Living with imperfect comparisons: The challenges and limitations of comparative paralympic sport policy research

In this article, the authors explores the challenges and limitations of conducting cross-comparative management/policy research in the Paralympic sporting domain. The comparative sport policy debate in able-bodied sport has emerged, in part, due to the increasing complexity, uncertainty, and competitive nature of high performance sport environments and a desire to understand why some countries are more successful than others at international sporting competition. The same issues and questions have also emerged within the Paralympic context. As a precursor to establishing a research agenda in this area, however, it was deemed important to begin to address the epistemological, methodological, and practical issues in comparative sport research. The analysis draws upon the broader sociological literature and examples from the Paralympic sporting context to identify and discuss the challenges and limitations of the comparative approach as well as recommendations for mitigating against them.     

Institutional Image and Retention

The image or `branding' issue hasbecome a strategic managerial decision forpostsecondary institutions because it impactsupon the desire of a student to persist andcomplete, or to drop out. This paper examinesthe relationship that exists between students'expectations and their lived experience asreported by students in an actual institutionalsetting. It is a case study which suggestsactionable outcomes for the particularinstitution. More importantly, the approachused here is easily replicable and may beemployed to provide useful information forimage enhancement in other university settings.     

The impact of attaining the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma on academic performance in bioscience higher education

Since the introduction of the Welsh Baccalaureate Advanced Diploma Qualification (WBQ) in 2003, an increasing number of students are applying to higher education institutions (HEIs) with this qualification. The advanced-level WBQ is regarded as equivalent to one General Certificate of Education A-Level (GCE A-Level). This study assesses the impact of attaining the WBQ in addition to three GCE A-Levels on overall university degree performance in comparison to attaining four GCE A-Levels, in three cohorts of undergraduate students (Year 1?=?318, Year 2?=?280, Year 3?=?236) studying Biosciences from 2005 to 2011 at a UK HEI. Binary logistic regression was used to compare the academic attainment of students who had achieved four GCE A-Levels to those who had achieved three GCE A-Levels in addition to the WBQ. Comparisons were also made between students who had achieved three GCE A-Levels and those who had achieved three GCE A-Levels in addition to the WBQ. The results suggest that students who achieved the WBQ qualification in its current form, in addition to three GCE A-Levels, performed less well academically in undergraduate studies than those who achieved four GCE A-Levels. Furthermore, this effect was still present when the balance between coursework and examination was considered, and when students who had achieved the WBQ in addition to three GCE A-Levels were compared to students who had achieved three GCE A-Levels.     

A keynesian approach to University library management

Abstract

The “Afrocentric-Eurocentric approaches” dichotomy is strangely out-of-place in an African context and is curiously out-of-touch with the issues that are significant in library and information work. In its predominant perception of itself as a “counter-offensive” to Eurocentrism, the Afrocentric approach is drawn into a struggle that can only entrench contrary positions and serve divisive interests. More importantly, and as a challenge to information science theorists, Afrocentrism requires an examination of both its overt Pan-Africanist overtones and its covert potentially racist undercurrents. It is proposed that the Afrocentrism vs Eurocentrism duality needs to be deconstructed. The debate is better-suited as a vehicle to sharpen concepts in the design of library and information services that recognize universal continuities.     

The influence of exercise-induced fatigue on cognitive function

Abstract

Although anecdotal reports suggest that information processing and decision making is impaired immediately following prolonged periods of physical activity, results obtained from laboratory studies of exercise-induced fatigue have been inconsistent. Fatigue effects may be task specific and related to the time of post-exercise testing. The present study examined the effects on adults' performance of two cognitive tasks that differed in processing demands over an 80-min period of fatigue. Thirty young adult men and women were randomly assigned to either an exercise group and completed a 60-min bout of cycle ergometry at 90% ventilatory threshold or a control group and rested for 60 min. Following interventions, each participant completed a simple and complex version of a visual perceptual discrimination test, a 40-min memory-based vigilance test and a repetition of the visual perceptual discrimination tests. Those who exercised evidenced significant decrements in performance on complex perceptual-discrimination tasks compared to participants who rested. The response time of exercisers during a memory-demanding vigilance test were significantly slower than those of participants who rested; however, detection performance did not differ between groups neither was there a decrease in target detection across the vigil. The effects of exercise-induced fatigue may be task specific, with greater effects on perceptual tasks, which involve relatively automatic processing, compared to effortful memory-based tasks.     

Identification of a Rare Hemoglobin Variant HbJ-Rajappen [alpha90 (FG2) Lys?→?Thr] Using Mass Spectrometry

Hemoglobin J-Rajappen (alpha)90 Lys → Thr is an alpha chain variant found in heterozygous state and presents normal hematological blood picture. Due to the ambiguity in results obtained while analyzing by HPLC and alkaline gel electrophoresis, we report this rare case of HbJ-Rajappen using non denaturing gel electrophoresis and matrix assisted laser desorption ionization mass spectrometry. Though HbJ-Rajappen has earlier been reported using different techniques, this is the first report being validated using mass spectrometry technique.     

Simulation Studies of Different Dimensions of Users' Interests and their Impact on User Modeling and Information Filtering

Modeling users in information filtering systems is a difficult challenge due to dimensions such as nature, scope, and variability of interests. Numerous machine-learning approaches have been proposed for user modeling in filtering systems. The focus has been primarily on techniques for user model capture and representation, with relatively simple assumptions made about the type of users' interests. Although many studies claim to deal with adaptive techniques and thus they pay heed to the fact that different types of interests must be modeled or even changes in interests have to be captured, few studies have actually focused on the dynamic nature and the variability of user-interests and their impact on the modeling process. A simulation based information filtering environment called SIMSFITER was developed to overcome some of the barriers associated with conducting studies on user-oriented factors that can impact interests. SIMSIFTER implemented a user modeling approach known as reinforcement learning that has proven to be effective in previous filtering studies involving humans. This paper reports on several studies conducted using SIMSIFTER that examined the impact of key dimensions such as type of interests, rate of change of interests and level of user-involvement on modeling accuracy and ultimately on filtering effectiveness.