The differential effects of task complexity on domain-specific and peer assessment skills

In this study the relationship between domain-specific skills and peer assessment skills as a function of task complexity is investigated. We hypothesised that peer assessment skills were superposed on domain-specific skills and will therefore suffer more when higher cognitive load is induced by increased task complexity. In a mixed factorial design with the between-subjects factor task complexity (simple, n?=?51; complex, n?=?59) and within-subjects factor task type (domain-specific, peer assessment), secondary school students studied four integrated study tasks, requiring them to learn a domain-specific skill (i.e. identifying the six steps of scientific research) and to learn how to assess a fictitious peer performing the same skill. Additionally, the students performed two domain-specific test tasks and two peer assessment test tasks. The interaction effect found on test performance supports our hypothesis. Implications for the teaching and learning of peer assessment skills are discussed.     

Elite football on artificial turf versus natural grass: movement patterns, technical standards, and player impressions

The aim of the present study was to examine the movement patterns, ball skills, and the impressions of Swedish elite football players during competitive games on artificial turf and natural grass. Time - motion analyses (36 observations) and technical analyses (16 team observations) were performed and 72 male and 21 female players completed a questionnaire. No differences were observed between artificial turf and natural grass in terms of total distance covered (mean 10.19 km, s = 0.19 vs. 10.33 km, s = 0.23), high-intensity running (1.86 km, s = 0.10 vs. 1.87 km, s = 0.14), number of sprints (21, s = 1 vs. 22, s = 2), standing tackles (10, s = 1 vs. 11, s = 1) or headers per game (8, s = 1 vs. 8, s = 1), whereas there were fewer sliding tackles (P < 0.05) on artificial turf than natural grass (2.1, s = 0.5 vs. 4.3, s = 0.6). There were more short passes (218, s = 14 vs. 167, s = 12) and midfield-to-midfield passes (148, s = 11 vs. 107, s = 8) (both P < 0.05) on artificial turf than natural grass. On a scale of 0-10, where 0 = "better than", 5 = "equal to", and 10 = "worse than", the male players reported a negative overall impression (8.3, s = 0.2), poorer ball control (7.3, s = 0.3), and greater physical effort (7.2, s = 0.2) on artificial turf than natural grass. In conclusion, the running activities and technical standard were similar during games on artificial turf and natural grass. However, fewer sliding tackles and more short passes were performed during games on artificial turf. The observed change in playing style could partly explain the male players' negative impression of artificial turf.     

The influence of training load,exposure to match play and sleep duration on daily wellbeing measures in youth athletes

This study assessed the influence of training load, exposure to match play and sleep duration on two daily wellbeing measures in youth athletes. Forty-eight youth athletes (age 17.3 ± 0.5 years) completed a daily wellbeing questionnaire (DWB), the Perceived Recovery Status scale (PRS), and provided details on the previous day’s training loads (TL) and self-reported sleep duration (sleep) every day for 13 weeks (n = 2727). Linear mixed models assessed the effect of TL, exposure to match play and sleep on DWB and PRS. An increase in TL had a most likely small effect on muscle soreness (d = ?0.43;± 0.10) and PRS (d = ?0.37;± 0.09). Match play had a likely small additive effect on muscle soreness (d = ?0.26;± 0.09) and PRS (d = ?0.25;± 0.08). An increase in sleep had a most likely moderate effect on sleep quality (d = 0.80;± 0.14); a most likely small effect on DWB (d = 0.45;± 0.09) and fatigue (d = 0.42;± 0.11); and a likely small effect on PRS (d = 0.25;± 0.09). All other effects were trivial or did not reach the pre-determined threshold for practical significance. The influence of sleep on multiple DWB subscales and the PRS suggests that practitioners should consider the recovery of an athlete alongside the training stress imposed when considering deviations in wellbeing measures.     

Compression garments and cerebral blood flow: Influence on cognitive and exercise performance

This study aimed to describe the effect of compression garments on middle cerebral artery blood flow velocity (MCA_v) in relation to cognitive and exercise performance whilst cycling. In a randomised-controlled-cross-over design, 15 well-trained male cyclists were recruited to participate in three identical trials wearing loose fitting shorts (control), low-grade, or medium-grade compression garments. The protocol involved four 8?min increments of cycling at 30%, 50%, 70%, and 85% maximal power output and a 4?km time-trial. Participants undertook a cognitive Stroop task at baseline and at the midpoint of each increment. MCA_v was monitored with Transcranial Doppler Ultrasonography. Mean arterial pressure (MAP) and partial pressure of end-tidal CO₂ (P_etCO₂) were measured throughout. MCA_v, MAP, P_etCO₂, and reaction time of the complex Stroop task were influenced by exercise intensity, but not compression garments. Compression garments significantly affected cognitive accuracy in the complex Stroop task such that low-grade compression appeared to enhance cognitive accuracy in comparison to the control condition at the highest intensity (p?=?.010). Time-trial performance did not differ between the control (338.0?±?17.3 s), low-grade (338.7?±?18.7 s), or medium-grade (342.2?±?19.3 s) conditions (p?=?.114). Compression garments did not affect MCA_v during exercise or time-trial performance, but compression may be beneficial for improved cognitive accuracy during high-intensity exercise. Further research is required to elucidate the potential impact on cognitive performance.     

eSports – Competitive sports or recreational activity?

eSports is growing around the globe, with more and more individuals are engaged as players or spectators. In this paper, the authors reflect on whether eSports can be considered as sport based on evaluating five characteristics of sport and assessing them for eSports. Currently, eSports are not a sport but there is the potential that eSports will become a sport. Different opportunities how marketers and managers can attend to eSports are outlined.     

