Reforming higher education systems: Some lessons to guide policy implementation

Although higher education systems are in a constant state of change, they are difficult for governments to reform. This paper analyzes a wide variety of country experiences in establishing mechanisms to co-ordinate the development of higher education systems, diversifying institutional financing and increasing the efficiency of public investments. Attention is drawn to the need for effective policy structures to manage higher education, to link costs of reforms to benefits such as increased opportunity, to take account of the institutional constraints to change as well as to carefully articulate educational reforms with other public policies that influence the performance of the higher education systems.     

Understanding kiosk navigation: Using log files to capture hypermedia searches

The purposes of these studies were to investigate: a) the role of different intentions for constraining kiosk searches; b) whether selected variables related to reading comprehension (e.g., prior content knowledge) were also related to document search; and c) the potential of log files (timed-stamped records of students' navigational choices in the kiosk) as a non-intrusive tool for seamlessly capturing navigational performance. In Study 1, 64 college students were recruited and randomly assigned to one of two conditions. Both groups used an identical computer kiosk. However, one condition used the kiosk to address a specific problem, while the other condition used the kiosk based on their own interests-no specific task was provided. A discriminant function analysis was able to improve prediction about the group membership by 79% (adjusted with Cohen's Kappa) over and above chance. In Study 2, 54 participants were randomly assigned a simple or complex task. Participants were pretested on prior topic knowledge and solutions were rated based on a composite of navigational scores. Although prior content knowledge and the interaction were not significant, the type of task assigned was related to the quality of solution. These results provide further reason to distinguish between document search and reading comprehension. Further, they suggest new tools for assessment (log files) that have implications for many computerized applications, including hypertext, hypermedia, and the World Wide Web.University of Connecticut at Storrs     

Developmental Transactions Between Self-Regulation and Academic Achievement Among Low-Income African American and Latino Children

This study examined the development of emerging self-regulation (SR) skills across the preschool years and relations to academic achievement in kindergarten and first grade. SR skills of 403 low-income African American and Latino children were measured at 2&1/2, 3&1/2, and 5 years (kindergarten). Reading and math skills were measured at 5 and 6 years (first grade) using the Woodcock–Johnson. Transactional relations between SR skills and achievement outcomes were estimated with latent difference score models. Increases in set shifting predicted prospective increases in reading, but not math scores. Increases in simple response inhibition predicted prospective increases in math, but not reading scores. Application of these findings to early intervention programming and needed supports for school readiness and achievement are discussed.     

Influence of recovery time on post-activation potentiation in professional rugby players

Following a bout of heavy resistance training, the muscle is in both a fatigued and potentiated state with subsequent muscle performance depending on the balance between these two factors. To date, there is no uniform agreement about the optimal acute recovery required between the heavy resistance training and subsequent muscle performance to gain performance benefits. The aim of the present study was to determine the recovery time required to observe enhanced muscle performance following a bout of heavy resistance training. Twenty professional rugby players performed a countermovement jump at baseline and approximately 15 s, 4, 8, 12, 16, 20, and 24 min after a bout of heavy resistance training (three sets of three repetitions at 87% one-repetition maximum squat). Power output, jump height, and peak rate of force development were determined for all countermovement jumps. Despite an initial decrease in countermovement jump performance after the heavy resistance training (P<0.001), participants' performance increased significantly following 8 min recovery (P<0.001) (i.e. jump height increased by 4.9%, s=3.0). The findings suggest that muscle performance during a countermovement jump can be markedly enhanced following bouts of heavy resistance training provided that adequate recovery (approximately 8 min) is allowed between the heavy resistance training and the explosive activity.     

Exploratory factor analysis of parent ratings of child and adolescent anxiety: A preliminary investigation

This study explored the factor structure of a parent rating scale designed for use in the assessment of child and adolescent anxiety. A total of 176 usable surveys were returned from parents of children in grades kindergarten through 11. Exploratory common factor analyses on the 29‐item scale suggested one second‐order factor yielding an internal consistency estimate of .93 which accounted for 70% of the covariance among items. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Comparative efficacy of active recovery and cold water immersion as post-match recovery interventions in elite youth soccer

ABSTRACT

The current study compared cold-water immersion (CWI) and active recovery (AR) to static stretching (SS) on muscle recovery post-competitive soccer matches in elite youth players (n = 15). In a controlled crossover design, participants played a total of nine competitive soccer games, comprising three 80 minute games for each intervention (SS, CWI and AR). Muscle oedema, creatine kinase (CK), countermovement jump performance (CMJA) and perceived muscle soreness (PMS) were assessed pre-, immediately post-, and 48 hours post-match and compared across time-intervals and between interventions. Following SS, all markers of muscle damage remained significantly elevated (P < 0.05) compared to baseline at 48 hours post-match. Following AR and CWI, CMJA returned to baseline at 48 hours post-match, whilst CK returned to baseline following CWI at 48 hours post-match only. Analysis between recovery interventions revealed a significant improvement in PMS (P < 0.05) at 48 hours post-match when comparing AR and CWI to SS, with no significant differences between AR and CWI observed (P > 0.05). Analysis of %change for CK and CMJA revealed significant improvements for AR and CWI compared to SS. The present study indicated both AR and CWI are beneficial recovery interventions for elite young soccer players following competitive soccer matches, of which were superior to SS.     

The effect of critical speed and exercise intensity on stroke phase duration and bilateral asymmetry in 200-m front crawl swimming

The main aim of this study was to determine the absolute temporal relationship between the power and recovery phases of the stroke cycle in front crawl swimming in response to progressive changes in exercise intensity that occurred before and after critical speed. A second objective was to determine whether intensity-related changes in the power/recovery phase relationship affects the bilateral symmetry of the stroke. Stroke parameters were recorded for each 25-m length during a progressive 200-m interval training set, in which eight (2 males, 6 females) national-level swimmers swam at intensities below, above, and at critical speed. The results demonstrated that substantial increases in stroke rate (P < 0.01) occurred at critical speed, and that these increases were related to a greater decrease in the duration of the power phase than the recovery phase (P < 0.01). The results also show that the degree of bilateral asymmetry was greater for the power phase than the recovery phase, and was inversely related to intensity in both phases of the stroke cycle. The findings of this study suggest that critical speed-related increases in stroke rate are an indirect consequence of increased force production in the power phase of the stroke, and that bilateral asymmetry is both intensity- and stroke-phase dependent.