Reciprocal Versus Nonreciprocal Assessment of Knee Flexors and Extensors in Concentric Actions Using the CON-TREX Multijoint Isokinetic Dynamometer: A Reliability Study

Knee flexor and extensor muscular assessment via isokinetic dynamometry is common practice and established in the research literature. However, reporting assessment methodology regarding reciprocal and nonreciprocal movements is often vague or absent. Such methodological issues are crucial for accurate assessments. Therefore, knee extensor and flexor peak moment using either reciprocal movement or nonreciprocal modalities was assessed. Fifteen participants performed three blocks of five concentric muscle actions at three angular velocities [1: nonreciprocal (maximal active flexion followed by passive extension); B2: reciprocal (maximal active extension followed by maximal active flexion); B3 nonreciprocal (maximal active extension followed by passive flexion)]. ANOVA revealed statistically significant within-subject modality effects for peak knee extensor moment and flexor velocity and modality differences (p < .05). Reciprocal and nonreciprocal assessments give significantly different results, with nonreciprocal giving higher peak moments. Reporting which modality is used is crucial to allow for greater clarity for the reader and practitioner.     

Self-esteem and school performance

Self-esteem was found to have a moderate relationship with, but not a strong independent effect on, school achievement and behavior for a sample of 530 twelve-year-olds. From multiple correlation coefficients predicting school outcomes from measures of socioeconomic status, IQ, and self-esteem, it was concluded that much of the relationship between self-esteem and school performance for the general school population can best be explained as reflecting common underlying factors such as ability and background.     

Speed bumps,roadblocks and tollbooths: how culturally and linguistically diverse parents navigate the highways and byways of giftedness in Ontario

In reviewing literature on culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) parental inclusion and disproportionality, Cam Cobb, assistant professor at the University of Windsor, Ontario, illustrates how CLD giftedness – and especially CLD giftedness in Canadian settings – represents an area in need of further research. In part, this article begins to address that need. Drawing from a larger critical qualitative inquiry, he details the stories of two CLD Canadian mothers as they sought to become involved in gifted identification and decision‐making processes. Knowledge and language arose in the data as two core themes of robust parental inclusion. These core themes, along with associated recommendations for policy, practice and research, are outlined in a discussion of the findings. While this article focuses on the gifted domain of special education in Ontario, the findings have wider implications for robust CLD parental inclusion in special education in general.