bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
South African Sports Medicine Association Position Statement on Exercise in Pregnancy
Authors: Barskey E
Published: April 2016

There are many concerns about exercise during pregnancy, with medical advice historically dissuading women from continuing or initiating regular exercise programmes. However, research has shown that high levels of exercise are not associated with an increased incidence of negative events. Currently, many women of childbearing age wish to continue with their exercise programmes during pregnancy. Appropriate guidance and exercise counselling by the attending care provider can fulfil this need. This position statement aims to assist pregnant women and their care providers in assessing the merits and benefits of improving and maintaining fitness during this period.
State of sport in South Africa: Questions that need answers
Authors: Lambert M
Published: April 2016

Editorial - No Abstract
CPD Questionnaire
Authors: . .
Published: April 2016

CPD Questionnaire
Do South African general practitioners believe that ‘Exercise is Medicine’?
Authors: Watson ED , Khan T , Crear CM
Published: April 2016

Background. Physical activity (PA) has been described as medicine, owing to the clear evidence for its role in the prevention and management of various diseases.Objectives. To determine the knowledge, perceptions and attitudes of South African general practitioners (GPs) towards the promotionof PA.Methods. A total of 255 private-sector GPs from various provinces in SA participated in our cross-sectional study, by completing a selfreportquestionnaire surveying their knowledge, perceptions and attitudes towards the promotion of PA.Results. The findings indicated that South African GPs in general do promote PA to their patients for treatment and health promotion. Themajority of GPs in our study strongly believed that promoting PA is an important part of primary healthcare. The GPs frequently promotedexercise in the treatment of obesity, type 2 diabetes and hyperlipidaemia.Conclusion. South African GPs appear to be recommending PA to their patients at a primary-care level. Clear practice guidelines are needed to promote PA in a way that will have a population-level impact. To aid this, GPs are encouraged to provide written information to promote PA in a way that will have an effect.
A walk down memory lane
Authors: Lambert M
Published: April 2016

A walk down memory lane
MRI to determine the chronological age of Ghanaian footballers
Authors: Sarkodie BD , Ofori EK , Pambo P
Published: April 2016

Background. The chronological age of the ordinary Ghanaian has often been difficult to verify as registration at birth is not compulsory. Consequently, an accurate method of age determination is needed in competitive age-restricted sports.Objective. To evaluate the age of Ghanaian soccer players who are aspiring to play for the national under-17 (U17) team, using the degree of fusion of the distal radius on magentic resonance imaging (MRI) and comparing it with the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) MRI grading.Methods. MRI scans of the left wrists of 86 players aspiring to play for the national U17 football team were recruited for the study during a ‘justify your inclusion tournament’ organised by the Ghana Football Association between June and August 2012. The study was conducted in a diagnostic centre in Accra using a 0.35T MRI scanner. The images were analysed using the previously published FIFA grading system.Results. The mean chronological age of the players was 15.4 years (standard deviation ±0.7; range 12 - 17). The study showed that 43.0% of the MRI images were grade 6 (≥17 years) in relation to the degree of fusion of the distal radius, and 93.0% of the grade 6 players were aged 15 - 16 years chronologically. There was no significant correlation between the chronological age and the degree of fusion (r=0.075; p=0.493).Conclusion. Ghanaian U17 soccer players seem to be more biologically mature than a normative population of the same age category. The lack of correlation between age category and degree of fusion supports the suspicion that most Ghanaian players may not know their true age.
Obesity in 7 - 10-year-old children in urban primary schools in Port Elizabeth
Authors: McKersie Joanna , Baard Maryna Louise
Published: April 2016

Objective. The primary aim of this study was to quantify the prevalence of overweight and obesity among urban 7 - 10-year-old children in affluent (quintile 5) English-medium primary schools in Port Elizabeth.Method. A quantitative, descriptive one-way cross-sectional research design utilising random sampling was used. A once-off survey consisted of anthropometrical assessment of body mass index (BMI) according to standardised procedures. To classify children into weight categories, the International Obesity Task Force z-score BMI cut-off criteria were used. Post-hoc analysis consisted of one-way analysis of variance and χ2 tests. Level of significance was set at p<0.05. A total of 713 children participated in the study.Results. Overweight prevalence was 20.9% (n=149) and obesity prevalence was 9.8% (n=70). A significant interaction was found for overweight and obesity levels by gender and age (F=7.2, p=0.01). Of the boys (N=372) 18.5% (n=69) were overweight and 6.9% (n=26) were obese. The girls (N=341) had a 23.5% (n=80) overweight rate and 12,9% (n=44) were obese. The highest prevalence of overweight (24.7%, n=43, N=174) was found in children aged 10, and the highest prevalence of obesity (12.5%, n=21, N=167) was found in children aged 8. Conclusion. Results highlighted the rising prevalence of overweight and obesity among urban children from economically privileged settings. Future research into paediatric obesity is needed to curb the growing incidence.
Comparison of the effect of semi-rigid ankle bracing on performance among injured v. non-injured adolescent female hockey players
Authors: Ellapen Terry Jeremy , Acampora N , Dawson S , Arling J , Van Niekerk C , Van Heerden H J
Published: April 2016

