Temporal changes in home advantage in English football since the Second World War: what explains improved away performance?

This study examined temporal trends in home advantage in the top two English football divisions and used change point analysis to test the hypothesis that home advantage has not remained constant over time. Regression analysis was used to model the impact of substitutions (a proxy for "information transfer") and the points system on home advantage. The results suggest that changing from two points for a win to three points for a win has led to a 0.39 reduction (95% confidence interval=0.21 to 0.56) in the ratio of home wins to away wins. Increasing the number of substitutions is associated with a small increase in the ratio of home wins to away wins, although this is not statistically significant. The evidence indicates that, in this particular context, the extent of home advantage has diminished. This contradicts most other published work, which suggests that home advantage is stable over time. I argue that this reduction is more likely to be the result of the introduction of three points for a win, which has lessened the incentives for away teams to settle for a draw, than an increase in "information transfer". Research into temporal trends in home advantage is interesting in its own right but might, in addition, shed light on determinants of the home advantage phenomenon.     

A protocol for measuring the direct effect of cycling on neuromuscular control of running in triathletes

Abstract

The direct effects of cycling on movement and muscle recruitment patterns (neuromuscular control) during running are unknown but critical to success in triathlon. We outline and test a new protocol for investigating the direct influence of cycling on neuromuscular control during running. Leg movement (three-dimensional kinematics) and muscle recruitment (surface electromyography, EMG) were compared between a control run (no prior exercise) and a 30-min transition run that was preceded by 20 min of cycling. We conducted three experiments investigating: (a) the repeatability (between-day reliability) of the protocol; (b) the ability of the protocol to investigate, in highly trained national or international triathletes, the direct influence of cycling on neuromuscular control during running independent of neuromuscular fatigue; and (c) the ability of the protocol to provide a control, or baseline, measure of neuromuscular control (determined using a measure of stability) without causing fatigue. Kinematic and EMG measures of neuromuscular control during running showed moderate to high repeatability: mean coefficients of multiple correlation for repeatability of EMG and kinematics were 0.816 ± 0.014 and 0.911 ± 0.031, respectively. The protocol provided a robust baseline measure of neuromuscular control during running without causing neuromuscular fatigue (coefficients of multiple correlation for stability of EMG and kinematics were 0.827 ± 0.023 and 0.862 ± 0.054), while EMG and force data provided no evidence of fatigue. The protocol outlined here is repeatable and can be used to measure any direct influence of cycling on neuromuscular control during running.     

Variation in Students’ Experiences of the ‘Oxford Tutorial’

This paper examines Oxford University students’ conceptions of the role of the tutorial in their learning. An analysis of interviews with 28 students constituted four qualitatively different conceptions of the ‘Oxford Tutorial’. These ranged from the tutorial involving the tutor explaining to the student what the student did not know, to the tutorial involving the tutor and the student in exchanging different points of view and both coming to a new understanding of the topic under discussion. These different conceptions also appeared to be related to variations in students’ views of the role of the work done in preparation for the tutorial, their view of the student’s and tutor’s roles in the tutorial, and the conception of knowledge that students adopted in relation to the tutorial. The implications of this study are discussed in terms of the relations between students’ conceptions of tutorials and their anticipated learning outcomes and its implications for contexts outside of Oxford in terms of students’ conceptions of academic tasks.     

College/University Counseling Centers Supporting Study Away: Challenges and Opportunities

Research points to significant numbers of students on college campuses experiencing mental health distress and an ever increasing number of college students who are choosing to make an off-campus educational experience a part of their college careers. When we consider both of these trends together, it is quite apparent that a significant number of students with mental health concerns will spend periods of time studying away from campus, with converging concerns among college mental health and study away professionals about how to best support these students. This article seeks to outline both challenges and opportunities inherent in the collaboration between campus professionals in supporting students with mental health issues before and during their study away experiences.     