India: Demographics for Publishers

The essential demographic data and related information for India is provided specifically for the publishing industry. The focus has been placed on the economics, education and computer industry in relation to the complex cultural factors of different languages and religions. The role of India in relation to the other three BRIC countries or Brazil, China and Russia is explored.     

“This is the Whiteman’s Law”: Aboriginal resistance,bureaucratic change and the Census of Canada, 1830–2006

Census information of some form has been collected in Canada since the 1611 census of New France. Aboriginal people, identified or not, have been included in these enumerations. The collection of this information has had a profound impact on Aboriginal people and has been an element that has shaped their relationship with the dominant society. In response, Canadian Aboriginal people have often resisted and refused to co-operate with census takers and their masters. This article is an examination of this phenomenon focused on the censuses conducted in the post-Confederation period to the present. A census is made to collect information on populations and individuals that can then be used to configure and shape social and political relations between those being enumerated and the creators of the census. However, the human objects of the census are not just passive integers and they have resisted its creation in a number of ways, including being “missing” when the census is taken, refusing to answer the questions posed by enumerators or even driving them off Aboriginal territory. A census identifies elements of the social order and attempts to set them in their “proper” place and those who do not wish to be part of that order may refuse to take part. Archivists and historians must understand that the knowledge gained in a census is bound with the conditions of own creation. This has been noted by contemporary Aboriginal researchers who often state that the archival record of their people often distorts history and reflects the ideas and superficial observations of their Euro-Canadian creators. Changes to the Census of Canada since 1981, have increased the participation rate and therefore changed the nature of the record.

Planning changes to health library services on the basis of impact assessment

Background: Various methods of impact assessment for health library services exist, including a toolkit developed for the UK. The Knowledge, Resource and Information service (KRIS) for health promotion, health service commissioning and public health (Bristol area, UK) commissioned an independent team at Aberystwyth University to provide an impact assessment and evaluation of their services and to provide evidence for future planning. Objective: The review aimed to provide an action plan for KRIS through assessing the impact of the current service, extent of satisfaction with existing services and views on desirable improvements. Methods: Existing impact toolkit guidance was used, with an adapted impact questionnaire, which was distributed by the KRIS staff to 244 users (response rate 62.3%) in early 2009. The independent team analysed the questionnaire data and presented the findings. Results: Users valued the service (93% considered that relevant information was obtained). The most frequent impacts on work were advice to patients, clients or carers, and advice to colleagues. Literature searching and current awareness services saved staff time. Many users were seeking health promotion materials. Conclusion: The adapted questionnaire worked well in demonstrating the service impacts achieved by KRIS, as well as indicating desirable improvements in service delivery.     

Statistical query expansion for sentence retrieval and its effects on weak and strong queries

The retrieval of sentences that are relevant to a given information need is a challenging passage retrieval task. In this context, the well-known vocabulary mismatch problem arises severely because of the fine granularity of the task. Short queries, which are usually the rule rather than the exception, aggravate the problem. Consequently, effective sentence retrieval methods tend to apply some form of query expansion, usually based on pseudo-relevance feedback. Nevertheless, there are no extensive studies comparing different statistical expansion strategies for sentence retrieval. In this work we study thoroughly the effect of distinct statistical expansion methods on sentence retrieval. We start from a set of retrieved documents in which relevant sentences have to be found. In our experiments different term selection strategies are evaluated and we provide empirical evidence to show that expansion before sentence retrieval yields competitive performance. This is particularly novel because expansion for sentence retrieval is often done after sentence retrieval (i.e. expansion terms are mined from a ranked set of sentences) and there are no comparative results available between both types of expansion. Furthermore, this comparison is particularly valuable because there are important implications in time efficiency. We also carefully analyze expansion on weak and strong queries and demonstrate clearly that expanding queries before sentence retrieval is not only more convenient for efficiency purposes, but also more effective when handling poor queries.     

British Colonial Administrations’ registry systems: a comparative study of Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland

Recordkeeping in twentieth century colonial states has been ignored by scholars, or at best regarded as the result of a monolithic process of migration of metropolitan practices. Registries provided the principal organ of recordkeeping in British government systems of administration. This comparative study of the registries in the neighbouring territories of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and Nyasaland (now Malawi) reveals the true extent of metropolitan British influence, exposing an absence of centralised advice, and a consequent dependence upon individual innovation. This engendered divergent and sometimes weak recordkeeping regimes. The effects of this included the diminution of fiduciary responsibility and administrative accountability.