The Impact of a Funded Research Program on Music Education Policy

Sounds of Learning: The Impact of Music Education is a research program designed to allow researchers to examine the roles of music education in the lives of school-aged children to expand the understanding of music's role in a quality education. The NAMM Foundation, the sponsoring organization, has provided more than $1,000,000 to fund research on the impact of music education on student achievement and success in school; all aspects of a child's growth and development; the uses and functions of music in daily life; and home, school, and community environments. Quality research about the role and impact of music education conducted by experienced researchers who publish in rigorous, peer-reviewed, scientific research journals plays a vital role in moving a public policy agenda forward to achieve expanded access to music education for all children. The goal is that this research will inform policy debates and development to achieve policies that support opportunities for every child to experience the power and benefits of learning music.     

The Impact of Neuroscience on Music Education Advocacy and Philosophy

This content analysis examines how philosophy and advocacy articles published between 2005 and 2010 were influenced by current neuroscience research. The contents of twelve journals were explored, resulting in the inclusion of forty-five articles in this analysis. Recently, there has been a growing interest in neuroscientific research on music. Articles were coded for latent content and emerging themes to determine if this interest has begun to be expressed in philosophy and advocacy writings. The educational implications and issues of using neuroscientific findings are addressed, and recommendations are offered for using future research for advocacy purposes.     

Contemplating a Constructivist Stance for Active Learning within Music Education

This article examines constructivist philosophies for learning with an emphasis on student-centered environments in education and the active involvement of students in learning as they relate new understanding to what they already know and refine previous skills in terms of newly acquired proficiencies. Active learning is explored from a constructivist perspective in which students adopt an analytic approach to questioning and problem solving. Through these processes, students extend their current understanding and emerge as independent musicians, actively engaged in their work as singers, players, composers, improvisers, and listeners. This approach is contrasted with student involvement in hands-on activities in which the focus is on the actions needed to fulfill a given task and limited awareness is devoted to the thinking required to complete the work. I examine the implications of this approach for educational practice and call on policymakers to re-envision music education with attention to engaged learning as perceived within constructivist ways of knowing.     

Merit Pay and the Music Teacher

Current proponents of education reform are at present seeking to fundamentally change the system of teacher compensation by eliminating the traditional single salary schedule and instituting a merit pay system that directly links teacher pay to student achievement. To date, the scholarly literature in music education has been silent on the subject of teacher compensation reform. This article reviews the political arguments and empirical evidence on teacher merit pay while considering these reforms’ potential deleterious effects on music educators. After examining the potential pitfalls of a merit pay system for music educators, I propose one possible framework for evaluating music teachers in a merit pay system.     

Early Childhood Music Education in Australia: A Snapshot

Policy for early childhood music education (birth to eight years of age) in Australia covers a complex and diverse range of curriculum guidelines and legislation relating to the contexts of day care, preschool, and the early years of school. Australian models and policies vary from state to state and according to setting. Furthermore, early childhood education is constantly changing and evolving, responding to new practices, altered government priorities and funding, and community needs. In this article, the author aims to provide a snapshot of the situation by reviewing and analyzing educational policies, teacher training, and providers of early childhood music programs as well as suggesting some future directions.     

A geographical survey of littoral crustacea in Norway and their use in paleolimnology

Littoral Crustacea from 400 sites all over Norway were related to lake pH, conductivity, altitude and major biogeography. Being tolerant animals, littoral Crustacea do not fall into clear pH classes as do many Bacillariophyceae or Chrysophyceae. Littoral Crustacea were subdivided into 4 main pH classes: acidobiontic, acidophilous, circumneutral and indifferent, the last group containing most species. Species typical for acidic lakes in the region were: A. excisa, S. serricaudatus, A. curvirostris, A. nana, S. mucronata and D. brachyurum; whereas D. longispina, S. vetulus, A. intermedia and A. rectangula were more common in circumneutral waters. Many littoral Crustacea were shown to be related to altitude, which should be considered in studies on lake histories. Some species showed in addition a restricted geographical distribution. Conductivity, with values recorded in this study, played a minor role in distribution of taxa. More ecological studies are necessary to fully utilize the potential of cladoceran remains in understanding lake histories.     

