Effect of 6-weeks WBVT on the behaviour of the lower limb muscle fibres during vertical jumping

The purpose of the current study was to examine the effect of 6 weeks of whole body vibration training (WBVT) on body composition, muscle activity of the gastrocnemius and vastus lateralis, gastrocnemius muscle architecture (static and dynamic) and ground reaction forces (performance jump) during the take-off phase of a countermovement jump in young healthy adult males. A total of 33 men (23.31 ± 5.62 years) were randomly assigned to a whole body vibration group (experimental group, EG_WBVT: n = 17; 22.11 ± 4.97 years) or a control group (CG: n = 16; 24.5 ± 6.27 years). The total duration of the intervention phase (WBVT) was 6 weeks with a frequency of 3 sessions per week. Statistically significant differences were observed (P ≤ 0.05) between pre- and post-test in the power peak (Δ 1.91 W · kg^?1; P = 0.001), take-off velocity (0.1 cm · s^?1; P = 0.002) and jump height (Δ 0.4 cm; P = 0.002) for EG_WBVT. There were no statistically significant differences in any of the body composition and muscle architecture variables. Moreover, no significant differences were found between EG_WBVT and CG nor changes in muscle activity during take-off phase of the gastrocnemius and vastus lateralis pre- versus post-training. This study suggests that a 6-week WBVT programme with increasing intensity improves jump performance but does not alter muscle activity nor muscle architecture in healthy young men.     

Effect of Dehydration on Passing Decision Making in Soccer Athletes

It seems that dehydration may impair decision-making performance in athletes. Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the influence of dehydration on passing decision-making performance in soccer players. Method: Participants were 40 male soccer players (M_age = 22.3 ± 2.3 years) who agreed to participate in the study and were randomly assigned to the following conditions: control (CON), dehydration (DEH), and euhydration (EUH). The players played in 2 games of 90 min in duration (2 45-min halves) followed by 2 15-min halves (overtime) with and without proper hydration. The Game Performance Assessment Instrument (GPAI) was considered for the analysis of passing decision making. Results: The GPAI analysis indicated effective reduction in the decision-making index in the DEH condition compared with the EUH and CON conditions, F(2, 38) = 31.4, p < .05, ES = 0.8. Conclusions: In conclusion, dehydration may be considered a mediating factor in the passing decision-making performance of male soccer athletes.     

Effects of inspiratory muscle training in professional women football players: a randomized sham-controlled trial

This study was conducted to determine the effects of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) on respiratory and peripheral muscles oxygenation during a maximal exercise tolerance test and on repeated-sprint ability (RSA) performance in professional women football players. Eighteen athletes were randomly assigned to one of the following groups: SHAM (n = 8) or IMT (n = 10). After a maximal incremental exercise test, all participants performed (on a different day) a time-to-exhaustion (Tlim) test. Peripheral and respiratory muscles oxygenation by near-infrared spectroscopy, breath-by-breath ventilatory and metabolic variables, and blood lactate concentration were measured. The RSA test was performed on a grass field. After a 6 week intervention, all athletes were reevaluated. Both groups showed increases in inspiratory muscles strength, exercise tolerance and RSA performance, however only the IMT group presented lower deoxyhemoglobin and total hemoglobin blood concentrations on intercostal muscles concomitantly to an increased oxyhemoglobin and total hemoglobin blood concentrations on vastus lateralis muscle during Tlim. In conclusion, these results may indicate the potential role of IMT to attenuate inspiratory muscles metaboreflex and consequently improve oxygen and blood supply to limb muscles during high-intensity exercise, with a potential impact on inspiratory muscle strength, exercise tolerance and sprints performance in professional women football players.     

Linking human,technological, and relational assets to technological innovation: exploring a new approach

In a knowledge-based economy, firms' technological innovations represent one of the best ways in order to survive and to achieve firm success. Nonaka and Takeuchi stated that technological innovation is close to firms' intellectual or knowledge asset management, and additional efforts are needed to understand these complex causal relationships. If we can assume that technological innovation causation rarely has a single cause, and that these causes rarely operate in isolation from each other, empirical research needs a new configurational perspective, where the integrity of firms' technological innovations as complex configurations of causal factors are preserved. This way, using a configurational approach, and primary data of 251 technology-based firms based in Spain, this paper explores firms' human, technological, and relational assets configurations and product innovations.

     

Effect of the 3-Point Line Change on the Game Dynamics in Girls' Minibasketball

We examined the game dynamics in minibasketball when comparing two different forms of the 3-point line. During the first competition, participants used a 3-point line delimited by the free-throw lane, and 1,642 ball possessions were recorded. During the second competition, participants played with a 3-point line delimited by a rectangular area, and 1,669 ball possessions were recorded. Results from the Mann-Whitney U Test show that when playing with a 3-point line delimited by the free-throw lane, higher average values were achieved in terms of points scored, number of players taking part in the ball possessions, number of passes, and one-on-one situations.     

Design of educational web pages

The methodological characteristics of teaching in primary and secondary education make it necessary to revise the pedagogical and instructive lines with which to introduce the new Information and Communication Technologies into the school context. The construction of web pages that can be used to improve student learning is, therefore, fundamental for teachers. Their creation must be proposed, above all, from the basis of the constructivist paradigm of learning as opposed to the current behaviourist designs. General lines are established which must be convenient for the construction of web pages for these educational levels.

