Differences in maturity,morphological and physical attributes between players selected to the primary and secondary teams of a Portuguese Basketball elite academy

The present study aims (i) to compare the maturational, morphological and fitness attributes of young basketball players of primary and secondary teams of an elite basketball academy, and (ii) to identify the set of morphological and fitness attributes which better discriminate the players from the two teams. A total of 116 male basketball players of an elite basketball academy were divided into primary (team A) and secondary (team B) teams in two age groups (U-14 and U-16). All the players were evaluated during two consecutive seasons and data related to players’ practice experience, maturational, morphological and fitness attributes were collected at the beginning of the competition period. The results of the study suggest that: (i) in both age categories, team A players were older, more mature, bigger in size and had greater fitness profiles than team B players; (ii) stature and abdominal resistance were identified as discriminant attributes for youth basketball player performance; (iii) aerobic capacity for U-14 and agility for U-16 were identified as specific discriminant attributes for performance in youth basketball. Coaches are recommended to avoid premature talent identification and provide players with opportunities to progress through the talent pathway, at least until U-16 age category.     

Dribbling speed along curved paths predicts attacking performance in match-realistic one vs. one soccer games

This study assessed whether a new, closed-skill dribbling or sprinting task could predict attacking performance in soccer. Twenty-five male players were recruited from the Londrina Junior Team Football Academy in Brazil and asked to either dribble the ball or sprint through five custom circuits that varied in average curvature (0–1.37 radians.m^?1). These measures were then validated using a realistic one vs. one competition in which each player acted as attacker or defender in turn (N = 1330 bouts). Sprinting (ICC = 0.96) and dribbling (ICC = 0.97) performances were highly repeatable for individual players. Average dribbling speed decreased non-linearly with increasing circuit curvature (F = 239.5; P < 0.001) from 5.19 ± 0.11 ms^?1 on the straightest path to 2.13 ± 0.03 ms^?1 on the curviest. Overall, dribbling but not sprinting performance predicted attacking success in the one vs. one competition, explaining more than 50% of the variation in attacking success alone (r_p = 0.70; P < 0.001). In conclusion, our new closed-skill dribbling assessment is a valid and reliable protocol to predict a soccer player’s success in attacking performance in one vs. one situation, and can be used to identify talented players.     

Dismantling Segregation Together: Interconnections between the Méndez v. Westminster (1946) and Brown v. Board of Education (1954) School Segregation Cases

May 17, 2004 marked the 50th anniversary of the most significant school segregation case: Brown v. Board of Education (1954) Brown et al. v. Board of Education of Topeka et al. 1954. 347 U.S. 483, 74 S. Ct. 686, 98 L. Ed. 873  [Google Scholar]. While the Brown decision eliminated the legal theory of “separate but equal,” the success of the Méndez et al. v. Westminster School District et al. (1946) Méndez et al. v. Westminster School Dist. of Orange County et al. 1946. 64 F. Supp. 544 (S.D.Ca.)  [Google Scholar] case helped boost public sentiment against segregation, setting the stage for Brown. Méndez made possible the defeat of school segregation laws by revealing the detrimental effects and moral dangers of segregation; in California, it helped bring about the end of de jure school segregation. In this essay, I analyze the similarities of Méndez and Brown by comparing key legal strategies and rhetoric in each case. I also show that civil rights leaders of the time thought that Méndez had ramifications for black desegregation efforts, even if the basis for Chicano and black discrimination were not the same. Before examining the ties between the two, I discuss important historical works on Méndez written between 1976 and 2001 that this essay builds upon.     

