Quebec's Public Libraries: An Overview of Their History and Current Situation     

M. A. Paola Picco 《Public Library Quarterly》2013,32(2):139-150

This article begins with a brief historical review of the establishment of the first public libraries in the province of Quebec and the difficulties and challenges they faced. The Catholic Church played a significant role in library evolution. The article then relates the situation of public libraries in Quebec today. After analyzing their current levels of performance, the article concludes that, although Quebec's libraries have improved, they continue to be held back compared to other Canadian public libraries.  相似文献   

Sex education in Spain: the relevance of teachers’ training and attitudes / Educación sexual en España: importancia de la formación y las actitudes del profesorado     

José-Luis Martínez  Isabel Vicario-Molina  Eva González  Paola Ilabaca 《Infancia y Aprendizaje》2013,36(1):117-148

Abstract

This research has two main aims: a) the study of Spanish teachers’ training and attitudes towards sex education, as well as the delivery of this subject in classrooms, while also exploring the existence of differences according to personal and professional characteristics; and b) to examine the association between teachers’ training and attitudes, and the extent to which these variables predict the delivery of sex education. A total of 3,695 Infant, Primary, Secondary and High school teachers (66.1% women, 33.9% men) throughout the country completed a voluntary online questionnaire that inquired about their training and attitudes towards sex education, their delivery or non-delivery of this subject in classrooms, and other personal and professional characteristics. Analyses indicate that participants show positive attitudes towards sex education, but that 43.3% are not trained in this issue, and 48.6% do not teach it at school. Some significant differences by sex, educational stage and type of school have been found. In addition, trained teachers show more positive attitudes to sex education. Finally, having more positive attitudes and, to a lesser extent, having prior training, positively predicts the delivery of sex education. These results highlight the importance of reviewing and improving teachers’ training on sexuality and sex education, with particular emphasis on attitudinal contents.  相似文献   

Market accountability in schools: policy reforms in England,Germany, France and Italy     

Paola Mattei 《牛津教育评论》2013,39(3):247-266

This article concentrates on the policy reforms of schools in England, Germany, France and Italy, from 1988 to 2009, with a focus on the introduction of market accountability. Pressing demands for organisational change in schools, shaped by the objectives of ‘efficiency’ and competition, which were introduced in England in the 1980s, have been adopted in other European countries, albeit at a slower pace and within the continuing need for domestic institutional conformity. How does the increasing predominance of market accountability in state schools change traditional bureaucratic and professional accountability relationships between politicians, managers, professionals and users? The article argues that despite some evidence of convergence between different education systems, England remains the outlier and continental European countries have been much more reluctant to adopt choice and competition policies.  相似文献   

Introductory editorial comments     

Paola Merli 《Cultural Trends》2009,18(1):103-104

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Energy balance of locomotion with pedal-driven watercraft   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Zamparo P  Carignani G  Plaino L  Sgalmuzzo B  Capelli C 《Journal of sports sciences》2008,26(1):75-81

In this study, we examined the mechanics and energetics of locomotion with a paddle-wheel boat and a water bike. Power output (Wtot) was measured directly on the water bike by means of an instrumented chain-ring. The simultaneous assessment of oxygen uptake (VO2) allowed the computation of the "overall" efficiency of locomotion (etao = Wtot/VO2). Mean etao was 0.27 (s = 0.02), which was unaffected by the speed, and was assumed to be the same for the two boats as both are semi-recumbent bicycles. For the paddle-wheel boat, Wtot was then obtained from etao and measures of VO2. The power to overcome (passive) drag was calculated as Wd = D x v (where D is the force measured by means of a load cell when towing the boats at given speeds). Propelling efficiency was calculated as etap = Wd/Wtot, which was lower with the paddle-wheel boat (mean 0.35, s = 0.01) than with the water bike (mean 0.57, s = 0.01). The observed differences in etap and Wd explain why at the highest speed tested (approximately 3 m s(-1), the energy required to cover a unit distance with the water bike is similar to that required to move the paddle-wheel boat at 1.3 m s-1).  相似文献   

