Influence of body composition on physiological responses to post-exercise hydrotherapy

This study examined the influence of body composition on temperature and blood flow responses to post-exercise cold water immersion (CWI), hot water immersion (HWI) and control (CON). Twenty-seven male participants were stratified into three groups: 1) low mass and low fat (LM-LF); 2) high mass and low fat (HM-LF); or 3) high mass and high fat (HM-HF). Experimental trials involved a standardised bout of cycling, maintained until core temperature reached 38.5°C. Participants subsequently completed one of three 15-min recovery interventions (CWI, HWI, or CON). Core, skin and muscle temperatures, and limb blood flow were recorded at baseline, post-exercise, and every 30 min following recovery for 240 min. During CON and HWI there were no differences in core or muscle temperature between body composition groups. The rate of fall in core temperature following CWI was greater in the LM-LF (0.03 ± 0.01°C/min) group compared to the HM-HF (0.01 ± 0.001°C/min) group (P = 0.002). Muscle temperature decreased to a greater extent during CWI in the LM-LF and HM-LF groups (8.6 ± 3.0°C) compared with HM-HF (5.1 ± 2.0°C, P < 0.05). Blood flow responses did not differ between groups. Differences in body composition alter the thermal response to post-exercise CWI, which may explain some of the variance in the responses to CWI recovery.     

Assessing coaches’ professional knowledge

Professional competency of sport and exercise coaches has been conceptualised differently depending on the theoretical and methodical approach taken. To date, no model of professional coaching competency has been agreed upon. The aim of this study was to develop a competency model for sport coaches drawing on well-known competency models developed in the context of teacher education and to empirically assess parts of the model. We developed an initial pool of 295 multiple choice items and administered them to a sample of 531 youths (mean age: 16.2 years) directly after they had completed the German Football Association’s (Deutscher Fußball-Bund) “Junior Coach in Schule und Verein” (Junior Coach for Schools and Clubs) training programme. Results of analyses of one-, two-, five-, and six-dimensional models by means of Rasch scaling indicate that the data are best represented by either a two- or a five-dimensional model depending on the fit criteria chosen. While content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge are presented in the two-dimensional model, the five-dimensional model allows discrimination among football-specific content knowledge, basic content knowledge of training science, basic content knowledge of first aid and pedagogical content knowledge of planning training sessions and instructional/methodological pedagogical knowledge. Further investigation should be made into the suitability of competency models developed in the context of teacher evaluation for modelling the competency of sport coaches and into the extent to which such models can be extrapolated to various sports.     

Learning in the wild: coding for learning and practice on Reddit

Learning on and through social media is becoming a cornerstone of lifelong learning, creating places not only for accessing information, but also for finding other self-motivated learners. Such is the case for Reddit, the online news sharing site that is also a forum for asking and answering questions. We studied learning practices found in ‘Ask’ subreddits AskScience, Ask_Politics, AskAcademia, and AskHistorians to develop a coding schema for informal learning. This paper describes the process of evaluating and defining a workable coding schema, one that started with attention to learning processes associated with discourse, exploratory talk, and conversational dialogue, and ended with including norms and practices on Reddit and the support of communities of inquiry. Our ‘learning in the wild’ coding schema contributes a content analysis schema for learning through social media, and an understanding of how knowledge, ideas, and resources are shared in open, online learning forums.     

The Impact of University of Zululand Structural and Cultural Contexts on Postgraduate Supervision Practice (2011–2016)

There is a constant interplay between the “people” (agency) and the “parts” (structure and culture), not only in teaching and learning, but also in postgraduate supervision practices globally. However, in South Africa, the tendency to use structure (higher education architecture, institutional history, institutional rules, policies and procedures) to address all challenges related to postgraduate (especially doctoral) studies has resulted in university managers ignoring the role that institutional research culture (social norms, expectations and practice) plays, not only in perpetuating some of these challenges, but also in understanding and resolving them. At the University of Zululand (UniZulu), these factors combine to affect not only the postgraduate supervision practices of supervisors, but also the quality of doctoral throughput (doctorateness) with overall implications for society in general. This article is a critical self-reflection on the author’s postgraduate supervision practice at UniZulu between 2011 and 2016 with a view to highlight how structure and culture combine to impact on his supervision work at the institution. The discussion shows how these factors impact on the quality of doctoral output with implications for the author’s practice and society in general. To deal with the challenges arising from the discussion, the article recommends: establishing a dedicated postgraduate studies unit headed by a director or dean as supervisors and supervisees need a support system that functions optimally; improving staff qualifications and training of supervisors to keep up with best practice in postgraduate supervision; and the Department of Higher Education and Training factoring differentiation realities into its funding modules for universities.     

