Educational leadership and pupil achievement in primary education

Educational leadership can be defined as the ability of a principal to initiate school improvement, to create a learning-oriented educational climate, and to stimulate and supervise teachers in such a way that the latter may execute their tasks as effectively as possible. In 1989, 1993, and 1998, teacher perceptions of educational leadership of principals in Dutch elementary education were evaluated by means of a Rasch-scale. It turned out that the educational leadership of Dutch principals has grown considerably. In both 1989 and 1993 the effect of educational leadership on pupil achievement was investigated. While in 1989 no significant relationship was found, the results of 1993 show a significant relationship between educational leadership and average pupil achievement over 3 successive years corrected for school environment.     

Self-reported symptoms and risk factors for digital ischaemia among international world-class beach volleyball players

The prevalence of ischaemia-related symptoms is remarkably high among elite indoor volleyball players. Since the exposure to sport-specific demands may be higher in beach volleyball compared to indoor volleyball, the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of ischaemia-related symptoms and associated risk factors among world-class beach volleyball players. Therefore, a questionnaire survey was performed among beach volleyball players active during the 2013 Grand Slam Beach Volleyball in the Netherlands. In total, 60 of the 128 beach volleyball players (47%) participated: 26 males and 34 females from 17 countries. The self-reported prevalence of cold or blue or pale digits in the dominant hand during or immediately after practice or competition was 38% (n = 23). Two risk factors were independently associated with symptoms of blue or pale digits: more than 14 years playing volleyball (odds ratio (OR) 4.42, 90% confidence interval (90% CI) 1.30–15.07) and sex (female) (OR 4.62, 90% CI 1.15–18.57). In conclusion, the prevalence of symptoms associated with digital ischaemia is high among international world-class beach volleyball players. Female sex and the length of the volleyball career were independently associated with an increased risk of ischaemia-related symptoms. The high prevalence of these seemingly innocuous symptoms and possible associated risk factors warrant regular monitoring since early detection can potentially prevent thromboembolic complications and irreversible tissue damage.     

Olympics,Media and Politics: The First Olympic Ideas in Brazilian Society During the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries

Abstract

The Olympic Games of the modern era are powerful global mediated events. Olympic cities receive an overwhelming examination by world media. As the 2016 Olympic host, Rio de Janeiro has been given an enormous amount of attention, both by the international media and researchers who looked at the urban spaces of Rio, the struggles over the hegemony of the city and the social meanings the Olympics bring to the host city’s citizens. However, studies over the historical relationship between Rio, sport and media are rare. This paper addresses the historical uses of the term Olympic by Brazilian media during the late nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. By looking at the main articles in the newspapers of these periods, we examine the extent to which ideologies over sports have changed the way the Olympics were represented in Brazil’s national imaginary. We demonstrate how the use of expressions associated with the Olympics historically generated a closer appreciation of these events by the public. We also show how political authorities appropriated the Olympics for their own benefit. The paper concludes by asking whether or not the historical lessons from the early Olympic ideas in Brazil have been learned by the 2016 Rio Games organizers.     

学风建设深层问题的几点思考

高校学风建设要以学生为中心，一切从学生的根本利益出发，对学生全面负责。通过深化教育教学改革，充分调动学生学习的积极性、主动性、创造性并培养学生优良的道德品质是学风建设的根本目的。     

Measurement precision of body composition variables in elite wheelchair athletes,using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry

The purpose of this study was to assess the reproducibility of body composition measurements by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in 12 elite male wheelchair basketball players (age 31 ± 7 years, BMI 21 ± 2 kg/m² and onset of disability 25 ± 9 years). Two whole body scans were performed on each participant in the supine position on the same day, using Lunar Prodigy Advance DXA (GE Lunar, Madison, WI, USA). Participants dismounted from the scanning table and were repositioned in-between the first and second scan. Whole body coefficient of variation (CV) values for bone mineral content (BMC), fat mass (FM) and soft tissue lean mass (LTM) were all <2.0%. With the exclusion of arm FM (CV = 7.8%), CV values ranged from 0.1 to 3.7% for all total body and segmental measurements of BMC, FM and LTM. The least significant change that can be attributed to the effect of treatment intervention in an individual is 1.0 kg, 1.1 kg, 0.12 kg for FM, LTM, and BMC, respectively. This information can be used to determine meaningful changes in body composition when assessed using the same methods longitudinally. Whilst there may be challenges in the correct positioning of an individual with disability that can introduce greater measurement error, DXA is a highly reproducible technique in the estimation of total and regional body composition of elite wheelchair basketball athletes.     

Lower limb alignment characteristics are not associated with running injuries in runners: Prospective cohort study

There is conflicting evidence on the association between lower limb alignment characteristics and the incidence of running-related injury (RRI). Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to investigate the association between lower limb alignment characteristics and the incidence proportion of RRI in a convenience sample of recreational runners. A total of 89 recreational runners were included in this prospective cohort study. These participants had been running for at least six months and were injury-free at baseline. Lower limb alignment measurements were conducted in order to calculate lower limb discrepancy, Q-angle, subtalar angle and plantar index. All participants also answered a baseline and biweekly online surveys about their running routine, history of RRI and newly developed RRI over a period of 12 weeks. The prevalence of previous RRI and the 12-week incidence proportion of new RRI were calculated. Logistic regression analysis was performed to estimate the association between lower limb length discrepancy, Q-angle, subtalar angle and plantar ach index with the incidence proportion of RRI. The prevalence of previous RRI was 55.1% (n?=?49). The 12-week incidence proportion of new RRI was 27.0% (n?=?24). Muscle injuries and tendinopathies were the main types of RRI identified. The lower leg and the knee were the main anatomical regions affected. We did not find significant associations between lower limb length discrepancy, Q-angle, subtalar angle and plantar arch index and injury occurrence.