Sluggish cognitive tempo and impairment: The role of lifestyle factors

The purpose of this study was to assess whether sluggish cognitive tempo (SCT) behaviors were associated with a unique impairment profile for college students after accounting for lifestyle (sleep, substance use, health) and mental health factors (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD], anxiety, depression). A general sample of 910 undergraduate students completed several measures via online survey. Most participants were female (64.9%) and were Caucasian (60.7%), with an average age of 19.41 years. Students who endorsed elevated SCT behaviors reported significantly more impairment compared to students who reported low levels of SCT behaviors. However, regression analyses suggested that SCT behaviors do not account for significant amounts of unique impairment after controlling for related mental health (ADHD, anxiety, depression) and lifestyle variables (sleep, health, substance use). The lack of impairment associated uniquely with SCT behaviors suggests that SCT may serve as a construct underlying many variables, rather than standing independently as a distinct disorder.     

Dynamic balance performance varies by position but not by age group in elite Rugby Union players – a normative study

This cohort study aimed to provide normative Y Balance Test scores for an elite Rugby Union population, while investigating the effect player age groups (senior/under-20), playing positions (forwards/backs) and anthropometrics (height and body mass) had on performance. Two-hundred and sixty-one elite male under-20 (n = 50) and senior (n = 211) players completed baseline Y Balance Test during the 2015/2016 season. One-way ANCOVA and post-hoc t-tests were used to investigate the effect playing position, player group, height and weight had on performance. The cohort was then stratified into groups (age group and/or playing position), and normative percentiles were presented. There was a statistically significant difference (p < 0.05) in Y Balance Test performance between playing positions, when controlling for age group. This difference did not remain when controlling for player body mass. Post-hoc analysis demonstrated that backs had a longer normalised reach distance, with medium-large and small-medium effect sizes for the under-20 and senior cohorts respectively. The one-way ANCOVA analysis suggests that this difference is likely due to the larger differences in player body mass between forward and back playing positions. The normative values presented in this paper may be used by clinicians and researchers to aid injury prevention and rehabilitation strategies.     

Gender encounters: becoming teachers of physical education

Pre-service teachers of physical education (PE) bring understandings about gender and bodies to their university studies. These understandings are partially informed by biographies and experiences and bear potential to mediate learning and processes of becoming teachers. In this paper we explore technologies of power/knowledge and technologies of self that inform understandings of gender and the constitution of PE teacher subjectivities. Data were drawn from semi-structured interviews conducted with pre-service teachers studying at an Australian university. Foucault's theoretical perspectives around the constitution of subjects were drawn on to analyse data. Findings reveal that discursive practices frame particular ‘truths’ around gender and, hence, possibilities for being teachers of PE. Discourses of sport were significant in establishing a male norm for bodies and subjectivities. This was problematic for female participants who also turned to discourses of nurturing in constituting their subjectivities. Implications are raised for PE teacher educators with regard to disrupting hegemonic discourses as means for developing pedagogies for greater justice.     

Examining the Success Factors of High-Achieving Puerto Rican Male High-School Students

This article works to dispel the myth that Latino urban high-school students are not capable of performing at high academic levels. Whereas much educational research emphasizes the academic underachievement of urban Latino students, this article counteracts this research by describing the four success factors that three working-class Puerto Rican male high-school students attribute to their high academic achievement. These success factors are: (a) the acquisition of social capital through religiosity and participation in school and community-based extracurricular activities, (b) having a strong Puerto Rican identity, (c) the influence of these students' mothers/sisters on their academic achievement, and (d) the potential for caring and sincere teachers and other school staff to influence high academic achievement. These findings have implications for Latina/o education and recommendations are provided.     

Incorporating a new bioinformatics component into genetics at a historically black college: outcomes and lessons

Many students at minority-serving institutions are underexposed to Internet resources such as the human genome project, PubMed, NCBI databases, and other Web-based technologies because of a lack of financial resources. To change this, we designed and implemented a new bioinformatics component to supplement the undergraduate Genetics course at Clark Atlanta University. The outcomes of the Bioinformatics course were assessed. During the first week of the semester, students were assigned the Felder-Soloman's Index of Learning Styles Inventory. The overwhelming majority of students were visual (82.1%) and sequential (75.0%) learners. Furthermore, pre- and postcourse surveys were administered during the first and the last week of the course to assess learning, confidence level, and mental activity. These indicated students increased the number of hours spent using computers and doing homework. Students reported confidence in using computers to study genetics increased, enabling them to better visualize and understand genetics. Furthermore, students were more mentally engaged in a more social learning environment. Although the students appreciated the value of the bioinformatics component, they reported the additional work load was substantial enough to receive additional course credit.     

Injury rate,mechanism, and risk factors of hamstring strain injuries in sports: A review of the literature

Hamstring strains are one of most common sports injuries. The purpose of this literature review is to summarize studies on hamstring strain injury rate, mechanism, and risk factors in the last several decades with a focus on the prevention and rehabilitation of this injury. Hamstring injury commonly occurs in sporting events in which high speed sprinting and kicking are frequently performed, such as Australian football, English rugby, American football, and soccer. Basic science studies have demonstrated that a muscle strain injury occurs due to excessive strain in eccentric contraction instead of force, and that elongation speed and duration of activation before eccentric contraction affect the severity of the injury. Hamstring strain injury is likely to occur during the late swing phase and late stance phase of sprint running. Shortened optimum muscle length, lack of muscle flexibility, strength imbalance, insufficient warm-up, fatigue, lower back injury, poor lumbar posture, and increased muscle neural tension have been identified as modifiable risk factors while muscle compositions, age, race, and previous injuries are non-modifiable risk factors. The theoretical basis of some of these risk factors, however, is lacking, and the results of clinical studies on these risk factors are inconsistent. Future studies are needed to establish the cause-and-effect relationships between those proposed risk factors and the injury.     

The role of early childhood settings for 4–5 year old children in early academic skills and later achievement in Australia

Formal early childhood education programs have been shown to promote the early academic skills of young children. However, the academic benefits acquired through program attendance fade quickly in the early elementary school years. Using a nationally representative sample of Australian children, we describe the programmatic and teacher differences between different types of formal early childhood programs for children between 4 and 5 years old—pre-year 1, school-based preschool, standalone preschool, and center-based child care. We examine the child and family background characteristics that are correlated with selection into different settings and how these settings are associated with children's early academic skills and on their subsequent achievement. We focus on understanding if there are differential academic benefits accrued from each program type and whether or not these benefits persist into the early elementary school years. Results indicate that maternal employment and economic disadvantage are correlated with program participation and that pre-year 1 and preschool teachers have higher qualifications. Results also show that children who attended a pre-year 1 program held an initial, significant advantage in early academic skills compared to children enrolled in center child care. Center child care was associated with higher early math skills than preschools. Children who did not attend any early childhood programming lagged behind their peers in school readiness skills. By middle childhood, all the early skill advantages had disappeared, showing rapid fadeout of academic benefits acquired from these specific types of early childhood programs. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.     

Kindergarten Teachers’ Ratings of Children’s Behavioral and Learning Competencies: Predictive Impact on Children’s Third and Fourth Grade Achievement Trajectories

Early Childhood Education Journal - Teachers’ valid observational assessments of children’s competencies in kindergarten are critical, as formal classroom testing is not prevalent....