Effectiveness during ball screens in elite basketball games

Ball screens are one of the most frequently used tactical behaviour in elite basketball games. The aim of the present study was to identify their predictors of success related to time, space, players, and tasks performed. The sample was composed of 818 ball screens corresponding to 20 close games (mean differences in score of 3.1 ± 0.8 points) randomly selected from the playoff games of the Spanish Basketball League (2008–2011). Classification tree analysis (CHAID) was used to analyse which variable or combination of variables, better predicts effectiveness during ball screens. The main results allowed identifying interactions with dribbler actions after the screen and the orientation of the screen on the ball. The results showed no interaction with game quarter and quarter minute temporal-related variables in both analyses. The present findings allow improving coaches’ strategic plans that involve selecting the most appropriate offensive approach when performing ball screens.     

User experience of government documents: A framework for informing design decisions

People still use documents in many everyday government processes. From tax payments to passport requests, citizens have to interact with low-interactivity information artifacts such as reports, maps and datasets, among many others. Despite efforts to improve information delivery in the public sector, effective information usage remains a critical topic of action and research. The user experience of government documents has rarely been assessed, despite them being regularly published and frequently used. Considering this, the two following research questions arise: 1) How can government documents be classified (or grouped) in terms of user experience? 2) How can the user experience of government documents be monitored over time in order to inform design decisions? Working with a public agency in Chile, we develop and test a classification and monitoring framework based on two online surveys (N?=?338 and N?=?298). We then propose a framework for understanding user experience of government documents in these three dimensions: interaction goal, volume of information and ease of understanding. Using a graphical representation to classify user experience provides greater visibility of the current status of information produced by a public organization. Furthermore, by monitoring the user experience of a government document at different times, organizations can understand the effect of their design decisions and improve their service quality by implementing user-centered processes.     

Temporary Book Storage Using a Document Management Company

Finding an appropriate temporary storage location for books and providing access to them is a significant challenge for libraries undergoing renovations. The current article describes the use of a document management company by an academic library to store 430,000 books for 8 months and provide a retrieval-on-demand service. Aspects covered include the selection of a commercial storage provider with its own retrieval service; details of the move to and from offsite storage; the integration of the service with library processes; communications and user feedback; book usage during the storage period; overall costs; and lessons learned from the experience.     

Red pigment production by Penicillium purpurogenum GH2 is influenced by pH and temperature

The combined effects of pH and temperature on red pigment production and fungal morphology were evaluated in a submerged culture of Penicillium purpurogenum GH2, using Czapek-Dox media with d-xylose as a carbon source. An experimental design with a factorial fix was used: three pH values (5, 7, and 9) and two temperature levels (24 and 34 °C) were evaluated. The highest production of red pigment (2.46 g/L) was reached with a pH value of 5 and a temperature of 24 °C. Biomass and red pigment production were not directly associated. This study demonstrates that P. purpurogenum GH2 produces a pigment of potential interest to the food industry. It also shows the feasibility of producing and obtaining natural water-soluble pigments for potential use in food industries. A strong combined effect (p<0.05) of pH and temperature was associated with maximal red pigment production (2.46 g/L).     

Child and Adolescent Predictors of Personality in Early Adulthood

This study investigated development of the Big Five personality traits from early childhood into adulthood. An initial group of 137 Swedish children were assessed eight times between ages 2 and 29 years. Initial decreases in extraversion leveled off in early adulthood; agreeableness and conscientiousness increased from ages 2 to 29; neuroticism initially increased, leveled off in later childhood and adolescence, and decreased throughout early adulthood; while openness to experience showed an initial increase, then decreased and leveled off in early adulthood. Individual developmental trajectories varied significantly, particularly in relation to gender. Personality traits became increasingly stable, and the fact that childhood scores predicted scores in adulthood indicated that personalities are fairly stable across this portion of the life span.     

Graphicacy in biology textbooks: analysis of activities with images / Alfabetización gráfica en libros de texto de biología: análisis de las actividades con imágenes

The aim of this study is to analyse how graphicacy is promoted through activities with images of the human body in third to sixth year primary school textbooks from three different publishers. The analysis was based on categories related to type of image, type of task, procedures, cognitive processing level required and whether there are explicit instructions on how to use the image. The results show that illustrations and visual diagrams are the most frequent images. The main task is image interpretation, whereas production tasks are scarce. Moreover, the tasks are not evenly distributed among the different procedures. The processing level required is low and requires superficial processing of the images, resulting in a learning process based on copy and repetition. There is some evidence of activities being sequenced according to educational level. We conclude that the kind of graphicacy found in the textbook activities is insufficient for acquiring competence in the use of images.     

What and how teacher educators prefer to learn

In which areas and domains do individual teacher educators prefer to work on their professional development? What kind of learning activities do they want to take on and with whom? Are there significant differences in these preferences between teacher educators? This article reports on a recent survey (N = 268) about the professional development of teacher educators and differences in learning preferences between less and more experienced teacher educators and between university-based and school-based teacher educators. Findings show, for example, that while most university-based teacher educators were mainly interested in improving their teaching, less experienced school-based teacher educators were more focussed on aspects such as coaching skills. In this study, ‘learning profiles’ have been developed for four categories of teacher educators. These profiles may help to create more meaningful arrangements for teacher educators’ initial education and further professional development in a context where teacher education is required to have a more school-based as well as a more research-based orientation.     

What do families of the ‘professional and managerial’ class educate their children for? The links between happiness and autonomy

Based on a qualitative study involving 124 professional and managerial class families in Catalonia (Spain), this paper describes the aims and objectives these families have for the education of their children. During the fieldwork, when asked what they were aiming for in the education of their children, almost all of the parents replied ‘for them to be happy’. But what kind of happiness are they talking about? What kind of education might lead to happiness? Drawing principally on the work of Kellerhals and Montandon and their ‘contractual model of education’ and Bauman’s concepts of ‘secondary security’ and ‘homo eligens’, although also taking into account the related contributions of Lareau, Vincent and Ball, Stefansen and Aarseth, and Kusserow, the paper aims to demonstrate the strong connection these families make between happiness and ‘absolute’ autonomy, understood as two sides of the same coin and seen, by the participants, as the guiding principle that should shape the way they bring their children up.