Intensity of exercise recovery, blood lactate disappearance, and subsequent swimming performance

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of active versus passive recovery on blood lactate disappearance and subsequent maximal performance in competitive swimmers. Fourteen male swimmers from the University of Virginia swim team (mean age 20.3 years, s= 4.1; stature 1.85 m, s= 2.2; body mass 81.1 kg, s= 5.6) completed a lactate profiling session during which the speed at the lactate threshold (V(LT)), the speed at 50% of the lactate threshold (V(LT.5)), and the speed at 150% of the lactate threshold (V(LT1.5)) were determined. Participants also completed four randomly assigned experimental sessions that consisted of a 200-yard maximal-effort swim followed by 10 min of recovery (passive, V(LT.5), V(LT), V(LT1.5)) and a subsequent 200-yard maximal effort swim. All active recovery sessions resulted in greater lactate disappearance than passive recovery (P < 0.0001 for all comparisons), with the greatest lactate disappearance associated with recovery at V(LT) (P= 0.006 and 0.007 vs. V(LT.5) and V(LT1.5) respectively) [blood lactate disappearance was 2.1 mmol l(-1) (s= 2.0), 6.0 mmol l(-1) (s=2.6), 8.5 mmol l(-1) (s= 1.8), and 6.1 mmol l(-1) (s= 2.5) for passive, V(LT.5), V(LT), and V(LT1.5) respectively]. Active recovery at VLT and V(LT1.5) resulted in faster performance on time trial 2 than passive recovery (P=0.005 and 0.03 respectively); however, only active recovery at V(LT) resulted in improved performance on time trial 2 (TT2) relative to time trial 1 (TT1) [TT2- TT1: passive +1.32 s (s= 0.64), V(LT.5) +1.01 s (s= 0.53), V(LT) -1.67 s (s= 0.26), V(LT1.5) -0.07 s (s = 0.51); P < 0.0001 for V(LT)). In conclusion, active recovery at the speed associated with the lactate threshold resulted in the greatest lactate disappearance and in improved subsequent performance in all 14 swimmers. Our results suggest that coaches should consider incorporating recovery at the speed at the lactate threshold during competition and perhaps during hard training sessions.     

Bearing the burden of doubt: female coaches' experiences of gender relations

Based on interview research, this study examined how master female coaches based in the United Kingdom experienced relations with men within their profession. Using a feminist cultural studies approach to examine how sport promotes and maintains a gender order unfavorable to women, we found that female coaches felt the need to continually prove themselves and often experienced coaching as a hostile and intimidating culture. Participants reported a gradual reduction in such unwelcoming behavior from men, seemingly because they had proved to be no threat to the existing patriarchal structure. A critical exploration of coaching is needed to understand how masculine hegemony leads to women's relative powerlessness as coaches. Furthermore, the findings present a case for a greater emphasis on sociocultural education within the UK coaching curricula.     

Relationship of negative contrast to animal models of fear and anxiety

The relatedness of behavior elicited by reward reduction (successive negative contrast procedure) and behaviors produced by three animal models of anxiety (open-field emergence, elevated plus-maze, and context-shock fear conditioning) was examined by correlational and factor analytic procedures. Factor analysis (oblique rotation) indicated substantial independence among the tests: Trials 1 and 2 of the plus-maze loaded on two different factors unaccompanied by any other test; open-field emergence and context-shock fear loaded on the same factor; and negative contrast loaded on a fourth factor. However, negative contrast proved to be a dynamic process, with factor loadings changing across a 4-day postshift period—moving from an independent loading on the 1st postshift day to being clustered with context-shock fear and open-field emergence on the 2nd and 3rd postshift days to being clustered with just context-shock fear on the last postshift day. These latter data support a multistage theory of successive negative contrast.     

Teaching early numeracy to students with autism using a school staff delivery model

Mathematics is one of the core school subjects in the UK and an emphasis is placed on developing pupils’ mathematical competencies throughout all key stages. Despite that, the attainment of students with disabilities in mathematics remains low. The current study explored ways in which the Teaching Early Numeracy to children with Developmental Disabilities (TEN-DD) programme could be implemented by teaching staff in a special school in the UK to improve the numeracy skills of students with autism. Adaptations to the delivery of the programme were made during the study as a result of continued collaboration with the participating school. The findings suggest that it may be feasible to implement the TEN-DD programme using a school staff delivery model and it may help learners improve their early numeracy skills. Practical aspects of TEN-DD’s implementation highlighted the need to incorporate more systematic adaptations for minimally verbal students, as well as for learners who might need additional training with prerequisite skills.     

