-interaction and mobile application designs. By highlighting some of the issues and possibilities for novel m-interaction design and evaluation, we hope that future designers will be encouraged to “think out of the box” in terms of their designs and evaluation strategies.

Innovation in leadership development

In the light of the financial crisis and the radically changed conditions in the market place, international leadership development is facing new demands. The Danish-based International Leadership Institute Mannaz has researched the new conditions in collaboration with the Institute of Executive Development in the United States. The research, conducted in 2008 and 2009, combines, in an innovative way, quantitative and qualitative inputs, from both current and future perspectives, from some 111 senior Corporate Executives, Heads of Human Resources and of Learning and Organisational Development in large international corporations headquartered in Europe and the United States; together with the thoughts of some 50 experienced practitioners involved in executive coaching as well as in designing, developing and facilitating leadership development programmes. Also we include a section summarising the key findings from recently published research from other leadership development surveys. Conclusions reveal that the crisis has propelled a long-awaited decline of the traditional classroom-based educational approach to leadership development. Instead, effective leadership development is suggested to build on experiential learning approaches rooted in real life, real time and allowing for more immediate impact and providing for considerably higher relevance and motivation. Coaching, leaders teaching leaders, stretch assignments, action learning, peer networking, customer insights and selective use of technology are seen as important contributors to the leadership development process going forward.

Editorial:welcome to the LRN2004 annual conference special issue of the International journal of logistics: research and applications

It is a great pleasure to be Guest Editor for this issue – I hope that the papers which are included will be stimulating and support you in your ongoing research activities. A number of guiding principles were adopted in selecting the papers for inclusion in this issue. Firstly, the papers cover a wide range of logistics and supply chain management (SCM) topics. This is a reflection of the evolution of the field in recent years. In terms of the “buy-make-store-move-sell” model of SCM all the main constituent areas are addressed. Secondly, it is important that the conference issue of this Journal reflects the emphasis and content of the conference itself. I have tried to achieve this in terms of the papers included. One interesting point to note is that outsourcing is a theme which is a major issue in a number of papers. This reflects the increasing importance of this issue to organisations of all kinds and sizes. Economic globalisation and the trend towards vertical disintegration of supply chain architectures have sharpened the focus on outsourcing as a key element of supply chain strategy. The need to move beyond the notion that sourcing of certain activities can be some kind of panacea in evident from the relevant contributions. Thirdly, the LRN Annual Conference has become a more international event in recent years...the number of delegates and papers presented from outside the UK has continued to grow. The papers collected in this issue reflect this internationalization. Two papers are worthy of particular comment from an LRN perspective. The contribution by Jaafar and Rafiq has been developed from the submission which won the best paper prize at the LRN 2004 event. The paper by Pettit and Beresford is based on research which was supported by LRN seed corn funding. It was developed form the final report on this work submitted to CITL (UK) via the LRN. The seed corn funding is an important mechanism whereby the LRN supports research in innovative aspects of logistics in UK universities. In many ways, the LRN2004 event in Dublin seems like a long time ago. From my point of view it was one of the most professionally rewarding activities in which I have been involved in my career. It was a time to meet old friends and new and to keep abreast of the multitude of interesting projects being undertaken in over 20 countries. There are too many people to thank for the smooth running of the event. However, my colleague John Mee does warrant a special mention. His logistical skills were seriously put to the test in the weeks and months leading up to September 9th. 2004. I want to acknowledge his particular contribution to the success of the event. Since then we have had the 2005 event at the University of Plymouth. This was again a great opportunity to network with colleagues and many congratulations are due to John Dinwoodie and his team. We now look forward to LRN 2006 in Newcastle...form my part I hope and trust that this issue provides some useful perspectives and insights into the range of topics addressed.

