Differential contribution of personality to the explanation of variance in achievement in the first language and mathematics at high school level

This study assessed the differential contribution of personality to the explanation of variance in achievement in the mother tongue and mathematics at the high school level. The results indicated that personality, as measured by the HSPQ, aided the explication of variance in achievement in the mother tongue significantly, but had little influence on mathematics. Personality contributed as much to the explanation of variance in the mother tongue as did the composite cognitive variable. The influence of personality on achievement in mathematics was shown to be negligible. Some practical implications for the teaching of the first language are drawn.     

Political satire and its disruptive potential: irony and cynicism in Russia and the US

When cynical distance and ironic posturing have become the prevalent means of relating to public life, political humour is no longer considered subversive. It has been argued that both in Russia and the United States, ideology has co-opted satire, meaning that citizens can consume outrage passively through various satirical media products, thereby displacing outrage and abstaining from more active forms of resistance. This articles explores the twenty-first century potential of irony and cynicism to disrupt and subvert through parody, be it in the form of political satire or ironic protest, examining how similar paradigms are expressed across different geographical contexts.     

Improved children’s motor learning of the basketball free shooting pattern by associating subjective error estimation and extrinsic feedback

This study aimed at assessing the interaction between subjective error estimation and frequency of extrinsic feedback in the learning of the basketball free shooting pattern by children. 10- to 12-year olds were assigned to 1 of 4 groups combining subjective error estimation and relative frequency of extrinsic feedback (33% × 100%). Analysis of performance was based on quality of movement pattern. Analysis showed superior learning of the group combining error estimation and 100% feedback frequency, both groups receiving feedback on 33% of trials achieved intermediate results, and the group combining no requirement of error estimation and 100% feedback frequency had the poorest learning. Our results show the benefit of subjective error estimation in association with high frequency of extrinsic feedback in children’s motor learning of a sport motor pattern.     

On the role of cultural participation in tourism destination performance: an assessment using robust conditional efficiency approach

The relationship between culture and tourism has been widely investigated from different perspectives. A large strand of literature studies the role of cultural heritage to attract tourists, while a rich bulk of studies on cultural participation investigates the impact of tourism flows on the demand for culture. Another aspect worth investigating relates to the link between cultural participation and the performance of tourism destinations (TDs), as a higher cultural participation in an area could boost the performance in the management of tourism resources. However, so far, this issue has been disregarded in the literature, and this paper aims at filling this gap. Specifically, it studies the effect of cultural participation on TDs’ performance using a conditional efficiency approach that ensures robust inference on the role of environmental factors. We employ data on the Italian regions for the period 2004–2010, and we explore the role of cultural participation for tourism by using several indicators. Our findings offer empirical support to the positive role of cultural participation and, thus, suggest that public cultural policies might also boost the efficiency of the tourism sector.     

Emotions’ management within the Real Madrid football club business model

Recent changes in the sports industry – derived from increasing financial pressures – have led to the update of existing business models. Particularly in football, the dominant clubs develop new business models based on the spectators’ commitment to the sport. Packed stadiums attract more people who consume both the matches and the many other associated goods and services. In an experience economy, the lever is the tapping of their emotions by an increasingly sophisticated value proposal. Groups of passionate supporters lead the way to the establishment of communities with a common interest in the club. Following a qualitative methodology (interviews and other texts’ analysis) our study of the Real Madrid Football Club (RM) business model suggests that one of the biggest football clubs in the world is creating a business model based on the emotions of its supporters. This finding could be useful for other clubs in many different countries.