Acculturation, well-being and classroom behaviour among white British and British Asian primary-school children in the south–east of England: Validating a child-friendly measure of acculturation attitudes

Using a sample of white British and British Asian primary-school children (N = 386, aged 5–11 years), we measured acculturation attitudes (own and perceived outgroup), correlated constructs (ingroup and outgroup affect and identification) and relevant outcomes (self-esteem, classroom demeanour) in a structured interview to validate a customised, child-friendly measure of acculturation attitudes based on Berry's framework. Scale items measuring desire for culture maintenance and intergroup contact loaded onto the predicted factors, were internally reliable and showed concurrent validity with affect and identification. The predictive utility of measures was demonstrated in associations between children's acculturation attitudes (or perceived discrepancies with those of the outgroup) and outcomes such as self-esteem and teacher ratings of emotional symptoms.     

Neural adaptations with sport-specific resistance training in highly skilled athletes

The aim of this study was to assess the effects of variations in the volume and intensity of resistance training in highly skilled athletes on neural adaptive mechanisms: the maximality and pattern of neural drive. The maximality of muscle activation was measured using a high-resolution sample and hold amplifier to record interpolated twitches. The pattern of neural drive was measured by analysing isometric torque-time curves and electromyographic (EMG) characteristics during the performance of rapid isometric contractions at maximal effort. The volume and intensity of training were varied at 4-weekly intervals to systematically emphasize the development of strength, power and motor performance in 14 highly skilled track and field athletes (e.g. discus, hammer, javelin, shot put and weight). Knee extension strength increased significantly by 15% during steady maximal isometric contractions and by 24% during rapid isometric contractions at maximal effort after the 16-week training programme (P < 0.05). Increases in EMG amplitude and rate of EMG activation indicated that improvements to the pattern of neural drive occurred with sport-specific resistance training (P < 0.05). The maximality and pattern of neural drive did not change in the control group.     

Government Information Locator System and Government Information Management in the United States

20世纪90年代中期以后,随着电子政府服务的发展,美国联邦政府一些跨机构工作小组开始致力于政府信息定位服务(GILS)的相关调查研究,并在大量合作项目的基础上构建起联邦政府的GILS框架。此后,美国各州政府和机构也在此基础上探索构建了各具特色的GILS服务。GILS现已逐渐融合到美国电子政府整体建设之中,不仅通过因特网为公民提供政府数字信息,而且还可提供广泛的政府服务。各种类型的GILS服务之间的交流与合作也在积极展开。     

Identifying patterns and relationships among the responses of seventh-grade students to the science process skill of designing experiments

The development of reasoning skills, higher-level thinking skills, and science process skills are some of the benefits students can realize by participating in inquiry in the science laboratory. We used student responses to the Alternative Assessment of Science Process Skills (AASPS) developed by the Missouri Department of Education and the Department of Educational Assessment to develop the Science Process Skills Inventory (SPSI). The SPSI was then used to analyze student efforts at writing experimental designs. Our goal was to gain insight into factors that may be related to students successfully designing experiments. The instrument guides teachers and researchers in assessing seven main components of experimental designs. Each component consists of elements unique to the specific laboratory exercise. Subsequent to its development, the instrument was used to score 364 student responses to the “design an experiment” portion of an alternative assessment instrument for science process skills. Results indicate that explicit, incremental development of the science process skills of formulating hypotheses and identifying variables, together with model examples, may be a means to facilitate student success in designing science experiments. Implications for the classroom and for research are discussed. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The impact of chronic carbohydrate manipulation on mucosal immunity in elite endurance athletes

