Archival science and changes in the paradigm

The dominant paradigm in Archival Science, thehistorical-technicist paradigm, has its origins with the French Revolution and raised from the social, economic, political, ideological and cultural changes that occur during the 19th and 20th centuries. During this last one and due specially to the technological revolution Archival Science reinforced its technical component and became autonomous in face of History, but the consolidation of the model, based on a custodial, technicist and documentalist perspective, is associated to a knowledge essentially empirical. By effect of the new conditions generated by Information Society, the dominant paradigm entered into a crisis and developed inside itself the factors which, unavoidably, will produce the paradigm shift. The new paradigm — thescientific-informational paradigm — conceives Archival Science as an applied discipline into the scope of Information Science and defines unequivocally its object of study — the archive, understood as aninformation system — and its scientific method of research. The method tends to find consolidation through quadripolar research dynamics, which is operated and continuously repeated within the field of knowledge itself, which implies a permanent interaction on four poles — epistemological, theoretical, technical and morphological.     

Positive Aging Beyond “Success”: Towards a More Inclusive Perspective of High Level Functioning in Old Age

Successful aging is the ability to maintain low probability of disease and disability, high cognitive and physical functioning, and active engagement with life (Rowe &; Kahn, 1999 Rowe, J. W. &; Kahn, R. L. (1999). Successful aging. New York, NY: Dell Pub. [Google Scholar]). These criteria allow for a minority of people to be classified as being “successful” and overlook the importance of psychological variables in balancing the weight of disease. A total of 1322 seniors (55 + years) were classified on their overall functioning according to core domains (health, psychological, cognitive, biobehavioural, social, personality). Findings support the idea that a broader perspective of aging outcomes, rather than success criteria, may better reflect reality.     

Self-selected or imposed exercise? A different approach for affective comparisons

The aim of this study was to compare the psychological and physiological responses of self-selected and imposed sessions of equivalent intensities and durations and allowing to participants a free control of pace during the self-selected session. Seventeen participants completed three sessions on a cycle ergometer. Participant’s VO_2Peak and lactate threshold were measured during an incremental exercise test. During the second and third sessions, participants could view a virtual cyclist on a monitor. During the self-selected session, participants were allowed free control of the intensity and duration. To ensure that the imposed session replicated the self-selected session in intensity, participants were instructed to follow an additional virtual cyclist, which was displayed on a monitor using the CompuTrainer 3D software. Power output and physiological and psychological variables were recorded during the sessions. A two-way ANOVA showed no effect of condition for power output (P = 0.940), heart rate (HR) (P = 0.965), VO₂ (P = 0.898), blood lactate (P = 0.667), Feeling Scale (P = 0.877), Felt Arousal Scale (P = 0.924) and CR100 (P = 0.939). A paired t-test showed no significant difference in Physical Activity Enjoyment Scale scores between sessions (P = 0.054). In contrast to previous studies, the self-selected session did not provide better affective responses than the imposed session with same intensity and duration.     

Effect of resistance training with different frequencies and subsequent detraining on muscle mass and appendicular lean soft tissue,IGF-1, and testosterone in older women

Objective: To analyse the effect of resistance training (RT) frequency on muscle mass, appendicular lean soft tissue, insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), testosterone, and their changes with detraining in older women. Methods: Forty-five physically independent older women (≥ 60?years) were randomly assigned to perform RT either two (G2X, n = 21) or three times/week (G3X, n = 24), during 12?weeks (8 exercises, 1 set of 10–15 repetition maximum). Muscle mass and appendicular lean soft tissue, IGF-1, testosterone, and dietary intake were measured at pre-training, post-training, and after detraining (12?weeks). Results: Muscle mass and appendicular lean soft tissue significantly increased post-training (G2X?=?+5.5% and G3X?=?+5.8%, P?P?P?Conclusion: We conclude that lower RT frequency is as effective as higher frequency to improve muscle mass and appendicular lean soft tissue, and to maintain testosterone and IGF-1. Additionally, detraining may reduce testosterone regardless of RT frequency. These results are specifically for community-dwelling older women and may not be generalized to other populations.     

