Newton’s law learning assessment: an experience with high school students

The Force Concepts Inventory is a test to determine the level of conceptual knowledge of students about mechanical physics and to evaluate the effectiveness of different teaching strategies on the conceptual component of learning. The test is applied with the purpose of knowing the level of conceptualization of the students of a Physics subject course. The results of the pre-test made it possible to find out the level of conceptualization that the students possessed and provided information for the development of workshops based on real physical situations that required the elaboration of force diagrams. The results of the post-test allowed estimating Hake’s learning and showed evidence about the conceptual evolution of the students and information to develop future teaching activities on Newton’s laws.

Metaphor Variation in Economic Discourse

This integrated cognitive-discourse study looks at the role of context in the variation of conceptual metaphor in economic discourse, which abounds in metaphors. The study is motivated by a general current interest in situational aspects of metaphorical conceptualisation in different professional discourses. The first research question is to test the relevance of metaphor variation for economic discourse and to investigate conceptual evolution of biological, mechanical and path/journey metaphors in this discourse type. Another research question is to determine particular types of context and contextual factors inducing metaphor variation in economic texts. The theoretical framework of the study is formed by the seminal theories of conceptual metaphor, conceptual evolution, knowledge framing and recent abundant research sharing an integrated cognitive-discourse approach to studying metaphor. The investigation revealed the salience of metaphor variation for economic discourse in a broad social context of its production: scientific, technological, career development, and discrimination at work contexts. The study adds to the understanding of the role contextual factors play in metaphorical meaning making and processing discourse. It can also have implications for further metaphor investigation in different professional discourses. Awareness of metaphor variation mechanisms in meaning making can also be instrumental in English for Specific Purposes pedagogy.

Post-socialism: conceptual evolution and future perspectives. A critical analysis

Burawoy (1999), Eyal (2001), Berdahl (2006), Cervinkova (2012) and others have proposed the concept of „postsocialism” as a way of describing the gap between socialism and capitalism. But, in a world marked by “rearrangements, reconfigurations and recombinations that yield new interweavings of the multiple social logics” (Stark, & Bruszt, 1998) what does postsocialism entail? This article aims to provide an overview of the different perspectives regarding the meaning of postsocialism, by bringing together and examining ideas represented in the theoretical literature. Starting from the idea of reframing the understanding of the past, this analysis explores postsocialism, as a process, from four perspectives: imitation, involution, emergence or zombie socialism. The critique serves as a starting point for future directions in postsocialism conceptualisations, in order to better understand the present based on the past.

Technical assistance: a practical account of the challenges in design and implementation

Technical assistance is provided to country governments as part of international development programmes to support policymaking or strengthen state capability. This article presents the conceptual evolution of ‘technical assistance’ linked to capacity development, starting with programmes aiming exclusively to enhance individual capacity in the 1950s to 1970s and progressing to complex systems approaches in the past ten years. It also presents some of the frequent challenges in designing and implementing technical assistance, drawing from the existing literature and the authors’ experience in international development. The article summarises the latest thinking about delivering more effective development, including the adaptive management practices and the initiatives to strengthen evidence about what works. Finally, we complement this article with a follow-up open letter reflecting on the current policy options and opportunities for change.

Model of Flexibility in the Conceptual Evolution of Multiplicative Comparison

Background: Proportionality is a paramount topic in students' mathematical literacy. In this topic, it is fundamental to understand the multiplicative comparison and the flexible use of the concepts of ratio and proportion. Objectives: To analyse the articulation between concepts, resolution strategies, and representations used by students, supported by numerical relationships and properties of operations to characterise a model of the conceptual evolution of multiplicative comparison. Design: Research based design. Setting and participants: Two mathematics teachers teaching 6th grade (11-12-year-old students) and their 38 (18 + 20) students during the lessons in which five assignments were explored. Data collection and analysis: The data includes the transcription of the video recordings of the classes and the students' written productions. The data were successively revisited and condensed to identify and illustrate the aspects that make up the model of the conceptual evolution of multiplicative comparison. Results: The construction of the concept of multiplicative comparison prevails in the work in two spaces of measurement and in the exploration of the multiplicative relationship between the corresponding quantities within each one. Resolution strategies are first non-quantitative and become quantitative, initially with additive and then multiplicative characteristics. The representations are based on the ratio as a fraction, on the double number line, and on the table of ratios, being supported by numerical relationships and properties of operations. Conclusions: The results elucidate, adjust, and illustrate a theoretical model related to the evolution of the multiplicative comparison in two spaces of measurement.

