Sport and Civilisation: Violence Mastered. From the Lack of a Definition for Violence to the Illusory Pacifying Role of Modern Sports

Following the seminal works of Norbert Elias, with regard to the ‘civilising process’, modern sports are generally considered by the scientific community as being, on the one hand, a privileged means that has long facilitated and contributed to ‘the control and learning of the self-control of impulses’ and, on the other, as a political device, which has facilitated, by penetrating into the private sphere in a restrained and play-oriented fashion, the state's monopoly of violence. They are also considered to have facilitated the socio-genesis of modern states. But is this link so evident that this ‘new’ social configuration can be considered a new tool at the service of violence control? Acceptance is so strong that one can almost forget the contradictions, at least the questions, which can and should emerge from this proposition. It should in fact face up to criticism on a certain number of concrete points: definition of violence, rejection of the long-term view, sport be strictly considered in the light of the pacification of habits and social control, hooliganism, etc. This introductory article presents a series of reflections which aim to enrich Elias's theory by underlining both its accuracy and its weak points.     

Changing the landscape of cybersecurity education in the EU: Will the new approach produce the required cybersecurity skills?

Education and Information Technologies - Recruiting, retaining, and maintaining sufficient numbers of cybersecurity professionals in the workplace is a constant battle, not only for the technical...     

Institutional Quality of a Higher Education Institution from the Perspective of Employers

The present paper proposes a theoretical model of institutional quality of a higher education institution (HEI) which, in addition to the internal dimensions of quality, incorporates also the external dimension, i.e. the outcomes dimension. This dimension has been neglected by the quality standards and models examined in our paper. Furthermore, the standards and models analyzed consider stakeholders as one of the quality factors of a HEI. The stakeholders’ perspective is seen as a lens through which stakeholders define, control and assess the quality of a HEI. The proposed model therefore gives stakeholders greater significance compared to the dimensions of institutional quality of a HEI. The model has been validated from the employers’ perspective. On the basis of 339 completed questionnaires or a 39.74 % response rate we concluded that outcomes constitute the most important dimension of institutional quality of a HEI from the perspective of employers in Slovenia. The outcomes dimension is followed, in descending order, by the non-financial resources and inputs, sustainable development, value chain, and, finally, the financial resources and inputs dimensions. The results of the study have shown that of the 44 quality factors of a HEI the following data are of key importance to employers: information on the participation of students in practical training, achievements of graduates at the workplace, implementation of a HEI’s research achievements in practice, graduate employability, and a HEI’s responsiveness to the demands and changes in the environment.     

Investigating the workload,readiness and physical performance changes during intensified 3-week preparation periods in female national Under18 and Under20 basketball teams

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to investigate between- and within-team changes in workload [PlayerLoad (PL), training impulse (TRIMP) and session rate of perceived exertion training load (sRPE-TL)], readiness [heart rate variability (HRV)], and physical performance [20-m sprint test (including 10-m split time), countermovement jump (CMJ) and yo-yo intermittent recovery test level 1 (YYIR1)] during 3-week intensified preparation periods in female, national Under18 (n = 12, age = 18.0 ± 0.5y, stature = 180.4 ± 7.5 cm, body mass = 72.7 ± 9.3 kg) and Under20 (n = 12, age = 19.6 ± 0.8y, stature = 178.6 ± 6.4 cm, body mass = 68.0 ± 5.9 kg) basketball teams. Under18 team revealed small-to-moderate statistically significantly higher values in workload [PL: p = 0.010; ES = Small; TRIMP: p = 0.004; ES = Moderate; sRPE-TL: p < 0.001; ES = Moderate] and moderately lower readiness values (p = 0.023; ES = Moderate) compared to Under20. Within-team analysis showed no differences in workload in Under20 and statistically significant reduction (p < 0.05) in Week3 (taper period) in Under18. Pre- and post-preparation changes showed Under18 increasing only YYIR1 performance (p < 0.001; ES = Very large). Differently, Under20 statistically improved in 10-m split time (p = 0.003; ES = Moderate), CMJ (p = 0.025; ES = Moderate) and YYIR1 (p < 0.001; ES = Large). A constant adequate workload positively benefits players’ readiness and physical performances during short intensified preparation periods. Conversely, using high workload with periodization strategies encompassing short overload and taper phases induced positive changes on players’ aerobic performance, lower readiness values and no changes in anaerobic performances.     

