COLLEGE EDUCATORS AND THE RETIREMENT DECISION

Our findings from a survey study of retired educators (N – 373) confirm that reasons for the retirement decision have changed over time. Long‐term retirees were found to stress the influence of statutory imperatives in leaving the workplace, whereas the recently retired, and women in particular, were more likely to cite factors related to personal interest and life‐style. Results suggest that university personnel programs engaged in retirement life planning need to be responsive to retirees' changing needs.     

Success in mathematics within a challenged minority: the case of students of Ethiopian origin in Israel (SEO)

Many studies have reported on the economical, social, and educational difficulties encountered by Ethiopian Jews since their immigration to Israel. Furthermore, the overall academic underachievement and poor representation of students of Ethiopian origin (SEO) in the advanced mathematics and science classes were highlighted and described. Yet, studies focusing on differential achievements within SEO and on students who succeed against all odds are scarce. In this study, we explored success stories of five SEO studying in a pre-academic program at a prestigious technological university in Israel. Our goal was to understand how these students frame and interpret their success in mathematics and to identify elements perceived as fostering their mathematics and academic trajectories. Using qualitative methodology, we identified perceived personal motivational variables, effective learning and coping strategies, and students’ immediate environment as key elements contributing to achieving and maintaining success. We discuss possible theoretical contributions and practical implications of the findings. This research is supported in part by the Abraham and Sonia Rochlin Foundation and by a grant from the Israel Ministry of Absorption. The opinions expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding agencies.     

The effect of glycaemic index of high carbohydrate diets consumed over 5 days on exercise energy metabolism and running capacity in males

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine whether rates of total fat and carbohydrate oxidation and endurance capacity during running conducted in the fasted state are influenced by the glycaemic index (GI) of high carbohydrate diets consumed over 5 days. Nine healthy males performed three treadmill runs to exhaustion at 65% of maximum oxygen uptake ([Vdot]O_2max): after a habitual diet (control trial), after 5 days on a high carbohydrate/high glycaemic index diet, and after 5 days on a high carbohydrate/low glycaemic index diet in randomized counterbalanced order. No significant differences in rates of fat and carbohydrate oxidation, concentrations of plasma insulin, glucose, non-esterified fatty acids and glycerol, or time to exhaustion were observed between the high carbohydrate/high glycaemic index and high carbohydrate/low glycaemic index trials. Compared with the control trial, the concentration of plasma glycerol and rate of fat oxidation were lower (P < 0.05) and the rate of carbohydrate oxidation higher (P < 0.05) in both the high carbohydrate/high glycaemic index diet and high carbohydrate/low glycaemic index trials during the run to exhaustion. In conclusion, the extent by which a high carbohydrate diet consumed over 5 days reduces rate of fat oxidation during subsequent running exercise in the fasted state is not influenced by the glycaemic index of the diet.     

THE LEARNING AND RETENTION OF TEACHING SKILLS BY OLDER ADULTS: A TIME SERIES ANALYSIS

Comparative analysis of time series data (T1 = preprogram; T2 = postpro‐gram; T3 = 6‐month followup) collected for the first year class of an older adult teacher training program (N = 35; mean age = 69.1 years) documents that the elderly learn and retain materials learned at different rates. Variables such as age, sex, teaching experience, education, and race/ethnicity all potentially play a role in differentiating the learning process. Evaluation results further confirm that the initial acquisition of leadership skills by older adults is no guarantee that those skills will be maintained successfully over time. There may also be a false sense of confidence in some older learners that is gained simply by their having successfully completed an organized course of training. Study findings lead to recommendations emphasizing the importance of promoting resilient skills capacity in the teaching domain by older adults by means of a variety of skills‐preservation program techniques inlcuding the provision of educational seminars, “retooling” sessions, and reunion programs subsequent to the offering of the initial teacher training program.     

Measures of international collaboration in scientific literature: Part II

This paper continues the attempt of Part I to develop a coherent family of measures of influence between classes of documents, for example, language or nationality classes, as indicated by citation choice. In this paper we focus on situations in which there is some ambiguity as to how to assign items to a class. For simplicity, we change our focus from citations to co-authorship patterns, restricting most of our discussion to papers with two authors. Like the earlier paper, we propose very simple models of the citation decision, and base our measures on the parameters that appear in the model.     

Lipid peroxidation and antioxidant vitamins in urolithasis

The present, study was conducted to determine the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) as an index of free radial induced lipid peroxidation and antioxidant vitamins-vitamins A, vitamin C and vitamin E in 75 confirmed cases of urolithiasis. Significantly high level of MDA (p<0.001) with significantly low levels of vitamin E (p<0.001) and vitamin A (p<0.001) with no significant decrease in vitamin C (p>0.05) were observed in the plasma of urolithiasis cases as compared to normal controls. In conclusion, it appears that a role of lipid peroxidation and oxidative function exists in the pathogenesis of urolithiasis. But, the exact mechanism how this occurs remains to be elucidated.