Intensity-dependent reductions in resting blood pressure following short-term isometric exercise training

To reduce resting blood pressure, a minimum isometric exercise training (IET) intensity has been suggested, but this is not known for short-term IET programmes. We therefore compared the effects of moderate- and low-intensity IET programmes on resting blood pressure. Forty normotensive participants (22.3 ± 3.4 years; 69.5 ± 15.5 kg; 170.2 ± 8.7 cm) were randomly assigned to groups of differing training intensities [20%EMG_peak (~23%MVC, maximum voluntary contraction, or 30%EMG_peak (~34%MVC)] or control group; 3 weeks of IET at 30%EMG_peak resulted in significant reductions in resting mean arterial pressure (e.g. ?3.9 ± 1.0 mmHg, P < 0.001), whereas 20%EMG_peak did not (?2.3 ± 2.9 mmHg; P > 0.05). Moreover, after pooling all female versus male participants, IET induced a 6.9-mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure in female participants, but only a 1.5-mmHg reduction in systolic blood pressure in male participants, although the difference was not significant. An IET intensity between 20%EMG_peak and 30%EMG_peak is sufficient to elicit significant resting blood pressure reductions in a short-term training period (3 weeks). In addition, sexual dimorphism may exist in the magnitude of reductions, but further work is required to confirm this possibility, which could be important in understanding the mechanisms responsible.     

Student Use of Scaffolding Software: Relationships with Motivation and Conceptual Understanding

This study was designed to theoretically articulate and empirically assess the role of computer scaffolds. In this project, several examples of educational software were developed to scaffold the learning of students performing high level cognitive activities. The software used in this study, Artemis, focused on scaffolding the learning of students as they performed information seeking activities. As 5th grade students traveled through a project-based science unit on photosynthesis, researchers used a pre-post design to test for both student motivation and student conceptual understanding of photosynthesis. To measure both variables, a motivation survey and three methods of concept map analysis were used. The student use of the scaffolding features was determined using a database that tracked students’ movement between scaffolding tools. The gain scores of each dependent variable was then correlated to the students’ feature use (time and hits) embedded in the Artemis Interface. This provided the researchers with significant relationships between the scaffolding features represented in the software and student motivation and conceptual understanding of photosynthesis. There were a total of three significant correlations in comparing the scaffolding use by hits (clicked on) with the dependent variables and only one significant correlation when comparing the scaffold use in time. The first significant correlation (r = .499, p < .05) was between the saving/viewing features hits and the students’ task value. This correlation supports the assumption that there is a positive relationship between the student use of the saving/viewing features and the students’ perception of how interesting, how important, and how useful the task is. The second significant correlation (r = 0.553, p < 0.01) was between the searching features hits and the students’ self-efficacy for learning and performance. This correlation supports the assumption that there is a positive relationship between the student use of the searching features and the students’ perception of their ability to accomplish a task as well as their confidence in their skills to perform that task. The third significant correlation (r = 0.519, p < 0.05) was between the collaborative features hits and the students’ essay performance scores. This correlation supports the assumption that there is a positive relationship between the student use of the collaborative features and the students’ ability to perform high cognitive tasks. Finally, the last significant correlation (r = 0.576, p < 0.01) was between the maintenance features time and the qualitative analysis of the concept maps. This correlation supports the assumption that there is a positive relationship between the student use of the maintenance features and student conceptual understanding of photosynthesis. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (REC9980055). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.     

Corticospinal activity during a single-leg stance in people with chronic ankle instability

Purpose:The aim of the study was to determine whether corticospinal excitability and inhibition of the tibialis anterior during single-leg standing differs among individuals with chronic ankle instability(CAI),lateral ankle sprain copers,and healthy controls.Methods:Twenty-three participants with CAI,23 lateral ankle sprain copers,and 24 healthy control participants volunteered.Active motor threshold(AMT),normalized motor-evoked potential(MEP),and cortical silent period(CSP)were evaluated by transcranial magnetic stimulation while participants performed a single-leg standing task.Results:Participants with CAI had significantly longer CSP at 100%of AMT and lower normalized MEP at 120%of AMT compared to lateral ankle sprain copers(CSP100%:p=0.003;MEP120%:p=0.044)and controls(CSP100%:p=0.041;MEP120%:p=0.006).Conclusion:This investigation demonstrate altered corticospinal excitability and inhibition of the tibialis anterior during single-leg standing in participants with CAI.Further research is needed to examine the effects of corticospinal maladaptations to motor control of the tibial anterior on postural control performance in those with CAI.     

