Historical Activity Research Articles

Skeletal loading score is associated with bone microarchitecture in young adults.

We determined the association between a new skeletal loading (SkL) score reflecting physical activity from age 11 to adulthood, the bone specific physical activity questionnaire (BPAQ) and bone microarchitecture in young Black and White men and women. We conducted a cross-sectional study of young ([mean ± SD] 23.7 ± 3.3 years) Black (n = 51 women, n = 31 men) and White (n = 50 women, n = 49 men) adults. Microarchitecture and estimated bone strength (by micro-finite element analysis) were assessed at the ultradistal tibia using high-resolution peripheral quantitative computed tomography (HR-pQCT). Physical activity questionnaires were administered and a SkL score was derived based on ground reaction force, rate of loading, frequency, duration, and life period of participation per activity from age 11 onwards. BPAQ score was also calculated. We used multiple linear regression to determine associations between both SkL score and BPAQ score and bone outcomes, adjusting for age, height, weight, sex, and race. We found that SkL score, which accounts for current and historical physical activity, was significantly associated with most cortical bone parameters at the tibia including area, area fraction, porosity, thickness, and tissue mineral density (R2 = 0.27-0.55, all p < 0.01). Further, trabecular thickness, separation, number, and bone mineral density (R2 = 0.22-0.32, all p < 0.01), as well as stiffness and failure load (R2 = 0.63-0.65, all p < 0.01), were associated with the SkL score. The BPAQ was also significantly associated with most bone parameters, but to a lesser degree than SkL score. These findings suggest that among young adults, greater amounts of osteogenic physical activity, as assessed by the SkL score and BPAQ are associated with improved bone microarchitecture and strength. With the potential to predict bone parameters in young adults, these scores may ultimately serve to identify those most vulnerable to fracture.

Cloud computing: Bridging the link between industry and the classroom

With the rapid expansion of cloud computing usage and applications, the need to prepare graduates with high caliber cloud computing skills is becoming a necessity. This paper discusses the challenges of teaching cloud computing, and how to overcome these to equip the graduates with modern industry-standard skills. The paper reports on the experience of achieving this goal by employing the cultural–historical activity learning theory in teaching this course. This was achieved by introducing a variety of activities in the course such as: up-to-date technical content, a hands-on projects, technical presentations, and a certification program. The paper assesses the success of the experience by analyzing the feedback of the students twice; at the end of the course, and several years afterward when they have enrolled in the job market. The results clearly show the importance of having practical and hands-on courses that would keep students engaged, at the same time it is preparing them for the job market. The results also showed that the students appreciation for the course have increased after they have started working. Specifically, two-thirds of the students believe that the course was helpful in getting their current job.

“Whilst I learn and live”: a comparative case study analysing the identity formation of seventh grade Turkish and International students via self-narratives in an English class

ABSTRACT This article examines the results of a 17-week self-narrative portfolio project from a year seven classroom in Turkey. The practitioner research combines the frameworks of Cultural Historical Activity Theory and Figured Words in order to assess the differences in linguistic and identity growth between national and international students. I posit that even in places where concepts of identity are delicate and unchallenged, student autobiographies can create safe classroom spaces through which students can develop agency, linguistic skills, and authentic approaches to learning. By drawing additionally on Bakhtinian concepts of authoring the self alongside the concept of Figured Worlds and the heuristic of CHAT, I was able to explore how confronting one’s ethnic identity is central in positioning oneself within a Figured World; metaphors are a way that students can cope with, confront, and overcome their internal conflicts with the Figured Worlds they step into; and moments of realisation occur when students express their conflicts, thus creating their own agency.