Issues of collaboration, representation, meaning and emotions:utilising participant-led visual diaries to capture the everyday lives of people in mid to later life

In recent years there has been an increasing use of visual methods in ageing research. There are, however, limited reflections and critical explorations of the implications of using visual methods in research with people in mid to later life. This paper examines key methodological complexities when researching the daily lives of people as they grow older and the possibilities and limitations of using participant-generated visual diaries. The paper will draw on our experiences of an empirical study, which included a sample of 62 women and men aged 50 years and over with different daily routines. Participant-led photography was drawn upon as a means to create visual diaries, followed by in-depth, photo-elicitation interviews. The paper will critically reflect on the use of visual methods for researching the daily lives of people in mid to later life, as well as suggesting some wider tensions within visual methods that warrant attention. First, we explore the extent to which photography facilitates a ‘collaborative’ research process; second, complexities around capturing the ‘everydayness’ of daily routines are explored; third, the representation and presentation of ‘self’ by participants within their images and interview narratives is examined; and, finally, we highlight particular emotional considerations in visualising daily life.

An Open Virtual World for Professional Development

The paper presents a study that focuses on the issue of sup-porting educational experts to choose the right combination of educational methodology and technology tools when designing training and learning programs. It is based on research in the field of adaptive intelligent e-learning systems. The object of study is the professional growth of teachers in technology and in particular that part of their qualification which is achieved by organizing targeted training of teachers. The article presents the process of creating and testing a system to support the decision on the design of training for teachers, leading to more effective implementation of technology in education and integration in diverse educational contexts. ACM Computing Classification System (1998): H.4.2, I.2.1, I.2, I.2.4, F.4.1.

The benefit of combining standard automated perimetry and multifocal visual evoked potential hemifield intersector analysis in suspecious glaucomatous visual field defects

Several analysis protocols have been tested to identify early visual field losses in glaucoma patients using the mfVEP technique, some were successful in detection of field defects, which were comparable to the standard SAP visual field assessment, and others were not very informative and needed more adjustment and research work. In this study we implemented a novel analysis approach and evaluated its validity and whether it could be used effectively for early detection of visual field defects in glaucoma. The purpose of this study is to examine the benefit of adding mfVEP hemifield Intersector analysis protocol to the standard HFA test when there is suspicious glaucomatous visual field loss. 3 groups were tested in this study; normal controls (38 eyes), glaucoma patients (36 eyes) and glaucoma suspect patients (38 eyes). All subjects had a two standard Humphrey visual field HFA test 24-2, optical coherence tomography of the optic nerve head, and a single mfVEP test undertaken in one session. Analysis of the mfVEP results was done using the new analysis protocol; the Hemifield Sector Analysis HSA protocol. The retinal nerve fibre (RNFL) thickness was recorded to identify subjects with suspicious RNFL loss. The hemifield Intersector analysis of mfVEP results showed that signal to noise ratio (SNR) difference between superior and inferior hemifields was statistically significant between the 3 groups (ANOVA p<0.001 with a 95% CI). The difference between superior and inferior hemispheres in all subjects were all statistically significant in the glaucoma patient group 11/11 sectors (t-test p<0.001), partially significant 5/11 in glaucoma suspect group (t-test p<0.01) and no statistical difference between most sectors in normal group (only 1/11 was significant) (t-test p<0.9). Sensitivity and specificity of the HSA protocol in detecting glaucoma was 97% and 86% respectively, while for glaucoma suspect were 89% and 79%. The use of SAP and mfVEP results in subjects with suspicious glaucomatous visual field defects, identified by low RNFL thickness, is beneficial in confirming early visual field defects. The new HSA protocol used in the mfVEP testing can be used to detect glaucomatous visual field defects in both glaucoma and glaucoma suspect patient. Using this protocol in addition to SAP analysis can provide information about focal visual field differences across the horizontal midline, and confirm suspicious field defects. Sensitivity and specificity of the mfVEP test showed very promising results and correlated with other anatomical changes in glaucoma field loss. The Intersector analysis protocol can detect early field changes not detected by standard HFA test.

