A cross-sectional examination of the physical fitness and selected health attributes of recreational all-terrain vehicle riders and off-road motorcyclists

Abstract

The aims of this study were: (1) to characterize selected fitness and health attributes of two types of habitual recreational off-road vehicle riders – off-road motorcyclists and all-terrain vehicle riders; (2) to explore differences among riders in terms of vehicle type, age, and gender; and (3) to compare the fitness and health of riders to population norms and clinical health standards. Canadian off-road riders (n = 141) of both sexes aged 16 years and over were recruited through local and national off-road riding organizations. Anthropometry, fitness, and health measures of off-road motorcycle and all-terrain vehicle riders were compared with population norms, health standards, and physical activity guidelines. Off-road motorcycle riders had above average aerobic fitness (79th percentile), while all-terrain vehicle riders were lower than average (40th percentile). All riders had a healthy blood lipid profile and a low incidence of the metabolic syndrome (12.9%) compared with members of the general population. Off-road motorcycle riders had healthier body composition and fitness than all-terrain vehicle riders; however, the body composition of off-road motorcycle riders was no healthier than that of the general population and all-terrain vehicle riders were worse than the general population. Off-road motorcycle riders had healthier anthropometry and fitness than all-terrain vehicle riders and thus fewer health risk factors for future disease, demonstrating that the physiological profiles of off-road riders are dependent on vehicle type.     

All I really needed to know I learned during gastrulation

Note from the Editor     

Discontinuity of Reference Hinders Children's Learning of New Words

When referring to objects, adults package words, sentences, and gestures in ways that shape children's learning. Here, to understand how continuity of reference shapes word learning, an adult taught new words to 4-year-old children (N = 120) using either clusters of references to the same object or no sequential references to each object. In three experiments, the adult used a combination of labels and other object references, which provided informative discourse (e.g., This is small and green), neutral discourse (e.g., This is really great), or no verbal discourse. Switching verbal references from one object to another interfered with learning relative to providing clustered references to a particular object, revealing that discontinuity in discourse hinders children's encoding of new words.     

Strength,Weakness, Opportunity,Threat (SWOT) Analysis of the Adaptations to Anatomical Education in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland in Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic has driven the fastest changes to higher education across the globe, necessitated by social distancing measures preventing face-to-face teaching. This has led to an almost immediate switch to distance learning by higher education institutions. Anatomy faces some unique challenges. Intrinsically, anatomy is a three-dimensional subject that requires a sound understanding of the relationships between structures, often achieved by the study of human cadaveric material, models, and virtual resources. This study sought to identify the approaches taken in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland to deliver anatomical education through online means. Data were collected from 14 different universities in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland and compared adopting a thematic analysis approach. Once themes were generated, they were collectively brought together using a strength, weakness, opportunity, threat (SWOT) analysis. Key themes included the opportunity to develop new online resources and the chance to engage in new academic collaborations. Academics frequently mentioned the challenge that time constrains could place on the quality and effectiveness of these resources; especially as in many cases the aim of these resources was to compensate for a lack of exposure to cadaveric exposure. Comparisons of the actions taken by multiple higher education institutions reveal the ways that academics have tried to balance this demand. Discussions will facilitate decisions being made by higher education institutions regarding adapting the curriculum and assessment methods in anatomy.     

Perspectives on pedagogical change: instructor and student experiences of a newly implemented undergraduate engineering dynamics curriculum*

Engineering education has been slow to adopt research-based educational innovations. Few prior works on such adoption have investigated the combined classroom experiences of instructors and students when such innovations are being implemented. Therefore, this work focuses on the lived experiences of an instructor and her students when adopting an active, blended, and collaborative learning environment, known as Freeform, in a second-year dynamics course. Weekly reflections from the instructor were processed alongside student interviews using Thematic Analysis to discern prominent themes in their perspectives for comparison and discussion. The results indicate that the instructor navigated internal tensions between her previous instructional preferences and the philosophy and resources of Freeform. Similarly, students had to adapt to this new philosophy and suite of resources that were uncommon for their institution. Ultimately, this work highlights the contextual natures of teaching and learning, and how situational factors can influence educational innovation.     

