Development of the social network b-learning in the University of Alicante

This work describes the genesis, articulation and consolidation from 2007 of a social network of b-learning （blended learning） in the UA （University of Alicante） （Spain）, with the institutional backing of the Office of the Vice President for Education Technology and Innovation, and the momentum and advice of professor Angel Fidalgo （UNESCO （United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization） chair for University of Management and Policy）. The social network currently has more than 25 teachers, working on different work linkages with the university, implementing or intending to apply the teaching methodologyb-learning during the course 2007-2008 in a variety of courses and degrees. To do so, several resource centers （blogs, wikis, Wimba Create （before CourseGenie）, etc.）, and digital platforms （Virtual Campus of the UA, Moodle, etc.） are used.     

Acute effects of aerobic exercise performed with different volumes on strength performance and neuromuscular parameters

The aim of the present study was to investigate the acute effect of the aerobic exercise volume on maximum strength and strength-endurance performance; and possible causes of strength decrements (i.e. central and peripheral fatigue). Twenty-one moderately trained men were submitted to a maximal incremental test to determine anaerobic threshold (AnT) and maximum dynamic strength (1RM) and strength-endurance (i.e. total volume load [TV]) tests to determine their baseline strength performance. Following, subjects performed six experimental sessions: aerobic exercise sessions (continuous running at 90% AnT) with different volumes (3?km, 5?km or 7?km) followed by 1RM or strength-endurance test in the 45° leg press exercise. Maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC), voluntary activation (VA) level, contractile properties, and electromyographic activity (root mean square [RMS]) of the knee extensor muscles were assessed before and after aerobic exercises and after strength tests. TV was lower after 5?km and 7?km runs than in the control condition (12% and 22%, respectively). Additionally, TV was lower after 7?km than 3?km (14%) and 5?km (12%) runs. MVIC, VA, RMS, and contractile properties were reduced after all aerobic exercise volumes (～8%, ～5%, ～11% and ～6–14%, respectively). Additionally, MVIC, VA, and contractile properties were lower after strength tests (～15%, ～6%, ～9–26%, respectively). In conclusion, strength-endurance performance is impaired when performed after aerobic exercise and the magnitude of this interference is dependent on the aerobic exercise volume; and peripheral and central fatigue indices could not explain the different TV observed.     

Validity and reliability of a low-cost digital dynamometer for measuring isometric strength of lower limb

Lower limb isometric strength is a key parameter to monitor the training process or recognise muscle weakness and injury risk. However, valid and reliable methods to evaluate it often require high-cost tools. The aim of this study was to analyse the concurrent validity and reliability of a low-cost digital dynamometer for measuring isometric strength in lower limb. Eleven physically active and healthy participants performed maximal isometric strength for: flexion and extension of ankle, flexion and extension of knee, flexion, extension, adduction, abduction, internal and external rotation of hip. Data obtained by the digital dynamometer were compared with the isokinetic dynamometer to examine its concurrent validity. Data obtained by the digital dynamometer from 2 different evaluators and 2 different sessions were compared to examine its inter-rater and intra-rater reliability. Intra-class correlation (ICC) for validity was excellent in every movement (ICC > 0.9). Intra and inter-tester reliability was excellent for all the movements assessed (ICC > 0.75). The low-cost digital dynamometer demonstrated strong concurrent validity and excellent intra and inter-tester reliability for assessing isometric strength in the main lower limb movements.     

¡No cierren nuestra escuela! farm worker mothers as cultural citizens in an educational community mobilization effort

Mexican immigrant farm-worker mothers’ class, race, citizenship status, and jurisdictional status of their town in a Northern California community rendered them invisible. However, when the school board decided to close the elementary school the mothers mobilized. Drawing on these mothers’ fototestimonios we examine how they, as cultural citizens, resisted local practices of educational inequity. They wanted to ensure an education for their children. The fototestimonios reveal how farm-worker mothers: (1) negotiated as a collective with the school board; (2) sought negotiation and schooling alternatives; and (3) expressed cultural citizenship through collective efforts to be included within the US polity.     

Homework and academic achievement across Spanish Compulsory Education

Homework (HW) is one of the most common school-related activities among parents, students and teachers. However, the need to assign HW to students has been extensively debated. The present investigation examines the relationship between specific HW variables (i.e. amount of HW completed, time spent on HW and perceived quality of HW time management) and academic achievement, while controlling for students’ gender and grade level. Participants included 454 students (ranging from 10 to 16?years of age) from three schools in northern Spain. A multivariate analyses of variance and path analyses showed that the amount of HW completed decreased with increased schooling, as did students’ perceived quality of HW time management. Data from hierarchical regression analyses completed by path analyses provided evidence that time spent on HW conjointly with perceived quality of HW time management explains how academic achievement is mediated by the amount of HW completed. These findings deepen the understanding of the complex impact of time spent on HW and on academic achievement.     

Democracy for Export: Museums Connect Program as a Vehicle of American Cultural Diplomacy

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of State and facilitated by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) through the Museums Connect program, Identities: Understanding Islam in a Cross‐cultural Context is an exercise of community development and public inclusion from the perspective of cultural diplomacy. The 2009–10 project was a cooperative endeavor between the Museum of History and Holocaust Education (MHHE) at Kennesaw State University, Georgia, USA and the Ben M'sik Community Museum, Hassan II University, Casablanca, Morocco. Drawing on interviews conducted with the AAM managers and project participants, as well as relevant literature, the discussion considers the more important mechanisms of American museum missions and practices as means of achieving American foreign‐policy objectives.     

Undergraduates' orientations towards student–university relationships: Measurement and associations with student characteristics and engagement

This study explored students' orientations towards student–university relationships and how they differ with regard to student characteristics and engagement. We developed an instrument measuring student orientations and utilised it in a survey of Russian undergraduates. Using latent class analysis, we identified the following types of Russian students' orientations: instructivists, consumerists, constructivists, and students with mixed orientations. As the results showed, the majority of our respondents have consumerist or mixed orientations that mostly mismatch with the actual models of student–university relationships at Russian universities. We also found that students with these orientations are less engaged than instructivists and constructivists. These findings demonstrate the importance of seeking an optimal match between diverse undergraduate orientations and the actual educational model, which fits national and institutional contexts.     

Orientations to Enrolment of Part-time Students: A classification system based upon students' perceived lifelong learning needs

This article develops a classification system for the orientations to enrolment of part-time students based upon their practical lifelong learning needs. Orientation to enrolment is seen as a complex construct embodying all the reasons, purposes, expectations and motivations that cause students to pick a particular course and elect to study by the part-time mode. Virtually all of the interviewed students had a vocational orientation so some previously used categorisation schemes were not suitable. Instead seven categories relating to lifelong learning needs provided a scheme which covered the cases and related well to explanations given by interviewees for enrolling in the courses. These were re-training or further development for those who need to make a career shift; education for professionals who need to undertake continuing professional development through their careers; an opportunity for a tertiary education for those who did not previously have the chance; an education at the tertiary level for those who did not do sufficiently well at school to qualify for direct entry to university; an alternative to mainstream education; education for adults; and learning for pleasure throughout the lifetime.