Acute effects of static stretching on characteristics of the isokinetic angle - torque relationship, surface electromyography, and mechanomyography

The aims of this study were to examine the acute effects of static stretching on peak torque, work, the joint angle at peak torque, acceleration time, isokinetic range of motion, mechanomyographic amplitude, and electromyographic amplitude of the rectus femoris during maximal concentric isokinetic leg extensions at 1.04 and 5.23 rad x s(-1) in men and women. Ten women (mean +/- s: age 23.0 +/- 2.9 years, stature 1.61 +/- 0.12 m, mass 63.3 +/- 9.9 kg) and eight men (age 21.4 +/- 3.0 years, stature 1.83 +/- 0.11 m, mass 83.1 +/- 15.2 kg) performed maximal voluntary concentric isokinetic leg extensions at 1.04 and 5.23 rad x s(-1). Following the initial isokinetic tests, the dominant leg extensors were stretched using four static stretching exercises. After the stretching, the isokinetic tests were repeated. Peak torque, acceleration time, and electromyographic amplitude decreased (P< or = 0.05) from pre- to post-stretching at 1.04 and 5.23 rad . s(-1); there were no changes (P > 0.05) in work, joint angle at peak torque, isokinetic range of motion, or mechanomyographic amplitude. These findings indicate no stretching-related changes in the area under the angle - torque curve (work), but a significant decrease in peak torque, which suggests that static stretching may cause a "flattening" of the angle - torque curve that reduces peak strength but allows for greater force production at other joint angles. These findings, in conjunction with the increased limb acceleration rates (decreased acceleration time) observed in the present study, provide tentative support for the hypothesis that static stretching alters the angle - torque relationship and/or sarcomere shortening velocity.     

The influence of organizational culture on job satisfaction and intention to leave

This investigation examined the impact of organizational culture on job satisfaction and intention to leave the organization through a survey of fitness staff. Organizational culture is commonly known as the values, beliefs and basic assumptions that help guide and coordinate member behaviour. The Cultural Index for Fitness Organizations (CIFO) was developed to measure organizational culture in the fitness industry specifically. Exploratory factor analysis revealed eight factors that represent cultural dimensions common to this context: staff competency, atmosphere, connectedness, formalization, sales, service-equipment, service-programs, and organizational presence. Path analysis was used to examine the relationship among the organizational culture factors, job satisfaction and intention to leave. Results produced a partially mediated model of organizational culture that explained 14.3% of the variance in job satisfaction and 50.3% of the variance with intention to leave the organization. The findings highlight the multidimensionality of organizational culture and its complexity in the fitness industry.     

Student Views of Concept Mapping Use in Introductory Tertiary Biology Classes

Introductory tertiary level science classes (i.e., at the university or post-compulsory school level) including those for biology face increasing diversity in intake. Previous research has indicated university level teachers assume a certain level of prior knowledge which may or may not be possessed by such students. This report focuses on the use of concept mapping in introductory biology tutorial classes. The research findings suggest that the students found the use of concept mapping enjoyable and that it can enhance meaningful learning for topics that require students to link concepts.     

MEDLINE in the UK: pioneering the past, present and future

This article provides a brief history of the development of the MEDLINE database and its huge impact within the UK, from its inception to the present time. The origins of MEDLINE can be traced back to a collection of books in the US Surgeon General's Office during the American Civil War and John Shaw Billings' decision, during 1867, to make this Library as complete as possible. From these beginnings, Index Medicus was developed in the early years of the 20th century, and electronic versions of the database began with the computerized on-demand search service MEDLARS in 1964 and then via CD-ROM and Internet Grateful Med to the web-based and free-to-all service, PubMed, in 1997. The response to PubMed was immediate and startling with usage increasing from 7 million searches per annum in 1996 to 400 million searches per annum in 2001 and the service continues to improve. MEDLINE providers are now offering mapping of natural language queries to the sophisticated indexing vocabulary (Medical Subject Headings, MeSH) and the provision of specific filters for different types of publication to improve searching efficiency, as well as links to full-text versions of the papers where available. The next steps are likely to involve an increased blurring of database and full-text boundaries, incorporating seamless access to the best available evidence within MEDLINE and a wide range of other information resources within a single search and to an increasing amount of full-text via various open-archive initiatives. As ever, the US National Library of Medicine is in the vanguard of research and further applications of its MEDLINE database for users within the UK will be awaited with great interest.     

