Evaluating Student Success in a Cohort-based Graduate Program for Criminal Justice Professionals

Previous studies have shown that additional education for criminal justice professionals can improve individual effectiveness. This higher level of education can facilitate better communication, problem-solving skills, and performance. The University of South Florida offers a unique cohort-style/weekend-based Master’s program (MACJA) that is designed specifically for these professionals. This program has graduated 180 students since 2006, all members of the criminal justice field. The current study aims to determine which student background factors are associated with a higher graduating GPA in the program. This project will also discuss the results of a follow-up survey of MACJA graduates assessing professional advancement following graduation, specifically targeting topics such as promotions, special awards or recognitions, teaching experience, and further education.     

Changes in mechanical properties of sprinting during repeated sprint in elite rugby sevens athletes

This study aimed to analyse fatigue-induced changes in mechanical sprinting properties during a specific repeated-sprint test in elite rugby sevens athletes. Twenty elite rugby sevens players performed ten 40?m sprints on a 30?s cycle with participant’s running back and forth in a marked lane. Radar was used to assess maximal overground sprint performance over each 40?m. Macroscopic mechanical properties (maximal horizontal force (F₀), maximal horizontal power (P_max), maximal ratio of horizontal force (RF_peak), decrease in the ratio of horizontal-to-total force (D_RF), total force and maximal sprinting velocity (v₀)) were drawn from horizontal force velocity relationships, using a validated method applied to the speed–time data. Fatigue-induced changes were analysed comparing the first sprint to an average of 2^nd-4^th, 5^th-7^th and 8^th-10^th. Repeated-sprint ability (RSA) testing induced substantial changes in the maximal velocity component, with a decrease (–15%) in v₀ (effect size (ES)?=?–2.46 to –4.98), and to a lower extent (–5.9%) in the maximal force component F₀ (ES?=?–0.59). D_RF moderately decreased (14%; ES=–0.76–1.11), and RF_peak largely decreased in the later sprints (ES?=?–0.32 to –1.27). Fatigue observed in this RSA test appeared to have a greater effect on the technical ability to produce horizontal force at high velocities, likely due to an alteration in the ability to maintain horizontally oriented force application when velocity increases rather than during the initial acceleration phase, but also the overall force production capacity. The ability to maintain forward-oriented force at high velocities is of central importance for identifying fatigue and monitoring load.     

Proposed modifications to the conceptual model of coaching efficacy and additional validity evidence for the Coaching Efficacy Scale II-High School Teams

The purpose of this study was to determine whether theoretically relevant sources of coaching efficacy could predict the measures derived from the Coaching Efficacy Scale II-High School Teams (CES II-HST). Data were collected from head coaches of high school teams in the United States (N=799). The analytic framework was a multiple-group confirmatory factor analysis with ordered-categorical indicators and observed covariates. Applying this framework to the conceptual model of coaching efficacy (CMCE) resulted in a statistical model equivalent to a multiple-group multivariate regression with latent outcomes. Results provided evidence for the ability of measures derived from the CES II-HST to be predicted by theoretically relevant sources of coaching efficacy and suggested modifications to the CMCE.     

Investigating the development of professional learning communities: compare schools in Shanghai and Southwest China

Abstract

This quantitative study investigated and compared the development of professional learning communities in schools located in two Chinese cities, namely, Shanghai and Mianyang. The two cities have significant differences in terms of educational, economic, social, and cultural development. While Shanghai is a directly controlled municipality in East China, Mianyang is a city of Sichuan Province in Southwest China. Based on the literature review and an analysis of the Chinese context, the authors developed a questionnaire to explore and compare the professional learning community (PLC) practices of schools in the two cities. Findings show that schools in Mianyang had more PLCs practices than those sampled schools in Shanghai, in terms of collaborative learning and facilitative leadership. Such differences could be explained by the educational, economic, social, and cultural differences between the two cities. Practical implications for school development in both Shanghai and Mianyang as well as suggestions for future research are provided.     

Changes in long jump take-off technique with increasing run-up speed

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of run-up speed on take-off technique in the long jump. Seventy-one jumps by an elite male long jumper were recorded in the sagittal plane by a high-speed video camera. A wide range of run-up speeds was obtained using direct intervention to set the length of the athlete's run-up. As the athlete's run-up speed increased, the jump distance and take-off speed increased, the leg angle at touchdown remained almost unchanged, and the take-off angle and take-off duration steadily decreased. The predictions of two previously published mathematical models of the long jump take-off are in reasonable agreement with the experimental data.