Political Ideology and Perceptions of Social Justice Advocacy Among Members of the American Counseling Association

This study explored perceptions of social justice advocacy among liberal, moderate, and conservative members (N?=?214) of the American Counseling Association (ACA). Results showed that conservative participants had somewhat less favorable perceptions of social justice advocacy, but generally did not differ statistically from liberal and moderate participants. Statistically significant differences, however, were found among extremely liberal participants. All participants generally supported the use of ACA resources for social activism. Implications and limitations are discussed.     

Ensuring Effective Student Support in Higher Education Alleged Plagiarism Cases

Plagiarism and other forms of academic misconduct are matters of great concern at all levels of study worldwide. This is especially so for students in higher education institutions, where higher degrees and publications are key focus activities. Ready access to internet based resources assist academic writing practices. However, the unintentional, or sometimes deliberate, lack of acknowledgment of intellectual property ownership by some students results in plagiarism allegations. In this article we explain how the Business School at Curtin University, Western Australia, currently handles plagiarism accusations; and we propose a model for making the University’s approach more transparent, supportive, and educative for students. We recommend this model to others.     

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Australia’s higher education policy settings have signalled a shift towards marketisation. As a consequence, Australian universities have become increasingly competitive, and as they seek to compete for students in higher education markets, they begin to resemble commercial organisations. This article examines the challenges confronting the leadership team at one of Australia’s fastest growing universities, Australian Catholic University. Specifically, it seeks to address the development of systems to better service future students in an environment where the University is not aware or accepting of the need for change.     

Student perceptions of personalised learning: development and validation of a questionnaire with regional secondary students

This project sought to evaluate regional students’ perceptions of their readiness to learn, assessment processes, engagement, extent to which their learning is personalised and to relate these to academic efficacy, academic achievement, and student well-being. It also examined teachers’ perceptions of students’ readiness to learn, the assessment process, engagement, and the extent to which students’ learning is personalised. The sample involved students in years 7–10 from six Victorian secondary schools. An instrument Personalised Learning Environment Questionnaire (PLQ) was developed to measure students’ perceptions of the factors effecting the implementation of Personalised Learning Plans (PLPs). It employed the latest scales to assess a range of PLP indicator variables, with all scales modified for use in an Australian context, and the total number of items kept to a minimum. Only scales more sensitive to PLPs were used to minimise the length of the instrument. There were three outcome variables: academic efficacy, academic achievement, and student well-being. The PLPs were assessed through scales that assess several contributing, distinct dimensions: selfdirected learning readiness, personal achievement, goal orientation, learning environment, personalised teaching and learning initiatives, curriculum entitlement and choice, and perceptions of assessment for learning. The trail PLQ was administered to 220 students, resulting in a 19 scale questionnaire with three or four items per scale. This paper reveals good data to model fit for the majority of items and each scale had good reliability. The paper describes the analytic techniques and results, how the instrument was refined and identifies common and uncommon student perceptions based on a post hoc analysis. The main study consisted of 2,407 students from four schools in the Bendigo Education Plan. They responded to this refined 19 scale version of the PLQ that was developed from the trial PLQ. All scales had satisfactory internal consistency reliability.     

Towards an implementation framework for business intelligence in healthcare

As healthcare organizations continue to be asked to do more with less, access to information is essential for sound evidence-based decision making. Business intelligence (BI) systems are designed to deliver decision-support information and have been repeatedly shown to provide value to organizations. Many healthcare organizations have yet to implement BI systems and no existing research provides a healthcare-specific framework to guide implementation. To address this research gap, we employ a case study in a Canadian Health Authority in order to address three questions: (1) what are the most significant adverse impacts to the organization's decision processes and outcomes attributable to a lack of decision-support capabilities? (2) what are the root causes of these impacts, and what workarounds do they necessitate? and (3) in light of the issues identified, what are the key considerations for healthcare organizations in the early stages of BI implementation? Using the concept of co-agency as a guide we identified significant decision-related adverse impacts and their root causes. We found strong management support, the right skill sets and an information-oriented culture to be key implementation considerations. Our major contribution is a framework for defining and prioritizing decision-support information needs in the context of healthcare-specific processes.     

The effect of coaching intervention on elite fast bowling technique over a two year period

Fast bowling in cricket is an activity that is well recognised as having high injury prevalence and there has been debate regarding the most effective fast bowling technique. The aim of this study was to determine whether two-year coaching interventions conducted in a group of elite young fast bowlers resulted in fast bowling technique alteration. Selected kinematics of the bowling action of 14 elite young fast bowlers were measured using an 18 camera Vicon Motion Analysis system before and after two-year coaching interventions that addressed specific elements of fast bowling technique. Mann-Whitney tests were used to determine whether any changes in kinematic variables occurred pre- and post-intervention between those who had the coaching interventions and those who didn't. The coaching interventions, when applied, resulted in a more side-on shoulder alignment at back foot contact (BFC) (p = 0.002) and decreased shoulder counter-rotation (p = 0.001) however, there was no difference in the degree of change in back and front knee flexion angles or lower trunk side-flexion. This study has clearly shown that specific aspects of fast bowling technique are changeable over a two-year period in elite level fast bowlers and this may be attributed to coaching intervention.     

