A sociocultural analysis of the development of pre-service and beginning teachers’ pedagogical identities as users of technology

This paper reports on a study that investigated the pedagogical practices and beliefs of pre-service and beginning teachers in integrating technology into the teaching of secondary school mathematics. A case study documents how one teachers modes of working with technology changed over time and across different school contexts, and identifies relationships between a range of personal and contextual factors that influenced the development of his identity as a teacher. This analysis views teachers learning as increasing participation in sociocultural practices, and uses Valsiners concepts of the Zone of Proximal Development, Zone of Free Movement, and Zone of Promoted Action to offer a dynamic way of theorising teacher learning as identity formation

Violent masculinities: Gendered dynamics of policing in Rio de Janeiro

Historically, policing in Rio de Janeiro has been shaped by the equation of racialized violence and masculinity. Attempts to reform the police have paradoxically drawn on forms of male violence that are centered on the rational and professional use of force and on “softer” practices, such as dialogue and collaboration, symbolically coded as feminine. The failure of police reform reflects the cultural salience of understandings of masculinity centered around violence within the police, historical patterns of policing in Rio, and political actors’ strategic cultivation of male violence. Through Rio de Janeiro's failed attempt at police reform, we theorize the relation between racialized state violence, authoritarian political projects, and transgressive forms of male violence, arguing that an important appeal of authoritarianism lies in its promise to carve out a space for performing what we call wild masculinity. [masculinity, race, police, violence, gender, politics, favela, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil]publishedVersio

Surveying the technology landscape: Teachers' use of technology in secondary mathematics classrooms

For many years, education researchers excited by the potential for digital technologies to transform mathematics teaching and learning have predicted that these technologies would become rapidly integrated into every level of education. However, recent international research shows that technology still plays a marginal role in mathematics classrooms. These trends deserve investigation in the Australian context, where over the past 10 years secondary school mathematics curricula have been revised to allow or require use of digital technologies in learning and assessment tasks. This article reports on a survey of mathematics teachers' use of computers, graphics calculators, and the Internet in Queensland secondary schools, and examines relationships between use and teachers' pedagogical knowledge and beliefs, access to technology, and professional development opportunities. Although access to all forms of technology was a significant factor related to use, teacher beliefs and participation in professional development were also influential. Teachers wanted professional development that modelled planning and pedagogy so they could meaningfully integrate technology into their lessons in ways that help students learn mathematical concepts. The findings have implications not only for resourcing of schools, but also for designing professional development that engages teachers with technology in their local professional contexts. [Author abstract

Increasing the levels of the essential trace elements Se, Zn, Cu and Mn in rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) used as live feed

AbstractRotifers are a common first feeding diet for rearing marine fish larvae. However, the levels of Mn, Cu, Zn, Se and iodine found in rotifers are low and may be insufficient to meet larval fish requirements. This study investigates increasing the concentration of Mn, Cu, Zn, Se and iodine simultaneously in rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis) in both short term enrichments (3h) or during batch cultures (6days), using either organically bound or inorganic mineral sources. This study demonstrates that rotifers can simultaneously be produced with Mn, Cu, Zn and Se concentrations up to and higher than the known requirements of fish, while increasing the level of iodine in rotifers was ineffective at the concentrations tested. To produce rotifers with copepod levels of Mn, Cu, Zn and Se, only 6% of a commercial rotifer enrichment diet had to be replaced with organically bound minerals, leaving a large percentage of the rotifer diet free to deliver other important nutrients such as lipid and proteins. Rotifers enriched to copepod mineral levels and stored for 18h retained 75–110% of their Se, Zn and Mn and 50% of their Cu. Overall, increasing rotifer mineral levels appears to be most effective when the mineral is available in an insoluble and hence ingestible form