Inter-disciplinarity in sport sciences: The neuroscience example*

Abstract

Sport science is a relatively recent domain of research born from the interactions of different disciplines related to sport. According to the European College of sport science (http://sport-science.org): “scientific excellence in sport science is based on disciplinary competence embedded in the understanding that its essence lies in its multi- and interdisciplinary character”. In this respect, the scientific domain of neuroscience has been developed within such a framework. Influenced by the apparent homogeneity of this scientific domain, the present paper reviews three important research topics in sport from a neuroscientific perspective. These topics concern the relationship between mind and motor action, the effects of cognition on motor performance, and the study of certain mental states (such as the “flow” effect, see below) and motor control issues to understand, for example, the neural substrates of the vertical squat jump. Based on the few extensive examples shown in this review, we argue that by adopting an interdisciplinary paradigm, sport science can emulate neuroscience in becoming a mono-discipline.     

Unequal childhoods: A case study application of Lareau’s ‘accomplishment of natural growth’ in British working-class and poor families

International authors have argued that social class inequalities can influence parental engagement in education. Lareau argued that middle-class families possess the resources to actively cultivate their children to succeed academically, whereas working-class and poor families feel they lack such resources and allow their children to develop limited and passive relations with school. This article applies a core element of Lareau’s typology of child rearing to examine disadvantaged British mothers’ experience of engaging with schools. A study involving 77 parents and caregivers of secondary school children, considered disadvantaged, sought to understand the experiences of parental engagement in primary and secondary education. Selective case studies have been chosen from this larger study, using a thematic analysis, to understand how these mothers interpreted their experiences of engaging with secondary education, their feelings of frustration, powerlessness and distance from secondary school. The stories presented illustrate that the ‘accomplishment of natural growth’ provides a contemporary class analysis framework to interpret the experiences of some disadvantaged British parents. Recommendations are made advising how Lareau’s typology of child rearing can inform policy and practice in the British education system and recommendations for future research are made with the purpose of promoting equal access to educational engagement and opportunities.     

Camus,habitat and the art of seeing

The early essays of Camus have been underexplored as educational texts. The discussion here introduces these texts for educational consideration. The analysis uncovers themes which link to existing educational research on Camus. As these are autobiographical texts they also provide new insight on the genesis of Camus’ thinking on subjects of interest to education, and Camus’ own educational journey into the absurd. The discussion here suggests the lyrical essays explore the connections between learning and the natural landscape, and as a result, they suggest a concept of education based around seeing the world a certain way; a communion with the natural world as a basis for understanding and happiness.     

Increasing the supply of secondary teachers in sub‐Saharan Africa: a stakeholder assessment of policy options in six countries

Over the next decade many countries of sub‐Saharan Africa will face a demand for qualified secondary school teachers that current systems for teacher recruitment, training, deployment and retention will be unable to meet. While strategies for increasing teacher supply to meet this shortage have been suggested, less attention has been given to investigating the acceptability of these potential solutions by those educators closest to the school and classroom level and who often serve as gatekeepers to policy implementation. Kingdon’s multiple streams model is the framework used in this study to assess the feasibility of key strategies widely offered as possible solutions to resolve the projected teacher shortage. This study investigated the responses of 114 secondary school teachers, headteachers and education officials across six countries to policy options for increasing teacher supply. While none of the groups supported options to increase the supply through changed teacher training, there was support among all three groups for options that affected retention, including increased in‐service training and distance education, more mentorship for new teachers and more opportunities for teachers to network with each other. These findings suggest that policy‐makers in sub‐Saharan African countries need to build political support among education stakeholders to find the most feasible and viable solutions to address the large teacher shortages through both increasing supply and retention.     

The place of ICT in Irish schools: Early indicators of the changes since IT2000

This study explains early school-leaving in lower secondary education in the Netherlands, taking into account background characteristics, family resources and school composition factors at the same time. We distinguish four groups of school-leavers: ‘dropouts’ (those without any qualification), those who leave school with a diploma in lower secondary education (‘low qualified’), those who complete apprentice-based tracks (‘apprentices’) and those who continue education and receive a full upper secondary qualification (‘full qualification’). The breakdown into these four groups reveals clear differences in the effects of different factors on the risk of early school-leaving.     

Thinking in action: Some insights from cognitive sport psychology

Historically, cognitive researchers have largely ignored the domain of sport in their quest to understand how the mind works. This neglect is due, in part, to the limitations of the information processing paradigm that dominated cognitive psychology in its formative years. With the emergence of the embodiment approach to cognition, however, sport has become a dynamic natural laboratory in which to investigate the relationship between thinking and skilled action. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore some insights into the relationship between thinking and action that have emerged from recent research on exceptional performance states (e.g., ‘flow’ and ‘choking’) in athletes. The paper begins by explaining why cognitive psychologists’ traditional indifference to sport has been replaced by a more enthusiastic attitude in recent years. The next section provides some insights into the relationship between thinking and skilled action that have emerged from research on ‘flow’ (or peak performance) and ‘choking’ (or impaired performance) experiences in athletes. The third section of the paper explores some practical issues that arise when athletes seek to exert conscious control over their thoughts in competitive situations. The final part of the paper considers the implications of research on thinking in action in sport for practical attempts to improve thinking skills in domains such as business organizations and schools.     

The global classroom: advancing cultural awareness in special schools through collaborative work using ICT

This paper reports research on cross‐national collaboration through Information and Communications Technology (ICT) within the statutory curricula of 10 special schools in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Working in north–south paired classes, the pupils carried out joint tasks using asynchronous computer conferencing and videoconferencing. The full spectrum of learning difficulty and disability was represented amongst the participating pupils. Interviews were conducted to elicit the views and experiences of the teachers in the 2002/03 cohort. The main aims were to discover whether cultural awareness developed through joint tasks using the two technologies, if computer conferencing improved literacy and ICT skills, and if videoconferencing enhanced oral communication. The results showed that cultural awareness developed as far as cognition allowed, when pupils in partner schools became aware of similarities as well as differences. Those with sufficient keyboard ability benefited from computer conferencing and ICT competence improved, but the much preferred medium for collaborative, inter‐school work was videoconferencing. All but the most dependent pupils could participate, and valuable, transferable social and communication skills were acquired.     

基于斯密特触发器的简易数字相位计设计

基于斯密特触发器精确波形变换特性实现对两路输入信号的波形转换与校正,利用STC5410单片机计算输出,设计一款简易数字相位计,完成对两路信号相位差的测量,具有测量精度高,成本低,外围电路简单等优点.     

Web 数据挖掘中数据异构问题解决方法的研究

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