Interleukin-6 and Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness Do Not Vary During the Menstrual Cycle

The purpose of this study was to determine if a difference in interleukin-6 (IL-6) and delayed onset muscles soreness (DOMS) exists in two different phases of the menstrual cycle. Nine runners performed one 75-min high-intensity interval running session during the early follicular (EF) phase and once during the midluteal (ML) phase of the menstrual cycle. Estrogen and progesterone levels were significantly reduced in the EF phase when compared to the ML phase. IL-6 levels increased from pre- to postexercise in the EF and ML phases (p < .001). There was no relationship between the IL-6 level and DOMS. The results suggest that menstruating female runners need not vary training throughout the month to reduce DOMS.     

Relationships with supply chain partners affecting internal operation of high-tech manufacturers in Taiwan

The increasing number of interactions between Taiwan and the Mainland may bring in both opportunities and competitions among the companies in the region. Companies are forced to continuously change and develop to advance and to sustain in the competitive environment. It also holds true for the companies in the even more competitive high-tech industries. It is therefore of a value to study what challenges the high-tech firms are facing, how these challenges impact on their performance and how these firms are dealing with issues. Among the multiple challenges, supply chain operation has been a critical issue concerning the high-tech manufacturers.The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationships between the various supply chain operation determinants (relationships with business partners, internal operation) and the impacts of relationships with supply chain partners on the internal operation and the collective efficacy relating to the scheduling issues in high-tech manufacturing firms in Taiwan. A research framework linking internal operation and relationships with supply chain partners (supplier and customer) and individuals (perceived collective efficacy) is applied.     

Aggressively Helpful: A Case Study of Innovative Outreach to Special Library Patrons

This article is written by Kris Turner is the Associate Director of Public Services at the University of Wisconsin Law Library. He holds a MLS from the University of Wisconsin. He is currently attending University of Wisconsin Law School part-time and expects to receive his JD in 2020. Special libraries must effectively communicate value to prove the library’s worth to stakeholders making budgetary decisions. The University of Wisconsin Law Library embarked on a campaign of aggressive helpfulness to better serve existing patrons and reach under-served populations. The library implemented a three-pronged strategy that used formal workshops, informal events, and social media to emphasize the value the library provides. This article discusses the techniques used by the law library to better communicate value through aggressive helpfulness and provides tips on how other special libraries can successfully implement their own proactive outreach.     

Heat production and storage are positively correlated with measures of body size/composition and heart rate drift during vigorous running

The purposes of this study were to determine the relationships between: (a) measures of body size/composition and heat production/storage, and (b) heat production/storage and heart rate (HR) drift during running at 95% of the velocity that elicited lactate threshold, which was determined for 20 healthy recreational male runners. Subsequently, changes in skin and tympanic temperatures associated with a vigorous 20-min run, HR, and VO2 data were recorded. It was found that heat production was significantly correlated with body mass (r = .687), lean mass (r = .749), and body surface area (BSA, r = .699). Heat storage was significantly correlated with body mass (r = .519), fat mass (r = .464), and BSA (r = .498). The percentage of produced heat stored was significantly correlated with body mass (r = .427), fat mass (r = .455), and BSA (r = .414). Regression analysis showed that the sum of body mass, percentage of body fat, BSA, lean mass, and fat mass accounted for 30% of the variability in heat storage. It was also found that HR drift was significantly correlated with heat storage (r = .383), percentage of produced heat stored (r = .433), and core temperature change (r = .450). It was concluded that heavier runners experienced greater heat production, heat storage, and core temperature increases than lighter runners during vigorous running.     

Effectiveness of the Student Success Course on Persistence,Retention, Academic Achievement,and Student Engagement

ABSTRACT

Despite a great increase in the numbers of students enrolling in higher education, specifically at community colleges, the successful completion rates for these students has remained static since the 1970s. When reviewing strategies to increase student retention and successful completion, the Student Success Course (SSC) has emerged as a promising and prominent strategy for community colleges. Given that, the purpose of this sequential mixed methods study was to determine if participation in a SSC influences persistence, retention, academic achievement, and student engagement on a community college campus. Data were collected from a purposeful sample of 197 SSC participants at a middle sized community college in southeast Texas and compared to a matched sample of 235 non-SSC participants. Twelve former SSC participants were also interviewed in an attempt to build a more empirical understanding of the impact of the SSC on student engagement and, thus, the students’ decisions to remain in college. Results of this study indicate that a relationship exists between participation in the SSC and persistence, retention, academic achievement in English and mathematics, and student engagement. Additionally, participants claim that taking the SSC not only altered their perceptions of the importance of the course, but their social and study skills as well.     

Critical,multicultural education for remembering and reconciliation: A discussion of an interdisciplinary social science course for international students in Finland

In the autumn of 2004, an interdisciplinary social science course entitled Remembering, Forgetting and Forgiveness: Justice and Reconciliation from the National to the International was offered to undergraduate students at the University of Tampere, Finland. The course had 49 students from 10 different countries on three continents. A large portion of the students were on international exchange through the European Community Action Scheme for the Mobility of University Students (ERASMUS) programme. The objective of the course was to explore the role of social memory and justice in the process of reconciliation on many different levels. Learning activities aimed to initiate discussions on cross‐cultural understandings of how to overcome violations and forgive or forget. Among the cases explored were child abuse, the massacres in Kosovo, the South African truth commissions and the Finnish civil war. A variety of teaching methods were utilised in the course. Cooperative learning methods were emphasised. Students engaged in group work activities and discussions and listened to a wide range of guest lecturers from diverse disciplines. The evaluation of students was based on individual learning portfolios constructed by students.

This paper focuses on how a multicultural education was constructed through the pedagogy of the course, along with discussions with students who assessed their own learning process and perspectives. The theme of the course was judged by students to be very interesting and important, but the role of creative learning methods was viewed as equally significant. Exchange students, in particular, appeared willing to take greater risks in learning during their year abroad. The development of new approaches to learning could thus be an important element of internationalising efforts by universities. Finally, sensitive issues, such as contested collective social memory and complex reconciliation efforts, are best approached through cooperative learning methods that emphasise dialogue.