The promotion of children's health and wellbeing:the contributions of England's charity sector

Background. Sports and arts based services for children have positive impacts on their mental and physical health. The charity sector provides such services, often set up in response to local communities expressing a need. The present study maps resilience promoting services provided by children's charities in England. Specifically, the prominence of sports and arts activities, and types of mental health provisions including telephone help-lines, are investigated. Findings. The study was a cross-sectional web-based survey of chief executives, senior mangers, directors and chairs of charities providing services for children under the age of 16. The aims, objectives and activities of participating children's charities and those providing mental health services were described overall. In total 167 chief executives, senior managers, directors and chairs of charities in England agreed to complete the survey. From our sample of charities, arts activities were the most frequently provided services (58/167, 35%), followed by counselling (55/167, 33%) and sports activities (36/167, 22%). Only 13% (22/167) of charities expected their work to contribute to the health legacy of the 2012 London Olympics. Telephone help lines were provided by 16% of the charities that promote mental health. Conclusions. Counselling and arts activities were relatively common. Sports activities were limited despite the evidence base that sport and physical activity are effective interventions for well-being and health gain. Few of the charities we surveyed expected a health legacy from the 2012 London Olympics. © 2010 Bhui et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Urban Education Research: A Paradigm Shift

Significantly due to the institutional separation of theory and practice, the gap between academia and society continues to broaden, arguably pointing towards the failure of traditional educational research and, to an extent, the university’s neglect to authenticate alternate epistemologies and methodologies that seek to elicit mobilization, activism, and reform.

A TV como objeto de leitura da imagem no contexto escolar: uma pesquisa-ação com alunos do ensino médio

This research seeks to reflect on the dynamics of television reception, studying the Brazilian TV miniseries Hoje é Dia de Maria, produced by Globo Television Network, and aims to generally promote inferences in the process of image reading, mainly for aesthetic reading in school context, aiming at the formation of visual proficient readers. The research was conducted with students from the third grade of a state high school, geographically located in the city of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte. The theoretical framework comes from the assumptions of cognitive social interactionism to understand language, and it is also based on the ideas of Bakhtin (1992) and Vygotsky (1998), which enabled us to understand the social interaction and the Theory of Aesthetics Reception and Aesthetic Effect with Jauss (1979) and Iser (1999), which provided a better understanding of aesthetic experience, aesthetic effects and production of meaning. The methodological approach assumes a qualitative nature and an interpretive bias, accomplished through interviews, observation, questionnaire and application of a set of investigative activities, such as introductory exposition of themes, handing out of images and mediation process. This research is the result of a research-action process in a pedagogical intervention in a state school. The results indicate that the interactional linguistic resources used by the speakers demonstrated lack of prior knowledge and repertoire regarding image reading, which initially led them to do a cursory reading. It was evident that the respondents were unaware of the initial proposal. However, throughout the meetings, it was possible to realize their transformation, because the pre-established concepts were analyzed with the help of mediation, so that the group felt more autonomous and safe to read images at the end. The survey also showed significant data, so that the school could develop new methods of teaching televisual reading.

Práticas pedagógicas e inclusão escolar: o processo de ensino-aprendizagem de alunas com deficiência intelectual

