The Nature of Science and Citizenship: a Delphi Analysis

Research in Science Education - The relationship between science and society has, for many years, been the subject of debate in different fields, and various proposals have been made regarding the...     

The Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F): Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses at item level

The underlying structure of the Revised Two factor version of the Study Process Questionnaire (R-SPQ-2F), a 20-item instrument for the evaluation of students’ approaches to learning (SAL), was examined at item level using two independent groups of undergraduate students enrolled in the first (n=314) and last (n=522) years of their studies. The methods used were (a) Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) assisted by rigorous procedures such as Velicer’s MAP test, parallel analysis and the Schmid Leiman solution with the first sample; and (b) confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with the second sample. The results of EFA indicated that the latent structure of the R-SPQ-2F is best described by two factors and the results of CFA suggested that out of four a priori structural models, the best fit was achieved by a simple first-order two-factor model. Taken together, these results seemed to converge, suggesting (a) that SAL might be defined as a co-variation between a motive and its intended strategy, these not necessarily being divided into separate first-order factors (subscales), and (b) that the underlying structure of the R-SPQ-2F is apparently non-hierarchical, being best described by a parsimonious first-order two-factor model in which Deep and Surface learning approaches are each measured by their ten corresponding items.     

Biomechanics,energetics and coordination during extreme swimming intensity: effect of performance level

The present study aimed to examine how high- and low-speed swimmers organise biomechanical, energetic and coordinative factors throughout extreme intensity swim. Sixteen swimmers (eight high- and eight low-speed) performed, in free condition, 100-m front crawl at maximal intensity and 25, 50 and 75-m bouts (at same pace as the previous 100-m), and 100-m maximal front crawl on the measuring active drag system (MAD-system). A 3D dual-media optoelectronic system was used to assess speed, stroke frequency, stroke length, propelling efficiency and index of coordination (IdC), with power assessed by MAD-system and energy cost by quantifying oxygen consumption plus blood lactate. Both groups presented a similar profile in speed, power output, stroke frequency, stroke length, propelling efficiency and energy cost along the effort, while a distinct coordination profile was observed (F_{(3, 42)} = 3.59, P = 0.04). Speed, power, stroke frequency and propelling efficiency (not significant, only a tendency) were higher in high-speed swimmers, while stroke length and energy cost were similar between groups. Performing at extreme intensity led better level swimmers to achieve superior speed due to higher power and propelling efficiency, with consequent ability to swim at higher stroke frequencies. This imposes specific constraints, resulting in a distinct IdC magnitude and profile between groups.     

Making Sport History in the (Semi)Periphery: The Portuguese Perspective

Abstract

Sport is one of the most important phenomena in Portuguese contemporary life. Yet, in the late twentieth century, there were more historical studies about antique clocks and potatoes than on sport. Portuguese historians ended up successively underrating its place in history, placing sport in a kind of scientific (semi)periphery, with political history becoming the core of the matter. Sport, however, is an extremely important element in any serious attempt to reconstruct contemporary history, popular culture and what it means to be Portuguese. This paper analyses the history of the Portuguese historical writing and academic research on sport history, also its emergence, development, and contemporary position in the historiography of a (semi)peripheral country, in a comparative way with the Centre. The concept of (semi)periphery is employ to describe both the situation of sport history in Portugal and the Portuguese (sport) historiography in the international context.     

Mediation role of cardiorespiratory fitness on the association between fatness and cardiometabolic risk in European adolescents: The HELENA study

PurposeThis study was aimed to analyze the mediation role of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) on the association between fatness and cardiometabolic risk scores (CMRs) in European adolescents.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in adolescents (n = 525; 46% boys; 14.1 ± 1.1 years old, mean ± SD) from 10 European cities involved in the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence study. CRF was measured by means of the shuttle run test, while fatness measures included body mass index (BMI), waist to height ratio, and fat mass index estimated from skinfold thicknesses. A clustered CMRs was computed by summing the standardized values of homeostasis model assessment, systolic blood pressure, triglycerides, total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein cholesterol ratio, and leptin.ResultsLinear regression models indicated that CRF acted as an important and partial mediator in the association between fatness and CMRs in 12–17-year-old adolescents (for BMI: coefficients of the indirect role β = 0.058 (95% confidence interval (95%CI): 0.023–0.101), Sobel test z = 3.11 (10.0% mediation); for waist to height ratio: β = 4.279 (95%CI: 2.242–7.059), z =3.86 (11.5% mediation); and for fat mass index: β = 0.060 (95%CI: 0.020–0.106), z = 2.85 (9.4% mediation); all p < 0.01).ConclusionIn adolescents, the association between fatness and CMRs could be partially decreased with improvements to fitness levels; therefore, CRF contribution both in the clinical field and public health could be important to consider and promote in adolescents independently of their fatness levels.     

