A method of providing accurate velocity feedback of performance on an instrumented kayak ergometer

On a kayak ergometer, an accurate simulation of the athlete-paddle-kayak system kinematics is essential for analysing the relationship between technique and performance. The purpose of this study was to establish a strong relationship between performances on flatwater and performances on an ergometer by means of propulsive force measurement and drag models. Two trials were performed by 12 kayakers in which they were first timed over 250 m of flatwater kayaking (the reference test) and were then asked to perform a trial of the same duration on the ergometer with the same perceived physical exertion. Three techniques for measuring propulsive force and three drag models generated nine combinations, which were all evaluated for their ability to estimate kayak velocity. For each combination, the distance covered by the athlete on the ergometer was simulated. A kayakers’ ergometer ranking was based on the average velocity in the ergometer trial. Both distance and ranking were compared to the on-water results. The simulation with the best combination of force measurement and drag model gave an accurate estimate of distance (253 ± 10.5 vs. 250 m) and ranking compared to the reference test.     

Heritage sporting events: theoretical development and configurations

ABSTRACT

Although sports heritage is increasingly recognized as a potential catalyst of tourism, heritage sporting events (HSEs) are still an emerging concept in the academic literature. Notions that associate sports events and heritage remain rare, and are usually analysed through the scope of nostalgia sport tourism. This can be partly explained by an inclination to associate the notion of heritage with conventional ideas about folklore and traditional culture. Through a constructivist approach of heritage, this contribution argues that contemporary sports events, which would generally have competition as their primary focus, might also be perceived as HSEs. A comprehensive framework, built on a multi-disciplinary literature review, is presented to show the process that transforms an initial resource (a sports event) into an accomplished resource (a HSE), which might represent a competitive advantage for the territory. A qualitative–comparative analysis is conducted among 24 sports events in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, to observe the configurations of HSEs and understand which characteristics are necessary for the perceptions of a sports event as a heritage good. Interestingly, this contribution shows that if the event needs to be sustainable in the territory to be perceived as a HSE, it is not sufficient. Indeed, a differentiation strategy should be set up to distinguish the event from other more or less similar events, to be perceived as an authentic feature of the territory by the local population.     

Kinematic analysis of the drag flick in field hockey

Attaining high speed of the stick head and consequently of the ball is essential for successful performance of the drag flick in field hockey, but the coordination pattern used to maximise stick head speed is unknown. The kinematics of the drag flick was studied in ten elite hockey players who performed twenty shots each towards a target located 1.5 m high. A 150 Hz active marker motion analysis system was used, alongside two force plates to detect foot touchdown. Angular velocity and contribution to stick endpoint speed of upper body joints were analysed. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare timing of onset and peak angular velocities between joints. Participants used a kinematic pattern that was close to a proximal-to-distal sequence. Trunk axial rotation and lateral rotation towards the target, right wrist flexion and left wrist extension were the main contributors to stick endpoint speed. Coaches should emphasise trunk rotations and wrist flexion and extension movements for maximising stick head speed. Given the high level of the participants in this study, the coordination of joints motions, as reported here, can serve as a guideline for drag flick training.     

Comfort,Class and Climate Change: The Rise of Glass in Late Medieval and Early Modern Domestic Architecture

ABSTRACT

In the modern world, glass windows are considered an indispensable element of the built environment. Throughout premodern times, however, glass was not universally used in European architecture. This article argues that the rise of glass in Western architecture was neither an inevitable nor a linear process, but rather a response to certain social, cultural and environmental factors that gained increasing relevance from the late medieval period onwards. In other words, glass windows are a cultural convention, reflecting some of the wide-ranging and transformative challenges that Europeans faced in the late medieval and early modern period.     

Validation of the Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (IMMS) in a self‐directed instructional setting aimed at working with technology

The ARCS Model of Motivational Design has been used myriad times to design motivational instructions that focus on attention, relevance, confidence and satisfaction in order to motivate students. The Instructional Materials Motivation Survey (IMMS) is a 36‐item situational measure of people's reactions to instructional materials in the light of the ARCS model. Although the IMMS has been used often, both as a pretest and a posttest tool serving as either a motivational needs assessment prior to instruction or a measure of people's reactions to instructional materials afterward, the IMMS so far has not been validated extensively, taking statistical and theoretical aspects of the survey into account. This paper describes such an extensive validation study, for which the IMMS was used in a self‐directed instructional setting aimed at working with technology (a cellular telephone). Results of structural equation modeling show that the IMMS can be reduced to 12 items. This Reduced Instructional Materials Motivation Survey IMMS (RIMMS) is preferred over the original IMMS. The parsimonious RIMMS measures the four constructs attention, relevance, confidence and satisfaction of the ARCS model well, and reflects its conditional nature.     