Fallout from the Chernobyl accident and overall cancer incidence in Finland

Aim: We studied whether incidence of all cancer sites combined was associated with the radiation exposure due to fallout from the Chernobyl accident in Finland. An emphasis was on the first decade after the accident to assess the suggested “promotion effect”. Methods: The segment of Finnish population with a stable residence in the first post-Chernobyl year (2 million people) was studied. The analyses were based on a 250 m × 250 m grid squares covering all of Finland and all cancer cases except cancers of the breast, prostate and lung. Cancer incidence in four exposure areas (based on first-year dose due to external exposure <0.1 mSv, 0.1–1.3, 0.3–0.5, or ≥0.5 mSv) was compared before the Chernobyl accident (1981–1985) and after it (1988–2007) taking into account cancer incidence trends for a longer period prior to the accident (since 1966). Results: There were no systematic differences in the cancer incidence in relation to radiation exposure in any calendar period, or any subgroup by sex or age at accident. Conclusion: The current large and comprehensive cohort analysis of the relatively low levels of the Chernobyl fallout in Finland did not observe a cancer promotion effect.     

Late-glacial vegetational ecotones and climatic patterns in Western Norway

The mapping of Weichselian late-glacial interstadial (13-11 ka B.P.) and Younger Dryas stadial (11-10 ka B.P.) pollen percentages for selected taxa demonstrates vegetational and hence climatic differentiation in Western Norway during these times. In the south, early interstadial Salix dominance was replaced by Betula woodland development. During Younger Dryas time, Betula pollen declined to values consistent with a modern vegetational analogue of the vegetation at the upper forest limit. In the inner fjord areas north of Stavanger, the interstadial vegetation contained scattered birch trees, the density depending on local topography and soils. During the Younger Dryas, vegetation resembling the modern mid- and low-alpine vegetation developed. On the outer coast, the interstadial vegetation was probably treeless, and dominated by Salix spp., including S. herbacea, and herbs. The vegetation became even more open during the Younger Dryas, resembling that of the modern mid- and high-alpine zones. The spatial ecotones delimiting the three areas of different vegetation development during both the interstadial and the Younger Dryas can be placed north of Stavanger, separating the southern region, and between the outer coast and inner fjord areas to the north. The Younger Dryas drop in temperature in all areas was up to about 5°C, enough to pass ecotonal thresholds in time in all areas.     

Ordovician Bathyal Trace Fossils From Metasiliciclastics in Central Norway and Their Sedimentological and Paleogeographical Implications

Numerous trace fossils are recognized in metasiliciclastic rocks of the Lower-Middle Ordovician Lower Hovin Group, Upper Ordovician Ekne Group and on roofing slates from an unknown locality (probably Ordovician) from the Trondheim region, central Norway. The trace fossil assemblages are dominated by meandering pascichnial forms, i.e., Helminthoidichnites in the Lower Hovin Group and Helminthoidichnites and Nereites in the slates. Protovirgularia, Dictyodora, ?Planolites and ?Palaeophycus are less common. Alcyonidiopsis, ?Trichophycus, Chondrites, cf. Chondrites, Gordia, ?Phycodes, ?Helminthopsis, cf. Naviculichnium, Treptichnus, Saerichnites, Megagrapton and ?Paleodictyon (Squamodictyon) are rare. The trace fossils were collected or observed at 17 different localities and represent assemblages belonging to the Nereites ichnofacies (deep-sea flysch deposits with thinly bedded turbidites). They reflect a distal Nereites subfacies (fan-fringe or basin-plain deposits) transitional to a Nereites/Paleodictyon subfacies (proximal fan facies). The trace fossil assemblages indicate an opportunistic style of colonization related to fluctuations in food supply introduced by turbidity currents.     

Genetic variation and population structure of cod, Gadus morhua L., in some fjords in northern Norway

Biochemical genetic polymorphism in cod from several fjords in Troms, northern Norway was analysed. Gene frequencies at several polymorphic loci ( Hb, Pgi, Ldh, Pgm, Gpd and Idh ) are given. Significant variation was found both within and between fjords, and even between samples from the same locality sampled in different years, indicating a mosaic structure of the cod population in the area studied. The results of the haemoglobin variation are compared to similar results obtained more than 20 years ago in the same and adjacent areas. The biochemical genetic variation is discussed in relation to stability of gene frequencies, isolation mechanisms and migration patterns.     

