The origin of universal shadow education: what the supplemental education phenomenon tells us about the postmodern institution of education

Prodigious growth in out-of-school, private educational activities meant to supplement formal schooling is observed worldwide. Why has shadow education expanded, and what does it mean for the future of education in postmodern society? Illustrated by the historical development and recent changes in the Japanese shadow education industry, it is suggested that shadow education follows the institutional logic of formal education. And as this logic has become more homogenized and expansive globally, so have the forms and goals of shadow education. Because of its focus on learning and achievement, which are central to formal education, it is predicted that shadow education will be increasingly incorporated into the broader culture of education.     

Vital statistics and early death predictors of North American professional basketball players: A historical examination

While empirical evidence suggests that elite athletes have superior lifespan outcomes relative to the general population, less is known regarding their causes of death. The purpose of this study was to critically examine the mortality outcomes of deceased National Basketball Association and American Basketball Association players. Death data were collected from publicly available sources until 11 December 2015, and causes of death were categorized using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD). Mortality was measured through: i) cause-specific crude death rates (CDR), ii) estimates of death rates per athlete-year (AY), and iii) binary and multinomial regression analyses. We identified 514 causes of death from 787 deceased players (M = 68.1 y ± 16.0) from 16 different ICD groups, 432 of which were from natural causes. Findings showed similar leading causes of death and CDRs to sex- and race-matched controls, higher death rate differences per AY within time-dependent variables (i.e., birth decade, race, and height), and a higher likelihood of dying below the median age of death for black and taller players, although this was highly confounded by birth decade. More complete knowledge of mortality outcomes would provide broad public health applications and disarm harmful stereotypes of elite athlete health.     

eSport management: Embracing eSport education and research opportunities

Consumer demand for eSport and the growth of organized video game competitions has generated considerable attention from the sport, event, and entertainment industries. eSport therefore represents a novel and popular area for sport management academics to conduct research, educate students, and service industry. However, despite growth and acceptance by consumers and practitioners, academics debate eSport’s position within the domain of sport management, their debates largely concentrated around the question of whether eSport can be classified as sport. In this article, the authors argue for the inclusion of organized eSport events and competitions within sport management vis-à-vis eSport’s meeting certain defining criteria of sport in general. eSport’s connection to traditional sport and defining characteristics are addressed to support eSport’s role as a sport entertainment product recognized by industry as representing a substantial growth opportunity for sport and related organizations. As eSport continues to evolve, practitioners face managerial challenges that are similar to those in traditional sport, particularly in areas of governance and diversity. Sport management academics should embrace the potential of eSport in order to examine this evolution and provide guidance to industry through education and research.     

‘Hot’, ‘Cold’ and ‘Warm’ supports: towards theorising where refugee students go for assistance at university

This paper contributes a rich picture of how students from refugee backgrounds navigate their way into and through undergraduate studies in a regional Australian university, paying particular attention to their access to and use of different forms of support. We draw on the conceptualisation of ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ knowledge, offered by Ball and Vincent (1998. “‘I Heard it on the Grapevine’: ‘Hot’ Knowledge and School Choice.” British Journal of Sociology of Education 19 (3): 377–400), and the addition of ‘warm’ knowledge offered by Slack et al. (2014. “‘Hot’, ‘Cold’ and ‘Warm’ Information and Higher Education Decision Making.” British Journal of Sociology of Education 35 (2): 204–223), to develop an understanding of how students from refugee backgrounds make choices about how they locate, select and access support for their studies. The findings of this paper suggest that students from refugee backgrounds do not view the ‘cold’ (unfamiliar-formal) institutional support on offer as ‘for them’; instead they expressed a preference for the ‘warm’ (familiar-formal) support offered via ‘trusted’ people who act as literacy/sociocultural brokers or ‘hot’ (familiar-informal) support of their grapevine of other students (past and present) or experienced community members.     

Effects of a short-term pre-season training programme on the body composition and anaerobic performance of professional rugby union players

Abstract

Pre-season rugby training develops the physical requisites for competition and consists of a high volume of resistance training and anaerobic and aerobic conditioning. However, the effects of a rugby union pre-season in professional athletes are currently unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to determine the effects of a 4-week pre-season on 33 professional rugby union players. Bench press and box squat increased moderately (13.6 kg, 90% confidence limits ±2.9 kg and 17.6 ± 8.0 kg, respectively) over the training phase. Small decreases in bench throw (70.6 ± 53.5 W), jump squat (280.1 ± 232.4 W), and fat mass (1.4 ± 0.4 kg) were observed. In addition, small increases were seen in fat-free mass (2.0 ± 0.6 kg) and flexed upper-arm girth (0.6 ± 0.2 cm), while moderate increases were observed in mid-thigh girth (1.9 ± 0.5 cm) and perception of fatigue (0.6 ± 0.4 units). Increases in strength and body composition were observed in elite rugby union players after 4 weeks of intensive pre-season training, but this may have been the result of a return to fitness levels prior to the off-season. Decreases in power may reflect high training volumes and increases in perceived of fatigue.     

The effects of POWERSOURCE© assessments on middle-school students’ math performance

This paper describes results from field testing of middle-school math formative assessments alongside professional development and instructional resources. We employed a randomised, controlled design to address the question: Does using our formative assessment strategies improve student performance on assessments of key mathematical ideas relative to a comparison group? This study also provided data on the instructional sensitivity of the assessments, which is part of the validation needed for formative assessments. Teachers were recruited from two districts and seven middle schools. Nineteen treatment and 17 comparison group teachers and their students were included in study analyses. Scores on extended response and short-answer questions indicated that students in the treatment group performed better than students in the comparison group who received the formative assessments alone. These findings demonstrate both the feasibility and value of including performance task-types in a brief assessment context.