The article presents five fifteenth- to sixteenth-century Pali inscriptions from Sukhodaya, Thailand. Three of them are engraved in the Khom alphabet on large square stone slabs, with considerable attention to format; they seem to be unique in Thai epigraphy. Two of these carry extracts from the Abhidhamma; the third gives a syllabary followed by the recollection formulas of the Three Gems. The other two epigraphs are written not on stone slabs but are inscribed on small gold leaves; they contain the (...) heart formulas of the books of the Tipi?aka and the qualities of the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sa?gha. The exact find-spots and functions of the slabs and gold leaves are not known. I suggest that they are the products of widespread and enduring Buddhist cultures of inscription, installation, and consecration, as well as of customs of condensation and abbreviation that have have been intrinsic to Thai liturgical and manuscript practices up to the present. (shrink)

The Udanavarga is a grand compendium of Buddhist verse, compiled by a Dharmatrata about whom we know next to nothing. In Sarvastivadin and Mulasarvastivadin circles the Udanavarga was as popular as is the Dhammapada in Theravadin circles, and it circulated widely in South and Central Asia. Here I give an English translation from the Tibetan of the first chapter, ‘Impermanence’.

Jinamahanidana. The National Library - Fine Arts Dept, Bangkok B.E. 2530. 2 vols: 1 - Pali text, 2 - Thai translation.

Cakkavaladipani. The National Library - Fine Arts Dept, Bangkok B.E. 2523.

Traibhumikatha hru'traibhumi brah rvn. Fine Arts Dept, Bangkok. B.E. 2526.

Comparing preferences for sport participation between alternative and conventional sports, this article exhibits some differences across sport contexts, as well as across gender and class. However, the main finding is the major similarities of preferences and dominating social groups across the contexts. This indicates that a similar habitus is in play in the alternative context as in the conventional one, and that "real alternatives" are merely to occur inside established frames of sport provision.

This study utilized a multiple baseline design across two study skills to examine the impact of a self-monitoring checklist and follow-up performance feedback on the generalization of study skills for seven college students with disabilities. All training and follow-up support took place in a remedial college course. The accuracy of study skill use was analyzed to evaluate whether training gains occurred in a college level subject area different than the course in which the (...) class='Hi'>skills were taught in the absence of teacher-guided stimuli and verbal prompts. Results provide evidence that relatively simple, classroom-based training and follow-up support markedly increased the accurate use of the notetaking and study guide skills immediately for three of the seven students. However, following a booster session, all but one student’s performance increased following intervention. Results were socially validated by students who indicated they were generally satisfied with the intervention and found it to be useful when studying for the college class. This type of training is critical because low retention rates in college programs are a likely outcome for students with disabilities when study skills are not used. (shrink)

The level of student preparedness for university?level study has been widely debated. Effective study skills modules have been linked to supporting students? academic development during the transition phase. However, few studies have evaluated the learning experience on study skills modules from both a student and staff perspective. We surveyed 121 first?year students and seven tutors on a study skills module on an undergraduate computing programme. The aspects in which the students? and tutors? views (...) diverge provide insights into the perceptions of academic tasks and associated competencies for higher education and the delivery of study skills in practice for computing students. (shrink)

Although many studies have revealed the importance of study skills for students' first?year performance and college retention, the extent of the impact of study skills preparation on students' academic achievement is less clear. This paper explores the impact of pre?university study skills preparation on students' first?year study experiences, academic achievement and persistence. The setting for this study is a large law school in the Netherlands which attracts students from more than 100 schools (...) for secondary education. The results show that the perceived study skills preparation concerning time management and learning skills does have a positive impact on college students' first?year study behaviour and academic achievement. However, the study also shows that the impact of perceived college preparation is far less important for college retention than other factors such as satisfaction about the chosen degree programme and tutorial attendance. (shrink)

