bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Brain natriuretic peptide assessed at long-term follow-up before and after maximal exercise in surgically palliated patients with functionally univentricular hearts
Authors: Holmgren Daniel , Strömvall-Larsson Eva , Lundberg Per-Arne , Eriksson Bengt O. , Wåhlander Håkan 
Published: June 2007

AbstractWe evaluated the concentrations of brain natriuretic peptide in the plasma as a marker of systolic ventricular function before and after maximal exercise in 15 surgically palliated patients with functionally univentricular hearts, with apparently good ventricular function. Of the patients, 6 with median age of 14.6 years, and a range from 12.5 to 17.9 years, had been palliated by construction of a total cavopulmonary connection, while the other 9 patients, with a median age of 32.1 years, and a range from 15.6 to 54.2 years, had undergone the classical Fontan procedure. We used 8 healthy individuals, with a median age of 13.9 years, and a range from 12.8 to 14.2 years, as a control group for the measurements of brain natriuretic peptide. The values of the peptide were significantly higher in those with the classical Fontan procedure, both before, when the median value was 131.8 nanogram per litre, with a range from 0.5 to 296.4, and after maximal exercise, when the median value was 108.1, with a range from 0.1 to 235.9. The comparable values in those with a total cavopulmonary connection were a median of 12.8, and a range from 0.5 to 39.1 before, and a median of 9.7, with a range from 2.7 to 26.2 after maximal exercise. The median value for the control group was 13.1, with a range from 2.6 to 38.7 before exercise (p = 0.016), and a median of 24.1, with a range from 5.8 to 66.7 after maximal exercise (p = 0.03), respectively. In the control subjects, the level of the peptide increased by a median of 9.7 nanograms per litre, with a range from 1.2 to 28.0 after maximal exercise (p = 0.008). The level was unchanged after maximal exercise in those with classical Fontan procedures and total cavopulmonary connections, with a difference between levels before and after exercise of a median of 5.9 nanogram per litre, and a range from −23.7 to 31.0 (p = 0.96), and a median of −1.0 nanogram per litre, with a range from −12.0 to 3.9 (p > 0.99), respectively. We conclude that maximal exercise did not increase the level of brain natriuretic peptide level in those patients with the classical Fontan procedure, nor those with a total cavopulmonary connection, findings which may indicate that systolic ventricular dysfunction is not the major cause of the decreased working capacity observed in patients with well functioning palliated functionally univentricular hearts.
In‐Service Diploma Course Evaluation using Repertory Grids
Authors: Kevill Frances , Shaw Mildred , Goodacre Elizabeth 
Published: June 2007

AbstractKelly repertory grids (Kelly, 1955), and associated computer programs (Shaw, 1980) were used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Post Experience Diploma in Literacy Development taught at Middlesex Polytechnic. Thirteen teachers participated in the study and they reported two major causes of change directly attributable to the Diploma. These were: (a) a greater knowledge, and (b) increased self‐awareness. The two causes of change were closely related to the stated aims and objectives of the Diploma and they instigated many positive outcomes related to: (i) the organisation and planning of the teaching of reading, (ii) the nature of communication and interaction with colleagues, and (iii) specific child centred benefits. Fewer negative outcomes were reported but they should provide the course tutors with a feedback to re‐direct their energies more profitably to overcome these problems when next teaching the Diploma. It is suggested that senior personnel in the schools provide conditions for the returning teacher which enable the potential benefits of gaining a Diploma to be maximised within the school.
The Reliability and Validity of One‐zero Sampling: misconceived criticisms and unacknowledged assumptions
Authors: Smith Peter K. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractDunkerton (1981) has argued that one‐zero sampling methods are useless for quantitative observational research in classrooms. His conclusions rest on a confusion of reliability and validity, on unjustified confidence in the importance of absolute values of frequency and duration of behaviours, and a misunderstanding of the nature ofscientific measurement. Observational procedures do need to be clearly specified, butone‐zero sampling provides a useful choice of method in many circumstances.
The What and Wherefore of Nursery Record‐keeping
Authors: Moore Elizabeth , Sylva Kathy 
Published: June 2007

AbstractNursery headteachers and nursery class teachers in two LEAs with official records participated in a study of record‐keeping practices. One LEA offers a checklist form and the other a structured narrative. Although the two different formats are well liked, staff in both authorities extend the official records and often add items in a format different from the official one. Regardless of format, the purpose to which records are put in similar in both authorities: planning for individual children and organising staff teamwork. One authority places special emphasis on transfer records but neither uses records for communicating with parents or outside professionals. In only one authority do nursery assistants make a substantial contribution to the records. Few respondents questioned their accuracy in making assessments and several suggestions are made for improving objectivity
Gender Differences in High School Science in Israel
Authors: Tamir Pinchas 
Published: June 2007

