Motivational Factors and Predictors for Attending a Continuing Education Program for Older Adults

The objectives were to describe the stated motives of participants who enrolled in a program at the Open University for the Elderly (UnATI, in Portuguese), identify correlations between the stated motives and sociodemographic data, and find a set of predictors related to the listed motives. A total of 306 middle-aged and elderly adults aged 50 or older were surveyed through a sociodemographic questionnaire and a five-item scale to check their motives to enroll in the program. The following motivational factors were identified, in order of importance: enhancing general knowledge, investing in personal development, increasing social interaction, learning more in order to help others, and employing one's free time profitably. Age and years of schooling combined were strong predictors of participants seeking new knowledge. Being single and not retired was correlated with the motive Investing in Personal Development. Having attended elementary school only and being married was closely correlated to the motive Increasing Social Interaction. Employing One's Free Time Profitably was associated with single or widowed individuals with family income between 3.1 and 4.0 times the minimum wage. As for Learning More in Order to Help Others, no predictors were found for this motive. It was found that participants seek to satisfy a desire to learn/ know more, to be up-to-date, to exercise their rights as citizens, and to play an active role in society. Our data suggest that these are the assumptions that drive middle-aged and elderly adults to look for various types of educational programs.     

Effect of a Hanging Exercise on the Epiphyseal Cartilage of the Humerus of Albino Rats

This study was designed to determine the number of days of pedometer monitoring necessary to achieve reliable and valid estimates of a 1-year average of step counts in adults based on either consecutive days (CD) or random days (RD) of data collection. Twenty-three participants (16 women; M age = 38 years, SD = 9.9) wore a Yamax SW 200 pedometer and recorded their step counts for 365 consecutive days. Nine measurement periods of various lengths were selected (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 14, 21, and 30 days). Each measurement period was randomly selected 10 times each for CD and RD from the larger database. For reliability and validity, two-way intraclass correlation coefficients and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) were calculated, respectively. The year-round average was considered the criterion measure of the “true” habitual physical activity. Data were analyzed separately by CD and RD. At least 5 CD or 6 RD were necessary to achieve an ICC of .80. A minimum of 30 CD or 14 RD were necessary to achieve an MAPE lower than 10%. These findings provide researchers and practitioners with useful information to determine appropriate measurement length and the method of data selection based on a desired level of reliability and validity.     

National Science Foundation Patronage of Social Science, 1970s and 1980s: Congressional Scrutiny, Advocacy Network, and the Prestige of Economics

Research in the social sciences received generous patronage in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Research was widely perceived as providing solutions to emerging social problems. That generosity came under increased contest in the late 1970s. Although these trends held true for all of the social sciences, this essay explores the various ways by which economists in particular reacted to and resisted the patronage cuts that were proposed in the first budgets of the Reagan administration. Economists?? response was three fold: to engage in joint lobbying with other social scientists, to tap into their authority as a respected policy player, and to influence the types of research financed by the patron. With interviews of the former lobbyist for the social scientists, the former director of the Economics program for the National Science Foundation, and a review of the archival records of economists and their scholarly society, we discuss how economists have claimed entitlement to patronage in the closing decades of the twentieth century. We observe a dynamic and productive relationship between politicians and researchers mediated by the National Science Foundation, where civil servants, lobbyist and public minded scientists, and self-serving grantees trade roles.     

What Is Inside the Earth?

This article studies the conceptions of the interior of the Earth held by Portuguese elementary school children and senior citizens. Several studies were conducted regarding conceptions related to Earth sciences, such as rocks, minerals, earthquakes geological time, and Earth structure. Most of these studies involved students enrolled in compulsory education, some involved higher education students, several involved teachers, and only a few involved adults. The majority of the results showed that many misconceptions are held by people of all ages. Similar results were found in this study, as both children and senior citizens revealed several misconceptions. The research resorted to a questionnaire based on a drawing task so as to find out the way that children and senior citizens imagine the structure and composition of the interior of our planet. A comparison between children’s and senior citizens’ drawings was made, as well as a comparison between those drawings and the historical models of the internal structure of the Earth. We found that only a small number of children and even a smaller number of senior citizens recognize that the interior of the Earth is organized in concentric layers. They assume that soil and water are a common part of the internal composition of our planet. Similarities between the drawings and the historical models were identified, particularly similarities related to Gautier’s model, which accepts the possibility of the existence of life in the interior of the planet as it happens on its surface.     

The transfer of strength and power into the stroke biomechanics of young swimmers over a 34-week period

The purpose of this study was to learn the interplay between dry-land strength and conditioning, and stroke biomechanics in young swimmers, during a 34-week training programme. Twenty-seven swimmers (overall: 13.33?±?0.85 years old; 11 boys: 13.5?±?0.75 years old; 16 girls: 13.2?±?0.92 years old) competing at regional- and national-level competitions were evaluated. The swimmers were submitted to a specific in-water and dry-land strength training over 34 weeks (and evaluated at three time points: pre-, mid-, and post-test; M1, M2, and M3, respectively). The 100-m freestyle performance was chosen as the main outcome (i.e. dependent variable). The arm span (AS; anthropometrics), throwing velocity (TV; strength), stroke length (SL), and stroke frequency (SF; kinematics) were selected as independent variables. There was a performance enhancement over time (M1 vs. M3: 68.72?±?5.57?s, 66.23?±?5.23?s; Δ?=??3.77%; 95% CI: ?3.98;?3.56) and an overall improvement of the remaining variables. At M1 and M2, all links between variables presented significant effects (p?p?≤?.05). Between M1 and M3, the direct effect of the TV to the stroke biomechanics parameters (SL and SF) increased. The model predicted 89%, 88%, and 92% of the performance at M1, M2, and M3, respectively, with a reasonable adjustment (i.e. goodness-of-fit M1: χ²/df?=?3.82; M2: χ²/df?=?3.08; M3: χ²/df?=?4.94). These findings show that strength and conditioning parameters have a direct effect on the stroke biomechanics, and the latter one on the swimming performance.