Objective. To determine the comparative proprioceptive performance of injured v. non-injured adolescent female hockey players wearing an ankle brace.Methods. Data were collected from 100 high school players who belonged to the Highway Secondary School Hockey League, KwaZulu-Natal, via voluntary parental informed consent and player assent. Players completed an injury questionnaire probing the prevalence and nature of hockey injuries (March - August 2013). Subsequently, players completed a Biodex proprioceptive test with and without an ankle brace. Probability was set at p≤0.05.Results. Twenty-two players sustained ankle injuries within the 6-month study period (p<0.001). Injured players performed similarly without bracing (right anterior posterior index (RAPI) 2.8 (standard deviation (SD) 0.9); right medial lateral index (RMLI) 1.9 (0.7); left anterior posterior index (LAPI) 2.7 (0.9); left medial lateral index (LMLI) 1.7 (0.6)) compared with bracing (RAPI 2.7 (1.4); RMLI 1.8 (0.6); LAPI 2.6 (1.0); LMLI 1.5 (0.6)) (p>0.05). However, bracing improved the ankle stability of the non-injured group (RAPI 2.2 (0.8); RMLI 1.5 (0.5); LAPI 2.4 (0.9); RMLI 1.5 (0.5)) compared with their performance without a brace (RAPI 2.5 (1.0); RMLI 1.8 (0.8); LAPI 2.8 (1.1); LMLI 1.8 (0.6)) (p<0.05).Conclusion. Ankle bracing did not enhance the stability of injured ankles. However, ankle bracing has an ergogenic effect that enhances the stability of healthy ankles.
Prevalence of overweight and obesity in grade 1 learners in the North West Province of South Africa: The NW-CHILD Study
Authors: Pienaar A E
Published: April 2016

Objectives. To determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity among grade 1 learners, taking into account age, gender, race and school socioeconomic profile. Methods. The study is based on the baseline prevalence of overweight and obesity as part of the ongoing 6-year longitudinal NW Child Health Integrated Learning and Development (NW-CHILD) study. Stratified random sampling was used to identify 20 schools from four educational districts across all five quintiles of schools in the North West Province (NWP) of South Africa (SA). A total of 816 (419 boys, 397 girls) grade 1 learners with a mean age of 6.80 (standard deviation 0.39) years participated in the study, including 567 black learners, 218 white learners and 31 learners from other race groups. Standard anthropometric techniques and international body mass index (BMI) cut-off points for children were used to determine overweight and obesity. Results. A combined prevalence of overweight and obesity (Ow/Ob) of 11.1% was found, of which 7.5% were overweight and 3.6% obese. Although 7-year-old children showed a significantly higher prevalence of overweight (10.5%) than 6-year-old children (6.3%; p<0.05), obesity levels were more prevalent among 6-year-old children (4.7%) than 7-year-old children (2.3%). Although not significant, a higher prevalence of overweight (9.3 v. 6.4%) and obesity (4.3% v. 3.3%) was found in girls than boys. For the whole sample, white children displayed a significantly higher prevalence of Ow/Ob compared with black children (19.7% v. 8.8%; p<0.05), and the prevalence of Ow/Ob was higher in 4th- (18.1%) and 5th- (21.2%) quintile schools (which are associated with higher socioeconomic status (SES)) than in quintile 1 to quintile 3 schools (5.1%, 8.7%, 6.1%, respectively; p<0.05). Conclusions. More than 10% of grade 1 learners in the NWP of SA were overweight or obese, with the prevalence being significantly lower in lower SES schools and among black children. Prevention strategies are needed to combat overweight and obesity, and the associated negative consequences of these health risks. Obesity levels in black children should also be monitored because of continuing economic transition, and taking into account increasing overweight and obesity in black South African adults.
Concussion knowledge and return-to-play attitudes among subelite rugby union players
Authors: Walker S
Published: April 2016

Background. Concussion is a significant health issue in rugby union. However, little is known about players’ levels of concussion knowledgeor return-to-play (RTP) attitudes.Objectives. To determine the concussion knowledge and concussion-related RTP attitudes of subelite rugby union players in South Africa.Methods. Subelite rugby union players (n=127; mean age 24.1 years) completed a measure of concussion knowledge and a concussionrelatedRTP attitude scale. Frequencies were calculated with regard to concussion knowledge and RTP attitudes for the total sample, aswell as separately for previously concussed and non-concussed participants. Pearson’s χ2 tests and t-tests for independent groups wereemployed to determine significant differences in concussion knowledge and RTP attitudes between previously concussed and nonconcussedparticipants.Results. Participants displayed varying, yet generally less than optimal levels of concussion knowledge. Knowledge of concussion-relatedRTP protocols (20 - 23%) and the efficacy of safety equipment (20 - 25%) was particularly poor. The subelite rugby players included in thesample did not hold notably conservative RTP attitudes, with the majority expressing a willingness to participate in practice (74%) andcompetition (47 - 56%) without having fully recovered from a concussion. No significant differences were apparent with regard to the RTPattitudes and concussion knowledge of the previously concussed and non-concussed players.Conclusion. The general level of concussion knowledge among subelite rugby union players appears less than optimal. Moreover, themajority of these players expressed an intention to RTP before they had fully recovered from concussion.
Frozen shoulder or missed posterior dislocation?
Authors: Leijnen D
Published: April 2016

