Types of aggressive victims in bullying situations at secondary school / Tipos de víctimas agresivas en situaciones de bullying en Educación Secundaria

Abstract

The distinction between subtypes of passive and aggressive victims in studies of bullying has been a cornerstone of research in recent decades. However, some aspects of victimization still need further elaboration, such as the differentiation of subtypes of aggressive victims of bullying, the dynamics of the process of victimization, and the perceptions that participants have of their victimized classmates. The objective of this qualitative research is to distinguish between different types of aggressive victims, taking account of the testimonies of secondary school students. Focus groups and in-depth interviews have been conducted with 72 adolescents from the second, third and fourth years of Compulsory Secondary Education and the information has been analysed following the steps proposed by Grounded Theory; a systematic methodology involving the discovery of theory through the analysis of data. The results identify six types of aggressive victims: due to the accumulation of stress, provocative victims, victims through contagion, passive telltale victims, academically gifted victims protected by teachers, and finally, displaced aggression victims.     

THE EIGHTEEN‐MONTH EXPERIENCE OF THE NATIONAL EVALUATION COMMITTEE IN FRANCE

This article describes the origins of and the rationale for the creation of the French National Evaluation Committee, the niche which it fills within the context of French higher education, its make‐up, details of its first year of activity, its typical procedures for the evaluation of. a given institution and, in general terms, its evaluation criteria. An annex lists the current members of the Committee, the President of which is Laurent Schwartz, a member of the French Academy of Sciences.

     

What we can learn from the use of student data in efficiency analysis within the context of higher education?

The main purpose of the paper is to estimate the efficiency of a big public university in Italy using individual student-level data, modeling exogenous variables in human capital formation through a heteroscedastic stochastic frontier approach. Specifically, a production function for tertiary education has been estimated with emphasis on inefficiency and its determinants, taking explicitly into account the role played by students’ socio-economic and educational background. The empirical evidence, based on 48,338 freshmen, leads towards the use of individual-level data in order to control for the portion of the student academic achievement affected by the personal characteristics and effort, and the portion ascribable to the resources or organization of the institutional activities. Within the limit of external validity allowed by operating within only one university, efficiency scores derived from using both individual-level and aggregate level data do offer an important instrument to the university and governance structures.     

Institutional accreditation as an instrument of public relations: The case of the Poznan´ university of economics

In December 2000, five Polish state institutions of higher education in economics established the Foundation for the Promotion and Accreditation of Economics Programmes. Its mission, as stated in its charter, is to improve the quality of economics and management education by disseminating and supporting its best models. This mission takes on particular importance on the eve of the inclusion of Polish higher education institutions into the European Higher Education Area. This article serves as a case study based on the experience of the Poznan´ University of Economics and what it gained from its accreditation in early 2003.     

The strategic role of public relations in creating the competitive advantages of private higher education in Poland: The example of the school of banking in Poznan´

The aim of this article is to demonstrate the key role of public relations in increasing the competitive advantages of higher education institutions. It identifies and describes the mechanism of the shift in interest from advertising to public relations that results from the increasing complexity of the environment of a private higher education institution. Moreover, the authors conduct an analysis of the main target groups of public relations activities, referring to the conceptual model of the “two markets” according to which a private higher education institution “sells” access to education to potential candidates and then “sells” its graduates on the labour market. The practical example of the marketing and public relations activities undertaken by the authors at the School of Banking in Poznan´ since 1994 are presented and elucidated.     

Effects of plyometric jump training on the physical fitness of young male soccer players: Modulation of response by inter-set recovery interval and maturation status

ABSTRACT

The effects of plyometric jump training on the physical fitness of male youth (age = 10–17 years) soccer players was examined in relation to inter-set recovery intervals and the maturity of the players in a single-blind, randomized-and controlled crossover trial. Jumping tests and kicking velocities were measured before (T₀), after a 6 week control period (T₁), after 6 weeks of plyometrics (T₂), after 6 weeks of wash-out (T₃), and after a further 6 weeks of plyometrics (T₄). Subjects were divided into pre- and post- peak-height-velocity (PHV) groups, and were randomly assigned to 30 s or 120 s inter-set intervals during periods T₂ and T₄. Any changes in jumping and maximum kicking velocities during T₁ and T_3, had trivial effect sizes (0.01–0.15), but small to moderate improvements (effect size = 0.20–0.99) were observed in both groups during T₂ and T₄. Gains in pre-PHV players were similar for the two inter-set intervals, but gains in post-PHV players were greater (p < 0.05) with an inter-set recovery of 120 s than with a 30 s recovery. We conclude that plyometric jump training improves the physical fitness of adolescents, irrespective of their maturity, but that in older individuals gains are greater with a longer inter-set recovery interval.     

Decentralized state estimation for the control of network systems

The paper proposes a decentralized state estimation method for the control of network systems, where a cooperative objective has to be achieved. The nodes of the network are partitioned into independent nodes, providing the control inputs, and dependent nodes, controlled by local interaction laws. The proposed state estimation algorithm allows the independent nodes to estimate the state of the dependent nodes in a completely decentralized way. To do that, it is necessary for each independent node of the network to estimate the control input components computed by the other independent nodes, without requiring communication among the independent nodes. The decentralized state estimator, including an input estimator, is developed and the convergence properties are studied. Simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.