Performance characteristics of Parkour practitioners: Who are the traceurs?

Parkour is a modern physical activity that consists of using the environment, mostly urban, as a playground of obstacles. The aims of this study were (i) to investigate age, anthropometric and training characteristics of Parkour practitioners, called ‘traceurs’ and (ii) to assess jump performances and muscular characteristics of traceurs, compared to those of gymnasts and power athletes. The mean age of the population of traceurs studied (n?=?130) was 19.4?±?4.3 years, women represented 12.4% of the total field and mean training volume was 8.1?±?0.5?hours/week. Vertical and long jump performances were analysed on smaller samples of participants (four groups, n?=?15 per group); and eccentric (?90°?s^?1, ?30°?s^?1), concentric (30°?s^?1, 90°?s^?1) and isometric knee extensors torques were evaluated by means of an isokinetic dynamometer. Traceurs showed greater (P?P?P?P?相似文献   

Changes in swimming technique during time to exhaustion at freely chosen and controlled stroke rates

The aim of this study was to assess technical changes during constrained swimming in time-to-exhaustion tests. Ten swimmers of national standard performed a maximal 400-m front crawl and two sets of exhaustion tests at 95%, 100%, and 110% of mean 400-m speed. In the first set (free), swimmers had to maintain their speeds until exhaustion and mean stroke rate was recorded for each test. In the second set (controlled), the same speed and individual corresponding stroke rate were imposed. The durations of the exhaustion tests, relative durations of the stroke phases, and arm coordination were analysed. For each speed in the "controlled" set, the exhaustion tests were shorter. Moreover, variables were consistent, suggesting a stabilization of stroke technique. Under the free condition, stroke rate increased to compensate for the decrease in stroke length. At the same time, swimmers reduced the relative duration of their non-propulsive phases in favour of the propulsive phases. Thus, swimmers changed their arm coordination, which came close to an opposition mode. These two constraints enable swimmers both to maintain their stroking characteristics and develop compensatory mechanisms to maintain speed. Moreover, stroke rate can be seen as a useful tool for controlling arm technique during paced exercise.     

‘The English is not the same’: challenges in thesis writing for second language speakers of English

In this article I describe my interaction as an English for academic purposes (EAP) practitioner with a supervisor and her two postgraduate international students, both of whom were second language speakers of English (L2). Because of linguistic and relationship issues the supervisory experience for the parties was challenging and frustrating. I discuss the implications of this research and suggest that while linguistic difficulties impact negatively on the supervisory relationship this is exacerbated by the differing assumptions and expectations of the stakeholders. I argue, however, that what is regarded as ‘acceptable’ English at our institutions has not been sufficiently interrogated and the belief that English as a native language (ENL) is the only acceptable variety of English needs further investigation. Such an investigation needs to take place in a forum where the less powerful voices of the EAP practitioners and the students will not be marginalised.     

Silent reading fluency using underlining: Evidence for an alternative method of assessment

Assessing silent reading fluency in classroom environments is challenging. This article reports on a method of assessing silent reading using underlining, an approach that solves many problems other silent reading fluency assessment measures face. This method computationally monitors readers' silent reading fluency by the speed they underline words in a text. Traditional silent reading fluency measures were compared with the new underlining methodology. Fourth‐ and sixth‐grade students completed silent reading fluency measures (i.e., moving windows, underlining, and paper‐and‐pencil reading tasks), along with measures of their oral reading fluency, reading comprehension, and vocabulary knowledge. Strong alternate‐form reliability coefficients were found for underlining, which significantly correlated with other measures of silent reading fluency and reading comprehension. Underlining methodology also correlated with common language factors, such as word length and word frequency. Together, these results provide support for the psychometric properties of underlining and suggest that it is a promising alternative method of assessing silent reading fluency. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Teaching Is a Natural Cognitive Ability for Humans

We suggest that a multidisciplinary approach to teaching has potential to widen its scope. In that vein, we revisit our original claim that teaching is a natural cognitive ability among humans. We elaborate on three requirements for such an ability and report that, first, teaching strategies may be developmentally reliable. Findings indicate a possible normative developmental trajectory from age one year through adulthood. Second, teaching seems to be species‐typical, that is, it is a universal human achievement. Third, human teaching with a theory of mind (ToM) is species‐unique. Nonhuman animals may teach without a ToM.     

A Phonetic Study of Young Children’s Speech

Abstract. The author examined the effectiveness of training in symbolic logic for improving students' deductive reasoning. A total of 116 undergraduate students (approximately equal numbers of men and women) enrolled in 1st-year university philosophy courses in symbolic logic participated in 2 studies. In both studies, students completed booklets of categorical and conditional syllogisms at the beginning of the course and again at the end of the course. In Study 2, students also specified their reasoning strategies. Results indicated that students' strategies changed with training (students increased their use of mental models and mental rules with categorical and conditional syllogisms, respectively), but their reasoning performance improved only moderately. The educational implications of these results are explored.     

