The effect of smartphones and playing video games on decision-making in soccer players: A crossover and randomised study

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to analyse the effect of the use of social networks in smartphones or playing video games on the passing decision-making performance in professional soccer athletes. Participants were 25 male professional soccer athletes (mean ± SD: age 23.4 ± 2.8 years). The participants performed three randomised conditions divided into three groups: control (CON), smartphone (SMA), and video game (VID). Before and after each experimental condition, the Stroop Task assessed the level of induced mental fatigue. Then, the athletes performed a simulated soccer match. A CANON® camera recorded the matches for further analysis on passing decision-making performance. A group effect was identified (p < .01) with impairment on passing decision-making performance for the SMA (p = .01, ES = 0.5) and VID (p = .01, ES = 0.5) conditions. We concluded that the use of social networks on smartphones and/or playing video games right before official soccer matches might impair the passing decision-making performance in professional soccer athletes.     

The entrepreneurial university and academic discourses: The meta‐synthesis of Higher Education articles

The innovative teaching, knowledge and technology production and societal service activities of academics are largely discussed within the entrepreneurial university discourse in Higher Education journals. Therefore, this research focuses on a meta‐synthesis of Higher Education articles to better understand the concepts of the entrepreneurial university and entrepreneurial academic. After the systematic elimination based on keywords and titles, 25 articles have been selected from the top 10 Higher Education journals in the SCImago Journal Rankings. Content analysis was performed on these articles to highlight the common operational areas in entrepreneurial universities and activities of entrepreneurial academics. The meta‐synthesis shows that, both for universities and academics, entrepreneurship is overwhelmingly characterised by the commercialisation of scholarly activities that enrich institutional income revenue as well as academics’ personal income. However, such an approach can distance universities from their mission of public good; so Higher Education administrators should create mechanisms that would allow both to take place in a balanced way.     

Impact of sports participation on mortality rates among Brazilian adults

Objective: To analyze the possible dose-response association between components of sports participation (intensity, volume and previous engagement) and 4-year mortality rates among Brazilian adults.

Methods: 679 males and females (mean age among men = 66.7 ± 9.3 years old and mean age among women = 64.8 ± 8.9 years old) composed the study sample. Sports participation was assessed using Baecke’s questionnaire, which considers intensity, duration and previous engagement. Medical records were used to identify the cause of the death. Cox regression analysis was performed to determine the independent associations of exercise components and mortality.

Results: Participants that reported exercising at moderate-vigorous intensity (Moderate/vigorous: 4.1% versus None/light: 10.3% [p-value = 0.012]; HR = 0.42 [0.1 to 0.94)] and for more than four months (≥4 months: 5.3% versus <4 months: 10.2% [p-value = 0.038]; HR = 0.47 [0.24 to 0.94]) had lower mortality risk. The percentage of survival according to all-cause mortality was significantly higher for participants engaged in sports at moderate-vigorous intensity (p-value = 0.014), as well as for those engaged in sports for periods superior than four months (p-value = 0.036).

Conclusion: We found higher percentage of survival among adults engaged in sports at moderate-vigorous intensity and with at least four months of previous engagement.     

The Human Rights Approach to Education in International Organisations

In this article, the work of three international governmental organisations (IGOs) dealing with human rights will be discussed, namely the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)¹ and the Council of Europe (CoE). In the first section, the main characteristics of the three IGOs in terms of similarities and differences will be elaborated. Then, their human rights approach to education will be described, dealing with the legal foundations. In the final section, the different strategies of implementation based on both their official mission statements and their present strategy papers will be evaluated under the heading ‘competition vs. cooperation’.     

Physics in upper secondary schools in Denmark

This article is the third in a series reporting on the changes in attitudes and interests‐‐mainly with respect to physics‐of several hundred students as they proceed through the Danish upper secondary school (Gymnasium). It concentrates on the results of the final investigation which took place shortly before the students leave the school.     

Differing Roles,Differing Concerns: Using Network Analysis as a Tool to Highlight Diverging Concerns and Priorities Surrounding Teacher Education at Minority-Serving Institutions

Abstract

Minority-serving institutions are important in the production of teachers of color. However, this formative process is not without limitations. This multisite, multistate study relied on network analysis techniques to unveil timely and relevant concerns that students, faculty, and administrators identified as critical toward the strengthening of teacher production.