Effects of time of day and distance upon accuracy and consistency of throwing darts

Abstract

We examined variations in dart-throwing performance during the daytime in 12 participants. Two distances from the dartboard were investigated – the normal distance (short throws) and another 50% further away than this (long throws). Intra-aural temperature and subjective fatigue were measured, and errors in performance were assessed as the radial distances of throws from the bulls-eye and the standard deviation of these distances. Long-distance throws improved significantly throughout the daytime and correlated positively with intra-aural temperature (r = ?0.49, P = 0.002 and r = ?0.49, P = 0.002 for errors and standard deviation of errors, respectively), but not with subjective fatigue (r = ?0.10, P = 0.56 and r = ?0.05, P = 0.74 for errors and standard deviation of errors, respectively). Short-distance throws were associated less with intra-aural temperature (r = ?0.46, P = 0.005 and r = ?0.17, P = 0.31 for errors and standard deviation of errors, respectively), and worsened with fatigue (r = +0.34, P = 0.040 for errors). Compared with the short-distance throws, the long-distance throws were performed significantly less well than could be accounted for by the increased distance (mean errors were increased 1.67 – 2.78 times and standard deviation of errors of errors 1.58 – 3.68 times), supporting the concept of a trade-off between force of contraction and accuracy of performance. Throwing darts can be used as a model for investigating factors that influence motor performance, and our results indicate that the effects of time of day upon performance depend upon the relative importance of force and accuracy.     

The (Non)Importance of a Programming Language in a Software Engineering Course

Our catchy title is intended to be controversial, provoking thought upon the impact (or lack of any) that a programming language has on the curriculum for a software engineering course. Our view on the subject is from both directions, as indicated by the title. As educators, we argue that the language issues are secondary to the fundamental concern of understanding software engineering concepts, specifically object‐oriented concepts. However, we appreciate that expertise in a widely accepted object‐oriented language may be essential towards the more practical aspect of building a critical mass of software engineers versed in object‐oriented techniques. This reflects upon the maturing nature of computer science and engineering as a science, which is evolving its fundamental principles, while at the same time recognizing its impact as an engineering discipline sensitive to practical applications. The evolution of our primary software engineering course, CS250 Introduction to Software Engineering, has been influenced by our own reflections on the state of software engineering in the 1990s, industrial requirements for expertise by our graduates, and the needs of accreditation. We present the internal and external factors that have guided our course design. This process reflects our own experiences in academia and industry. We present this process as a representative model of a sound approach, but make no claims that it is the optimal approach.     

Beyond Commercialization: Science, Higher Education and the Culture of Neoliberalism

Since the 1980s, scholars and others have been engaged in a lively debate about the virtues and dangers of mingling commerce with university science. In this paper, we contend that the commercialization of academic science, and higher education more broadly, are best understood as pieces of a larger story. We use two cases of institutional change at the University of Wisconsin-Madison to shed light on the implications of neoliberalism for public research universities in the United States. We conclude that instead of neoliberalization being a timely strategy for the specific fiscal and other problems facing public universities today, it has become an omnibus solution available to be employed when any opportunity arises and, in fact, helps to define the “problems” of the university in the first place.     

Referral and placement recommendations of teachers toward gifted handicapped children

Three male students between 10 and 13 years of age, who possessed WISC‐R Full Scale IQ's of greater than 120 and documented problems in decoding skills were assessed with respect to cognitive processing abilities (Cognitive Assessment System) and found to have marked deficits in successive coding. A process based remedial program, combining global training on tasks requiring successive processing with tasks involving the application of successive processing to decoding in reading, was implemented within approximately six weeks (15 hours) of training. The remedial program included guided practice and verbal mediation to assist students to internalize and generalize the cognitive strategies. Improvements following remediation were manifested uniquely for each of the students. The differences appeared to be related to the entry skill levels and preferred strategies of each student, as well as to the dimensions of attention and motivation. Results offer an extension of cognitive theory regarding the functioning of students, and may also provide an assessment option allowing earlier identification and remediation for such students.     

A preliminary analysis of teacher perceptions of the effects of NAPLAN on pedagogy and curriculum

This paper reports preliminary survey findings of Western Australian and South Australian teacher perceptions of the impact of NAPLAN on curriculum and pedagogy in their classroom and school. The paper examines how teachers perceive the effects of NAPLAN on curriculum and pedagogy and whether these perceptions mediated by the teacher’s gender, the socioeconomics of the school, the State and the school system in which the teacher works. Teachers report that they are either choosing or being instructed to teach to the test, that this results in less time being spent on other curriculum areas and that these effects contribute in a negative way to the class environment and the engagement of students. This largely agrees with a body of international research that suggests that high-stakes literacy and numeracy tests often results in unintended consequences such as a narrow curriculum focus, a return to teacher-centred instruction and a decrease in motivation. Analysis suggests there is a relationship between participant responses to the effect of NAPLAN on curriculum based on the characteristics of which State the teacher taught in, the socioeconomic status of the school and the school system in which they were employed (State, Catholic, and Independent).     

COMMUNITY‐BASED SETTINGS FOR TRAINING IN GERIATRIC MEDICINE

Service‐learning clinical experiences in community‐based sites are an important approach to providing medical, nurse practitioner, allied health and other professional students with an opportunity to acquire knowledge, attitudes and skills necessary for working effectively with the elderly. Such experiences provide a balance to the clinical experiences more traditionally provided to students in nursing homes and chronic care hospitals. In community‐based settings, students gain knowledge and skills in working with older people, develop a more balanced view about growing old, and learn about community resources and effective teamwork. The experiences of the George Washington University Medical School in providing these learning experiences has led to student enthusiasm for work with the elderly and has improved access to medical care for elderly persons who participate in programs in community‐based settings.     

The scrumpled geography of literacies for learning

This paper draws upon the experience of the Literacies for Learning in Further Education research project in the UK. The project explored the literacy demands of a number of curriculum areas and the literacy practices of students in their everyday lives, in order to identify those ‘border literacies’ which may act as resources for learning and attainment within their college courses. Drawing on Literacy Studies and aspects of actor-network theory, this article outlines the conceptual innovations that we found necessary arising from our data analysis, extending existing work on situating practice and boundary crossing to posit a conceptual landscape that we term the scrumpled geography of literacies for learning. This landscape is one in which purification, naturalization and translation are key concepts, where literacy practices are enacted as network effects of a folding of a range of micro-practices into conglomerations.     

Fostering connectedness to nature in higher education

Environmental thinkers and educators have argued for the importance of celebrating our connectedness to nature, or the perception of being part of, rather than separate from, the natural world. Using pre-and post-test measurements of Nature Relatedness and supplemental interviews, this study addresses the question of whether a particular introductory college-level ecology course can increase learners’ connectedness to nature, both independently and in comparison to a similar course. The results show that the course significantly increased participants’ connectedness, particularly their identification with nature and nature-focused worldview. Other environmental courses studied demonstrated no such changes, suggesting that environmental education does not automatically lead to connectedness. However, if woven into the goals and approach of teaching, connectedness to nature can indeed be fostered in higher education. This is a promising result for educators and others working towards a sustainable future.