Subject-Integrated Teaching for Expanded Vocational Knowing and Everyday Situations in a Swedish Upper Secondary Health and Social Care Program

The aim of this study was to explore what subject-integrated teaching of vocational subjects, ethics and health care, contributed with in terms of vocational knowing. The case study was ethnographically inspired and followed a group of students (16 +) and their teachers in a Swedish Health and Social Care Program while they worked with a theme unit called Death for two weeks in autumn 2012. Data comprised observations, field notes, and audio recordings of the planning and teaching of the theme unit, informal discussions with teachers and students, handouts, a theme booklet, and student assignments. Analysis was based on concepts related to cultural historical activity theory, especially emphasizing rules, tools, actions, operations, and contradictions. Results showed three major objects emphasized in the teacher–student interaction and the tools chosen to support the subject-integrated teaching activity: vocational knowing related to vocational ethics, to everyday ethics, and argumentative skills. Manifestations of contradictions in the form of dilemmas related to the examples that teachers copied from a textbook. As these examples were mainly contextualized in everyday situations, and there are no formal ethical guidelines for nursing assistants on which teachers could rely on, teachers’ narratives were used to complement these examples. Students’ argumentative skills were emphasized and related to personal situations, in which ethical arguments for justification in vocationally relevant situations were made unclear.

Triadic mentoring in early childhood teacher education: the role of relational agency

PurposeCurrent approaches to early childhood teacher education have moved from a view of student–teacher training as interactions involving one novice and one expert, to a process that demands resources and engagement of several professional players while mediating students’ learning in practice. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impact of a triadic mentoring model of a university–school collaboration (“Academia–Classroom”) on student teachers’ (STs) learning in the context of early childhood education in Israel. Eight mentoring triads were formed in six kindergartens. Each mentoring triad was comprised of the ST, a cooperating teacher and the college supervisor. This paper focuses on three representative triads of the eight that were studied.Design/methodology/approachThe in-depth study adopted qualitative methodology including three complementary data-collection sources: observations of the STs working with children in the kindergarten; observations and recordings of the triadic mentoring conversations following the observations; in-depth interviews with each participant in the mentoring triad. Data were analyzed using an interpretative framework developed for the study, which combined elements from Engestrom’s cultural historical activity theory, Gee’s building tasks and Edward’s relational agency.FindingsThe research identified three major patterns of interaction operating in the mentoring triad that promoted or hindered the learning process of early childhood education students: dissonant, harmonic and argumentative. The way in which relational agency developed in the triads was found to be the most significant aspect of students’ learning process.Originality/valueThe patterns of interaction identified shed light on new aspects of relational agency, thus offering additional interpretative lenses for examining how relational agency operates in ST mentored learning processes. These new identified patterns have practical implications for the design of mentoring frameworks in early childhood teacher education.

The role of the soil seed store in the survival of an invasive population of Poa annua at Point Thomas Oasis, King George Island, maritime Antarctica

Poa annua, an invasive species in the Antarctic, had established a relatively large population at Point Thomas Oasis (Maritime Antarctic) recorded from 1985/1986 austral summer. We present a detailed account of the expansion of P. annua across its 30 years of establishment (1985/1986, 1986/1987, 1987/1988, 1989/1990 and 1991/1992 – historic data, 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 – our own observations) and how this relates to the historical human activity at this site. We also evaluate the first stages of the control effort, i.e. tussock removal by hand. For a subset of the removed tussocks we also removed soil in order to assess the importance of the soil seed bank in the course of this invasion. The population showed a spatio-temporal dynamic increase in area from 1985/1986 to 1987/1988 growing season followed by a decrease in area noted in 1989/1990 and subsequent increase in area and diversity of occupied habitats. Analysis of distribution dynamics did not show a significant difference in the number of tussocks recorded in the 2014/2015 austral summer between cartogram squares occupied in 1991/1992 or earlier, and those occupied just in 2014/2015. There was, however, a high correlation in the number of tussocks per square between the 2014/2015 and 2015/2016 census. Field observations conducted in 2015/2016 within the whole Point Thomas Oasis indicated that on 6 out of 51 sites cleared during the 2014/2015 austral summer, P. annua had re-established, mostly on sites where no soil was collected. Of the soil samples removed from beneath tussocks, seed germinated in 19% of the samples (160 seedlings in total). These results indicate that the strategy of soil seed bank formation has been very effective in extreme Antarctic conditions, providing a ‘temporal rescue effect’ which has enabled the survival of the population, and hinders the effective eradication of this invasive species.

