Part-time faculty status and student evaluation of teaching: An analysis of criminal justice classes

Although part-time (p/t) faculties constitute a growing proportion of college instructors, there is little work on their level of teaching effectiveness relative to full-time (f/t) faculty. Previous work on a key indicator of perceived teaching effectiveness, student evaluation of teaching (SET), and faculty status (p/t/ vs f/t) is marked by a series of shortcomings including lack of a systematic theoretical framework and lack of multivariate statistical analysis techniques to check for possible spuriousness. The present study corrects for these shortcomings. Data consist of SETs from 175 sections of criminal justice classes taught at a Midwestern urban university. Controls are introduced for variables drawn from the literature and include ascribed characteristics of the professor, grade distribution, and structural features of the course (e.g., level, size). The results of a multivariate regression analysis indicate that even after controlling for the other predictors of SETs, p/t faculty receive significantly higher student evaluation scores than f/t faculty. Further, faculty status was the most important predictor of SETs. The results present the first systematic evidence on faculty status and SETs.     

Global Learning Communities: A Comparison of Online Domestic and International Science Class Partnerships

The conception of Global Learning Communities (GLCs) was researched to discover potential benefits of the use of online technologies that facilitated communication and scientific data sharing outside of the normal classroom setting. 1,419 students in 635 student groups began the instructional unit. Students represented the classrooms of 33 teachers from the USA, 6 from Thailand, 7 from Australia, and 4 from Germany. Data from an international environmental education project were analyzed to describe grades 7–9 student scientific writing in domestic US versus international–US classroom online partnerships. The development of an argument analytic and a research model of exploratory data analysis followed by statistical testing were used to discover and highlight different ways students used evidence to support their scientific claims about temperature variation at school sites and deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Findings show modest gains in the use of some evidentiary discourse components by US students in international online class partnerships compared to their US counterparts in domestic US partnerships. The analytic, research model, and online collaborative learning tools may be used in other large-scale studies and learning communities. Results provide insights about the benefits of using online technologies and promote the establishment of GLCs.     

Physical and Physiological Characteristics of Elite Volleyball Players

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to characterize the body fat, maximum aerobic power and maximum anaerobic power of elite junior wrestlers. The study was conducted in conjunction with an elite wrestler training camp. Wrestlers (n = 39) from ages 14 to 18 qualified for the camp and volunteered as subjects. Measurements were made for body composition (skinfold thickness), maximal aerobic power (treadmill run), and maximal anaerobic power of the arms and legs (Wingate test). Body fat averaged (±SD) 7.2% (±2.4), whereas the means (±SD) for maximal aerobic power, arm power, and leg power were 51.2(±9.3) ml/kg min^-1, 390.7 (±92) watts, and 549.1 ± 101 watts, respectively. Elite junior wrestlers appear to have a similar percentage of body fat, lower maximum aerobic power and higher relative anaerobic power compared to elite collegiate and senior wrestlers.     

Game location and aggression in rugby league

The present study examined the relationship between aggression and game location in rugby league. We videotaped a random sample of 21 professional rugby league games played in the 2000 Super League season. Trained observers recorded the frequency of aggressive behaviours. Consistent with previous research, which used territoriality theories as a basis for prediction, we hypothesized that the home team would behave more aggressively than the away team. The results showed no significant difference in the frequency of aggressive behaviours exhibited by the home and away teams. However, the away teams engaged in substantially more aggressive behaviours in games they lost compared with games they won. No significant differences in the pattern of aggressive behaviours for home and away teams emerged as a function of game time (i.e. first or second half) or game situation (i.e. when teams were winning, losing or drawing). The findings suggest that while home and away teams do not display different levels of aggression, the cost of behaving aggressively (in terms of game outcome) may be greater for the away team.     

Extending the Theory of Planned Behavior in the Exercise Domain: A Comparison of Social Support and Subjective Norm

Abstract

A sedentary and unfit way of life leads to increased risk for several chronic diseases and premature mortality. Sedentary and unfit individuals are also more likely to develop functional limitations as they age. The precise type, amount, and intensity of physical activity required for protection needs further investigation. Traditional exercise recommendations suggest a threshold of activity that necessary for protection, although current evidence does not support a dichotomous view of this issue. Clinical and epidemiological studies show a continuous dose-response gradient of outcome variables across a wide range of activity or fitness levels. Moderate amounts and intensities of physical activity are associated with improved health and reduced risk of morbidity and mortality when compared with low activity or fitness. The major public health emphasis for physical activity recommendations and programming should be to encourage the most sedentary and unfit 20 to 25 % of the population to become at least moderately active, and this can yield substantial benefits for the population.     

Leisure Time Physical Activity and Job Performance

In this study, the dual-task paradigm was used to determine peak attentional demand during the free-throw process. Thirty participants completed 40 free-throw trials. The free throw was the primary task, but participants also verbally responded to a tone administered at one of four probe positions (PP). Repeated measures analysis of variance showed no significant difference in free-throw performance across PPs, indicating participants were able to keep the free throw as the primary task. Repeated measures analysis of response time (RT) showed significant differences, with RT at PP1 (preshot routine) and PP2 (first upward motion of the ball) significantly higher than baseline RT. These results suggest that PP1 requires the greatest attentional demand, followed by PP2.     

The Learning Advantages of an External Focus of Attention in Golf

Abstract

Two unique methodological strategies were used to investigate the influence of retroactive inhibition on recall within a contextual interference paradigm. Three independent blocked groups, blocked without retroactive inhibition (BL-without), blocked with 18 trials of retroactive inhibition (BL-18), and blocked with 36 trials of retroactive inhibition (BL-36), were created that varied in order of presentation of tasks. By testing a single task in retention and creating three independent blocked groups, varying amounts of retroactive inhibition were produced. This isolated the effects of retroactive inhibition on blocked compared to control and random subjects' retention. The Acquisition Group x Retention Trials interaction indicated that random and BL-without subjects had shorter reaction time than BL-18 and BL-36 subjects. Thus, blocked subjects with retroactive inhibition exhibited a retention deficit compared to BL-without subjects. The results support previous contextual interference findings and suggest that retroactive inhibition influences the retention deficits demonstrated by blocked compared to random subjects in typical contextual interference investigations.     

Substrate oxidation during incremental arm and leg exercise in men and women matched for ventilatory threshold

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the variations in substrate utilization between men and women matched for ventilatory threshold (T _vent) during incremental arm cranking and leg cycling exercise at 70, 85, 100 and 115% of the mode-specific T _vent. Recreationally active men (n = 12) and women (n = 10) with similar values for percentage of peak oxygen consumption at T _vent participated in the study. Ventilatory equivalence, excess CO₂ and modified V-slope methods were used concurrently to determine T _vent. The participants performed 5 min of exercise at each of 70, 85, 100 and 115% T _vent during both arm cranking and leg cycling exercise. The females were tested during the early follicular phase for all trials. A two-way mixed-design analysis of variance was performed to test for differences between the sexes. When carbohydrate and fat oxidation were expressed relative to total fat-free mass, carbohydrate oxidation during arm cranking and leg cycling was significantly higher in men than women at each percentage of T _vent. In contrast, women showed significantly higher fat oxidation across intensities during both arm cranking and leg cycling. Our results suggest that when substrate utilization is expressed relative to total fat-free mass, women appear to maintain a higher rate of fat and lower rate of carbohydrate oxidation than men during both incremental arm cranking and leg cycling exercise relative to T _vent.