This study examines the assumption that training in professional ethics is a predictor of the meta-moral cognitive ability of engineering students. The main purpose of the study was to check the difference in the meta-moral cognitive abilities between those students who studied a course on professional ethics, as part of the engineering curriculum, and those who did not undertake such a course. Using the survey method, the author conducted a pilot study amongst 243 engineering undergraduates. The meta-moral (...) cognitive awareness inventory developed on the basis of the meta-cognitive awareness inventory prepared by Schraw Gregory and Dennison Rayne Sperling was used to measure the meta-moral cognitive level of the respondents. The results show that there was a substantial difference in the meta-moral cognitive abilities between those students who studied professional ethics, and those who did not. The univariate analysis of variance of the collected data reveals a significant variance. (shrink)

Human beings have encountered several innovations in all areas of life and have needed to adapt to them because of the changing and transforming world in the 21st century. The new lifestyle of the 21st century has forced people to acquire more than basic life skills, and the education of the 21st century person has emerged as a critical issue. For this purpose, various educational policies have been developed around the world in order to train people who will be (...) able to keep up with the demands and problems of this age. Institutions have revised the curricula to ensure that 21st century people have sufficient knowledge and skills in media, health, communication, technology, finance, etc. Higher education institutions, in particular, are expected to produce graduates who have acquired 21st century skills and are prepared for professional and social life. The same expectation arises in higher religious education, and the students in higher religious education need to graduate with the 21st century skills both for their personal and professional development and for the generations they will raise in later life. This study aims to identify the level of 21st century skills of students in higher religious education. The research reveals the competence of students in the faculty of theology in the dimensions of knowledge, skills, character and meta-learning. Mixed methods research uses sequential explanatory design. Firstly, quantitative data are collected and the general findings were detailed with qualitative data. The quantitative dimension of the study analyses the level of the 21st century skills of students at a descriptive level. The survey method is preferred in this analysis. The qualittaive data are collected through the interview method, using a semi-structured interview form developed by the researchers. The population of the study consists of the students of the Faculty of Theology and Islamic Sciences in Turkey. The sample population of the study consists of undergraduate students at the Faculty of Theology of Necmettin Erbakan University between the 2022-2023 academic years. Sequential and simultaneous mixed method sampling is used in sample selection. Quantitative data are obtained from 216 students who were randomly sampled from the population. Qualitative data are obtained from a total of 10 students (4 male and 6 female students) graduating from different high schools, representing different age groups and education types by maximum diversity sampling. As a result of the research, it is revealed that students of higher religious education are at a good level in terms of knowledge, character and meta-learning dimensions, and at a very good level in terms of 21st century skills dimension. Participants are moderately competent in the health sub-dimension, and are not moderately or poorly competent in any other dimension and sub-dimensions. It is revealed that students who graduated from Imam Hatip High School have higher finance management skills than the others, there is a differentiation in favour of males in the entrepreneurship sub-dimension, and female students are more successful than male students in terms of adaptation skills to the social system. Therefore, qualitative data are obtained from the participants regarding the differentiation in the sub-dimensions of personal finance, health, social cohesion and entrepreneurship, and the quantitative findings of this differentiation were explained through qualitative data. As a result of the interviews conducted to clarify the reasons for the differentiation in the sub-dimensions, family, upbringing environment, society, individual interest and indifference, past experiences and some theological assumptions are the reasons for these differentiations. It is thought that the research will contribute to the steps towards meeting the expectations of higher religious education in Turkey in terms of product and process. As a result, it is recommended that higher religious education programmes should be arranged in line with the goal of developing the 21st century skills, lecturers should include activities that will develop these skills in all courses, and the content of the programmes at all levels should be arranged in a way to gain these skills. (shrink)

