Intensity,recovery kinetics and well-being indices are not altered during an official FIFA futsal tournament in Oceanian players

Physiological responses (intensity and recovery kinetics) and well-being indices were examined during a 4-day FIFA international tournament. Ten outfield New Caledonian players (age: 25.5 ± 3.8 years; height: 170 ± 7 cm; weight: 70.7 ± 8.6 kg) were assessed during the four matches. Players’ aerobic and anaerobic capacities were measured before the tournament while heart rate (HR), intra-matches recovery and well-being indices (Hooper index) were measured throughout the tournament. HR (168 ± 8 bpm), exercise intensity (83.4 ± 2.3% of HR reserve) and recovery indices were similar throughout the tournament. Well-being indices were largely alike during the tournament while rating of perceived exertion increased throughout the tournament that was not associated with HR or well-being indices. High aerobic and anaerobic capacities were associated with high match intensities and slow recovery indices. In summary, match intensity assessed by HR, recovery kinetics and well-being of Oceanian futsal players were not modified during a 4-day FIFA futsal tournament. Assessment of aerobic and anaerobic capacities may be useful to select players for optimal performance during this type of international tournament.     

The effect of redundant text in multimedia instruction

The purpose of this study was to examine the redundancy effects obtained when spoken information was duplicated in writing during the learning of a multimedia document. Documents consisting of diagrams and spoken information on the development of memory models were presented to three groups of students. In the first group, no written text was presented. In the second, written sentences redundant with the spoken information were progressively presented on the screen while in the third group, these written sentences were presented together. The results show that whatever the type of text presentation (sequential or static), the duplication of information in the written mode led to a substantial impairment in subsequent retention and transfer tests as well as in a task in which the memorization of diagrams was evaluated. This last result supports the hypothesis that the visual channel is overloaded as the cognitive theory of multimedia learning suggests.     

Professional learning community process in the United States: conceptualization of the process and district support for schools

Abstract

As the Professional Learning Community (PLC) process becomes embedded within schools, the level of district support has a direct impact on whether schools have the ability to re-culture and sustain highly effective collaborative practices. The purpose of this article is to share a professional learning community conceptual framework from the US, and to highlight recent findings relating to district level support for the PLC process in schools. The professional learning community conceptual model is organized around five dimensions: shared and supportive leadership, shared values and vision, collaborative learning and application, shared personal practice, and supportive conditions. The overarching question guiding this qualitative research study is: How do school district personnel (central office staff) support schools in the professional learning community process? Findings reveal the importance of transformative and proactive district involvement, and the use of transparency, trust, accountability, and autonomy in school re-culturing. It was also found that developing leadership capacity, embedding professional development, and focusing the culture on student success were critically important. As districts provide support for the PLC dimensions and themes, school leaders will have a foundation of curricular strategies, collaborative skills, and necessary resources to serve teachers and students through continuous school improvement.     

Doctoral students’ experiences leading to completion or attrition: a matter of sense,progress and distress

A central trend in qualitative studies investigating doctoral students’ dropout is to stress the importance of students’ integration and socialisation in their working environment. Yet, few of these studies actually compared the experiences of doctoral students who completed or quit their PhD. In order to overcome this limitation and identify the factors that differentiate these two groups, the present study interviewed 21 former doctoral students: 8 completers and 13 non-completers. The results show that what best differentiates these two groups of participants is the extent to which they feel that they are moving forward, without experiencing too much distress, on a research project that makes sense to them. We assume that this set of factors is central in the dropout process. Support from doctoral peers was found to play a positive role overall but did not contribute to differentiating the two groups, presumably because peers have a limited impact on dissertation progress. Supervisors’ support was central to the participants’ stories; it is thus assumed to play a role in the process, but this role is complex and needs further investigation. These results call for a stronger consideration of the doctoral task itself when investigating the process of persistence and attrition and for a more integrated framework that considers jointly both task- and environment-related aspects.     

Triggered lightning in France and New Mexico

The possibility of triggering lightning by a rocket carrying a thin wire was demonstrated on a ship by M. M. Newman in 1965. Since 1973, this technique has been developed in France for operation above land. The same equipment was used successfully in New Mexico in 1981 and 1982. Triggered lightning is very attractive for many studies on lightning physics and for testing various kinds of equipment and protection devices. This explains the initiation of similar programmes in several other places.     

Ethics Review of Research Projects Involving Human Subjects

Maltreatment of subjects has led to the introduction of an ethics review process for research involving humans. There is a feeling that the bureaucratization of the process is too restrictive and that it may be hampering research. The function, duties, and effectiveness of ethics committees are examined, and it is contended that there are problems with the way that committees operate. The remit of committees needs to be clarified, and the paper presents guidelines for making decisions on ethical matters, with deontological considerations taking precedence over consequentialist ones. It is concluded that the functions and processes of ethics committees need to be modified.