Changes in coordination and its variability with an increase in running cadence

Alterations in joint mechanics have been associated with common overuse injuries. An increase in running cadence in healthy runners has been shown to improve several parameters that have been tied to injury, but the reorganisation of motion that produces these changes has not been examined. The purpose of this study was to determine if runners change their segment coordination and coordination variability with an acute increase in cadence. Data were collected as ten uninjured runners ran overground at their preferred cadence as well as a cadence 10% higher than preferred. Segment coordination and coordination variability were calculated for select thigh–shank and shank–foot couples and selected knee mechanics were also calculated. Paired t-tests were used to examine differences between the preferred and increased cadence conditions. With increased cadence, there was a decrease in peak knee flexion and a later occurrence of peak knee flexion and internal rotation and shank internal rotation. Segment coordination was altered with most changes occurring in mid-late stance. Coordination variability decreased with an increase in cadence across all couples and phases of gait. These results suggest examination of coordination and its variability could give insight into the risk of intervention-induced injury.     

Conceptualizing a Spatial Data Infrastructure for the Social Sciences: An Example from Germany

There is an increasing demand for spatial data within the social sciences as such data promise to contribute to a better understanding of how the concrete living environment influences individuals’ attitudes and behaviors. Spatial data can complement data from surveys; however, as of yet there is no spatial data infrastructure for the social sciences in Germany that facilitates merging of spatial data with survey data. This article explores avenues for creating such a spatial data infrastructure (SDI) for the social sciences in Germany. We examine the role that librarians, archivists, and curators can play in offering spatial data infrastructure services for social scientists, and show the scope and nature of necessary tasks in areas such as harmonization, archiving, dissemination, and user support. As the case of Germany is similar to that of other European countries, we expect our results to be helpful in the creation of SDIs in other countries as well. This article suggests technical and organizational measures for merging survey data and spatial data in compliance with German privacy legislation. Measures for storage and dissemination of enriched survey data, for example by providing restricted access to the data in a secured environment, also are explored.     

Urban residence and higher education do not protect against cognitive decline in aging and dementia: 10-year follow-up of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging

The construct of cognitive reserve has primarily been defined in terms of a single proxy measure, education. There may, however, be alternative, potentially additive, proxy measures of cognitive reserve, such as rural or urban residence. Using a large sample of 10,263 older Canadians, ranging in age between 64 and 99 years (mean age = 75.7 years, SD = 7.1), residents of rural and urban areas were compared using the Modified Mini-Mental State (3MS) examination as a dependent variable. Within this sample, subsamples of demented and non-demented individuals were investigated. The 3MS data were analyzed using a linear mixed model with years of education and residence as proxies of cognitive reserve and time of testing (linear and quadratic) as a within-groups variable. All predictor variables in the model (i.e., gender, age, education, residence, and time of testing) had a significant impact on cognitive functioning. The results showed that, although urban residents and higher educated individuals performed better than rural residents and lower educated individuals at baseline, these performance benefits were nullified at 10-year follow-up. The disappearance of these initial performance benefits suggests that urban dwellers and higher educated individuals are not protected against age-related cognitive decline. Thus, no support was found for the cognitive reserve hypothesis.     

The acquisition and transfer of knowledge of electrokinetic-hydrodynamics (EKHD) fundamentals: an introductory graduate-level course

Relevant engineering applications, such as bioseparation of proteins and DNA, soil-cleaning, motion of colloidal particles in different media, electrical field-based cancer treatments, and the cleaning of surfaces and coating flows, belongs to the family of ‘Applied Field Sensitive Process Technologies’ requiring an external field to move solutes in a fluid within a fibrous (or porous) domain. This field incorporates an additional variable that makes the analysis very challenging and can create for the student a number of new problems to solve. A graduate-level course, based on active-learning approaches and High Performance Learning Environments, where transfer of knowledge plays a key role, was designed by the Chemical Engineering Department at Tennessee Technological University. This course, where the fundamentals principles of EKHD were taught to science, engineering and technology students was designed by the Chemical Engineering Department at the Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, TN. An important number of these students were able to grasp the tools required to advance their research projects that led to numerous technical presentations in professional society meetings and publications in peered-reviewed journals.     