AbstractWithin the framework of the Second IEA Science Study a representative sample of Israeli 12th grade students (N=2153) responded to a series of questionnaires and achievement tests in the last term of the academic years 1983 or 1984. The sample consisted of four groups, three of which specialising each in one of the sciences (biology, chemistry and physics) and one comprised of students who did not study any science in their junior and senior years. The purpose of this paper is to report on gender differences in achievement, attitudes, preferences, learning experiences and study habits. The major findings were as follows.
The percentage of girls in each of the specialising groups are as follows. Biology: 61; chemistry: 49; physics: 31; non‐science: 66.
More boys perceive themselves as high achievers in science and math.
Significantly more boys like to study math and science more than other school subjects.
Significantly more boys aspire for science‐oriented careers.
Boys achieve better than girls in physics and in earth science, but their achievement in biology and chemistry is similar to that of girls. The achievement of non‐science girls is alarmingly low and with the exception of biology much lower than that of boys.
Boys have more positive attitudes toward science and better understanding of the nature of science.
>Girls express more positive attitudes to school but boys are more interested in science studies.
There are no differences in cognitive preferences.
Girls report on having more inquiry oriented experiences.
More boys aspire for scientific research and engineering careers. Relatively more girls aspire for medical careers.
The implications of these findings for science education in general and in Israel in particular are discussed.
Occupational Stress and Satisfaction in Teaching
Authors: Borg Mark G. , Riding Richard J. 
Published: June 2007

AbstractTeacher stress, job satisfaction, absenteeism, career intention, career commitment and self‐image as teacher were investigated in a context which allowed many of the characteristics of an educational system to be incorporated in the design. A questionnaire survey of 545 teachers in Maltese secondary schools revealed that some of the demographic characteristics of the sample were related to self‐reported teacher stress, job satisfaction and career commitment. Results also showed that teachers who reported greater stress were less satisfied with teaching, reported greater frequency of absences and a greater number of total days absent, were more likely to leave teaching (career intention), and less likely to take up a teaching career again (career commitment).
Effects of the 1988 Education Reform Act on Racial Equality of Opportunity in Further Education Colleges
Authors: Reeves Frank 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis article describes the effects of the 1988 Education Reform Act on racial equality of opportunity in further education focusing, in particular, on management changes, including strategic planning, financial delegation, control over staff appointments, the composition and role of governing bodies, and relations with schools, higher education and adult continuing education. It concludes that the successful implementation of equal opportunity policy in further education requires the recognition and adoption of a management model, involving precise goal‐setting, resource allocation and evaluation.
An Investigation of Children's Knowledge of Mathematics at School Entry and the Knowledge their Teachers Hold about Teaching and Learning Mathematics, about Young Learners and Mathematical Subject Knowledge
Authors: Aubrey Carol 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis paper describes an investigation of the mathematical competencies that 48 young children brought into school and their teachers' reported planning and implementation of the mathematics curriculum for the reception year. Competence was shown in counting, recognition of numerals, representation of quantity, simple addition, subtraction and social sharing, appropriate language of measurement, position in space and on a line, and selecting criteria to sort objects. The reception teachers claimed to plan integrated topic work and stressed the importance of play, flexibility and choice, with opportunities provided for practical activities in areas where children had already demonstrated competence. The content and sequence of the curriculum was derived from infant mathematics schemes which provided a rational analysis of subject knowledge. Little account was reported to be taken by class teachers of the nature and direction of young children's developing knowledge of mathematics gained in problem‐solving situations, and little evidence of its consideration could be found in the infant mathematics schemes they used.
‘No Problem Here’: action research against racism in a mainly white area
Authors: Donald Patricia , Gosling Susan , Hamilton Jean , Hawkes Nicolas , McKenzie David , Stronach Ian 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe paper outlines the result of a one‐year project of action research into the prevalence and nature of racism in two primary schools and the implementation of multi‐cultural and anti‐racist guidelines in Scotland. Two schools are examined with respect to these factors by teachers. The conclusion is that the action research, although not officially supported by funding, except for a small amount from the University of Stirling, is nevertheless important. It has enabled teachers to examine a marginalised educational area related to social justice, and generate local and personal knowledge that can be translated into the leverage of power. The paper challenges assumptions about racism existing only ‘regionally’ in the UK.
Class Size in Primary Schools: perceptions of headteachers, chairs of governors, teachers and parents
Authors: Bennett Neville 
Published: June 2007