Evolutionary transition between invertebrates and vertebrates via methylation reprogramming in embryogenesis     

Xiaocui Xu  Guoqiang Li  Congru Li  Jing Zhang  Qiang Wang  David K Simmons  Xuepeng Chen  Naveen Wijesena  Wei Zhu  Zhanyang Wang  Zhenhua Wang  Bao Ju  Weimin Ci  Xuemei Lu  Daqi Yu  Qian-fei Wang  Neelakanteswar Aluru  Paola Oliveri  Yong E Zhang  Mark Q Martindale  Jiang Liu 《国家科学评论(英文版)》2019,6(5):993

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Does generating examples aid proof production?     

Paola Iannone  Matthew Inglis  Juan Pablo Mejía-Ramos  Adrian Simpson  Keith Weber 《Educational Studies in Mathematics》2011,77(1):1-14

Many mathematics education researchers have suggested that asking learners to generate examples of mathematical concepts is an effective way of learning about novel concepts. To date, however, this suggestion has limited empirical support. We asked undergraduate students to study a novel concept by either tackling example generation tasks or reading worked solutions to these tasks. Contrary to suggestions in the literature, we found no advantage for the example generation group on subsequent proof production tasks. From a second study, we found that undergraduate students overwhelmingly adopt a trial and error approach to example generation and suggest that different example generation strategies may result in different learning gains. We conclude by arguing that the teaching strategy of example generation is not yet understood well enough to be a viable pedagogical recommendation.  相似文献   

The elixir (or burden) of youth? Exploring differences in innovation between start-ups and established firms     

Paola Criscuolo  Nicos Nicolaou 《Research Policy》2012,41(2):319-333

Despite the widely acknowledged role of start-ups in economic development, little is known about their innovative activities compared with those of established firms. Drawing on a sample of 12,209 UK firms, we differentiate between services and manufacturing firms and, using a matching estimator approach, demonstrate that start-ups differ significantly from established firms in their innovation activities. We find that in services, being a start-up increases the likelihood of product innovations. However, in manufacturing, we find no significant differences in the likelihood of product innovation between start-ups and established firms. When examining the returns to innovation, we find that start-ups have a significant advantage both in services and in manufacturing. We explore the implications of these results for theory and policy.  相似文献   

Reading minds: the relation between children's mental state knowledge and their metaknowledge about reading   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Lecce S  Zocchi S  Pagnin A  Palladino P  Taumoepeau M 《Child development》2010,81(6):1876-1893

The relation between children's mental state knowledge and metaknowledge about reading was examined in 2 studies. In Study 1, 196 children (mean age = 9 years) were tested for verbal ability (VA), metaknowledge about reading, and mental state words in a story task. In Study 2, the results of Study 1 were extended by using a cross-lagged design and by investigating older children (N = 71, mean ages = 10 years at Time 1 and 11 years at Time 2) for mental state knowledge, metaknowledge about reading, and VA. Results showed a significant relation between early cognitive (but not emotion) mental state knowledge and later metaknowledge about reading, controlling for VA. Results suggest close links between different aspects of children's knowledge about the mind.  相似文献   

Sparks in the dark: the attraction of electricity in the eighteenth century   总被引：1，自引：0，他引：1  

Bertucci P 《Endeavour》2007,31(3):88-93

Electricity was the craze of the eighteenth century. Thrilling experiments became forms of polite entertainment for ladies and gentlemen who enjoyed feeling sparks, shocks and attractions on their bodies. Popular lecturers designed demonstrations that were performed in darkened salons to increase the spectacle of the so-called electric fire. Not only did the action, the machinery and the ambience of such displays match the culture of the libertine century, it also provided new material for erotic literature.  相似文献