The clinical presentation of a missed posterior shoulder dislocation has similarities with an idiopathic frozen shoulder masking properdiagnosis at the time of injury. We report a case of a 48-year-old woman with shoulder pain which demonstrates the importance of correctinitial diagnosis and management.
An Analytical Study of 2013 Cinematic Adaptation of The Great Gatsby
Authors: Anushirvani Alireza , Alinezhadi Ehsan
Published: April 2016

Comparative Literature is categorized among interdisciplinary studies and tries to bridge a gap between different and separated spheres of human studies. Adaptation studies is a subdivision of Comparative Literature that makes a bond between Literature and Cinema. Both Literature and Cinema are two different mediums or different means of expression. Each has its own language to convey meaning. While novel uses words, cinema uses visual and aural images to convey meaning. Linda Hutchean is a famous adaptation theorist and her theories are used by many critics. She categorizes four different parts for her theory. What? Who and Why? How? When and Where? Through these four main parts, she scrutinizes adaptation process. What, refers to the form, changes, gains and losses, using different tools to convey meaning. Who, refers to the adapter. She poses this question that in adaptation process who is the real adapter? Director, composer, screenplay writer or editor? Why, refers to the motivation of the adapter. She tries to find out different motivation of an adapter to adapt a work. When and Where, refers to the time and place of the adaptation process and its influence both during creation and reception process. In this thesis all of these four main parts of Hutcheon’s theory are scrutinized over 2013 adaptation ofThe Great Gatsbyby Buz Luhrmann. Similarities and differences between a novel and film are illuminated through this research. By determining differences between a film and a novel, hidden and unhidden aspects of the novel will be illuminated and this is a pleasure that a comparatist seeks.
Editorial
Authors: Royuela Vicente
Published: April 2016

---
Response of different yield components as selection criteria for yield and yield components in early generations of lentil (Lens culinaris L.)
Authors: Reddy Yerasu Suresh , Talukdar Akshay , Dikshit Harsh Kumar , Singh V. P. , Rana Mukesh , Anju Pathania
Published: April 2016

Selected forty F2 single plant progenies of a lentil cross viz., L-830 × MC-6 and bulked seeds were evaluated in a randomized block design with two replications for secondary branches per plant, pods per plant, seed yield per plant and seed index as independent selection criteria. Out of the four selection criterion, highest realized selection response in percentage was recorded for pods per plant (37.42 %), and was followed by secondary branches per plant (28.5 %). The realized correlated response to selection for seed yield per plant was significant under the selection criteria number of pods per plant. Thus the selection criteria pods per plant was more effective than other selection criterion.
A secularização como sociologia do moderno: Max Weber, a religião e o Brasil no contexto moderno-global
Authors: Sell Carlos Eduardo
Published: April 2016

Mais do que um conceito que visa apreender o lugar e a natureza do religioso nas condições contemporâneas, o teorema weberiano da secularização constitui uma categoria macrossociológica de interpretação da modernidade. Com base nesse entendimento, o texto retoma a discussão sobre a secularização no Brasil (com foco na pesquisa do sociólogo brasileiro Antônio Flávio Pierucci) e sugere subsídios para integrar as pesquisas sociais sobre a religião no debate sobre a realidade brasileira no contexto da modernidade global.
Nas sociologias da literatura de Pierre Bourdieu e Raymond Williams, que espaço há para a análise do objeto artístico?
Authors: Freire Rosano
Published: April 2016

Pierre Bourdieu e Raymond Williams, cada um a seu modo, têm sido figuras incontornáveis para o debate sociológico sobre arte/literatura na contemporaneidade. Assim, este artigo tem como objetivo geral fazer uma aproximação entre os dois pensadores. O foco principal deste trabalho reside nas sociologias da literatura presentes nos respectivos aportes teóricos dos autores. A discussão feita aqui tentará apresentar de maneira sintética, mas clara, as ideias e as contribuições fulcrais dos dois pensadores para a análise da arte/literatura. O percurso nos levará, necessariamente, a debater os conceitos centrais dos autores – em Bourdieu, campo e habitus; e em Williams, estrutura de sentimentos –, responder a pergunta: que espaço há, na teoria dos dois, para análise do objeto artístico?
Da ruína de Macondo: sobre a transformação de lugares em não lugares
Authors: Weber Bruno Curtis
Published: April 2016