Utility of icteric index in clinical laboratories: more than a preanalytical indicator

IntroductionTotal bilirubin tests are highly demanded in clinical laboratories. Since icteric index (I-index) has zero cost, we aimed to evaluate its clinical utility and cost-effectiveness to determine if total bilirubin is necessary to be tested. We took into account if haemolysis could interfere to icteric index determination.Material and methodsRetrospectively we reviewed I-index results in two cohorts (43,372 and 8507 non-haemolysed and haemolysed samples, respectively). All determinations were done using Alinity c chemistry analysers (Abbott Diagnostics). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to determine the optimal index cut-off to discriminate between normal and abnormal bilirubin concentration (20.5 µmol/L).ResultsThe ROC curve analysis suggested 21.4 µmol/L as the optimal I-index cut-off but differences in sensitivity and specificity were detected between patient derivation. For rejecting purpose, 15.4 µmol/L and 17.1 µmol/L I-index thresholds were selected based on patient derivation (inpatients and emergency room; and primary care and outpatients, respectively) with 97% sensitivity and 0.25% false negative results. Sensitivity was much lower in haemolysed samples. We selected 34.2 µmol/L I-index as threshold to detect hyperbilirubinemia with 99.7% specificity and 0.26% false positive results, independent of haemolysis. With the icteric index cut-offs proposed, we would save 66% of total bilirubin requested and analyse total bilirubin in around 2% of samples without total bilirubin requested.ConclusionsThis study supports the use of I-index to avoid bilirubin determination and to identify patients with hyperbilirubinemia. This work considers that the economic and test savings could help to increase the efficiency in clinical laboratories.     

The homicide, the pervert act and paternity

Proposition to articulate perverse subjectivity and the pervert act was established, wherein, the dynamics of criminal acts, as means of lust, and convicts＇ positioning within social bonds configure the outlines. For this purpose, imprisoned were registered in unit of Rio de Janeiro Penal System was interviewed. The concept of perversion was a starting point and means for interpretation of the perverse phenomena present in subjects condemned for homicide. Social relationships, geared by violence and crime, offer criminality guaranteed space within its network. The assertive that social plot offers sponsorship, if not incentive, for occurrence and maintenance of crimes may be made, but this statement is uncertain when considering the criminal＇s perception of his role and part therein. This questioning leds to the investigation of imprisoned with the objective of studying the criminal act, the executor＇s implication and types of social engagement related to crime. Discursive production was collected from various interviews and analyzed. The results were： （1） The majority of criminals believe crime necessary and associated to citizen and criminal necessities. （2） The way media discloses criminal acts makes available methods and strategies which can be readily assimilated. （3） Criminals interpret their crimes as sociological-economic needs, a means of social ascension and empowerment, thus revealing remarkable change in customs. （4） Failure, or even absence of a paternal image was evidenced in family pattern study, inasmuch as majority come from women＇s homes with several children, each of different fathers. （5） Uncontrollable increase of criminality may be the consequence of subjective emptiness, observable by maximum concentration of the subject in the ego, allied to the loosening of links fundamental to social relationship. （6） The criminal have low scholastic levels. Homicidal hold the lowest academic level, some being illiterate. （7） Finally, the imprisoned reveal the existence of pleasure in stealing, killing, seizure, blackmailing and assaulting. He practices two categories of actions： （1） Torturer, which includes assailants and kidnappers, has primordial interest in the slow mortification process of the victims, continuous suffering, the abolition of desire and, not immediately, death; （2） Executioner, commonly known as contracted killers, those whose lust derives from the capture of death in those dying whilst dying, have the sole action present with complete dissubjectivation of victim.     

Hows and whys of parental involvement in a national ‘neoliberal laboratory’: aspirations,values and beliefs in relation to children’s education among Chilean urban lower-middle-class parents

Abstract

This paper sought to shed light on the beliefs, aspirations and values in relation to education that shape parental ways of involvement among Chilean urban lower-middle-class parents. Using the capability approach as the main theoretical framework and a critical epistemology, the discussion focuses on the way in which the pre-eminence of instrumental and positional dimensions of education arguably places limitations on how education is understood and valued; sets boundaries for parental involvement and overloads families. This situation ultimately diminishes the power of education to disrupt intergenerational cycles of disadvantage among Chilean urban lower-middle-class families.     