Physical activity among Spanish adolescents: relationship with their relatives' physical activity - the AVENA study

Identifying factors related to physical activity levels in young people is important for a more efficient health promotion. The aims of this study were to assess physical activity levels in a national sample of urban Spanish adolescents, and to examine the association between significant others' physical activity (father, mother, brother, sister, and close friends) and that of the adolescents. The present study comprised 2260 adolescents (1157 boys, 1103 girls) aged 13.0-18.5 years participating in the AVENA Study. Both the adolescents' physical activity and that of their relatives and close friends was assessed by questionnaire. The odds of being active were higher in boys than girls (odds ratio?=?2.79, 95% confidence interval?=?2.34-3.33) and tended to decrease across age groups in both boys and girls. Father's and older brother's physical activity was associated with boys' physical activity, while that of any significant other was associated with girls' physical activity. When both parents reported being active, boys had nearly two times higher odds of being active and girls had nearly three times higher odds of being active. The physical activity levels of Spanish adolescents are in line with those previously reported. Physical activity levels in girls are strongly related to the physical activity of any significant other, whereas physical activity levels in boys are only related to their male relatives' physical activity.     

Self-rated wellbeing and physical activity associations in European older adults

Background: Physical activity and self-rated wellbeing have important benefits to health. However, scientific knowledge regarding their relationship among older adults is scarce. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the associations between physical activity frequency and several dimensions of self-rated wellbeing, in a representative sample of European older adults from 28 countries. Methods: This study is based on the European Social Survey round 6, 2012. It had a total sample size of 12,341 older adults (5100 men, 7241 women) with mean age 73.8?±?6.6 years. Information was collected through a questionnaire, filled-in during an hour-long face-to-face interview. Physical activity was accessed using the question “On how many of the last 7 days you were physically active continuously for 20 minutes or longer?” and six dimensions of self-rated wellbeing were used. Results: Physical activity in the last 7 days was linearly related with all dimension of the self-rated wellbeing and with wellbeing total score for both sexes (men, β?=?0.09, 95% CI: 0.07 to 0.10, p?β?=?0.10, 95% CI: 0.09 to 0.11, p?Conclusions: Physical activity promotion should be stressed as a meaningful strategy to improve people's wellbeing overall. This strategy has special importance when considering the older adult population.     

Tournament structure and nations' success in women's professional tennis

The relationship between domestic professional tournament structure in women's tennis and the subsequent professional ranking success of a nation's female players is examined. The 2003 women's professional tennis tournament calendar provided the distribution of events in 33 countries. Criteria used to classify nations' success in women's professional tennis were as follows: number of players with Women's Tennis Association (WTA) points, number of players with Top 200 rankings, and the combined WTA ranking of a nation's Top 5 female players. Pearson product - moment correlations were performed between the number of tournaments and the three criteria. Considerable variation was observed in the number of events organized between nations (USA, n = 56; Thailand, n = 3). All countries had internationally ranked female players, and 24 nations had players ranked in the Top 200. Results revealed relationships between a nation's number of women's professional events and both that nation's number of professionally ranked players (r = 0.60; P < 0.01) and Top 200 players (r = 0.60; P < 0.01), as well as the combined ranking of their Top 5 players (r = -0.52; P < 0.01). While a similar association was found between the number of professional events and players ranked in the men's game, there was no significant correlation between events held and the combined standing of nations' best five ranked players. Governing bodies and national associations in tennis should consider the provision of professional, domestic competition as key to the development of female tennis players.     

Integration of an XML electronic dictionary with linguistic tools for natural language processing

This study proposes the codification of lexical information in electronic dictionaries, in accordance with a generic and extendable XML scheme model, and its conjunction with linguistic tools for the processing of natural language. Our approach is different from other similar studies in that we propose XML coding of those items from a dictionary of meanings that are less related to the lexical units. Linguistic information, such as morphology, syllables, phonology, etc., will be included by means of specific linguistic tools. The use of XML as a container for the information allows the use of other XML tools for carrying out searches or for enabling presentation of the information in different resources. This model is particularly important as it combines two parallel paradigms—extendable labelling of documents and computational linguistics—and it is also applicable to other languages. We have included a comparison with the labelling proposal of printed dictionaries carried out by the Text Encoding Initiative (TEI). The proposed design has been validated with a dictionary of more than 145 000 accepted meanings.