Nutrition for winter sports

Winter sports are played in cold conditions on ice or snow and often at moderate to high altitude. The most important nutritional challenges for winter sport athletes exposed to environmental extremes include increased energy expenditure, accelerated muscle and liver glycogen utilization, exacerbated fluid loss, and increased iron turnover. Winter sports, however, vary greatly regarding their nutritional requirements due to variable physiological and physique characteristics, energy and substrate demands, and environmental training and competition conditions. What most winter sport athletes have in common is a relatively lean physique and high-intensity training periods, thus they require greater energy and nutrient intakes, along with adequate food and fluid before, during, and after training. Event fuelling is most challenging for cross-country skiers competing in long events, ski jumpers aiming to reduce their body weight, and those winter sport athletes incurring repeated qualification rounds and heats. These athletes need to ensure carbohydrate availability throughout competition. Finally, winter sport athletes may benefit from dietary and sport supplements; however, attention should be paid to safety and efficacy if supplementation is considered.     

Beyond Cost Justification: Evaluation Frameworks in Corporate Distance Training

Evaluation remains one of the biggest challenges for workplace training professionals today. Few organizations have mastered training evaluation, with even fewer moving beyond assessing learner reaction and satisfaction. The introduction of technology‐based distance training, coupled with large initial investments in technologies that are needed to support distance training programs, has further exacerbated evaluation efforts for training organizations. This article looks at the changing environment of training evaluation and the application of evaluation methodology in corporate distance training.     

Action learning for professionals: a new approach to practice

Following on from the article ‘Building Capacity in Social Care: An Evaluation of a National Programme of Action Learning Facilitator Development’ (Abbott, C., L. Burtney, and C. Wall. 2013. Action Learning: Research & Practice 10 (2): 168–177), this article describes how action learning is being introduced in Cornwall Council, UK and explores the relationship between social work and action learning in practice. In essence social work needs to perform well and achieve positive outcomes for users of its services. Cornwall Council's Children's Social Work and Psychology Services is introducing action learning for professionals as a new approach to practice.     

Qualifizierungsstrategien deutscher Unternehmen in Japan,Indien und China – Deutsche Vorbilder oder einheimische Verfahrensweisen?

For many years the possible introduction of the German dual vocational education programme into other countries has been discussed. The transferability of the German vocational education and training system into other countries has been controversially discussed in the work of development assistance and in international comparative vocational education research for a long time, even though the empirical basis is quite narrow. The present study focuses on the vocational and training behaviours of German corporations in their subsidiaries in Japan, China and India. Even though all three nations are important countries for the German corporations the culture, the vocational education and employment systems are very different. Based upon the theory of the EPRG model in international management, this study analyses the vocational education and training activities and in terms of the EPRG model by interviews with experts. The findings indicate that a polycentric approach is used exclusively in India and to a significant extent in China. In Japan, in addition to the prevalent polycentric approach, there is also a strong influence of geocentric training styles. The similarities can be partly explained by the stronger focus on theoretical training institutions and a more academic attitude in society as a whole, which means that purely vocational training plays a marginal role with low esteem. In this context, it would be difficult to implement the German style of vocational education and training.