Measurement of badminton racket deflection during a stroke

The compliance of a badminton racket is an important design consideration, which can be better understood by studying the deflection behaviour of the racket during a stroke. Deflection can be measured using direct methods, such as motion capture or high speed video, or by indirect methods, which then require a mathematical model in order to calculate the deflections from indirect measures. Indirect methods include strain gauges and accelerometers. Here, racket deflection is measured directly using motion capture and compared with deflections calculated from strain gauge data using a beam model. While the elastic behaviour is better calculated from strains than measured by motion capture, it is not possible to extract the whole motion of the racket from strain data. Motion capture is therefore also necessary to determine the rigid body velocity, in order to put the elastic velocity (as calculated from strains) in perspective.     

Psychometric properties of a Chinese version of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey among secondary-school students in Hong Kong

Learning Environments Research - The study examined the factor structure, reliability and validity of a Chinese version of the Constructivist Learning Environment Survey (C-CLES), an instrument for...     

How Fair are Student Ratings in Assessing the Teaching Performance of University Teachers?

This paper examines the effects of course characteristics on student ratings of university teaching. The multivariate effects of various course characteristics on student ratings of university teachers were examined by a 5×4×3×2×2 multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) with academic discipline, class size, level of course, type of course, and mode of study as independent variables and a set of six composite student ratings as the dependent variable. Data were obtained from a university in Hong Kong and consisted of 4996 course average ratings collected from 25 departments over two academic years. Significant differences were found in course average student ratings across academic disciplines, class size groups, course levels, types of course, and modes of study. The effect sizes of the largest differences between sub‐groups within each of the factors were also estimated. Academic discipline differences and class size were found to have the largest effect on student ratings, with effect sizes of 0.43–0.86 and 0.55–1.01 respectively. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Lecturers' approaches to teaching and their relationship to conceptions of good teaching

Previous research has established a close link between students'conceptions of learning, approaches to study and learning outcomes.Until recently, there have been few studies of lecturers' approaches toteaching in higher education and their relationship with conceptions ofteaching. This study aimed to characterise the alternative approaches toteaching of university lecturers, and to examine the relationshipbetween lecturers' approaches to teaching and their conceptions of goodteaching. This study adopted an open naturalistic approach. Seventeenlecturers in three departments in a university were selected forinterview based on their rank, years of teaching and industrial orprofessional experience. Lecturers were interviewed individually abouttheir conceptions of good teaching, motivational strategies andeffective teaching. The interview records were then content analysed bythe two researchers of the study. The study found that (a) it waspossible to characterise lecturers' approaches to teaching with onemotivation and five strategy dimensions; (b) the conceptions of teachingof the lecturers were best described by two main orientations oftransmissive and facilitative teaching; (c) lecturers who conceivedteaching as transmitting knowledge were more likely to usecontent-centred approaches to teaching, while those who conceivedteaching as facilitative tended to use learning-centred approaches. Thestudy concludes by suggesting that fundamental changes to the quality ofteaching and learning are unlikely to happen without changes tolecturers' conception of teaching.     

Examining the mediating effect of job satisfaction on the relation between responsibilities and career aspiration of vice-principals

This article reports a study designed to examine the mediating effect of vice-principals’ job satisfaction on the relation between their responsibility roles and career aspirations. Based on a Hong Kong data set, the study confirmed that responsibilities had both a direct effect and an indirect effect on career aspiration; the latter was mediated by job satisfaction. When specific responsibility dimensions were being considered, the two dimensions of leader and teacher growth and development, and teaching, learning, and curriculum were found to have an effect on job satisfaction, which in turn, influenced career aspiration. The dimension of Resource Management did not link to job satisfaction, it was however a predictor for career aspiration. Implications of the findings were discussed.     

Are we looking through the same lens? Principal recruitment and selection

This article reports a study designed to identify the factors that both hiring bodies and applicants believe are most important when making decisions about principal selection, appointment and acceptance. Based on a quantitative study involving the four main groups of players in the principal selection process, we confirmed a four-factor structure. In order of importance the four factors were, Generic Managerial Skills, Communication and Presentation Skills, Experience and Credence, and Religious Affiliation and External Connection. The fourth factor is rarely mentioned in the literature. The findings indicate a shift in the role expectation of principals from educational leaders to administrative managers. Findings also challenge the use of interviews as the sole principal selection mechanism.     

Batting last as a home advantage factor in men's NCAA tournament baseball

In baseball and softball, there is a rule that allows the home team to have the last at-bat and thus the final opportunity to win the game. However, in tournament play, this rule is often set aside and, instead, batting order is decided by other means (e.g. tournament rules, the flip of a coin). The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of the batting last rule on game outcome in NCAA men's regional tournament baseball. It was hypothesized that host (i.e. home) teams would win a greater percentage of the games in which they batted last compared with when they batted first. This hypothesis was not supported. Closer examination of the last inning of play showed home teams were no more likely to have won the game during their last bat than visitors playing other visitors. The results suggest that the batting last rule contributes minimally, if at all, to home advantage in NCAA tournament baseball.     

Cultivating sustained teachers’ professional learning within a centralised education system

This study investigates how sustained professional learning for teachers within a centralised system was cultivated. Specifically, the sustained professional learning was initiated by officers from the headquarters (HQ) and involved interested teachers across schools in Singapore. Qualitative instruments were used to collect and analyse the data in examining the partnerships perceived by the participants. The enablers responsible to bring about sustained professional learning are proposed. A contribution of this study is to clarify how resources in the HQ and its schools can be bridged. Deliberate bridging of resources is critical particularly at the initial stage of the partnerships. This bridging is made possible through dedicated appointed champions. The appointed champions are passionate about the educational innovations and are willing to invest their time to understand the teachers’ needs. This paper argues that the enablers can offer opportunities for lateral networks to be forged within a hierarchical system.