Publication date: 29 September 2016 Source: Author: Aida Cornelia Stoian This study highlights the results of an empirical research, whose purpose was to study the teachers` option of primary and preschool education to use learning situations for training pupils’ skills in relation to seniority in teaching and learning environment and to identify of the level of conceptual representation of the learning situations term in the opinion of teachers in primary and preschool education.We made a questionnaire in order (...) to identify the frequency teachers can organize learning situations and the teachers` conceptual representations of learning situation.The results have confirmed the conclusions to get teachers` adhesion to organize learning situations for pupils’ skills training, to develop teachers’ skills in harmonizing all the methods, means and teaching strategies with the objective and subjective factors determining the interaction between teachers and pupils. (shrink)

With the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual simulation games have provided an effective teaching method for online entrepreneurship education. By exploring the mechanisms that influence student engagement and learning outcomes from different perspectives, such as game design, team and individual perspectives, numerous scholars have demonstrated that such a teaching method can effectively improve students’ engagement and learning performance. However, the existing studies are relatively scattered, and there is a scarcity of studies in which the effects of said factors are (...) considered. Based on the learning process 3P model proposed by Biggs, students’ perceived experience of game design, teamwork and self-efficacy were taken as variables in the early learning stage in the present study, and the influence mechanism of virtual simulation game learning experience on students’ engagement and entrepreneurial skill development was explored, so as to close the gap in existing research. In the present study, 177 college students from Chinese universities were surveyed and the data were surveyed using AMOS 23.0 software. Although the empirical results show that students’ “goal and feedback” and “alternative” experience of game design did not have a significant positive impact on students’ engagement, there was a direct and significant effect the development of entrepreneurial skills. Students’ experience of teamwork and general self-efficacy could not only directly and significantly affect the development of entrepreneurial skills, but also indirectly affect the development of entrepreneurial skills through learning engagement. The research results are practically significant for teachers in the selection and development of virtual simulation games, can be effectively applied in teaching process management, and can improve students’ engagement and learning performance. (shrink)

Previously, language teaching has been focused on the passive learning of the alphabet. In addition, the research on teaching listening and speaking skills was limited. Listening skill is the key to learning a language, and speaking is the first explicit behavior of language. In order to improve language skills which are emphasized in new curriculum guidelines, student-centered thematic language teaching is considered as valuable. Through this, the concepts of multiple intelligences and curriculum integration were re-emphasized. An experimental design (...) was adopted in the current study. This study was conducted with the participation of 224 students from the Department of Multimedia Design in universities in the south of Taiwan. The research data were collected between September 2021 and December 2021. The implementation process took 16 weeks of thematic language teaching. The research results revealed 1. significant positive effects of thematic language teaching on listening, 2. significant positive effects of thematic language teaching on speaking skill, and 3. significant negative effects of thematic language teaching on learning anxiety. According to the results, it is expected that this study can help multimedia design students improve their listening and speaking skills as well as core language skills. (shrink)

This article is targeted at analyzing the advantages of using the case study method in the course of Business English at Scientific Research University - Higher School of Economics in Saint Petersburg. Cases offer a lot of opportunities for developing academic skills in reading, writing, listening and making presentations. Students get not only linguistic skills but also non-linguistic competences. Students are taught to work in teams, to analyze the data given in the task, to make decisions. Communicative (...) and managerial skills are obtained as well. Special attention is paid to making team presentations. It is vital to mention that analysis and case solving can be compared to a play where students are actors trying to come up with a solution of a problem using the information given. This approach stimulates students to be more creative, decisive, communicative and goal-oriented. This method helps to achieve better results in developing academic skills while studying Business English. In this article, the importance of Russian companies’ problems analyses is pushed forward. (shrink)

Background/ObjectiveSocial skills are essential in adolescence, both for their relational dimension and for their influence on other areas of adolescent life, so it is essential to include Social skills in the formal education of students.MethodThis paper presents the results of an experimental mixed factorial design pilot study in which an Interpersonal Skills Training Program for Adolescents was applied. The convenience sample consisted of 51 adolescents. An evaluation was carried out before and after the intervention, using the (...) CEDIA and SAS-A questionnaires.ResultsThe mixed factorial ANOVA show significant differences in the overall measures and in most of the subscales of both questionnaires, indicating that PEHIA is effectiveness, at least in the short term.ConclusionsThe results obtained in assertiveness, interpersonal relationships and public speaking suggest that the program is feasible and shows promising results in reducing anxiety. However, a larger scale study should be conducted. (shrink)

