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.     

Inbreds and non‐inbreds among Russian academics: Short‐term similarity and long‐term differences in productivity

This paper studies the publication productivity of inbreds and non‐inbreds among Russian academics. Existing literature provides ambiguous results on the relationship between inbred status and productivity. This may be explained by the use of different indicators for measuring publication productivity. We use data, which include indicators of both current publication productivity (at a certain point of time) and cumulative productivity (throughout the career) to identify whether inbreds and non‐inbreds differ in their productivity. We did not find any difference in current publication productivity of inbreds and non‐inbreds. We found, however, a difference in their cumulative publication productivity: non‐inbreds are being more productive on an individual level throughout their careers. Although the conclusions are based on the Russian data, the analysis provides an explanation for existing contradictory results on the relationship between academic inbreeding and productivity in general.     

Meeting players where they are: Digital games and learning ecologies

This paper explores the relationship between digital games and learning along the continuum from formal to informal learning. Games are an increasingly important component of our learning ecologies but their potential can prove difficult to fully harness due to the downsides of gaming in informal contexts and to the limitations games can present when adopted in formal learning contexts. The aim of this paper is to shed light on the strengths and weaknesses of games for learning, and to gather stakeholder recommendations for the main actors in the field. The adopted research approach is qualitative and participatory, involving players, teachers, parents, researchers and developers. Data from 25 interviews and 11 focus groups yielded insights into the educational, psychological and ethical aspects of play. Results suggest that gameplay influences individuals in a very personal manner, and that its effects cover a wide range of skills, extending to identity development. Hence, to harness this potential, all actors in the ecology need strong awareness of both the affordances and the risks of games, and deep respect for individuals’ LEs. The study has implications for a wide range of actors, including educators, players, researchers, parents, game developers and policymakers.     

Correction to: Feedback-seeking behavior in second language writing: motivational mechanisms

Reading and Writing - The original publication of the article contained errors in the tables.     

Outstanding performances during elite-standard short and middle-distance finals and the hyperandrogenism regulation—A detailed analysis of Caster Semenya’s results

ABSTRACT

Recently, there has been much controversy over the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) regulations regarding eligibility to compete and natural testosterone levels in female athletes. Much interest lies in the analysis of Caster Semenya's extraordinary performance. The objective of this work were, a) Complete an analysis of Caster Semenya's results during the 800m finals and b) search for existing similar performances by other female athletes. We analysed the results of the finals of all IAAF World Championships and Olympic Games from 1984–2016, including the 800m results of the Diamond Leagues 2016–2018. Exponential curves were fit to the data to characterise and predict performance for each event. Caster Semenya's finishing times before her ineligibility to compete and after the suspension of the IAAF hyperandrogenism regulation were found to be 1.24% and 1.49%, respectively, faster than the characteristic performance of the elite-standard in the women’s 800m final. Other female athletes, with finishing times faster than the ones predicted by the characteristic curves were also discovered. The percentage difference in performance between Caster Semenya and the other participants did not reach 3% in the 800m event. No conclusions can be drawn regarding extraordinary results ever performed during the 100m, 200m or 400m finals.     

Public understanding of science as a separate subject in secondary schools in The Netherlands

This paper describes and analyses an attempt to introduce the public understanding of science as a subject in its own right to be taught to all students in upper secondary education in The Netherlands. The aim of this paper is to make some of the experiences gained in this attempt, especially those related to the development of curriculum content, available to others. As the large-scale implementation of the new subject is still in progress, we focus on the initial stages of the introduction, covering the period 1994-1998. This period includes: (i) the launching of the initiative by a departmental advisory committee; (ii) the subsequent formulation of attainment targets; (iii) a curriculum development project that produced four teaching units tested in classroom experiments and meant as specimens to guide and inspire the authors of schoolbooks; and (iv) the publication of the first schoolbooks on the new subject. We conclude that in spite of its status as a separate subject, the current version of the course does not yet have a clear identity that distinguishes it, in the eyes of students as well as teachers, unmistakably from the traditional science subjects in the school.     

Contradictions around differentiation for pupils with dyslexia learning English as a Foreign Language at secondary school

This article deals with differentiation of teaching methods and extra time in class for pupils with dyslexia by English as a Foreign Language (EFL) teachers in two Greek state secondary schools. Activity theory is applied to analyse the contradictions that emerge around the issue of differentiation for pupils with dyslexia from data compiled from interviews with teachers, pupils and parents and field notes from lesson observations across two schools. The analysis shows that contradictions are created when participants try to achieve their goals for differentiation by lack of teachers’ knowledge, inadequate diagnosis, unclear school and Ministry policy, short duration of lessons and the number of pupils in class. The findings suggest the necessity of teacher training in dyslexia and the improvement of school and Ministry policy.     

提出研究假设的作用

研究假设是研究课题确定后依据一定的知识、事实和资料,对所研究问题的规律或原因做出的推测性论断和假定性说明,是研究之前预先设想的、暂时的理论,是对研究课题设想出的一种或几种可能的结论或答案。假设一般包括两个事件或概念之间的关系,用“如果……那么……”的句子来陈述。例如:如果教师对一名学生的评价越来越差,那么该生的自我评价也会变得越来越差。研究假设是我们在实施课题研究设计之前,必须明确的问题。在教育科学研究中,提出具体的研究假设具有非常重要的作用。一、为课题研究指明方向研究假设使研究目的更明确,研究范围更确…