Classroom environments: an experiential analysis of the pupil–teacher visual interaction in Uruguay

We argue that the traditional physical environment is commonly taken for granted and that little consideration has been given to how this affects pupil–teacher interactions. This article presents evidence that certain physical environments do not allow equal visual interaction and, as a result, we derive a set of basic guiding principles that could contribute to the improvement of classroom design. Discussions about research on the design of classroom spaces and the methods to evaluate them articulate the rationale for this study. We seek to accomplish this by focusing on two fundamental variables of the face-to-face communication process: visual and distance. They are discussed in the context of four classroom case studies. The method is based on a hybrid approach composed of first-hand video-photographic records, isovist analysis and proxemic information regarding distances. The conclusions suggest that the proportion and spatial configuration of a classroom have a substantial impact on the number of pupils receiving high-quality visual interaction with the teacher. Finally, the importance of integrating experiential analysis in the architectural design process to ensure the quality and equality of the interaction among the protagonists of the teaching and learning process is highlighted.     

Older people’s participation in political organizations: The role of generativity and its impact on well-being

Aging population has increased a global concern to keep seniors active and healthy. Civic participation, in particular, has been highlighted for its social and community benefits and its impact on elders’ health and well-being. To date, however, most studies have explored volunteering; other types of civic activities, such as political participation, are largely overlooked. This study analyzes the relationship between older people’s active involvement in political organizations, generativity, and hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. We selected two samples of Spanish older people: a sample of elders actively involved in political organizations (n = 97) and a comparison group (n = 85). Measures of generative concern, hedonic well-being, and eudaimonic well-being were applied. Results showed that politically active elders obtained higher scores on generative concern than comparison group individuals. Furthermore, generative concern predicted higher scores on both eudaimonic and hedonic well-being. However, active involvement in political organizations was not related to higher levels of well-being in the multivariate analyses. Translating generative concerns into effective behaviors, for instance political activities, may imply sacrifices and efforts, such that higher levels of well-being do not necessarily result from these activities. Thus, results from this study call into question the positive effect of civic participation on elders’ well-being, showing that this may not be necessarily the case for those who are actively involved in political organizations. Future research may build on these results to compare the differential effect of different kinds of generative activities on older people’s well-being.     

Eccentric flywheel post-activation potentiation influences swimming start performance kinetics

This study aimed to assess the effects of post-activation potentiation in the strength related variables of a kick start. Thirteen competitive swimmers performed three kick starts after a standardized warm up (denoted USUAL) and another after inducing post-activation through five isotonic repetitions on an eccentric flywheel (denoted PAP). A T-test was used to quantify differences between USUAL and PAP warm up. The best trial of each subject achieved by natural conditions (denoted PEAK) was compared with data obtained after PAP. An instrumented starting block with independent triaxial force plates, collected the strength variables related with the impulse at take off. Improvements in the vertical components of force were observed after PAP compared with USUAL, meanwhile no differences were detected on the horizontal components of it. The velocity at take off was higher after PAP compared with USUAL (4.32 ± 0.88 vs 3.93 ± 0.60 m*s-1; p = 0.02). No differences in force or velocity were detected comparing PAP with PEAK (4.13 ± 0.62 m*s-1, p = 0.11). The PAP warm-up increased vertical force and it was transferred to a higher resultant velocity at take-off. This improvement would equal the best result possible obtained in natural conditions after some trials.     

“ʿAlā fūr Tuṭīla”: Jews and Muslims in the Administrative Culture of Post-Conquest Tudela,c.1118–1220

The early history of the Jewish and Muslim communities living under Christian rule in the Ebro Valleys tends to be overlooked in favour of the source-rich thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. However, the nature and organisation of these groups should not be taken as a constant, as they underwent a significant transformation over the course of the twelfth century. Through the case study of Tudela, this article proposes to re-examine the dynamics of administration and judicial practice that developed in the immediate aftermath of the Navarro-Aragonese conquest. This town has a rich corpus of charters that allows us to contrast the administrative layout enshrined in the franchise charters known as fueros with the legal practice reflected in some particular bilingual interlineated purchase-sale contracts. A comparison of both sets of documents emphasises the use of the fuero in inter-communal negotiation, both in framing encounters and in guaranteeing each group's autonomy, during a key period in the gestation of Jewish and Muslim administrative and judicial practices under Christian rule.

