Match running performance and skill execution improves with age but not the number of disposals in young Australian footballers

This study investigated age-related differences in maturity, physical and functional characteristics and playing performance in youth Australian Football (AF). Young male players (n = 156) were recruited from 12 teams across 6 age groups (U10–U15) of a recreational AF club. All players were tested for body size, maturity and fitness. Player performance was assessed during a match in which disposals (kicks and handballs) and their effectiveness were coded from a video recording and match running performance measured using Global Positioning System. Significant main effects (P < 0.01) for age group were observed for age, years to peak height velocity, body mass, height, 20 m sprint, maximal speed over 20 m, vertical jump, 20 m multistage shuttle run, match distance, high-speed running distance, peak speed, number of effective disposals and percentage of effective disposals. Age-related differences in fitness characteristics (speed, lower body power and endurance) appeared to transfer to match running performance. The frequency in which players disposed of the football did not differ between age groups, however the effectiveness of each disposal (i.e., % effective disposals) improved with age. Match statistics, particularly those that evaluate skill execution outcome (i.e., effectiveness), are useful to assess performance and to track player development over time. Differences between age groups, and probably variability within age groups, are strongly associated with chronological age and maturity.     

Query Expansion with Long-Span Collocates

The paper presents two novel approaches to query expansion with long-span collocates—words, significantly co-occurring in topic-size windows with query terms. In the first approach—global collocation analysis—collocates of query terms are extracted from the entire collection, in the second—local collocation analysis—from a subset of retrieved documents. The significance of association between collocates was estimated using modified Mutual Information and Z score. The techniques were tested using the Okapi IR system. The effect of different parameters on performance was evaluated: window size, number of expansion terms, measures of collocation significance and types of expansion terms. We present performance results of these techniques and provide comparison with related approaches.     

THE CHANGING PROFESSIONAL ETHOS: A POLL OF POLLSTERS

A mail survey of 129 contact persons for polling organizationrevealed that 62 per cent of the firms from which responseswere received do not go back before 1980. Many respondents werethemselves newcomers, who had found their way into polling viapolitics and showed less commitment to the professional ethosthat meant so much to the pioneer pollsters. Newcomers, on theaverage, had fewer academic credentials and less training thaneither of two generations of more seasoned pollsters; more ofthem worked directly for politicians. The three generationsalso differed in the satisfactions sought from polling and onprofessional membership. Are we encountering a "new breed" ofpollsters?     

Decision making in school-based management leadership councils: The impact of council membership diversity

School-based management (SBM) is a potentially valuable reform mechanism in urban school districts in which each school serves a unique mix of students drawn from a heterogeneous population. Because SBM usually relies on leadership councils that function as the decision-making bodies for individual schools, its effectiveness as a reform mechanism ultimately depends on the quality of these councils. This research explores how council decision-making quality is affected by five dimensions of council diversity. Results indicate that diversity in terms of council member roles and tenure in the district is related to council decision-making quality, while ethnic and gender diversity and diversity in council experience are unrelated to decision processes. Potential explanations for these findings are discussed.     

Exploring the efficacy of training and development for liaison librarians at Deakin University,Australia

ABSTRACT

Australian universities are operating in a complex, dynamic and competitive global market. Increasingly university administrations are seeking the competitive edge over rival institutions. In order to support their institution’s strategic agenda and maintain their relevance to their institution, libraries will need staff who are highly skilled and able to adapt to the rapidly changing digital world. At Deakin University Library, senior librarians understand the imperative of developing liaison librarians’ capabilities in order to meet the information needs of teaching and research academics. A scaffolded training program (the Program) was developed and a Training Needs Analysis was administered prior and post training programs to determine training priorities. Exploring the Program through the lens of self-determination theory provided an opportunity to critique the Program at a deeper level and situate the Program within a broader context of emerging skill and knowledge capabilities required by all who undertake knowledge-intensive work.     

Exploring adolescent development through the use of popular non-fiction novels

The purpose of this review is to examine the utility of using journalistic accounts of adolescence to convey the complexities of adolescent development. Three non-fiction texts are considered: Wonderland by Michael Bamberger, A Tribe Apart by Patricia Hersch, and A Hope in the Unseen by Ron Suskind. The safe environment provided by these books gives prospective teachers an intellectual space to consider their future teaching and to hear the voices of their prospective students. Moreover, exploring these non-fiction texts helps prospective teachers understand today's adolescents and allows them to reflect on adolescent identity and development using a real-world setting.     

A critique of the Capability Approach’s potential for application to career guidance

In this article, we provide a balanced critique of Sen’s Capability Approach (CA) with reference to its potential to inform career guidance theory and practice. There are varying understandings and interpretations of the CA. Some see capabilities as universal, whilst others favour a more relativist view. The CA is also vulnerable to misunderstanding. Critiques based on misunderstanding are easily dismissed, so our focus is on substantive conceptual and practical critiques. Three main challenges are explored: conceptual debates about the nature of freedom and justice; limitations arising from the disciplinary origins of the CA; and challenges in operationalising the CA.