Understanding undergraduate sports coaching students’ development and learning: the necessity of uncertainty

Despite recent attention, research is yet to adequately focus on sports coaches’ intellectual development as a consequence of their formal learning experiences. Drawing on the work of Perry, the aim of this article was to explore how the intellectual development of undergraduate sports coaching students was affected by the social pedagogical setting exposed to. Twenty-seven students from two different universities were selected through network and convenience sampling, and ‘tracked’ over their three year course(s) of study. Data were gathered through focus groups, video diaries and reflective written logs. Findings revealed that over the course of their study students generally progressed from a dualist to a more relativist view of the world. Such a movement, however, was far from unproblematic and uniform. Rather, it was subject to the vagaries of assessment, course structure, the epistemic range of modules experienced, and in particular the relationships established with staff members.     

Fostering inclusive education: principals' perspectives in Trinidad and Tobago

This paper shares elementary school principals' perspectives from one urban school district in Trinidad and Tobago, regarding factors that might enhance or limit their and/or their faculty's readiness for inclusion in their schools. Qualitative data collection comprised a self-administered questionnaire and focus group interviewing. Respondents comprise 18 school principals. Findings revealed a philosophical readiness to embrace inclusive practice, but resistance towards assuming responsibilities for such students within the classroom. Recommendations to facilitate more effective inclusion hinged upon teacher education, leadership and collaborative practice.     

A Sociological Case Study on Urban Adolescents in Different Neighborhoods of Ankara - Turkey

In this quantitative study, urban adolescents' sociodemographic and personal characteristics and their political views about problems at a variety of levels were examined. The main purpose of this research was to contribute to adolescent and youth sociology in Turkey by exploring the relationships between urban adolescents' demographic information and their knowledge and attitudes about world, country, city, and neighborhood problems. After a pilot study, the main study was carried out with 248 students from 4 primary schools in Ankara. A brief questionnaire was administered to selected schools. The results of statistical analyses show that students who live in different neighborhoods are not homogeneous within their socioeconomical background. The mothers' education and working status are the most important variables and they have impact on urban adolescent knowledge about Ankara as a city as well as neighborhood level problems.     

Curriculum Coverage and Classroom Grouping as Explanations of Between Teacher Differences in Pupils’ Mathematics Progress

Curriculum coverage has been shown to be an important variable for explaining young pupils’ academic progress. There is also widespread debate about the effects of different forms of classroom organization on progress. This paper looks at between teacher differences in pupils’ mathematics progress from two studies in London schools. We find that the more of the mathematics curriculum covered by teachers, the greater the progress made by pupils in those classrooms. However, there was no evidence that the measures of classroom grouping used in the two studies were reliably related to progress. The difficulties of measuring classroom grouping are discussed. Résumé La couverture des programmes s’est révélée constituer une variable importante pour expliquer les progrès des jeunes élèves dans les disciplines scolaires. Un large débat est également entretenu sur les effets produits sur les progrès par les différentes modalités d'organisation de la classe. Cet article examine, à partir de deux études réalisées dans des écoles londoniennes, les différences entre enseignants quant aux progrès d’élèves en mathématiques. Nous montrons que plus le programme de mathématique est couvert par les enseignants, plus les élèves de ces classes réalisent de progrès. Par contre, il n’y a pas de preuve décisive que les mesures réalisées dans ces deux études des modes de constitution de groupes dans les classes sont liées à des progrès. Nous discutons des difficultés à mesurer les modes de constitution des groupes dans les classes. (Traduction: Dominique G. Brassart, UFR des Sciences de l'éducation, Université Charles de Gaulle, Villeneuve d’Ascq, France.)     

Flexibility of Suckler Cattle Farms in the Face of Uncertainty within the Beef Industry: A Proposed Definition and an Illustration

Abstract

The aim of this study, carried out in association with beef cattle producers, was to explore the capacity of farms to adapt, from a techno-conomic point of view, to both structural changes in consumer demand for beef products and market disruptions (sudden drop in beef consumption due partly to media coverage of bovine spongiform encephalopathy [BSE] and foot-and-mouth disease in the winter 2000/2001). The aim is to help farmers and advisors to find solutions to fit farmers’ management choices with their strategic objectives. The flexibility concept was adopted in order to examine how farms reacted to the winter 2000/2001 crisis, and was based on several technical, economic and sociological surveys. A series of variables was proposed and several hypotheses were formulated regarding their impact on farm flexibility. Four types of farm strategy were identified using different combinations of the degree of importance of these variables, with technical, economic and marketing flexibilities specific to each type. The results revealed the different combinations of flexibility-types possible (technical, economic, marketing) and explain why cattle farmers reacted as they did. Analysis of farm flexibility also revealed situations where these technical, economic and marketing flexibilities were either complementary or incompatible. For traditional livestock farmers, high flexibility (technical and economic) allowed them to minimize the impact of the crisis on their systems. In other cases, low flexibility either resulted in inertia, or led farmers to react by seeking solutions outside the cattle farming system. Development groups should take into account these parameters when interacting with farmers. We propose a framework to qualify the use of information resources by farmers, relative to their flexibility.     

福建省入境旅游区域差异的时空演化与影响因素研究

运用加权标准差、加权变异系数、相对发展率、区位熵和赫芬达尔-赫希曼指数,研究1996-2011年间福建省各地级市入境旅游绝对差异、相对差异以及空间聚集的演化规律.结果发现：（1）福建省各地市在入境旅游收入总量上的绝对差异不断扩大,呈先平稳增长再快速增长的演化轨迹.（2）加权变异系数反映的入境旅游相对差异波动变化总体下降,但相对差异显著.入境旅游相对发展速度差异较大,发展速度差距逐渐缩小,必将减小各地市入境旅游绝对差距.各地市入境旅游产业地位的相对差异显著,但不断缩小,相较国内先进地区,多数地市入境旅游占第三产业比重仍然偏低.（3）福建省各地市入境旅游人次和收入聚集呈波动下降趋势,垄断聚集程度仍然较高,入境旅游人次和收入集中在厦门、福州、泉州,全省入境旅游主要依靠其带动,缺乏广泛的竞争.（4）政策环境、地区知名度和区位交通,是造成福建省入境旅游区域差异最重要的影响因素.     

Emerging roles for biomedical librarians: a survey of current practice,challenges, and changes

Objective:

This study is intended to (1) identify emerging roles for biomedical librarians and determine how common these roles are in a variety of library settings, (2) identify barriers to taking on new roles, and (3) determine how librarians are developing the capacity to take on new roles.

Methods:

A survey was conducted of librarians in biomedical settings.

Results:

Most biomedical librarians are taking on new roles. The most common roles selected by survey respondents include analysis and enhancement of user experiences, support for social media, support for systematic reviews, clinical informationist, help for faculty or staff with authorship issues, and implementation of researcher profiling and collaboration tools. Respondents in academic settings are more likely to report new roles than hospital librarians are, but some new roles are common in both settings. Respondents use a variety of methods to free up time for new roles, but predominant methods vary between directors and librarians and between academic and hospital respondents. Lack of time is the biggest barrier that librarians face when trying to adopt new roles. New roles are associated with increased collaboration with individuals and/or groups outside the library.

Conclusion and Implications:

This survey documents the widespread incorporation of new roles in biomedical libraries in the United States, as well as the barriers to adopting these roles and the means by which librarians are making time for them. The results of the survey can be used to inform strategic planning, succession planning, library education, and career development for biomedical librarians.