Fostering effective studying and study planning with study questions

In a course on biological psychology and neuropsychology, study questions were provided that also appeared as test questions in the course exam. This method was introduced to support students in active processing and reproduction of the study texts, and study planning. Data were gathered to test the hypothesis that study question use would be beneficial to course grades. In addition, the way in which students evaluated the method was studied. It appeared that the number of study questions answered prior to the exam had a positive effect on course grades. Students were generally positive about the use of the questions in terms of their study planning.     

Can Technology Decrease Sexual Risk Behaviors among Young People? Results of a Pilot Study Examining the Effectiveness of a Mobile Application Intervention

College students represent an important population for studying and understanding factors that influence sexual risk given the populations' high risk of sexually transmitted infections and unintended pregnancies. Using a quasi-experimental design, the efficacy of a brief and theory-driven mobile application intervention designed to decrease sexual risk behaviors among young college students (N = 118) was tested. Ninety-six percent (n = 114) of the participants showed an increase in contraceptive use knowledge from pretest to posttest (p = .013). Participants did not show a statistically significant change in intention to reduce sexual risk behaviors or actual risk reduction. This study supports the use of technology to educate college students about sexual health.     

The emotions aroused by a vocational transition in adolescents: why,when and how are they socially shared with significant others?

International Journal for Educational and Vocational Guidance - Adolescents (N = 359) completed a self-report questionnaire assessing the emotional impact of an...     

Integration of Stochastic Differential Equations Using Structural Equation Modeling: A Method to Facilitate Model Fitting and Pedagogy

Stochastic differential equation (SDE) models are a promising method for modeling intraindividual change and variability. Applications of SDEs in the social sciences are relatively limited, as these models present conceptual and programming challenges. This article presents a novel method for conceptualizing SDEs. This method uses structural equation modeling (SEM) conventions to simplify SDE specification, the flexibility of SEM to expand the range of SDEs that can be fit, and SEM diagram conventions to facilitate the teaching of SDE concepts. This method is a variation of latent difference scores (McArdle, 2009; McArdle & Hamagami, 2001) and the oversampling approach (Singer, 2012), and approximates the advantages of analytic methods such as the exact discrete model (Oud & Jansen, 2000) while retaining the modeling fiexibility of methods such as latent differential equation modeling (Boker, Neale, & Rausch, 2004). A simulation and empirical example are presented to illustrate that this method can be implemented on current computing hardware, produces good approximations of analytic solutions, and can flexibly accommodate novel models.     

Preservice Elementary Teachers’ Instructional Practices and the Teaching Science as Argument Framework

The research reported in this study examines the very first time the participants planned for and enacted science instruction within a “best-case scenario” teacher preparation program. Evidence from this study indicates that, within this context, preservice teachers are capable of implementing several of the discursive practices of science called for in standards documents including engaging students in science investigations and constructing evidence-based explanations. The participants designed experiences that allowed their students to interact with natural phenomena, gather evidence, and craft explanations of natural phenomenon. The study contends that the participants were able to achieve such successes due to their participation in a teacher education program and field placement, which were designed using a comprehensive, conceptual framework. Video of the participant’s teaching and annotated self-analysis videos served as the primary data for this study. Implications for future research and elementary science teacher education are discussed.     

Artistic Constitutions of the Civil Domain: On Art,Education and Democracy

How can we understand the relationship between art, education and democracy in the contemporary Western political condition? The recent presidential elections in the USA showed that the classical model of liberal representative democracy is shaking on its foundations. The question is how can artists and education respond to this political condition? In this article it is argued that art has a special quality to address political, and especially democratic, issues. It can strengthen education in its lessons in democracy and citizenship. Art has a special quality to walk on an alternative path of democracy, namely that of the civil domain. In the civil sphere artistic qualities and skills of designing and of imagination can play a crucial role.