Effect of strength training on rate of force development in older women

We analyzed the effect of an 8-week strength training (ST) program on the rate of force development (RFD) and electromyographic activity (EMG) in older women. Seventeen women (M age = 63.4 years, SD = 4.9) without previous ST experience were randomly assigned to either a control (n=7) or training (n=10) group. A leg-press isometric test was used for assessment. ST (three sessions/ week, three sets of 10-12 repetition maximum, five different exercises) induced significant increases (p < .05) on peak RPD (48.4%) and on RFD) and EMG of vastus medialis at time intervals of 0-50, 0-100, 0-150, and 0-200 ms (41.1-69.2% and 43.8-64.3%, respectively). Therefore, ST resulted in favorable changes in neuromuscular responses in older women.     

Managerialism Rhetorics in Portuguese Higher Education

In Portugal, as elsewhere, the rhetoric of managerialism in higher education is becoming firmly entrenched in the governmental policymakers?? discourse and has been widely disseminated across the institutional landscape. Managerialism is an important ideological support of New Public Management policies and can be classified as a narrative of strategic change. In this paper, we analyse how far the managerialism narrative has been injected into the discursive repertory of Portuguese academics in their role as the co-ordinators of the higher education institutions?? teaching and academic middle levels. Based on an analysis of interview responses, it seems that most academics support traditional academic values such as autonomy and collegiality, and reject university or polytechnic governance based on corporate philosophy.     

A Feminist Posthumanist Multispecies Ethnography for Educational Studies

The animal or more-than-human turn in the humanities and social sciences has challenged nature/culture binaries in the fields of environmental education and early childhood studies, yet the field of educational studies has yet to confront its humanist roots. In this article, I sketch a nascent conceptual framework that outlines how multispecies ethnography, as a methodology informed by critical strands of feminist posthumanism, can begin to address and redress both social and species injustices in educational studies. To do this, I first provide a brief overview of educational humanism to situate the article within the animal and more-than-human turns in education. I then define multispecies ethnography and briefly review educational multispecies ethnographic research. Next, I sketch the conceptual framework, which is guided by feminist posthumanist theories of performativity and intersectionality, providing ethnographic examples from my own research projects and the research literature. I conclude by drawing out the implications for educational studies, with a consideration of how animal performativity and intersectionality open up new lines of inquiry to explore animal concerns, as well as social ones.     

The Influence of Need for Closure on Learning and Teaching

A primary goal of educational systems is to provide learners with the information, skills, and dispositions needed to be an effective member of a complex and information-rich society. To effectively address this goal, educators and educational psychologists need to understand both the ability and the willingness of learners to grapple effectively with information. A psychological construct that may illuminate heretofore unexplored aspects of learners’ willingness or reluctance to grapple with information is the need for closure (Kruglanski, Psychol Inq 1(3):181–197, 1990; Kruglanski and Webster, Psychol Rev 103:263–283, 1996; Webster and Kruglanski, J Pers Soc Psychol 76(6):1049–1062, 1994). The purpose of this article is to provide educational psychologists with a theoretical overview of need for cognitive closure, highlighting its applicability to instructional settings. We will also discuss what closure needs may look like within the classroom and the conditions under which they may be exhibited. We argue for the relevance of the need for closure construct for improving educators’ understanding of teaching and learning processes.     

The Negotiated Project Approach: Project-Based Learning without Leaving the Standards Behind

The purpose this study was to explore how a veteran first-grade teacher collaboratively negotiated the implementation of a project with her students while, at the same time, addressed grade-level standards. Researchers investigated the teacher’s strategies for integrating the district’s standards into project topics, investigative activities, and final presentations. They also examined the teacher’s strategies for promoting students’ participation in project planning and independent problem-solving. Data sources included field notes, teacher interviews, videotaped observations, and transcribed teacher, and student interviews. As an extension to teacher-directed approaches to implementing the project approach, the results of this study revealed a collaborative approach to implementing projects that allowed the teacher and the students to work together for project planning and learning. The teacher felt successful with meeting grade level learning needs, and the students were given the opportunity to fuel their learning by expressing their natural interests and curiosities, and become problem solvers.     

Through the kaleidoscope: Perspectives on cultural change within an integrated information systems environment

The study of information systems and their influence on organisational culture is a complex and highly contested area of research which has been the subject of much theorising. This paper intends to add to the debate through a longitudinal case study of an integrated information system implementation undertaken within a large UK university. The system known as SITS (Strategic Information Technology Services) was introduced into the university in 2006 and the focus of the research has been on culture change within the SITS environment. Document analysis, interviews and participant observation were used to collect the data for this study. What has emerged from this study is that current approaches are unable to account for the complexity of cultural studies within an integrated information systems environment and therefore we have developed the concept of the ‘cultural kaleidoscope’ as a heuristic to better understand the nature of cultural change within these circumstances.     

Why Isn’t Health a Priority?

This study helps bridge the existing divide between the knowledge on health news reporting in mainstream mass media and health reporting in media outlets serving Native American populations in the United States. The current work presents the first survey of journalists working in Native-serving media outlets to identify role conceptions, perceived importance, and actual practices of health reporting. Aided in data collection by the Native American Journalists Association, findings indicate journalists (N?=?100) place a high value on their role as disseminators of culturally relevant health information. However, results conflict in regard to the prioritization of health news reporting. Although journalists recognize health news should be a top priority, they point to a general lack of will from news leadership to make it an organizational priority. Additionally, results show that although journalists have comfort and confidence in health-related reporting, access to qualified sources remains an area for opportunity.