Visual body pedagogies: how anti-oppressive education informs the teaching and learning of sporting bodies

In this article, the authors borrow from anti-oppressive education theory for its potential to disrupt how students visually conceive sporting bodies and to problematize the teaching and learning of these bodies within undergraduate physical education (PE) programs. Fourteen photo stories produced by students enrolled in PE programs at two universities were analysed using a semiotic approach to excavate the emergent themes of sporting bodies from the narratives. Relying on Kumashiro's anti-oppressive educational theoretical framework, the authors found that most of stories reified discursive practices that (re)produce gender oppression in sport. Despite these findings, the authors also discovered anti-oppressive pedagogies are useful for teaching against the body oppressions conveyed in the photo stories. How anti-oppressive education informs other areas of PE should be examined in the future.     

Effects of glucose–fructose versus glucose ingestion on stride characteristics during prolonged treadmill running

Scarce research has examined the effects of carbohydrate composition on running stride characteristics. On two occasions, 14 males and 6 females completed a 120-min sub-maximal run followed by a 4-mile time trial. Participants consumed glucose (GLU) or glucose–fructose (GLU–FRU) beverages supplying 1.3 g/min carbohydrate. Substrate use, psychological affect [Feeling Scale (FS)], and stride characteristics (stride frequency, stride length, and contact time) were assessed. Effects were expressed as Cohen’s d (90% confidence limits [90% CL]). CLs for stride frequency differences at 53 min (90% CL = 0.04–0.21) and 113 min (90% CL = 0.02–0.24) did not cover 0, indicating a positive effect of GLU–FRU. However, effect sizes were small (d = 0.13) and likely-to-very-likely trivial. Energy expenditure differences at sub-maximal end were very likely trivial (d = 0.08; 90% CL = 0.00–0.17), while FS ratings were possibly higher for GLU–FRU at 50 (d = 0.19; 90% CL = ?0.10–0.48) and 110 min (d = 0.16; 90% CL = ?0.13–0.45). During the time trial, stride length was possibly higher with GLU–FRU (d = 0.13; 90% CL = ?0.08–0.33). Glucose–fructose co-ingestion has no significant effect on stride characteristics during constant-velocity running but may result in slightly higher stride length during self-paced running.     

Understanding the consequences of victory amongst sport spectators: The mediating role of BIRGing

Prior work on the relationships between team identification and spectators’ reactions to one's team victory has largely neglected the potential effects of mediating variables. In this research, we proposed that the process of Basking in Reflected Glory [BIRGing – the tendency to reduce the distance between oneself and one's team; Cialdini, R. B., Bordon, R. J., Thorne, A., Walker, M. R., Freeman, S., &; Sloan, L. R. (1976). Basking in reflected glory: Three (football) field studies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 34, 366–375] would lead spectators to almost take ownership of victories and share its benefits, thereby impacting their sense of national belonging in a positive manner. To this end, participants (N?=?73) were asked to watch an edited video clip showing a victory of the French national rugby team playing against South Africa. As expected, results revealed that BIRGing mediated the relationship between team identification and one's sense of national belonging. In closing, a number of implications are discussed along with future research avenues pertaining to the sport spectatorship literature.     

Different Disciplines Require Different Motivations for Student Success

This article reports an investigation of undergraduate motivation to learn. A Likert-type rating scale measure of motivation incorporated the general motivational dimensions identified by previous investigators, as well as a systematic theoretical framework that is more novel, and attempts to acknowledge the role of discipline-specific factors in motivation to learn. The motivation questionnaire was evaluated by measuring its success in explaining the academic achievement of biology, history, computing, planning, anthropology, geology, food science and nutrition, and education students (n = 380) in standard university assessments. The findings reveal that student performance is better explained by within- than across-discipline indexes of motivation, probably because some types of motivation lead to success in some disciplines but failure in others. Furthermore, items based on the theoretical framework developed to underpin the questionnaire (which distinguishes outcome from process incentives) were also found to explain more variation in student performance than general motivation items. Some practical implications of the findings are considered.     

