Biomechanical similarities of progressions for the longswing on high bar

Based on specificity of training and biomechanical analysis, the aim of this study was to develop a method to rank selected progressions for learning the longswing on high bar. Four members of the Men's National Gymnastics Squad were recorded (50 Hz) performing three series of five longswings and eight progressions. Real world co-ordinates from the digitized data were determined using two-dimensional direct linear transformation. Biomechanical similarity between the functional phases of the longswing and the corresponding phases of the progressions were calculated. The functional phases were described as a hyperextension to flexion of the hip and hyperflexion to extension of the shoulder joints as the gymnast passed underneath the bar. Using a combined score of 'Difference' and movement 'Variability' a 'Specificity score' was calculated for hip and shoulder angular displacements and velocities. An overall score based on the average of the four scores provided a ranked list of progressions based on their similarity to the target skill. The progression that showed the greatest similarity to the biomechanics of the longswing, and was therefore ranked first, was the chalked bar pendulum swing. The least similar progression, and, therefore, eighth ranked, was the chalked bar bent knee longswing. The hip kinematics were found to contribute most to the overall differences because the performance requirements of these progressions emphasize an increase in hip flexion during the ascending phase. The method described provides a means to quantify and rank progressions based on their kinematic similarity to the longswing.     

Teaching MEDLINE to non-urban end users.

The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center (OUHSC) Library conducted a two-year program, funded by the National Library of Medicine (NLM), to teach Oklahoma's nonurban health professionals to perform searches of NLM's MEDLINE files using microcomputers. The training program included lectures, online demonstrations, and hands-on practice time. The initial target audience of non-urban physicians was later broadended to include other health professionals. Data collected on the 334 seminar participants included professions and specialties, previous microcomputer usage, and the size of their hospitals. On-site evaluation indicated a high degree of satisfaction with the trainers' communication skills, preparation, information imparted, and the visual aids used. The results of a follow-up survey to determine how many trainees subsequently obtained NLM codes, the amount of searching done, and the problems experienced await analysis.     

Licensed Partnership: State,Region and Institution in the Regulation of Access Education in England 1987–1992

The paper discusses the evolution and impact of a policy initiative intended to recognise and regulate a new entry route into British higher education: namely, that associated with access courses aimed primarily at adults and provided mainly by colleges of further education. The framework of quality assurance created to achieve this goal is examined from two vantage points. The first comes from within the central body established by the national government to develop and implement the scheme across England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The second is that of one of the agencies in England licensed to recognise access courses at a regional and local level. As an early expression of a shift in government policy in the direction of a mass system of higher education, the framework represented on the one hand an exercise in legitimation and, on the other, an element in a larger process of change in post-secondary education. However, the ability of the initiative to shape priorities on the ground, or to embrace other transformations in and around access education, was always limited.