Trainee doctors’ experiences of common problems in the antibiotic prescribing process: an activity theory analysis of narrative data from UK hospitals

IntroductionPrescribing antibiotics is an error-prone activity and one of the more challenging responsibilities for doctors in training. The nature and extent of challenges experienced by them at different stages of...

Revisiting Cultural Historical Activity Theory(CHAT) as a learning theory and a Critical Review on the Concept of Learning in CHAT

Revisiting Cultural Historical Activity Theory(CHAT) as a learning theory and a Critical Review on the Concept of Learning in CHAT

Constraints to the implementation of inclusive teaching: a cultural historical activity theory approach

ABSTRACT Learners who experience learning challenges are at risk of not accessing equitable education opportunities in South African schools. This is despite teacher education and system reform initiatives towards more inclusive education. To discover what constrains inclusive teaching, we conducted a qualitative study at four schools in a South African city. At each research site teachers and principals were interviewed and we found teacher, school and system factors implicated in the non-implementation of inclusive teaching practices. In discussing these factors through a Cultural Historical Activity Theory lens, we identify four objects of school activity which are not aligned to inclusive education. These are a competitive ethos, rigid curriculum compliance, bell-curve thinking, and survival in the face of resource limitations. We argue that inclusive teaching will be constrained where it is not aligned with schools’ objects-of-activity. To conclude, we suggest strategies that might help to transform objects-of-activity to promote equity and inclusion.

The legacy of industrial pollution in estuarine sediments: spatial and temporal variability implications for ecosystem stress

The direct impacts of anthropogenic pollution are widely known public and environmental health concerns, and details on the indirect impact of these are starting to emerge, for example affecting the environmental microbiome. Anthropogenic activities throughout history with associated pollution burdens are notable contributors. Focusing on the historically heavily industrialised River Clyde, Scotland, we investigate spatial and temporal contributions to stressful/hostile environments using a geochemical framework, e.g. pH, EC, total organic carbon and potentially toxic elements: As, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn and enrichment indicators. With regular breaches of the sediment quality standards in the estuarine system we focused on PTE correlations instead. Multivariate statistical analysis (principle component analysis) identifies two dominant components, PC1: As, Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn, as well as PC2: Ni, Co and total organic carbon. Our assessment confirms hot spots in the Clyde Estuary indicative of localised inputs. In addition, there are sites with high variability indicative of excessive mixing. We demonstrate that industrialised areas are dynamic environmental sites dependant on historical anthropogenic activity with short-scale variation. This work supports the development of ‘contamination’ mapping to enable an assessment of the impact of historical anthropogenic pollution, identifying specific ‘stressors’ that can impact the microbiome, neglecting in estuarine recovery dynamics and potentially supporting the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in the environment.

Combination of different geophysical techniques for the location of historical waste in the Izery Mountains (SW Poland)

An initial magnetic survey conducted on the soil surface in the Orle forest glade, located in the Izery Mountains (south-western Poland), indicated the existence of a strong magnetic anomaly. Most cores collected in the glade outside the area of magnetic anomaly show a vertical distribution of magnetic susceptibility typical for soils formed on a diamagnetic or paramagnetic background, in unpolluted areas and influenced only by natural processes. The different patterns of magnetic susceptibility values exhibited by cores collected in the area of the magnetic anomaly reveal the source of the magnetic signal as an anthropogenic layer of waste buried in the subsoil, which was dumped in this area during the historical activity of a glass factory that was active in Orle in the 18th and 19th centuries. Topsoil measurements of magnetic susceptibility revealed that this anthropogenic material has completely different magnetic properties than the natural geological background, therefore making possible the use of magnetic and geoelectrical techniques to determine the location of buried historical waste. Application of different magnetic and geoelectrical methods (soil magnetometry, magnetic gradiometry, EM profiling, electrical resistivity tomography), in combination with a previous magnetic survey, enabled assessment of the location, depth and thickness of the anthropogenic layer. The anthropogenic layer consisted of historical slags and ashes from glass production mixed with modern bottom ashes and construction waste dumped here during the second part of the 20th century. The anthropogenic material occurs in the form of a nonhomogeneous layer characterized by high magnetic susceptibility (>100 × 10−5 SI units) and low resistivity (<200 Ωm) as well as high and variable apparent conductivity (>25 mS/m). These properties are firmly different from the properties of the natural soil and parent rocks and enable fairly precise location of the anthropogenic layer using magnetic and geoelectrical measurements.