What and how teacher educators prefer to learn

In which areas and domains do individual teacher educators prefer to work on their professional development? What kind of learning activities do they want to take on and with whom? Are there significant differences in these preferences between teacher educators? This article reports on a recent survey (N = 268) about the professional development of teacher educators and differences in learning preferences between less and more experienced teacher educators and between university-based and school-based teacher educators. Findings show, for example, that while most university-based teacher educators were mainly interested in improving their teaching, less experienced school-based teacher educators were more focussed on aspects such as coaching skills. In this study, ‘learning profiles’ have been developed for four categories of teacher educators. These profiles may help to create more meaningful arrangements for teacher educators’ initial education and further professional development in a context where teacher education is required to have a more school-based as well as a more research-based orientation.     

French teachers' intentions to use accommodated materials in learning and assessment

The implementation of inclusive practices in mainstream education remains particularly difficult in the French context and is influenced by various factors including the types of disability labels, and the type of assessment practices that are used. Indeed, how student disability is labelled could impact teacher attitudes by notably disfavouring students labelled with autism. Moreover, normative assessment is strongly linked with selection at schools—a function that works against teacher attitudes towards inclusive education. This article reports on a study in which we examined teacher intentions to use materials accommodated to special educational needs students, as a function of special needs labelling. Specifically, this refers to the use of labels for either a disability or special educational need, in connection to tasks associated with learning or assessment. The results of our study revealed that, for both types of labels, the intentions to use accommodated materials are lower when teachers are asked to assess student competence than when prompted to teach this competence. These findings are discussed with consideration to the incompatibility between selection in schools—which is aligned with the principle of meritocracy—and efforts to promote inclusive education practices.     

Taking a step towards understanding interactions between teacher efficacy in behavior management and the social learning environment: a two-level multilevel analysis

Behavior management in the classroom is well known for being a challenge and a source of stress for preservice and experienced teachers alike. This means it may not only impact teachers’ self-efficacy beliefs, but teachers’ efficacy perceived by their students too, engendering effects on the social learning environment and vice-versa. This article aims at taking a step towards a better understanding of which aspects of the social learning environment preservice teachers and their students take into account when positioning themselves on behavior management efficacy. It then goes onto exploring how students’ perception of teacher efficacy in behavior management varies across classes and how it interacts with the social learning environment through a two-level model analysis. Results showed that the social learning environment’s dimensions are associated with the perception of teacher efficacy by students. On one hand, students perceive that efficacy in behavior management is linked to the social learning environment and therefore expect that an efficient teacher in this area will be able to create a healthy relationship with appropriate rules and class organization. On the other, when it comes to preservice teachers, findings seem to show the importance of the training program and how it supports self-efficacy beliefs throughout first teaching experiences as results go in the direction of confirming that these beliefs stabilize fairly early on, because unlike the students, the preservice teachers seem to take other aspects than the learning environment into account while evaluating their self-efficacy regarding behavior management. Finally, this research adds yet another element to the observation that effective behavior management within the classroom requires a positive relationship between teachers and their students. In addition, the way rules and organization are taken into account by students demonstrates the need for a proactive approach in which teachers’ expectations are clear.

     

Book reviews

There are signs that teams are becoming more popular in ethnographic research. New technology and, in the UK, the Research Assessment Exercise have facilitated the establishment and continuance of teams. In this paper, the authors discuss their experiences in one particular research team in recent years. Securing adequate funding has been the essential structural prerequisite. The authors distinguish among project, federated, and whole teams, depending on function and level of analysis. They consider team structure, approach, business, and processes, and the relationship between individual and team. Teamwork has enabled a wider and deeper coverage of work, a broader comparative base, and multiple researcher triangulation. The team provides a forum for the discussion of ethical issues, an immediate supportive reference group. It has opened up horizons, and promoted individual change and development. It has aided analysis and writing, and promoted clearer and more robust arguments. The article concludes with some caveats.