Comprehension and content : planning literacy curriculum in low socioeconomic and culturally diverse schools

This article reframes comprehension as a social and intellectual practice. It reviews literature on current approaches to reading instruction for linguistically and culturally diverse and low socioeconomic students, noting the current policy emphasis on the teaching of comprehension as autonomous skills and ‘strategies’. The Four Resources model (Freebody & Luke, 1990) is used to situate comprehension instruction with an emphasis on student cultural and community knowledge, and substantive intellectual and sociocultural content in elementary and middle school curricula. Illustrations are drawn from research underway on the teaching of literacy in low socioeconomic schools.

The politics of literacy in David Almond and Dave McKean’s "The Savage" (2008)

Competency in language and literacy are central to contemporary debates about education in Anglophone nations around the world. This paper suggests that such debates are informing not just educational policy but children’s literature itself as can be seen in Almond and McKean’s The Savage. This hybrid text combines prose and graphic narrative and narration in order to tell the story of Blue, a young British boy negotiating his identity in the aftermath of his father's death. While foregrounding a narrative of ideal masculinity, The Savage enacts and privileges a formal and thematic ideal of literacy as index of individual agency and development. Almond and McKean produce a politicised understanding of language and literacy that simultaneously positions The Savage in a textual tradition of socio-culturally disenfranchised youth, and intervenes in that tradition to (perhaps ironically) affirm the very conditions previously critiqued by that very tradition. Where earlier authors such as Barry Hines sought to challenge normative accounts of language and literacy in order to indict educational policy and praxes, Almond and McKean work to naturalise the very logics of education and agency by which their protagonist has been disenfranchised. In doing so, The Savage exemplifies current approaches to education which claim to value social and cultural diversity while imposing national standardised testing predicated on assumptions about the legitimacy of uniform standards and definitions of literacy.

Literacy models across nations : literacy and critical literacy in teacher training programs in India

The thrust towards constructivist learning and critical thinking in the National Curricular Framework (2005) of India implies shifts in pedagogical practices. In this context, drawing on grounded theory, focus group interviews were conducted with 40 preservice teachers to ascertain the contextual situation and the likely outcomes of applying critical literacy across the curriculum. Central themes that emerged in the discussion were: being teacher centred/ learner centred, and conformity/autonomy in teaching and learning. The paper argues that within the present Indian context, while there is scope for changes to pedagogy and learning styles, yet these must be adequately contextualised.

Liking vs. wanting food : importance for human appetite control and weight regulation

Current train of thought in appetite research is favouring an interest in non-homeostatic or hedonic (reward) mechanisms in relation to overconsumption and energy balance. This tendency is supported by advances in neurobiology that precede the emergence of a new conceptual approach to reward where affect and motivation (liking and wanting) can be seen as the major force in guiding human eating behaviour. In this review, current progress in applying processes of liking and wanting to the study of human appetite are examined by discussing the following issues: How can these concepts be operationalised for use in human research to reflect the neural mechanisms by which they may be influenced? Do liking and wanting operate independently to produce functionally significant changes in behaviour? Can liking and wanting be truly experimentally separated or will an expression of one inevitably contain elements of the other? The review contains a re-examination of selected human appetite research before exploring more recent methodological approaches to the study of liking and wanting in appetite control. In addition, some theoretical developments are described in four diverse models that may enhance current understanding of the role of these processes in guiding ingestive behaviour. Finally, the implications of a dual process modulation of food reward for weight gain and obesity are discussed. The review concludes that processes of liking and wanting are likely to have independent roles in characterising susceptibility to weight gain. Further research into the dissociation of liking and wanting through implicit and explicit levels of processing would help to disclose the relative importance of these components of reward for appetite control and weight regulation.

