Rhetoric and Power: The Idealism and ‘Philosophy of Life’ of the Olympic Movement

In this article we analyze from a multidisciplinary perspective some of the philosophical foundations which underpin the theories on Olympism fostered by the current Olympic institutions. We start from the theory that Olympist idealism1 is based on social representations of the modern sport, implicit to which is the ideological justification for the political and social practices of the Olympic Movement (OM) regarding the various historical episodes in which it has been caught up. This idealism has shaped an inherited view of the sport which has moved beyond the ambit of the OM and into the realm of sports science, which has adopted and continues to adopt some of the postulates of the Olympist discourse when undertaking a critical review of the Olympic history and philosophy.     

An Approach to Introducing Environmental Education into the Science Methods Course in Teacher Education

This approach attempts to use environmental education as a thread in the science methods course in teacher education for lower secondary level (12‐14) in the University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain). The framework of the approach, which stresses the for’ component of environmental education is discussed and some of the strategies and activities used are presented, for instance production of concept maps on environmental issues and a role‐play about traffic restrictions in the historic city of Santiago. Some of the difficulties that student teachers encounter in translating this approach to the practical level are also discussed.     

Teaching evolution and natural selection: a look at textbooks and teachers

As a part of a larger study on the learning of natural selection by secondary school students in Spain, data were gathered about how textbooks deal with this topic, and about the ability of teachers to explore pupils' ideas related to it. These data were contrasted with an approach seeking to develop the pupils' capacity to explain biological change using the model of natural selection. Textbooks were analyzed with respect to the following characteristics: the way key ideas in the model were handled, the attention paid to pupils' ideas, and the type of activities used in the instruction. The study involved evaluating the above factors in a sample of 17 books used in Spain, as well as the approaches that teachers used. Results show that in most cases the approach is characterized by superficial handling of key ideas, lack of attention paid to alternative ideas, and little variety in activities. Relation between this approach and the difficulties that pupils show in the use of the model are discussed herein. Mark what Jacob did When Laban and himself were compromis'd, That all the eanlings which were streak' d and pied, Should fall as Jacob's hire, the ewes, being rank, In end of autumn turned to the rams: and when the work of generation was Between these woolly breeders in the act. The skillful shepherd peel'd me certain wands, and, in the doing of the deed of kind, He stuck them up before the fulsome ewes, Who, then conceiving, did in earning time Fall party-colour''d lambs, and those were Jacob's.     

Spanish Secondary School Students' Notions on the Causes and Consequences of Climate Change

This paper is part of an extensive study of secondary school students' preconceived ideas about climate change. Here, we undertake a survey in the province of Valencia (Spain) to ascertain secondary school students' notions of the causes and consequences of climate change. Results show, among other things, that students clearly relate the misuse of motor vehicles and factory emissions to the problem. However, the obvious correlation with household energy use is not observed. The usual confusion with other environmental problems, such as the hole in the ozone layer, as described in previous studies, is also detected. Students know almost no greenhouse gases other than CO₂, while the socio‐economic consequences of climate change are the least perceived.     

Acute effects of static and dynamic stretching on hamstrings’ response times

Abstract

The main purposes of this study were to (a) investigate acute effects of static and dynamic lower limb stretching routines on total response time, pre-motor time and motor time of the medial and lateral hamstrings during maximal eccentric isokinetic knee flexion; and (b) determine whether static and dynamic routines elicit similar responses. A total of 38 active adults completed the following intervention protocols in a randomised order on separate days: (a) non-stretching (control condition), (b) static stretching and (c) dynamic stretching. After the stretching or control intervention, total response time, pre-motor time and motor time of the medial and lateral hamstrings were assessed during eccentric knee flexion movements with participants prone. Measures were compared via a mixed-design factorial ANOVA. There were no main effects for total response time, pre-motor time and motor time. The results suggest that dynamic and static stretching has no influence on hamstrings response times (total response time, pre-motor time and motor time) and hence neither form of stretching reduces this primary risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament injury.     

Evaluation of the teaching guide as an instrument for adaptation to the new European credit system： Case analysis

This paper presents the evaluation of the teaching guide application for the subject of management control in the Business Management and Administration Degree. The evaluation began with the analysis of a questionnaire which aimed to collect the perceptions of learners who have studied this subject in two groups （morning and afternoon） during the first semester of the current academic year. The intention of this analysis was to obtain information that would meet two objectives： to continue upgrading the teaching-learning process and to revise and improve all the components in the teaching guide. There is an analysis of the degree of difficulty involved in the activities proposed and the degree to which specific objectives for different competencies have been attained. Likewise, we have carried out a global assessment of the different methodologies applied in the teaching-learning process, and an assessment of the evaluation system as well as of other aspects that could have hindered reaching the objectives stated in the guide. Furthermore, the relevance of this questionnaire has been vindicated for obtaining the information necessary to adjust the learner＇s workload to the European credit.     

Isokinetic trunk flexion–extension protocol to assess trunk muscle strength and endurance: Reliability,learning effect,and sex differences

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and the learning effect of an isokinetic trunk flexion–extension protocol designed to simultaneously assess trunk muscle strength and endurance. In addition, the effect of the participants' sex on the reliability data was examined.MethodsFifty-seven healthy and physically active young men (n = 28) and women (n = 29) performed the isokinetic protocol 5 times, separated by a week between each of the first 4 sessions and by a month between the last 2 sessions. The protocol consisted of performing 4 trials of 15 maximum flexion–extension concentric exertions at 120°/s (range of trunk motion = 50°). The absolute and relative peak torque and total work were calculated to assess trunk flexion and extension strength. In addition, endurance ratio, modified endurance ratio, fatigue final ratio, recovery ratio, and modified recovery ratio variables were used for the assessment of trunk muscle endurance in both directions.ResultsRegarding the absolute reliability, no relevant changes were found between paired-comparison sessions for most strength and endurance variables, except for total work and relative total work variables in the flexion movement in both sexes. In addition, the typical error of the isokinetic variables was lower than 10% in both males and females, and minimum detectable changes ranged from 7% to 20%, with a tendency to be higher in females and in endurance variables. The strength variables showed high-to-excellent intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs; >0.74); however, for the endurance variables only the endurance ratio and the modified endurance ratio obtained moderate-to-high ICC values (0.57 < ICC < 0.82). In addition, the analysis of the variance reported no significant differences between consecutive pairs of sessions for most variables in both sexes.ConclusionOverall, these findings provide clinicians, trainers, and researchers with a 10-min single-session protocol to perform a reliable muscle strength and endurance evaluation of trunk flexor and extensor muscles, all within the same protocol.     

Overcoming feudal constraints on educational research in Spain: the impact of the CIMIE conference

ABSTRACT

Feudal structures and power relationships that Spanish universities inherited from Franco’s dictatorship have damaged the quality of educational research. However, the emergence of initiatives aimed to address these limitations have been identified. In this article, we analyze the impact of the Multidisciplinary International Conference on Educational Research (CIMIE). Specifically, we analyze how CIMIE is contributing to overcome some of the feudal constraints affecting educational research in Spain, such as fragmentation of areas of knowledge, limited international research efforts, and precarious and unstable employment situations of many researchers. Grounded in the communicative methodology of research and using mixed methods, we have conducted a longitudinal study of this research initiative (2012–2016), comprising interviews and communicative observations, analysis of documentation and quantitative data. The results show that participants understand that their involvement in CIMIE is contributing to make them feel released from the constraints of university feudalism by building solidarity networks and egalitarian relationships, and by rethinking research.