The evolution of student-coach’s pedagogical content knowledge in a combined use of sport education and the step-game-approach model*

Background: One of the essential elements within Sport Education is the inclusion of student roles and responsibilities. While previous research has examined students’ performance in officiating tasks, the examination of student-coaches’ pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) within peer-assisted tasks of Sport Education has been scarce. Indeed, the only study to date which has examined student-coach effectiveness was conducted by Wallhead and O’Sullivan [2007. “A Didactic Analysis of Content Development During the Peer Teaching Tasks of a Sport Education Season.”Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy 12 (3): 225–243]. In that study, student-coaches struggled to manifest PCK by providing appropriate demonstrations, to diagnose errors, or to modify tasks for higher order content development. The study of PCK may be a useful heuristic to examine instructional effectiveness in physical education.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the evolution of the PCK of a cohort of student-coaches across three hybrid Sport Education-Step Game Approach seasons, and to examine the impact of protocols put in place to specifically enhance coaches’ PCK.

Participants and setting: Twenty-one students and one teacher from a school class in the north of Portugal participated in the present study.

Method: Data from multiple sources were collected: (a) videotape observations of all lessons, (b) field notes, and (c) pre-lesson interviews with the student-coaches. These were then subjected to deductive examination through a process of thematic analysis.

Findings and conclusions: Following a baseline season that identified four key limitations within the student-coaches’ instruction (task presentation, error diagnosis, feedback, and task modification), these students participated in specific coach preparation that involved modelling teacher’s instruction, pre-lesson meetings, and coaches’ corners. While showing marked improvement in their content knowledge across the second season, a second protocol was instigated during the third that involved the student-coaches to participate in stimulated reflections of their instruction and the incorporation of planning sheets to enhance their instruction. It was found that both interventions were efficacious in developing student-coaches’ PCK, which allowed a more complete transfer of the instructional responsibility from the teacher to the students. These results give insight into the importance of including coach education protocols within the design of seasons of Sport Education with respect to student-coaches’ instructional preparation.     

An integrated approach to develop professional and technical skills for informatics engineering students

Many of the current approaches used in teaching and learning in engineering education are not the most appropriate to prepare students for the challenges they will face in their professional careers. The active involvement of students in their learning process facilitates the development of the technical and professional competencies they need as professionals. This article describes the organisation and impact of a mini-conference and project work – the creation of a software product and its introduction in the market – aimed at the development of professional competencies in general and writing skills in particular. The course was evaluated by assessing the students’ perception of the development of a number of professional competencies through a questionnaire completed by 125 students from two consecutive year groups. The results indicate that the project work and the mini-conference had a positive impact on students’ perceptions of the development of professional competencies.     

Criterion-related validity of the 20-m shuttle run test in youths aged 13–19 years

Abstract

We assessed the agreement between maximal oxygen consumption ([Vdot]O_2max) measured directly when performing the 20-m shuttle run test and estimated [Vdot]O_2max from five different equations (i.e. Barnett, equations a and b; Léger; Matsuzaka; and Ruiz) in youths. The 20-m shuttle run test was performed by 26 girls (mean age 14.6 years, s = 1.5; body mass 57.2 kg, s = 8.9; height 1.60 m, s = 0.06) and 22 boys (age 15.0 years, s = 1.6; body mass 63.5 kg, s = 11.5; height 1.70 m, s = 0.01). The participants wore a portable gas analyser (K4b2, Cosmed) to measure [Vdot]O₂ during the test. All the equations significantly underestimated directly measured [Vdot]O_2max, except Barnett's (b) equation. The mean difference ranged from 1.3 ml · kg^?1 · min^?1 (Barnett (b)) to 5.5 ml · kg^?1 · min^?1 (Léger). The standard error of the estimate ranged from 5.3 ml · kg^?1 · min^?1 (Ruiz) to 6.5 ml · kg^?1 · min^?1 (Léger), and the percentage error ranged from 21.2% (Ruiz) to 38.3% (Léger). The accuracy of the equations available to estimate [Vdot]O_2max from the 20-m shuttle run test is questionable at the individual level. Furthermore, special attention should be paid when comparisons are made between studies (e.g. population-based studies) using different equations. The results of the present study suggest that Barnett's (b) equation provides the closest agreement with directly measured [Vdot]O_2max (cardiorespiratory fitness) in youth.