Seasonal activity patterns and movements of the raccoon dog, a vector of diseases and parasites, in southern Finland

Activity patterns and movements of raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes procyonoides) were studied in Virolahti, southeast Finland, in 2000–2003. Activity data were compared to those collected from Evo, south-central Finland, in 1990–1993. Activity in winter was compared to weather (temperature and snow depth), day length and moon. Also circadian activity rhythm was studied in Evo. Raccoon dogs moved fastest in late winter after winter dormancy and slowest in autumn before settling in their winter dens. In March, males were moving more often than females. Raccoon dogs stayed usually in their dens in mid-winter (December–February) but were sometimes wandering around also during the harshest months of the year and changed their winter den on average three times. Both day length and weather affected the activity of raccoon dogs in winter. Animals usually stayed in their dens, when temperature was below –10 °C, snow depth >35 cm and day length <7 h and were moving around, when temperature was >0 °C, there was no snow and day length was >10 h. Day length and snow depth together predicted rather well the probability of animals being active during winter. Although raccoon dogs were more often active at night than during the light hours, they also showed rather much diurnal activity.     

Metal Music and Mental Health in France

Although numerous authors have associated metal music with social problems such as suicide, self-destruction and Satanism, few studies have been undertaken to examine the mental health of fans of heavy metal music. This study attempts to determine if there is a link between mental health and the enjoyment of this type of music in France. The researchers surveyed 333 fans of metal music. Their mental health was evaluated by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), a widely used instrument that measures anxiety and depression. The scores of the sample of metal music fans were then compared to the scores that reveal possible, probable, or severe mental disorders. Qualifying variables included age, gender, status, education, motivation and participation in metal music culture. The results indicated that fans of metal music are mainly young adults (median age = 22.67, SD = 5.29) and tend to be male (87.85 percent). As a whole, metal music fans have levels of anxiety and depression that are similar to and lower than levels in the general population. Specifically, <5 percent of metal music fans surveyed showed pathological symptoms. Subjects that scored higher levels of anxiety and depression were those that had literary and/or arts backgrounds rather than scientific backgrounds, that wrote metal music lyrics, that consumed alcohol and that engaged in the body modification practice of scarification. This study suggests that opponents of metal music should re-examine the basis for their criticism. More scholarly research is needed to better understand the effects of metal music on fans and on society.     

Effects of ozone on organic acids in needles of Norway spruce and Scots pine

Summary The effect of ozone, needle age, and season on the pH of homogenate and acid contents of Scots pine and Norway spruce needles is presented. In addition enzyme activities of cytochrome C-oxidase (cyt. C-ox), phosphoenolpyruvate-carboxylase (PEPC), shikimic acid-dehydrogenase (SHDH) and malate-dehydrogenase (MDH) were measured in Scots pine needles. In freshly sprouted spruce needles the level of quinic acid is high and the pH of the needle homogenate is low. Shikimic acid starts at low levels, increases with increasing needle age and becomes dominant, whereas the quinic acid content decreases. Malic acid has a marked seasonal trend; no trend was found in citric acid. Ozone (200 g/m³) decreased shikimic acid and quinic acid, whereas pH, malic acid and citric acid increased. Ozone (100 g/m³) had a similar effect, except in the current-year spruce needles. In Scots pine needles ozone led to increased enzymatic activities of cyt. C-ox, PEPC and SHDH, and a decrease in the activity of MDH. This effect was more pronounced in summer than in autumn, but the visible damage was greater in autumn. These effects can be found with other stresses and are not specific for ozone.     

Experimental evidence of a deleterious soil microflora associated with Norway spruce decline in France and Germany

Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) seedlings were grown in a glasshouse pot experiment in soils from 11 declining and 7 healthy spruce stands from France and Germany. In soils from 9 declining stands, seedlings showed decline symptoms (needle yellowing). Soil pasteurization suppressed the symptoms, and reinoculation of the pasteurized soil with a rhizospheric extract from the corresponding stand re-induced yellowing. This suggests that a deleterious soil microflora is associated with spruce decline. The occurrence of this microflora seems to be correlated with the main chemical characteristics of the soils (low pH, low saturation of the adsorbing complex, low exchangeable Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺, and high level of exchangeable Al). ei]R F Huettl     

Distribution of lead in mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal Norway spruce seedlings

Non-mycorrhizal spruce seedlings (Picea abies Karst.) and spruce seedlings colonized with Lactarius rufus (Scop.) Fr. or two strains of Paxillits involutus (Batsch) Fr. were grown in an axenic silica sand culture system with frequently renewed nutrient solution. After successful mycorrhizal colonization, the seedlings were exposed to 1 μM PbCI₂ for 19 weeks. The degree of infection in all of the mycorrhizal treatments approached 100% during the experiment and was not affected by exposure to Pb. However, the number of root tips per root dry weight and the shoot: root ratio, both in the non-mycorrhizal and the mycorrhizal seedlings, had decreased after the 19 week treatment with PbCl₂ Using X-ray microanalysis, the distribution and concentration of Pb in the tissues of mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal root tips were compared. In the mycorrhizae of seedlings exposed to Pb no significant accumulation of Pb in the hyphal mantle or in fungal cell walls of the Hartig net were detected. Lead accumulated primarily in the cortex cell walls both of non-mycorrhizal and mycorrhizal root tips. No significant difference of Pb concentrations in root cortex cell walls of non-mycorrhizal and mycorrhizal seedlings was found; except for seedlings colonized with Paxillus involutus strain 537. However, at the endodermis no effect of mycorrhizal fungal colonization on the Pb tissue concentration was detected. The presence of the fungal sheath did not prevent Pb from reaching the root cortex. The endodermis acted as a barrier to Pb radial transport in both mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal seedling roots.     

