Changes in performance and poling kinetics during cross-country sprint skiing competition using the double-poling technique

In this study, changes in skiing performance and poling kinetics during a simulated cross-country sprint skiing competition were investigated. Twelve elite male cross-country skiers performed simulated sprint competition (4 × 1,150 m heat with 20 min recovery between the heats) using the double-poling technique. Vertical and horizontal pole forces and cycle characteristics were measured using a force plate system (20-m long) during the starting spurt, racing speed, and finishing spurt of each heat. Moreover, heat and 20-m phase velocities were determined. Vertical and horizontal pole impulses as well as mean cycle length were calculated. The velocities of heats decreased by 2.7 ± 1.7% (p = 0.003) over the simulated competition. The 20-m spurting velocity decreased by 16 ± 5% (p < 0.002) and poling time increased by 18 ± 9% (p < 0.003) in spurt phases within heats. Vertical and horizontal poling impulses did not change significantly during the simulation; however, the mean forces decreased (p < 0.039) (vertical by 24 ± 11% and horizontal by 20 ± 10%) within heats but not between the heats. Decreased heat velocities over the simulated sprint and spurting velocities within heats indicated fatigue among the skiers. Fatigue was also manifested by decreased pole force production and increased poling time.     

Acclimatization to altitude and normoxic training improve 400-m running performance at sea level

To investigate the benefits of ‘living high and training low' on anaerobic performance at sea level, eight 400-m runners lived for 10 days in normobaric hypoxia in an altitude house (oxygen content = 15.8%) and trained outdoors in ambient normoxia at sea level. A maximal anaerobic running test and 400-m race were performed before and within 1 week of living in the altitude house to determine the maximum speed and the speeds at different submaximal blood lactate concentrations (3, 5, 7, 10 and 13 mmol· l-1) and 400-m race time. At the same time, ten 400-m runners lived and trained at sea level and were subjected to identical test procedures. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated that the altitude house group but not the sea-level group improved their 400-m race time during the experimental period (P ? 0.05). The speeds at blood lactate concentrations of 5–13 mmol· l-1 tended to increase in the altitude house group but the response was significant only at 5 and 7 mmol·l-1 (P ? 0.05). Furthermore, resting blood pH was increased in six of the eight altitude house athletes from 0.003 to 0.067 pH unit (P ? 0.05). The results of this study demonstrate improved 400-m performance after 10 days of living in normobaric hypoxia and training at sea level. Furthermore, the present study provides evidence that changes in the acid–base balance and lactate metabolism might be responsible for the improvement in sprint performance.     

Design milieux for learning environments in African contexts

During the years 2002 to 2009, five African settings were used as foundation for designing different learning environments. While the content and target group for each learning environment varied, all of their design settings, or milieux, shared one implicit expectation: the milieu should facilitate the production of a change‐making learning environment. A retrospective qualitative analysis identified a set of 10 common indicators that describe how successful a given setting is as a design milieu for creating learning environments. The study shows that for each design milieu indicator, a milieu can feature success and failure at the same time. The results, novel in their emphasis on the design setting rather than the use setting, can be used for both assessing the prospects of a particular milieu and improving its strengths for design opportunities especially in African or other developing contexts.     

Applications,MATLAB and linear algebra as a unifying vehicle for the engineering-oriented syllabus

The paper considers the negative effects of the degeneration of the mathematics syllabus for engineering-oriented students into a collection of unconnected recipes, and presents a modernization of a linear algebra course to serve as a tool for the unification of the syllabus into a single transparent picture. The modernization is centred on the use of operator language as enabled by the incorporation of MATLAB-based applications into the theoretical part of the course.     

Les études hispano‐musulmanes en France à l'aube du troisième millénaire

Les études hispano‐musulmanes connurent leur essor en France dès la première partie du XX^e siècle graâce à l'?uvre magistrale d'Evariste Lévi‐Provençal. L'histoire de l'Espagne musulmane de 710 à 1031, fondée sur une profonde connaissance des sources arabes et de l'Islam d'Espagne, fut suivie par de brillantes études sur la civilisation d'al‐Andalus et par de précieuses éditions de textes arabes médiévaux. L'archéologie et l'histoire de l'art hispano‐musulman doivent beaucoup aux remarquables érudits que furent Georges Marçais, Elie Lambert et Henri Terrasse dont le fils, Michel Terrasse, poursuit les travaux à l'heure actuelle. Dès 1959, Rachel Arié s'est consacrée à l'Espagne musulmane au temps des Narides (1232–1492) ; elle a publié à Barcelone en 1982 une étude d'ensemble sur l'Espagne musulmane du VIII^e siècle au XV^e siècle. En outre, cinq ouvrages sur al‐Andalus, de nombreux articles, plusieurs communications de congrès ont illustré son activité d'arabisante et d'historienne. L'arabe hispanique a suscité des recherches lexicographiques au sein d'une équipe du CNRS depuis 1979. L'intérêt pour la pensée spéculative andalouse a été mis en lumière depuis 1956 par Roger Arnaldez et à partir de 1972 par Dominique Urvoy. Marie‐Thérèse Urvoy s'est penchée sur la question des Mozarabes. La poésie andalouse en arabe classique au XI^e siècle qui avait retenu l'attention d'Henri Pérès dès 1937 a fait l'objet de plusieurs articles dans la seconde édition de l'Islam depuis 1954. La participation française dans le domaine de l'Espagne musulmane s'est avérée notable dans ce monument d'érudition.     