With this article we introduce a new article category in the journal, as announced in this issue's editorial--Viewpoints & Discussion. Articles under this category are intended to provide authentic and qualified opinions on topics relevant to the journal. These articles and follow-up discussions will pass through an accelerated, mainly editorial, review process. We invite readers to respond to such articles by sharing their personal thoughts and experiences, as well as to initiate new discussions. We hope these contributions will make the (...) journal a site for lively discussions on research practice. For this first "Viewpoint" we have selected a topic that should be of interest to many readers: What key research competencies will researchers and professionals need to have in the future? To introduce the topic, we look into a recent comparative study on this question that compares the situation in eight research-intensive countries. Reports on the study are available for free download, which can serve as a basis for discussion. In keeping with the idea of "Viewpoints & Discussion," no claim to offering a systematic and scholarly account of the topic is intended; the only aim is to throw a spotlight on a theme of current interest and to suggest a few pertinent conjectures and questions for discussion. (shrink)

Language plays an extremely important role for people in terms of engaging in various learning activities. Due to the progress of network technologies, it is an immediate goal for enterprises to take a completely new development direction with the application of network technology. Nevertheless, they encounter many difficulties in carrying out overseas marketing such as localization transformation, jet lag, lack of professional marketers, problems with sellers’ product quality, problems with customers’ credit checks, international payment problems, and logistics and delivery problems. (...) These problems mainly result from a difference in language families. The current study was conducted as an experimental study with the participation of overseas marketers in Hebei province. Milieu teaching was implemented with an experimental group and traditional teaching was maintained in the control group for a 20-week experimental procedure. The research results revealed significantly positive effects of milieu teaching on communication skills, milieu teaching on language learning confidence, and communication skills on language learning confidence. Based on the results, it can be stated that the study is expected to help effectively enhance the communication skills and language learning confidence of overseas marketers to achieve the goals of promoting oral expression and language-use skills. (shrink)

We review the major phenomena of skilled typing and propose a model for the control of the hands and fingers during typing. The model is based upon an Activation‐Trigger‐Schema system in which a hierarchical structure of schemata directs the selection of the letters to be typed and, then, controls the hand and finger movements by a cooperative, relaxation algorithm. The interactions of the patterns of activation and inhibition among the schemata determine the temporal ordering for launching the keystrokes. To account (...) for the phenomena of doubling errors, the model has only “type” schemata—no “token” schemata—with only a weak binding between the special schema that signals a doubling, and its argument. The model exists as a working computer simulation and produces an output display of the hands and fingers moving over the keyboard. It reproduces some of the major phenomena of typing, including the interkeystroke interval times, the pattern of transposition errors found in skilled typists, and doubling errors. Although the model is clearly inadequate or wrong in some of its features and assumptions, it serves as a useful first approximation for the understanding of skilled typing. (shrink)

Using an observational sample of players of a simple online game, we are able to trace the development of skill in that game. Information on playing time, and player location, allows us to estimate time of day during which practice took place. We compare those whose breaks in practice probably contained a night's sleep and those whose breaks in practice probably did not contain a night's sleep. Our analysis confirms experimental evidence showing a benefit of spacing for skill learning, but (...) it fails to find any additional benefit of sleeping during a break from practice. We discuss reasons why the well-established phenomenon of sleep consolidation might not manifest in an observational study of skill development. We put the spacing effect into the context of the other known influences on skill learning: improvement with practice, and individual differences in initial performance. Analysis of performance data from games allows experimental results to be demonstrated outside of the lab and for experimental phenomenon to be put in the context of the performance of the whole task. (shrink)

