The Engagement of Transnationals in Mexican University Classrooms: Points of Entry Toward Recognition Among Future English Teachers

For better or worse, English continues to expand as the commonly shared lingua franca throughout the world. With an increasing movement of transnational students—armed with English and flowing across borders—three university professors discuss their pedagogies and ways of knowing as they engage transnational students inside Mexican university classrooms for future teachers of English. Situated at an interior Mexican public university, each of them explores their unique positioning and the ways they taught transnational students. One is a transnational Mexican-American instructor; another is a researcher of transnationalism historically based in the U.S., and the other co-author is a Mexican national who learned English as a second language and has witnessed the rapidly changing population of students in the interior of Mexico. Toward the aim of improving the way transnationals access and experience formal education, they provide recommendations for improving pedagogy and expanding research.     

Action learning set meetings: getting started by ‘checking in’

This account of practice is about starting action learning set meetings. It focuses on a process sometimes known as the ‘check-in’. The paper is based upon the experience of one of the authors (Mark). It raises questions about the contribution of the check-in to an action learning set meeting and whether the checking-in process has a role in extending the ethos of action learning to other social situations. The paper concludes that the check-in serves four main roles: personal contextualisation, helping set members to step out of their professional roles, as an orientation ritual and as a means of enhancing empathy. It also concludes that checking in has a potential contribution to make to other forms of meetings and this contribution may be relevant to the broader action learning community.     

Effect of tennis racket parameters on a simulated groundstroke

Composite materials have given manufacturers the freedom to develop a broad range of tennis rackets, allowing them to change key parameters such as the structural stiffness, mass, and position of the balance point. The aim of this research was to determine how changing these parameters could affect ball resultant rebound velocity and spin for a simulated groundstroke. A finite element model of a freely suspended racket and strings was used to determine the effect of racket parameters for oblique spinning impacts at a range of locations on the stringbed. The finite element simulations were conducted in the laboratory frame of reference, where the ball is projected onto an initially stationary racket. The mean rebound velocity of the ball was 9% higher for a structurally stiff racket, 37% higher for a heavy racket, and 32% higher for a head-heavy racket. In addition, the mean rebound topspin of the ball was 23% higher for a heavy racket and 21% higher for a head-heavy racket. Therefore, in relation to a groundstroke with an impact location away from the node, the rebound velocity of the ball is likely to increase with the structural stiffness of a racket. The effect of changing the mass and position of the balance point is more complex, as it is dependent on the relationship between the transverse moment of inertia and maximum pre-impact swing velocity.     

Hydrostatic Weighing during Different Stages of the Menstrual Cycle

Abstract

This study compared the physiological responses (oxygen consumption and energy expenditure) of Nordic Walking to regular walking under field-testing conditions. Eleven women (M age = 27.1 years, SD = 6.4) and 11 men (M age = 33.8 years, SD = 9.0) walked 1,600 m with and without walking poles on a level, 200-m track. For women, Nordic Walking resulted in increased oxygen consumption (M = 14.9 ml·kg¹·min^?1 , SD = 3.2 vs. M = 17.9 ml·kg¹·min^?1 , SD = 3.5; p < .001), caloric expenditure (M = 4.6 kcal·min^?1 , SD = 1.2 vs. M = 5.4 kcal·min^?1 , SD = 1.2; p < .001), and heart rate (M = 113.7 bpm, SD = 12.0 vs. M = 118.7 bpm, SD = 14.8; p < .05) compared to regular walking. For men, Nordic Walking resulted in increased oxygen consumption (M = 12.8 ml·kg¹·min^?1 , SD = 1.8 vs. M = 15.5, SD = 3.4 ml·kg¹·min^?1; p < .01), caloric expenditure (M = 5.7 kcal·min^?1 , SD = 1.3 vs. M = 6.9 kcal·min^?1 , SD = 1.8; p < .001), and heart rate (M = 101.6 bpm, SD = 12.0 bpm vs. M = 109.8 bpm, SD = 14.7; p < .01) compared to regular walking. Nordic Walking, examined in the field, results in a significant increase in oxygen use and caloric expenditure compared to regular walking, without significantly increasing perceived exertion.     

Decision boundaries and receiver operating characteristic curves: new methods for determining accelerometer cutpoints

We propose and evaluate the utility of an alternative method (decision boundaries) for establishing physical activity intensity-related accelerometer cutpoints. Accelerometer data collected from seventy-six 11- to 14-year-old boys during controlled bouts of moderate- and vigorous-intensity field physical activities were assessed. Mean values and standard deviations for moderate- and vigorous-intensity activities were obtained and normal equivalents generated. The decision boundary (the point of intersection of overlapping distributions) was used to create a lower-bound vigorous-intensity cutpoint. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves compared the sensitivity and specificity of the new cutpoint and mean values with the actual activity. There was a 96.5% probability that participants performing vigorous-intensity physical activity were accurately classified when using the decision boundary of 6700 counts per minute, in contrast to the 50% accurately classified when the mean value was used. Inspection of the empirical ROC curve indicated that the decision boundary provided the optimal threshold to distinguish between moderate and vigorous physical activity for this dataset. In conclusion, decision boundaries reduced the error associated with determining accelerometer threshold values. Applying these methods to accelerometer data collected in specific populations will improve the precision with which accelerometer thresholds can be identified.     

Acute effects of walking on inflammatory and cardiovascular risk in sedentary post-menopausal women

Biochemical markers of inflammation are emerging as new predictors of risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and may alter acutely with exercise. Few studies have been conducted on the effects of walking on these markers or whether different walking intensities elicit varied effects. As there is growing interest in modifiable lifestyle factors such as walking to reduce CVD risk, these inflammatory responses warrant investigation. The aim of this study was to compare the effects of walking at 50% versus 70% of predicted maximal heart rate on C-reactive protein (CRP), plasma fibrinogen, and triglycerides in sedentary post-menopausal women. Twelve post-menopausal women (mean age 58 years, s +/-6; stature 1.62 m, s+/-0.06; body mass 66.8 kg, s +/-6.2) completed two 30-min treadmill walks in a randomized cross-over design. Fasted blood samples were taken (for the determination of plasma fibrinogen, CRP, and lipids) before, immediately after, and 1 and 24 h after exercise. Triglyceride concentrations decreased from pre-exercise to 24 h post exercise at both walking intensities (time x group interaction, P < 0.05). No significant effects were observed for plasma fibrinogen, CRP, total cholesterol, low-density or high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (time x group interaction, P > 0.05). The results of this study suggest that fasting plasma triglycerides are decreased on the morning after 30 min of brisk walking at either 50% or 70% of maximal heart rate (moderate and vigorous intensity).     

A perpetual motion machine: The preserved digital scholarly record

• Digital preservation will never be a solved problem: it needs constant reinvention, and is going to become harder over time.
• Scholarship is changing and this is affecting what needs to be preserved and what preservation means to the future of knowledge discovery.
• The diversification of outputs means that knowledge exists in a network of contextual metadata, data, software, standards and publications—requiring multilateral management of this complex knowledge graph.
• Preservation demands new skills, technologies and resources from librarians, publishers, funders and institutions—and more joined-up thinking about archiving.