A partir do reconhecimento da ativa participação dos objetos na configuração das ações humanas e na constituição dos espaços, desenvolveremos um debate entre Bruno Latour (1994; 2012) e Milton Santos (2006; 2011; 2012), buscando uma definição substantiva do espaço. Para o geógrafo, os híbridos entre ações e objetos se dão numa dada horizontalidade, porém existe um componente vertical do espaço que consiste na combinação de uma descontinuidade territorial e uma integração funcional entre estes híbridos. Auxiliados especialmente por Marc Augé (2005) e Y-fu Tuan (1983; 2011), desdobraremos esta definição para uma dimensão subjetivista da relação entre o indivíduo e a espacialidade em que está inserido, explicitando as diferenças qualitativas dessa relação sob os conceitos de lugar e não lugar. Por fim ilustraremos a transformação do lugar ao não lugar, sintoma da supermodernidade, a partir da obra Cem anos de solidão, de Gabriel García Márquez (1967).
Expanding Pre-Service Teachers’ Conceptions of Texts, Readers, and Response Through Multimodal Response
Authors: Kesler Ted
Published: April 2016

The author conducted a qualitative study of multimodal digital response to children’s historical fiction that his 23 pre-service graduate students read in book clubs. Grounded in sociocultural and multimodal theories of literacy, the study addresses the following two research questions: What influence did sociocultural and multimodal engagements with text have on students’ meaning-making? What influence did these engagements have on their conceptions of texts, readers, and response? Findings show how social negotiation of meaning and robustness of design work expanded participants’ understandings of texts, readers, and response that challenge current autonomous, verbocentric conceptions of literacy that predominate in schools.
Assessing Multiliteracies: Mismatches and Opportunities
Authors: Botelho Maria Jose , Kerekes Julie , Jang Eunice Eunhee , Stagg Peterson Shelley
Published: April 2016

While current literacy theories acknowledge the sociocultural and sociopolitical dimensions of literacy learning and teaching, that is, multiliteracies, there exists a gap between theoretical approaches underpinning literacy teaching and assessment.  In this dialogue, we re-enact this divergence by collectively defining multiliteracies and deconstructing assessment practices, while speculating on possibilities for reconstruction. Constructing this dialogue across multiple areas of expertise exemplifies multiliteracies because we use critical speaking, listening, writing, reading, and representing, to make sense of our new understandings, and showcase our knowledge construction. Our goal is to explore ways to translate the theories of multiliteracies into assessment practices that make visible children’s cognitive-psychological, psycholinguistic, sociocultural, and sociopolitical processes with all kinds of texts.
Creating Characters with Diversity in Mind: Two Canadian Authors Discuss Social Constructs of Disability in Literature for Children
Authors: Brenna Beverley
Published: April 2016

Children’s authors have not traditionally developed characters with disabilities to include a multiplicity of traits, crafting instead static, uni-dimensional portrayals. While books with depictions of characters with identified exceptionalities have appeared onbookstore shelves and awards’ lists, these characters have generally been relegated to subsidiary positions, assisting other main characters in their growth and development without demonstrating parallel learning. Two Canadian authors discuss their conceptualization of characters with special needs, exploring personal narratives which have informed their work and concluding that children require book collections which explore multi-levelled characters, encouraging readers to discover real life heroes within and among themselves.
Obstacles and opportunities for literacy teaching: A case study of primary core French classrooms in Ontario.
Authors: Arnott Stephanie , Mady Callie
Published: April 2016

More and more, Canadian educators are being told that literacy development can occur across subject areas of the curriculum. Few studies have focused on whether this applies to core French as a second language (CF). This article reports on a study investigating the literacy teaching practices of Ontario primary core French teachers (n = 3), focusing  mainly on the practices of Christine, whose activities, strategies and perspectives highlight the potential for CF instruction to echo literacy principles taught in homeroom English (L1) classrooms, and for both languages to benefit. Context-specific constraints identified by all participating teachers will also be discussed.
University Students as Digital Migrants
Authors: Brown Cheryl
Published: April 2016

South African university students are on the frontline of a global world. Whether they are attending university in the rural Eastern Cape or urban Johannesburg, the social practice of using Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) has enabled virtual global mobility. The internet has opened up an opportunity for them to easily cross beyond the borders of South Africa and become part of an experience in another part of the world while the cellphone has facilitated this mobility anytime any place. This paper focuses on the students who are migrants into this digital world through analysis of their technology discourses and the role this has in how they engage with and within this digital environment. Using Gee‘s notion of big ‘D’ and little ‘d’ D(d)iscourses (1996), I have examined the meanings held by students in relation to technology. This analysis of language provides insights into students’ educational and social identities and the position of globalisation and the information society in both facilitating and constraining their participation and future opportunities.
Compos(t)ing Presence in the Poetry of Carl Leggo: Writing Practices that Disperse the Presence of the Author
Authors: De Freitas Elizabeth
Published: April 2016

This paper was presented as part of the Carl Leggo keynote address at the third annual CSSE pre-conference for the Language and Literacy Researchers of Canada. The paper explores the possibility of deconstructing “presence” in reflexive writing. The author examines Leggo’s “writing as compos(t)ing” as an example of arts-informed reflexive writing that problematizes the desire for presence, and argues that Leggo’s “clown” poetry interrogates notions of transparency in reflexive writing. Reflexive writing traces the presence of the writer in/through the text. It is a form of writing that celebrates the power of personal story to illuminate the intersections between self and society. The desire for presence, however, is never innocent and never without complication. In tracing that presence - in writing reflexively - the writer inscribes silence and absence while simultaneously making her/himself visible.
Characterizing Johnnieruth: High-school students, “tomboy” characters, and ideological becoming
Authors: Pace Barbara G. , Browning Angela
Published: April 2016

