Simple Reaction Time as a Function of Response Complexity: Christina et al. (1982) Revisited

Abstract

Two alternative interpretations to the one proposed by Christina, Fischman, Vercruyssen, and Anson (1982) were investigated. They interpreted the simple reaction time (SRT) increase they found, which was thought to reflect an increase in programming time, to be due to the increase in number of movement parts from one response to another. Experiment 1(N = 15 males) tested the alternative interpretation that the SRT increase was caused by the difference in how the first movement part of the three responses was executed. However, no evidence was found to support this interpretation. Experiment 2 (N = 15 males) tested the alternative interpretation that the SRT increase was due to the increase in the demand for movement accuracy from one response to another. The results revealed that only a very small portion of the SRT increase could be attributed to the increased accuracy demand while the major portion of the increase was due to the increase in number of movement parts.     

The Freirean factor

ABSTRACT

Why bother thinking about Freire today? Who cares about the accuracy or lack of it in the translation of his books? In 2018 after 50 years of the original publication of Pedagogy of the Oppressed, there is a large industry of people profiting from translating and repeating Freire’s ideas – we are well aware that this text is another small contribution to such industry – but we firmly believe that contemporary social scientists could greatly benefit from reflecting about Freire’s long-term powerful conceptual, pedagogical, and political impact, and in particular about the role of translations in the social sciences.     

Effects of the Instructional Set in the Bandwidth Feedback Paradigm on Motor Skill Acquisition

ABSTRACT

Purpose: This study examined the relationships between the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test level 1 (Yo-Yo IR1) and resting heart rate variability (HRV) and submaximal 5?-5? test derived measures in novice male soccer players. Methods: Forty players (11.54 ± 0.58 years) from a soccer academy participated in this study, performing physical tests on two different days, separated by 48 h, as follows: (day 1) resting HRV and Yo-Yo IR1 test, and (day 2) anthropometric assessments (for peak height velocity assessment [PHV]) and the 5?-5? test. The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient was used to determine the correlations between Yo-Yo IR1 performance and the remaining variables. A partial correlation analysis was further performed using age, stature, body mass, distance to PHV, and age at PHV as “confounders.” Results: The highest correlation score was observed between Yo-Yo IR1 performance and resting HRV, when the absolute age was used as confounder (r = 0.72; p < .05). Conclusions: We observed that a practical measure of parasympathetic activity at rest is largely associated with performance obtained during a traditional intermittent endurance performance test.     

Examining the influence of international large-scale assessments on national education policies

This paper examines whether, to what extent, and how international large-scale assessments (ILSAs) have influenced education policy-making at the national level. Based on an exploratory review of the research and policy literature on ILSAs and two surveys administered to educational policy experts, researchers, policymakers, and educators, our research found that ILSAs, with their multiple and ambiguous uses, increasingly function as solutions in search for the right problem – that is, they appear to be used as tools to legitimize educational reforms. The survey results pointed to a growing perception among stakeholders that ILSAs are having an effect on national educational policies, with 38% of respondents stating that ILSAs were generally misused in national policy contexts. However, while the ILSA literature indicates that these assessments are having some influence, there is little evidence that any positive or negative causal relationship exists between ILSA participation and the implementation of education reforms. Perhaps the most significant change associated with the use of ILSAs in the literature reviewed is the way in which new conditions for educational comparison have been made possible at the national, regional, and global levels.