Kinematic differences between front crawl sprint and distance swimmers at sprint pace

The purpose of this study was to use three-dimensional methods to determine whether there are distinct kinematic differences between sprint and distance front crawl swimmers when swimming at a sprint pace. Seven sprint and eight distance specialists performed four 25-m sprints through a 6.75-m(3) calibrated space recorded by six gen-locked cameras. The variables of interest were: average swim velocity, stroke length, stroke frequency, upper limb and foot displacement, elbow angle, shoulder and hip roll angles, duration of stroke phases, and the time corresponding to particular events within the stroke cycle relative to hand entry. Differences between sprint and distance swimmers were assessed with an independent t-test for each variable, in addition to effect size calculations. Differences between sprint and distance front crawl swimmers were generally small and not significant when swimming at a sprint pace. Differences were limited to temporal aspects of the stroke cycle. These findings suggest that coaches should not train sprint and distance specialists differently in terms of technique development.     

Asymmetry of red blood cell motions in a microchannel with a diverging and converging bifurcation

In microcirculation, red blood cells (RBCs) flowing through bifurcations may deform considerably due to combination of different phenomena that happen at the micro-scale level, such as: attraction effect, high shear, and extensional stress, all of which may influence the rheological properties and flow behavior of blood. Thus, it is important to investigate in detail the behavior of blood flow occurring at both bifurcations and confluences. In the present paper, by using a micro-PTV system, we investigated the variations of velocity profiles of two working fluids flowing through diverging and converging bifurcations, human red blood cells suspended in dextran 40 with about 14% of hematocrit level (14 Hct) and pure water seeded with fluorescent trace particles. All the measurements were performed in the center plane of rectangular microchannels using a constant flow rate of about 3.0 × 10⁻¹² m³/s. Moreover, the experimental data was compared with numerical results obtained for Newtonian incompressible fluid. The behavior of RBCs was asymmetric at the divergent and convergent side of the geometry, whereas the velocities of tracer particles suspended in pure water were symmetric and well described by numerical simulation. The formation of a red cell-depleted zone immediately downstream of the apex of the converging bifurcation was observed and its effect on velocity profiles of RBCs flow has been investigated. Conversely, a cell-depleted region was not formed around the apex of the diverging bifurcation and as a result the adhesion of RBCs to the wall surface was enhanced in this region.     

Islamic schools in three western countries: policy and procedure

In this article, the authors compare Islamic schools in three countries: the United States, the Netherlands, and Belgium. In each country, the authors take care to situate Islamic schools within the broader context of educational policy and practice. In particular, the authors examine the mechanisms for funding, choice and control, noting that for reasons specific to each context monitoring either by the state or accrediting agencies poses both challenges and opportunities for Islamic schools.     

Ethnicity,Forms of Capital,and Educational Achievement

Bourdieu's cultural capital thesis is an attempt to explain how social class influences the transmission of educational inequality. In this article, the question of the extent to which various forms of capital also apply to ethnic minorities stands central. On the basis of Dutch and American research findings, a model is formulated and empirically tested with the aid of data from the Dutch Primary Education cohort study. Students from four ethnic groups are included: Dutch, Surinamese, Turkish, and Moroccan. The main variables are language and math test scores, socio-economic milieu, and a number of capital indicators, including financial resources, linguistic resources, parental reading behavior, and educational resources within the family. The results show no mediating effect of resources within the various ethnic groups. The findings also suggest that in research and practice it is relevant to not treat ethnic groups as one homogenous group, but to differentiate between the various groups.     

Conceptual learning in relation to near and far transfer in the secondary school subject of economics

In this study we investigated the effects of two treatments supplementing students’ (16 to 18 years of age and in pre-university education) regular course in economics. One treatment, labelled concept treatment, aimed at the solidification of the students’ knowledge about economic concepts and their interrelations. The other treatment, labeled context treatment, aimed at the solidification of the connections between economic concepts and practical contexts. The aim of the study was to find out which treatment was most effective in meeting two demands that have been made by educators and advisory boards. The first demand is that students should gain competence in analysing practical problems from an economic perspective. The second demand is that students should be prepared for transfer of what they learned in the lessons to problems that are new to them.     

Histories of Colorism and Implications for Education

In this article, we consider how colorist ideologies and practices unsettle arguments that celebrate racial gains in education, particularly as related to divides that have narrowed since the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Although outcomes based on race may document some general paths of improvement, progress and success can be appreciably uneven across people who are the same race. Even though skin tone is a linchpin of intraracial disparities, connections between colorism and educational outcomes are underappreciated. A brief consideration of how color-based advantages and disadvantages may affect African-, Latino/a-, and Asian-descended groups is provided to heighten educators' awareness of the problem.     

Developing a ‘big picture’: Effects of collaborative construction of multimodal representations in history

Many pupils have difficulties with the abstract verbal information in history lessons. In this study we assessed the value of active construction of multimodal representations of historical phenomena. In an experimental study we compared the learning outcomes of pupils who co-constructed textual representations, visual-textual representations, or visual-textual representations integrated in a timeline. 85 pupils in pre-vocational secondary education, aged 12–13, worked in dyads on a series of four history tasks. All pupils took a pre-test, post-test and retention test. Results show that working on visual-textual representations integrated in a timeline leads to higher short-term results than co-constructing textual representations. Dialogue analyses for two dyads working in the condition with visual-textual representations integrated in a timeline indicate that the extent to which pupils verbally integrate textual and visual information differs for the four different tasks.     

Augmented Reality Application for Handheld Devices

Science & Education - The Pavia University History Museum, which houses historic items mainly connected to the physics and medicine fields, has focused in the past years on new ways to involve...     

Evaluating student allocation in the Portuguese public higher education system

This paper characterizes and evaluates the student allocation in the Portuguese public higher education system. It describes the supply and demand sides of the system by looking at the numerus clausus across areas of study and institutions, institutions’ degree of diversity, and performance and adjustment indicators based on students’ revealed preferences. Performance indicators quantify the adequacy between demand and supply, across institutions and fields of study, and gauge the performance of public higher education institutions in the competition for candidates. Adjustment indicators allow us to predict the potential impact of changes in higher education regulations on student allocation and its stability. According to these indicators, such changes could result in an expansion for some institutions and fields of study, whereas other institutions might face a reduction.

Becoming a “Foreigner”: The Principle of Equality,Intersected Identities,and Social Exclusion in the Norwegian School

This article explores how some minority pupils’ self-definition as “foreigners” leads to their inability to also consider themselves diligent and talented pupils in the Norwegian school. The minority pupils’ self-definition as “foreigners” creates binary understandings of being a diligent and conscientious pupil, a definition that is often interpreted as being “Norwegian.” Through observations and conversations with young minority pupils in upper secondary school about their everyday lives, this article shows how the bodies and behavior of some minority pupils are excluded in a firm and often instinctive understanding of equality conceived as sameness. It is argued that even if the concepts of diversity and tolerance are important foundations in the Norwegian education policy, this principle creates a specific notion of a “normal pupil.” This tacit normality has different consequences for different minority pupils, creating complex intersected identities along the categories of gender, social class, and ethnicity. While the notion of a normal pupil creates social exclusion for some pupils with a minority background, this article argues that the entanglement of other categories provides opportunities for success for other minority pupils in the same educational system.