This research was focused on how minority characters are constructed in school-based readings of literature. Using microethnographic discourse analyses of a post-reading discussion, we examined how a small group of high-school students characterized a minority protagonist in a short story. We focused on the intercontextual processes for reading literature, the recognition work done in the group, and the themes that emerged as students described the character. We found that students drew on patterns and processes established in the class, but that these practices were disrupted when students began to describe a protagonist that challenged gender-role expectations. These insights can inform efforts to develop critical literacy in literature classes.
Biomedical Approaches to Literacy: Two Curriculum Teachers Challenge the Treatment of Dis/Ability in Contemporary Early Literacy Education
Authors: Heydon Rachel , Iannacci Luigi
Published: April 2016

This paper is a critical examination of the state of Canadian literacy education and research and its effects on young children. Its purpose is to appraise the ways in which disability is currently being produced and practiced in early school curricula and to argue for a theoretically rich curricula which begins from children’s strengths. To accomplish these goals, this paper commences with a brief appraisal of curriculum studies’ lack of attention to issues of dis/ability, considers major movements in literacy curricula, then contends that an innovation in literacy curricula the authors term, “the biomedical approach”, is pathologizing entire school populations and inflicting upon them reductionistic literacy curricula. This paper illustrates the biomedical approach through a narrative of a public school and the experiences of its early years staff and students.
New Literacy Opportunities and Practices of Latino/a Children of Poverty In and Out of School
Authors: Bussert-Webb Kathy M. , Diaz Maria E.
Published: April 2016

This case study examines new literacy opportunities and practices of 28 Latino/a children from grades one to seven in a South Texas colonia, or unincorporated area. Data sources were 24-hour literacy logs, two rounds of interviews, and participant observations. The children reported limited school work related to digital literacies; the technology they accessed outside of school focused on entertainment, communication with friends, and mostly non-challenging video games. We discuss participants’ ingenious ways of circumventing any lack of access, their underlying social practices of community sharing, and Thirdspace possibilities of the tutorial center that respondents attended.
Exploring Young Children’s Use of Illustrations in a Picturebook
Authors: Feathers Karen M. , Arya Poonam
Published: April 2016

Using analysis of oral reading and eye movements, this study examined how third grade children used visual information as they orally read either the original or the adapted version of a picturebook.  Eye tracking was examined to identify when and why students focused on images as well as what they looked at in the images.  Results document children’s deliberate use of images and point to the important role of images in text processing. The content of images, availability and placement of text and images on a page, and children’s personal strategies affected the use of images.
“English Language Learners”: An Analysis of Perplexing ESL-Related Terminology
Authors: Webster Nina Lee , Lu Chunlei
Published: April 2016

In today’s globalized world it is increasingly important to consciously consider the terminology used when referencing others. The purpose of this paper is to explore and discuss the perplexing array of loosely defined ESL-related terminology in Education. A literature search revealed various terms referring to the same group of learners, the most common being English Language Learner. Through a deconstruction of related terms, an alternative term is proposed: Learner of English as an Additional Language (LEAL). The language learning aspect should not be utilized as a defining characteristic. LEAL is a respectful and culturally appropriate term that utilizes person first language.
Raising a Reader: Teachings from the Four Directions
Authors: Latremouille Jodi Marie
Published: April 2016

In this two-part life writing script, I narrate and interpret my experiences as a teacher and parent of a “reluctant reader” in the early phases of learning to read. In the first part, I address the myths and panics that often overtake parents of young reluctant readers, who may fear that their children are at risk of falling behind their peers in reading. In the second part, using the Four Directions teachings taught by Elder Bob Cardinal of the Enoch Nation in a graduate holistic curriculum studies course at the University of Alberta, I interpret the process of learning to read as a relational and careful act of ceremony, which literally overflows the dominant interpretation of reading as a technical, fragmented skill of decoding. The lovely, difficult work of learning to read, when treated as a gift between generations, opens up possibilities for “renewing a common world” (Arendt, 2006, p. 196).
“The In-between Crowd”: Contrasting Representations of Minority Language Students
Authors: Wiltse Lynne
Published: April 2016

This paper examines contrasting representations of minority language students in a linguistically diverse junior high classroom in an urban area of Western Canada. The majority of the research participants was of Asian heritage, and spoke English as a second language. Drawing on the construct of learner identity, I explore how these minority language learners’ identities affected their experience in school. The study points to hybrid language practices, with particular attention to academic discourse, as a solution to developing English literacy in schools with students from multilingual backgrounds.
Six Found Poems
Authors: Pryer Alison
Published: April 2016

