Testing the functionality of peripheral vision in a mixed-methods football field study

ABSTRACT

In team sports, peripheral vision might be useful to simultaneously monitor movements of opponents and teammates. Until now, however, little is known about the perceptual-cognitive processes underlying peripheral vision in a sporting task. Therefore, we used a mixed-methods approach with in-situ decision making (3 vs. 3 situations) and retrospective verbal reports to identify perceptual strategies used for optimal information pick-up in high- and low-skilled football players. Our results show that the use of peripheral vision by central defenders depends on the position of the ball and the position of the direct opponent. Players were shown to either use a pivot strategy, whereby they frequently look at the direct opponent if he is not in the possession of the ball in addition to making saccades to monitor other players, or they employ a more direct strategy, in which gaze is anchored on this location, avoiding saccades and monitoring the other players with peripheral vision. Based on our findings we make recommendations about how these gaze strategies can be further tested in future research and how sports practice can benefit from these results.     

Student teachers’ pedagogical content knowledge for teaching systems thinking: effects of different interventions

ABSTRACT

Systems’ thinking has become increasingly relevant not only in education for sustainable development but also in everyday life. Even if teachers know the dynamics and complexity of living systems in biology and geography, they might not be able to effectively explain it to students. Teachers need an understanding of systems and their behaviour (content knowledge), and they also need to know how systems thinking can be fostered in students (pedagogical content knowledge (PCK)). But the effective development of teachers’ professional knowledge in teaching systems thinking is empirically uncertain. From a larger study (SysThema) that investigated teaching systems thinking, this article reports the effects of the three different interventions (technical course, didactic course and mixed course) in student teachers’ PCK for teaching systems thinking. The results show that student teachers’ PCK for teaching systems thinking can be promoted in teacher education. The conclusion to be drawn from our findings is that a technically orientated course without didactical aspects seems to be less effective in fostering student teachers’ PCK for teaching systems thinking. The results inform educators in enhancing curricula of future academic track and non-academic track teacher education.     

How secondary level teachers and students impose personal structure on fractional expressions and equations—an expert-novice study

While an algebraic expression is typically assigned a regular structure, this article introduces the concept of personal structure (Strukturierung); here, the structuring of an algebraic expression is understood as the act of forming relationships between its parts. This concept is used for the analysis of interviews in which experts and novices talk about the personal structures they produced when looking at fractional expressions and equations. The results show, firstly, that experts will structure a given fractional expression in various different ways. Secondly, four categories have been identified: structuring can mean that an expression is made more visually straightforward, changed, reinterpreted or classified. This is meaningful for negotiating the appropriateness of the personal structures in teaching algebra.     

Strategies for success: uncovering what makes students successful in design and learning

While the purposes of design and science are often different, they share some key practices and processes. Design-based science learning, which combines the processes of engineering design with scientific inquiry, is one attempt to engage students in scientific reasoning via solving practical problems. Although research suggests that engaging students in design-based science learning can be effective for learning both science process and content, more research is needed to understand how to overcome what Vattam and Kolodner (Pragmatics and Cognition 16:406–437, 2008) called “the design–science gap.” This study, therefore, takes a first step at systematically delving into this issue of bridging the design–science gap by examining the problem-solving strategies that students are using when they solve a prototypical design task. Videotaped performance assessments of high and low performing teams were analyzed in depth. Results suggest that students use both science reasoning strategies (e.g., control of variables) and design–focused strategies (e.g., adaptive growth). However, the strategies commonly associated with success in science (e.g., control of variables) did not necessarily lead to success in design. In addition, while both science reasoning strategies and design–focused strategies led to content learning, the content learned was different.     

Development of legal expertise

In a comprehensive empirical investigation (N = 71,405) we analyzed the development of legal expertise in a critical 1-year period of academic legal training in which advanced law students start practicing to solve complex cases. We were particularly interested in the functional form of the learning curve and inter-individual differences in learning. Performance increases monotonically with the number of practice exams following a slightly concave learning curve without any considerable kinks. Considering the performance development over time, however, the curve is not monotonic and shows intermediate drops in performance. We provide evidence which suggests that these drops are due to cyclic drops in motivation. There are about equally sized marginal effects of practicing law exams in general and practicing exams in the specific area of law. However, students with high (vs. low) initial performance profit more from practicing exams within a specific area of law whereas students with low initial performance profit more from practicing exams in general. The concave increase in performance with the number of practicing exams is mainly driven by individuals with low initial performance. Those with high initial performance mainly display a linear learning trend. We discuss the practical implications of these findings for academic legal training.     

SCHOOL DELINQUENCY AND SOCIAL BOND FACTORS: EXPLORING GENDERED DIFFERENCES AMONG A NATIONAL SAMPLE OF 10TH GRADERS

School delinquency has been linked to an array of negative educational outcomes, and if left unchecked, may lead to more serious problems in adulthood. Identifying the risk and protective factors that influence school delinquency is therefore crucial to develop effective intervention programs. Utilizing Hirschi's social bond theory as a framework, the authors investigated the relationships between social bonds (i.e., parental involvement, bond to school, beliefs, commitment to sport activities, commitment to non‐sport activities, and involvement) and school delinquency among a nationally representative sample of 10th graders. Special attention was given to gender differences. Results indicate that social bond measures account for a significant variance in school delinquency (11.2%, p < .001) above and beyond that predicted by socioeconomic status (1.5%, p < .001), and that the relationships between social bonds and school delinquency vary across gender. Practical and theoretical implications are for educators and researchers alike.     

