Gender differences in lower limb frontal plane kinematics during landing

The aim of this study was to investigate gender differences in knee valgus angle and inter-knee and inter-ankle distances in university volleyball players when performing opposed block jump landings. Six female and six male university volleyball players performed three dynamic trials each for which they were instructed to jump up and block a volleyball suspended above a net set at the height of a standard volleyball net as it was spiked against them by an opposing player. Knee valgus/varus, inter-knee distance, and inter-ankle distance (absolute and relative to height) were determined during landing using three-dimensional motion analysis. Females displayed significantly greater maximum valgus angle and range of motion than males. This may increase the risk of ligament strain in females compared with males. Minimum absolute inter-knee distance was significantly smaller, and absolute and relative inter-knee displacement during landing significantly greater, in females than males. Both absolute and relative inter-ankle displacement during landing was significantly greater in males than females. These findings suggest that the gender difference in the valgus angle of the knee during two-footed landing is influenced by gender differences in the linear movement of the ankles as well as the knees. Coaches should therefore develop training programmes to focus on movement of both the knee and ankle joints in the frontal plane in order to reduce the knee valgus angle during landing, which in turn may reduce the risk of non-contact anterior cruciate ligament injury.     

FEW and Far Between

Science & Education - The food-energy-water (FEW) nexus framework calls for a systems perspective on addressing complex sustainability challenges. As a sustainability science field, nexus...     

Compromising Talent: Issues in Identifying and Selecting Talent in Sport

The past few decades have seen a significant change in the delivery of sport and in trends related to athlete development. However, the notion of talent continues to play a critical role in most athlete development models. In this brief review, we highlight concerns with the notion of talent and how it is conceptualized in high performance sport systems. These include: the assumption that talent is a fixed capacity that can be identified early, the influence of talent beliefs on athlete development, the different levels of risk for talent selection decisions, biases evident in approaches to athlete selection, the inadequacy of current statistical approaches, the problems with using current performance to predict future outcomes, and how short-term priorities and competition between sports for talented athletes undermine the overall efficiency of athlete development systems. These concerns form the basis for more focused discussion of avenues for future work in this field.     

Do Computers Enhance or Detract from Student Learning?

Research in Higher Education - Does becoming familiar with computer and information technology during college add to or detract from making progress toward other desirable outcomes of college?...     

Educational Marketisation and the Head's Psychological Well–Being: A Speculative Conceptualisation

One of the most important changes in the environment of schooling during the last decade has been the establishment of educational markets and inter–institutional competition which, in turn, has led to the development of a new management culture in schools. In the light of these developments, this paper draws together the research on heads' responses to marketisation and suggests theoretical hypotheses on the impact of its underlying features on their psychological well–being. Our argument is that the major features of educational marketisation may promote the emergence of both the determinants of professional growth and self–renewal and of occupational stress and job burnout among headteachers. These determinants, in turn, lead to the appearance of two types of well–being among school heads. To support our hypothesis we refer to the work of others and empirical findings from various fields of study.     

Slipping through the cracks: teachers who miss out on early career support

This paper presents evidence from a nationally representative sample of early career teachers about those likely to miss out on formal support, and the employment conditions associated with this absence of support. It uses survey data from the Staff in Australia’s Schools Survey. Consistent with existing research, our results suggest a relationship between early career teachers with insecure employment and a lack of support. The findings suggest that, for early career teachers, being unsupported is associated with dissatisfaction with professional relationships and career opportunities; and that this dissatisfaction is associated with an intention to leave the profession.     

Facilitating communication between education and health services: the provision for children with speech and language needs

In this article, James Law, Marie Gascoigne and Nina Soloff, of the Department of Language and Communication Science at City University, London; Geoff Lindsay and Sue Band, of the Institute of Education, University of Warwick; and Nick Peacey and Julie Radford, of the Institute of Education, University of London, explore provision for children with speech and language needs. The authors report the outcomes of Government-funded research into the provision of speech and language therapy services and identify 13 key themes which emerge from a review of these findings. They proceed to make a series of important and challenging recommendations, many of which focus on the need for enhanced collaboration at a range of levels.     

The Computer as Scaffold,Tool and Data Collector: Children Composing with Computers

This paper looks at children’s approaches to music composition using advanced music software. The data indicate that the software allowed children different ways of looking at their compositions: visually, musically and aurally. The paper explores the notion of the computer as a scaffold with reference to the Swanwick and Tillman (1986) stages of musical development, seeking to investigate different ways of demonstrating children’s musical development. The paper also discusses the way the software can be used as an analysis and data collection tool.