Do universal social and emotional learning programs for secondary school students enhance the competencies they address? A systematic review

While universal school‐based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs claim to target various SEL competencies, earlier reviews have not provided a clear overview of the competencies in question. We therefore wished to identify the competencies targeted in SEL programs for secondary school students. We also aimed to examine the effects of these programs on SEL competencies and psychosocial health. The specific SEL competencies directly addressed in the programs' primary learning targets were identified based on the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) framework for SEL. Five bibliographic databases (PubMed, PsychINFO, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), Applied Science Premier (ASP), and Web of Science) were searched for relevant research papers published between 2014 and 2018. We included 40 studies that investigated 32 programs focusing on two or more SEL competencies. While most programs targeted four or five of the SEL competencies, many of the included studies did not measure the programs' effects on all the competencies targeted. Our results showed that the SEL programs had substantial effects on the SEL competencies they addressed and on psychosocial health. Although the programs focused predominantly on self‐management skills and relationship skills, the largest summary effects were found for self‐awareness and social awareness.     

Sustainable development as a driver for educational innovation in engineering school: the case of UniLaSalle

ABSTRACT

The potential relationships between innovation and sustainability processes, in engineering education, is neither obvious nor simple, especially when innovation, generally speaking, is promoted regardless of sustainability. We used UniLaSalle (In January 2016, the ‘Institut Polytechnique LaSalle Beauvais’, a French engineering school, merged with another higher education engineering school (ESITPA, Rouen). Both campuses (Beauvais and Rouen) have a common name: UniLaSalle (www.unilasalle.fr). As the interview began during 2015, this article only describes the situation of the Beauvais campus.) as a ‘living Lab’ to identify and analyse the reasons for the integration of innovation and Sustainable Development (SD) in training programmes. The aim is to explore, in a perception and reflective approach, how SD can be understood as a driver for specific innovation attitudes in higher education engineering school. This paper adopts an empirical approach based on a qualitative study, using NVivo 9 software to analyse non-numerical data. Our research suggests that SD can be a structural driver for innovation if it is integrated in a transdisciplinarity approach and not just as a discipline per se.     

Towards a Comprehensive Account of Effective Thinking

Due to its strong focus on reasoning and argumentation, critical thinking lacks the breadth required of a comprehensive account of higher order thinking. In particular, critical thinking does not promote reflection on the underlying problems or situations that people think about. This paper reviews various proposed additions to and reorientations of the critical thinking paradigm. It presents a conceptual framework that encompasses the most promising extensions as topics in a broadened account of higher order thinking. This account can be understood as an elaboration of problem solving along two dimensions: Problem types, which are generic thinking situations; and problem solving functions, which are generic thinking tasks. The proposed topic-level account of higher order thinking offers a greatly enlarged view of what should be taught in general thinking skills programs.     

The vicissitudes of measurement: a confirmatory factor analysis of the Emotional Autonomy Scale

This study examined the factor structure of the Emotional Autonomy Scale (EAS) as proposed by Steinberg and Silverberg. Participants were from three independent samples of adolescents in grades 6 (n = 1,842), 8 (n = 1,769), and 10 (n = 1,232), with each sample consisting of three ethnic groups: African American, European American, and Mexican American. None of the confirmatory factor analyses for these samples supported the factor structure proposed by Steinberg and Silverberg. From the three models tested, the EAS is best described by the four originally proposed factors, combined with two method factors, one consisting of the positively worded scale items and one consisting of the negatively worded scale items. Results show that the EAS exhibits poor construct validity and behaves quite differently for the different grade and ethnic groups. The strong impact of method variance on the factor structure is discussed. Although various alternative solutions to the psychometric problems in the EAS are proposed, the most credible solution may be to reexamine the conceptual foundations of emotional autonomy and develop better measures of those concepts for adolescents.