The regional impact of Universities in Finland

During the rapid growth of higher education from the early 1960s to the mid 1970s, many new universities were founded in different parts of Finland. This article, resulting from the research project University and Environment, deals with the impact of this decentralized system of higher education on the regional development of Finland. The research is based on an analysis of the historical and social context of the expansion of higher education, followed by a more detailed examination of the different forms of regional impact. The findings suggest that the change from an agrarian to an industrial or post-industrial society has given rise to the assumption that higher education is a part of the social infrastructure in the world of scientific-technological revolution.     

Diversity in diversification: an analysis of shopping trips in six-week travel diary data

Diversification in shopping, a long-pursued subject in consumer behavior analysis, is approached from a broad perspective of the diversity in daily travel patterns, which may or may not involve shopping trips, as well as the diversity in shopping locations and frequency. The focus of this analysis is on the heterogeneity across individuals in the ways in which they each diversify their respective shopping behavior. This study explores differences across individuals in the variations of their shopping travel patterns across days. Treating the day-of-the-week evolution of shopping travel patterns as a stochastic process, characteristics of diversification are quantified for respective individuals. Finally, heterogeneity across individuals is identified using an array of statistical methods. The analysis, based on results of a six-week travel diary survey in Germany with geo-coded activity locations, reveals the effects of individual, household, and urban attributes on diversification in shopping behavior, including that full-time workers with medium incomes (4000–4999 Deutsche Mark per month) tend to have more variations in their shopping engagement.     

Pedagogical work,stress regulation and work-related well-being among early childhood professionals in integrated special day-care groups

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between early childhood professionals’ (ECPs) stress regulation (using salivary cortisol and alpha-amylase [AA] measurements), work engagement and the quality of their pedagogical work in integrated special day-care groups. Participants were 89 ECPs from 21 integrated special day-care groups located in Helsinki, Finland. The special educational needs of children (who were between 3 and 6 years of age) in these groups varied from language disorders and self-regulation difficulties to severe disabilities. Data was collected by using work engagement surveys, salivary cortisol and AA measurements and observational assessments of pedagogical work. This study is novel, in that it combines approaches from different disciplines to investigate work-related well-being among ECPs. Our findings demonstrate the close relationship between ECPs’ stress regulation and the quality of pedagogical work in teams. Whilst ECPs’ high work engagement was associated with better-quality pedagogical work, we did not find any associations between different biomarkers and work engagement. Our study highlights the importance of teamwork, not only as fundamental to high-quality early childhood special education, but also in supporting the well-being of ECE professionals. The findings can be applied in future studies and can be used to inform intervention aiming to enhance working conditions in day-care centres.     

How engineers perceive the importance of ethics in Finland

Success in complex and holistic engineering practices requires more than problem-solving abilities and technical competencies. Engineering education must offer proficient technical competences and also train engineers to think and act ethically. A technical ‘engineering-like’ focus and demand have made educators and students overlook the importance of ethical awareness and transversal competences. Using two Finnish surveys, conducted in 2014 and 2016, we examine how engineers perceive working life needs regarding ethics. The data consider different age groups. We research whether an engineer’s age affects their perception of the importance of ethics in their work and if there are differences between young experts and young managers in their use of ethics within work. The results indicate that practising engineers do not consider ethical issues important in their work. This especially applies to younger engineers; the older an engineer, the more important they consider ethics. No statistically significant difference was found between young engineering experts and managers.     

A comparison of student teacher learning from practice in university-affiliated schools in Helsinki and Johannesburg

In a comparative study of student teachers in Finland and South Africa, the researchers aimed to capture students’ views of how and what they had learned from practice in two university-affiliated primary schools. With data from survey questionnaires, we found that students in the two customized programmes accentuated different domains of teacher knowledge. The newly established teaching practice school in Johannesburg afforded closer integration of university and school practicum experiences for students than the well-established school in Helsinki. The authors conclude that an innovative teacher education model can be re-invented in a significantly different context and also add new dimensions to the original.