Achievement motivation and gifted students: A social cognitive perspective

The purpose of this article is to provide an illustrative review of recent research on achievement motivation and gifted students from a social cognitive perspective. The review discusses several constructs that have been a focus of motivation research: perceived competence and self-efficacy, attributions, goal orientations, and intrinsic motivation. For each construct, motivational research from the general motivation literature and from the field of gifted and talented studies are critiqued and compared. The review suggests that a general social cognitive perspective is a useful theoretical framework for research on motivational processes involved in the intellectual and personal development of gifted and talented students and that a process-oriented model is superior to a static model for research on both giftedness and achievement motivation. Implications of the review for future research on motivation and talent development are discussed.     

A national survey of NAB member stations' support of broadcasting education

In the Spring of 1962 the Journal of Broadcasting published a “Directory of Scholarships for Students of Broadcasting” an amalgamation of compilations by Gordon Greb (for the Council on Radio‐Television Journalism of the Association for Education in Journalism and the Radio‐Television News Directors Association) and Sidney Kraus (for the Association for Professional Broadcasting Education). This directory, although listing scholarships worth more than a quarter million dollars, named fewer than 30 as coming from broadcasting stations, group ownership, or state broadcaster associations. In the compilation that follows, even though it is restricted to NAB member stations, more than 90 stations report granting scholarships to students of broadcasting. Surely, this represents a vast increase in the amount of student aid and recognition, and not merely underreporting on the earlier survey.

The following study had its genesis in a discussion between Dr. Kraus and Howard Bell, then vice‐president for Planning and Development and Assistant to the President of the National Association of Broadcasters and Executive Secretary of the Association for Professional Broadcasting Education (now Director of the NAB Code Authority). The NAB sent the questionnaires to its membership; Dr. Kraus compiled the results. Although Dr. Kraus and his associates made several checks on the data, it is possible that some errors remain, for which the Journal apologizes in advance. The following data apply to NAB member stations as of early 1963, and do not of course detail the financial support given broadcasting students by all of America's broadcasting stations. Some changes in format were made by the Journal staff, and some minor data (notably the number of stations responding from certain states and the call letters of stations approached by schools for scholarships in some states) are presently unavailable due to the change in location by Dr. Kraus from Bloomington, Indiana (where he was Assistant Professor in the Department of Radio and Television at Indiana University) to Chicago (where he recently assumed the title of Assistant to the President of Roosevelt University).     

Changing Technologies

UNDERSTANDING NEW MEDIA: TRENDS AND ISSUES IN ELECTRONIC DISTRIBUTION OF INFORMATION,edited by Benjamin M. Compaine (Cambridge, Massachusetts: Ballinger, 1984—$29.95).

ELECTRONIC MARKETING: EMERGING 'IV AND COMPUTER CHANNELS FOR INTERACTIVE HOME SHOPPING, by Lawrence Strauss (White Plains, New York: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1983—$34.95).

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY , by Peter Zorkoczy (White Plains, New York: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1982—$29.95).

INFORMATION NETWORK SYSTEM: TELECOMMUNICATIONS IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY, by Yasusada Kitahara (Edison, New Jersey: Heinemann Educational Books, 1983—$15.00).

CABLE TELEVISION , by William Grant (Reston, Virginia: Reston Publishing, 1983—$23.95).

CABLE TELEVISION: AN ASSESSMENT OF CRITICAL ISSUES IN WASHINGTON, D.C. (Washington, D.C.: Institute for District Affairs of the University of the District of Columbia, n.d., but 1984—price not given, paper).

THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES: CHANGES AND CHALLENGES IN PUBLIC RELATIONS—A SOURCEBOOK OF GENERAL INFORMATION (Washington, D.C.: The Media Institute, 1983—price not given, paper).

INTRODUCING CELLULAR COMMUNICATIONS: THE NEW MOBILE TELEPHONE SYSTEM , by Stan Prentiss (Blue Ridge Sumniit, Pennsylvania: Tab Books, 1984-$9.95, paper).

CHANGING INFORMATION CONCEPTS AND TECHNOLOGIES: A READER FOR THE PROFESSIONAL LIBRARIAN White Plains, New York: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1982—price not given, paper).

BOOKS, LIBRARIES AND ELECTRONICS: ESSAYS ON THE FUTURE OF WRITTEN COMMUNICATION (White Plains, New York: Knowledge Industry Publications, 1982—$24.95).

THE SUBCARRIER PAGING GUIDE, by Alan A. Reite and ThOrnas J. Buono (Subcarrier Publishing, P.O. Box 57011, Washington, D.C. 20037—$75.00, paper).