Relationships among moral and contesting variables and prosocial and antisocial behavior in sport

The current study of US intercollegiate athletes (n = 1066) involved in multiple sports investigated relationships among moral (moral reasoning maturity, moral value evaluation [MVE], and moral identity), contesting (partnership and war orientations) and behavioral (prosocial and antisocial) variables in sport. Among other relationships, results demonstrated that prosocial behavior was positively correlated with moral reasoning maturity, higher appreciation of moral values, moral identity and a partnership contesting orientation. In contrast, antisocial behavior was negative correlated with moral reasoning maturity, MVE, moral identity and a partnership orientation. In addition, antisocial behavior was positively correlated with a war contesting orientation. Regression analyses demonstrated that prosocial behavior was best predicted by the partnership contesting orientation and moral identity; antisocial behavior was best predicted by the war orientation followed closely by moral identity. Results are discussed in relation to Kohlbergian moral theory and contesting theory.     

Mapping changes in support: a longitudinal analysis of networks of pre-service mathematics and science teachers

In England teachers of secondary school mathematics and science are in short supply and it is important to understand how pre-service teachers develop and maintain networks of support during their training year and the impact these networks can have on their training outcomes. The purpose of this study is to examine how changes to the size and composition of these support networks during the training year are associated with programme outcomes. The paper draws on social network theory to examine the nature of the support networks that develop around each pre-service teacher, and examines how supportive ties were initiated, maintained, and broken over the course of the training year. A survey design was utilised to collect data at four time points across the 2014–2015 academic year from a total cohort of more than 75 pre-service teachers. At all four time points, participants were asked to nominate those peers and others to whom they had turned during the previous month for different aspects of support. Results showed that the size and composition of support networks changed over time with significant differences in the development of the networks between pre-service teachers on school-led and university-led programmes.     

Two modes of participation: A conceptual analysis of 102 cases of Internet and social media participation from 2005–2015

In this article we analyze 102 case studies of Internet or social media-enabled participatory projects, technologies, platforms and companies in operation between roughly 2005–2015. We assign each case a “signature” representing the degree of presence/absence of seven dimensions of participation and then cluster these signatures to look for patterns of the most common ways of “doing participation” today. Two main clusters become apparent: 1) a “radical-direct” mode that emphasizes direct individual autonomy and influence, commitment to having a voice and setting goals, and individual or collective control over resources thereby produced; and 2) an “experiential-affective” mode that emphasizes the experience of being or becoming part of a collective, and the affective, communicational, and educational features of that experience.     

教育中的仪式:演示、模仿、跨文化

本文从文化的演示性路径出发,对教育活动中的仪式进行了探讨,重点报告了"柏林仪式研究"项目的研究成果,重点讨论了仪式对教育和社会化过程的推动作用、仪式的模仿学习过程、仪式的跨文化学习功能以及仪式研究的方法论。     

Predictor variables related to the classification of learning disabilities

Psychoeducational assessment variables for high school students were subjected to a discriminant function analysis. Variables predictive of learning disability classification were spelling, IQ, and a student interview question.     

Counseling center outreach: A guide to simple,inexpensive programming

Specific strategies for psychological, health, and academic outreach at a university counseling center are presented. Primary and secondary preventative programs targeting three identified group-students, faculty/staff and resident assistant-are discussed. All strategies presented require a minimum of staff and financial resources. Effectiveness as measured by percentage of target population reached is presented. It is suggested that the communication of effective outreach strategies may encourage other student service agencies to adopt and expand upon the programming.This work was completed while the author was director of the Counseling Center, University of Maryland, Munich Campus.