Density variation of different shaped food particulates in fluid bed drying : empirical models

Three particular geometrical shapes of parallelepiped, cylindrical and spheres were selected from potatoes (aspect ratio = 1:1, 2:1, 3:1), cut beans (length:diameter = 1:1, 2:1, 3:1) and peas respectively. The density variation of food particulates was studied in a batch fluidised bed dryer connected to a heat pump dehumidifier system. Apparent density and bulk density were evaluated with non-dimensional moisture at three different drying temperatures of 30, 40 and 50 o C. Relative humidity of hot air was kept at 15% in all drying temperatures. Several empirical relationships were developed for the determination of changes in densities with the moisture content. Simple mathematical models were obtained to relate apparent density and bulk density with moisture content.

A quasi-stationary approach to drying kinetics of different shaped food particulates in a heat pump assisted by fluid bed dryer

Experiments were undertaken to study drying kinetics of different shaped moist food particulates during heat pump assisted fluidised bed drying. Three particular geometrical shapes of parallelepiped, cylindrical and spheres were selected from potatoes (aspect ratio = 1:1, 2:1, 3:1), cut beans (length: diameter = 1:1, 2:1, 3:1) and peas respectively. A batch fluidised bed dryer connected to a heat pump system was used for the experimentation. A Heat pump and fluid bed combination was used to increase overall energy efficiency and achieve higher drying rates. Drying kinetics, were evaluated with non-dimensional moisture at three different drying temperatures of 30, 40 and 50o C. Due to complex hydrodynamics of the fluidised beds, drying kinetics are dryer or material specific. Numerous mathematical models can be used to calculate drying kinetics ranging from analytical models with simplified assumptions to empirical models built by regression using experimental data. Empirical models are commonly used for various food materials due to their simpler approach. However problems in accuracy, limits the applications of empirical models. Some limitations of empirical models could be reduced by using semi-empirical models based on heat and mass transfer of the drying operation. One such method is the quasi-stationary approach. In this study, a modified quasi-stationary approach was used to model drying kinetics of the cylindrical food particles at three drying temperatures.

Overeating as a clue to weight gain: behavioural and physiological interactions in the control of food intake

It has been estimated that 25-50% of people in most affluent societies are either obese or overweight. These disorders are the result of an imbalance between calorific intake and energy expenditure over a prolonged time period. These types of disorders are among the most common health problems in industrialized societies. Addressing these issues and offering new strategies, this thorough new study draws together contributions from interdisciplinary and international group of specialists, includes recent research on genetic influences, features discussions of epidemiological studies and covers both biological and social aspects of obesity.

Physical activity and regulation of food intake: current evidence

Objective: The evidence was reviewed on how physical activity could influence the regulation of food intake by either adjusting the sensitivity of appetite control mechanisms or by generating an energy deficit that could adjust the drive to eat. Design: Interventionist and correlational studies that had a significant influence on the relationship between physical activity and food intake were reviewed. Interventionist studies involve a deliberate imposition of physical activity with subsequent monitoring of the eating response. Correlational studies make use of naturally occurring differences in the levels of physical activity (between and within subjects) with simultaneous assessment of energy expenditure and intake. Subjects: Studies using lean, overweight, and obese men and women were included. Results: Only 19% of interventionist studies report an increase in energy intake after exercise; 65% show no change and 16% show a decrease in appetite. Of the correlational studies, approximately half show no relationship between energy expenditure and intake. These data indicate a rather loose coupling between energy expenditure and intake. A common sense view is that exercise is futile as a form of weight control because the energy deficit drives a compensatory increase in food intake. However, evidence shows that this is not generally true. One positive aspect of this is that raising energy expenditure through physical activity (or maintaining an active life style) can cause weight loss or prevent weight gain. A negative feature is that when people become sedentary after a period of high activity, food intake is not “down-regulated” to balance a reduced energy expenditure. Conclusion: Evidence suggests that a high level of physical activity can aid weight control either by improving the matching of food intake to energy expenditure (regulation) or by raising expenditure so that it is difficult for people to eat themselves into a positive energy balance.