AbstractClass sizes in primary schools have continued to rise throughout the last decade, in contrast to those in secondary schools. The response of central government has been that there is no evidence linking class size and pupil outcomes in Britain, and that class size is an issue to be resolved by schools and local government. This study was designed to assess the experiences, attitudes and perceptions of the major participants and users of statutory primary schooling—headteachers, chairs of governors, teachers and parents—in three broad areas: the current situation in their school and the importance of class size in the present educational context; how class size affects children as learners, and teachers classroom practices; and the management of resources and decision‐making at school level in relation to class size. The findings of a national survey are presented together with a consideration of their implications for action at school and governmental level.
Power and Gender in the Staffroom
Authors: Paechter Carrie , Head John 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis paper explores the interface between gender and power through the examination of the process of introducing the new subject of design and technology into the English and Welsh National Curriculum. In considering teachers’ reactions to and interpretations of the new subject, three aspects of power are considered: the relationship between power and the self, the dynamic between positional and network power, and the way power was used by men and women in this situation. It is suggested that gender/power relations operating at the micro‐level within a professional group do not necessarily follow the structural apportionment of power and may, indeed, cut across and undermine it.
An Investigation of Teachers’ Mathematical Subject Knowledge and the Processes of Instruction in Reception Classes
Authors: Aubrey Carol 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis paper forms the last in a series of four papers which has described the way mathematical knowledge is presented and the way it is understood by teachers and children in reception classes. The aim here is to explore the co‐ordination and utilisation of teacher and pupil knowledge in the complex world of reception classrooms by following four such classrooms across the school year. An in‐depth analysis of a sample of five lessons from each of the four teachers concerned is provided as well as an account of their own reported experiences of learning mathematics, and their planning, teaching and assessing of mathematics in children's reception year, obtained from subsequent interview. Consideration of the mathematical knowledge, skills and competences of a sample of 10 children from each setting is also made. Both interviews and informal discussions which took place during the year suggested that teachers’ understanding of their pupils was an accumulated, contextualised knowledge derived from experience of children's particular responses to particular curriculum tasks in particular contexts rather than from formal assessment procedures. Teachers spent most of their time observing and assessing, coaching, guiding and correcting small group, mathematical tasks which encouraged active learning. This was made possible by the range of choice and flexibility available in other classroom activities in three of the four settings and by a generous staff‐pupil ratio in the fourth. The tasks presented allowed teachers to assess the extent to which children could answer questions about content and apply knowledge strategically. Knowledge construction appeared to be a dynamic process generated in response to particular learning experiences and to situational demands. Task demand, in fact, was changed in the process of tutoring and guiding and in the ‘scaffolding’ of children's responses. The range and depth of teachers’ own subject knowledge and the diversity in observed practice raises some important questions with respect to teachers’ pedagogical subject knowledge and, more specifically, to its influence of the content and processes of mathematical instruction.
A Counter‐policy to Subvert Education Reform? Collaboration among Schools and Colleges in a Competitive Climate
Authors: Wallace Mike 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe concept of a ‘counter‐policy’ is articulated as a heuristic device for grasping the process of mediation whereby implementation of national policies may stimulate resistance and co‐optation at other education system levels. The discussion is illustrated through exploratory research into initiatives promoting collaboration among English schools and colleges, some enjoying local education authority (LEA) support. The term counter‐policy is defined and located within a local perspective on national policy implementation; the scope of the investigation is summarised; the national policy context stimulating counter‐policies is sketched; how far the collaborative groups studied had developed a counter‐policy is discussed; interaction between key players at different system levels impacting on these counter‐policies is outlined, including reference to related counter‐policies developed in some LEAs; and conclusions are drawn about application of the counter‐policy concept to collaborative initiatives, utility of the conceptual orientation, an agenda for further research, and the potential of collaborative initiatives to subvert central government reform.
External Inspection or School Self‐evaluation? A Comparative Analysis of Policy and Practice in Primary Schools in England and Finland
Authors: Webb Rosemary , Vulliamy Graham , Häkkinen Kirsh , Hämäläinen Seppo 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe findings reported in this article form part of a wider comparative research project investigating the processes of curriculum change in primary schools in England and Finland during the period 1994–97. The two countries’ policies on inspection and monitoring were moving in opposite directions. Finland has abandoned its national inspection system and is promoting school self‐evaluation, whilst in England external accountability has been imposed on schools through Office for Standards in Education (OFSTED) inspections. Using data from case studies of six schools in each country, it is argued that each country has something to learn from the practice of the other. In England, the impact of OFSTED inspections has been mainly on policies and procedures, rather than on classroom practice, and the effects on teacher morale have been debilitating. In Finland, although early attempts at school self‐evaluation have lacked a whole‐school strategy, ownership of the evaluation process by teachers, together with inputs from parental feedback and pupil self‐assessment, have contributed to positive changes in classroom practice.
Evaluation of a Focused Literacy Teaching Programme in Reception and Year 1 classes: child outcomes
Authors: Hurry Jane , Sylva Kathy , Riley Jeni 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThis study investigated the effectiveness of a focused literacy teaching programme for children in Reception and Year 1 classes. The literacy programme combines a whole language approach to literacy with a structured classroom organisation, including a relatively high level of direct teacher instruction. It has been influential in the design of the National Literacy Strategy, which has adopted several of its organisational features. The children in six literacy programme and six comparison schools were assessed on entry to reception class and followed up at the end of Reception and Year 1. Children in the literacy programme schools made significantly more progress in reading in both Reception and Year 1, with an approximate 2 month reading age advantage at first post‐test and an approximate 4 month reading age advantage at second post‐test.
The effect of Multi Convergent Therapy on the psychopathology, mood and performance of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome patients: A preliminary study
Authors: Thomas Marie , Sadlier Michael , Smith Andrew 
Published: June 2007