Les caractéristiques méthodologiques de l'enseignement à l'éducation primaire et secondaire obligent à réviser les lignes pédagogiques et instructives avec lesquelles introduire les nouvelles Technologies de l'Information et la Communication à les contextes scolaires. La construction de pages Web qui peuvent être utilisées pour améliorer l'apprentissage des élèves est, par conséquent, fondamentale pour les professeurs. Leur création doit être proposée, au‐dessus de tout, à partir de la base du paradigme constructiviste de l'apprentissage par opposition aux dessins béhavioristes courants. On établit des lignes générales qui peuvent être adéquats pour la construction de pages Web à ces niveaux pédagogiques.

Las características metodológicas de la enseñanza en educación primaria y secundaria hacen que sea necesario replantear las líneas pedagógicas e instructivas con las que introducir las nuevas Tecnologías de Información y la Comunicación en los contextos escolares. En este sentido resulta fundamental para el docente la construcción de páginas Web que puedan ser utilizadas para mejorar el aprendizaje de los alumnos. Particularmente se debe proponer su creación, ante todo, desde las bases del paradigma constructivista del aprendizaje, frente a los diseños conductistas actuales. Se establecen en esta investigación las líneas generales que deben ser convenientes para la construcción de páginas Web para estos niveles educativos.

Die methodologischen Merkmale, in Primärer und Sekundärer Ausbildung zu unterrichten, machen es notwendig, die pädagogischen und instruktiven Linien zu revidieren, mit dem die neuen Informations—und Kommunikationstechnologien in den Schulkontext einzuführen. Die Kreation von Webseiten, die benutzt werden können, um den Schülern das Lernen zu erleichtern, ist deshalb wesentlich für Lehrer. Ihre Schaffung muß vor allem von der Basis des constructivist‐Paradigmas des Lernens im Gegensatz zu den aktuellen behaviourist‐Designs vorgeschlagen werden. In dieser Untersuchung werden allgemeine Linien begründet, die für die Konstruktion der Webseiten für diese pädagogischen Niveaus günstig sein müssen.     

Molecular thermodynamics for cell biology as taught with boxes

Thermodynamic principles are basic to an understanding of the complex fluxes of energy and information required to keep cells alive. These microscopic machines are nonequilibrium systems at the micron scale that are maintained in pseudo-steady-state conditions by very sophisticated processes. Therefore, several nonstandard concepts need to be taught to rationalize why these very ordered systems proliferate actively all over our planet in seeming contradiction to the second law of thermodynamics. We propose a model consisting of boxes with different shapes that contain small balls that are in constant motion due to a stream of air blowing from below. This is a simple macroscopic system that can be easily visualized by students and that can be understood as mimicking the behavior of a set of molecules exchanging energy. With such boxes, the basic concepts of entropy, enthalpy, and free energy can be taught while reinforcing a molecular understanding of the concepts and stressing the stochastic nature of the thermodynamic laws. In addition, time-related concepts, such as reaction rates and activation energy, can be readily visualized. Moreover, the boxes provide an intuitive way to introduce the role in cellular organization of "information" and Maxwell's demons operating under nonequilibrium conditions.     

Measuring instructional practice in science using classroom artifacts: lessons learned from two validation studies

With growing interest in the role of teachers as the key mediators between educational policies and outcomes, the importance of developing good measures of classroom processes has become increasingly apparent. Yet, collecting reliable and valid information about a construct as complex as instruction poses important conceptual and technical challenges. This article summarizes the results of two studies that investigated the properties of measures of instruction based on a teacher‐generated instrument (the Scoop Notebook) that combines features of portfolios and self‐report. Classroom artifacts and teacher reflections were collected from samples of middle school science classrooms and rated along 10 dimensions of science instruction derived from the National Science Education Standards; ratings based on direct classroom observations were used as comparison. The results suggest that instruments that combine artifacts and self‐reports hold promise for measuring science instruction with reliability similar to, and sizeable correlations with, measures based on classroom observation. We discuss the implications and lessons learned from this work for the conceptualization, design, and use of artifact‐based instruments for measuring instructional practice in different contexts and for different purposes. Artifact‐based instruments may illuminate features of instruction not apparent even through direct classroom observation; moreover, the process of structured collection and reflection on artifacts may have value for professional development. However, their potential value and applicability on a larger scale depends on careful consideration of the match between the instrument and the model of instruction, the intended uses of the measures, and the aspects of classroom practice most amenable to reliable scoring through artifacts. We outline a research agenda for addressing unresolved questions and advancing theoretical and practical knowledge around the measurement of instructional practice. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 49: 38–67, 2012     

Intelligent classrooms and smart software: Teaching and learning in today’s university

The use of information and communication technologies in higher education is surrounded by contradictory, yet interrelated themes, that suggest that education is either experiencing a revolution or approaching its own demise. Undoubtedly, technologies are becoming embedded in academic life but patterns of adoption are more complex and nuanced than polarized themes suggest. The extreme polarity of a ‘promises and fears’ spectrum is unable to fully account for why this is the case; neither can it be explained by economics, demographics, or the technology. This article argues that one of the most significant variables in the deployment of and adaptation to information technologies in the university is academic culture. In other words, unless we consider academic culture we cannot fully capture the relationship of technologies to education.