Effects of Sweetness and Energy in Drinks on Food Intake Following Exercise

Exercise is known to cause physiological changes that could affect the impact of nutrients on appetite control. This study was designed to assess the effect of drinks containing either sucrose or high-intensity sweeteners on food intake following exercise. Using a repeated-measures design, three drink conditions were employed: plain water (W), a low-energy drink sweetened with artificial sweeteners aspartame and acesulfame-K (L), and a high-energy, sucrose-sweetened drink (H). Following a period of challenging exercise (70% VO2 max for 50 min), subjects consumed freely from a particular drink before being offered a test meal at which energy and nutrient intakes were measured. The degree of pleasantness (palatability) of the drinks was also measured before and after exercise. At the test meal, energy intake following the artificially sweetened (L) drink was significantly greater than after water and the sucrose (H) drinks (p < 0.05). Compared with the artificially sweetened (L) drink, the high-energy (H) drink suppressed intake by approximately the energy contained in the drink itself. However, there was no difference between the water (W) and the sucrose (H) drink on test meal energy intake. When the net effects were compared (i.e., drink + test meal energy intake), total energy intake was significantly lower after the water (W) drink compared with the two sweet (L and H) drinks. The exercise period brought about changes in the perceived pleasantness of the water, but had no effect on either of the sweet drinks. The remarkably precise energy compensation demonstrated after the higher energy sucrose drink suggests that exercise may prime the system to respond sensitively to nutritional manipulations. The results may also have implications for the effect on short-term appetite control of different types of drinks used to quench thirst during and after exercise.

The regulation of food intake in humans

Knowledge of the regulation of food intake is crucial to an understanding of body weight and obesity. Strictly speaking, we should refer to the control of food intake whose expression is modulated in the interests of the regulation of body weight. Food intake is controlled, body weight is regulated. However, this semantic distinction only serves to emphasize the importance of food intake. Traditionally food intake has been researched within the homeostatic approach to physiological systems pioneered by Claude Bernard, Walter Cannon and others; and because feeding is a form of behaviour, it forms part of what Curt Richter referred to as the behavioural regulation of body weight (or behavioural homeostasis). This approach views food intake as the vehicle for energy supply whose expression is modulated by a metabolic drive generated in response to a requirement for energy. The idea was that eating behaviour is stimulated and inhibited by internal signalling systems (for the drive and suppression of eating respectively) in order to regulate the internal environment (energy stores, tissue needs).

Merging fact with fiction : a study of year 9 students' developing scientific literacy through the writing of hybridised scientific narratives on a socioscientific issue

International assessments of student science achievement, and growing evidence of students' waning interest in school science, have ensured that the development of scientific literacy continues to remain an important educational priority. Furthermore, researchers have called for teaching and learning strategies to engage students in the learning of science, particularly in the middle years of schooling. This study extends previous national and international research that has established a link between writing and learning science. Specifically, it investigates the learning experiences of eight intact Year 9 science classes as they engage in the writing of short stories that merge scientific and narrative genres (i.e., hybridised scientific narratives) about the socioscientific issue of biosecurity. This study employed a triangulation mixed methods research design, generating both quantitative and qualitative data, in order to investigate three research questions that examined the extent to which the students' participation in the study enhanced their scientific literacy; the extent to which the students demonstrated conceptual understanding of related scientific concepts through their written artefacts and in interviews about the artefacts; and the extent to which the students' participation in the project influenced their attitudes toward science and science learning. Three aspects of scientific literacy were investigated in this study: conceptual science understandings (a derived sense of scientific literacy), the students' transformation of scientific information in written stories about biosecurity (simple and expanded fundamental senses of scientific literacy), and attitudes toward science and science learning. The stories written by students in a selected case study class (N=26) were analysed quantitatively using a series of specifically-designed matrices that produce numerical scores that reflect students' developing fundamental and derived senses of scientific literacy. All students (N=152) also completed a Likert-style instrument (i.e., BioQuiz), pretest and posttest, that examined their interest in learning science, science self-efficacy, their perceived personal and general value of science, their familiarity with biosecurity issues, and their attitudes toward biosecurity. Socioscientific issues (SSI) education served as a theoretical framework for this study. It sought to investigate an alternative discourse with which students can engage in the context of SSI education, and the role of positive attitudes in engaging students in the negotiation of socioscientific issues. Results of the study have revealed that writing BioStories enhanced selected aspects of the participants' attitudes toward science and science learning, and their awareness and conceptual understanding of issues relating to biosecurity. Furthermore, the students' written artefacts alone did not provide an accurate representation of the level of their conceptual science understandings. An examination of these artefacts in combination with interviews about the students' written work provided a more comprehensive assessment of their developing scientific literacy. These findings support extensive calls for the utilisation of diversified writing-to-learn strategies in the science classroom, and therefore make a significant contribution to the writing-to-learn science literature, particularly in relation to the use of hybridised scientific genres. At the same time, this study presents the argument that the writing of hybridised scientific narratives such as BioStories can be used to complement the types of written discourse with which students engage in the negotiation of socioscientific issues, namely, argumentation, as the development of positive attitudes toward science and science learning can encourage students' participation in the discourse of science. The implications of this study for curricular design and implementation, and for further research, are also discussed.

