Unsustainable Growth,Hyper-Competition,and Worth in Life Science Research: Narrowing Evaluative Repertoires in Doctoral and Postdoctoral Scientists’ Work and Lives

There is a crisis of valuation practices in the current academic life sciences, triggered by unsustainable growth and “hyper-competition.” Quantitative metrics in evaluating researchers are seen as replacing deeper considerations of the quality and novelty of work, as well as substantive care for the societal implications of research. Junior researchers are frequently mentioned as those most strongly affected by these dynamics. However, their own perceptions of these issues are much less frequently considered. This paper aims at contributing to a better understanding of the interplay between how research is valued and how young researchers learn to live, work and produce knowledge within academia. We thus analyze how PhD students and postdocs in the Austrian life sciences ascribe worth to people, objects and practices as they talk about their own present and future lives in research. We draw on literature from the field of valuation studies and its interest in how actors refer to different forms of valuation to account for their actions. We explore how young researchers are socialized into different valuation practices in different stages of their growing into science. Introducing the concept of “regimes of valuation” we show that PhD students relate to a wider evaluative repertoire while postdocs base their decisions on one dominant regime of valuing research. In conclusion, we discuss the implications of these findings for the epistemic and social development of the life sciences, and for other scientific fields.     

Chinese middle school teachers’ preferences regarding performance evaluation measures

Teacher performance evaluation currently is receiving unprecedented attention from policy makers, scholars, and practitioners worldwide. This study is one of the few studies of teacher perceptions regarding teacher performance measures that focus on China. We employed a quantitative dominant mixed research design to investigate Chinese teachers’ preferences for teacher performance measures and the possible reasons for their preferences. Considering the quantitative results, the surveyed Chinese teachers identified fulfillment of additional roles, collaboration with faculty and staff, and students’ test scores as the most important measures for performance evaluation. Qualitatively, the most important measures that the surveyed teachers reported were the teacher’s morality, workload, and students’ test scores.     

Perceptual-cognitive expertise of handball coaches in their young and middle adult years

There is little research investigating the maintenance of perceptual-cognitive expertise in general and even less comparing coaches of different ages. The aim of this study was to test for perceptual-cognitive differences between age groups, licence levels, and their interaction. This study investigated differences in skilled performance between young and middle-aged coaches of three different skill levels. Participants performed an accuracy-oriented pattern recall (mean distance in pixel) and a time-oriented flicker test (mean detection time in ms). There were some significant differences between age groups and between skill groups for both tests, but no interactions. For the pattern recall test, the effect sizes were larger for skill level differences, while for the flicker test effects were larger for ageing. These results suggest coaches are able to maintain accuracy skills better than reaction timed tasks. This is in line with findings on speeded performance in general populations, which show declines with age. Moreover, results also support findings on perceptual expertise in skills where accuracy was important.     

Performance differences when using 26- and 29-inch-wheel bikes in Swiss National Team cross-country mountain bikers

The purpose of this study was to analyse the effect of bike type – the 26-inch-wheel bike (26“ bike) and the 29-inch-wheel bike (29“ bike) – on performance in elite mountain bikers. Ten Swiss National Team athletes (seven males, three females) completed six trials with individual start on a simulated cross-country course with 35 min of active recovery between trials (three trials on a 26“ bike and three trials on a 29“ bike, alternate order, randomised start-bike). The course consisted of two separate sections expected to favour either the 29“ bike (section A) or the 26“ bike (section B). For each trial performance, power output, cadence and heart rate were recorded and athletes’ experiences were documented. Mean overall performance (time: 304 ± 27 s vs. 311 ± 29 s; P < 0.01) and performance in sections A (P < 0.001) and B (P < 0.05) were better when using the 29“ bike. No significant differences were observed for power output, cadence or heart rate. Athletes rated the 29“ bike as better for performance in general, passing obstacles and traction. The 29“ bike supports superior performance for elite mountain bikers, even on sections supposed to favour the 26“ bike.     

Incremental training intensities increases loads on the lower back of elite female rowers

Lumbar-pelvic kinematics change in response to increasing rowing stroke rates, but little is known about the effect of incremental stroke rates on changes in joint kinetics and their implications for injury. The purpose of this study was to quantify the effects of incremental rowing intensities on lower limb and lumbar-pelvic kinetics. Twelve female rowers performed an incremental test on a rowing ergometer. Kinematic data of rowers’ ankle, knee, hip and lumbar-pelvic joints, as well as external forces at the handle, seat and foot-stretchers of the rowing machine were recorded. Inter-segmental moments and forces were calculated using inverse dynamics and were compared across stroke rates using repeated measures ANOVA. Rowers exhibited increases in peak ankle and L5/S1 extensor moments, reductions in peak knee moments and no change in peak hip moments, with respect to stroke rate. Large shear and compressive forces were seen at L5/S1 and increased with stroke rate (P < 0.05). This coincided with increased levels of lumbar-pelvic flexion. High levels of lumbar-pelvic loading at higher stroke rates have implications with respect to injury and indicated that technique was declining, leading to increased lumbar-pelvic flexion. Such changes are not advantageous to performance and can potentially increase the risk of developing injuries.     

标记系统及学术文本处理的未来（一）

标记事务影响着学者们对思考与写作系统的采纳使用。程序性标记和表示性标记会阻碍这一进程的发展,描述性标记则通过简化机械性任务,让学者们将注意力集中于内容上的做法,以加快这一进程。