A qualitative analysis of the factors determining the quality of relations between a novice physical education teacher and his students’ families: implications for the development of professional identity

The purposes of this study were: (a) to analyze the factors determining the quality of relationships between a novice physical education (PE) teacher and his students’ families and (b) understand the implications of these relationships for his professional identity. The data stemmed from detailed teacher’s diaries written by the participant throughout his first five years of teaching. The data analysis followed several rounds of cyclical inductive-deductive processes in order to identify and classify the patterns related to the aforementioned purposes. The results, presented in two sections, show two distinct sets of factors, which, respectively, had very different implications for the development of the teacher’s professional identity. On the one hand, in the first three years of teaching, there appeared 11 specific ‘struggle factors’ (6 socio-cultural and structural factors and 5 family prejudices toward PE) that threatened the teacher’s initial pedagogical passion and lead to a great deal of hesitation and discouragement on his part; on the other hand, in the fourth and fifth years, due to the teacher’s ongoing commitment and (self-)reflective practice, there emerged eight ‘success factors’ (one from the families and seven from the teacher) that transformed his previous discouragement into hope and self-confidence. Besides the detailed analysis of all these factors and their implications, some additional recommendations for PE teacher education programs and further research are provided.     

Parasympathetic activity delayed after self-paced exercise

The main purpose of this study was to compare the effect of the constant load and self-paced exercise with similar total work on autonomic control after endurance exercise. Ten physically active men were submitted to (i) a maximal incremental exercise test, (ii) a 4-km cycling time trial (4-km TT), and (iii) a constant workload test with identical total external work performed at 4-km TT. Gas exchange was measured throughout the tests, while blood lactate, heart rate, and heart rate variability (HRV) were measured during the passive recovery. Power output measured at the last lap (i.e. 3600–4000?m) of 4-km TT (316?±?89?W) was statistically higher than power output measured at the end of the constant workload exercise (211?±?42?W). The 4-km TT produced higher values of blood lactate concentration (8.8?±?2.1?mmol?L^?1) than the constant workload test (7.8?±?2.1?mmol?L^?1). The heart rate recovery measured at 60?s (constant workload: 37?±?7?bpm; 4-km TT: 30?±?6) and 120?s (constant workload: 57?±?9?bpm; 4-km TT: 51?±?9?bpm) were higher in the constant workload than in the self-paced exercise. The HRV (i.e. RMSSD30s) was statistically higher in the constant load exercise measured at 120, 420, 450, 480, 540, and 570?s than the self-paced exercise. These findings suggest that the autonomic control responses were dependent of the endurance exercise modalities, with parasympathetic activity being delayed after self-paced exercise, as evidenced by post-exercise heart rate indices.     

Effects of different percentages of body weight support on spatiotemporal step characteristics during running

This study aimed to determine the effect of different percentages of body weight support (BWS) on spatiotemporal step characteristics during running. 26 endurance runners (age: 37 ± 9 years) completed a running treadmill protocol consisting of 6 different conditions (BWS combinations: 0–50%), with velocity maintained at 12 km/h. Each condition lasted 1 minute. Step angle, ground contact time (CT), flight time (FT), step length (SL) and frequency (SF), and duration of phases during stance time (phase1: initial contact; phase2: midstance; phase3: propulsion) were measured for every step during the test using a photoelectric cell system. Compared with the baseline condition (100% BW), FT was longer, CT was shorter, SL was longer, SF was lower, and the step angle was higher with each increase in BWS (p < 0.05). Also, some changes were observed in the duration of phases during stance time: phase1 did not experience changes across experimental conditions (p = 0.096), phase2 decreased and phase3 increased as BW was supported (p < 0.05). These results indicate that as BW was supported, runners showed longer FT and SL, shorter CT, lower SF, and greater step angle as well as some changes in the phases during the ground contact. Therefore, this study highlights the effect of different percentages of BWS on spatiotemporal parameters.     