Abbreviations: DAr = Mercedes García-Arenal, “Documentos árabes de Tudela Y Tarazona”, Al-Qan?ara: Revista de Estudios Árabes 3 (1982): 27–72; FdN = Luis Javier Fortún Pérez de Ciriza, “Colección de ‘fueros menores’ de Navarra y otros privilegios locales (I)”, Príncipe de Viana 165 (1982): 273–348     

Effects of distinct practice conditions on the learning of the o soto gari throwing technique of judo

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different types of practice on learning the o soto gari, focusing on the kuzushi (unbalancing the opponent). A total of 64 children (mean age 9.19 ± 1.41 years) were assigned to one of four groups: (1) static traditional practice, i.e., uchikomi – repetition of the moving pattern that characterises the technique up to the point of throwing; (2) in motion traditional practice – uchikomi with the tori (player executing the technique) moving/walking; (3) whole practice with pre-kuzushi – full technique with a preparatory component for kuzushi; (4) progressive parts practice with pre-kuzushi – progressively introducing kuzushi, tsukuri (set-up to execute the technique) and kake (final part of the technique; projection) with pre-kuzushi. Pre-test, acquisition, post-test and retention test were carried out. Movements were video recorded and analysed regarding three aspects: global technique of the tori, occurrence of a movement pattern performed by the tori to unbalance the uke (player receiving the “attack”), and occurrence of actual unbalance (kuzushi). Results showed no significant differences between-groups. However, different within-groups improvements suggest that using a uchikomi with pre-kuzushi can help learners deal with the motor actions of pulling and pushing in order to unbalance the opponent.     

Effectiveness of pedalling retraining in reducing bilateral pedal force asymmetries

ABSTRACT

Previous studies have been limited to describe asymmetries during pedalling and suggest possible repercussion on performance and/or injury risks. However, few studies have presented strategies to mitigate asymmetries. The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of a pedalling retraining intervention to reduce bilateral pedal force asymmetries. Twenty cyclists were assessed and 10 enrolled in a pedalling retraining method receiving visual and verbal feedback of pedal forces. The asymmetry index was computed for comparison of bilateral peak pedal forces and used during retraining (12 trials at 70% of peak power). Significantly larger asymmetry was observed for asymmetrical cyclists at the first three trials (P < 0.01 and ES = 1.39), which was reduced when post-retraining was compared to measures from symmetrical cyclists (P = 0.69 and ES = 0.18). Cyclists with larger asymmetry (>20%) in bilateral pedal forces reduce their asymmetries using sessions of pedalling retraining and achieve asymmetry indices similar to symmetrical cyclists.     

Using matrix norms to estimate the direction of arrival of planar waves on an ULA

SEAD method estimates the direction-of-arrival angles on an uniformly linear array based on the difference between the two largest singular values, what is called differential spectrum. Although it presented an outstanding performance, the ability to indicate the source positions was not elucidated yet. Inspired by the differential spectrum formulation we derived a total differential spectrum and found out that the matrix norm induced by the vector 2-norm of a modified spatial covariance matrix can be used to estimate the direction-of-arrival of multiple plane waves. Indeed we show that matrix norms are estimators and we propose their use instead of the singular value decomposition in SEAD-based methods. We present a general mathematical expression in order to explicit the operating principles of the proposed methods. Consequently, we were able to explain how the relation between the arriving and the search angles produces the larger peaks on the differential spectrum. To evaluate the important role played by matrix norms, a thousand experiments were carried out. They showed that the proposed approach proved to be as accurate as the previous SEAD-based methods, while providing a significant reduction on runtime. It also outperformed well-established methods like MODEX regarding the estimation error.     

Motor unit firing frequency of lower limb muscles during an incremental slide board skating test

This study investigated how the combination of workload and fatigue affected the frequency components of muscle activation and possible recruitment priority of motor units during skating to exhaustion. Ten male competitive speed skaters performed an incremental maximal test on a slide board. Activation of six muscles from the right leg was recorded throughout the test. A time-frequency analysis was performed to compute overall, high, and low frequency bands from the whole signal at 10, 40, 70, and 90% of total test time. Overall activation increased for all muscles throughout the test (p < 0.05 and ES > 0.80). There was an increase in low frequency (90 vs. 10%, p = 0.035, ES = 1.06) and a decrease in high frequency (90 vs. 10%, p = 0.009, ES = 1.38, and 90 vs. 40%, p = 0.025, ES = 1.12) components of gluteus maximus. Strong correlations were found between the maximal cadence and vastus lateralis, gluteus maximus and gluteus medius activation at the end of the test. In conclusion, the incremental skating test lead to an increase in activation of lower limb muscles, but only gluteus maximus was sensitive to changes in frequency components, probably caused by a pronounced fatigue.