Kinematic differences of elite and high-performance tennis players in the cross court and down the line forehand

This study identified and compared the full body kinematics of different skill levels in the forehand groundstroke when balls were hit cross court and down the line. Forty-three three-dimensional retro-reflective marker trajectories of six elite and seven high-performance players were recorded using an eight-camera 400 Hz, Vicon motion analysis system. The six highest horizontal velocity forehands with reliable kinematics of all participants were analysed for each specific situation (a total of 156 analysed shots). Significant differences (p < 0.01) and large effect sizes were observed between elite and high-performance players in linear velocity of the shoulder (2.0 vs. 1.2 m/s), angular velocity of the pelvis (295 vs. 168 °/s), and angular velocity of the upper trunk (453 vs. 292 °/s) at impact. The elite group showed a tendency towards higher racquet velocities at impact (p < 0.05). No significant differences were found in angular displacement of the racquet, hip alignment, or shoulder alignment at the completion of the backswing; nor did angular displacement vary significantly at impact. Irrespective of the group, different shoulder, hip, and racquet angles were found at impact, depending on the situation. The results should assist coaches when striving to improve their players' forehand.     

A comparison of the Rescorla-Wagner and Pearce models in a negative patterning and a summation problem

In two experiments, we examined two related conditioning problems previously investigated by Red-head and Pearce (1995a) and Pearce, Aydin, and Redhead (1997). Experiment 1 involved an A+, B+, C+, AB+, AC+, BC+, ABC2 discrimination. The Rescorla-Wagner model predicts that response to AB, AC, and BC will be greater than that to A, B, and C at asymptote, whereas the Pearce model makes the opposite prediction. In Experiment 2, we investigated the responding to a novel ABC compound in groups trained with either A+, B+, C+ or AB+, AC+, BC+. The Rescorla-Wagner model predicts greater response to ABC in the group trained with A+, B+, C+ than in the group trained with AB+, AC+, BC+, whereas the Pearce model makes the opposite prediction. In contrast to the findings of Redhead and Pearce (1995a) and Pearce et al. (1997) in pigeon autoshaping, our findings in rabbit eyelid conditioning support the Rescorla-Wagner model.     

Causes and consequences of harsh parental punishment: An empirical investigation in a representative sample of 570 German families

This article examines a multifactorial model of causes and consequences of harsh parental punishment. The social-psychological model as developed by Gelles was extended to also include the antecedent conditions leading to rigid assertion of parental power relating to the child. Furthermore, personality problems of the child observable as consequences of harsh parental punishment were included in our model. The conditions which predict harsh parental punishment are— in the rank order of their importance: a child perceived as difficult to handle, i.e., a “problem child”; parental angerproneness; the rigid assertion of parental power; and intra-familial problems and conflicts. As consequences of harsh parental punishment and rejection as perceived by the child, two types of personality problems were observed: a syndrome named “Conduct Disorder” and a syndrome including personality problems such as anxiety and helplessness.     

Using Student Journals for Course Evaluation

The evaluation of courses has become more important than ever in the higher education sector. Information is commonly collected from students on their perceptions of a course using questionnaires, discussions or interviews. This paper discusses the use of a student learning journal as a means of collecting data on the effectiveness of a course. Students in a graduate diploma course at the University of Technology, Sydney use learning journals to record and reflect on their development as a teacher/trainer over one semester. The evaluator of the course obtains qualitative data from the journals regarding students’ perceptions of the course content, structure, activities and assessment. The main advantages of this technique include the longitudinal perspective it gives on students perceptions of a course and also that it provides information on the whole course, particularly on whether whole course outcomes are being met. Collecting information from student journals also has the advantage that the data were not written specifically for course evaluation. Issues regarding validity, confidentiality and data analysis using student journals are addressed in this paper as is the place of this technique in a quality assurance scheme for a course.     

Streber als Leistungsverweigerer?

