A Galilean Approach to the Galileo Affair, 1609–2009

Galileo’s telescopic discoveries of 1609–1612 provided a crucial, although not conclusive, confirmation of the Copernican hypothesis of the earth’s motion. In Galileo’s approach, the Copernican Revolution required that the geokinetic hypothesis be supported not only with new theoretical arguments but also with new observational evidence; that it be not only supported constructively but also critically defended from objections; and that such objections be not only refuted but also appreciated in all their strength. However, Galileo’s defense of Copernicanism triggered a sequence of events that climaxed in 1633, when the Inquisition tried and condemned him as a suspected heretic. In turn, the repercussions of Galileo’s condemnation have been a defining theme of modern Western culture for the last four centuries. In particular, the 20th century witnessed a curious spectacle: rehabilitation efforts by the Catholic Church and anti-Galilean critiques by secular-minded left-leaning social critics. The controversy shows no signs of abating to date, as may be seen from the episode of Pope Benedict XVI’s attitude toward Paul Feyerabend’s critique of Galileo. Nevertheless, I have devised a framework which should pave the way for eventually resolving this controversy, and which is modeled on Galileo’s own approach to the Copernican Revolution.     

Comparing the magnitude and direction of asymmetry during the squat,countermovement and drop jump tests in elite youth female soccer players

ABSTRACT

The aims of the present study were to provide an in-depth comparison of inter-limb asymmetry and determine how consistently asymmetry favours the same limb during different vertical jump tests. Eighteen elite female under-17 soccer players conducted unilateral squat jumps (SJ), countermovement jumps (CMJ) and drop jumps (DJ) on a portable force platform, with jump height, peak force, concentric impulse and peak power as common metrics across tests. For the magnitude of asymmetry, concentric impulse was significantly greater during the SJ test compared to CMJ (p = 0.019) and DJ (p = 0.003). No other significant differences in magnitude were present. For the direction of asymmetry, Kappa coefficients revealed fair to substantial levels of agreement between the SJ and CMJ (Kappa = 0.35 to 0.61) tests, but only slight to fair levels of agreement between the SJ and DJ (Kappa = ?0.26 to 0.18) and CMJ and DJ (Kappa = ?0.13 to 0.26) tests. These results highlight that the mean asymmetry value may be a poor indicator of true variability of between-limb differences in healthy athletes. The direction of asymmetry may provide a useful monitoring tool for practitioners in healthy athletes, when no obvious between-limb deficit exists.     

The effect of smartphones and playing video games on decision-making in soccer players: A crossover and randomised study

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to analyse the effect of the use of social networks in smartphones or playing video games on the passing decision-making performance in professional soccer athletes. Participants were 25 male professional soccer athletes (mean ± SD: age 23.4 ± 2.8 years). The participants performed three randomised conditions divided into three groups: control (CON), smartphone (SMA), and video game (VID). Before and after each experimental condition, the Stroop Task assessed the level of induced mental fatigue. Then, the athletes performed a simulated soccer match. A CANON® camera recorded the matches for further analysis on passing decision-making performance. A group effect was identified (p < .01) with impairment on passing decision-making performance for the SMA (p = .01, ES = 0.5) and VID (p = .01, ES = 0.5) conditions. We concluded that the use of social networks on smartphones and/or playing video games right before official soccer matches might impair the passing decision-making performance in professional soccer athletes.     

Assessing Determinants of Perceived Ease of Use of Institutional Repositories by Lecturers in Nigerian Universities

Abstract

Institutional repositories (IRs) present platform to disseminate research findings to complement the traditional scholarly communication model. The use of IRs is beneficial to authors, host institutions, libraries and society at large. Despite the numerous benefits of IRs, there is low deposit of scholarly works by lecturers and the investment on IRs seems to be a waste. This study examined determinants of perceived ease of use (PEOU) of IRs by lecturers in Nigerian universities. A survey of lecturers received 857 respondents. Awareness, anchor and adjustment factors were found to be determinants of PEOU of Institutional repositories by lecturers in Nigerian Universities.     

“There is a fine line between one’s personal life and professional one”: handling employee sexual harassment on facebook from the victim’s perspective

Sexual harassment is an interdisciplinary topic in organizational research that has received increased attention with the rise of the #MeToo movement. The online environment has complicated the experiences of employees who are sexually harassed by a coworker. One particular medium where online sexual harassment occurs is on social networking sites (SNS), such as Facebook. This research report examined how victims of sexual harassment believe organizations should handle online sexual harassment. We qualitatively coded 153 responses to the question, “What else do you think employers could do to handle sexual harassment on Facebook?” Our findings demonstrated a clear tension between whether harassment on Facebook is a private concern of the employee or a public concern of the employer/organization. Some victims advocating keeping work friends off of Facebook, while others suggesting having open door policies, conversations, and/or trainings. The difference in these approaches illuminates how the victims grappled with the public/private tension, and whether the organization should be made aware of their situations or if victims should handle it themselves. Implications of this research suggest that the blurred boundaries between employee face-to-face and online sexual harassment should continue to be explored, including why victims report harassment and to whom they report it.     

Information and information technologies as applied in political strategy modeling

This paper analyzes modern information technologies as applied in the political environment and considers the content and peculiarities of using IT programs in strategic political modeling.     

On the development of the scientific work monitoring system at higher educational institutions

The main aspects of the creation of a monitoring system for the research activities of the members of a higher-education institution are considered. The scientific activities of the lecturers and members of Turgenev Orel State University is used as the basis. It is expected that this system will be an efficient tool for optimal managerial decisions at all levels.