Enhancing Socio-technical Governance: Targeting Inequality in Innovation Through Inclusivity Mainstreaming

Socio-technical governance has been of long-standing interest to science and technology studies and science policy studies. Recent calls for midstream modulation direct attention to a more complicated model of innovation, and a new place for social scientists to intervene in research, design and development. This paper develops and expands this earlier work to demonstrate how a suite of concepts from science and technology studies and innovation studies can be used as a heuristic tool to conduct real-time evaluation and reflection during the process of innovation – upstream, midstream, and downstream. The result of this new protocol is inclusivity mainstreaming: determining if and how marginalized peoples and perspectives are being maximally incorporated into the model of innovation, while highlighting common problems of inequality that need to be addressed.

     

Schooling for self-employment in Kenya: The acquisition of craft skills in and outside schools

Primary schooling will continue to be the terminal stage of education for most Kenyan children, and it will have to prepare them for employment that they will create for themselves. What this might imply for the teaching of craft skills is examined. Soapstone carving was selected as the subject of study because it is an important form of self-employment in western Kenya. The acquisition of craft skills in and outside schools was compared using observational and experimental methods. It is argued that school instruction provides little opportunity to develop competence in carrying out cognitive and psychomotor tasks important to expert performance in this and perhaps many other craft occupations.     

Effects of strength and endurance exercise order on endocrine responses to concurrent training

The present study examined the effect of strength and endurance training order on the endocrine milieu associated with strength development and performance during concurrent training. A randomised, between-groups design was employed with 30 recreationally resistance-trained males completing one of four acute experimental training protocols; strength training (ST), strength followed by endurance training (ST-END), endurance followed by strength training (END-ST) or no training (CON). Blood samples were taken before each respective exercise protocol, immediately upon cessation of exercise, and 1?h post cessation of exercise. Blood samples were subsequently analysed for total testosterone, cortisol and lactate concentrations. Ability to maintain 80% 1RM during strength training was better in ST and ST-END than END-ST (both p?<?.05). Immediately following the respective exercise protocols all training interventions elicited significant increases in testosterone (p?<?.05). ST and END-ST resulted in greater increases in cortisol than ST-END (both p?<?.05). The testosterone:cortisol ratio was similar following the respective exercise protocols. Blood lactate concentrations post-training were greater following END-ST and ST than ST-END (both p?<?.05). Conducting endurance exercise prior to strength training resulted in impaired strength training performance. Blood cortisol and lactate concentrations were greater when endurance training was conducted prior to strength training than vice versa. As such, it may be suggested that conducting endurance prior to strength training may result in acute unfavourable responses to strength training when strength training is conducted with high loads.     

Kinetic changes during a six-week minimal footwear and gait-retraining intervention in runners

An evaluation of a six-week Combined minimal footwear transition and gait-retraining combination vs. gait retraining only on impact characteristics and leg stiffness. Twenty-four trained male runners were randomly assigned to either (1) Minimalist footwear transition Combined with gait-retraining over a six-week period (“Combined” group; n = 12) examined in both footwear, or (2) a gait-retraining group only with no minimalist footwear exposure (“Control”; n = 12). Participants were assessed for loading rate, impact peak, vertical, knee and ankle stiffness, and foot-strike using 3D and kinetic analysis. Loading rate was significantly higher in the Combined group in minimal shoes in pre-tests compared to a Control (P ≤ 0.001), reduced significantly in the Combined group over time (P ≤ 0.001), and was not different to the Control group in post-tests (P = 0.16). The impact peak (P = 0.056) and ankle stiffness reduced in both groups (P = 0.006). Loading rate and vertical stiffness was higher in minimalist footwear than conventional running shoes both pre (P ≤ 0.001) and post (P = 0.046) the intervention. There has a higher tendency to non-rearfoot strike in both interventions, but more acute changes in the minimalist footwear. A Combined intervention can potentially reduce impact variables. However, higher loading rate initially in minimalist footwear may increase the risk of injury in this condition.     

