Effects of playing surface on physiological responses and performance variables in a controlled football simulation

Abstract

In spite of the increased acceptance of artificial turf in football, few studies have investigated if matches are altered by the type of surface used and no research has compared physiological responses to football activity on artificial and natural surfaces. In the present study, participants performed a football match simulation on high-quality artificial and natural surfaces. Neither mean heart rate (171 ± 9 beats · min^?1 vs. 171 ± 9 beats · min^?1; P > 0.05) nor blood lactate (4.8 ± 1.6 mM vs. 5.3 ± 1.8 mM; P > 0.05) differed between the artificial and natural surface, respectively. Measures of sprint, jumping and agility performance declined through the match simulation but surface type did not affect the decrease in performance. For example, the fatigue index of repeated sprints did not differ (P > 0.05) between the artificial, (6.9 ± 2.1%) and natural surface (7.4 ± 2.4%). The ability to turn after sprinting was affected by surface type but this difference was dependent on the type of turn. Although there were small differences in the ability to perform certain movements between artificial and natural surfaces, the results suggest that fatigue and physiological responses to football activity do not differ markedly between surface-type using the high-quality pitches of the present study.     

The struggles for democracy in an information society

Abstract

Japan is the industrialized country that is most closely identified with an overall industrial policy. It has often been assumed that the success of the Japanese computer industry is attributed to a coherent set of policy measures. The article revisits this assumption by examining the scope and nature of government intervention, and the role of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) in particular, in the growth of the computer industry. The analysis shows that industrial policy did not contribute as much as is commonly suggested.     

The Effects of Training in Social Perspective Taking on Socially Maladjusted Girls

A paucity of research exists concerning training programs for the development of interpersonal functioning in socially maladjusted or delinquent adolescent females. Females in a residential institution participated in a role-play program designed to enhance social perspective-taking ability. In 15 sessions girls were coached in specific social skills and acted multiple role perspectives in typical problem situations. Compared to girls in a fitness training program, girls in the role-play training program showed enhanced performance on a measure of social perspective taking. Generalized effects were also found for performance on tests of interpersonal problem analysis, empathy, and the acceptance of individual differences. Additionally, observational data indicated that role-play training resulted in increased prosocial behaviors. Role-play training had no effect on a measure of referential communication.     

Serious game in introductory psychology for professional awareness: Optimal learner control and authenticity

Introductory Psychology courses in Higher Education lack application of knowledge in solving work-based problems. We develop and study mini-games that support a more active and experiential way of learning to increase professional awareness. This paper describes the instructional design and the factors under study: learner control and authenticity. We compared professional awareness and perceived authenticity for the old (without game, n = 130) and new course (with game, n = 197) by administering pre- and post-questionnaires. Participants were allocated to game variants, differing in freedom of assignment order (less or more learner control) and number of sources available (less or more authentic). We computer logged their game actions, and asked them additional questions about gameplay that concerned aspects like motivation, flow, performance, learnability and usability. Both courses improved professional awareness (knowledge gains of 4% for the old and 12% for the new course), but only in the new course with mini-games this was significant. Students evaluated gameplay and their content as “more than sufficient” to “good.” A free order of assignments was found to produce more effective (in-game) performance, and the provision of more sources was found to improve learnability, authentic learning and appreciations of gameplay.     

The Concept of Cycles for Environmental Education

The concept of ‘cycles’ could be an integrative one for learning about environmental issues within several school subject areas. This concept is the subject of this study with the following question: what are the ideas secondary school students associate with the word ‘cycles’ before instruction? Students formulate their associations on the stimulus word ‘cycles’ in terms of the school subject areas ‘biology’ and ‘environment’ more than in terms of the subject areas geography or other sciences. In their formulations a restricted number of cycle ideas, relevant for the use of cycles as an integrative concept in environmental education, occurs. Possibilities for making use of the concept of cycles in lower and higher secondary environmental education are discussed.     

Students’ Views About Secondary School Science Lessons: The Role of Practical Work

This paper reports an interpretive study that sought students' views about the role that practical work plays in their school science lessons. Twenty-nine students aged between 13 and 16 years were selected from three secondary schools in England. Data were collected from initial lesson observations and in-depth interviews in order to explore students’ views about practical work. The findings suggest that students have three main reasons why practical work is important in their school science lessons: for interest and activity, including social and personal features such as participation and autonomy; as an alternative to other forms of science teaching involving a pedagogy of transmission, and as a way of learning, including memorizing and recall. The findings are discussed in the context of a critical view of previous work on the role of practical work, work on attitudes to science and on the student voice. The paper concludes that practical work is seen to provide opportunities for students to engage with and influence their own learning but that learning with practical work remains a complex issue that needs further research and evaluation about its use, effectiveness and of the role of scientific inquiry as a component of practical activity.     

Who is missing from higher education in New Zealand?

There is disagreement in the literature regarding the influence of social and cultural factors on the propensity for young people to undertake higher education. This study draws upon a national data set of over 45,000 young people to assesses their propensity to progress to bachelor level study, while controlling for their ethnic backgrounds, their socio‐economic status (as measured by the decile of the last secondary school they attended), their gender, and their school achievement. The results are discussed in light of recent policy developments designed to ensure that access to bachelor‐level study is not closed to under‐represented groups.     

An Exploratory Study of International Students Studying and Living in a Regional Area

The aim of this research is to explore the similarity and differences international students encounter while studying and living in a regional area of Australia as compared to their Asian homeland. This study builds on both academic and lifestyle issues previously identified in research and explores the international students' experiences on their academic adjustments while living in a regional area. The findings of this investigation identified three themes: education, finance, and culture. The analysis identified that students experience some level of difficulty at an initial stage but were positively accustomed to the local settings after a period of time. Finally, the findings in this paper are valuable to educational institutions, especially those of regional areas seeking to understand how international students behave and act when studying and living in a regional area. Additionally, this paper will also give prospective students an overall understanding of what to expect when they choose to study in a regional area in Australia.