Using an observational sample of players of a simple online game, we are able to trace the development of skill in that game. Information on playing time, and player location, allows us to estimate time of day during which practice took place. We compare those whose breaks in practice probably contained a night's sleep and those whose breaks in practice probably did not contain a night's sleep. Our analysis confirms experimental evidence showing a benefit of spacing for skill learning, but (...) it fails to find any additional benefit of sleeping during a break from practice. We discuss reasons why the well-established phenomenon of sleep consolidation might not manifest in an observational study of skill development. We put the spacing effect into the context of the other known influences on skill learning: improvement with practice, and individual differences in initial performance. Analysis of performance data from games allows experimental results to be demonstrated outside of the lab and for experimental phenomenon to be put in the context of the performance of the whole task. (shrink)

BACKGROUND: There is a need for interdisciplinary research to better understand how pedagogical approaches in primary physical education (PE) can support the linked development of physical, cognitive and affective aspects of physical literacy and physical activity behaviours in young children. The Skill Acquisition Methods fostering Physical Literacy in Early-Physical Education (SAMPLE-PE) study aims to examine the efficacy of two different pedagogies for PE, underpinned by theories of motor learning, to foster physical literacy, especially for children living in disadvantaged areas. (...) METHODS: SAMPLE-PE will be evaluated through a cluster-randomised controlled trial targeting 5-6 year old children from schools located in areas of high deprivation in Merseyside, North-West England. Schools will be randomly allocated to one of three conditions: Linear Pedagogy, Nonlinear Pedagogy or Control. Nonlinear and Linear Pedagogy intervention primary schools will receive a PE curriculum delivered by trained coaches over 15 weeks, while control schools will follow their usual practice. Data will be collected at baseline (T0), immediately post-intervention (T1) and six months after the intervention has finished (T2). Children’s movement competence is the primary outcome in this trial. Secondary outcomes include physical activity, perceived competence, motivation, executive functions, and self-regulation. An extensive process evaluation will also examine implementation factors such as intervention context, reach, dose, fidelity and acceptability. DISCUSSION: The SAMPLE-PE project will enable better understanding surrounding how to operationalise physical literacy through enrichment of PE practices in early PE. The study will provide robust scientific evidence regarding the efficacy of underpinning PE pedagogy with theories of motor learning to promote the development of physical literacy. (shrink)

Alternative Learning System (ALS) has been adopted in Philippine basic education, yet there is no academic institution in the region prepares ALS teachers in teaching life skills. ALS teachers graduated from different programs of teacher education for formal education. In response, an extension project was conceptualized and implemented to enhance the teaching capacity and effectiveness of ALS teachers. Case study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the project. It explored the transfer of life skills among ALS (...) teachers. Data were collected from multiple sources. Interview and written responses, and feedbacks were analyzed using thematic narrative analysis. Other data were analyzed using document and descriptive analyses. The project had achieved its objectives and rated best by participants. These indicate that the project was implemented effectively and successfully. ALS teachers have acquired life skills and transferred them to others. Thus, the project has made a difference in the lives of these teachers. (shrink)

Research indicates that academic growth and student behavior are inextricably linked. Schools that systematically address both academic and social/emotional learning (SEL) have shown increased student achievement when compared to schools that do not address both factors ( Elliott, Huai & Roach, 2007 ; Hawken, Vincent & Schumann, 2008 ). Even with this understanding, outcomes for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities (EBD) continue to be of concern ( Bradley, Doolittle & Bartolotta, 2008 ). This study explores the effectiveness of (...) integrating SEL and social studies learning in the self-contained special education classroom for students with EBD using Storypath, an inquiry-based social studies curriculum. We hypothesized that the systematic integration of SEL opportunities into meaningful, well-planned and engaging academic instruction could provide students with an opportunity to authentically learn and practice key social and academic skills. Quantitative findings via an online survey and qualitative findings via interviews and observations indicate that students with EBD can successfully engage in less structured and more cognitively challenging academic activities and use SEL skills effectively in the context of these lessons. (shrink)