Evaluating Circle Time as a support to social skills development – reflections on a journey in school-based research

The authors of this article argue that deficit in socially skilled behaviour is often one of the distinguishing characteristics that sets people with intellectual disability apart from their non-disabled peers. The need for social skills training to take place within the context of real life daily situations has been emphasised in more recent literature as essential in enabling people with an intellectual disability to generalise new skills. The researchers involved in this study, Catherine Canney, a senior educational psychologist, and Alison Byrne, a senior speech and language therapist, both work in a school for children with mild intellectual disability in Ireland as part of a multidisciplinary team. Analysis of teachers' referrals to the team indicated a significant and ongoing need for supporting social skills development among the students.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the merits of Circle Time as a classroom intervention aimed at improving the social skills of students with a mild intellectual disability. The research is presented here as an evaluative case study reflecting this experience. Organisational and interactional issues arising are presented and discussed with the intention of supporting those involved in facilitating Circle Time with children who have special educational needs. The authors also identify avenues for future research.     

A Curriculum-Based Passage Reading Test for Monitoring the Performance of Low-Progress Readers: The development of the WARP

Results are presented from two studies involving 190 primary and high school (Year 7) students and 146 older low-progress readers in the late primary years. These studies contribute towards the development of five 200 word standardised passages which may be employed interchangeably to monitor the performance of low-progress readers towards achieving functional literacy. The passages are shown to possess both high parallel form reliability (0.94 to 0.96) and internal consistency (0.97 to 0.99), and also good criterion validity (0.78 to 0.80) with reading accuracy. Appropriate growth in performance over the primary years is also demonstrated. These findings suggest that an extrapolated model of curriculum-based measurement (CBM), which incorporates elements of more traditional reading assessments, would overcome some of the problems associated with CBM.     

The ideal online course

This paper addresses many of the key issues facing designers of web-based university level courses. Drawing from experience in distance education and web-based design, we develop a set of key components to be addressed when creating an 'ideal' online course. Such an analysis forces a consideration of what constitutes good online teaching as well as good use of the technologies that are more and more present in our instructional environments.     

Hong Kong Student Teachers' Personal Construction Of Teaching Efficacy

This study employed the repertory grid technique to investigate how a sample of 27 student teachers in Hong Kong developed a personal sense of teaching efficacy. The analysis indicated that the third year students' perceptions were more homogenous than were those of the first year students. The results also indicated that teaching efficacy was viewed in terms of the dimensions of concern for instructional participation and learning needs of pupils, communication and relationships with pupils, academic knowledge and teaching skills, lesson preparation, management of class discipline, teaching success, teaching commitment, and a sense of self-confidence. Experiences of teaching practice, electives, pupils, and teaching practice supervisors (Electives) were the major sources for the development of a sense of teaching efficacy. Implications of how those aspects of teacher training can be more effective in engendering a sense of efficacy in the student teachers are discussed.     

Simulations in distance education: Progress towards an evaluation instrument

This article reports on a study in which an interactive computer‐based learning resource consisting of a tutorial with a decision support system and simulations, is evaluated in the context of a distance education business degree course. The primary purpose of the study was to develop and test an instrument for evaluation of the learning resource, with particular reference to simulations. The instrument adds further dimensions to factors such as learner support and engagement, to incorporate elements of motivation and transfer. Consequently, the scales that comprise the instrument include three key areas: features of the computer package, the effect on students” motivation, and the impact on their ability to transfer knowledge to the workplace. As a result of the analysis, a reliable and valid evaluation instrument that includes components of these three areas is provided. It is expected that other researchers will be able to develop and refine this instrument to evaluate various forms of computer‐based educational resources.