The development of an entrepreneurial mindset in primary education

This article provides insights into the design thinking method, a teaching strategy for developing creativity, innovative thinking, and an entrepreneurial mindset in young people as a universally applicable skill. It presents results from a study of 146 seventh- and eighth-grade students, aged 12–14 and 20 teachers across 10 Slovene schools. Teachers used the design thinking method to facilitate hands-on student projects and evaluated their effectiveness in cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset. The two teachers per class submitted a combined final report of their experience and observations. In addition, a study facilitator visited each school several times to discuss the project with the teachers, observe the class, and take notes. Thirteen factors that contributed to students’ entrepreneurial mindset were identified and organized into three clusters: project factors, the learning environment in which it was carried out, and the learning and teaching factors.     

Exponential stabilization of a non-uniform rotating disk-beam system via a torque control and a finite memory type dynamic boundary control

This paper is consecrated to the feedback stabilization of the rotating disk-beam system. The beam is assumed to be non-uniform and clamped at its left-end to the center of the disk where a torque control takes place, while a memory boundary control is acting at the right-end of the beam. First, the usual torque control is proposed, whereas the boundary control is designed by taking into account a special type of a memory phenomenon, as well as the dynamic features of the input. Sufficient conditions on the angular velocity of the disk and the memory term are derived to guarantee the existence and uniqueness of solutions of the system. Furthermore, the frequency domain method is utilized in order to achieve the exponential stability of the closed-loop system. The relevance of the theoretical outcomes is shown through several numerical simulations.     

A conceptual model for the development of broadband and e-government

The paper discusses the interconnection of the adoption and diffusion of broadband (‘BB’), e-government (‘EG’) and e-commerce (‘EC’) services. It provides a structured literature review and proposes a conceptual framework for studying the interconnection of the development and adoption of BB, EG and EC. The interconnections of various concepts are shown along with several hypotheses that are thoroughly theoretically grounded. The role of different technology acceptance models is discussed, while the importance of including various aspects in policy preparation analyses is emphasized.     

Managing the investment in information security technology by use of a quantitative modeling

This paper presents a mathematical model for an optimal security-technology investment evaluation and decision-making processes based on a quantitative analysis of the security risks and a digital-assets assessment in an organization. The model makes use of a quantitative analysis of different security measures that counteract individual risks by identifying the information-system processes in an enterprise and the potential threats. The model comprises the target security levels for all the identified core business processes and the probability of a security accident together with the possible loss the organization may suffer. The model allows in-depth analyses and computations providing quantitative assessments of different options for investments, which translate into recommendations that facilitate the selection of the best solution and the associated decision-making. The model was tested using empirical examples and mathematical simulations with data from a real business environment.     

Flexibility in young second‐language learners: examining the language specificity of orthographic processing

This study examines whether orthographic processing transfers across languages to reading when the writing systems under acquisition are sufficiently related. We conducted a study with 76 7‐year‐old English‐first‐language children in French immersion. Measures of English and French orthographic processing (orthographic choice tasks) and standardised measures of English and French word reading (Woodcock and FIAT) were taken, in addition to verbal and nonverbal ability, and phonological and morphological awareness. Analyses reveal significant contributions of orthographic processing to reading both within and across the two languages, despite the inclusion of control variables. Findings of the transfer of orthographic processing skills to reading across languages suggest that orthographic processing may not be as language specific as previously hypothesised. We discuss the several similarities between English and French, such as a shared alphabet and cognates, that may drive transfer across languages in the context of current theories of second‐language reading development.     

Assessing Direct Contributions of Morphological Awareness and Prosodic Sensitivity to Children’s Word Reading and Reading Comprehension

We examined the independent contributions of prosodic sensitivity and morphological awareness to word reading, text reading accuracy, and reading comprehension. We did so in a longitudinal study of English-speaking children (N = 70). At 5–7 years of age, children completed the metalinguistic measures along with control measures of phonological awareness and vocabulary. Children completed the reading measures 2 years later. Morphological awareness but not prosodic sensitivity made a significant independent contribution to word reading, text reading accuracy, and reading comprehension. The effects of morphological awareness on reading comprehension remained after controls for word reading. These results suggest that morphological awareness needs to be considered seriously in models of reading development and that prosodic sensitivity might have primarily indirect relations to reading outcomes.