This research aimed to know and analyze the pedagogical practices that have been developed in the teaching and learning of students with Intellectual Disability (DI), enrolled at common class of elementary school I. The study was conducted in a public school at Natal/RN, involving two students with DI, a multipurpose teacher, a teaching assistant, a teacher of arts and educational coordinator. As for methodological choice, we chose to develop a qualitative study, undertaking a case study. As tools for the construction of the data we use: semi-structured interviews, participant observation, field diary and document analysis. Data analysis reveals that the institution in which the research was undertaken gradually implementing changes in order to develop an inclusive practice, consistent with its assumptions. Regarding the practices developed in the teaching and learning of students with intellectual disabilities, it was possible to realize the fulfillment of certain adjustments in relation to the objectives, activities and some content, involving the use of resources and varied strategies. With regard to educational activities, we found that these had different levels of complexity, covering both basic goals as more complex objectives. From the observations, we realize that the Assistant Professor of mediations during varied activities as challenging tool in intellectual processes. We note, too, a dynamic classroom in which disabled students were under the guidance of Assistant Professor, and other students with all-round teacher who had a fairly traditional teaching methodology. It created thus an isolation situation, since there was no proposition practices to be developed with all students, and interaction among classmates, generally quite restricted. Although were highlighted developments in the social and academic learning of the surveyed students, the teachers said they did not feel prepared to work freight inclusion. The study reveals the need for teachers reviewing some actions undertaken, in order to develop more democratic pedagogical practices of education, stimulating the interactions between students, by proposing challenging activities that promote the formation and concepts. In addition, it points to the need of the education system invest and encourage the qualification of teachers with regard to education in an inclusive perspective, through actions that promote lifelong learning. It needs to be developed on the teacher a reflective attitude, resulting in a view that due diligence must be entered in practice inherent in teaching in order to use to enhance their educational experience.

Práticas pedagógicas e inclusão escolar: o processo de ensino-aprendizagem de alunas com deficiência intelectual

This research aimed to know and analyze the pedagogical practices that have been developed in the teaching and learning of students with Intellectual Disability (DI), enrolled at common class of elementary school I. The study was conducted in a public school at Natal/RN, involving two students with DI, a multipurpose teacher, a teaching assistant, a teacher of arts and educational coordinator. As for methodological choice, we chose to develop a qualitative study, undertaking a case study. As tools for the construction of the data we use: semi-structured interviews, participant observation, field diary and document analysis. Data analysis reveals that the institution in which the research was undertaken gradually implementing changes in order to develop an inclusive practice, consistent with its assumptions. Regarding the practices developed in the teaching and learning of students with intellectual disabilities, it was possible to realize the fulfillment of certain adjustments in relation to the objectives, activities and some content, involving the use of resources and varied strategies. With regard to educational activities, we found that these had different levels of complexity, covering both basic goals as more complex objectives. From the observations, we realize that the Assistant Professor of mediations during varied activities as challenging tool in intellectual processes. We note, too, a dynamic classroom in which disabled students were under the guidance of Assistant Professor, and other students with all-round teacher who had a fairly traditional teaching methodology. It created thus an isolation situation, since there was no proposition practices to be developed with all students, and interaction among classmates, generally quite restricted. Although were highlighted developments in the social and academic learning of the surveyed students, the teachers said they did not feel prepared to work freight inclusion. The study reveals the need for teachers reviewing some actions undertaken, in order to develop more democratic pedagogical practices of education, stimulating the interactions between students, by proposing challenging activities that promote the formation and concepts. In addition, it points to the need of the education system invest and encourage the qualification of teachers with regard to education in an inclusive perspective, through actions that promote lifelong learning. It needs to be developed on the teacher a reflective attitude, resulting in a view that due diligence must be entered in practice inherent in teaching in order to use to enhance their educational experience.

Da educação infantil ao ensino fundamental: o que contam as crianças sobre essa travessia na cultura de escola

From inquiries concerning the child as an individual with rights, this work takes as its object of study the perception of 5-7 years old children on their journey from kindergarten to elementary school, in a school culture. The objective of the research is, therefore, to investigate what the children tell in narratives drawn into a conversation circle about their experiences of school life in kindergarten and the first grade of elementary school. The participants were 18 children from a public school in the city of Natal (RN). Five rounds of conversation were held in which the children told a little alien, who was unaware of the school culture, what they knew about school and what they did at it. The research is linked to the project "Children's Narratives. What the children tell about childhood schools?"(Passeggi et all, 2011) and adopts epistemological principles and research methods of (auto)biographical education, taking as a working hypothesis the child's ability to reflect on their experiences and understand from their point of view, what happens to them. Analyses were organized based on the concept of school culture (Barroso, 2012). In the narratives of children, the three dimensions of school culture: the functionalist (purpose and rules), structural (structure and pedagogical organization) and the interactional (relations with others, with the spaces and with knowledge) are considered intertwined in their school perceptions and signal experienced tensions in a process of "conversion" from child to student. Children seem to realize the uniqueness of each level of education. They recognize as a characteristic of early childhood education the recreational activities, and as injunctions of the first year of elementary school the "study", "learning to read and write" to "be smart" to "change." The schooling will thus, constitute, in their eyes, as a time and a place where the children's culture gives way to school culture, and in this journey they experience that the desire to play and the duty/want to study cross the three dimensions of school. At the end of the journey, the status of children as cultural beings with rights is confirmed, whose narratives about school and about their experiences of "conversion" in a student, reveal much about the power of reflection on themselves, the school and the society in which they live, legitimizing their place in educational research and in child care policies.