Physics Textbooks Presentation of the Energy-Conservation Principle in Hydrodynamics

The purpose of this study is to determine how energy-conservation principle is exposed in hydrodynamics chapters of university physics textbooks. Ten physics textbooks analyzed show considerable deficiencies in the use of energy concepts related to uncompressible fluid dynamics. The following problems have been extensively found: The pressure energy concept is ambiguously introduced, the examples of Bernoulli equation are limited, the effect of pumps and turbines in Bernoulli equation is not presented, none of the textbooks cited the energy-conservation principle after viscosity and viscous fluids are exposed, the term head loss is not introduced, the meaning of pressure drop in Poiseuille formula and the difference of pressures in Bernoulli equation for nonviscous fluids are not clearly distinguished, and the lack of the energy-conservation principle in viscous fluids (extended Bernoulli equation) is dramatic. Difficulties to link fluid dynamics and energy concepts are well known in the history of physics during past centuries. From the analysis results, it seems worth to make a revision of hydrodynamics in university physics textbooks. The inclusion of the extended Bernoulli equation and concepts like pressure energy, head loss, and heat dissipated in the fluid are recommended.     

The role of the student support specialist: the possibilities and challenges of a long-term,proactive, and scaffolded relationship

In the Urban Teacher Fellows (UTF) program, Student Support Specialists are responsible for recruiting, advising, and supporting students on the teacher pathway, beginning at the community college and continuing through the four-year university degree and credential programs. This is a program designed specifically to address serious concerns about the success of community college students in transferring to universities and completing teaching credential programs. The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (2013) reports that only 25.4% of the 2007–2008 statewide cohort transferred to a university after four years. This qualitative study, conducted by us as participant-observers of the UTF program, describes one of the strategies currently in use that may increase opportunities for community college students to successfully navigate this challenging transition. In particular, it presents findings on the role of the UTF Support Specialist based on interviews with the first two Support Specialists in the UTF program and a survey of the first cohort of students to work with them. Our study shows that this long-term scaffolded relationship evolved throughout the pathway program in response to students’ needs. Starting as a mostly technical role, it became a family-like role; and finally, it became a smaller role as students themselves took on those support activities for each other. Based on these findings, our recommendations are to identify and select Support Specialists who are reflective and caring and to carefully plan for the challenges of long-term, cross-institutional student support.     

Success at Scale: Outcomes of Community-Based Neurodevelopment Intervention (CASITA) for Children Ages 6–20 months With Risk of Delay in Lima,Peru

This study is a randomized controlled trial of a 12-week community-based group parenting intervention (“CASITA”) in Lima, Peru. CASITA improved neurodevelopment in a pilot study of 60 Peruvian children and subsequently scaled to 3,000 households throughout the district. The objective of this study was to assess intervention effectiveness when implemented at scale. A total of 347 children ages 6–20 months (52.7% male, 100% identified as “mestizo”) at risk for developmental difficulties were randomized to immediate or delayed CASITA. At 3 months after enrollment, the immediate arm showed significantly higher overall development, based on the Extended Ages and Stages Questionnaire and Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment scores (Cohen’s ds = .36 and .31, respectively). Programs demonstrably effective at scale could help address children’s development risks worldwide.     

An analysis of motivation strategies used within the small-group Accelerating Mathematics Performance through Practice Strategies (AMPPS-SG) program

More than half of students in the USA perform below a proficient level in math. Although evidence suggests that intervention in elementary school is critical to supporting struggling learners, and there are several research-supported instructional practices to support students with math difficulties, the existing research is limited with regard to the impact of motivational strategies designed to improve students’ math skills. This study examined the effectiveness of specific motivational strategies used in the small-group Accelerating Mathematics Performance through Practice Strategies (AMPPS-SG) intervention program. A multiple baseline design was used with three instructional groups of second grade students to compare the relative effectiveness of three different conditions on students’ math computation skills. Condition 1 included all of the AMPPS-SG instructional components. Condition 2 included all instructional procedures as well as goal-setting, performance feedback, and reinforcement for performance. Condition 3 included all components used in Condition 2, as well as a group-based reward contingency. Results showed that students’ performance during Condition 3 was significantly better than performance during Conditions 1 and 2.