The influence of a 6.5% carbohydrate-electrolyte solution on performance of prolonged intermittent high-intensity running at 30°C

Nine male student games players consumed either flavoured water (0.1 g carbohydrate, Na⁺ 6 mmol · l^?1), a solution containing 6.5% carbohydrate-electrolytes (6.5 g carbohydrate, Na⁺ 21 mmol · l^?1) or a taste placebo (Na⁺ 2 mmol · l^?1) during an intermittent shuttle test performed on three separate occasions at an ambient temperature of 30°C (dry bulb). The test involved five 15-min sets of repeated cycles of walking and variable speed running, each separated by a 4-min rest (part A of the test), followed by 60 s run/60 s rest until exhaustion (part B of the test). The participants drank 6.5 ml · kg^?1 of fluid as a bolus just before exercise and thereafter 4.5 ml · kg^?1 during every exercise set and rest period (19 min). There was a trial order effect. The total distance completed by the participants was greater in trial 3 (8441 ± 873 m) than in trial 1 (6839 ± 512, P < 0.05). This represented a 19% improvement in exercise capacity. However, the trials were performed in a random counterbalanced order and the participants completed 8634 ± 653 m, 7786 ± 741 m and 7099 ± 647 m in the flavoured water (FW), placebo (P) and carbohydrate-electrolyte (CE) trials, respectively (P = 0.08). Sprint performance was not different between the trials but was impaired over time (FW vs P vs CE: set 1, 2.41 ± 0.02 vs 2.39 ± 0.03 vs 2.39 ± 0.03 s; end set, 2.46 ± 0.03 vs 2.47 ± 0.03 vs 2.47 ± 0.02 s; main

effect time, P < 0.01). The rate of rise in rectal temperature was greater in the carbohydrate-electrolyte trial (rise in rectal temperature/duration of trial, °C · h^?1; FW vs CE, P < 0.05; P vs CE, N.S.). Blood glucose concentrations were higher in the carbohydrate-electrolyte than in the other two trials (FW vs P vs CE: rest, 4.4 ± 0.1 vs 4.3 ± 0.1 vs 4.2 ± 0.1 mmol · l^?1; end of exercise, 5.4 ± 0.3 vs 6.4 ± 0.6 vs 7.2 ± 0.5 mmol · l^?1; main effect trial, P < 0.05; main effect time, P < 0.01). Plasma free fatty acid concentrations at the end of exercise were lower in the carbohydrate-electrolyte trial than in the other two trials (FW vs P vs CE: 0.57 ± 0.08 vs 0.53 ± 0.11 vs 0.29 ± 0.04 mmol · l^?1; interaction, P < 0.01). The correlation between the rate of rise in rectal temperature (°C · h^?1) and the distance completed was ?0.91, ?0.92 and ?0.96 in the flavoured water, placebo and carbohydrate-electrolyte conditions, respectively (P < 0.01). Heart rate, blood pressure, plasma ammonia, blood lactate, plasma volume and rate of perceived exertion were not different between the three fluid trials. Although drinking the carbohydrate-electrolyte solution induced greater metabolic changes than the flavoured water and placebo solutions, it is unlikely that in these unacclimated males carbohydrate availability was a limiting factor in the performance of intermittent running in hot environmental conditions.     

Religious Worldviews and the Common School: The French Dilemma

This article explores, in the French context, an aspect of what Terence McLaughlin (1991) has described in an unpublished paper as the 'dilemma of substantiality' faced by any school system endeavouring to promote neutrality. In France, in order that the public or common school be genuinely open to all students, not only is the wearing of conspicuous religious symbols forbidden but so too is any direct teaching of religion. The cultural consequences resulting from this prohibition have led to the mandating of cross-curricular teaching about religion. This article aims to show that the civic principles (la laïcité) on which this teaching is based pose in an acute and problematic form the 'dilemma of substantiality'.     

Informal Learning in the Workplace: A case study of new teachers

This paper focuses on the learning of new teachers in England where all such teachers have to complete a statutory induction year, with a particular emphasis on the part that may be played by non-formal or informal learning. Drawing on the work of Eraut, and Guile and Griffiths, it uses interview and survey data from work with new teachers to identify three aspects of work-place learning which, it is suggested, may not be best accommodated within current induction arrangements. Concluding that much of new teachers' professional learning is informal rather than formal, reactive rather than deliberative and collaborative rather than individual implications for the ongoing improvement of induction practice are considered.     

Modelling home advantage in the Summer Olympic Games

Home advantage in team games is well proven and the influence of the crowd upon officials' decisions has been identified as a plausible cause. The aim of this study was to assess the significance of home advantage for five event groups selected from the Summer Olympic Games between 1896 and 1996, and put home advantage in team games in context with other sports. The five event groups were athletics and weightlifting (predominantly objectively judged), boxing and gymnastics (predominantly subjectively judged) and team games (involving subjective decisions). The proportion of points won was analysed as a binomial response variable using generalized linear interactive modelling. Preliminary exploration of the data highlighted the need to control for the proportion of competitors entered and to split the analysis pre- and post-war. Highly significant home advantage was found in event groups that were either subjectively judged or rely on subjective decisions. In contrast, little or no home advantage (and even away advantage) was observed for the two objectively judged groups. Officiating system was vital to both the existence and extent of home advantage. Our findings suggest that crowd noise has a greater influence upon officials' decisions than players' performances, as events with greater officiating input enjoyed significantly greater home advantage.