Countering the Soviet Threat in the Olympic medals race: The Amateur Sports Act of 1978 and American athletics policy reform

The Olympics were a site of Cold War rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union. The successes of the Soviet Union eventually captured the attention of American policy-makers, who responded with the Amateur Sports Act of 1978. This article argues that the poor performance of the American team at the 1972 Olympic Games provided a ‘focusing event’ out of which the act emerged. It will further argue that the act's focus on elite athletics was a product of a perception in the late 1960s and 1970s that losses at international sport competitions detracted from American prestige abroad. The conservative political ideologies and athletic experiences of presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford did much to shape the way in which the problems in American athletics were approached.     

Factors associated with physical activity referral uptake and participation

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine participant and scheme characteristics in relation to access, uptake, and participation in a physical activity referral scheme (PARS) using a prospective population-based longitudinal design. Participants (n = 3762) were recruited over a 3-year period. Logistic regression analyses identified the factors associated with the outcomes of referral uptake, participation, and completion (≥80% attendance). Participant's age, sex, referral reason, referring health professional, and type of leisure provider were the independent variables. Based on binary logistic regression analysis (n = 2631), only primary referral reason was associated with the PARS coordinator making contact with the participants. In addition to the influence of referral reason, females were also more likely (odds ratio 1.250, 95% confidence interval 1.003 – 1.559, P = 0.047) to agree to be assigned to a leisure provider. Referral reason and referring health professional were associated with taking up a referral opportunity. Older participants (1.016, 1.010 – 1.023, P < 0.001) and males were more likely to complete the referral. In conclusion, the PARS format may be less appropriate for those more constrained by time (women, young adults) and those with certain referral reasons (overweight/obesity, mental health conditions). More appropriate targeting at the point of referral could improve participation rates by revealing or addressing barriers that might later result in dropout.     

Educating the Developing Mind: The View from Cognitive Psychology

Demetriou, Spanoudis, and Mouyi have provided a comprehensive view of the relation between a model of the mind and the process of education. The model they propose is based on cognitive theories of mental action, rather than neuroscientific evidence. I argue here that that is the correct approach, for a model of the information processing abilities of the mind is far more useful to educators than a model of the neural bases of cognitive processing. Demetriou, Spanoudis, and Mouyi's theoretical approach will be useful to the extent that it provides a framework for further, more specific models of specific situations.     

Project DAVES: An exploratory study of social presence,e-mentoring,and vocational counseling support in community college courses

A FIPSE-funded project was designed to provide support and training to community college faculty electronically, and to develop a model to offer innovative, interactive strategies to support their students' academic and career needs. The goal of the mentoring/coaching program has been to support instructors in their online efforts, provide resources and assistance to students, and create a community of learning for all. The examination of the process was framed and guided by the concept of social presence theory. Data collected included mentors' weekly logs, researcher-generated weekly prompts, and bi-monthly focus groups. All data were analyzed qualitatively using open and axial coding. Results indicate that creating social presence may depend, in part, on having an authentic, clearly defined role. Reflections throughout the process required continuous revisions to the plans.     

Impact of an evidence-based medicine curriculum on medical students' attitudes and skills.

PURPOSE: This evaluation study sought to assess the impact of an evidence-based medicine (EBM) course on students' self-perception of EBM skills, determine their use of EBM skills, and measure their performance in applying EBM skills in a simulated case scenario. METHODS: Pre- and post-surveys and skills tests were developed to measure students' attitudes toward and proficiency in EBM skills. Third-year students completed the voluntary survey and skills test at the beginning and completion of a twelve-week clerkship in internal medicine (IM) co-taught by medical and library faculty. Data were analyzed using the Mann-Whitney U test for a two-tailed test. RESULTS: A statistically significant increase was found in the students' self-assessment of skills. Students reported using the journal literature significantly more frequently during the clerkship than before, although textbooks remained their number one resource. A majority of students reported frequent use of EBM skills during the clerkship. Statistically significant improvement in student performance was also found on the posttest, although the level of improvement was more modest than that found on the post-surveys. CONCLUSION: The introduction of EBM skills to students during a clinical clerkship provides students an opportunity to practice EBM skills and reinforces the use of evidence in making patient-care decisions.     

Individualized Statistics Coursework Using Spreadsheets

This article describes how a spreadsheet‐based tool can be used to allocate each student in a class a unique subset of a large set of data, as the basis for a statistical assignment.