A biomechanical comparison in the lower limb and lumbar spine between a hit and drag flick in field hockey

Research has revealed that field hockey drag flickers have greater odds of hip and lumbar injuries compared to non-drag flickers (DF). This study aimed to compare the biomechanics of a field hockey hit and a specialised field hockey drag flick. Eighteen male and seven female specialised hockey DF performed a hit and a drag flick in a motion analysis laboratory with an 18-camera three-dimensional motion analysis system and a calibrated multichannel force platform to examine differences in lower limb and lumbar kinematics and kinetics. Results revealed that drag flicks were performed with more of a forward lunge on the left lower limb resulting in significantly greater left ankle dorsiflexion, knee, hip and lumbar flexion (Ps<0.001) compared to a hit. Drag flicks were also performed with significantly greater lateral flexion (P < 0.002) and rotation of the lumbar spine (P < 0.006) compared to a hit. Differences in kinematics lead to greater shear, compression and tensile forces in multiple left lower limb and lumbar joints in the drag flick compared to the hit (P < 0.05). The biomechanical differences in drag flicks compared to a hit may have ramifications with respect to injury in field hockey drag flickers.     

A self-determination approach to understanding students' motivation in project work

The use of project work (PW) or project-based learning has escalated in Singapore since its inception by the Ministry of Education in the year 2000. There is however little information on students' motivation, and their experience of PW over time. This study sought to identify homogeneous groups of students with distinct perceived locus of causality (PLOC) profiles using a cluster analytic approach, and to examine group differences in their perceived psychological needs, emotions, metacognition, and perceived skills learned in PW over time. Four distinct clusters of students were identified. The “high self-determined/low controlled” group was the most adaptive cluster, and the “low self-determined/high controlled” group was the least adaptive cluster. The study affirms that the self-determination theory (SDT) can provide important insights into the motivational processes in PW. It establishes that students' motivational regulations and their perceived needs satisfaction at the start of PW are related to their experience of and learning in PW.     

Psychometric quality of a student evaluation of teaching survey in higher education

Student evaluations of teaching (SET) are used globally by higher education institutions for performance assessment of academic staff and evaluation of course quality. Higher education institutions commonly develop their own SETs to measure variables deemed relevant to them. However, ‘home-grown’ SETs are rarely assessed psychometrically. One potential consequence of this limitation is that an invalidated instrument may not provide accurate information for the intended purposes. Moreover, in the absence of psychometric assessment, the students’ voices collected by the SETs often fail to provide insight relative to their intended purpose. The present study evaluates a ‘home-grown’ SET using a Rasch model and confirmatory factor analysis. Our results identified weaknesses in two areas: the rating categories and the number of items used to measure the intended constructs. Suggestions are provided to address these weaknesses. This work provides an additional tool set for critical analysis of SET that is generally applicable for a variety of institutions, including those in Asia.     

略谈国际联机情报检索

阐述了国际联机情报检索的作用和发展概况,及其检索功能与检索途径。     

Academic dishonesty among Hong Kong secondary school students: application of theory of planned behaviour

The theory of planned behaviour was used to examine academic dishonesty among secondary school students in Hong Kong. Participants were 386 students in Forms 1–3 (Grades 7–9). Attitudes toward cheating, perceived behavioural control, and moral obligation were positively related to the intention to cheat, but only the subjective norm against cheating was significantly related to self-reported cheating behaviour. The subjective norm was both a predictor of self-reported cheating and a moderator of the relationship between the intention to cheat and self-reported cheating: the intention predicted the behaviour only when the subjective norm against cheating was perceived to be weak.     

Orthographic Knowledge Promotes Young Chinese Children’s Character Writing Performance

Abstract

The present study aimed at developing young children’s knowledge of the structure and function of orthographic components of Chinese characters and words. Grade 2, eight-year-old Chinese children (N = 541) were taught a twelve-week training programme in two quasi experimental conditions: analytic and synthetic approach (ASA), and integrated analytic and synthetic approach (INA). A traditional memorisation and drill approach (TRA) was the control condition. MANOVAs and hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed the INA was more effective as compared with the ASA and the TRA in the post-training character writing performance. The groups performed differentially in the eight bujian (‘radical’ components) processing tasks as indicators of their character and word writing performance. A confirmatory factor analysis found these eight indicator tasks subserved well the three latent constructs of Word Form Retrieval, Bujian Analysis and Synthesis and Bujian Compounding. Bujian analysis and synthesis are emphasised in the character-centred approach in learning and teaching Chinese lexical items.     

Levelling the reading gap: a socio‐spatial study of school libraries and reading in Singapore

This article takes a comparative socio‐spatial approach at the intersection of social class and reading politics to provide a fresh way of examining school reading policies and practices, unearthing previously hidden spaces of inequity for reading intervention. The juxtaposition of two nested case studies in Singapore, one of an elite all‐boys' school and another of a co‐educational government school with students in different academic tracks, revealed inequitable practices, specifically in the designs and uses of school library spaces between schools serving different social classes. The study argues that attempts to design reading interventions should move away from the view of student‐as‐problem to structure‐as‐problem in order to discover new perspectives for reading intervention. Additionally, this study demonstrates how foregrounding social class in educational research is necessary for effective design of educational strategies that aim to transform education and society by narrowing the gap between students from different social classes.     

Uncovering Malaysian Secondary School Students’ Academic Hardiness in Science,Conceptions of Learning Science,and Science Learning Self-Efficacy: a Structural Equation Modelling Analysis

The objective of this study was to explore the relationships between academic hardiness in science, conceptions of learning science, and science learning self-efficacy among Malaysian middle school students. The respondents were 320 eighth-grade students from two selected Malaysian middle schools. Three questionnaires were used for this survey: Academic Hardiness in Science (AHS) regarding “commitment,” Conceptions of Learning Science (COLS), including “memorizing,” “calculating and practicing,” and “understanding and seeing in a new way,” and Science Learning Self-Efficacy (SLSE), consisting of “cognition,” “practical work,” “everyday application,” and “science communication.” These three questionnaires were validated and found to be reliable for measuring students’ AHS, COLS, and SLSE. Pearson’s correlation findings indicated that AHS was significantly and positively correlated to all the factors in COLS and SLSE, and all the factors in COLS were significantly and positively correlated to all the factors in SLSE. The relationships among AHS, COLS, and SLSE were then identified by the structural equation model technique. Students with a high commitment to learning science, and who perceived learning science as understanding and seeing in a new way are prone to have confidence at all levels of science learning self-efficacy.

     

To Drink or Dine?

Tea,coffee and chocolate(cocoa)are probably the most popular beverages in the world.Butwhen it comes to vintage,tea leaps ahead by millenniums.Which other beverage actually has agod devoted to its cultivation and culture and an almost evangelistic spread throughout the world?(这段生词不少,我们通读后先留个印象,知道段落提及了茶、咖啡和可可,还简要的对他们加以区别。)