Leg preference and interlateral asymmetry of balance stability in soccer players

To examine the effect of long lasting practice on pedal behavior in sport, we compared experienced adult soccer players and nonsoccer players on leg preference in motor tasks requiring general mobilization, soccer related mobilization, and body balance stabilization. We also evaluated performance asymmetry between the right and left legs in static and dynamic unipedal body balance, based on center of pressure displacement, and correlated that with leg preference in balance stabilization tasks. Results revealed (a) a distinct leg preference between mobilization and stabilization tasks, which were significantly different between players and nonplayers, (b) similar balance stability between the right and left legs, (c) greater stability of experienced players compared with nonplayers in static and dynamic balance, and (d) absence of a significant leg preference correlation with interlateral balance asymmetry. These results suggest an effect of extensive soccer skill practice on establishing leg preference for specific mobilization tasks and overall balance control.     

Physical activity among Spanish adolescents: relationship with their relatives' physical activity - the AVENA study

Identifying factors related to physical activity levels in young people is important for a more efficient health promotion. The aims of this study were to assess physical activity levels in a national sample of urban Spanish adolescents, and to examine the association between significant others' physical activity (father, mother, brother, sister, and close friends) and that of the adolescents. The present study comprised 2260 adolescents (1157 boys, 1103 girls) aged 13.0-18.5 years participating in the AVENA Study. Both the adolescents' physical activity and that of their relatives and close friends was assessed by questionnaire. The odds of being active were higher in boys than girls (odds ratio?=?2.79, 95% confidence interval?=?2.34-3.33) and tended to decrease across age groups in both boys and girls. Father's and older brother's physical activity was associated with boys' physical activity, while that of any significant other was associated with girls' physical activity. When both parents reported being active, boys had nearly two times higher odds of being active and girls had nearly three times higher odds of being active. The physical activity levels of Spanish adolescents are in line with those previously reported. Physical activity levels in girls are strongly related to the physical activity of any significant other, whereas physical activity levels in boys are only related to their male relatives' physical activity.     

Subgroups of Attributional Profiles in Students with Learning Difficulties and Their Relation to Self‐Concept and Academic Goals

The aim of this article was fourfold: first, to determine whether there are significant differences between students with (N= 173) and without learning disabilities (LD; N= 172) in the dimensions of self‐concept, causal attributions, and academic goals. Second, to determine whether students with LD present a uniform attributional profile or whether there are subgroups of attributional profiles among students with LD. Third, to explore differences between these profiles on the dimensions of self‐concept, academic goals, perception of competence‐incompetence, persistence when faced with failure, peer relationships, and academic achievement. Fourth, to determine whether there are significant differences in the dimensions of self‐concept and academic goals between NLD students and the different LD subgroups. The results indicate the existence of two very distinct attributional profiles in students with LD (Helplessness Profile and Adaptive Profile). The implications of these data with regard to theory and research, as well as educational practice, are discussed.     

Nepantlera Pedagogy: An Axiological Posture for Preparing Critically Conscious Teachers in the Borderlands

Latinos in U.S.–Mexican borderlands encounter language barriers and clashing cultures. If this decade is to become one of transformation, it must grapple with the uncomfortable realities of Latino students and other minorities of color. This article delineates the theoretical perspectives of the Nepantlera pedagogy, a pedagogy with an emphasis on social justice and human dignity. Paulo Freire's ( Freire, P. 1970. Cultural action for freedom, Boston, MA: Harvard Educational Review.  [Google Scholar] 2000 Freire, P. 2000. Pedagogy of the oppressed, New York, NY: Continuum. (Original work published 1970.  [Google Scholar]) conscientization, Gloria Anzaldúa's (1999 Anzaldúa, G. E. 2002. “Now let us shift … the path of conocimiento … inner work, public acts”. In This bridge we call home: Radical visions for transformation (pp. 540–578), Edited by: Anzaldúa, G. and Keating, A. New York, NY: Routledge.  [Google Scholar], 2002 Anzaldúa, G. E. 2002. “Now let us shift … the path of conocimiento … inner work, public acts”. In This bridge we call home: Radical visions for transformation (pp. 540–578), Edited by: Anzaldúa, G. and Keating, A. New York, NY: Routledge.  [Google Scholar]) path of conocimientos and concept of Nepantla, and Mikhail Bakhtin's (1981) Bakhtin, M. M. 1981. The dialogic imagination: Four essays, Edited by: Holquist, M. Austin: University of Texas Press.  [Google Scholar] concepts of dialogism and ideological becoming frame this pedagogical pathway through praxis, identity formation, border epistemologies, language diversity, dialogue, and critical education.     