AbstractObjectives: Multi Convergent Therapy combines approaches such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Graded Exercise Therapy in an holistic treatment of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Initial follow‐up data showed that patients were benefiting from this individualised form of therapy. The objective of the present study was to evaluate this Multi Convergent approach, developed at a specialised Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Outpatient clinic in Cardiff, and compare it to Relaxation Therapy and control groups using multiple outcome measures.Design: Thirty‐five participants fitting the Centre for Disease Control criteria for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome were recruited from two outpatient clinics and members of our existing patient panel. Patients were assigned to Multi Convergent Therapy (N=12), Relaxation Therapy (N=14) or recruited as controls (N=9).Methods: Each patient completed a battery of mood and performance tasks along with comprehensive set of questionnaires at baseline, post‐treatment and at six‐month follow‐up. These measures had been validated in previous studies on untreated patients and matched healthy controls.Results: Patients attending the Multi Convergent Therapy clinic showed statistically significant improvements in many of our measures. Most importantly we have produced data indicating that Multi Convergent Therapy provides improvements in objective measures of psychomotor performance and cognition.Discussion: The outcomes of this small study are encouraging. Multi Convergent Therapy has not only produced results indicating significant improvements in standardised questionnaire based measures but also in objective cognitive performance tasks. The next step would be to assess Multi Convergent Therapy at the primary medical care level, with a greater number of patients to further evaluate its efficacy as a treatment for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
Injecting drug users, HIV risk behaviour and shooting galleries in Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Authors: HOSSAIN MOKERROM 
Published: June 2007

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate HIV risk behaviours of IDUs and the drug scene in Bangladesh. The setting for the study was the city of Rajshahi, in the northwestern area of Bangladesh, which shares a border with India. Sixty‐four clients of a drug treatment agency were surveyed about their drug use, drug injecting, sexual behaviour and knowledge about HIV and AIDS. All participants were males with a mean age of 32 years. Most participants had no or little formal education. All participants had injected drugs, primarily buprenorphine. The majority of participants were long‐term drug users who had begun injecting drugs recently‐70% had commenced injecting in the last 3 years. Sexual contact with sex workers (50%) and with casual partners (85%) was common among participants. Although most participants had heard of AIDS, few knew how HIV is transmitted. Most participants (81%) injected in groups at shooting galleries where they paid another to inject them. The shooting galleries operated without concern for hygiene or user safety. The potential for HIV to spread among IDUs and onto their non‐injecting sexual partners in Bangladesh is cause for concern. A rapid assessment of HIV prevalence among IDUs in Bangladesh is urgently required.
Unilateral Mate Choice Causes Bilateral Behavioral Isolation Between Two Closely Related Phytophagous Ladybird Beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae: Epilachninae)
Authors: Matsubayashi Kei W. , Katakura Haruo 
Published: June 2007

AbstractBehavioral isolation between two sympatric and closely related phytophagous ladybird beetles, Henosepilachna vigintioctomaculata and Henosepilachana pustulosa, was studied in laboratory. Mating behavior was investigated using the male‐choice test. Males of H. vigintioctomaculata preferred conspecific females to heterospecific females as mates, whereas males of H. pustulosa did not show such preference. Females of H. vigintioctomaculata appeared more fastidious at mating than females of H. pustulosa, irrespective of the species of males. Males of neither species showed tenaciousness following rejection by females. The choice of conspecifics by H. vigintioctomaculata males and a difference in the intensity of rejection between H. vigintioctomaculata females (strong) and H. pustulosa females (weak) result in positive behavioral isolation in both directions of heterospecific matings. Our results thus indicated that positive unilateral mate choice yields bilateral behavioral isolation between these two species.