Effect of Unilateral Isometric and Isotonic Contractions on the Strength of the Contralateral Limb

Abstract

Two groups of college men (N = 41) participated for 12 weeks in two different exercise programs to determine the relative effects of unilateral isometric and isotonic contractions of equal load, duration, and range of movement on the muscular strength of the contralateral limb. Data examined by the t test for correlated means indicated that both methods of exercise produced significant increases in the strength of the unexercised limb. Application of the multiple linear regression technique for covariance analysis revealed that no significant difference existed between the effectiveness of the exercise methods.     

Parental expectations of children’s higher education participation in Australia

The role of parental expectations in determining children's higher education participation is important in understanding both participation and potential policy responses. Using a nationally representative longitudinal survey of Australian households, providing repeat observations on expectations for individual children, this study extends the literature in several respects. First, it examines the adaptation of parental expectations over a 4-year time frame. Second, it looks at how parental expectations for school children are associated with actual higher education outcomes in the future. Third, the longitudinal aspect of the dataset permits more robust analyses of factors that shape parental expectations. The findings indicate that parental expectations of their children's attendance at university are generally stable across time. Perceptions of children's academic achievement at school are shown to be the key influence in shaping parents' expectations, and behavioural issues at school adversely affect expectations. Australian parents from non-English-speaking backgrounds were more likely to form positive expectations of university participation by their children, consistent with studies from other countries. A more nuanced picture of the formation of expectations for sole-parent mothers is also presented. Positive effects of parental education and children's enrolment in a private school on parents' expectations, over and above any effect on school achievement, highlight these socioeconomic factors as potential causal channels for the intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic outcomes.     

What Makes for Great Data Journalism?

This study examines the quality of winners and finalists in major national and international data journalism awards. We completed a content analysis of data projects submitted by Canadian media to three journalism associations—the Online News Association, the Global Editors Network and the Canadian Association of Journalists—as far back as the first award in this category in 2012. Our research addresses how journalists executed what could be considered excellent data journalism. Our findings point to a lack of accepted standards regarding what is considered as excellence. The quality of the projects was limited by two key factors: the use of free online options such as Google Maps that were not easily customizable; and the number of practitioners who worked on the data projects largely within traditional journalism frameworks. The most used visual elements were dynamic maps, graphs and video. With respect to interactivity, all but one of the projects contained an interactive element. The most popular interaction techniques were inspection and filtering, considered entry-level techniques in the field of information visualization. These techniques suggest a need for collaborative interdisciplinary approaches to data journalism, and further study on the implications of tools such as Google Maps on practice.