Effects of an acute α-lactalbumin manipulation on mood and food hedonics in high- and low-trait anxiety individuals

Serotonergic hypofunction is associated with a depressive mood state, an increased drive to eat and preference for sweet (SW) foods. High-trait anxiety individuals are characterised by a functional shortage of serotonin during stress, which in turn increases their susceptibility to experience a negative mood and an increased drive for SW foods. The present study examined whether an acute dietary manipulation, intended to increase circulating serotonin levels, alleviated the detrimental effects of a stress-inducing task on subjective appetite and mood sensations, and preference for SW foods in high-trait anxiety individuals. Thirteen high- (eleven females and two males; anxiety scores 45·5 (sd 5·9); BMI 22·9 (sd 3·0)kg/m2) and twelve low- (ten females and two males; anxiety scores 30·4 (sd 4·8); BMI 23·4 (sd 2·5) kg/m2) trait anxiety individuals participated in a placebo-controlled, two-way crossover design. Participants were provided with 40 g α-lactalbumin (LAC; l-tryptophan (Trp):large neutral amino acids (LNAA) ratio of 7·6) and 40 g casein (placebo) (Trp:LNAA ratio of 4·0) in the form of a snack and lunch on two test days. On both the test days, participants completed a stress-inducing task 2 h after the lunch. Mood and appetite were assessed using visual analogue scales. Changes in food hedonics for different taste and nutrient combinations were assessed using a computer task. The results demonstrated that the LAC manipulation did not exert any immediate effects on mood or appetite. However, LAC did have an effect on food hedonics in individuals with high-trait anxiety after acute stress. These individuals expressed a lower liking (P = 0·012) and SW food preference (P = 0·014) after the stressful task when supplemented with LAC.

Low fat loss response after medium-term supervised exercise in obese is associated with exercise-induced increase in food reward

Objective: To examine exercise-induced changes in the reward value of food during medium-term supervised exercise in obese individuals. ---------- Subjects/Methods: The study was a 12-week supervised exercise intervention prescribed to expend 500 kcal/day, 5 d/week. 34 sedentary obese males and females were identified as responders (R) or non-responders (NR) to the intervention according to changes in body composition relative to measured energy expended during exercise. Food reward (ratings of liking and wanting, and relative preference by forced choice pairs) for an array of food images was assessed before and after an acute exercise bout. ---------- Results. 20 responders and 14 non-responders were identified. R lost 5.2 kg±2.4 of total fat mass and NR lost 1.7 kg±1.4. After acute exercise, liking for all foods increased in NR compared to no change in R. Furthermore, NR showed an increase in wanting and relative preference for high-fat sweet foods. These differences were independent of 12-weeks regular exercise and weight loss. ---------- Conclusion. Individuals who showed an immediate post-exercise increase in liking and increased wanting and preference for high-fat sweet foods displayed a smaller reduction in fat mass with exercise. For some individuals, exercise increases the reward value of food and diminishes the impact of exercise on fat loss.