Carbohydrate (CHO) availability could alter mucosal immune responses to exercise. This study compared the effect of three dietary approaches to CHO availability on resting and post-exercise s-IgA levels. Elite race walkers (n = 26) adhered to a high CHO diet (HCHO), periodised CHO availability (PCHO) or a low CHO/high fat diet (LCHF) for 3 weeks while completing an intensified training program. HCHO and PCHO groups consumed 8.0–8.5 g.kg^?1 CHO daily, with timing of ingestion manipulated to alter CHO availability around key training sessions. The LCHF diet comprised 80% fat and restricted CHO to < 50 g.day^?1. A race walk test protocol (19 km females, 25 km males) was completed at baseline, after adaptation, and following CHO restoration. On each occasion, saliva samples were obtained pre- and post-exercise to quantify s-IgA levels. Resting s-IgA secretion rate substantially increased ~ two-fold post-intervention in all groups (HCHO: 2.2 ± 2.2, PCHO: 2.8 ± 3.2, LCHF: 1.6 ± 1.6; fold-change± 95% confidence limits), however, no substantial differences between dietary treatments were evident. Post-exercise, substantial 20–130% increases in s-IgA concentration and 43–64% reductions in flow rate occurred in all dietary treatments, with trivial differences evident between groups. It appears that high volume training overrides any effect of manipulating CHO availability on mucosal immunity in elite athletes.     

Is football now feminist? A critique of the use of McCaughey’s physical feminism to explain women’s participation in separate leagues in masculine sports1

Over the past two decades, there have been a number of sociological investigations of participation by women in sports that had previously appeared to have been played exclusively by men. These investigations have rightly celebrated this participation as examples of greater physical empowerment, choice and freedom for women in sport. Several of these investigations have gone further by utilizing McCaughey’s notion of physical feminism to argue that participation in these sports is indicative of a broader feminist political challenge. This paper contends that this characterization of the broader political challenge is a misinterpretation of McCaughey’s physical feminism. Further, this misinterpretation is indicative of the theoretical underpinnings of the shift from a second wave radical feminism to a third wave celebrity feminism. This paper proposes a set of commitments that would be necessary, although not sufficient, to see these women’s leagues as feminist organizations that politically challenge patriarchal power.     

Decoding and sight-word naming: Are they independent components of word recognition skill?

Word recognition skill is the foundation of the reading process. Word recognition could be accomplished by two major strategies: phonological decoding and sight-word reading, the latter being a marker for proficient reading. There is, however, a controversy regarding the relationship between decoding and sight-word reading, whether the two are independent or the latter is built on the foundations of the former. A related controversy about instructional strategy could be whether to use whole-word method to improve word recognition skills, or to first build decoding skills and then introduce sight words. Five goals were set up to address these issues: (a) developing a criterion that can be used easily by classroom teachers to assess sight-word reading ability, (b) examining this relationship between decoding and sight-word reading, (c) identifying the mechanism that can explain the relationship, (d) examining factors that facilitate sight-word reading, and (e) discussing potential instructional implications of these findings. In order to accomplish these goals, naming time and word-naming accuracy of three groups of subjects (elementary school children, children identified as having reading disability, and college students) were studied by using a variety of verbal materials. The over-all conclusions are that the difference in naming time of letters and words can be used as a metric for assessing sight-word reading skill. Sight-word reading appears to be intimately related to decoding. Sight-word reading is accomplished by parallel processing of constituent letters of words and is influenced also by the semantic nature of words. It is conjectured that sight-word reading instruction is likely to be successful if decoding skills are firmly established first.     

Effects of 72-h of exercise abstinence on affect and body dissatisfaction in healthy female regular exercisers

In this study, we compared the effects of a 72-h exercise abstinence period and normal exercise on the affect and body dissatisfaction of 58 healthy women (mean age 26.1 years, s = 8.2) who exercised at least four times per week, and explored the relationship between the changes in affect and body dissatisfaction. Participants completed the UWIST-MACL and Body Dissatisfaction Scale to assess affect and body image, and were randomized to an abstinence or control group. Affect and body image for both groups were re-assessed following the 72-h abstinence period. Compared with the control group, the abstinence group had a significant decrease in hedonic tone and energetic arousal, and a significant increase in tense arousal and body dissatisfaction from pre-intervention to post-intervention. There were no significant relationships between the changes in body dissatisfaction and the components of affect. A 72-h exercise abstinence period resulted in increased affect disturbance and body dissatisfaction in regularly active women.