Effects of resistance training performed to repetition failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Purpose:We aimed to perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of training to muscle failure or non-failure on muscular strength and hypertrophy.Methods:Meta-analyses of effect sizes(ESs)explored the effects of training to failure vs.non-failure on strength and hypertrophy.Subgroup meta-analyses explored potential moderating effects of variables such as training status(trained vs.untrained),training volume(volume equated vs.volume non-equated),body region(upper vs.lower),exercise selection(multi-vs.single-joint exercises(only for strength)),and study design(independent vs.dependent groups).Results:Fifteen studies were included in the review.All studies included young adults as participants.Meta-analysis indicated no significant difference between the training conditions for muscular strength(ES=-0.09,95%confidence interval(95%CI):-0.22 to 0.05)and for hypertrophy(ES=0.22,95%CI:-0.11 to 0.55).Subgroup analyses that stratified the studies according to body region,exercise selection,or study design showed no significant differences between training conditions.In studies that did not equate training volume between the groups,the analysis showed significant favoring of non-failure training on strength gains(ES=-0.32,95%CI:-0.57 to-0.07).In the subgroup analysis for resistance-trained individuals,the analysis showed a significant effect of training to failure for muscle hypertrophy(ES=0.15,95%CI:0.03-0.26).Conclusion:Training to muscle failure does not seem to be required for gains in strength and muscle size.However,training in this manner does not seem to have detrimental effects on these adaptations,either.More studies should be conducted among older adults and highly trained individuals to improve the generalizability of these findings.     

A comparative study of peer and teacher feedback and of various peer feedback forms in a secondary school writing curriculum

This study examines whether peer feedback can be a substitute for teacher feedback and which measures can be taken to improve its effectiveness. A pre‐test post‐test control group design examined the long‐term learning effects of individual peer feedback and of collective teacher feedback on writing assignments in secondary education. Moreover, it examined the added value of a priori question forms and a posteriori reply forms aimed at supporting the assessee's response to peer feedback. The study supports the ‘non‐inferiority’ hypothesis of there being no significant difference in students’ progress after plain substitutional peer feedback or teacher feedback. Both groups (plain peer feedback and teacher feedback), however, improved significantly less than the groups that worked with question or reply forms, confirming the added‐value of these forms. Almost half of the students found the received peer feedback helpful, but less than a quarter considered giving feedback an aid in their own learning process.     

Speed kills,speed thrills: constraining and enabling accelerations in academic work-life

Intensification, speed of change and faster pace of life have recently emerged as significant issues in studies analysing the current academic climate. This article takes up the ‘social acceleration thesis’ as a conceptual resource for capturing the relationship between the individual experience of time and the changing structure and operations of contemporary academia. Using qualitative data from the UK, it analyses the texture and implications of the accelerating pace of academic work-life. It argues that such pace is both resented, as well as strategically managed by academics. In this way, the analysis opens up more agentic approach to the overall dynamisation in academic work-life and argues that it is possible to conceive acceleration as practical and even thrilling. Against the background of such an approach, the article concludes by stating that acceleration in academic work-life is an ambivalent experience and by questioning recent propositions under the label of slow academia.     

ICT,public values and transformative government: A framework and programme for research

Many adjectives are used in the context of transforming government including making it more open, transparent, participative, agile, responsive and so forth. Most, if not all, of these adjectives are either in themselves public values or reflect one or more underlying public values. This paper examines the relationship between information and communications technology (ICT), transformative government and such public values and proposes a framework for further research. A study of the literature on public values is used to develop a typology of public sector values likely to be affected by ICT. This impact is examined for a number of these values. For others hypotheses about the impact of ICT on other values are then posited. It is argued that ICTs can and do have transformational impacts on public values, though not always for the better, concludes that values are a potential powerful lens for considering such impacts and sets out a programme of research into these relationships.     

Investigating Team Learning in a Military Context

As teams have become fundamental parts of today’s organisations, the need for these teams to function and learn efficiently and effectively is widely emphasised. Also in military contexts team learning is vital. The current article examines team learning behaviour in military teams as it aims to cross-validate a team learning model that was originally developed and tested in an educational context. This team learning model includes several socio-cognitive factors that precede, constitute, and result from team learning behaviour. Findings based on path analyses indicate that psychological safety, social cohesion and group potency are positively related to team learning behaviour in military teams. In addition, team learning behaviour does not only foster the construction of mutually shared cognition and transactive memory systems, but also relates positively to the effectiveness of military teams.     

Adaptation Guidance for Evidence-Based Teen Pregnancy and STI/HIV Prevention Curricula: From Development to Practice

Evidence-based interventions (EBIs) are effective in preventing adolescent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections; however, prevention practitioners are challenged when selecting and adapting the most appropriate programs. While there are existing adaptation frameworks, there is little practical guidance in applying research in the field. To address this need, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Reproductive Health initiated the Adaptation Guidance Project. The project included the development of a comprehensive adaptation guidance framework and adaptation kits for select evidence-based teen pregnancy and HIV prevention programs. In addition, three innovative concepts emerged that have application to other adaptation program and evaluation efforts, including moving research into practice. First, the authors defined the core components of an EBI in three distinct ways: core content, core pedagogy, and core implementation. Second, they piloted a practitioner-friendly adaptation guidance-messaging schema—Green, Yellow, and Red Light Adaptations, and last they included fidelity/adaptation monitoring logs. This article will describe the process used to develop the adaptation guidance kits, including the main features and tools.