Weiterentwicklung der Rankingsysteme im Reitsport

A critical analysis of the existing ranking systems of German and international horse sports could identify weak points with regard to their implicit evaluations of the horses’ performances. This study is aimed at developing a feasible and more performance-related valuation method and comparing it with the existing cumulative ranking systems of the German and international equestrian umbrella organizations. On the one hand, the modeling is based on a method using average points per competition; on the other hand, by considering additional points and drawbacks. We investigated a sample of 50 top-ranked jumping horses and monitored the differences towards the existing ranking systems. The modification proposed results in significant implications on the rankings. The validity in relation to the horses’ performance evaluation could be improved. As a consequence, the interests of different stakeholder groups are better served than before. It is recommended to further develop the existing ranking system accordingly and to analyze a more differentiated placing of points.     

NASTY,BRUTISH AND LONG: ADVENTURES IN OLD AGE AND THE WORLD OF ELDERCARE By Ira Rosofsky

Nurses play a significant role in geriatric care. However, as the aging population and demand for geriatric nurses increase worldwide, shortages of nurses seem to arise. This creates the need to assess and address the motivation and attitudes of nurses toward geriatric care. The intent of this qualitative study is to surface the essence or the “lebenswelt” that describe the motivation and attitudes of a selected group of Filipino nurses toward geriatric care. A total of six registered nurses who had experienced taking care of elderly patients voluntarily participated as respondents of this study. A two-part instrument developed by the researchers was made to elicit necessary data and information. The first part comprised of the robotfoto intended to establish the baseline characteristics of nurses under study. The second part consisted of a semistructured individual in-depth interview using “aide memoire” to probe into the motivation and attitudes of the nurse respondents. Field texts were phenomenologically reduced via repertory grid. Two distinct and interesting themes, namely Geriatric Service Motivation Typology and the Yin-Yang of Geriatric Attitudes emerged. The first theme includes the Single Loop and Double Loop type of motivation The former involves a transactional and unidirectional process, while the latter constitutes a two-way relational and transformational process. The second theme consists of a harmonious combination of the two sides of the nurses' attitudes toward geriatric care. Through this study, the human side of nursing is seen and captured, thus increasing the awareness and knowledge of nurses, improving provision of optimum geriatric care, and inspiring nurses to pursue geriatric nursing with a yearning to serve the elderly with and from the heart.     

Filipino Nursing Students' Behavioral Intentions Toward Geriatric Care: A Structural Equation Model (SEM)

Anchored on the key constucts of Ajzen's Theory of Planned Behavior (1985 Ajzen , I. ( 1985 ). From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior . In J. Kuhl & J. Beckman (Eds.), Action-control: From cognition to behavior (pp. 11 – 39 ). Heidelberg , Germany : Springer .[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]), this paper seeks to test a model that explores the influence of knowledge, attitude, and caring behavior on nursing students’ behavioral intention toward geriatric care. A five-part survey-questionnaire was administered to 839 third and fourth year nursing students from a comprehensive university in the Philippines. To delineate the underlying dimensions of knowledge, attitude, and caring behavior, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was carried out. The resulting factors were integrated in the proposed model prior to structural equation modeling (SEM). The emerging model shows that while knowledge did not directly influence intent, it had a direct impact in the development of attitudes. Impliedly, by delineating the variables through EFA, new relationships between specific knowledge, attitude, and caring behavior dimensions can be observed. As shown, a nursing student's intent to care for older people can be increased if he/she sees them as powerful and wise. On the other hand, if one sees older people as demanding in nature, he/she is less likely to pursue geriatric nursing in the future. Interestingly, the resulting structural model in this study has successfully and clearly delineated the positive and negative determinants of nursing students’ intent to care for geriatric patients. The researchers hope that the model be used as an assessment tool for various nurse populations in order to effectively plan innovative strategies when introducing geriatric nursing.     

Global blue carbon accumulation in tidal wetlands increases with climate change

Coastal tidal wetlands produce and accumulate significant amounts of organic carbon (C) that help to mitigate climate change. However, previous data limitations have prevented a robust evaluation of the global rates and mechanisms driving C accumulation. Here, we go beyond recent soil C stock estimates to reveal global tidal wetland C accumulation and predict changes under relative sea level rise, temperature and precipitation. We use data from literature study sites and our new observations spanning wide latitudinal gradients and 20 countries. Globally, tidal wetlands accumulate 53.65 (95%CI: 48.52–59.01) Tg C yr⁻¹, which is ∼30% of the organic C buried on the ocean floor. Modeling based on current climatic drivers and under projected emissions scenarios revealed a net increase in the global C accumulation by 2100. This rapid increase is driven by sea level rise in tidal marshes, and higher temperature and precipitation in mangroves. Countries with large areas of coastal wetlands, like Indonesia and Mexico, are more susceptible to tidal wetland C losses under climate change, while regions such as Australia, Brazil, the USA and China will experience a significant C accumulation increase under all projected scenarios.