The uses of (digital) literacy

This article shares research facilitated by a multinational technology provider, converging mobile networked technology (tablets) used across school and home, a technology enhanced community ‘third space’ providing workshops for students aged 6–9 with their parents/carers. The approach taken avoids the instrumental measurement of functional digital literacy competences, but instead seeks to negotiate a more nuanced and complex understanding of the ‘uses of literacy’ [from Hoggart, R. 1957. The Uses of Literacy. London: Pelican] in digital contexts and in a deeply situated, specific local setting. Working with our findings, we later put Amartya Sen’s concept of capability [Sen, A. K. 2005. “Human Rights and Capabilities.” Journal of Human Development 6 (2): 151–166; Sen, A. K. 2008. “Capability and Well-Being.” In The Philosophy of Economics, edited by D. M. Hausman, 3rd ed., 270–293. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press] to work on our data in order to provide a discussion on how the digital literacy community might distinguish digital competences as functionings from the ‘uses’ of such competences for a broader range of capabilities.     

Neuromuscular control and running economy is preserved in elite international triathletes after cycling

Running is the most important discipline for Olympic triathlon success. However, cycling impairs running muscle recruitment and performance in some highly trained triathletes; though it is not known if this occurs in elite international triathletes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of cycling in two different protocols on running economy and neuromuscular control in elite international triathletes. Muscle recruitment and sagittal plane joint angles of the left lower extremity and running economy were compared between control (no preceding cycle) and transition (preceded by cycling) runs for two different cycle protocols (20-minute low-intensity and 50-minute high-intensity cycles) in seven elite international triathletes. Muscle recruitment and joint angles were not different between control and transition runs for either cycle protocols. Running economy was also not different between control and transition runs for the low-intensity (62.4 +/- 4.5 vs. 62.1 +/- 4.0 ml/min/kg, p > 0.05) and high-intensity (63.4 +/- 3.5 vs. 63.3 +/- 4.3 ml/min/kg, p > 0.05) cycle protocols. The results of this study demonstrate that both low- and high-intensity cycles do not adversely influence neuromuscular control and running economy in elite international triathletes.     

A SYSTEMATIC FRAMEWORK FOR ADDRESSING TREATMENT INTEGRITY IN SCHOOL SETTINGS

School psychologists are tasked with ensuring treatment integrity because the level of intervention implementation affects decisions about student progress. Treatment integrity includes multiple dimensions that may impact the effectiveness of an intervention including adherence, dosage, quality, and engagement. Unfortunately, treatment integrity is not routinely monitored in consultation. A systematic framework is needed to better prepare practitioners to assess, analyze, and intervene when there are treatment integrity failures. A framework for monitoring and improving multiple dimensions of treatment integrity in natural settings is proposed to provide guidance to practitioners through two phases. The first phase focuses on improving initial treatment integrity and the second phase outlines a problem‐solving process for improving treatment integrity.     

Effective conditioning of female soccer players

We compared the efficacy of three physical conditioning programmes provided over a 12 week period (24 h in total) on selected anthropometric and physical fitness parameters in female soccer players. Two of the groups received physical conditioning training in accordance with speed, agility and quickness (SAQ); one group used specialized resistance and speed development SAQ equipment (equipment group; n = 12), while the other group used traditional soccer coaching equipment (non-equipment group; n = 12). A third group received their regular fitness sessions (active control group; n = 12). All three interventions decreased (P < 0.001) the participants' body mass index (-3.7%) and fat percentage (-1.7%), and increased their flexibility (+14.7%) and maximal aerobic capacity (VO2max) (+18.4%). The participants in the equipment and non-equipment conditioning groups showed significantly (P < 0.005) greater benefits from their training programme than those in the active control group by performing significantly better on the sprint to fatigue (-11.6% for both the equipment and non-equipment groups versus -6.2% for the active control group), 25 m sprint (-4.4% vs -0.7%), left (-4.5% vs -1.0%) and right (-4.0% vs -1.4%) side agility, and vertical (+18.5% vs +4.8%) and horizontal (+7.7% vs +1.6%) power tests. Some of these differences in improvements in physical fitness between the equipment and non-equipment conditioning groups on the one hand and the active control group on the other hand were probably due to the specificity of the training programmes. It was concluded that SAQ training principles appear to be effective in the physical conditioning of female soccer players. Moreover, these principles can be implemented during whole team training sessions without the need for specialized SAQ equipment. Finally, more research is required to establish the relationship between physical fitness and soccer performance as well as the principles underlying the improvements seen through the implementation of SAQ training programmes.     

Student participation styles in adventure education

Sport pedagogy researchers have contributed much to the literature on physical education teaching by describing the participation styles of children, youth and young adults in various settings. The purpose of this study was to describe the participation styles of children enrolled in two consecutive week-long summer adventure camps. Primary participants were 31 elementary and middle school students. Secondary participants were the two adventure educators (AEs) responsible for carrying out all the instruction at the camps. Data were collected using a variety of qualitative techniques and analysed using standard interpretive methods. Nine participation styles were identified indicating that the children in the camps had differing experiences of adventure education and varying degrees of success. Some of the participation styles had similar characteristics to those discovered previously in middle school physical education. Despite these similarities and unlike the middle school setting, there was no indication that a hierarchy of participation styles existed and, consequently, there was no sign of any bullying. Reasons for this difference may well have been the heavy focus on affective objectives within adventure education, much lower student–teacher ratios, higher levels of supervision and management, and greater instructional intent and skill.     

In pursuit of the effective neighborhood information system: User-friendliness and training

The goal of this research is to address the effectiveness of Neighborhood Information Systems (NIS) as an Information Technology (IT) tool in assisting community development. NISs are hybrid applications of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and web technologies that provide demographic, social, and economic information to community stakeholders. Government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community organizations engage in decision-making process for community development, and NISs are designed to help information-sharing and effective and participatory decision-makings for community development stakeholders.     

Effectiveness of Brief DBT-informed Group Therapy on Psychological Resilience: A Preliminary Naturalistic Study

This naturalistic study was designed to examine the effectiveness of a 4-week skill-based group therapy that focuses on building resilience. The group, informed by Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT; Linehan, 1993, 2015), targets general clients at college counseling centers and emphasizes mindfulness as a coping strategy to stress, cognitive rigidity, emotion dysregulation, and interpersonal difficulties. Results indicated that group members showed clinically significant improvement in psychological resilience and general mental health at the conclusion of group therapy. Implications are discussed.     

Universal Interventions: Fully Exploring Their Impacts and Potential to Produce Population-Level Impacts

In this article we seek to promote a deeper understanding of the value of universal intervention research in education as well as other fields and to call for greater interdisciplinary learning and discourse. Our goal is to deepen the conversation regarding how to build a stronger research orientation toward longitudinal, population-level outcomes in education and mental health. After highlighting the value of universal approaches targeting entire populations and their relevance to education, we raise issues regarding the traditional benchmarks of efficacy when applied to universal intervention trials and suggest alternative metrics for judging the impact of universal approaches. We conclude with lessons based on exemplar studies to help shape future research and policy regarding universal interventions.