Automated processes in tennis: Do left-handed players benefit from the tactical preferences of their opponents?

Abstract

Previous research on laterality in sport suggests an over-representation of left-handers in interactive sports such as tennis and cricket. These findings potentially reflect left-handers' advantage over their right-handed competitors in those sports. Although considered crucial for successful performance, the tactical component of their superiority has yet to be analysed. Two studies were conducted to test for a side bias in tennis players' tactical preferences. In the first study, 108 right- and left-handed players of varying skill watched rallies on a computer screen and had to indicate where they would place the ball in the opposing half. The results showed the tactical preference of players to place more balls on a left-handed opponent's mostly stronger forehand side compared with when faced with a right-hander. In the second study, 54 professional tennis matches involving right- and left-handers were analysed with respect to ball placement frequencies on the opponent's backhand side. Significantly fewer balls were hit to the backhand side of a left-handed opponent, thus replicating the findings of Study 1 in on-court situations. Both studies indicate players' preference to place shots to their right irrespective of their opponent's handedness. Findings support the assumption that left-handers might enjoy a strategic advantage in tennis.     

Validation of a 'spurning scale' for teachers: the Chinese sample

The present study represents our continuing effort to validate a 'spurning scale' for teachers, based on a model of spurned helpers' reactions. Three approaches were used to examine the construct validity of the scale: the spurning scores of teachers working with more achieving students versus the scores of teachers teaching less achieving students; the relationships between the spurning scores and job satisfaction and turnover scores; and the relationships between the spurning scores and scores indicative of stress arising from interactions with one's students, and with one's supervisor. Serving teachers in Guangzhou (China) responded to a questionnaire containing the variables of interests. Overall, the results provided further evidence for the validity of the scale.     

The lawyer in conference with his client

This article proposes that while speech‐communication programs in two‐year colleges should be flexible and adaptive to student needs, the common denominator of these needs is the improvement of oral communication skills. Insofar as speech‐communication departments do this they are providing a “service'’ to all students.     

Relations between EFL teachers’ formal knowledge of grammar and their in-action mental models of children's minds and learning

We studied the relations between English as a foreign language teachers’ grammar knowledge and their in-action mental models (MMs) of children's minds and learning. The grammar knowledge we examined was English wh-constructions. A total of 74 teachers completed an assessment task and were classified to have deep, intermediate or shallow knowledge. Ten teachers (five with deep and five with shallow level) were videotaped teaching wh-questions. The data were analysed qualitatively to determine the teachers’ MM, and then quantitatively to test similarities/differences in their MM's expression. The findings revealed an identical MM among all teachers that is expressed differently as a function of knowledge level.     

The Effects of Students’ In- and Out-of-Class Experiences on their Analytical and Group Skills: A Study of Engineering Education

This study examined the unique and joint contributions of engineering students’ classroom and out-of-class experiences on the development of two sets of skills central to students’ successful performance as engineers: analytical and group skills. Although the study focuses on engineering, the conceptual underpinnings and criterion measures are relevant to studies of teaching and learning in other fields. Multiple regression analyses using data from 4198 graduating engineering students on 39 campuses nationwide indicate that, after controlling an array of students’ precollege characteristics, both students’ classroom and out-of-class experiences make statistically significant and independent contributions to student learning in both skill areas. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the meeting of the Association for Institutional Research, June 2005, San Diego, CA. This study was supported by a grant from the Accrediting Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET, Inc.). The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of ABET, and no official endorsement should be inferred.     

Archives in the trenches: repatriation of African National Congress liberation archives in diaspora to South Africa

The African National Congress (ANC) liberation archives were created in countries all over the world. These liberation archives form part of the national archival heritage of South Africa as they bridge the gap of undocumented history of people who were previously marginalised by the apartheid government. After the ban on liberation movements was lifted in South Africa, the ANC embarked on the process of identification and repatriation of the records that were fragmented throughout the world. This study investigated the approaches followed by the ANC in identifying and repatriating its liberation archives from the trenches to make them accessible. Qualitative data were collected through interviews with purposively selected employees of the African National Congress, MultiChoice, Africa Media Online and the Nelson Mandela Foundation who were involved in the repatriation of the liberation archives. Interview data were augmented through content analysis of ANC documents such as policies, websites and annual reports, as well as observation of the storage conditions of the liberation archives. The key findings revealed that the ANC established an archives management committee that played an important role in the identification, repatriation and, ultimately, digitisation of liberation archives. The committee utilised former liberation struggle members to identify records in ANC hosts in various countries. It was established that, although the ANC was aware of where its records were abroad, not all its records were repatriated to South Africa after the unbanning of the liberation movements. For example, there were host nations, like Italy, that disputed the return of the ANC liberation archives to South Africa. The liberation archives are in the custody of the Fort Hare University as a chosen official repository for the ANC. It is concluded that the repatriation of the liberation archives is an ongoing process, as not all records have been repatriated to South Africa. As the ANC is in power at the time of writing, this is the opportunity for the organisation to negotiate with countries that still have custody of its liberation archives, such as Italy, to repatriate such records to South Africa. A further study on legal ownership and copyright, digitisation and ensuring the authenticity of the ANC liberation archives is recommended. This study can be extended to other liberation movements in southern Africa.