As paisagens nas pinturas de Ido Finotti: reflexões artísticas e históricas

This research studies the landscape paintings of the artist Ido Finotti, specifically the Brazilian cerrado vegetation and rivers landscape paintings, in the region of Triângulo Mineiro, mainly Uberlândia and the surrounding cities as Uberaba and Araguari. The artist produced the landscape paintings from 1947 to 1980. This study searches to understand the poetic in the paintings and identify the elements that the artist chose to create the visuality of landscape to build a regional identity. Therefore, it links the artistic and historical reflections with the general ideas about the landscape painting in the Universal History of Art and in the Brazilian History of Art through the main landscape painters. First, this work shows the trajectory of the artist Ido Finotti and the two phases of his paintings: as a decorative painter of walls from 1920 to 1940, then as an oil painter artist on canvas. Second, the national and foreign authors studied were from several fields: Visual Arts, History, History of the Art, Philosophy and Geography, but had produced literature on the idea and the subject of landscape in the painting. The initial reading was about some workmanships of Ido Finotti, which included 142 landscapes paintings; interviews; articles, periodicals and magazines collected; documents, brochures and catalogues gathered. The comparison between the written and visual sources made possible the textual construction of this research.

The Bennachie Colony : A Nineteenth-Century Informal Community in Northeast Scotland

Acknowledgments The investigation of the Bennachie Colony is part of a broader initiative called the Bennachie Landscape Project, a collaborative endeavour between the Bailies of Bennachie and the University of Aberdeen. To date, funding for the project has been generously provided by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in the form of a Connected Communities Grant (G. Noble PI) and more recently through a larger Development Grant (J. Oliver PI). The research that this paper is based on could not have been undertaken without the generous assistance of a large number of volunteers, university students and staff members. While it would be impossible to name everyone who has contributed, we would like to acknowledge the regular members of the “landscape group” whose infective enthusiasm for the project has provided a stimulating environment for learning and co-production. Particular thanks go to Jackie Cumberbirch, Barry Foster, Chris Foster, Angela Groat, David Irving, Alison Kennedy, Harry Leal, Ken Ledingham, Colin Miller, Iain Ralston, Colin Shepherd, Sue Taylor and Andrew Wainwright. Further assistance with fieldwork was provided by Ágústa Edwald, Patrycia Kupiec, Barbora Wouters, Óskar Sveinbjarnarson, members of Northlight Heritage and several cohorts worth of University of Aberdeen undergraduate and graduate students. We are indebted to the RCAHMS for assistance with plane table survey and to Óskar Sveinbjarnarson for help with mapping. Others have supported additional aspects of the Bennachie Landscape project or have provided specialist advice. Thanks go to Neil Curtis, Liz Curtis, Rowan Ellis, Marjory Harper, Siobhan Convery and the University of Aberdeen Special Collections staff. Access to undertake fieldwork was graciously provided by the Forestry Commission Scotland. Helpful comments on earlier drafts of this paper were provided by Barry and Chris Foster, Ken Ledingham, Collin Miller, Collin Shepherd, Sue Taylor, Andrew Wainwright and two anonymous reviewers.