Effects of dynamic upper-body exercise on lower-limb isometric endurance

Following preliminary indications that in some individuals arm exercise enhanced rather than reduced simultaneous leg endurance, ten young men and women performed three forms of intermittent work to volitional exhaustion, under duty cycles of 45 s work, 15 s rest. The protocols were as follows: (A) knee extensions at 30% maximum voluntary contraction (MVC); (B) 30% MVC knee extensions combined with arm cranking at 130% of their own lactate threshold; (C) combined 30% MVC knee extensions and arm cranking at 20% of their own lactate threshold. Heart rate, oxygen uptake (VO(2)), and blood lactate concentration were among the variables recorded throughout. All physiological indicators of demand were substantially higher in protocol B than in protocols A or C [heart rate: (A) 154 beats . min(-1), (B) 171 beats . min(-1), (C) 150 beats . min(-1); VO(2): (A) 11.9 ml . kg(-1) . min(-1), (B) 21.7 ml . kg(-1) . min(-1), (C) 14.2 ml . kg(-1) . min(-1); blood lactate concentration: (A) 3.3 mmol . l(-1), (B) 5.1 mmol . l(-1), (C) 2.8 mmol . l(-1)], yet there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in the endurance times between the three conditions [(A) 11.43 min, (B) 11.1 min, (C) 10.57 min] and seven participants endured longest in protocol B. Results from protocol (C) cast doubt on explanations in terms of psychological distraction. We suggest that lactic acid produced by the arms is shuttled to the legs and acts there either as a supplementary fuel source or as an antagonist to the depressing effects of increased potassium concentration.     

DNA microarray wet lab simulation brings genomics into the high school curriculum

We have developed a wet lab DNA microarray simulation as part of a complete DNA microarray module for high school students. The wet lab simulation has been field tested with high school students in Illinois and Maryland as well as in workshops with high school teachers from across the nation. Instead of using DNA, our simulation is based on pH indicators, which offer many ideal teaching characteristics. The simulation requires no specialized equipment, is very inexpensive, is very reliable, and takes very little preparation time. Student and teacher assessment data indicate the simulation is popular with both groups, and students show significant learning gains. We include many resources with this publication, including all prelab introductory materials (e.g., a paper microarray activity), the student handouts, teachers notes, and pre- and postassessment tools. We did not test the simulation on other student populations, but based on teacher feedback, the simulation also may fit well in community college and in introductory and nonmajors' college biology curricula.     

Embodied learning and school-based physical culture: implications for professionalism and practice in physical education

We write as critical theorists, who consider that in terms of scoping out robust conceptual elaborations which are suitable for contemporary schooling, that physical education has ground to make up connecting theory with practice and practice with theory. We advocate that aspects of existentialism and phenomenology can provide a theoretically sound basis on which to argue that embodied learning should be the foundational cornerstone of physical education programmes. To avoid embodied learning becoming overly learner centric and insular, we advance Merleau-Pontian informed ideas on how learning could flourish when an individual and embodied focus merges with a school-wide physical culture agenda which is underpinned by social and moral theorizing. In developing our focus on merging embodied learning and physical culture, we draw upon MacIntyrean views on the goods which are internal to practice and extend thinking on how these goods could merge with the diverse aims and intentions informing the culture and ethos in schools. In pursuing these ambitions, we outline the constructive activist-based benefits of teachers working within subsidiarity-based school communities where pedagogical decisions are made at a level consistent with realizing whole schools aims. This is in spite of our acknowledgement that the lack of career-long professional learning adds to the difficulty of achieving these aims. In conclusion we argue that if physical education is to become a pivotal component of realizing a diverse range of whole school aims there is a need for greater professional engagement with pedagogical approaches that attempt to derive greater meaning from learners movement experiences and which help learners to understand better both their own identity and the ethos of the school context and environment they share with others.     

A genealogical analysis of Peter Arnold's conceptual account of meaning in movement,sport and physical education

We write as critical theorists who share an interest in how conceptions of physical education are taken forward in policy and practice. In this respect, we are particularly intrigued by Peter Arnold's conceptual account of meaning in movement, sport and physical education, and the subsequent ways in which his ideas have informed national curriculum ambitions. Despite the prominence of Arnold's influence, we are concerned that there has been an insufficiently rigorous and robust review of his theorising to date, particularly in relation to where his ideas originated from. Accordingly, we critically discuss the merits of adopting a genealogical approach in order to support a detailed analysis of Arnold's conceptual account of meaning in movement, sport and physical education; one which especially focuses on learning ‘about’, ‘through’ and ‘in’ movement. We conclude by questioning a number of the complex strands of Arnold's work in the expectation that greater lucidity and purpose can emerge. This it is argued will be beneficial in terms of providing clarity on aim or aims statements in physical education, which in turn can secure greater policy coherence and practice gains.