This group of six found poems explores the interrelated themes of identity, hybridity and liminality. They grew from a period of reading that the author undertook in order to more fully understand her family’s Anglo-Irish identity, and the significance of her “accidental” discovery of a Jewish heritage – a long-buried family secret.
Creating Identity: The Online Worlds of Two English Language Learners
Authors: Burke Anne
Published: April 2016

The online activities of new English language learners can reveal rich and varied literary behaviors, which are almost invisible in the middle grade classroom. While these non-native English speakers may experience cultural and linguistic apartness and struggle to express their identities at school, many develop online identities using their literacy skills in a highly productive, engaged, and anonymous fashion. When viewed through a New Literacies (Gee, 2000; Street, 1995) and Multiliteracies (Cope & Kalantzis, 2000) perspective, closer analysis of the predispositions, social attitudes, and activities of these students reveals significant educational advantages that may go largely undetected by educators in the traditional classroom. This article presents a qualitative case study, involving two English language learners, who actively sought out and engaged in online spaces where they could establish identities, practice multimodal literacies, and seek out affinity groups in keeping with their personal interests and abilities. This research is of significance to educators as it demonstrates the manner in which digital technologies can provide equitable access to literate practices for English Language Learners in the classroom.
First Steps in Developing an Online Learning Community to Facilitate Knowledge-Sharing on Early Literacy Issues
Authors: Penny-Light Tracy , Bloom Kathleen , Buzza Dawn , Collins Barbara Jane , Moos Beatrice , Carey Judy
Published: April 2016

As an initial step toward building an online community focused on early childhood literacy issues and research, we conducted focus groups to gain input from students and practitioners regarding their needs and interests related to participating in such a discussion forum. While the groups agreed that participating in an online discussion forum around childhood literacy would be beneficial, the contributions to such a learning community were expected to differ depending on group member affiliations: Students act as conduits of current research findings to practitioners, while professionals are able to ground university research questions in real-world issues, problems and contexts.
For the Family: One Teen’s Self-Selected Digital Literacy Practices
Authors: Barillas Maria Del Rosario , MacGillivray Laurie
Published: April 2016

As technology becomes a basic necessity in the lives of American families, populations who in the past have not had access to technology, will begin to engage with it as part of their daily functions. Consequently, the way that these families, and especially the children take hold of digital literacies, will depend on their cultural ways of knowing and their economic needs (Browning- Aiken, 2004; De La Peña & Orellana, 2007). In contrast to studies that document the limited access to technology in minority populations because of economic pressures (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2004; Kupperman & Fishman, 2002), this paper focuses on one Mexicano teen’s active participation with technology outside of school. It shows how economic need in the family served as the driving force for the purchase and use of the computer.
Becoming Literacy Leaders: Teacher Candidates Initiate a Community-Based Literacy Program
Authors: Scheffel Tara-Lynn
Published: April 2016

This paper presents a case study of a community-based literacy program that was initiated by teacher candidates. Program goals, purposes and opportunities for ongoing learning beyond coursework and practicum are explored. Key themes for discussion include: literacy as social and life-long; moving beyond print literacy; capitalizing on strengths; freedom in planning and freedom from assessment; feedback from the community; and, the opportunity to become literacy leaders. Mentorship roles are explored, along with questions for ongoing reflection and conversation.
Assessment Allegories: A Reflective Essay
Authors: Murphy Sharon
Published: April 2016

Three stories form the basis for exploring a series of issues in assessment. Issues explored include values underlying assessment, the manner in which the background knowledge and experiences of those being assessed are addressed, and the consequences of assessment.
Infusing arts/multimedia into a secondary pre-service course on language and literacy across the disciplines as imaginative and critical practices
Authors: LaMonde Anne-Marie , Rogers Theresa
Published: April 2016

This paper reports on a three-year project in which we infused arts-based media and digital learning into a mandatory language and literacy course for secondary pre-service teachers at a major Canadian university. Our underlying model favours dynamic, critical and transformative learning across modes, genres and social spaces in the secondary curriculum. We found prospective teachers to be committed to engaging in new media as a way to expand notions of literacy, author new genres of communication, and to be more engaging and inclusive of all students, yet they often remained sceptical of uncritical approaches.
The Effect of Explicit Pronunciation Instruction on Undergraduate EFL Learners' Vowel Perception
Authors: Ghorbani Mohammad Reza , Neissari Malihe , Kargozari Hamid Reza
Published: April 2016

Since English pronunciation errors are often caused by the transfer of the Persian language sound system, the present study investigated the effect of explicit pronunciation instruction on undergraduate English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners’ vowel perception enhancement. The nonequivalent group, pretest-posttest design was employed to study two classes of English literature and English teaching students at Kosar University of Bojnord (KUB) as the experimental group (EG) and control group (CG) respectively. A 40-item minimal pair test was developed based on the 3rd edition of the book Ship or Sheep written by Baker (2006). The reliability of the test was estimated 0.75 through KR-21 formula. After the pretest administration, both groups were exposed to the same activities; however, only the EG received the treatment regarding explicit pronunciation instruction. At the end of an eight-week training program, the pretest was used as the posttest. The results of the independent samples t-test from the posttest revealed that the EG had a better performance than the CG suggesting that EFL learners’ vowel perception can improve if they are explicitly made aware of their pronunciation errors.
Student Views of Learning: Perspectives from Three Countries
Authors: Beach Sara Ann , Ward Angela , Mirseitova Sapargul
Published: April 2016