COMPONENTS OF QUALITY COMMUNITY COLLEGE CHILD CARE PROGRAMS

A critical information literacy model centers libraries within the curriculum where students find, evaluate and use information in order to conduct successful research (Swanson, 2011). This report documents the process by which the El Centro College (Dallas County Community College District) librarians and the psychology faculty collaborated in bringing information and research skills into the psychology curriculum. The sessions included (a) the research process of finding articles in professional psychology journals, (b) instruction on creating references using NoodleTools ? (an integrated tool for note-taking, outlining, and building references), and (c) how to write in American Psychological Association (APA) style. The integration of the library sessions within the classroom setting of team teaching with the instructor suggests an ideal opportunity for educators to enhance the academic, research, and information literacy education for all students.     

Using clickers to facilitate development of problem-solving skills

Classroom response systems, or clickers, have become pedagogical staples of the undergraduate science curriculum at many universities. In this study, the effectiveness of clickers in promoting problem-solving skills in a genetics class was investigated. Students were presented with problems requiring application of concepts covered in lecture and were polled for the correct answer. A histogram of class responses was displayed, and students were encouraged to discuss the problem, which enabled them to better understand the correct answer. Students were then presented with a similar problem and were again polled. My results indicate that those students who were initially unable to solve the problem were then able to figure out how to solve similar types of problems through a combination of trial and error and class discussion. This was reflected in student performance on exams, where there was a statistically significant positive correlation between grades and the percentage of clicker questions answered. Interestingly, there was no clear correlation between exam grades and the percentage of clicker questions answered correctly. These results suggest that students who attempt to solve problems in class are better equipped to solve problems on exams.     

The success and failure of one mandated reform for young children

This article illustrates the implementation of a school reform policy for educating young children in one south eastern state in the US, a reform known as the non-graded primary program. The reform is examined through the lens of Sabatier and Mazmanian's [(1981). The implementation of public policy: A framework for analysis. In D.A. Mazmanian, & P.A. Sabatier (Eds.), Effective policy implementation (pp. 3–36). Lexington, MA: Lexington Books] framework for policy implementation and Hashweh's [(2003). Teacher accommodative change. Teaching and Teacher Education, 19, 421–434] model of accommodative change which proposes to explain how individual teachers change their practices. The article features four related studies of teacher change and the attitudes of teachers, administrators, and community members. The community, politics, and media had an impact on the sustainability of the change, and subsequently, after 10 years, many teachers had reverted to old practices. Teachers who made the most progressive changes were those whose beliefs were philosophically aligned with the theory of the policy, had excellent and continued professional development, and had supportive leadership.     

The Southern Manifesto: Massive Resistance,Growth Liberalism,and the Interpretation of Brown II

ABSTRACT

The United States Congress’ Southern Congressional Delegation promulgated the Declaration of Constitutional Principles, popularly known as the Southern Manifesto, on March 12, 1956. The Southern Manifesto was the South’s primary means to effectively delay implementation of public school desegregation as ordered by the United States Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Topeka, Kansas (1954; as cited in Day, 2014). This essay places the desegregation of American public school system within the larger context of the time period in which it transpired, and explains how racial disparity in public education was perpetuated after the Jim Crow caste system was dismantled in the 1960s. Ironically, while de jure desegregation of American public schools was effectively accomplished by the early 1970s under the administration of President Richard M. Nixon, government spending during the era after World War II, perpetuated racial and economic disparity in America’s public schools that prevails up to the present day.