Within‐High‐School Versus Across‐High‐School Scaling of Admissions Assessments: Implications for Validity and Diversity Effects

Previous research has established that SAT scores and high school grade point average (HSGPA) differ in their predictive power and in the size of mean differences across racial/ethnic groups. However, the SAT is scaled nationally across all test takers while HSGPA is scaled locally within a school. In this study, the researchers propose that this difference in how SAT scores and HSGPA are scaled partially explains differences in validity and subgroup differences. Using a large data set consisting of 170,390 students each of whom matriculated at one of 114 separate colleges, the researchers find that awarding SAT scores by ranking SAT within a high school generally results in substantial reduction in the size of subgroup mean differences for this predictor. However, validity for predicting first‐year GPA is also reduced by a small amount. Conversely, placing HSGPA onto a nationally normed metric through the use of multiple regression procedures results in a moderate increase in the size of subgroup mean differences, while also producing a small increase in validity. Taken together, these findings suggest that differences in predictor scaling can partially explain differences in the size of subgroup mean differences between HSGPA and SAT scores and have implications for predictive power.     

Against the current: A grounded theory study on the estrangement experiences of a select group of Filipino gay older persons

According to Healthy People (2011), in order to understand the health concerns of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT), the oppression and discrimination that they have faced must be scrutinized. Among the many issues they face, their estrangement experiences are one of the most understudied. However, little is known about how it is experienced by the gay elderly population, hence, this investigation. This grounded theory purports to describe the process by which estrangement is experienced among the Filipino gay older adults. Strauss and Corbin’s Grounded Theory (1990) design was utilized. A total of 10 gay older persons were purposively chosen to participate in semi-structured interviews. Field texts were subjected to thematic analysis involving open, axial, and selective coding. The study generated The Sailing Model of Estrangement. Remarkably, three phases relative to estrangement emerged, namely: sequestering, striving, and surviving. Primarily, the sequestering phase involves the gay persons’ need to express self, search for acceptance, and its subsequent reactions. The striving phase typifies the struggle in dealing with estrangement leading to either feelings of depression, remorse and shame or positivity, hopefulness, and motivation. Finally, in the surviving phase, gay persons may either feel contented and fulfilled or sad, lonely, and remorseful as they acquiesce aging with estrangement. Findings of the study offer an understanding of how Filipino gay older adults employ coping strategies in response to estrangement.     

Book reviews

Zwartjes, Otto, ed. La Sociedad andalusí y sus tradiciones literarias (Foro Hispánico, 7). Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1994.

Brincat, Joseph M. Malta 870–1054: Al‐Himyai's Account and its Linguistic Implications. Malta: Said International Ltd., 1995. 52pp.

Sells, Michael A. Mystical Languages of Unsaying. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1994. 316 pp., US$18.95 (paperback), US$49.91 (cloth).

Diem, Werner, Arabische Geschäftsbriefe des 10. bis 14. Jahrhunderts aus der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek in Wien (Documents Arabica Antiqua 1), 2 vols. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1995. Textband ix+518pp., Tafelband 76 plates.

Coope, Jessica A. The Martyrs of Cordoba: Community and Family Conflict in an Age of Mass Conversion. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995. xvii+113 pp., US$ 25 (cloth).

Edwards, John. Religion and Society in Spain, c.1492 (Variorum Collected Studies Series: CS 520). Aldershot and Brookfield: Variorum, 1996. x+351 pp., US$ 97.00 (cloth).

Tolan, John Victor, ed. Medìeval Christian Perceptions of Islam. A Book of Essays (Garland Medieval Casebooks, Volume 10). New York and London: Garland Publishing, 1996. xxi+414 pp., US$60.00 (cloth).     

International conferences: Significant measures of success

This article reviews the literature on evaluating international conferences identifying significant factors which contribute to measured success. Extensive previous research over the last twenty years has identified criteria for evaluating success which continue to be ignored as international conferences repeat the same mistakes. More systematic research is needed. A framework of 25 evaluation measures is described for future research on the assessment of international conferences.Responses to three items of a questionnaire sent out by the East-West Culture Learning Institute as part of a project studying international conferences are also discussed, relating to evaluation measures, problems of evaluation and potential benefits of evaluation. Guidelines and suggestions are provided synthesizing the available research toward planning more successful international conferences in the future. In conclusion, six issues are identified for further clarification in future research on international conferences.