In practice: Partnering with parents and students in alcohol education: How the College of Saint Rose harnesses the influence of prevention specialists

Wendy Neifeld Wheeler introduces the “prevention specialist” philosophy and how including parents in addressing college alcohol abuse is paying off in fewer student alcohol‐related incidents at The College of Saint Rose.     

Kinematics and kinetics of youth baseball pitching with standard and lightweight balls

Because youth athletes are smaller and weaker than their adult counterparts, smaller equipment and fields are often used in youth sports. Previous research has shown that youth baseball pitchers use similar motions to older pitchers, but generate lower kinetics and angular velocities at the shoulder and elbow. The purpose of this study was to determine potential biomechanical benefits for youth pitchers to use lighter baseballs. Thirty-four youth (11.1 ± 0.7 years) pitchers pitched both standard [5 ounce (142 g)] and lightweight [4 ounce(113 g)] baseballs in a laboratory setting. Kinematic and kinetic parameters were measured with a six-camera high-speed motion analysis system. Three repeated measures MANOVAs were used to compare (p > 0.05) position, velocity, and kinetic parameters between the standard and lightweight baseballs. Subjective data were also collected. Pitching the lightweight ball produced no difference in arm position, but greater shoulder, elbow, and ball velocities. With the lightweight ball, pitchers produced decreased kinetics.Post-hoc analysis of the kinetic data revealed significant decreases in elbow varus torque and shoulder internal rotation torque. The data suggest that playing with lightweight baseballs may reduce the risk of overuse injury in the youth pitcher and also help develop arm speed. However, before introducing lightweight baseballs into the youth game, the effect of lighter, faster pitched balls for the batters and fielders should also be considered.     

再问“钱学森之问”——浅思中国教育改革之路

我国著名科学家钱学森在国家总理温家宝看望之际,提出了著名的"钱学森之问",这再次将我国教育改革和发展问题推向了风口浪尖。据笔者掌握的资料来看,绝大部分舆论和学者一边倒地支持钱老的质问,而向中国现行教育制度发难。为什么会出现这样状况?主要是因为大多数民众忽视了我国教育改革和发展所取得的成绩,对我国教育改革和发展期待过于迫切,对大师的崇拜、从众和极化等,这又可能导致领导决策者的误判和错误决策,而将中国教育引向错误道路。从"钱学森之问"出发,我们有必要进一步追问:什么是大师?大师就等于现代教育的成功?我国教育的主要问题在哪里?我国教育的改革出路又在哪里?     

School and home connections and children's kindergarten achievement gains: The mediating role of family involvement

Children's home and school are the most influential contexts in which learning and development occur, especially during early childhood. This paper builds on Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory and Epstein's theory of overlapping spheres of influence to examine school and family connections and their relationships to family involvement and students’ achievement gains. We used a nationally representative sample of kindergartners (16,425 students from 864 schools) and found that schools’ efforts to communicate with and engage families predicted greater family involvement in school and higher levels of student achievement in reading and math at the end of kindergarten. We also found that, on average, family involvement at school and parents’ educational expectations were associated with gains in reading and math achievement in kindergarten. We discuss the implications of our findings for policy makers, researchers, and practitioners.