Teachers' conceptions of how to engage students through inquiry learning : foundations for STEM

The advocacy for inquiry-based learning in contemporary curricula assumes the principle that students learn in their own way by drawing on direct experience fostered by the teacher. That students should be able to discover answers themselves through active engagement with new experiences was central to the thinking of eminent educators such as Pestalozzi, Dewey and Montessori. However, even after many years of research and practice, inquiry learning as a referent for teaching still struggles to find expression in the average teachers' pedagogy. This study drew on interview data from 20 primary teachers. A phenomenographic analysis revealed three conceptions of teaching that support inquiry learning in science in the primary years of schooling: (a) The Experience-centred conception where teachers focused on providing interesting sensory experiences to students; (b) The Problem-centred conception where teachers focused on challenging students with engaging problems; and (c) The Question-centred conception where teachers focused on helping students to ask and answer their own questions. Understanding teachers' conceptions of teaching has implications for both the enactment of inquiry teaching in the classroom as well as the uptake of new teaching behaviours during professional development, with enhanced outcomes for engaging students in STEM.

The use of thermal imaging in assessing skin temperature following cryotherapy : a review

Nineteen studies met the inclusion criteria. A skin temperature reduction of 5–15 °C, in accordance with the recent PRICE (Protection, Rest, Ice, Compression and Elevation) guidelines, were achieved using cold air, ice massage, crushed ice, cryotherapy cuffs, ice pack, and cold water immersion. There is evidence supporting the use and effectiveness of thermal imaging in order to access skin temperature following the application of cryotherapy. Thermal imaging is a safe and non-invasive method of collecting skin temperature. Although further research is required, in terms of structuring specific guidelines and protocols, thermal imaging appears to be an accurate and reliable method of collecting skin temperature data following cryotherapy. Currently there is ambiguity regarding the optimal skin temperature reductions in a medical or sporting setting. However, this review highlights the ability of several different modalities of cryotherapy to reduce skin temperature.

Effects of whole-body cryotherapy (-110 degrees C) on proprioception and indices of muscle damage

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of whole-body cryotherapy (WBC) on proprioceptive function, muscle force recovery following eccentric muscle contractions and tympanic temperature (TTY). Thirty-six subjects were randomly assigned to a group receiving two 3-min treatments of −110 ± 3 °C or 15 ± 3 °C. Knee joint position sense (JPS), maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) of the knee extensors, force proprioception and TTY were recorded before, immediately after the exposure and again 15 min later. A convenience sample of 18 subjects also underwent an eccentric exercise protocol on their contralateral left leg 24 h before exposure. MVIC (left knee), peak power output (PPO) during a repeated sprint on a cycle ergometer and muscles soreness were measured pre-, 24, 48 and 72 h post-treatment. WBC reduced TTY, by 0.3 °C, when compared with the control group (P<0.001). However, JPS, MVIC or force proprioception was not affected. Similarly, WBC did not effect MVIC, PPO or muscle soreness following eccentric exercise. WBC, administered 24 h after eccentric exercise, is ineffective in alleviating muscle soreness or enhancing muscle force recovery. The results of this study also indicate no increased risk of proprioceptive-related injury following WBC.

Should athletes return to sport after applying Ice? A systematic review of the effect of local 3 cooling on functional performance

Applying ice or other forms of topical cooling is a popular method of treating sports injuries. It is commonplace for athletes to return to competitive activity, shortly or immediately after the application of a cold treatment. In this article, we examine the effect of local tissue cooling on outcomes relating to functional performance and to discuss their relevance to the sporting environment. A computerized literature search, citation tracking and hand search was performed up to April, 2011. Eligible studies were trials involving healthy human participants, describing the effects of cooling on outcomes relating to functional performance. Two reviewers independently assessed the validity of included trials and calculated effect sizes. Thirty five trials met the inclusion criteria; all had a high risk of bias. The mean sample size was 19. Meta-analyses were not undertaken due to clinical heterogeneity. The majority of studies used cooling durations >20 minutes. Strength (peak torque/force) was reported by 25 studies with approximately 75% recording a decrease in strength immediately following cooling. There was evidence from six studies that cooling adversely affected speed, power and agility-based running tasks; two studies found this was negated with a short rewarming period. There was conflicting evidence on the effect of cooling on isolated muscular endurance. A small number of studies found that cooling decreased upper limb dexterity and accuracy. The current evidence base suggests that athletes will probably be at a performance disadvantage if they return to activity immediately after cooling. This is based on cooling for longer than 20 minutes, which may exceed the durations employed in some sporting environments. In addition, some of the reported changes were clinically small and may only be relevant in elite sport. Until better evidence is available, practitioners should use short cooling applications and/or undertake a progressive warm up prior to returning to play.