This study examines how learners understand themselves as literacy learners and critical thinkers in their classrooms. Students in grades four, five and eight in the United States, Canada, and Kazakhstan were interviewed about their own literacy and thinking practices, their classroom experiences, and their understandings of the role of literacy in a democracy. Implications for classroom practice are described.
Les deux amoureux par G. Tibo
Authors: Gomez Leticia
Published: April 2016

Tibo, Gilles. Les deux amoureux. Soulières Éditeur. Collection : ma petite vache à mal aux pattes. Saint-Lambert (Québec), 2014. Imprimé.Les deux amoureux est le dernier roman jeunesse de Gilles Tibo qui s’est inspiré de sa propre enfance pour écrire ce petit ouvrage de quarante-six pages aux illustrations très réalistes. Gilles Tibo est un auteur productif qui a déjà quatorze romans à son actif. C’est un écrivain à succès dont sept de ses livres ont été traduits en coréen et dont trois sont maintenant épuisés, signe incontesté de son talent.Claire et Gilou sont deux jeunes écoliers qui tombent amoureux l’un de l’autre à la récréation. L’amour va les rendre plus fort, notamment envers les adultes qui ne semblent pas comprendre l’intensité des sentiments partagés par ces deux élèves. Peu importe ce que les grandes personnes en pensent, Claire et Gilou ont décidé de ne pas se lâcher la main et de tout faire ensemble; ce qui ne va pas être sans conséquence.Leur histoire d’amour commence dans la cours de récréation alors que tout le monde jouait. Soudain, comme par miracle, les yeux de Claire rencontrèrent ceux de Gilou et le coup de foudre fût instantané. L’amour les tétanise et les empêche même de retourner en classe lorsque la cloche sonne. Ils sont donc envoyés chez monsieur le directeur qui tente de leur faire entendre raison. Mais c’est peine perdu, les deux amoureux n’ont que faire du discours des adultes. À bout de patience, le directeur fait appel à l’orthopédagogue qui à son tour fait appel au professeur de gym. Mais aucun d’eux n’arrivent à convaincre les tourtereaux de se lâcher la main, ni même leurs parents qui finissent par perdre patience.L’histoire d’amour entre ces deux jeunes enfants parait peu réaliste du fait de l’intensité du coup de foudre. Il semblerait que la romance du Claire et Gilou soit plutôt de l’ordre du symbolique mais elle n’en demeure pas moins poignante. En effet, Claire et Gilou peuvent se comprendre sans même se parler, indice d’une maturité émotionnelle hors du commun voire même surnaturelle. L’histoire d’amour racontée dans ce roman jeunesse, fait sans aucun doute réfléchir sur la force et le pouvoir du sentiment amoureux chez les enfants. Il nous montre que l’amour est un sentiment universel qui n’est pas uniquement réservé aux adultes, bien au contraire.  L’histoire est racontée pour la plus part par un narrateur externe, dans un français standard, facilement compréhensible pour les enfants âgés d’au moins six ans. La présence de courts dialogues vient animer ce petit livre que je recommande à tous les parents dont les enfants, garçons et filles, seront un jour ou l’autre amoureux.Note : 3 étoilesAuteur de la critique : Leticia GomezLeticia étudie au Campus Saint-Jean depuis deux ans où elle effectue un baccalauréat en éducation secondaire avec une majeure en littérature. Elle écrit également des critiques littéraires pour le Franco, un journal francophone local.
Bird & Squirrel On The Run! by J. Burks
Authors: Pendry Annabelle
Published: April 2016

Burks, James. Bird & Squirrel On The Run! New York: Scholastic Graphix, 2012. Print. After years as an artist in the hallways of the animation industry, author/illustrator James Burks takes an unlikely duo on an adventure of discovered friendship. Timid Squirrel, complete with winter food preparations and a fear of almost everything (“Don’t you know that cats are responsible for 47 percent of all squirrel deaths each year?”), suddenly loses his winter safety net in dramatic fashion, catching the hungry eye of a determined and ferocious cat.  Squirrel has no choice but to grudgingly pair himself with the animal responsible for his loss, an adventurous Bird who brazenly lives in the moment (“The world is our oyster!”) but who attracts trouble with every swoop of his wing.  Together they venture south to find warmth and food, dodging their persistently predatory cat and other natural hazards but find help along the way from a kind family of moles.  A few shared life and death adventures later, Bird and Squirrel begin to appreciate and learn from each other’s ways, discovering new aspects of their own personalities while becoming true friends in the process.   ​ Burks uses clean lines and brightly coloured characters against more neutral backgrounds to frame clear and simple facial expressions that will appeal to younger readers. The fast paced story is presented with minimal change in perspective and timeline which makes this an ideal introduction to graphic novels for younger readers. ​​ Recommended: 3 out of 4 stars Reviewer: Annabelle Pendry Annabelle Pendry loves her job as Teacher Librarian at Mount Pleasant Elementary in Vancouver, BC.
Picture a Tree by B. Reid
Authors: Campbell Sandy
Published: April 2016

