Effects of movement velocity and training frequency of resistance exercise on functional performance in older adults: a randomised controlled trial

Objectives: To investigate the effects that high-velocity, low-load (HVLL) and low-velocity, high-load (LVHL) resistance exercise, performed once or twice-weekly, have on indices of functional performance (primary outcome), maximal strength, and body composition (secondary outcomes) in older adults.

Methods: In a randomised, controlled, multi-armed, parallel design, 54 moderately-highly active, but resistance exercise naïve older adults (aged 60–79 years), attended baseline and post-10-week intervention assessment sessions. Physical and functional assessments were completed, and predicted one-repetition maximums (1-RM) were obtained for eight exercises. Participants were then randomised into one of five conditions: HVLL once-weekly (HVLL1: n?=?11) or twice-weekly (HVLL2: n?=?11), LVHL once-weekly (LVHL1: n?=?10) or twice-weekly (LVHL2: n?=?11), no-exercise control condition (CON: n?=?11). The HVLL conditions completed 3 sets of 14 repetitions at 40% 1-RM and the LVHL conditions, 3 sets of 7 repetitions at 80% 1-RM. In total, 50 participants completed all testing and were included in analyses.

Results: Only LVHL2 improved 30-sec chair stand performance (p?=?.035; g?=?0.89), arm curls (p?=?.011; g?=?1.65) and grip-strength (p?=?.015; g?=?0.34) compared to CON. LVHL2 improved maximal strength compared to CON for 7/8 exercises (p?p?Conclusion: Possibly due to the lower intensity nature of the HVLL conditions, LVHL, twice-weekly was most beneficial for improving functional performance and strength in moderately-highly active older adults. Therefore, we recommend that exercise professionals ensure resistance exercise sessions have sufficient intensity of effort and volume, in order to maximise functional performance and strength gains in older adults.     

The Mysterious Crescent-Shaped Amphitheatre Weapon: A New Interpretation

Three Roman mosaics show a tool (a staff ending in a crescent) that has always been a mystery for researchers. Some of them make no comment at all about it when discussing those mosaics, limiting themselves to describing its shape. Others try to deduce what its function was, and propose it might be a symbol (of a corporation of venatores or of a god). A few suggest it could be a weapon for fighting the animals (bulls) that appear nearby. Here I propose that the tool might indeed be a weapon for fighting animals, especially bulls, during the venationes, its precise function being to cut the hamstring tendon of one of the hind legs of the animal. I base this hypothesis on the fact that that same tool was still used in sixteenth-century Spain for that task. Of course, this hypothesis implies accepting that the tool had continued in use in the Iberian peninsula for that same function from the times of the Romans until the sixteenth century, which seems likely, since bull fights and the breeding of bulls have been activities uninterrupted in the Iberian peninsula since the times of the Romans (as attested by evidence).     

The effect of local labor market conditions in the 1990s on the likelihood of community college students’ persistence and attainment

This study analyzes the influence of local labor market conditions on the year-to-year persistence and attainment decisions of a sample of traditional-aged students who attended community colleges during the 1990s. The findings suggest that the enrollment and attainment decisions of these first-time community college students were not made purely as a response to changes in tuition costs, but rather the result of a more interconnected process whereby changes in tuition, local labor market conditions, and the relative change in both are considered. For those who are sensitive to these relative costs, the likelihood of dropping out is increased. Of those who remained enrolled, the evidence suggests that an increase in tuition appears to provide an incentive or extra motivation to finish a degree, especially an associate’s degree. This finding does not support the raising of in-state tuition to improve student outcomes; rather it draws attention to the complexity involved in student persistence and attainment decision-making.     

Proprietary versus public domain licensing of software and research products

We study the production of knowledge when many researchers or inventors are involved, in a setting where tensions can arise between individual public and private contributions. We first show that, without some kind of coordination, production of the public knowledge good (science or research software or database) is sub-optimal. Then we demonstrate that if ‘lead’ researchers are able to establish a norm of contribution to the public good, a better outcome can be achieved, and we show that the general public license (GPL) used in the provision of open source software is one such mechanism. Our results are then applied to the specific setting where the knowledge being produced is software or a database that will be used by academic researchers and possibly by private firms, using as an example a product familiar to economists, econometric software. We conclude by discussing some of the ways in which pricing can ameliorate the problem of providing these products to academic researchers.     

The market for patents in Europe

By using the PatVal-EU dataset we find that the most important determinant of patent licensing is firm size. Patent breadth, value, protection, and other factors suggested by the literature also have an impact, but not as important. In addition, most of these factors affect the willingness to license, but not whether a license actually takes place. We discuss why this suggests that there are transaction costs in the markets for technology. The issue is important because many potential licenses are not licensed suggesting that the markets for technology can be larger, with implied economic benefits.     

A hybrid approach to university subject learning activities

In order to get a better understanding of subject design and delivery using a hybrid approach, we have studied a hybrid learning postgraduate programme offered by the University of the Andes, Bogotá, Colombia. The study analyses students' perceptions of subject design and delivery, with particular reference to learning activities and the roles of lecturers and students during moments of interaction. Elements of socio‐cultural activity theory were taken as a reference for subject analysis. It is a qualitative research project containing some quantitative data. For the purposes of the study, the following instruments were designed and applied: a student survey, student interviews (by subject), lecturer interviews, and a subject design and planning observation guide. The study's conclusions present the characteristics of learning activities and of student–lecturer and student–student interaction that fostered the attainment of subject learning objectives. These characteristics can make a positive contribution to the process of subject design and delivery using a hybrid approach, meaning integration between face‐to‐face and e‐learning actions in the delivery of learning activities.