Leadership Succession

One of the most significant events in the life of a school is a change in its leadership. Yet few things in education succeed less than leadership succession. Failure to care for leadership succession is sometimes a result of manipulation or self-centeredness; but more often it is oversight, neglect, or the pressures of crisis management that are to blame.     

The use of cross-curricular activity on interactive playgrounds to supplement school-based physical activity: an exploratory study

Childhood obesity and physical inactivity are serious threats to the health and wellness of our schoolchildren. Research has shown that play and physical activity are important in development, behaviour and academic achievement. Through the efforts of coordinated school health program and a Physical Education for Progress grant, a county school system in a southern state was able to construct multiple innovative playground systems at schools and combine them with various academic units in a cross-curricular effort to address the wellness needs of students. Exploratory research using pedometers, accelerometers and an observation method examined physical activity intensity levels during cross-curricular sessions. Results indicated that this type of physical activity might be a viable supplement to daily school-based physical activity needs.     

A need to belong? The prevalence of experiences of belonging and exclusion in school among minority ethnic children living in the ‘White hinterlands’

Based on a survey of 711 children in Northern Ireland, this paper explores a range of aspects of experiences of belonging and exclusion in relation to school among three main minority ethnic groups: Irish Traveller, Chinese/Asian and European Migrant children. The study examines variations between each group and how they compare to the White settled population. The findings indicate that all three groups experience lower levels of belonging and higher levels of exclusion compared to their White, settled Northern Irish peers. The experiences of Irish Traveller children were the most negative. The article adds to the dearth of data on minority ethnic children living in mainly white regions in the UK and Ireland. It argues for the need to move beyond achievement gaps in assessing minority ethnic children's differential experiences in education and highlights the potential of belongingness as a concept for the further study of differential patterns of need and processes of inclusion.     

Transition phase clothing strategies and their effect on body temperature and 100-m swimming performance

Objective: Effective warm-ups are attributed to several temperature-related mechanisms. Strategies during the transition phase, preceding swimming competition, have been shown to prolong temperature-related warm-up effects. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of two different clothing strategies during the transition phase, on subsequent 100-m maximal swimming performance. Methods: Nine competitive swimmers (3 female, 21?±?3?yrs; 6 male 20?±?2?yrs, mean performance standard 702 FINA Points, mean 100-m seasons best time 61.54?s) completed their own 30-min individual pool warm-up, followed by 7-min changing time and a 30-min transition phase, straight into a 100-m maximal effort time-trial. During the transition phase, swimmers remained seated, either wearing warm or limited clothing. Swimmers returned 1 week later, where clothing conditions were alternated. Results: Post-transition phase skin and core temperature remained higher in the warm clothing condition compared to the limited clothing condition (Mean Core: 36.90?±?0.17°C, 36.61?±?0.15°C, P?P?P?Conclusion: Wearing warm clothing during a 30-min transition phase improved swimming performance by 0.6%, compared to limited clothing.     

在路上：Print＇09媒体日

2009年9月11-16日,备受业界瞩目的Print’09美国国际印刷展览会将在美国芝加哥麦考密克展览中心举行。2009年6月15～16日,世界知名印刷媒体0utputLinks以及GCW（Graphic Communications Worlds）所有者Andy和Julie出席了在美国芝加哥举办的Print’09媒体日活动。他们将在此向大家分享其所见所闻,并向读者提前播报Print’09上的新技术、新产品。     

Successful globalisation,education and sustainable development

This article examines the role of education in ‘successful globalisation’ and how this links with agendas for sustainable development. In the first part ‘successful globalisation’ is defined as economic growth combined with equality and social peace. Japan and the East Asian tiger economies – particularly South Korea and Taiwan – have been uniquely successful in the last half century in achieving both rapid economic growth over long periods and relative income equality and social cohesion. A host of factors have been responsible for this, including fortuitous geo-political circumstances and good timing. However, education has also played a major role. The article, based on a review of international and national research literatures, analyses how far China, India, Kenya and Sri Lanka have managed to develop their own forms of successful engagement with the global economy and what part education policy has played. In the second part we relate our concept of successful globalisation to the parallel discourses of sustainable development and education for sustainable development and reflect on what our notion of ‘successful globalisation’ can borrow from and lend to these literatures.     

Impact of a Submaximal Warm-Up on Endurance Performance in Highly Trained and Competitive Male Runners

Purpose: The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of a submaximal running warm-up on running performance in male endurance athletes (n = 16, M_age = 21 ± 2 years, M_VO2max = 69.3 ± 5.1 mL/kg/min). Method: Endurance performance was determined by a 30-min distance trial after control and submaximal running warm-up conditions in a randomized crossover fashion. The warm-up began with 5 min of quiet sitting, followed by 6 min of submaximal running split into 2-min intervals at speeds corresponding to 45%, 55%, and 65% maximal oxygen consumption (VO₂max). A 2-min walk at 3.2 km/hr concluded the 13-min warm-up protocol. For the control condition, participants sat quietly for 13 min. VO₂ and heart rate (HR) were determined at Minutes 0, 5, and 13 of the pre-exercise protocol in each condition. Results: At the end of 13 min prior to the distance trial, mean VO₂ (warm-up = 14.1 ± 2.2 mL/kg/min vs. control = 5.5 ± 1.7 mL/kg/min) and mean HR (warm-up = 105 ± 11 bpm vs. control = 67 ± 11 bpm) were statistically greater (p < .001) in the warm-up condition compared with the control condition. The distance run did not statistically differ (p = .37) between the warm-up (7.8 ± 0.5 km) and control (7.7 ± 0.6 km) conditions; however, effect size calculation revealed a small effect (d = 0.2) in favor of the warm-up condition. Thus, the warm-up employed may have important and practical implications to determine placing among high-level athletes in close races. Conclusions: These findings suggest a submaximal running warm-up may have a small but critical effect on a 30-min distance trial in competitive endurance athletes. Further, the warm-up elicited increases in physiological variables VO₂ and HR prior to performance; thus, a submaximal specific warm-up should warrant consideration.