Reid, Barbara. Picture a Tree. Toronto: North Winds Press, 2011. Print. The cover notes for this picture book tell us to “Picture a tree – now look again!”  Award winning Toronto author and illustrator, Barbara Reid, encourages readers to see not just the trees, but how people use them, what they mean and what we can see in them.  However it is not just the trees that demand a second look.  The book itself is the most amazing collection of artwork – all made of plasticine, a modeling clay!  On each page showing a tree in leaf, there are hundreds of tiny plasticine leaves.  When Reid shows us a street scene where the trees make a leafy tunnel, the street, the cars, the house fronts and the people walking their dog are all fine plasticine work.  When she shows us shade trees as umbrellas, not only is the woman with the baby and the man on a scooter made of the plasticine, the shadow cast by the tree is, too. As the book moves through the seasons from spring to winter, Reid really does find many different ways to look at trees. She sees the leafless branches as a drawing against the sky, falling leaves as a good-bye party and snow-covered trees as trees in snowsuits.  The text is brief and easy to read; no more than a single sentence on each page.  The concepts and words are simple enough for children ages three and up to enjoy. Most children reading this book will not see the artwork as different from any other illustration.  It is only in the expanses of sky or snow that it is easy to see the plasticine.  Because of this, parents will enjoy Picture a Tree on a different level from the children with whom they share it.   Highly recommended for public and elementary school libraries. Highly recommended:  4 out of 4 starsReviewer:  Sandy Campbell Sandy is a Health Sciences Librarian at the University of Alberta, who has written hundreds of book reviews across many disciplines.  Sandy thinks that sharing books with children is one of the greatest gifts anyone can give.
The Fire Horse Girl by K. Honeyman
Authors: Graas Erin
Published: April 2016

Honeyman, Kay. The Fire Horse Girl. New York: Arthur A. Levine Books - Scholastic Inc, 2013. Ebook.What would you do if you had a chance to be free?  In the novel, The Fire Horse Girl, the protagonist Jade Moon dreams of escaping her traditional Chinese household where it seems she can do nothing right.  Born in the Year of the Fire Horse, a particularly bad year for girls to be born, Jade Moon is destined to bring tragedy to her family, or so she has been raised to believe.  When a visitor comes to the small village of Jinjiu on the last day of the Year of the Water Dog, February 15, 1923, Jade Moon’s life changes forever.Sterling Moon has come with a proposal for Jade Moon’s father: come to America, and save your family from poverty and subsistence.  As with all decisions in the household, Jade Moon is never consulted, but finds herself traveling first to Hong Kong, and then America.  The promises of a new land and the supposed freedoms it offer are intoxicating, and author Kay Honeyman does an excellent job of helping the reader feel the anticipation and excitement that Jade Moon experiences.  When not everything goes as planned, the reader is completely enthralled in Jade Moon’s attempts to get out of trouble alive.  This is a story of immigration, racism, culture shock, traditions held onto and traditions torn away; a story of China and America in the past, with so much to teach the reader about the ramifications for the present and future.  The author has created a world that is easy to fall into, and hard to forget.Highly recommended: 4 out of 4 starsReviewer: Erin Graas
Gift Days by K.-L. Winters
Authors: Law Margaret
Published: April 2016

Winters, Kari-Lynn. Gift Days. Illus. Stephen Taylor. Markham, ON: Fitzhenry & Whiteside, 2012. Print.A young Ugandan girl, Nassali, watches her brother go to school every day, and wishes she could go too.  She wants to learn to read but her time is filled with taking care of her family, her responsibility since the death of her mother.  How her life changes, and how she learns to read is told through this picture book. The author, Kari-Lynn Winters, is a Canadian author and literacy researcher and a faculty member in Teacher Education at Brock University.  She is a well-known author of numerous picture books.The book is illustrated by Stephen Taylor, a graduate of the Ontario College of Art, and frequent Illustrator of children’s books.  The illustrations are charming and add a great deal of depth to the story.  They do an excellent job of conveying how alone and left out Nassali feels as her brother goes to school every day, and her joy and sense of pride when she learns to read.The story unfortunately, is not as engaging as the illustrations.  The language is quite dry and somewhat didactic, seemingly at odds with the picture book format.  There are some disconnections in the story. It is unclear, for example, why the brother decides to teach Nassali to read.  For this reason it is difficult to determine the intended audience.  The format suggests primary school students, but the content suggests an older audience.This book would be useful as an instructional resource in an elementary school setting for a unit on gender issues or development. It is not, however, likely to engage a self-directed reader of any age.Reviewer:  Margaret Law Recommended with reservations: 2 out of 4 starsMargaret Law is the Associate University Librarian (International Relations) at the University of Alberta, responsible for developing international library partnerships.  Previously, she was a public librarian, primarily involved with the development of rural libraries in Alberta.