The components of the female athlete triad do not identify all physically active females at risk

The purpose of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of the triad components (amenorrhoea, disordered eating, and osteoporosis) in identifying physically active women at risk of long-term health problems. Eighty-two females (mean age 31.1 years, s = 6.7; body mass 58.4 kg, s = 6.6; stature 1.65 m, s = 0.06) completed training, menstrual, and dietary questionnaires. Bone mineral density and size-adjusted bone mineral density were assessed at the femoral neck and lumbar spine using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry. Seventy-eight percent of participants were eumenorrhoeic, 20% were oligomenorrhoeic, and 2% were amenorrhoeic. Thirty-six percent and 55% reported disordered eating practices in the present and past respectively. Eighty-one percent, 17%, and 2% were classified as normal, osteopaenic, and osteoporotic at the femoral neck respectively; 92% were normal, 7% osteopaenic, and 1% osteoporotic at the lumbar spine. No significant differences in femoral neck size-adjusted bone mineral density were observed between eumenorrhoeic and oligo/amenorrhoeic participants (F(2,80) = 0.119, P = 0.73); eumenorrhoeic participants had significantly greater lumbar spine size-adjusted bone mineral density (F(2,80) = 9.79, P = 0.003). Disordered eating participants had significantly lower femoral neck size-adjusted bone mineral density than those reporting no disordered eating (F(2,80) = 13.816, P = 0.000). Twenty-two percent of participants fulfilled triad criteria, while 55% were "at risk" of long-term health problems. An accumulation of conditions resulted in lower lumbar spine size-adjusted bone mineral density (F(1,80) = 6.074, P = 0.004). The current triad components do not identify all women "at risk" and more appropriate criteria such as exercise-related menstrual alterations, disordered eating, and osteopaenia are suggested.     

Perceptual-cognitive expertise in sport: a meta-analysis

Research focusing on perceptual-cognitive skill in sport is abundant. However, the existing qualitative syntheses of this research lack the quantitative detail necessary to determine the magnitude of differences between groups of varying levels of skills, thereby limiting the theoretical and practical contribution of this body of literature. We present a meta-analytic review focusing on perceptual-cognitive skill in sport (N = 42 studies, 388 effect sizes) with the primary aim of quantifying expertise differences. Effects were calculated for a variety of dependent measures (i.e., response accuracy, response time, number of visual fixations, visual fixation duration, and quiet eye period) using point-biserial correlation. Results indicated that experts are better than nonexperts in picking up perceptual cues, as revealed by measures of response accuracy and response time. Systematic differences in visual search behaviors were also observed, with experts using fewer fixations of longer duration, including prolonged quiet eye periods, compared with non-experts. Several factors (e.g., sport type, research paradigm employed, and stimulus presentation modality) significantly moderated the relationship between level of expertise and perceptual-cognitive skill. Practical and theoretical implications are presented and suggestions for empirical work are provided.     

The Reporting and Analysis of Research Findings for Within–Subject Designs: Methodological Issues for Meta–Analysis

Abstract

The results of studying the older athlete provide inference to the possible physiological limits found at various ages and the effect of physical activity on the aging process. As a result of the increase in development of atherosclerosis with age and the high intensity effort involved in track competition, the importance of a maximal stress test prior to entering into competition was discussed. The results presented showed 40- to 75-yr-old champion track competitors to have excellent performance, cardiopulmonary function, and body composition characteristics when compared to sedentary and moderately trained subjects of similar ages. Although maximal performance and oxygen intake decreased with age, a dramatic reduction did not occur until after age 65. Body composition measures, maximal pulmonary ventilation, resting heart rate and blood pressure, and serum lipids were similar for subjects up to age 65, but showed a significant decrement thereafter. The causes of the decrement in performance and physiological function with age could not be determined, but were thought to result from a combination of factors, e.g., aging, quantity and quality of conditioning, and number of years in continuous training.     

Supporting the career development of gifted students: New role and function for school psychologists

The American ethos that you can be whatever you want to be has not always been a helpful adage for gifted students. Gifted students require career counseling to understand the world of work, and to identify their interests and values in addition to their already-identified talents. Academic planning and career development for gifted students is an important and complex process that requires thoughtful consideration. School psychologists have the skills and abilities to provide valuable career development services to gifted students. The authors explore the unique challenges and career development needs of gifted students and provide suggestions for interventions.     

INSURING THE FUTURE OF CENTRAL AGENCIES

The future, like greatness, is rarely planned for. It is thrust upon us. As I write, two supplementary schools in the community have announced they are closing their doors. A bank crisis has rocked the state and the local Federation campaign is limping toward closure. The new economic realities are the first issue a central agency must grapple with.     

Teaching children while they play: Cultivating emergent writing and reading

Effective teachers of young children include symbolic play in their early education curricula. They design and prepare play environments, knowing that children learn through play. Piaget's (1962) research contributed greatly to teachers' understanding of how such play functions as a medium for learning, as a vehicle for understanding and constructing knowledge. For example, the child who has experienced meal preparation and child care at home will use those experiences in the housekeeping center with available props and adultlike behavior and language. According to Piaget (1962), this symbolic representation is a way of abstracting elements from life experiences and manipulating them so the learner can facilitate his or her construction of knowledge.Carol Taylor Schrader is an assistant professor at The University of Maryland at College Park.     

Longitudinal literacy professional development in an urban elementary charter school

The authors describe a school-university professional development partnership in a high-needs urban elementary charter school. University and school partners collaborated to build instructional capacity to develop teachers’ understanding and implementation of effective literacy instruction. Design-based research revealed increased understanding and implementation of effective literacy practices among school leaders and teachers. Findings revealed the importance of administrative stability; coaching support; and a focused, school-wide instructional vision.     

Adjunct mentoring,a vital responsibility in a changing educational climate: the Lesley University Adjunct Mentoring Program

Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, has established an adjunct mentoring process in response to its growing number of adjunct faculty. Lesley’s adjunct corps serves in Lesley programs offered both on and off campus. The primary goals of the mentoring program are to support excellence in teaching, and to engage in mentoring that begins at hiring and provides continued professional development to the adjunct faculty member. This article underscores the general need for adjunct mentoring in postsecondary institutions, and describes Lesley University’s Adjunct Mentoring Program – developed specifically in anticipation and response to this need. The article outlines the program’s main elements, the principles that underlie it, and the place of such a program in higher education today. It is precisely because part‐time faculty members in postsecondary institutions often assume a number of roles – teacher assistant, annually hired adjunct, internship supervisor – that adjunct mentoring programs are a responsibility, and not a choice.