Kinematical analysis of the V2 ski skating technique: A longitudinal study

To characterise timing of movements and evaluate performance effects of technique alterations in V2 ski skating, 13 elite male cross-country skiers (age, 23 ± 2 years; stature, 182 ± 6 cm; body mass, 76 ± 8 kg; V2 V?O_2max, 79.3 ± 4.4 mL · kg^?1 · min^?1) were tested four times during the preparation and competition phase on a roller ski treadmill. Each test consisted of submaximal intensities of exercise for determination of oxygen cost followed by one 1000-m performance test. Hip movement (from accelerometer data) and joint angles (2D video) were determined for high-intensity exercise (6° and 3.5 m · s^?1; ~ 97–100% of V?O_2peak). Each ski thrust consisted of three phases: gliding phase (18–50% of cycle time), poling phase (50–70% of cycle time), and kick phase (70–78% of cycle time). Flexion/extension of the hip initiated all phases, followed by the respective joints in legs and arms. Mixed-model analysis, adjusting for systematic time-point effects, identified that both reduced vertical hip acceleration and increased cycle time gave a small likely reduction in oxygen cost and 1000-m time. In conclusion, well-developed hip movement is a key characteristic of the V2 technique for elite-standard skiers’ long-term performance development.     

Associations between prolonged sedentary time and breaks in sedentary time with cardiometabolic risk in 10–14-year-old children: The HAPPY study

This study examines the association between prolonged sedentary time and breaks in sedentary time with cardiometabolic risk in 10–14-year-old children. This cross-sectional design study analysed accelerometry-determined sedentary behaviour and physical activity collected over 7 days from 111 (66 girls) UK schoolchildren. Objective outcome measures included waist circumference, fasting lipids, fasting glucose, blood pressure, and cardiorespiratory fitness. Logistic regression was used for the main data analysis. After adjustment for confounders, the odds of having hypertriglyceridaemia (P = 0.03) and an increased clustered cardiometabolic risk score (P = 0.05) were significantly higher in children who engaged in more prolonged sedentary bouts per day. The number of breaks in sedentary time per day was not associated with any cardiometabolic risk factor, but longer mean duration of daily breaks in sedentary time were associated with a lower odds of having abdominal adiposity (P = 0.04) and elevated diastolic blood pressure (P = 0.01). These associations may be mediated by engagement in light activity. This study provides evidence that avoiding periods of prolonged uninterrupted sedentary time may be important for reducing cardiometabolic disease risk in children.     

Extracurricular Physical Activity Programs in California Private Secondary Schools

Purpose: Interscholastic, intramural, and club physical activity (PA) programs can be important contributors to student PA accrual at schools. Few studies have assessed factors related to the provision of these extracurricular PA programs, especially in private schools. Methods: We used a 16-item questionnaire to assess the associations and influences of selected factors relative to extracurricular PA program policies and practices in 450 private California secondary schools. Associations were evaluated using contingency table analyses (i.e., chi-squared, effect size, and post-hoc analyses). Results: Six factors were associated with schools providing extracurricular PA programs: school location, level, enrollment, and religious classification and whether the physical education (PE) program met state PE time standards and was taught by PE specialists. Conclusions: Both static factors (e.g., school location, level, enrollment, and religious affiliation) and modifiable factors (e.g., meeting PE standards and employing specialists) affect the provision of extracurricular PA programs. As education is state-mandated, additional study is recommended to assess the generalizability of these findings to other states and to public schools.     

The effect of mountain bike wheel size on cross-country performance

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to determine the influence of different wheel size diameters on indicators of cross-country mountain bike time trial performance. Nine competitive male mountain bikers (age 34.7 ± 10.7 years; stature 177.7 ± 5.6 cm; body mass 73.2 ± 8.6 kg) performed 1 lap of a 3.48 km mountain bike (MTB) course as fast as possible on 26″, 27.5″ and 29″ wheeled MTB. Time (s), mean power (W), cadence (revs · min^?1) and velocity (km · h^?1) were recorded for the whole lap and during ascent and descent sections. One-way repeated measure ANOVA was used to determine significant differences. Results revealed no significant main effects for any variables by wheel size during all trials, with the exception of cadence during the descent (F_{(2, 16)} = 8.96; P = .002; P² = .53). Post hoc comparisons revealed differences lay between the 26″ and 29″ wheels (P = .02). The findings indicate that wheel size does not significantly influence performance during cross-country when ridden by trained mountain bikers, and that wheel choice is likely due to personal choice or sponsorship commitments.