Engaging with issues of emotionality in mathematics teacher education for social justice

This article focuses on the relationship between social justice, emotionality and mathematics teaching in the context of the education of prospective teachers of mathematics. A relational approach to social justice calls for giving attention to enacting socially-just relationships in mathematics classrooms. Emotionality and social justice in teaching mathematics variously intersect, interrelate or interweave. An intervention, usng creative action methods, with a cohort of prospective teachers addressing these issues is described to illustrate the connection between emotionality and social justice in the context of mathematics teacher education. Creative action methods involve a variety of dramatic, interactive and experiential tools that can promote personal and group engagement and embodied reflection. The intervention aimed to engage the prospective teachers with some key issues for social justice in mathematics education through dialogue about the emotionality of teaching and learning mathematics. Some of the possibilities and limits of using such methods are considered

Psychological and physiological effects of compassionate mind training: A pilot randomised controlled study

The development of the compassionate self, associated with practices such as slow and deeper breathing, compassionate voice tones and facial expressions and compassionate focusing is central to Compassion Focused Therapy. This study explores the impact of a two-week Compassionate Mind Training (CMT) program on emotional, self-evaluative and psychopathology measures and on heart rate variability (HRV). Participants (general population and college students) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: CMT (n=56) and Wait-List Control (n=37). Participants in the CMTcondition were instructed to practice CMT exercises during two weeks. Self-report measures of compassion, positive affect, fears of compassion, self-criticism, shame, depression, anxiety and stress, and HRV were collected at pre and post intervention in both conditions. Compared to the control group, the experimental group showed significant increases in positive emotions, associated with feeling relaxed and also safe and content, but not activated; and in self-compassion, compassion for others and compassion from others. There were significant reductions in shame, self-criticism, fears of compassion, and stress. Only the experimental group reported significant improvement in HRV. Developing awareness of the evolved nature and inherent difficulties of our minds allied with practicing CMT exercises has beneficial effects on participants' psychological and physiological well-being.N/

Neutron deficient isotopes of cerium and lanthanum /

Work performed at the University of California Radiation Laboratory."Date Declassified: August 17, 1948."Includes bibliographical references (p. 3).Mode of access: Internet

Modular Processing in the Hand Representation of Primate Primary Somatosensory Cortex Coexists With Widespread Activation

Neurons in the hand representation of primary somatosensory cortex (area 3b) are known to have discretely localized receptive fields; and these neurons form modules that can be visualized histologically as distinct digit and palm representations. Despite these indicators of the importance of local processing in area 3b, widespread interactions between stimuli presented to locations across the hand have been reported. We investigated the relationship of neuron firing rate with distance from the site of maximum activation in cortex by recording from a 100-electrode array with electrodes spaced 400 μm apart, implanted into the area 3b hand representation in anesthetized owl monkeys. For each stimulated location on the hand, the electrode site where neurons had the highest peak firing rate was defined as the peak activation site. The lesser firing rates of neurons at all other electrode sites in the grid were compared with the firing rates of neurons at the peak activation site. On average, peak firing rates of neurons decreased rapidly with distance away from the peak activation site. The effect of distance on the variance of firing rates was highly significant (P < 0.0001). However, individual neurons retained high firing rates for distances over 3 mm. The clear decline in firing rate with distance from the most activated location indicates that local processing is emphasized in area 3b, while the distance of neurons with reduced but maintained firing rates ≤3–4 mm from the site of best activation demonstrated widespread activation in primary somatosensory cortex