‘It’s a gassy world’: starting with students’ wondering questions to inform climate change education

There is extensive evidence showing that the climate system is warming and human behavior is linked to the change. Despite increasing attempts to integrate climate change into school curricula, teachers have challenges in preparing and implementing climate change lessons. The study aims to look at (a) the kinds of wondering questions middle school students construct after they are engaged in a climate change activity called ‘It’s a Gassy World’ and (b) what teachers highlight in their reflections on these questions to improve their teaching. In this multi-case explorative study, the data comes from student artifacts, teachers’ written reflections, and semi-structured conversational interviews with teachers. A constant-comparative analysis of students’ wondering questions (N = 165) showed that the nature of the questions varies. These were grouped under three different categories: direct observation, interdisciplinary connections, and future projections questions. We then analyzed five teachers’ written reflections and interviews from a cultural historical activity theoretical perspective. This analysis revealed that teachers paid particular attention to certain tools (physical and conceptual), norms (epistemic and teaching), emotions, and division of labor routines in classrooms. We discuss how students’ wondering questions help teachers notice essential features of climate change learning such as spatiotemporal thinking.

Learning with computers: Generating insights into the development of cognitive tools using cultural historical activity theory

Using computers as cognitive tools or mindtools has created impact in education since their introduction in the 1990s. One main characteristic is the notion of learning with computers as intellectual partners: engaging learners in higher level thinking while taking away the lower level cognitive load such as computing and digital storage. In recent years, the element of social interactions has been integrated, leading to the development of social cognitive tools or social mindtools. However, the differences between and underlying values of these applications may not be apparent. This article applies cultural historical activity theory (CHAT) to analyse these developments so as to generate insights into the nuanced differences among various applications, including the roles of computers in distributed cognition within an activity system. CHAT can be applied to analyse contradictions within and beyond an activity system, which can help to identify opportunities for innovation and enhancement to the system.

Towards a pedagogical model of teaching with ICTs for mathematics attainment in primary school: A review of studies 2008–2018

This article reviews literature in the field of ICTs in teaching/learning mathematics at an elementary school level. The findings to date in the field of teaching with technology in mathematics classrooms are very conflictual, with some studies indicating that ICTs impact positively on achievement through altering pedagogy, while other studies indicate that the effect on achievement and pedagogy is in fact negative. The current paper seeks to address the conflictual data by analysing a variety of meta-analyses and studies in order to answer the following questions: Does pedagogy alter with the use of ICTs in grade 6 mathematics classrooms and if so, in what ways does it vary? Secondly, does student achievement in mathematics change with the use of ICTs as teaching tools and if so, in what ways does it do so? Findings from the review indicate that student achievement in mathematics can be positively impacted using technology, depending on the pedagogical practices used by teachers. Technology on its own appears to have no significant impact on student's attainment. There is a dearth of findings regarding pedagogical variation with ICTs outside of a single meta-analysis that indicates that a ‘constructivist’ approach to teaching/learning with technology is the most effective approach to developing students' conceptually. Due to this gap in the literature, the paper outlines a theoretical framework for providing a nuanced study of pedagogical variation with ICTs drawing on Cultural Historical Activity Theory and TPACK that can track pedagogical change along various dimensions.

Improved Real-Time Influenza Surveillance: Using Internet Search Data in Eight Latin American Countries.

