Anthropometric characteristics of elite female junior rowers

During the 1997 Federation Internationale des Sociétés d'Aviron (FISA) World Junior Rowing Championships, the anthropometric characteristics of 245 female junior rowers aged 17.5 +/- 0.8 years (mean +/- s) were assessed. Twenty-seven body dimensions (body mass, 6 heights or lengths, 4 breadths, 10 girths and 6 skinfolds) were measured in total. The elite female junior rowers were taller (174.5 +/- 6.2 cm) and heavier (69.5 +/- 6.2 kg), with greater length, breadth and girth dimensions, but lower skinfold thicknesses than a representative sample of Flemish (Belgian) girls of the same chronological age. An anthropometric profile chart was constructed that was rowing-specific and norms were established. Compared with scullers, sweep rowers were heavier (+4.2 kg) and taller (+2.8 cm), with greater length, breadth (except for femur width) and girth dimensions (except for calf girth). Sweep rowers also had greater skinfold thicknesses (except for the thigh and calf skinfolds). Finalists were heavier (+3.6 kg) and taller (+3.9 cm), with greater length, breadth (except for femur width) and girth dimensions (except for calf girth) than non-finalists. No significant differences were found for skinfold thicknesses between finalists and non-finalists.     

Teachers’ Emotional and Behavioral Support and Preschoolers’ Self-Regulation: Relations With Social and Emotional Skills During Play

Research Findings: Drawing from a Dutch sample of 113 Dutch children (M age = 37 months, SD = 3.5) from 37 early care and education classrooms (19 child care centers and 18 preschools), this study examined whether the relation between classroom emotional and behavioral support and children’s observed social integration and positive mood in a play situation depends on children’s observed behavioral self-regulation. Multilevel analyses revealed a positive association between emotional and behavioral support and children’s social integration for children low on behavioral self-regulation, but there was no such association for children high on behavioral self-regulation. Contrary to our expectations, children low on behavioral self-regulation showed more integration in the case of relatively highly supportive classrooms but not less integration in classrooms that were low in support. For children’s positive mood, a positive association with emotional and behavioral support was found, and no association was found with behavioral self-regulation. Practice or Policy: This study’s findings highlight the importance of emotionally and behaviorally supportive classroom experiences for young children’s social and emotional skills. Moreover, results hint that experts should perhaps not see children low in behavioral self-regulation as always at risk for poorer social outcomes.     

Simply a Speech Impairment? Literacy Challenges for Individuals with Severe Congenital Speech Impairments

Individuals with severe congenital speech impairments frequently experience significant difficulties acquiring even basic literacy skills. It is likely that many factors, both intrinsic and extrinsic to the individuals, co-occur to influence success in literacy acquisition. This paper focuses on the extent to which a severe congenital speech impairment may affect the acquisition of phonological processing skills traditionally considered to be implicated in literacy success. Results on a lexical decision task are presented and discussed in terms of their implications for our understanding of the relationship between severe speech impairments, phonological working memory, and specification of phonological representations.     

Effects of problem solving after worked example study on secondary school children’s monitoring accuracy

Monitoring accuracy, measured by judgements of learning (JOLs), has generally been found to be low to moderate, with students often displaying overconfidence, and JOLs of problem solving are no exception. Recently, primary school children’s overconfidence was shown to diminish when they practised problem solving after studying worked examples. The current study aimed to extend this research by investigating whether practising problem solving after worked example study would also improve JOL accuracy in secondary education. Adolescents of 14–15 years old (N = 143) were randomly assigned to one of five conditions that differed in timing of JOLs, whether practice problems were provided, and timing of the practice problems provided: (1) worked examples – JOL, (2) worked examples – delay – JOL, (3) worked examples – practice problems – JOL, (4) worked examples – practice problems – delay – JOL or (5) worked examples – delay – practice problems – JOLs. Results showed that practice problems improved absolute accuracy of JOLs as well as regulation accuracy. No differences in final test performance were found.     

Collaborativeness as the core of professional learning communities beyond culture and context: evidence from Canada,Finland, and Israel

Professional learning communities (PLC) have been widely accepted as effective with respect to good atmosphere, adequate leadership practices, and functional working practices. However, the outcomes for school improvement depend on case-specific issues. To identify less culturally and contextually bound issues in 3 PLC settings in Canada, Finland, and Israel, we examined our cases through the notion of “collaborativeness”. It refers to a systematic and shared process consisting of efforts, ideas, and activities that aim at achieving synergy. By combining the 3 data sets and applying a special model, we were able to distinguish, through qualitative content analysis, ingredients of collaborativeness beyond culture and context that we consider particularly essential. The crucial factor proved to be a dynamic relationship between mutual and deep learning, realized through 5 different ways. We further believe that our results could serve other organizations striving for school improvement in other kinds of cultural and contextual settings.     

The role of motivational profiles in learning problem-solving and self-assessment skills with video modeling examples

Instructional Science - In the current study, we examine the role of situation-specific motivational profiles in the effectiveness of video modeling examples for learning problem-solving and...     

Exploring the subcultural norms of the response to violence in hockey

This study explores the question of how hockey players construct a response to violence in hockey. Law enforcement and the judiciary have been reluctant to apply legal norms witnessed outside of the hockey arena leaving a very small body of case law and a great deal of uncertainty as to where and when courts should intervene. Cultural theorists suggest that law is derived by institutionalizing norms that have already been developed and institutionalized by culture. We use a sample of elite hockey players in developmental leagues to better understand when they think a legal intervention is justified. We argue that their views can provide guidance to legal actors as to when the law should become involved in hockey violence.     

Men's and women's childhood sexual abuse and victimization in adult partner relationships: A study of risk factors

Objectives(1) Document the prevalence of childhood sexual abuse (CSA), childhood physical assault, psychological, physical and sexual intimate partner violence (IPV) in a nationally representative sample. (2) Assess the predictive value of CSA and other characteristics of the respondents and their current partners as potential risk factors for IPV. (3) Assess factors predicting IPV in adulthood in a subsample of women reporting CSA.MethodsThe role of CSA as a risk factor for adult IPV was examined using data from the 1999 Canadian General Social Survey. A national stratified sample of 9170 women and 7823 men with current or previous partners were interviewed by telephone by Statistics Canada. Multiple logistic regressions were used.ResultsCSA consistently predicted IPV for women and men, although this relationship was weaker for men. Age, current marital status and limitations due to physical or mental condition or chronic illness were also predictors of IPV for men and women. For women reporting CSA, age (being younger) or being in a more recent relationship and being limited due to either physical, mental conditions or chronic illness were predictive of adult victimization.ConclusionsThese findings indicate that CSA is associated with a greater risk of IPV beyond sociodemographic risk factors.Practice implicationsTo prevent IPV in women already at risk because of CSA, education about protective strategies seems important, particularly for women with physical or mental limitations, in the beginning stages of intimate relationships or for women with partners who drink excessively.