Are schools meeting their clients' expectations? Parents voice their perceptions about children learning to read in schools today

This research, as part of a larger project examining effective reading instruction for 10–12 year old students, explores the perceptions of thirteen parents in six schools. The study identified: parents recognise their engagement in reading with their children impacts on children's motivation to read; parents have concerns about the degree to which schools meet children's reading needs; and some parents seek external assessment and support. The study as a whole indicates the importance of effective home school relationships.     

Managerial Effectiveness for a New Millennium in the Global Higher Education Sector

With the global tertiary education environment undergoing some of the most rapid changes it has experienced since the 1980s, a technology-driven new millennium is requiring an unprecedented capacity for change on a number of fronts, one of these being the way managers manage. This article discusses some of the new realities facing tertiary education organizations, one of which is a realization that "knowledge capital" is the lifeline of an organization. It ultimately vests in the people whom successful organizations will lead, motivate, develop, and value in a manner sensitive to global trends of convergent social, cultural, and organizational change. This article suggests that the effective leadership of people will return as the touchstone for success, the technological age notwithstanding, and notes recent theory on increased reliance upon organizational integrity in the form of value-based policy and practice. This article draws on management and futurist theory to suggest some of the "flexibility imperatives" in managing the potentially different-looking work force of the future.     

A Theoretical and Empirical Exploration of Intrinsic Problems in Designing Inquiry Activities

A central concern in science education is promoting inquiry activities, and a significant amount of research in science education has addressed what inhibits this goal. However, this research has tended to be focused on implementation issues. Levels of implementation are correlated with extrinsic barriers such as time, resources and teacher knowledge, but the internal structure of inquiry remains unexamined. However, are there also some ways in which inquiry based instruction is intrinsically difficult? That is, given perfect conditions for implementation, is devising inquiry activities a non-trivial matter, and are there patterns to the difficulties in doing so? The aim of this paper is to provide both a theoretical and empirical basis for the intrinsic problems associated with the construction of inquiry activities. We present a theoretical framework that connects contemporary studies of science to the classroom context. We then examine a case study of teacher education students designing inquiry-based instruction to demonstrate empirical evidence of intrinsic problems. Our ultimate goal is to improve our ability as teacher educators to guide science teachers in fulfilling this central task of their work.     

Content Area Readers: Helping Middle-Level Students Become Word Aware (and Enjoy It!)

For many years, practitioners have heard that middle level teachers are teachers of reading. As the standards movement gains strength, it is even more crucial that teachers explicitly teach key vocabulary that makes their students “insiders” when it comes to understanding the content areas. This article reminds the reader of the principles for vocabulary development, followed by “high utility” strategies that works well for early adolescents. Middle level students are ripe for word work with a proper balance of choice and challenge.     

A third use of sociology of scientific knowledge: a lens for studying teacher practice

Over the last two decades, science educators and science education researchers have grown increasingly interested in utilising insights from the sociology of scientific knowledge (SSK) to inform their work and research. To date, researchers in science education have focused on two applications: results of sociological studies of science have been used to define new areas of content, generally referred to as Nature of Science (NOS). This has included research into students’ understanding of the NOS, teachers’ understanding of the NOS, and inclusion (or exclusion) of NOS themes in curricula. A second vein of inquiry has been investigations that consider the classroom as a microcosm of scientific discourse and inquiry. Such research has included investigations of student‐to‐student and student‐to‐teacher interactions. In this paper, we present a third application for educational research – the investigation of teacher knowledge and practice as sociological phenomena. In addition to supporting scholarly research, we believe it can be a useful tool for illuminating the complexities of teaching that needs to be taken into account by policy makers and practitioners. In this paper, we provide a thematic review of concepts from the sociology of scientific knowledge, and their application to a case of teacher work.