Open-domain conversational search assistants: the Transformer is all you need

Information Retrieval Journal - On the quest of providing a more natural interaction between users and search systems, open-domain conversational search assistants have emerged, by assisting users...     

Self-controlled amount of practice benefits learning of a motor skill

Self-control over factors involving task-related information (e.g, feedback) can enhance motor learning. It is unknown if these benefits extend to manipulations that do not directly affect such information. The purpose of this study was to determine if self-control over the amount of practice would also facilitate learning Participants learned to throw a dart using their nonpreferred hand. The self-control (SC) group decided when to stop practice. The yoked group completed the same number of trials as their SC counterparts. Results revealed the SC group was more accurate during transfer and in recalling the number of trials completed. These findings indicate that self-control benefits extend to factors that do not directly alter task-related information.     

Caffeine supplementation does not affect match activities and fatigue resistance during match play in young football players

Abstract

The study examined the effect of caffeine supplementation on match activities and development of fatigue during a football match. In a randomised, double-blind cross-over design, two experimental football games separated by 7 days were organised between the junior teams of two professional football clubs (17.6 ± 1.1 years (±s), 71.7 ± 6.9 kg, 13.9% ± 5.0% body fat). The players ingested either a capsule of 6 mg · kg^?1 b.w. caffeine or placebo (dextrose) 65 min prior to the matches. Match activities were assessed using the ZXY match analysis system, and a Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test–level 2 (Yo-Yo IR2) was conducted immediately post-game. Heart rate was monitored throughout the game, and blood samples were obtained at baseline, half-time and after the game. There were no differences between caffeine and placebo regarding total distance covered (10,062 ± 916 vs 9854 ± 901 m), high-intensity running (557 ± 178 vs 642 ± 240 m), sprinting distance (109 ± 58 vs 112 ± 69 m) or acceleration counts (123 ± 31 vs 126 ± 24). In both trials, players displayed lower (P < 0.05) values in total distance and acceleration counts in the last 15 min compared to all other 15-min periods of the matches. Post-game Yo-Yo IR2 performance was not different between game trials (caffeine: 829 ± 322 m; placebo 819 ± 289 m). In conclusion, oral caffeine administration does not appear to have an ergogenic effect in young football players during match play.     

Determinants for the commitment relationship maintenance between the alumni and the alma mater

This study aims to find determinants for the commitment relationship between alumni and alma mater. Based on the literature, satisfaction and image are proposed as drivers of commitment. A survey applied to 2544 alumni in a Portuguese university provides data analyzed through a structural equation modeling technique. The results present ‘image of education’, ‘image of communication’ and ‘satisfaction with social and academic environment’ as determinants of the commitment relationship, which provide important clues for the marketers’ decision-making process when developing activities geared towards alumni. This process should emphasize aspects relating to their willingness to give back, academic and relationship quality, and institutional values. Within the Higher Education market, this study underscores the need to maintain and reinforce the relationship with alumni, and contributes to the scarce Portuguese literature on alumni matters.     

A reconstruction of development of the periodic table based on history and philosophy of science and its implications for general chemistry textbooks

The objectives of this study are: (a) elaboration of a history and philosophy of science (HPS) framework based on a reconstruction of the development of the periodic table; (b) formulation of seven criteria based on the framework; and (c) evaluation of 57 freshman college‐level general chemistry textbooks with respect to the presentation of the periodic table. The historical reconstruction of the periodic table showed that the periodicity of the elements could be construed as an inductive generalization or as a function of the atomic theory. There is considerable controversy with respect to the nature of Mendeleev's contribution, and various alternatives are discussed: ordered domain; empirical law; and a theory with limited explanatory power. Accommodation of the elements according to their physicochemical properties is considered to be the major contribution of the periodic table by all textbooks, followed by contrapredictions of previously unknown elements (30 textbooks), and novel predictions (corrections of atomic mass) of known elements (10 textbooks). The relative importance of accommodation and prediction within an HPS framework is generally ignored. Few textbooks have attempted to explore the possible cause of periodicity in the table and very few textbooks have explored the nature of Mendeleev's contribution. The development of the periodic table as a sequence of heuristic principles in the form of a convincing argument has been ignored. The textbook approach of emphasizing that the development of the periodic table was an inductive generalization, and that Mendeleev had no model or theory, does not facilitate the spirit of critical inquiry that led the scientists to grapple with alternative interpretations, conflicts, and controversies. It is concluded that the development of the periodic table went through a continual critical appraisal (conflict and controversy), in which scientists presented various tentative theoretical ideas to understand the observed phenomena. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 42: 84–111, 2005     

Teaching Literacy through Braille in Mainstream Settings whilst Promoting Inclusion: Reflections on Our Practice

We would describe teaching literacy through braille as one of the most rewarding and challenging aspects of the role of a Qualified Teacher for the Visually Impaired (QTVI). This article focuses on teaching literacy through braille in mainstream settings whilst promoting inclusion and meeting the social–emotional needs of children who use braille. It aims to share good practice and is based on reflections from our own practice and research carried out by some of the authors. The article considers the impact of vision impairment on opportunities for literacy development, the main challenges QTVIs working in a peripatetic (itinerary) way face, as well as what works well and how we can overcome these challenges. The article describes what characterises good practice in teaching braille, describes effective collaborative work between teachers, other professionals and parents, and analyses how to promote inclusion whilst ensuring pupils access the specialist curriculum and individualised instruction.     

Research assessment by percentile-based double rank analysis

In the double rank analysis of research publications, the local rank position of a country or institution publication is expressed as a function of the world rank position. Excluding some highly or lowly cited publications, the double rank plot fits well with a power law, which can be explained because citations for local and world publications follow lognormal distributions. We report here that the distribution of the number of country or institution publications in world percentiles is a double rank distribution that can be fitted to a power law. Only the data points in high percentiles deviate from it when the local and world μ parameters of the lognormal distributions are very different. The likelihood of publishing very highly cited papers can be calculated from the power law that can be fitted either to the upper tail of the citation distribution or to the percentile-based double rank distribution. The great advantage of the latter method is that it has universal application, because it is based on all publications and not just on highly cited publications. Furthermore, this method extends the application of the well-established percentile approach to very low percentiles where breakthroughs are reported but paper counts cannot be performed.