Book reviews

Bazzana, André; Cressier, Patrice; and Guichard, Pierre. Les châteaux ruraux d'al‐Andalus. Histoire et archéologie des husūn du sud‐est de l'Espagne. Preface by Pierre Toubert (Série Archéologie, XI). Madrid: Publications de la Casa de Velázquez, 1988. 326pp; illustrations (plates, maps, tables); bibliography, index.

Tāha, CAbdulwāhid Dhanūn. The Muslim Conquest and Settlement of North Africa and Spain (Exeter Arabic and Islamic Series, 3). London: Routledge, 1989. xiv + 280pp; £49.50.

Leaman, Oliver. Averroes and his Philosophy Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988. 204pp.; £25.

Mas^cūdî. The Meadows of Cold: the Abbasids. Ed. & tr. P. Lunde & C. Stone. London: Kegan Paul International, 1989. 469 pp., 2 maps; £30.

Sirat, Colette. La philosophie juive médiévale en terre d'Islam. Paris: Presses du CNRS, 1988. 278 pp.

Epalza, Míkel de and others. Baños Arabes en el país Valenciano. [Valencia], Generalitat Valenciana: Consellería de Cultura, Educado i Ciència, 1989.157 pp., plates, figures., maps (unnumbered).

Waines, David In a Caliph's Kitchen.Medieval Arabic Cooking for the Modern Gourmet. London: Riad el‐Rayyes Books, 1989. 112pp., many illustrations; £14.

Abed, Shukri B. Aristotelian Logic and the Arabic Language in Alfārābi. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1991. xxv+201pp., two appendices, bibliography, index.

Meyerson, Mark D. The Muslims of Valencia in the Age of Fernando and Isabel: Between Coexistence and Crusade. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1991. xi + 372 pp.

Zacour, Norman. Jews and Saracens in the Consilia of Oldradus de Ponte. Toronto: Pontifical Institute of Medieval Studies, 1990. x+144pp., index; paperback.     

Student adjustment to higher education: the role of alternative educational pathways in coping with the demands of student life

The present longitudinal study measured student adjustment to higher education, comparing 50 participants from alternative schools (Steiner, Montessori, New Schools) with 80 students from the traditional school system. We hypothesized that students from alternative schools adapt better, because of greater perceived social support, academic self-efficacy, and task-oriented coping styles. Measures were taken during the last school year (baseline characteristics), and at the beginning of the first and last terms of the first year in higher education. The quality of adjustment was assessed through academic results, and physical and psychological well-being. The following instruments were used: the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory by Spielberger (1983), the 13-items Depression Inventory by Beck et al. (1961), the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations by Endler and Parker (1990), and semi-directed interviews. Results show that students from alternative schools adjust better to higher education: they report less anxiety and depression symptoms, and show greater life satisfaction and academic achievement.     

Variations of stroking parameters associated with 200 m competitive performance improvement in top-standard front crawl swimmers

The aim of this study was to analyse the variations of stroking parameters (speed, stroke length, stroke rate, and stroke index) associated with the 200 m front crawl competitive performance improvement. Two races completed by 17 top swimmers were analysed in the 200 m freestyle final of French or European championships, each final being separated by two years. All the swimmers' performances were bettered in the second race (mean +/- SD: 113.44 +/- 2.50 vs 111.78 +/- 2.71 s; p < 0.01) and were associated with a significant increase of stroke rate without variation of average stroke length and stroke index values (p > 0.05). Swimmers emphasized the first part of the race, with higher speed in the first three lengths, higher stroke rate in the first two lengths and lower stroke length in the first one. Stroke length and stroke rate variations were highly correlated (r = 0.98; p < 0.05). In 11 of the 17 swimmers, the improvement was concomitant with a decrease in stroke length and an increase in stroke rate. Only one swimmer's improvement was associated with a substantial increase in stroke length. These results highlighted that stroke length and stroke index cannot be considered as the only parameters linked to improvement in a 200 m crawl in adult swimmers competing at high standard. Moreover, an increase in stroke rate associated with a slight decrease in stroke length should not be considered as ineffective, especially at top standard.     

Preferred representations and knowledge acquisition

European Journal of Psychology of Education - There are two kinds of preferential representations. They are connected on the one hand to the degree of typicality of the instance in relation to the...