BackgroundNovel influenza surveillance systems that leverage Internet-based real-time data sources including Internet search frequencies, social-network information, and crowd-sourced flu surveillance tools have shown improved accuracy over the past few years in data-rich countries like the United States. These systems not only track flu activity accurately, but they also report flu estimates a week or more ahead of the publication of reports produced by healthcare-based systems, such as those implemented and managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Previous work has shown that the predictive capabilities of novel flu surveillance systems, like Google Flu Trends (GFT), in developing countries in Latin America have not yet delivered acceptable flu estimates.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to show that recent methodological improvements on the use of Internet search engine information to track diseases can lead to improved retrospective flu estimates in multiple countries in Latin America.MethodsA machine learning-based methodology that uses flu-related Internet search activity and historical information to monitor flu activity, named ARGO (AutoRegression with Google search), was extended to generate flu predictions for 8 Latin American countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay) for the time period: January 2012 to December of 2016. These retrospective (out-of-sample) Influenza activity predictions were compared with historically observed flu suspected cases in each country, as reported by Flunet, an influenza surveillance database maintained by the World Health Organization. For a baseline comparison, retrospective (out-of-sample) flu estimates were produced for the same time period using autoregressive models that only leverage historical flu activity information.ResultsOur results show that ARGO-like models’ predictive power outperform autoregressive models in 6 out of 8 countries in the 2012-2016 time period. Moreover, ARGO significantly improves on historical flu estimates produced by the now discontinued GFT for the time period of 2012-2015, where GFT information is publicly available.ConclusionsWe demonstrate here that a self-correcting machine learning method, leveraging Internet-based disease-related search activity and historical flu trends, has the potential to produce reliable and timely flu estimates in multiple Latin American countries. This methodology may prove helpful to local public health officials who design and implement interventions aimed at mitigating the effects of influenza outbreaks. Our methodology generally outperforms both the now-discontinued tool GFT, and autoregressive methodologies that exploit only historical flu activity to produce future disease estimates.

What matters to supervisors and is this reflected in what they do? Analysing the work of university supervisors of the practicum

ABSTRACTThis study analyses the contemporary work and potential contribution of university supervisors supporting preservice teachers´ during their practicum experiences in initial English language teacher preparation. The study draws on a complex data derived from surveys, interviews, and observations of university supervisors working in a diverse array of English language teacher education programmes across Chile. A cultural historical activity theory perspective is employed to explore and analyse the motives, activities, and actions that underpinned the work of these supervisors. Findings suggest that supervisors have to respond to often contradictory demands and an overemphasis towards quality assurance actions that are potentially detrimental to preservice teachers´ development. The work of supervisors is analysed to understand how potentially to re-envision their role and functions, toward proposing how to productive expand supervisory practices as an integral part of teacher education.

Determination of influencing factors on historical concentration variations of PAHs in West Taihu Lake, China

The adsorption of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) by components such as elemental carbon (EC), total organic carbon (TOC), and particles is different, and EC and PAHs are good materials for reconstructing historical human activity patterns and pollution conditions. In this study, the effects of EC (soot and char), TOC and particles of different grain size on PAHs in surface sediments were quantitatively analysed, and their historical concentrations in a sediment core from western Taihu Lake were reconstructed. The contents of soot, TOC, clay, EC and char explained 57.2%, 27.6%, 26.0%, 24.0% and 16.4%, respectively, of the PAH concentrations in surface sediments. The correlation between the soot and PAH levels was significantly higher than that between the char, TOC, and clay contents and PAH levels, and PAHs were mainly affected by the local economic development and human activity, as indicated by metrics of population, highway mileage, coal burning, and industrial output. With the development of the economy of the Taihu Lake Basin, the composition of PAHs in the sediments has changed: the proportion of low-molecular-weight PAHs decreased from 42.4% to 17.5%, and that of high-molecular-weight PAHs increased from 58.7% to 82.5%. The concentration of PAHs in pore water from Taihu Lake over the past 100 years was reconstructed and ranged from 43.1 to 961.2 μg L−1, with an average of 180.7 μg L−1. After China's reform and opening up, the concentrations of various PAHs in Taihu Lake changed from safe to chronic pollution levels. The ratios of lead (Pb) isotopes and the diagnostic ratios of PAHs showed that the main sources of PAHs in western Taihu Lake sediments were human activities such as coal and petroleum combustion.