Zusammenfassung Wer Schule in Deutschland und in Nordamerika vergleichend beobachtet, dem fallen bald für den Alltag von Schülerinnen und Schülern relevante Unterschiede auf, die in der erziehungswissen-schaftlichen Forschung bisher kaum bearbeitet wurden: Hierzu geh?rt — neben der unterschie dlichen Bewertung des in Nordamerika verp?nten, in Deutschland aber fast zum guten Ton geh?renden ‘cheating’/Schummelns — die Bewertung guter Schulleistungen durch Peers. W?hrend gute Leistungen in Nordamerika unter Peers hoch im Kurs zu stehen scheinen, werden sie in Deutschland — insbesondere in der Sekundarstufe I — oft mit dem Strebervorwurf belegt. Der hier vorgelegte Text wendet sich der Frage zu, ob der Strebervorwurf Auswirkungen auf tats?chliche Schulleistungen im Bereich der Mathematik hat. Er vertritt die These, dass befürchtete negative Peer-Sanktionen als Folge besonders guter Leistungen in Mathematik bei guten Schülern und insbesondere bei leistungsstarken M?dchen die Aussch?pfung des vorhandenen Leistungspotentials begrenzt und auf Dauer auch die Leistungsf?higkeit reduziert. Vorgestellt wird zum einen die Forschungsidee eines im DFG-Schwerpunktprogramm „Bildungsqualit?t von Schule“ gef?rderten Projekts, zum anderen erstes empirisches Material aus zwei Vorerhebungen des Projekts, mit dem die empirische Plausibilit?t der Forschungsidee untermauert werden soll.

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Summary Do Nerds Refuse Achievement? Project idea and first data from a study on mathematical achievement Whoever compares schooling in Germany and North America, will soon come across differences with everyday relevance for the school life of students that have rarely been addressed in educational research: Besides the different attitudes towards cheating — being a complete taboo in North America, but a lesser sin in Germany — there is the attitude towards high achievement by peers. Whereas in North America high achievement seems highly valued, high-achieving students in Germany are often accused of being nerds or teacher’s pets, particularly in grades 7–10. The present article deals with the extent to which the nerd accusation has consequences for real achievement in mathematics. The hypothesis is formulated that fear of negative sanctions by peers, as a consequence of being particularly good in math, encourages high achievers to reduce their efforts. Particularly among high-achieving grils, this is presumed to even affect the objective achievement potential in math in the long run. Firstly, the research idea for a study funded by the German Research Council (DFG) in the framework of its focal program on “Quality of Education in Schools” is presented. Secondly, first empirical material from two pilot studies is presented in order to underscore the plausibility of the research idea.

     

Exploring the relationship between school discipline referrals and delinquency

There is a growing concern about violent and destructive behaviors of youth that require intervention by juvenile justice and youth‐serving agencies. This concern has led many to conclude that schools and community agencies must increase efforts to prevent juvenile delinquency and to provide programs that will facilitate rehabilitation, education, and vocational training for youth already involved. A clear understanding of the nature and range of behaviors that result in juvenile crime is needed in order to develop programs and interventions that can be expected to lead to beneficial changes for youth and for society as a whole. The purpose of this article is to describe the relationship between school behaviors and youth characteristics in school (e.g., discipline referrals, teacher nominations, nomothetic ratings) and referrals to juvenile authorities (e.g., illegal behaviors). We describe a strategy of using teacher nominations, school discipline referrals, and community arrest data to predict delinquent and violent behavior in youth. We outline data from a group of socially maladjusted middle school youth to illustrate the relationship between the two data sources and recommendations for identification and treatment of youth at risk for delinquency and antisocial behavior. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Societal and Organisational Factors of Stress on Students in School

In this paper an attempt is made both to discuss factors of stress in 14‐ to 18‐year‐old teenage students in and out of school and at the same time to point out the adolescent's own subjective perception of some of those factors by means of an empirical investigation. Factors external and internal to school must be seen as standing in a close relation of interaction to each other. The kind and intensity of mental and social stress is explained by combining an ‘objective’ analysis with a ‘subjective’ one. School is looked at both as a system of social order, organisation and interaction, and as a realm of experience and a social environment for students. On the basis of these considerations, the conception of ‘stress’ is discussed in the context of a meta‐theoretical model of the subject who is productively managing his or her reality.