Competences in demand within the Spanish agricultural engineering sector

The Rural Engineering Department (Technical University of Madrid) ran three competence surveys during the 2006–2007 and 2007–2008 academic years and evaluated: (1) the competences gained by agricultural engineer's degree and agricultural technical engineer's degree students (360 respondents); (2) the competences demanded by agricultural employers (50 farming sector employers); (3) competences required by farming sector professionals and former students (70 professionals). The surveys show significant differences between what competences agricultural employers require of graduates and the competences they acquire during their agricultural engineering degree courses. Recruiters are looking for generic competences such as the ability to coordinate groups and place less importance on knowledge of engineering, biology, applied economics and legislation. Of the computer-related competences, those most in demand by sector professionals were related to the use of Microsoft Office/Excel (used by 79% of professionals). Surveys were used to redesign some subjects of the degrees.     

A phenomenology of learning large: the tutorial sphere of xMOOC video lectures

The current discourse surrounding Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) is powerful. Despite their rapid and widespread deployment, research has yet to confirm or refute some of the bold claims rationalizing the popularity and efficacy of these large-scale virtual learning environments. Also, MOOCs’ reputed disruptive, game-changing potential for education remains unsubstantiated. A sober counterbalance is needed, in particular, via attending to students’ everyday accounts of the complex realities of learning in these massive online courses. This article reports on an exploratory, phenomenological study of the xMOOC learning experience. Our interest was not the xMOOC experience of students in general, but in its singular, lived particularities. What we discovered was a unique and intimate tutorial sphere that seemed to develop for some xMOOC students in the context of the video lectures, an experience sometimes marked by a sense of fandom surround.     

Operational space consensus of multiple heterogeneous robots without velocity measurements

This paper proposes a control algorithm for networks of multiple heterogeneous robot manipulators, which solves the leader–follower and the leaderless consensus problems in the operational space. In the leader–follower scenario, the controller ensures that all the robots in the network asymptotically reach a given leader pose (position and orientation), provided that, at least, one follower robot has access to the leader pose. Without a leader pose, in the leaderless problem, the robots asymptotically reach a pose of consensus. The controller is a simple distributed proportional plus damping injection (P+d) scheme which does not require velocity measurements. A singularity-free representation, unit quaternions, is used to describe the orientation of each manipulator. The paper presents some simulations, with a network of six 6-Degrees-of-Freedom (DoF) manipulators, and experiments, with a network of three 6-DoF manipulators, to show the effectiveness of the proposed controller.     

Las dificultades de la lectura desde el procesamiento de la información

Cuando la evaluación o diagnóstico del fracaso lector se realiza drásticamente y sin muchos matices, se abre camino a una suposición muy generalizada en España, de que ese efecto considerado único e igual en todos los casos (como los japoneses para el turista bárbaro e irrespetuoso), tiene también una causa única. Es lo que ha pasado con la. etiqueta de «dislexia». En este artículo se revisa el conocimiento actual para llegar a un conocimiento más ajustado a la realidad y más eficaz, de los aprendizajes no logrados de la lectura.     

BABEL (Batería para Aprendizaje Básico de Estimulación Lectora). Implicaciones cognitivas de un programa informático para entrenamiento en el proceso lector

Los procesos cognitivos que se automatizan en la lectura pueden ser enseñados y adiestrados uno a uno con ciertas ventajas por un ordenador-tutor. Se presenta aquí un programa junto con las sugerencias para utilizarlo eficazmente para agilizar y corregir la lectura.