The management of quality in the University of Ulster

The setting of standards for teaching is identified as central to any system of quality assurance for teaching and learning. The paper describes a number of initiatives which have been taken at the University of Ulster to identify and develop quality in teaching. They include a project to identify teaching skills through consultation with expert teachers; the use of quality circles of staff and students to specify standards for teaching; the use of student feedback on teaching; the introduction of a distinguished teaching award; the assessment of teaching competence when staff are selected; the introduction of a unit-based in-service teacher training course; and the encouragement of self and peer evaluation using an appraisal schedule. Quality assurance for support services is considered and finally the University's initiatives are related to total quality management and BS 5750.     

Record Values and Surviving Glacial Moraines

Estimating the number of glacial advances from surviving glacial debris can, amazingly enough, be cast as a records problem for which there is a substantial statistical literature. As a result, instructors may illustrate method of moments and maximum‐likelihood estimation techniques with an interesting problem in the physical sciences.     

开放在线课程教法的适应性变革:从OCW到MOOC

文章旨在通过对OCW和MOOC所采用的教学方式的对比,探索开放在线课程在由"重资源"向"重服务"变革的过程中,其教学方法所发生的适应性变化。文章通过四个常用的开放在线课程搜索引擎,随机抽样出51门OCW课程和51门MOOC课程作为研究样本,并从课程说明中获取课程周数、建议学时、学习方式、教学手段等信息。结果表明:与OCW相比,MOOC建议以较短的周数、每周投入较多的时间来完成课程,以提高课程完成率;少量课程采用了基于项目、基于研究和基于团队的学习方式,但MOOC环境下的在线协作学习仍存在难度;在线论坛和讲座视频是MOOC中使用较多、发展较成熟的教学手段;社会媒体和位置地图等则是OCW中未出现而在MOOC中发展形成的。最后,文章根据研究结果提出了相应的教学建议。     

Against the current: A grounded theory study on the estrangement experiences of a select group of Filipino gay older persons

According to Healthy People (2011), in order to understand the health concerns of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT), the oppression and discrimination that they have faced must be scrutinized. Among the many issues they face, their estrangement experiences are one of the most understudied. However, little is known about how it is experienced by the gay elderly population, hence, this investigation. This grounded theory purports to describe the process by which estrangement is experienced among the Filipino gay older adults. Strauss and Corbin’s Grounded Theory (1990) design was utilized. A total of 10 gay older persons were purposively chosen to participate in semi-structured interviews. Field texts were subjected to thematic analysis involving open, axial, and selective coding. The study generated The Sailing Model of Estrangement. Remarkably, three phases relative to estrangement emerged, namely: sequestering, striving, and surviving. Primarily, the sequestering phase involves the gay persons’ need to express self, search for acceptance, and its subsequent reactions. The striving phase typifies the struggle in dealing with estrangement leading to either feelings of depression, remorse and shame or positivity, hopefulness, and motivation. Finally, in the surviving phase, gay persons may either feel contented and fulfilled or sad, lonely, and remorseful as they acquiesce aging with estrangement. Findings of the study offer an understanding of how Filipino gay older adults employ coping strategies in response to estrangement.     

Why some teachers easily learn to use a new virtual learning environment: a technology acceptance perspective

After a decade of virtual learning environments (VLEs) in higher education, many teachers still use only a minimum of its affordances. This study looked at how academic staff interacted with a new and unknown VLE in order to understand how technology acceptance and support materials influence (perceived and actual) task performance. In an experimental design, 36 participants were split into a control (online help) and experimental (instructor video) condition and completed five common teaching tasks in a new VLE. In contrast to most technology acceptance model research, this study found that perceived usefulness of the VLE was not related to (perceived) task performance. Perceived ease of use was related to intentions and actual behaviour in the VLE. Furthermore, no significant difference was found between the two conditions, although the experimental condition led to a (marginal) increase in time to complete the tasks.