PurposeGross motor skills and inhibitory control which are both development in preschool stage is significant for preschooler to healthy growth. However, the evidence of relationship between them in preschoolers are still insufficient, most of studies only focus on youth. Thus, the aim of this research is to examine the association between GMS and IC in preschool children.MethodsThis cross-sectional study used baseline data from a previous intervention study of preschoolers conducted in 2018. GMS were assessed by using the (...) Test for Gross Motor Development in preschoolers, which includes two subtests of locomotor and object control skills. Total GMS is calculated from the sum of these two subtests. The Fish Flanker task was used to evaluate both accuracy and reaction time of IC. Multivariate linear regression models were established to analyze the relationships between GMS and IC.ResultsA total of 123 preschool-age children were included in the final analysis. After adjusting for confounders, GMS, locomotor, and object control skills were all negatively related with reaction time of IC.ConclusionThere was a significant negative correlation between gross motor skills and the reaction time of inhibitory control in preschool children. Further research is needed to verify this finding in prospective and experimental studies. (shrink)

This study investigated potential risk factors (coping, perfectionism and self-regulation) for substantial injuries in contemporary dance students using a prospective cohort design, as high-quality studies focusing on mental risk factors for dance injuries are lacking. Student characteristics (age, sex, BMI, educational program and history of injury) and psychological constructs (coping, perfectionism and self-regulation) were assessed using the Performing artist and Athlete Health Monitor (PAHM), a web-based system. Substantial injuries were measured with the Oslo Sports Trauma Research Center (OSTRC) Questionnaire (...) on Health Problems and recorded on a monthly basis as part of the PAHM system. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to test the associations between potential risk factors (i.e. student characteristics and psychological constructs) and substantial injuries. 99 students were included in the analyses. During the academic year 2016-2017, 48 students (48.5%) reported at least one substantial injury. Of all factors included, coping skills (OR: 0.91; 95% CI: 0.84–0.98), age (OR: 0.67; 95% CI: 0.46–0.98) and BMI (OR: 1.38; 95% CI: 1.05–1.80) were identified as significant risk factors in the multivariate analysis. The model explained 24% of the variance in the substantial injury group. Further prospective research into mental risk factors for dance injuries with larger samples sizes is needed to develop preventive strategies. Yet, dance schools could consider including coping skills training as part of injury prevention programs and, perhaps, providing special attention to younger dancers and those with a higher BMI through transitional programs to assist them in managing the stress they experience throughout their (academic) career. (shrink)

The influence of movement skill on action representations and identification of agency was investigated. Point-light displays were created of highly skilled gestures of thirteen orchestral conductors in visual, auditory, and audiovisual versions and compared to two control conditions . In subsequent experimental sessions, participants indicated whether displays presented them or other conductors, whether the soundtrack contained their or others’ musical interpretations, and rated the quality and emotional content of the gestures. Self-recognition was more accurate in conditions presenting highly skilled conducting (...) movements as compared to other displays. Participants judged the quality of their own movements to be better than those of others, independently of whether or not they recognized movement agency. Emotional content was perceived accurately across conditions both for own and others’ actions. These results point to the influence of dynamical characteristics of motor skill, rather than merely type of movement or emotional content, on action representations and self-other identification. (shrink)

This longitudinal case study aimed to investigate the development of emergent literacy skills of a child with hearing loss was carried out in a research and application centre which provides full-t...