Effects of cold water immersion on knee joint position sense in healthy volunteers

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of cryotherapy, in the form of cold water immersion, on knee joint position sense. Fourteen healthy volunteers, with no previous knee injury or pre-existing clinical condition, participated in this randomized cross-over trial. The intervention consisted of a 30-min immersion, to the level of the umbilicus, in either cold (14 ± 1°C) or tepid water(28 ± 1°C). Approximately one week later, in a randomized fashion, the volunteers completed the remaining immersion. Active ipsilateral limb repositioning sense of the right knee was measured, using weight-bearing and non-weight bearing assessments, employing video-recorded 3D motion analysis. These assessments were conducted immediately before and after a cold and tepid water immersion. No significant differences were found between treatments for the absolute (P = 0.29), relative (P = 0.21) or variable error (P = 0.86). The average effect size of the outcome measures was modest (range –0.49 to 0.9) and all the associated 95% confidence intervals for these effect sizes crossed zero. These results indicate that there is no evidence of an enhanced risk of injury, following a return to sporting activity, after cold water.

'The Pianist' and the ruins of Berlin

In this paper I will discuss some of the ways Berlin and the city's main studio complex, Studio Babelsberg, have been promoted and used as sites for international feature film production in recent years. I will use Roman Polanski's film The Pianist, which was shot in part at Studio Babelsberg and in the vicinity of Berlin, to exemplify some of the transformations and discuss some of the repercussions of international production for thinking about cinematic rivalry between places.

'The comfort lies in all the things you can do': the Australian drive-in: cinema of distraction

Contrary to the claims of some film historians, the drive-in was not a uniquely American invention. Australian drive-in cinemas were, at least in the 1950s and 1960s, distinguishable from their American counterparts by virtue of the profusion of additional amusements (or distractions) they offered alongside film-viewing. This article traces the history of Australian drive-ins as ‘entertainment centres’ and ‘high temples of modernity’. It argues that the drive-in can usefully be understood as a mid-point between the domestic and public spheres, and a powerful symbol of post-WWII Australia, signifying prosperity, gathering consumer confidence and, in metropolitan areas, marking the path of urban development through its concentration in new, outer suburban areas.

Something rotten in the state of Minnesota: or the morality of backwoodsmen: 'A Simple Plan'

'A Simple Plan' is a deceptively complex and multilayered film, combining elements of Celtic mythology with the morality play and the windfall fantasy gone disastrously wrong. Despite its blending of realism and heavyhanded symbolism, and its abundant trans-textual gestures, 'A Simple Plan' is in many ways defiantly not a 90s movie: its leading characters are fashionably flawed, but they are neither sensitive, nor honourable, nor heroic; there are no startling special effects or intricate timeshifts; and it desperately gives the impression of depth, of being emphatically more than mere superficial excess. At a stretch it almost appears to be a throwback to the 1930s Production Code emphasis on the role of cinema in moral instruction; while good hardly triumphs over evil, venality is painfully and emphatically punished. But in other ways it is a quintessential late 90s film: an American/British/Japanese/German/French co-production, 'A Simple Plan' acts most palpably as a commentary on the moral, economic and social condition of the United States at the end of the American century.

A positive unsettlement: the story of Sakshi Anmatyerre

This article tells the story of the mass marketing on stationery of the work of an artist, Sakshi Anmatyerre, whose claims to an lndigenous heritage and to the authority to paint particular designs, totems and motifs were vigorously contested, leading to the withdrawal of the stationery from sale. The efforts made by the publisher, Steve Parish, to atone for the offence caused to the Anmatyerre people are detailed. The article illustrates some of the issues involved in the commodification and commercial exchange of lndigenous artistic or cultural work - or rather, work which relies upon lndigenous connections for its aesthetic and financial value. The story told in this article is enlightening for what it reveals about the state of unsettlement that characterises debate over the 'appropriate' commercial use of lndigenous intellectual and cultural property, for the ways in which it is possible to achieve restitution when an offence agalnst lndigenous law is alleged, and for the effects the process of seeking restitution has had on the business practices of one company.

In search of the Korean digital wave

This article sets the context for this special themed issue on the 'Korean digital wave' by considering the symbiotic relationship between digital technologies, their techniques and practices, their uses and the affordances they provide, and Korea's 'compressed modernity' and swift industrialisation. It underscores the importance of interrogating a range of groundbreaking developments and innovations within Korea's digital mediascapes, and its creative and cultural industries, in order to gain a complex understanding of one of Australia's most significant export markets and trading partners. Given the financial and political commitment in Australia to a high-speed broadband network that aims to stimulate economic and cultural activity, recent technological developments in Korea, and the double-edged role played by government policy in shaping the 'Korean digital wave', merit close attention from media and communications scholars.

From 'Neighbours' to 'Packed to the Rafters': accounting for longevity in the evolution of Aussie soaps

If there is one television programming staple for which Australian television drama is known internationally, it is the long-running television soap, with Neighbours (originally produced by Grundy in 1985) lauded as 'the most outstanding example of Australian series export' (Cunningham and Jacka, 1996). Twenty-five years on, this program still airs on domestic and international TV schedules five days a week, despite waning popularity with local Australian audiences. Considering past interest in the success and longevity of this soap, it is apposite to look again at the continuing progress of Neighbours foremost as a global brand. In comparison, Packed to the Rafters is treated here as a contemporary version of familiar Aussie themes related to everyday middle-class suburbia, populated with blue skies and feel-good characters expressing wholesome family values, but with a stylistic innovation defined here as domestic realism. As part of the production ecology of the late 2000s, Packed to the Rafters demonstrates the considerable role for local drama productions as loss leaders and flagship programming for commercial free-to-air networks up against an increasingly difficult domestic market.