What do prospective students look for in higher degrees by research? A scale development study

ABSTRACT

This empirical investigation was aimed at conceptualizing, developing and validating a scale for the measurement of the quality of higher degrees by research (HDR-QUAL). For that purpose, this study specifically measured perceptions of higher degrees by research (HDR) students about the constituents of HDR quality in Pakistani tertiary education institutions. Following the 7-step process of scale development, three studies were conducted in order to develop an initial pool of scale items, establishing proposed scale validity and reliability, and assessing nomological behavior of the proposed scale. The principal component analysis with Varimax rotation method resulted in a 3-factor solution, subsequently proposing a 15-item scale. The model fit indices of measurement and the higher-order model indicated a satisfactory fit to data. Finally, the resultant three factors, i.e. financial assistance, supervisory expertise, and infrastructural support, converged into a unidimensional HDR-QUAL scale that was found positively associated with student satisfaction, thus, confirming nomological validity as well. Important policy measures and directions for future research are proposed at the end.     

Stressors experienced by injured athletes

The purpose of this study was twofold: (a) to examine the stressors experienced by injured athletes during three phases of their recovery from sport injury, and (b) to explore the differences in the stressors experienced by team as compared to individual-sport athletes. Participants comprised previously injured high-level rugby union players (n = 5) and golfers (n = 5). Semi-structured interviews were used to explore the stressors participants experienced during three phases of injury (onset, rehabilitation and return to competitive sport). Within- and cross-case analyses showed that athletes experienced sport, medical/physical, social and financial stressors. There were a number of differences in the stressors experienced across the three phases and between team and individual-sport athletes. Findings have important implications for the design and implementation of interventions aimed at managing the potentially stressful sport injury experience and facilitating injured athletes' return to competitive sport.     

Finding Common Ground: The Role of Preventive Conservation in Response to the Expectations of Contemporary Audiences at the National Gallery,London

ABSTRACT

Like many museums and galleries following a prolonged period of austerity, the National Gallery has increased its public, private and corporate activities on an unprecedented scale and embarked on an extensive building programme to develop the site and its heritage-listed building. Together with an expanding loans and exhibitions programme, institutional attention has been drawn towards using the collection and building in ways not done before, both to attract new audiences and to develop new income sources. However, such new and escalating activities have the potential to expose the collection to risks not previously considered and are increasing cumulative exposure to certain environmental factors. A new group, the Preventive Conservation Working Group (PCWG), working at an operational level, has recently been established as a forum for discourse, collaboration and innovation at this time of transformation, and its activities and areas of current focus are presented. The role of this group in safeguarding the collection while helping the institution to respond to the expectations of modern life and the contemporary audience are discussed, as well as some of the other positive benefits resulting from the group's formation.     

International Communications

Lawrence W. Lichty's (ed.) World and International droadcasting: A Bibliography (Association for Professional Broadcasting Education, 1771 N St. Washington, D. C.) $15.00 ($10.00 to APBE individual members) paperbound)

William A. Hachten's Muffled Drums: The News Media in Africa (Iowa State University Press, $9.50)

Lynne Svenning's Modernization Among Peasants: Impact of Communications (Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, $8.00)

Will A. Boelke's The Secret Conferences of Dr. Goebbels: The Nazi Propaganda War 1939-43.

James W. Markham's (ed.) International Commnication as a Field of Study (University of Iowa Department of Publications, $3.00)     

Accelerometer and self-reported measures of sedentary behaviour and associations with adiposity in UK youth

This study used accelerometer and self-report measures of overall sedentary time (ST) and screen time behaviours to examine their respective associations with adiposity among UK youth. Participants (Year groups 5, 8, and 10; n=292, 148 girls) wore the SenseWear Armband Mini accelerometer for eight days and completed the Youth Activity Profile, an online report tool designed to estimate physical activity and ST.Stature, body mass and waist circumference were measured to classify adiposity outcomes (overweight/obese and central obesity). One-way between groups ANOVA and adjusted linear, logistic and multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted. There was a significant main effect of age on total ST across the whole week (F(2, 289)=41.64, p≤0.001). ST increased monotonically across Year 5 (581.09±107.81 min·dˉ¹), 8 (671.96±112.59 min·dˉ¹) and 10 (725.80±115.20 min·dˉ¹), and all pairwise comparisons were significant at p≤0.001. A steep age-related gradient to mobile phone use was present (p≤0.001). ST was positively associated with adiposity outcomes independent of moderate-to-vigorous intensity physical activity (MVPA; p≤0.001). Engaging in >3 hours of video gaming daily was positively associated with central obesity (OR=2.12, p≤0.05) but not after adjustment for MVPA. Results further demonstrate the importance of reducing overall ST to maintain healthy weight status among UK youth.     

Comparison of children’s free-living physical activity derived from wrist and hip raw accelerations during the segmented week

This study assessed children’s physical activity (PA) levels derived from wrist-worn GENEActiv and hip-worn ActiGraph GT3X+ accelerometers and examined the comparability of PA levels between the two devices throughout the segmented week. One hundred and twenty-nine 9–10-year-old children (79 girls) wore a GENEActiv (GAwrist) and ActiGraph GT3X+ (AGhip) accelerometer on the left wrist and right hip, respectively, for 7 days. Mean minutes of light PA (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) per weekday (whole-day, before-school, school and after-school) and weekend day (whole-day, morning and afternoon–evening) segments were calculated, and expressed as percentage of segment time. Repeated measures analysis of variance examined differences in LPA and MVPA between GAwrist and AGhip for each time segment. Bland–Altman plots assessed between-device agreement for LPA and MVPA for whole weekday and whole weekend day segments. Correlations between GAwrist and AGhip were weak for LPA (r = 0.18–0.28), but strong for MVPA (r = 0.80–0.86). LPA and MVPA levels during all weekday and weekend day segments were significantly higher for GAwrist than AGhip (p < 0.001). The largest inter-device percent difference of 26% was observed in LPA during the school day segment. Our data suggest that correction factors are needed to improve raw PA level comparability between GAwrist and AGhip.