Pedagogies of Digital Composing through a Translingual Approach

Abstract This article provides pedagogical frameworks for teaching digital composing through a translingual orientation. Recognizing the need for concrete pedagogical ideas that integrate a translingual approach with digital composing, the authors offer two pedagogical models (a Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT)-based model and a translingual remix model) to illustrate how instructors can navigate a wide range of institutional contexts to teach digital translingual pedagogies with linguistically and ethnically diverse students. The approaches to translingual practices and digital literacies presented in this article reflect the distinct orientations of four writing teacher-scholars enacting these pedagogies at different institutions. Using strategic contemplation ( Royster & Kirsch, 2012 ), the authors invite teachers in other contexts to explore dynamic pedagogical approaches and their possibilities for supporting students’ practices. Instead of calling for new theories of digital composing, the authors highlight the complex negotiation processes that writing instructors often need to negotiate in order to integrate pedagogical and theoretical principles that create inclusive writing spaces.

Wildfire activity and land use drove 20th‐century changes in forest cover in the Colorado front range

AbstractRecent shifts in global forest area highlight the importance of understanding the causes and consequences of forest change. To examine the influence of several potential drivers of forest cover change, we used supervised classifications of historical (1938–1940) and contemporary (2015) aerial imagery covering a 2932‐km2 study area in the northern Front Range (NFR) of Colorado and we linked observed changes in forest cover with abiotic factors, land use, and fire history. Forest cover in the NFR demonstrated broad‐scale changes 1938–2015 and overall cover increased 7.8%, but there was notable spatial variability and many sites also experienced Forest Loss. Recent (1978–2015) wildfire was the largest single driver of Forest Loss, with fires burning 14.3% of the total study area. Recently burned areas showed net losses of 36.9% forest cover. Reasons for Forest Gain were more complex, with elevation, past mining density, fire history, and topographic heat load index being the strongest predictors of increases in forest cover. Historical mining activity is one of the dominant anthropogenic impacts in ecosystems in the NFR and it had a complex, non‐linear relationship with 20th‐century changes in forest cover. Subalpine stands originating after stand‐replacing fires circa mid‐1800s to early 1900s showed some of the greatest gains in forest cover, indicative of slow and continuous post‐fire recovery through the 20th century. We also investigated factors such as land ownership, road density, forest management activities, and development intensity, which played detectable, but more minor roles in observed change. Twentieth‐century changes in forest cover throughout the NFR are a result of ecological disturbances and anthropogenic influences operating at varying timescales and overlaid upon variability in the abiotic environment.

What counts as science? Expansive learning actions for teaching and learning science with bilingual children

Science education should help children acquire sophisticated understandings about science, how it is done, and how they can be scientists. Consequently, there is a need to explore how minoritized children’s linguistic and cultural resources can be employed in the science classroom. This study examined how perceptions of science teaching and learning in bilingual contexts shift from a single tradition to more expansive understandings. Following cultural historical activity theory (CHAT), mediators and turning points were explored to provide evidence for expansive learning. This analysis focused on data from 25 children and four teacher candidates participating in a Spanish bilingual after-school program. To answer the research questions, expansive and non-expansive actions (i.e., speech segments and multimedia products generated in the 10 after-school sessions) were analyzed mostly qualitatively, and supported with descriptive quantitative patterns. Through the analysis, specific mediators and contextual characteristics were identified as turning points for expansive learning. The in-depth analysis of the four after-school sessions including both discourse and multimedia data, revealed the existence of a turning point in one session during which there was a discussion using a video and a multimodal embodied experience with clay. This session included turn and talks, and closed with a whole-group debriefing. Additionally, the study found that the multimedia artifacts (actions around photographs and videos) were more conducive to expansiveness than those with discursive data only. The study concludes that culturally relevant artifacts, combined with instructional moves that accept bilingual children’s expansive ways of understanding science, stimulate expansive learning. This study provides ways to explore how bilingual children’s out-of-school knowledges can merge with science knowledge in schools, and helps illuminate the role of multiple activity systems in the teaching and learning process. Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of having pre-service teachers explore the potential of children’s out-of-school knowledges in spaces such as after-school programs where curricular and instructional restrictions are lessened, and that thus favor more expansive forms of teaching and learning.