Analysis of Stroke Organization in the Backstroke as a Function of Skill

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of three different amounts of practice in combination with two types of variable practice conditions upon schema development. Seventy-two subjects were administered either 6, 18, or 36 trials while learning to move to either one- or three-criteria goals on the linear positioning task. Subjects then had 18 no-KR (knowledge of results) trials to produce a novel response. The statistical analysis revealed a significant three-way interaction for absolute error while no significant main or interaction effects existed for constant or variable error. Analysis of the simple main effects showed that the various amounts of practice produced similar performances for the subjects learning to move to only one criterion goal. For the subjects learning to move to three criteria goals during initial practice, the amount of practice provided was a significant factor in the accuracy and strength of the motor schema. Partial support is presented for schema theory.     

Use of Harmful Health Misconceptions as a Basis for the Selection of Subject-Matter Areas and Course Content in College Health Classes

Abstract

The Borozne Health Information Opinionnaire was used to determine the amount and kind of harmful health misconceptions believed by students in basic health information classes in four-year colleges in the state of Indiana, and whether they were affected by the following factors: age, grade level, sex, race, course background, rural or urban background, marital status, major area of academic preparation, school attended, geographic location, and religion. Findings revealed (a) the most prevalent harmful health misconceptions; (b) subject-matter areas which contained the greatest percentage of harmful health misconceptions believed by the students; and (c) the existence of significant differences between the mean harmful health misconception scores of the sex, race, marital status, grade level, major area of acadmic preparation, and course background subgroups.     

Introduction

Abstract

Information systems design can progress toward meeting the needs of the population of decision‐makers, managers, policy‐makers, and interdisciplinary workers by attention to specifications obtained from the user's situation. The user situation is represented by problems and their component dimensions, of which subject is only one dimension. The other problem dimensions, which relate to information traits, are discussed for the purpose of proposing a new orientation for the design of information systems.     

Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Rural Business Clusters: The Relation Between ICT Adoption and Benefits Derived From Cluster Membership

This study examines the relationships between information and communication technologies (ICT) usage, the benefits a company derives from membership in a rural business cluster, and the success of rural companies. Analysis of 333 rural businesses located in northern lower Michigan showed a strong relationship between (a) ICT adoption and benefits derived from the membership in business clusters, (b) ICT adoption and self-reported business success, and (c) benefits derived from business clusters and business success. Although analysis indicates that these relationships may be industry specific, results suggest that ICT adoption by rural enterprises may have advantages for the region's social capital and business success and may help reduce the digital divide experienced in rural communities.     

Physical Education Teacher Attitudes toward Fitness Tests Scale: Cross-Revalidation and Modification

This study aimed to provide further evidence of validity and reliability for the Physical Education Teacher Attitudes toward Fitness Tests Scale (PETAFTS), which consisted of affective and cognitive domains. There were two subdomains in the affective domain (i.e., enjoyment of implementing fitness tests and enjoyment of using test results) and one domain in the cognitive domain (i.e., beliefs in the usefulness of test results). Full-time physical education teachers (N?=?469) from two southwestern states in the United States participated in the study. Reliability and validity of the scale were examined. Alphas were computed for the entire 16-item scale, the affective and cognitive domains, and the two subdomains, respectively, to test the reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to investigate the construct validity. The commonly used CFA indices, such as the chi square (χ²), the comparative fit index (CFI), the Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI), the goodness of fit index (GFI), and the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), were used to assess the fit of the data to the model. The CFA results suggested that the data from the study did not fit the original model proposed by Keating and Silverman (2004b) Keating, X. D. and Silverman, S. 2004b. Physical education teacher attitudes toward fitness test scale: Development and validation. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 23: 143–161. [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], resulting in the elimination of item 3. The fitness of the data to the model was improved and deemed acceptable. More studies on the reliability and validity of the scale are needed in the future in order to use the scale with more confidence.     

Effects of Two Instructional Approaches on Skill Development,Knowledge, and Game Performance

Two instructional approaches that have been of interest in promoting sport have been the Sport Education Model (SEM) and the Traditional Style (TS) of teaching physical education. The purpose of this study was to investigate how SEM and TS would affect skill development, knowledge, and game performance for volleyball at the secondary level. A 2 × 3 (group × time) research design was utilized on 47 secondary students testing volleyball skills, knowledge, and game performance. Participants were placed in either the SEM or the TS via stratified randomization, and then were tested pre, mid, and post intervention through the 20-lesson volleyball unit. The 2 × 3 repeated measures Analysis of Variances (ANOVAs) with Bonferroni correction revealed no significant difference between models for skills and knowledge, but there was for game performance for group [F(1, 45) = 10.27, p < .008, η² = .19], time [F(2, 90) = 8.62, p < .008, η² = .16], and group × time interaction [F(2, 90) = 8.43, p < .008, η² = .16]. If the goal of the physical education program is to promote quality game play, the SEM may be more effective than the TS.     

Dispositions of elite-level Australian rugby coaches towards game sense: characteristics of their coaching habitus

Bourdieu's analytic concept of habitus has provided a valuable means of theorising coach development but is yet to be operationalised in empirical research. This article redresses this oversight by drawing on a larger study that inquired into how the ‘coaching habitus’ of elite-level Australian and New Zealand rugby coaches structured their interpretation and use of the Game Sense approach to coaching to illustrate how habitus can be operationalised. It focuses on the identification of characteristics of the individual coaching habitus of four elite-level Australian rugby coaches and how they shape their interpretation and use of Game Sense. Drawing on suggestions made by Lau, we identify the characteristics of four individual ‘coaching habitus’ by examining their views on: (1) the characteristics of good coaches; (2) characteristics of great rugby players and how to develop them; and (3) their dispositions towards innovation in coaching.     

Environmental satisfiers in academe

Utilizing a nationwide sample of university professors in the United States, this study explored job satisfaction levels of academicians and the differences between perceived satisfaction of faculty in professional schools and that of faculty in other disciplines. The results were based upon responses from 336 faculty representing 24 universities selected on a stratified basis which included large, small, public and private universities. Teaching dimensions and research requirements were the most satisfying elements of the academic work environment; support and compensation aspects were the most dissatisfying. Faculty from professional schools reported higher levels of satisfaction for almost all of the 22 separate environmental dimensions, and these faculty also reported higher salaries and less stringent requirements for tenure and promotion. The demographic variables which explained the greatest amount of variance in work satisfaction scores were tenure, teaching load, sex, institution (public-private), and age. Salary and academic rank, which a priori are considered to be significant in an academician's satisfaction with work, appeared to have a lesser impact.     

The urban university and urban culture

Conclusion We have briefly described an urban university in contrast to the traditional university, and we have recommended several strategies for changing the traditional university. The urban university plays a much more important role in the intellectual life of the urban community. It reaches throughout the community and, in becoming a center of intellectual activity in its urban settings, gives the intellectual life of a community greater focus. We believe that many urban communities would be anxious to develop an urban university and that such communities would be attractive to a great many people.William L. Blizek and Robert B. Simpson are, respectively, Associate Professor of Philosophy and Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.This paper is a revised version of one presented originally at the First National Conference on Urban Education, Kansas City, Missouri, November 25, 1975.