The Asian Games and Diplomacy in Asia: Korea–China–Russia

In this article, I will look at the impact of sport on relations between states. In particular, I will study the role that sport has played in enhancing (or damaging) diplomacy in international relations. I will look especially at the role that the Olympics and the Asian Olympics have played in promoting diplomatic breakthroughs between countries. My cases focus on the use of sports diplomacy to foster the end of the Cold War in Asia, studying the breakthroughs between Korea, China and Russia. I will then look at the Beijing Games of 2008 and Guangzhou Asian Games of 2010.     

Children-Adult Comparisons of VO2 and HR Kinetics during Submaximum Exercise

Abstract

Oxygen uptake (VO₂) and heart rate (HR) kinetics for submaximum exercise were compared in prepubescent boys (mean age ± SD = 10.2 ± 1.28 years, N = 21) and adult men (30.0 ± 5.64 years, N = 21). Standard open circuit spirometric techniques were used to determine _VO2 and a bipolar ECG was used to measure HR. The kinetics of VO₂ and HR were determined for each subject using graphic procedures. Subjects performed submaximum exercise on the bicycle ergometer at an intensity of 42 ± 1.3% (mean ± SE) of VO₂ max for the children and 39 ± 0.7% of VO₂ max for the adults (p = .07). There were no group differences in VO₂ t1/2 (children t1/2 = 18.5 ± 0.75 secs and adults t1/2 = 17.4 ± 0.39 secs, p = .18) and HR t1/2 (children t1/2 = 11.4 ± 1.86 secs and adults t1/2 = 13.6 ± 1.66 secs, p = .38). These data suggest that children and adults do not differ in cardiorespiratory adjustments during low intensity exercise. This is in contrast to suggestions of other investigators that children have a faster cardiovascular adjustment to exercise.     

Active video games in fully immersive virtual reality elicit moderate-to-vigorous physical activity and improve cognitive performance in sedentary college students

Background:Active video games are a new method for increasing physical activity(PA).Fully immersive virtual reality(VR)is a hardware device on which an active video game can run.Active(video games in)VR(AVR),might increase immersion,game engagement,and moderate-to-vigorous PA(MVPA),thereby yielding greater exercise-related benefits,e.g.,cognitive performance.Methods:We examined the induction of MVPA via an AVR and a sedentary VR(SVR)as well as the effects of VR play on cognitive performance,which was monitored using 2 different methods.Each of 29 sedentary college students attended three 20-min laboratory sessions(AVR,SVR,or control)in a randomized order;during the control session,they sat quietly doing nothing.A fully immersive headset was used for the 2 video game sessions.We monitored and computed participants’PA using hip-wom accelerometers(wGT3 x-bt;ActiGraph,Pensacola,FL,USA)and a heart rate band(Polar H7;Polar,Kempele,Finland).After each session,the participants completed a mnemonic similarity test(MST)to measure recognition memory.They also filled out a motion sickness questionnaire and an abbreviated game experience questionnaire.Results:The AVR session induced a significantly greater heart rate and more time spent in MVPA than did either of the other 2 sessions regardless of the PA monitoring method.AVR elicited greater game experience questionnaire-assessed sensory and imaginative immersion,challenge,and positive affect than did SVR.The mnemonic similarity test recognition score was marginally higher post-AVR session than it was post-SVR session.Conclusion:AVR elicited MVPA without a significant increase in motion sickness and induced a better game experience and better borderline cognitive performance than did SVR.     

Labor force experience and earnings: Women with children

Married women with children are observed to earn less than men, and less also than women without children. Differences in the hourly wage rates of individuals of the same age and with the same educational attainment may reflect, in part, differences in labor force experience. While interruption in the work experience of women is recognized as an important cause of lower current wage rates, less attention has been directed to the impact of child-related reductions in hours worked when women are in the labor force. This paper examines the impact of hours worked in all past periods on the current wage rate. Our model, in which the ‘intensity’ of an individual's work experience in any period can vary from 0 (no work) to 100% (full-time work), is contrasted with the standard human capital earnings function, in which intensity is assumed to be 100% in every period subsequent to the completion of school. Using a new data set, both models are estimated for a sample of working mothers. Contrasting the wages of the women in this sample with the wages of their husbands, we find that differences in the intensity of prior work experience account for approximately half of the observed sex-related wage gap.     

Junior high school science teacher preparation,teaching behavior,and student achievement

The findings challenge both practices and prejudices in junior high school science teacher preparation.     

The History of the Planar Elastica: Insights into Mechanics and Scientific Method

Euler’s formula for the buckling of an elastic column is widely used in engineering design. However, only a handful of engineers will be familiar with Euler’s classic paper De Curvis Elasticis in which the formula is derived. In addition to the Euler Buckling Formula, De Curvis Elasticis classifies all the bent configurations of elastic rod—a landmark in the development of a rational theory of continuum mechanics. As a historical case study, Euler’s work on elastic rods offers an insight into some important concepts which underlie mechanics. It sheds light on the search for unifying principles of mechanics and the role of analysis. The connection between results obtained from theory and those obtained from experiments on rods, highlights two different approaches to scientific discovery, which can be traced back to Bacon, Descartes and Galileo. The bent rod also has an analogy in dynamics, with a pendulum, which highlights the crucial distinctions between initial value and boundary value problems and between linear and nonlinear differential equations. In addition to benefiting from the overview which a historical study provides, the particular problem of the elastica offers students of science and engineering a clear elucidation of the connection between mathematics and real-world engineering, issues which still have relevance today.

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Developmental dyslexia: Related to specific or general deficits?

The present study was designed to examine the question of whether developmental dyslexia in 12-year-old students at the beginning of secondary education in the Netherlands is confined to problems in the domain of reading and spelling or also is related to difficulties in other areas. In particular, hypotheses derived from theories on phonological processing, rapid automatized naming, working memory, and automatization of skills were tested. To overcome the definition and selection problems of many previous studies, we included in our study all students in the first year of secondary special education in a Dutch school district. Participants were classified as either dyslexic, garden-variety, or hyperlexic poor readers, according to the degree of discrepancy between their word recognition and listening comprehension scores. In addition, groups of normal readers were formed, matching the poor readers in either reading age or chronological age. A large test battery was administered to each student, including phonological, naming, working memory, speed of processing, and motor tests. The findings indicate that dyslexia is associated with deficits in (1) phonological recoding, word recognition (both in their native Dutch and in English as a second language), and spelling skills; and (2) naming speed for letters and digits. Dyslexia was not associated with deficits in other areas. The results suggest that developmental dyslexia, at the age of 12, might be (or might have become) a difficulty rather isolated from deficiencies in other cognitive and motor skills.