Scapulohumeral kinematic assessment of the forward kayak stroke in experienced whitewater kayakers

By understanding the normal humeral and scapular kinematics during the kayak stroke, inferences about the relationship of kayaking technique and shoulder injury may be established. The purpose of this study was to describe scapular and humeral kinematics and to compare dominant versus non-dominant symmetry in healthy whitewater kayakers performing the forward stroke. Twenty-five competent whitewater kayakers (mean age: 34.1 ± 9.4 years, mean height: 1.768 ± 0.093 m, mean mass: 78.2 ± 13.0 kg) underwent humeral and scapular kinematic assessment, using an electromagnetic tracking device, while kayaking on a kayak ergometer. Paired t-tests were used to determine symmetry. Scapular and humeral kinematic means and standard deviations at six time points during the kayak stroke were described. Scapular and humeral kinematics were shown to be similar upon bilateral comparison. The greatest potential for injury during the forward stroke may be at thrust paddle shaft vertical when the humerus is maximally elevated in internal rotation and adduction as subacromial structures may be mechanically impinged. The relationship between scapulohumeral kinematics related to injury at other time points are also described.     

The relationship between bowling action classification and three-dimensional lower trunk motion in fast bowlers in cricket

Abstract

Lower back injuries, specifically lumbar stress fractures, account for the most lost playing time in professional cricket. The aims of this study were to quantify the proportion of lower trunk motion used during the delivery stride of fast bowling and to examine the relationship between the current fast bowling action classification system and potentially injurious kinematics of the lower trunk. Three-dimensional kinematic data were collected from 50 male professional fast bowlers during a standing active range of motion trial and three fast bowling trials. A high percentage of the fast bowlers used a mixed bowling action attributable to having shoulder counter-rotation greater than 30°. The greatest proportion of lower trunk extension (26%), contralateral side-flexion (129%), and ipsilateral rotation (79%) was used during the front foot contact phase of the fast bowling delivery stride. There was no significant difference in the proportions of available lower trunk extension, contralateral side-flexion, and ipsilateral rotation range of motion used during fast bowling by mixed and non-mixed action bowlers. Motion of the lower trunk, particularly side-flexion, during front foot contact, in addition to variables previously known to be related to back injury (e.g. shoulder counter-rotation), should be examined in future cross-sectional and prospective studies examining the fast bowling action and low back injury.     

Forthcoming events

The aim of this study was to examine mental imagery within the context of the deliberate practice framework. Altogether, 159 athletes from one of three different competitive standards (recreational, provincial and national) completed the Deliberate Imagery Practice Questionnaire, which was designed for the present study to assess the athletes' perceptions of the importance of imagery along the three deliberate practice dimensions of relevancy, concentration and enjoyment. The results indicated that national athletes perceived imagery to be more relevant to performing than recreational athletes. In addition, athletes of a higher standard (i.e. provincial and national) reported using more imagery in a recent typical week and they had accumulated significantly more hours of imagery practice across their athletic career than recreational athletes. Finally, the relationships among the dimensions of deliberate practice did not lend conclusive support to either the original conception of deliberate practice or a sports-specific framework of deliberate practice.     

Urinary creatine and methylamine excretion following 4 × 5 g · day−1 or 20 × 1 g · day−1 of creatine monohydrate for 5 days

Abstract

In this study, we examined the effect of two creatine monohydrate supplementation regimes on 24-h urinary creatine and methylamine excretion. Nine male participants completed two trials, separated by 6 weeks. Participants ingested 4 × 5 g · day^?1 creatine monohydrate for 5 days in one trial and 20 × 1 g · day^?1 for 5 days in the other. We collected 24-h urine samples on 2 baseline days (days 1–2), during 5 days of supplementation (days 3–7), and for 2 days post-supplementation (days 8–9). Urine was assayed for creatine using high-performance liquid chromatography and methylamine using gas chromatography. Less creatine was excreted following the 20 × 1 g · day^?1 regime (49.25 ± 10.53 g) than the 4 × 5 g · day^?1 regime (62.32 ± 9.36 g) (mean ± s; P < 0.05). Mean total excretion of methylamine (n = 6) over days 3–7 was 8.61 ± 7.58 mg and 24.81 ± 25.76 mg on the 20 × 1 g · day^?1 and 4 × 5 g · day^?1 regimes, respectively (P < 0.05). The lower excretion of creatine using 20 × 1 g · day^?1 doses suggests a greater retention in the body and most probably in the muscle. Lower and more frequent doses of creatine monohydrate appear to further attenuate formation of methylamine.