The nature (and nurture) of children's perceptions of family chaos

Chaos in the home is a key environment in cognitive and behavioral development. However, we show that children's experience of home chaos is partly genetically mediated. We assessed children's perceptions of household chaos at ages 9 and 12 in 2337 pairs of twins. Using child-specific reports allowed us to use structural equation modeling to explore the genetic and environmental etiology of children's perceptions of chaos. We found that these perceptions are significantly heritable (22%), with the remainder explained by environmental influences. Finding that genes influence children's experience of chaotic environments has far-reaching implications for how we conceptualize the family home and its impact on cognitive and behavioral development.     

A model of equitable and sustainable redistribution of knowledge

Education is one of the pillars in which a Welfare State is effectively based on in order to achieve an equitable distribution of wealth. In contemporary society, knowledge and education are among the most appreciated goods, and everyone should have the right to acquire them, without distinction of gender, race, age, health or religion. From our experience of over 15 years at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya we can claim that virtual learning makes access to education easier for certain population strata, whereas otherwise, they would be excluded from such a right. A very significant group of students to consider are women with family burdens who, thanks to this kind of education, are able to gain access to higher education for the first time in their lives and at their maturity ages. Another significant group is students with disabilities, for whom virtual education makes it possible to get training in fields for which it would be more difficult to get in the case of the non-virtual university. Geographic factors are also relevant, since virtual education has provided rural areas and other places with poor infrastructures with a chance to gain access to higher education. This brings with it a redistribution of wealth among territories, and also among different social strata with fewer resources and limitations to commute long distances to higher education institutions. Another issue that needs pointing out is virtual communication. As it is asynchronic, it can lead to a high degree of reflection. All these elements enable us to have a virtual discussion about cultural and linguistic issues which have huge educational value.     

Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in South African Higher Education

Globally, few students with disabilities progress to higher education. This is mostly due to avoidable barriers they face as they navigate different educational structures from lower levels. Even for those few students who make it to higher education, they continue to face challenges. A qualitative study was carried out at the University of the Free State and the University of Venda. Fourteen students with disabilities took part in this research that was aimed at exploring their academic and life experiences. This article interrogates the inclusion of students with disabilities at two South African universities. This article is timely as South Africa has initiated the development of a national policy framework on disability in the post-school education and training systems. It highlights some of the areas where inclusive policies should pay attention in an effort to fully cater for the needs of students with disabilities.     

Exercise-based injury prevention in football

Injuries—a major concern in a high-intensity contact sport like football—are associated with possible short- and long-term harmful consequences for the individual, the team and club as well as for the whole society. Consequently, there is need for effective injury prevention in football at all levels of play, in all age groups and in both genders. The present review summarizes the current scientific evidence focusing on exercise-based injury prevention and presenting promising prevention strategies in different football populations and settings. There is convincing evidence that multimodal exercise-based injury prevention programs (IPP) can reduce injury incidence by more than 30% in athletes of different age groups and in both genders. Although relevant effects have already been shown for short sessions, increased frequency and regular integration into normal practice may increase efficacy up to an injury reduction of 50%. Most programs last about 15?min and can easily replace traditional warm-up programs. Furthermore, there is increasing evidence that IPP beneficially affect neuromuscular performance parameters and biomechanical movement characteristics, which are associated with injury risk. There remains, however, a major gap between research on the short-term efficacy and long-term intervention strategies. IPP should be implemented continuously and with high fidelity as training effects are transient. It is crucial that future studies report implementation components in detail in order to facilitate the replication of successful interventions.     

Kinematics and kinetics of handcycling propulsion at increasing workloads in able-bodied subjects

In Paralympic sports, biomechanical optimisation of movements and equipment seems to be promising for improving performance. In handcycling, information about the biomechanics of this sport is mainly provided by case studies. The aim of the current study was (1) to examine changes in handcycling propulsion kinematics and kinetics due to increasing workloads and (2) identify parameters that are associated with peak aerobic performance. Twelve non-disabled male competitive triathletes without handcycling experience voluntarily participated in the study. They performed an initial familiarisation protocol and incremental step test until exhaustion in a recumbent racing handcycle that was attached to an ergometer. During the incremental test, tangential crank kinetics, 3D joint kinematics, blood lactate and ratings of perceived exertion (local and global) were identified. As a performance criterion, the maximal power output during the step test (P_max) was calculated and correlated with biomechanical parameters. For higher workloads, an increase in crank torque was observed that was even more pronounced in the pull phase than in the push phase. Furthermore, participants showed an increase in shoulder internal rotation and abduction and a decrease in elbow flexion and retroversion. These changes were negatively correlated with performance. At high workloads, it seems that power output is more limited by the transition from pull to push phase than at low workloads. It is suggested that successful athletes demonstrate small alterations of their kinematic profile due to increasing workloads. Future studies should replicate and expand the test spectrum (sprint and continuous loads) as well as use methods like surface electromyography (sEMG) with elite handcyclists.     

Lessons from lockdown: Autistic students,parents and mainstream schools

This paper reports on the findings of a BERA-funded small-scale project that explores the impacts of COVID-19 lockdowns on the educational experiences of autistic children and young people who attend mainstream schools and their parents/carers in England. We observe that, unsurprisingly, lockdown resulted in associated stresses for families. However, our main argument is that for the participants, the pandemic has not been experienced to the same extent as is popularly understood; that is, causing major disruption to children's schooling experiences and/or unusual levels of social isolation. Using the concept of stigma as a theoretical resource, we argue that this is because the families with whom we spoke were already experiencing, pre-COVID-19, disrupted schooling and degrees of social isolation. Indeed, for many of the young people, the break from school occasioned by lockdown allowed them a release from the more negative and stigmatising aspects of their routine experiences within school. We therefore argue that the disruption of the pandemic sheds light on how stigma shapes students' daily school experiences.