Reliability of a combined biomechanical and surface electromyographical analysis system during dynamic barbell squat exercise

An analysis system for barbell weightlifting exercises is proposed to record reliable performance and neuromuscular responses. The system consists of surface electromyography (sEMG) synchronized with electrogoniometry and a barbell position transducer. The purpose of this study was to establish the reliability of the three components of the system. Nine males (age 28.9 ± 4.8 years, mass 85.7 ± 15.1 kg) performed squat exercise at three loads on three separate trial days. A data acquisition and software system processed maximal knee angle (flexion), mean power for the concentric phase of squat exercise, and normalized root mean square of the vastus lateralis. Inter-trial coefficients of variation for each variable were calculated as 5.3%, 7.8%, and 7.5% respectively. In addition, knee joint motion and barbell displacement were significantly related to each other (bar displacement (m) = 1.39-0.0057 × knee angle (degress), with goodness-of-fit value, r2 = 0.817), suggesting knee goniometry alone can represent the kinematics of a multi-joint squat exercise. The proven reliability of the three components of this system allows for real-time monitoring of resistance exercise using the preferred training methods of athletes, which could be valuable in the understanding of the neuromuscular response of elite strength training methods.     

Inside multi-disciplinary science and engineering research centers: The impact of organizational climate on invention disclosures and patents

Much past research on commercialization activities by university scientists and engineers has focused on the role of resources in the extra-organizational commercialization environment, such as the availability of venture capital funding. By contrast, our theoretical and empirical interest was in intra-organizational dynamics impacting the context in which scientists and engineers work. Drawing upon organizational psychology literature on the construct of organizational climate, we posited that researchers working in an intra-organizational climate that supports commercialization and encourages intra-organizational boundary-spanning will be more likely to produce invention disclosures and patents. Our data from 218 respondents at 21 engineering research centers was both multi-method (i.e., qualitative data from interviews, longitudinal archival data, and survey data) and multi-level. Our results showed that an organizational climate characterized by support for commercialization predicted invention disclosures one year later and an organizational climate characterized by boundary-spanning predicted patent awards two years later.     

Surveying gender differences in Canadian school literacy

Student survey results from Canada's first, national, large-scale assessment of school literacy are analysed for explanations of gender differences in reading and writing skills found in this and other recent Canadian large-scale assessments. Using findings from the 1994 Council of Ministers of Education, Canada School Achievement Indicators Programme, we explore English-Canadian adolescents' literacy preferences, attitudes and practices. Five models derived from recent literacy education and related educational research are posited as potential explanations for female superiority in literacy test results: 'division of family labour', 'character-personification', 'classroom interaction', 'assessment bias' and 'identification with genre'. The assumptions underlying these models are examined in light of the Council of Ministers of Education's study.     

Enhancing resilience in youth through a 10-day developmental voyage

The present study sought to examine the potential for resilience to be enhanced in a group of youth participating in a developmental voyage, and to identify the factors that contribute to increased resilience following the voyage. Two studies are reported. Study 1 revealed that voyage participants experienced increased resilience over the course of the voyage. Study 2 sought to replicate and extend these findings by assessing the extent to which increased resilience was maintained five months following the voyage and was associated with other psychosocial variables (i.e. self-esteem, social effectiveness, self-efficacy, belonging, social support and perceived weather). The findings revealed that increased resilience was maintained five months following the voyage. A regression revealed that the predictors explained 37% of the variance in increased resilience. Increased social effectiveness, self-efficacy and less positive perceptions of the weather were the only variables to make unique contributions.     

Coming home: The cost and promise of community-based education and development

Three theses are presented regarding the integration of education and development within communities. The need for modles of intergration for education and development is discussed. Also, this article discusses the question of power: who has it? why? and how to get it. Finally there is a definition of values and ideologies which are used in education and the implication of these for the development of the community.     

A Meta-Analysis of the Factor Structure of the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS)

Abstract

The Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) has been used extensively to measure teacher-student interactions and classroom quality. With a theoretical foundation rooted in the developmental theory of learning, CLASS has three primary domains—Emotional Support, Classroom Organization, and Instructional Support. In this study, we performed a meta-analysis of the factor structure of CLASS using Cheung’s two-stage structural equation modeling (TSSEM) approach. After searching the literature, we obtained 26 correlation matrices of the 10 dimensions shared by multiple versions of CLASS. This meta-analysis supports the three-factor model initially proposed by CLASS developers. The finding of this meta-analysis provides important evidence pertinent to the CLASS factor structure and has significant implications regarding the interpretation and use of CLASS scores.     

Exploring perceived support of postgraduate medical science research students

There is still much to learn about the support required by postgraduate research students, across academic disciplines, to facilitate successful completion of a research degree. The primary aim of this study was to explore postgraduate medical science research students’ perceptions of academic and mentoring support at different stages during their degree programme. A second aim was to explore the feasibility and acceptability of peer mentoring as a strategy to enhance student support in this population. A mixed method study design was used. Students first completed an online questionnaire, which was then supplemented with focus group discussion to explore emergent findings in greater depth. The main results indicated that the nature and quality of academic supervision support have a significant influence on research student training and development. ‘Functional’ and ‘relationship development’ concepts of supervisory styles were highlighted as important aspects to perceived support in this research population. The main facilitators to enhance academic support were effective communication, project planning and timely feedback. There was a high degree of acceptability for a peer mentoring programme as a complementary approach to enhance student support. Peer mentoring psychosocial functions such as friendship, counselling and career guidance were considered potentially beneficial to enhancing student support. Students also discussed peer coaching as central to their learning and research skill development. This work is a useful starting point to explore perceptions of research student support in the target population. Further work is required to develop strategies to enhance student support in academic practice.     

美丽“酷刑”

你照镜子时,看到了什么?你看到了最满意的自己吗?大概不会。因为我们大多数人都会不自觉地盯着自己那再熟悉不过的缺点看,我们极度希望能改变自己——眉头的皱纹和鱼尾纹,或是双眼下皮箱似的的眼袋(我个人的难看之处)。但我是个男人。男人和女人在外貌方面所承受的日常压力是不一样的。不管是广告、同辈压力还是配偶或父母的善意提点,女人的形象常常受到攻