The curious case of child care: an anomaly within social capital exchange motives in a youth sport organization

Abstract

Examinations of motives for benefactors and beneficiaries in social capital exchanges typically examines motives of benefactors, leaving those of recipients unexamined. Based on 18 months of fieldwork in a youth baseball league in the American Southwest, I propose in this paper that, in some cases, the motives of beneficiaries are in fact more complicated and interesting to interrogate than the motives of benefactors. I provide a detailed look at one of these types of exchanges in particular that was typical within the Valley City Little League, that of childcare. Based on this work, I propose that social capital researchers will do well to advance the overall concept by placing a greater emphasis on recipient motives.     

Premiums,announcement returns and desperation in high tech mergers: A growth options analysis

We examine the announcements of high tech mergers using a relatively new proxy for growth options we call “growth to book.” We find this adds significantly to help explain the premiums paid and announcement period abnormal returns when acquiring tech targets. Higher synergies are expected by managers and investors when targets have low growth options and acquirers have high growth options, resulting in higher premiums paid and either less negative or more positive abnormal returns. However, we find significant variation in the results by the relative size of the target and when low growth to book (GTB) firms acquire. While high GTB acquirers tend to pay more in premiums, low GTB acquirers can pay higher premiums and receive some of the most negative returns at announcement. We find evidence some acquisitions are motivated by desperation as these acquirers have the lowest GTB and do a disproportionate number of the relatively largest deals, receiving the worst abnormal returns at announcement.     

The effect of glycaemic index of high carbohydrate diets consumed over 5 days on exercise energy metabolism and running capacity in males

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine whether rates of total fat and carbohydrate oxidation and endurance capacity during running conducted in the fasted state are influenced by the glycaemic index (GI) of high carbohydrate diets consumed over 5 days. Nine healthy males performed three treadmill runs to exhaustion at 65% of maximum oxygen uptake ([Vdot]O_2max): after a habitual diet (control trial), after 5 days on a high carbohydrate/high glycaemic index diet, and after 5 days on a high carbohydrate/low glycaemic index diet in randomized counterbalanced order. No significant differences in rates of fat and carbohydrate oxidation, concentrations of plasma insulin, glucose, non-esterified fatty acids and glycerol, or time to exhaustion were observed between the high carbohydrate/high glycaemic index and high carbohydrate/low glycaemic index trials. Compared with the control trial, the concentration of plasma glycerol and rate of fat oxidation were lower (P < 0.05) and the rate of carbohydrate oxidation higher (P < 0.05) in both the high carbohydrate/high glycaemic index diet and high carbohydrate/low glycaemic index trials during the run to exhaustion. In conclusion, the extent by which a high carbohydrate diet consumed over 5 days reduces rate of fat oxidation during subsequent running exercise in the fasted state is not influenced by the glycaemic index of the diet.     

Estimated maturity status and perceptions of adult autonomy support in youth soccer players

Abstract

In this study, we examined the relations between biological maturity status, body mass index, age, and perceptions of adult autonomy support in the context of youth soccer. A total of 70 female and 43 male soccer players, aged 9 – 15 years, completed three adult-specific versions (i.e. mother, father, coach) of the perceived autonomy support subscale from the Interpersonal Style Scale. The participants' percent predicted adult stature was used as an estimate of biological maturity status. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that advanced maturity status in male players predicted lower perceptions of autonomy support from the coach. Maturity status was unrelated to perceptions of autonomy support from the coach in female soccer players, and paternal and maternal autonomy support in male and female players. Age and body mass index were unrelated to perceptions of adult (i.e. coach, mother, father) autonomy support in male and female players.     

Wikipedia,Critical Social Theory,and the Possibility of Rational Discourse 1

Information systems researchers that apply critical social perspectives frequently emphasize the potential for information technology to serve as a mechanism for increased rationalization, domination, and control. Such theorists often overlook or discount the liberating aspects of information systems. In this study, we apply the ideal of rational discourse developed by Jürgen Habermas to the phenomenon of Wikipedia in an effort to explore empirically the emancipatory potential of information systems. We contend that Wikipedia embodies an approximation of the necessary conditions for rational discourse. While several challenges persist, the example of Wikipedia illustrates the positive potential of information systems in supporting the emergence of more emancipatory forms of communication. The corresponding implications for researchers and design professionals alike are discussed.     

An ethic of care and educational practice

This article explicates the theoretical framework of an ethic of care and outlines recommendations for applying the framework to practice in adventure education, offering possibilities for re-imagining organizations as centrally concerned with compassion and care. Focusing on the work of Gilligan and Noddings, we suggest an understanding of an ethic of care that is contextual, ungendered, and inclusive of both the private and public spheres of life, and draw parallels between this ethic and the philosophies underlying Outward Bound specifically, and adventure education more generally. Finally, we outline possibilities for organizing educational curricula around centres of care for self, others, and the natural world, using Noddings' suggested curricular components of modeling, dialogue, practice, and confirmation.     

Barriers to professional education of NSW correctional officers: A case of distance learning

This study aimed to determine whether NSW prison officers who attempt tertiary education are confronted with any unique cultural and contextual impediments during their studies and, if so, the effects of these impediments. Semi‐structured interviews were carried out, face‐to‐facc with 16 prison officers. The study also contrasts the experiences of commissioned and non‐commissioned correctional officers.

Three major thematic strands emerged from the data. The first clear theme involves the general barriers to learning encountered by prison officers engaged in tertiary studies. These barriers include time constraints and time management, family commitments and access to support mechanisms. The second major theme concerns the influence on the education process of the powerful occupational culture that has developed in the prison workplace. The third theme highlights the difficulties the occupation of prison officer presents for those individuals pursuing tertiary studies in the distance education mode. Geographically isolated work locations, a changing shift roster and high levels of job‐related stress all conspire against the success of prison officers as ‘distance learners’.     

Supporting Teachers’ Use of Technology in Science Instruction Through Professional Development: A Literature Review

Professional development is critical in supporting teachers’ use of technological tools in classrooms. This review of empirical research synthesizes the effective elements of professional development programs that support science teachers in learning about technology integration. Studies are examined that explore how professional development supports technology use within inquiry-based and traditional science instruction. Implications for future research are discussed in four areas: understanding and building on teachers’ beliefs about science and technology; supporting teacher learning by supporting teachers’ examination of students’ work; using technology to support teacher communities and social networks; and sustaining teachers’ learning beyond formal professional development programs.

Assessment of semi-empirical mass transfer correlations for pervaporation treatment of wastewater contaminated with chlorinated hydrocarbons

INTRODUCTION Chlorinated hydrocarbons, a class of widely used dry-cleaning liquids, industrial organic solvents, and degreasers, increasingly find their way into drinking water sources, thus posing a very serious health and environmental problem (Love and Eliers, 1982). These organic solvents are known for their stability in the environment and cancer-causing po- tency and cannot be effectively and economically eliminated by current conventional treatment tech- nologies. One of the few av…