Loaded hip thrust-based PAP protocol effects on acceleration and sprint performance of handball players

This study aimed to investigate the acute effects of two barbell hip thrust-based (BHT) post-activation potentiation (PAP) protocols on subsequent sprint performance. Using a crossover design, eighteen handball athletes performed maximal 15-m sprints before and 15s, 4min and 8min after two experimental protocols consisting of BHT loaded with either 50% or 85% 1RM (50PAP and 85PAP, respectively), in order to profile the transient PAP effects. The resulting sprint performances were significantly impaired at 15s only after the 85PAP protocol, which induced likely and very likely greater decreases compared to the 50PAP. At 4min and 8min, significant improvements and very likely beneficial effects were observed in the 10m and 15m performances following both protocols. Significant differences were found when comparing the two PAPs over time; the results suggested very likely greater performance improvements in 10m following the 85PAP after 4min and 8min, and possible greater performance improvements in 15m after 4min. Positive correlations between BHT 1RMs values and the greatest individual PAP responses on sprint performance were found. This investigation showed that both moderate and intensive BHT exercises can induce a PAP response, but the effects may differ according to the recovery following the potentiating stimulus and the individual`s strength level.     

A cross-sectional and prospective analyse of reallocating sedentary time to physical activity on children’s cardiorespiratory fitness

Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is associated with health benefits in children, improving cardiac morphology, cardiovascular disease risk factors, and biological outcomes. This study aimed to examine the substitution effects of displaying a fixed duration of sedentary time with a fixed duration of physical activity (PA) at different intensities on children’s CRF. A total of 315 children (136 boys) were assessed (age: 10.6 ± 0.6 years old). Outcomes at baseline and follow-up (16-months) were CRF determined using a maximal cycle test and sedentary time and PA measured with accelerometers. Data were analysed by isotemporal substitution analyses estimating the effect of reallocating 30 min/day of sedentary time by light (LPA), moderate (MPA) and vigorous physical activity (VPA) on CRF. VPA was positively and significantly associated with CRF cross-sectional (β = 0.026, p < 0.001) and prospectively (β = 0.010, p < 0.001). Reallocating 30 min/day of sedentary time into VPA was positively cross-sectionally (β = 0.780, p < 0.001) and prospectively (β = 0.303, p < 0.05) associated with CRF. Conversely, relocating 30-minutes of sedentary time into 30 minutes of LPA and MPA was not associated with CRF. These results suggest that reallocating an equal amount of time from sedentary into VPA is cross-sectional and prospectively associated with a favourable CRF.     

Automatic evaluation of digital libraries with 5SQual

Digital libraries (DLs) are complex information systems which can present changes in their structure, content, and services. These complexities and dynamics make system maintenance a non-trivial task, since it requires periodical evaluation of the different DL components. Generally, these evaluations are customized per system and are performed only when problems occur and administrator intervention is required. This work aims to change the situation. We present 5SQual, a tool which provides ways to perform automatic and configurable evaluations of some of the most important DL components, among them, digital objects, metadata, and services. The tool implements diverse numeric indicators that are associated with eight quality dimensions described in the 5S quality model. Its generic architecture was developed to be applicable to various DLs and scenarios. In sum, the main contributions of this work include: (i) the design and implementation of 5SQual, a tool that validates a theoretical DL quality model; (ii) the demonstration of the applicability of the tool in several usage scenarios; and (iii) the evaluation (with usability specialists) of its graphical interface specially designed to guide the configuration of 5SQual evaluations. We also present the results of interviews conducted with administrators of real DLs regarding their expectations and opinions about 5SQual.     

Live Simulation for Clinical Education

The Instructional Design Portfolio

Live Simulation for Clinical Education     

Wild botanic gardens as valuable resources for innovative environmental education programmes in Latin America

Wild botanic gardens consist of natural or semi-natural land remnants immersed in large urban areas or botanic gardens, which are managed for purposes of biodiversity preservation and public recreation. In Latin America, they tend to be affected by budget limitations; however, they serve as valuable resources that permit the development of innovative environmental education programmes. Specifically, we are considering the appropriateness of implementing critical environmental education and socio-constructivist programmes. As for practical considerations, it is important to include diverse epistemologies, and therefore, strategies or procedures characteristic of science teaching, such as problem-based learning, together with other characteristics of social activism and popular education initiatives, such as assemblies or meetings, and others characteristic of more traditional and indigenous worldviews, such as celebrations of the earth. In this way, Latin American wild botanic gardens may play a role in constructing environmentally responsible societies and the nurturing of a culture of reflective inquiry.