Management's knowledge filter: entrepreneurship theory and the historic conceptual evolution of opportunism in management studies

PurposeThis study aims to argue that opportunism is central to management thought and illustrate its evolution into a central element of the entrepreneurship theory. The authors show that many criticisms of opportunism tend to conflate the concept with other theoretic traditions.Design/methodology/approachThe authors trace foundational works by Taylor, Mayo, Fayol, Barnard, Follett and Simon to limit opportunism under the guise of promoting cooperation in organizations.FindingsOpportunism is conceptualized in transaction cost economics as one of the most controversial concepts in management. While modern management is based on handling opportunism, it is bad for practice, as it ignores innovation, and damages trust and goodwill among organizational members. These interventions serve as a knowledge filter, damaging organizational entrepreneurship.Originality/valueBy tracing the roots of opportunism in early management thought, the authors clarify ethical and entrepreneurial issues of mutual obligations in organizations. The authors also place workplace conflict to be a more coherent framework that better reflects the core concept of opportunism.

Heritage Cataloguing in History: Conceptual and Graphical Foundations of Immovable Cultural Heritage Data Bases in the Case of Spain

Cataloguing constitutes the main instrument for heritage assessment and management around the world, and is central in heritage studies. In the context of the growing international protection of heritage since the 20th century and the irruption and implementation of digital tools, cultural heritage data bases (CHDBs) have emerged as the main systems in accounting for and monitoring heritage. In the framework of culture preservation, as a driving force of sustainable development, this article aims to analyse the origins and development of CHDBs in order to critically observe the current situation and outline future challenges for systems of cataloguing heritage with the growing relevance of its graphical documentation. In this context, a historical overview of the origin and development of the European inventories since the 18th century to the present is key to trace the development of catalogue systems and the impact of IT in this field. The study then focuses on immovable cultural heritage data bases (ICHDBs); with Spain as case study, it develops an approach to the current panorama, with a special focus on the conceptual evolution of catalogues. In conclusion, ICHDBs need to transcend both instrumental and institutional roles and, supported in new digital systems, become interactive and flexible tools that respond to current needs and encourage heritage education, knowledge, and reflection.

Gains in active learning of physics: a measurement applying the test of understanding graphs of kinematics

To teach the subject of physics in the classroom it is required that the teacher has and plans to carry a didactic strategy with him. Within this context is the methodology called Active physics learning, which is a strategy within the classroom and in the laboratory, as it allows the student to learn physics without depending on a textbook or the teacher who guides the course. The test of understanding graphs of kinematics assesses students’ comprehension of kinematics. We report the application of an active learning experience for the conceptual learning of kinematics of students taking the subject of physics in an elementary and middle school. The study is quasi-experimental with a single group of 29 students using a pretest-intervention-posttest design. With the results of the pretest and posttest the Hake learning gain index was estimated and showed evidence of the implementation of active learning in the conceptual evolution of students in kinematic concepts and their representation by means of graphs. This becomes a precedent for the improvement of pedagogical practice in favor of quality education.

Proverbs and Aphorisms in Neurorehabilitation: A Literature Review

Introduction: Brain plasticity is not limited to childhood or adolescence, as originally assumed, but continues into adulthood. Understanding this conceptual evolution about the nervous system, neuroscience and neurorehabilitation, researchers have left different proverbs and aphorisms derived of their investigations that are still used in university and postgraduate training. A proverb is defined as a phrase of popular origin traditionally repeated invariably, in which a moral thought, advice or teaching is expressed. On the other hand, an aphorism is understood as a brief and doctrinal phrase or sentence that is proposed as a rule in some science or art. The aim of this paper is to present a compilation of proverbs and aphorisms related to neuroscience and neurorehabilitation, classified chronologically, to illustrate the conceptual evolution about the brain and to improve our understanding about the management of neurological patients through the methods and techniques developed during the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, as many therapies are based on them. Methods: A literature review was conducted based on the recommendations for Systematic Reviews guidelines for scoping reviews. A computerized search was conducted in the following electronic databases: CINAHL Medical Science, Medline through EBSCO, PubMed, Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) and Scopus, limiting the search to papers published until April 2021 in English and Spanish. Inverse searches were also carried out based on papers found in the databases. The following data were extracted: technique or approach; author; date of birth and death; proverbs and aphorisms; clinical interpretation. Results: Proverbs and aphorisms linked to authors such as Charles Edward Beevor (1854–1908), Heinrich Sebastian Frenkel (1860–1931), Rudolf Magnus (1873–1927), Nikolai Bernstein (1896–1966), Donald O. Hebb (1904–1985), Elwood Henneman (1915–1996), Wilder Graves Penfield (1891–1976), Humberto Augusto Maturana Romesín (1928), Edward Taub (1931), Janet Howard Carr (1933–2014), Roberta Barkworth Shepherd (1934), Brown & Hardman (1987), Jeffrey A. Kleim and Theresa A. Jones (2008) were compiled. Conclusion: Different authors have developed throughout history a series of proverbs and aphorisms related to neurosciences and neurorehabilitation that have helped to better our understanding of the nervous system and, therefore, in the management of the neurological patient through the methods and techniques developed throughout the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.