Physical activity patterns of ethnic children from low socio-economic environments within the UK

Many children fail to meet physical activity (PA) guidelines for health benefits. PA behaviours are complex and depend on numerous interrelated factors. The study aims to develop current understanding of how children from low Socio-economic environments within the UK use their surrounding built environments for PA by using advanced technology. The environment was assessed in 96 school children (7–9 years) using global positioning system (GPS) monitoring (Garmin Forerunner, 305). In a subsample of 46 children, the environment and PA were assessed using an integrated GPS and heart rate monitor. The percentage of time spent indoor, outdoor, in green and non-green environments along with time spent in moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) in indoor and outdoor environments were assessed. A 2-by-2 repeated measures analysis of covariance, controlling for body mass index, BF%, assessed the environmental differences. The findings show that 42% of children from deprived wards of Coventry fail to meet PA guidelines, of which 43% was accumulated during school. Children engaged in more MVPA outdoor than indoor environments (P < 0.01) and a greater amount of time was spent in non-green environments (P < 0.01). Increased time outdoors was negatively associated with BF%. In conclusion, outdoor environments are important for health-enhancing PA and reducing fatness in deprived and ethnic children.     

Confounding compression: the effects of posture,sizing and garment type on measured interface pressure in sports compression clothing

The purpose of this investigation was to measure the interface pressure exerted by lower body sports compression garments, in order to assess the effect of garment type, size and posture in athletes. Twelve national-level boxers were fitted with sports compression garments (tights and leggings), each in three different sizes (undersized, recommended size and oversized). Interface pressure was assessed across six landmarks on the lower limb (ranging from medial malleolus to upper thigh) as athletes assumed sitting, standing and supine postures. Sports compression leggings exerted a significantly higher mean pressure than sports compression tights (P < 0.001). Oversized tights applied significantly less pressure than manufacturer-recommended size or undersized tights (P < 0.001), yet no significant differences were apparent between different-sized leggings. Standing posture resulted in significantly higher mean pressure application than a seated posture for both tights and leggings (P < 0.001 and P = 0.002, respectively). Pressure was different across landmarks, with analyses revealing a pressure profile that was neither strictly graduated nor progressive in nature. The pressure applied by sports compression garments is significantly affected by garment type, size and posture assumed by the wearer.     

The Argument of the Broken Pane

Within the cut-throat world of newspaper advertising the newspapers of Britain's Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) Votes for Women and the Suffragette managed to achieve a balance that has often proved to be an impossible challenge for social movement press—namely the maintenance of a highly political stance whilst simultaneously exploiting the market system with advertising and merchandising. When the militant papers advocated window smashing of West End stores in 1912–1913, the companies who were the target still took advertisements. Why? What was the relationship between news values, militant violence and advertising income? ‘Do-it-yourself’ journalism operated within a context of ethical consumerism and promotionally orientated militancy. This resulted in newspaper connections between politics, commerce and a distinct market profile, evident in the customisation of advertising, retailer dialogue with militants and longer-term loyalty—symptomatic of a wider trend towards newspaper commercialism during this period.     

Effect of perceived ease of use on librarians' e-skills: Basis for library technology acceptance intention

Despite the widespread application of technology in the 21st century, making informed decisions regarding its acceptance in organisations is a function of several factors, particularly in developing countries, due to factors such as rising cost of the information technology infrastructure and low technological exposure. A model that incorporated perceived ease of use (PEOU) and e-Skills to examine librarians' intention for actual library technology acceptance was tested. The correlational research design, along with a multistage sampling procedure, was applied to select samples to reduce the sample to a manageable proportion. Professional librarians and library officers in four university libraries provided the data for the study. Results showed that e-Skill is the model's strongest determinant of technology acceptance intention among librarians. Also, PEOU will significantly moderate librarians' intention towards library technology acceptance when e-Skills are insufficient. From these outcomes, the understanding of the determinants of behavioural intention captured in the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAT) is extended and refined.     

Media and Violence: Does McLuhan Provide a Connection?

School shootings publicized worldwide inevitably awaken the debate about contemporary communication media and violence. It is often conjectured that regular exposure of young people to countless acts of aggression in contemporary popular media leads them to become more aggressive and, in some cases, to commit violent crimes. But is this claim valid? Media guru Marshall McLuhan argues that it is not so much the content of such media that incites aggressive actions as the sociostructural conditions they bring into being. In this article, Jane O'Dea draws on the cultural context of postmodernity and on Jean Baudrillard's thought to explore and critically assess the validity of the linkage McLuhan proposes, identifying the kinds of questions, inquiries, and educational implications it potentially raises.     

Constructing the academic category of teacher educator in universities’ recruitment processes in Aotearoa,New Zealand

An examination of recruitment materials and interviews with personnel involved in the employment of teacher educators to positions in university-based New Zealand initial teacher education (ITE) courses reveals three constructions of teacher educator as academic worker: the professional expert, the dually qualified, and the traditional academic. However, this study’s analysis shows how these constructions allow universities to pursue a bifurcated approach for the employment of teacher educators, an approach that maintains binaries within teacher education and hinders development in the field. Furthermore, as the spectre of a major cultural shift in the provision of New Zealand ITE arises, the extent to which the professional expert and traditional academic constructions of teacher educator might serve the scope of work required of postgraduate ITE going forth is questioned.     

When practice takes precedence: conceptions of inquiry and the link to ethical posture

Using participatory action research (PAR), this paper explores the ethical practice of students engaged in practitioner research in a higher education context. Using narrative enquiry, the paper explores the participants’ experiences of practitioner research, including ethical dilemmas that resulted from a conflict of values between the practitioner and research roles. We postulate a multi-dimensional approach to ethical practice known as ‘ethical posture’ emerging from our consideration of conceptions of inquiry that resulted in contrasting ethical behaviour.