The effects of an experimental programme to support students’ autonomy on the overt behaviours of physical education teachers

Although the benefits of autonomy supportive behaviours are now well established in the literature, very few studies have attempted to train teachers to offer a greater autonomy support to their students. In fact, none of these studies has been carried out in physical education (PE). The purpose of this study is to test the effects of an autonomy-supportive training on overt behaviours of teaching among PE teachers. The experimental group included two PE teachers who were first educated on the benefits of an autonomy supportive style and then followed an individualised guidance programme during the 8 lessons of a teaching cycle. Their behaviours were observed and rated along 3 categories (i.e., autonomy supportive, neutral and controlling) and were subsequently compared to those of three teachers who formed the control condition. The results showed that teachers in the experimental group used more autonomy supportive and neutral behaviours than those in the control group, but no difference emerged in relation to controlling behaviours. We discuss the implications for schools of our findings.     

Conceptualising the heterogeneity of research-based spin-offs: A multi-dimensional taxonomy

Research-based spin-offs (RBSOs) have become an important aspect of the technology transfer process. Emanating from what is conventionally a non-commercial environment, RBSOs pose major challenges if they are to realise their potential to meet the objectives of their founders and the parent research organisations (PROs) from which they emerge. An important issue is to understand the heterogeneity of RBSOs. This paper reviews the literature on RBSO typologies to develop a taxonomy of RBSOs. We identify common themes in relation to these typologies in relation to (1) spin-off creation and (2) spin-off development. The dimensions that differentiate between firms are the type of resources, the business model and the institutional link. We identify gaps in current typologies in order to propose avenues for future conceptual and empirical research.     

Display and interaction features of instructional texts and computers

The design of instructional texts is an area of educational technology which is attracting considerable interest, much of it centered on the display of information and on student-text interaction. This article discusses whether techniques found useful in text design can be transposed to the display of CAL materials. Each medium has its problems and advantages; at present, little is directly transferable from one medium to the other. The computer-presented 'dynamic book' concept provides an example of how to combine giving learners control over the presentation with book-style indexing and browsing.     

Career patterns and competences of PhDs in science and engineering in the knowledge economy: The case of graduates from a UK research-based university

Based on data collected through a complex survey of science and engineering PhD graduates from a UK research-based university, this paper examines the different types of careers and to what extent different types of competences acquired from doctoral education are regarded as valuable in the different career types. The results show that employment outside the conventional technical occupations is the main destination for the survey respondents. This career type is not only successful at retaining its members, but is also the destination of the other career types. Moreover, different types of competences from doctoral education are regarded as relatively more valuable in different career types: knowledge directly tied to subject areas is regarded as more valuable in academia/public research; both knowledge directly tied to subject areas (but more general type of knowledge rather than specialist knowledge in PhD topics) and the more general and transferable skills are regarded as valuable in technical positions in manufacturing; and the general and transferable skills are regarded as more valuable in employment outside the conventional technical occupations. In absolute terms, general analytical skills and problem solving capability acquired from doctoral education are perceived as valuable in all three career types.     

Exploring features for the automatic identification of user goals in web search

Queries submitted to search engines can be classified according to the user goals into three distinct categories: navigational, informational, and transactional. Such classification may be useful, for instance, as additional information for advertisement selection algorithms and for search engine ranking functions, among other possible applications. This paper presents a study about the impact of using several features extracted from the document collection and query logs on the task of automatically identifying the users’ goals behind their queries. We propose the use of new features not previously reported in literature and study their impact on the quality of the query classification task. Further, we study the impact of each feature on different web collections, showing that the choice of the best set of features may change according to the target collection.     

Modes of learning and profitability in Colombian and Mexican SMEs

The aim of this study is to analyze the effects of different modes of learning on innovation and profitability in SMEs in two Latin American countries; Mexico and Colombia. The data were obtained using a sample of 250 companies in the industrial sector operating in both countries. Results show that an integrated mode of learning based on internal and external knowledge supported by technological infrastructure have positive and significant effects on the degree of innovation and the profitability in SMEs However this effect appears to be not significantly different from the traditional SMEs mode of learning based mainly on market orientation.     

The impact of Nordic walking training on the gait of the elderly

The purpose of the current study was to define the impact of regular practice of Nordic walking on the gait of the elderly. Thereby, we aimed to determine whether the gait characteristics of active elderly persons practicing Nordic walking are more similar to healthy adults than that of the sedentary elderly. Comparison was made based on parameters computed from three inertial sensors during walking at a freely chosen velocity. Results showed differences in gait pattern in terms of the amplitude computed from acceleration and angular velocity at the lumbar region (root mean square), the distribution (Skewness) quantified from the vertical and Euclidean norm of the lumbar acceleration, the complexity (Sample Entropy) of the mediolateral component of lumbar angular velocity and the Euclidean norm of the shank acceleration and angular velocity, the regularity of the lower limbs, the spatiotemporal parameters and the variability (standard deviation) of stance and stride durations. These findings reveal that the pattern of active elderly differs significantly from sedentary elderly of the same age while similarity was observed between the active elderly and healthy adults. These results advance that regular physical activity such as Nordic walking may counteract the deterioration of gait quality that occurs with aging.     

Injuries in formal and informal non-professional soccer – an overview of injury context,causes, and characteristics

The objective of this study is to analyse context, causes, and characteristics of injuries in non-professional soccer. Therefore, a retrospective telephone survey was carried out with persons who were injured while playing soccer and who reported this accident to the Swiss National Accident Insurance Fund (Suva). Based on these data, an analysis of 708 soccer injuries was performed. The findings show that 30.1% of the injuries occurred during informal soccer play, and 75.4% of the injured persons were soccer club members. 53.0% of all injuries were caused by contact and 29.5% by foul play. Foul play was not associated with injury severity. With respect to injury severity, twisting/turning and being tackled by an opponent were identified as the most influental injury causes. Moreover, the risk of being severely injured was particularly high players of the 30+/40+ amateur leagues. In conclusion, the findings highlight that 30+/40+ league players are a major target group for the prevention of severe soccer injuries. Soccer clubs may constitute an appropriate multiplier for implementing prevention strategies such as fair play education, healthy play behaviours, and prevention programmes. Finally, a better understanding of injury situations leading to severe injuries is needed to improve injury prevention.