Regional trends for bud burst and flowering of woody plants in Norway as related to climate change

Data series for bud burst, beginning of flowering and petal fall for 20 species of deciduous trees and conifers at four sites in different regions of southern Norway have been analysed and related to temperature series. On average, the spring phenophases occurred 7 days earlier during the period 1971-2005. The most significant linear trends were observed for the earliest phases. The trends in this period were compared with trends in other periods, the longest one starting in 1927. Those starting in cold decades and ending in 2005 were in most instances statistically significant, whereas hardly any significant trend appeared for series starting in warm decades. This fact showed that the results of trend studies are very sensitive to the choice of starting year. There were significant decadal variations in 40% of the series. The dates of occurrence of the phenophases, varying from the first days of May to the first days of June, correlated with seasonal temperature series, in most cases strongest to mean temperatures for the seasons March-May and April-May. The North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI) for January and February appeared to have some predictive power for the date of occurrence of the recorded phases. The basis for this may be that the oscillations described by the index are of importance for the fulfilment of physiological chilling requirements needed to break bud dormancy. The same genotypes of the trees were grown in region West Norway and in Central Norwegian region; during the period 1965-2005 the trends towards earlier bud burst were more pronounced and steeper at the western site.     

关于大学生形势与政策教育效果的思考

论述了大学生形势与政策教育的内容、途径和方法,旨在为新时期大学生形势与政策教育增强实效性提供借鉴和思考。     

Ethylene accelerates the breakdown of cytokinins and thereby stimulates rooting in Norway spruce hypocotyl cuttings

Cuttings were taken from 4-week-old seedlings of Norway spruce ( Picea abies L. Karst.) raised at two different irradiation levels. Rooting experiments showed that root formation was increased by the ethylene formed by adding 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid ACC or Ethrel, especially in the slowly rooting cuttings grown under high light (HL). Cobaltousion. an ethylene synthesis inhibitor, delayed rooting, especially in the easily rooted cuttings grown under low light (LL).
Compounds isolated from the cuttings using immunoaffinity chromatography, on a column with antibodies against cytokinins, and separated by HPLC decreased in amount during the first week of the rooting period. An increase in ethylene production accelerated this process, especially in cuttings grown under HL, whereas cobaltous ion delayed it. We suggest that ethylene stimulates rooting by enhancing the degradation of cytokinins.     

Conductance of needle and twig axis phloem of damaged and intact Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) as investigated by application of14C in situ

Summary Phloem conductance of¹⁴C-labelled assimilates was investigated in natural stands of Norway spruce showing substantial damage from needle yellowing and needle loss disease. Terminal current-year shoots of a branch were allowed to fix¹⁴CO₂ (300–600 ppm in air) and carbon dioxide net uptake was monitored with a gas analyser. The difference between¹⁴C-uptake and the amount of radiocarbon determined in the photosynthesizing needles was interpreted to reflect assimilate export from the needles to the axis of the tree. Compared with an undamaged control tree,¹⁴C-export from the assimilating needles was not impaired in the yellowing tree and only slightly reduced in the tree showing needle loss. Incorporation of¹⁴C into starch increased significantly during autumn particularly in the tree showing needle loss. Import of radiocarbon from the¹⁴C-labelled phloem sap in twig axes and needles older than 1 year was used as a measure of phloem conductivity of older sections of a branch which showed considerable damage. Carbon uptake by these older plant parts was more pronounced than in undamaged twigs. In the case of older needles enhancement of¹⁴C-incorporation suggested an increased sink strength, while the same phenomenon in the twig axes was interpreted as a consequence of partially impaired conductivity of individual sieve elements resulting in an inhomogeneous velocity of phloem transport. The hypothesis is put forward that curtailed viability of the sieve cells is responsible for a delay of transport, which is compensated for by an augmented production of phloem elements from the cambium.