Changes in short-term power output in 10- to 12-year-olds

In this study, we used multi-level regression modelling to assess the influence of age, sex, body size, skinfold thicknesses, maturity, thigh muscle volume and isokinetic leg strength on the development of load- and inertia-adjusted peak (1 s) and mean power (30 s) determined using the Wingate anaerobic test. Fifteen males and 19 females were measured twice, first aged 10.0 +/- 0.3 years and then aged 11.8 +/- 0.3 years. Initial models identified body mass and height as significant explanatory variables (P < 0.05) for peak power and mean power, with an additional age effect for the former. No significant differences between the sexes or maturity effects were observed for either peak or mean power (P > 0.05). The introduction of sum of skinfolds improved the fit of the model and rendered the height term non-significant for both peak and mean power (P> 0.05). An age effect became apparent for mean power. When isokinetic leg strength and thigh muscle volume were entered into the model, the latter exerted a significant effect on both peak and mean power (P< 0.05), whereas isokinetic leg strength was not a significant explanatory variable for either (P> 0.05). In conclusion, thigh muscle volume exerts a positive influence on young people's short-term power output, which is additional to the effects of body mass, sum of skinfolds and age.     

Critical Theory and Visual Practice in the Art School

This paper reflects upon the recent debates concerning the relationship between theory and practice in British art schools. Much has been done during the last two decades by artists, academics, writers and exhibition curators to bridge the traditional polarization between thinking and making. Underlying this venture is the keenly felt conviction that our task as teachers is to work with our students to develop creative practices which make a difference – particularly in relation to how we might use the arts to reformulate the ways in which we articulate our sense of self in a wider social and political context. In the last thirty years we have witnessed a sea change in art schools. The formerly inward looking reclusive art school culture is now inhabited by groups and individuals who are engaged in the everyday concerns of consumer culture and are committed to, first of all, harness creative production as an agent of change and, second, reject the notion that art practice is divorced from theoretical concerns.     

Football friends: adolescent boys’ friendships inside an English professional football (soccer) academy

This qualitative research draws on data from semi-structured, in-depth interviews to examine the friendships of 12 adolescent (14- and 15-year-old) boys within a professional football club Academy: a setting marked by competition for places. Findings highlight how boys fail to develop ‘deep’ friendships with other boys inside the club; their peer-relationships, even when described as ‘friendships’, are devoid of trust and emotional intimacy. Instead, ‘being mates’ is experienced within parameters of instrumentalism and individualism leading to superficial and inauthentic friendships. There is some indication that boys developed closer friendships with boys outside of the Academy, suggesting that competition is implicated negatively in friendship-building and hinders the capabilities of these boys to develop close friendships with teammates. Concluding this paper, we acknowledge limitations of our data, discuss implications and challenges for football academies, and highlight directions for future research.     

Relationship between perceived acculturation expectations and Muslim minority youth's acculturation and adaptation

Acculturation strategies have frequently been used to describe how members of ethnic minorities reconcile their heritage culture with the culture of their society of residence. Recently, studies have started to pay increased attention to the fact that the choice of acculturation strategy does not take place in a social vacuum. In the present study, we test whether the perception of assimilation expectations held by the societal majority (PSAE) as well as separation expectations held by ethnic peers (PESE) may be related to individuals’ own acculturation strategy. Furthermore, we investigate whether these perceived expectations are directly related to stress and indirectly to adaptation, mediated by acculturation strategies. All relationships were investigated using multi-group structural equation modeling with members from three Muslim minority groups: 301 German-Turks, 302 French-Maghrebis and 262 British-Pakistanis. Across the samples, PSAE was associated with higher degrees of stress. PESE was negatively related to integration, while it was positively related to separation. In addition, PESE was indirectly and negatively related with self-esteem and/or socio-cultural adaptation in all samples. The impact of societal assimilation expectation appears to be limited in this regard. In all, the present study suggests that perceived acculturation expectations may influence ethnic minorities’ acculturation strategy. The results also suggest that perceived expectations that contrast with individuals’ personal acculturation preference could result in higher levels of stress and lower levels of psychological and socio-cultural adaptation, mediated by acculturation strategies.     

高等教育的多样化与跨国模式——马来西亚私立高等教育的发展和变革

马来西亚的私立高等教育在1990年代开始迅速扩展,并且所办的课程也趋向多样化、国际化。本文主要是着重在阐述马来西亚私立高等教育从1980年代到21世纪初的发展,以及在这段时期所做出的变革和创新。     

Flavor aversions and deprivation state

In the first four experiments, it was found that aversions to saccharin solution produced by contingent poisoning were similar regardless of whether the rats had been trained under the test deprivation or under a different deprivation; the two deprivation states used were thirst and satiety. In Experiment 5, rats were poisoned after drinking grape juice while hungry or poisoned after drinking milk while thirsty, but they were not poisoned after grape-thirst or milk-hunger combinations. In abstract terms, poisoning occurred after AX and BY stimulus combinations, but did not occur after AY and BX combinations. There was some learning under these discrimination conditions.     

Mary Monroe Atwater: A transformative force in science education

This article highlights the transformative contributions of Mary Monroe Atwater to the field of science education. Influenced by worldviews shaped by a segregated macro-society and the privileges of a micro-society, Mary stood against oppression in the early years of her academic career by desegregating academic settings and being the first and only African American in varied arenas for many years. As an aspiring academic, Mary challenged dominant paradigms and as an activist academic, she changed the landscape of science education. She broadened the knowledge base through scholarship and praxis and diversified the science education community through personal and professional efforts that were pioneering in nature.