From “Trust Me” to “Show Me” Journalism

This study explores the potential of an online platform that encourages journalists to post the documents behind their news stories to help restore the deteriorating public trust in news media. Based on content analysis of 200 news items and 315 accompanying documents posted on DocumentCloud, findings indicate that contrary to journalists’ traditional reluctance to rely on documents, the platform succeeds in boosting massive use of documents, both by mainstream and alternative journalists. Findings show that documents serve mainly to support factual claims (in 96 percent of items) and enhance the transparency of news processes, allowing audiences’ unmediated access to raw materials, and greater capacity to evaluate information independently. However, there are no apparent signs that journalists verified the content of the document. The article suggests that DocumentCloud is a unique example of a technology that may succeed where the former technology that promised to serve as a journalistic reference system, hyperlinks, had failed. If the DocumentCloud experiment is implemented on a wider scale, it might have serious theoretical and practical implications, which are discussed here.     

Influence of stator slotting on the synchronous performance of the hysteresis machine

The influence of stator slotting on the synchronous performance of a hysteresis machine is analyzed on the basis of a rectified model of its structure. The stator block holding the windings in equally spaced slots is replaced by a fictitious block of iron with finite permeability whose value is defined in two relevant directions, namely, the longitudinal and the radial. This set-up has a definite influence on the writing of the boundary conditions for the fields in the machine and consequently on machine behaviour. On the basis of the presented results, an optimization procedure can be attempted for achieving the best performance.     

Velocity- and power-load relationships in the half,parallel and full back squat

This study aimed to compare the load-velocity and load-power relationships of three common variations of the squat exercise. 52 strength-trained males performed a progressive loading test up to the one-repetition maximum (1RM) in the full (F-SQ), parallel (P-SQ) and half (H-SQ) squat, conducted in random order on separate days. Bar velocity and vertical force were measured by means of a linear velocity transducer time-synchronized with a force platform. The relative load that maximized power output (Pmax) was analyzed using three outcome measures: mean concentric (MP), mean propulsive (MPP) and peak power (PP), while also including or excluding body mass in force calculations. 1RM was significantly different between exercises. Load-velocity and load-power relationships were significantly different between the F-SQ, P-SQ and H-SQ variations. Close relationships (R² = 0.92–0.96) between load (%1RM) and bar velocity were found and they were specific for each squat variation, with faster velocities the greater the squat depth. Unlike the F-SQ and P-SQ, no sticking region was observed for the H-SQ when lifting high loads. The Pmax corresponded to a broad load range and was greatly influenced by how force output is calculated (including or excluding body mass) as well as the exact outcome variable used (MP, MPP, PP).     

History and Singularity of Krav-Maga

Abstract

Krav-Maga (‘contact combat’) is an Israeli combat discipline practiced by thousands of individuals worldwide. During the past few decades, it has attracted a considerable amount of attention mainly as a self-defence system, although its origins are also rooted in sport. Despite the widespread popularity of Krav-Maga, its origins, history, and evolution have not been seriously examined in the academic literature, nor has its key role in promoting the use of reflex reactions in combat. This paper addresses these gaps in the literature while emphasizing the distinctive characteristics of Israeli combat disciplines. It also challenges popular misconceptions about the historical roots of Krav-Maga. Our research leads to three key conclusions: First, Israeli combat disciplines played a pioneering role in the use of situational awareness and reflex responses to an attack – in preference to a reliance on forms training. Second, contrary to commonly held beliefs, Krav-Maga is a direct development of Jewish hand-to-hand combat disciplines that can be traced back to 1891. Third, the development of Krav-Maga may be viewed as a reflection of historical and political events affecting the Jewish people from the late nineteenth century.     

Interacting for learning: Digital portfolios for a learning community in a university course

This study investigates student interactions in a blog-based learning community in a university course. In addition, this study explores the dynamics of group interactions in individual blog-based environments compared with collaborative wiki-based educational activities. A learning community of 56 graduate students wrote individual blogs and weekly group summaries using a wiki environment. The posts were analyzed by identifying a post content type and explicit feedback promotions, and by counting the number of the blogger's own comments and the number of others’ comments per post, received from peers studying in the same versus the other offline group. The results show that choosing the appropriate type of post content (i.e., sharing experiences rather than providing information, explicitly calling for feedback, and providing the blogger's own comments) augments peer interaction in a blog environment, thus explaining 51.4% of variance in peer comments. Group interactions through comments in individual blogs, without the possibility of changing one another's content, seem to be non-intrusive and prompt interactions with offline as well as with online peers. In contrast, actual editing of texts through multi-authored collaborative wikis remained affected by student offline former acquaintance. The results are discussed in terms of social interactions and pedagogical beliefs.