The Hecht vault performed at the 1995 World Gymnastics Championships: Deterministic model and judges' scores

The aim of this study was to determine the mechanical variables that govern success of the Hecht vault. The participants were 122 male gymnasts from 30 countries performing the vault at the 1995 World Gymnastics Championships. The vaults were filmed using a Photosonics 16-mm motion picture camera operating at 100 Hz. Approximately 80 frames were digitized for each vault analysed. The method of Hay and Reid was used to develop a theoretical model to identify the mechanical and physical variables that determine linear and angular motions of the vault. Correlational analysis was used to establish the strength of the relationship between the causal mechanical variables identified in the model and the judges' scores. Significant correlations (P ? 0.005) indicated that the following were important determinants of success: large horizontal and vertical velocities at take-off from the board and the horse; large vertical and angular distances of pre-flight; large vertical impulses of high force and short duration exerted on the horse and the resulting large changes in vertical velocity on the horse; and large horizontal and vertical distances and long times of post-flight. Of the 18 significant variables identified in the present study, the angular distance of pre- and post-flights, the horizontal velocity and angular momentum at take-off from the horse, and the average moment of inertia and duration of post-flight collectively accounted for 57% of the variation in the judges' scores.     

Assessment of curriculum quality through alumni research

In today's output defined society, alumni are the output of higher education. This article shows how alumni research can be used as an important indicator of curriculum quality. This relatively unexplored area of engineering education research in Europe is highlighted using a case study carried out in the Netherlands, the outcomes of which have served as a useful input for curriculum development at the institute where it was carried out.     

Negotiating reassurance: parents’ narratives on follow-up after cochlear implantation

This study presents an analysis of parental experiences on follow-up after cochlear implantation. Data were constructed in semi-structured, individual interviews with the parents of 14 children who use cochlear implants. Drawing on narrative analysis, the study explores parental responses to insecurity concerning children’s learning and development, as well as the meaning professional support holds for parents. In their response to insecurity, the parents handle the ‘trouble’ of insecurity through constructing two narratives of self: the parent-as-learner and the parent-as-teacher. The parents use these narrative constructions to negotiate reassurance, holding themselves responsible for future outcomes. The parents’ stories reflect a language of instrumentality, inducing a burden of responsibility. The study addresses the need to question to which extent parents should act as teachers and cautions that, while acknowledging the importance of parents’ involvement for children’s learning and development, this should not reduce the relationship to a functional, pedagogical one. The contribution of the study is to bring into conversation how the language of instrumentality affects the parents and how this invokes a need for rethinking parent support. Suggestions for further research are given.     

DANMARKS PÆDAGOGISKE INSTITUT

The article reviews and discusses the status of sociologically oriented Norwegian research on adult education and training. It covers studies of recruitment to and outcomes from adult education, and the profile of the research is considered. Finally, future directions for research are suggested     

Research into the School as an Organization. II: The School as a Complex Organization

Berg, G. & Wallin, E. 1982. Research into the School as an Organization. II: The School as a Complex Organization. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research 26, 161‐181. This article starts by examining the development of general organization theory, then proposes an overall organization model for analysing the school. A distinction is made between the school as an institution and the school as an organization, the latter defined as a function of the control emanating from the societal and the ‘actor’ level. A set of conceptual tools believed to describe and analyse the school as an organization is outlined. In the latter part of the article an illustration of how the theoretical discussion can be applied to practical situations is given, firstly by an analysis of a case study and secondly by giving examples of factors worth taking into account in concrete analyses of the organizational structures of schools.     

Red to Green or Fast to Slow? Infants' Visual Working Memory for “Just Salient Differences”

In this study, 6‐month‐old infants' visual working memory for a static feature (color) and a dynamic feature (rotational motion) was compared. Comparing infants' use of different features can only be done properly if experimental manipulations to those features are equally salient (Kaldy & Blaser, 2009; Kaldy, Blaser, & Leslie, 2006). The interdimensional salience mapping method was used to find two objects that each were one Just Salient Difference from a common baseline object (N = 16). These calibrated stimuli were then used in a subsequent two‐alternative forced‐choice preferential looking memory test (N = 28). Results showed that infants noted the color change, but not the equally salient change in rotation speed.     

Socioeconomic Situations of the Elderly Within the Context of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Nigeria

It is still unknown how the MDGs have impacted the socioeconomic situations of the elderly in Nigeria. This has become essential to appraise the attainability of the MDGs in Nigeria. Quantitative data were collected through an individual-based questionnaire. Multistage sampling was employed to select local government areas, enumeration areas, and individuals for the study. In all, 810 respondents were interviewed.

The study shows that more than 3 out of every 10 female respondents mentioned trading; more than a quarter of their male counterparts mentioned the same. Only 3.5% of the female respondents and 7.5% of their male respondents mentioned investment as their sources of income. A few of the respondents live above a dollar daily. The general response among the respondents is that the impact of MDGs is yet to felt. The paper asserts that primitive capital accumulation via corruption causes poverty for some, increased social inequality, and geographical objectives, which are currently insufficiently alleviated by policy action.