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.     

Professional Doctorates and Careers: the Spanish case1

This article analyses the determining factors weighted by doctoral graduates when choosing their professional careers. In Spain, the analysis of such a group has been traditionally excluded from the empiric studies. On the one hand, the lack of databases made it difficult to see their professional situation, and on the other, a university career was understood as this group's innate purpose. The growing demand for qualified professionals in general and for those with a scientific training in particular has prompted the developed countries to carry out research on how to match the third-level training cycle and labour market needs. The analysis of this group's labour conditions allows one to assess whether the current doctoral education programmes satisfy labour market needs. The estimation of a multinomial logit model reveals the different factors when choosing a professional career depending on the area of knowledge. Personal characteristics, such as age, training, area of knowledge or job, as well as the expected wages become fundamental when determining doctors' professional future. Moreover, the results prove that a job outside the university is becoming a preferred option for doctors in certain fields.     

Establishing Media Partnerships in Crisis Response

Social protests in the United States of America (U.S.) are increasing in frequency, including the Dakota Access pipeline protests, the Women’s March in 2017 and 2018, and March for our Lives. Thousands of other protests have also emerged across digital platforms and in interpersonal contexts. This study explores the identity work processes individuals navigate as they engage with or avoid social protest. I conducted interviews with self-identified protesters who discussed the complexities of their experiences. Using CTI and identity gaps, dialogical wisdom are introduced to deepen this analysis. This scholarship provides insights for those interested in the interplay between individual identities and protest, as well how multiple identities and the gaps between them can address conflict.     

Acute effects of static and dynamic stretching on hamstrings’ response times

Abstract

The main purposes of this study were to (a) investigate acute effects of static and dynamic lower limb stretching routines on total response time, pre-motor time and motor time of the medial and lateral hamstrings during maximal eccentric isokinetic knee flexion; and (b) determine whether static and dynamic routines elicit similar responses. A total of 38 active adults completed the following intervention protocols in a randomised order on separate days: (a) non-stretching (control condition), (b) static stretching and (c) dynamic stretching. After the stretching or control intervention, total response time, pre-motor time and motor time of the medial and lateral hamstrings were assessed during eccentric knee flexion movements with participants prone. Measures were compared via a mixed-design factorial ANOVA. There were no main effects for total response time, pre-motor time and motor time. The results suggest that dynamic and static stretching has no influence on hamstrings response times (total response time, pre-motor time and motor time) and hence neither form of stretching reduces this primary risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament injury.     

Assessing the influence of personal preferences on the choice of vocabulary for natural language generation

Referring expression generation is the part of natural language generation that decides how to refer to the entities appearing in an automatically generated text. Lexicalization is the part of this process which involves the choice of appropriate vocabulary or expressions to transform the conceptual content of a referring expression into the corresponding text in natural language. This problem presents an important challenge when we have enough knowledge to allow more than one alternative. In those cases, we need some heuristics to decide which alternatives are more appropriate in a given situation. Whereas most work on natural language generation has focused on a generic way of generating language, in this paper we explore personal preferences as a type of heuristic that has not been properly addressed. We empirically analyze the TUNA corpus, a corpus of referring expression lexicalizations, to investigate the influence of language preferences in how people lexicalize new referring expressions in different situations. We then present two corpus-based approaches to solve the problem of referring expression lexicalization, one that takes preferences into account and one that does not. The results show a decrease of 50% in the similarity error against the reference corpus when personal preferences are used to generate the final referring expression.     

Emotional profiles regarding maths among primary school children – A two-year longitudinal study

Learning maths is challenging for many primary school students, and teachers must understand students’ learning and emotional processes specific to learning maths. The current research, grounded in control-value theory, focused on achievement emotions regarding maths. Primary school students (N?=?71) were studied with the primary objective of examining the longitudinal trajectories of achievement emotions of third graders over two years. The Portuguese Achievement Emotions Questionnaire for Elementary Students was administered biannually to assess enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom regarding maths. The results indicate that enjoyment decreased and boredom increased over time, revealing three emotional profiles: positive, negative and moderate. The positive profile showed the highest scores in maths achievement. Profile membership was moderately stable and became increasingly stable and structured. In examining the complexity of students’ emotional profiles and processes, the importance of understanding them to enhance educational support, development, and learning was highlighted.

     

Editorial

In this article the authors explore a language and literacy community mapping project carried out by public school teachers in southern California. They chronicle the knowledge produced by teachers about the depth and diversity of language and literacy resources present in the neighborhoods surrounding their various urban school sites.