The first few years of driving is a critical period when driving skills develop and the driving style is established. While the actual driving skills improve during the first few years of driving, a novice driver’s view of himself/herself as a safe and/or skilful driver also develops rapidly. The aim of this study was to investigate self-evaluated driver safety and perceptual-motor skills among different age groups of young drivers, along with the relationships between self-evaluated skills (...) and driving behaviour. The sample consisted of a stratified random sample of 18–25-year-old drivers from the Finnish driving licence register. The questionnaires, which included the Driver Skill Inventory, Driver Behaviour Questionnaire and background information, were completed and returned by a total of 1,058 participants. While female drivers assessed their safety skills to be higher than their perceptual-motor skills, the opposite was true for males. In both sexes, perceptual-motor skills increased, and safety skills decreased with experience. Perceptual-motor skills correlated negatively with safety skills, lapses and errors, but positively with aggressive and ordinary violations. Safety skills correlated negatively with all DBQ variables. Safety orientation seems to be most clearly reflected in deliberate aberrant driving behaviours. Sex differences were observed in the development of behaviours and skills, perceptual-motor skills only increased with age among males, while safety skills decreased through experience among both men and women. Results showed that driving experience was strongly related to both driving style and the drivers’ view of their skills, highlighting the importance of the first few years of driving. (shrink)

While Ludwik Fleck's Genesis and Development of a Scientific Fact is mainly concerned with social elements in science, a central argument depends on his case study of the development of a serum test for syphilis, the Wasserman Reaction, which Fleck argues was the product of skill and of laboratory practice, not a simple discovery. Ian Hacking interprets the creation of new phenomena in science very differently, arguing that it can seen as an argument for scientific realism. Hacking's argument shows (...) that Fleck's case study does not lead to the conclusion Fleck expects, and may solve one of the main problems in Fleck's work, how to define an objective element of knowledge. (shrink)

In the past years motor imagery turned out to be also an innovative and effective tool for motor learning and improvement of sports performance. Whereas many studies investigating sports MI focusing on upper or lower limbs involvement, knowledge about involved neural structures during whole-body movements is still limited. In the present study we investigated brain activity of climbers during a kinesthetic motor imagery climbing task with different difficulties by means of functional near infrared spectroscopy. Twenty healthy participants were split (...) into two groups according to their climbing skill level. The aim of the current study is investigating neural correlates of a whole-body sports MI task with an additional focus on skill level dependency. Climbing experts and non-experts imagined bouldering an “easy” and “difficult” route from a first-person perspective while hemodynamic responses were recorded simultaneously. We found significant differences between the two climbing routes, easy and difficult within participants as well as between the two groups of different climbing skill levels. Overall beginners showed increased hemodynamic responses compared to experts in all defined regions of interest supporting the claim of the neural efficiency hypothesis. Even though climbing is a complex, coordinated movement of upper and lower limbs we found a stronger activation focus of the upper limbs, especially of the dominant hand-area, while the foot area seems to be deactivated or inhibited simultaneously. Summarizing, these findings provide novel insights into brain activation during the imagery of a whole-body movement and its relation to climbing expertise. (shrink)

This study aimed to explore the influence of the visuospatial active working memory sub-components on early math skills in young children, followed longitudinally along the first two years of primary school. We administered tests investigating visual active working memory (jigsaw puzzle), spatial active working memory (backward Corsi), and math tasks to 43 children at the beginning of first grade (T1), at the end of first grade (T2), and at the end of second grade (T3). Math tasks were select (...) according to the children’s age and their levels of formal education: the “Battery for the evaluation of numerical intelligence from 4 to 6 years of age” (BIN 4–6) at T1 to test early numerical competence and the “Test for the evaluation of calculating and problem-solving abilities” (AC-MT 6–11) to test math skills at T2 and T3. Three regression models, in which the predictors were identified through a forward selection based on the use of the Bayesian information criterion (BIC) index, were performed to study the relationship between visual and spatial working memory and math ability at the three points in time. The results show that spatial working memory influences early numerical performance at T1, while early numerical performance is the unique predic-tor of math performance at T2. At the end of the second grade, the regression model reveals a relationship between math performance and both visual and spatial working memory and the attenuation of the importance of domain-specific predictors. The study depicts the dif-ferent implications of visual and spatial working memory predictors over the children’s de-velopment periods and brings additional evidence to the debate on the relationship between visuospatial working memory and math ability in young children. (shrink)