The influence of sitting posture on mechanics and metabolic energy requirements during sit-skiing: a case report

Several different sitting postures are used in Paralympic cross-country sit-skiing. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of sitting posture on physiological and mechanical variables during steady-state double-poling sit-skiing, as well as to determine how seat design can be improved for athletes without sufficient trunk control. Employing a novel, custom-designed seat, three trunk positions were tested while performing double-poling with submaximal oxygen consumption on an ergometer. Cycle kinematics, pole forces, and oxygen consumption were monitored. The athlete performed best, with longer cycle length and less pronounced metabolic responses, when kneeling with the trunk resting on a frontal support. For this case, a forward leaning trunk with knees below the hip joint was interpreted as most optimal, as it showed lower oxygen consumption and related parameters of performance during cross-country sit-skiing. Further investigations should examine whether such improvement is dependent on the level of the athlete’s handicap, as well as whether it is also seen on snow.     

Research on mathematics teachers as partners in task design

Mathematical tasks and tools, including tasks in the form of digital tools, are key resources in mathematics teaching and in mathematics teacher education. Even so, the ‘design’ of mathematical tasks is perceived in different ways: sometimes seen as something distinct from the teaching and learning process, and sometimes as integral to it. Whilst task design has often been carried out by designers or mathematicians (perhaps as textbook authors), the focus for this review article is research that has involved mathematics teachers as partners in the design of tasks. The article provides a state-of-the-art review of relevant literature and is presented under three headings that consider, in turn, the role of mathematical ‘tasks’; the nature of ‘task design’; and the notion of ‘partnerships for task design’ in mathematics education. Subsequently, we present current research that is providing new insights into tasks, task design, and task design partnership. Based on this, we argue that ‘task design’ needs to pay particular attention to what to design, which tools are necessary or beneficial, and under what conditions; digital tools and task resources offer particular affordances that traditional resources cannot provide; and not only do teachers benefit from being partners in task design (in terms of their professional learning) but without their involvement some aspects of task design would most likely be neglected.     

The use of ICT devices by older people with a special focus on their type and respondents’ age: A Czech case study

The recent demographic trends show a rapid increase of aging population, especially in developed countries. Therefore, there is an urgent need to look for the opportunities of maintaining the quality of life of this aging population. One of the solutions seems to be the use of information and communication technology (ICT) devices, which can promote autonomy of older people by facilitating the execution of many routine activities such as shopping or communication. The purpose of this study is to explore the use of ICT devices among older people in the Czech Republic with respect to their type and respondents’ age. The methods include a questionnaire survey, as well as statistical processing of data collection. The results indicate that present seniors are becoming more digitally literate, especially in the use of mobile phones. However, the use of the technological devices then dramatically drops at the age of 75 years. In addition, the results indicate that future research should focus on the use of mobile phones, respectively smartphones, and its effectiveness on the improvement of quality of life of older generation groups.     

‘Decolonialism’ and the Counselling Profession: The Aotearoa/New Zealand Experience

This paper makes a case for the coining and exploration of a term ‘decolonialism’. Although there is likely to be greater familiarity with the use of the term ‘decolonization’ for the work indigenous people might undertake on themselves to transcend the shackles of colonization, this paper suggests that colonizers also need to work at ridding themselves of vestigial mechanisms of control. The paper suggests the term ‘decolonialism’ to represent this challenge. However, the issues go deeper than the examination of a counsellor’s personal beliefs, awareness and worldview, but also extend to the systems that underscore and guide the counselling profession. Whilst such issues are of relevance to various contexts around the world, this paper focuses on a case study of the reformation of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors—Te Roopu Kaiwhiriwhiri O Aotearoa as an example of the counselling profession striving to decolonialize its structure and its practices.     

The effect of dust particles on cellulose degradation

This study focuses on the changes in properties of cellulose-based paper, which can take place as a consequence of its contamination by dust particles. The PM1 (fine) and PM10 (coarse) fractions of the dust particles from archival repositories were collected on cellulose filters Whatman 41, polytetrafluorethylene, and quartz filters. The latter two types of samples were subsequently analyzed gravimetrically, with ion chromatography, PIXE, and the thermal–optical transmission method, giving mass, ionic, elemental carbon, and organic carbon concentrations. After artificial aging, the viscosity-average degree of polymerization of cellulose (DP_v) was measured. It was confirmed that cellulose-based paper can undergo substantial changes when contaminated by dust particles and artificially aged. The decrease of the DP_v of cellulose showed a negative correlation with the deposited mass of sulfate ions in the dust particles. Considering the particle size fraction, the results suggest the decisive importance of the fine (PM1) particles. The results provide better understanding of how particulate matter contributes to the chemical degradation of cellulose-based paper. Such knowledge is of importance when considering appropriate conservation measures in archives, libraries, and galleries.     

Burnout among university faculty: the central role of work–family conflict

This study examined both direct and indirect associations of faculty burnout with psychosocial work environments, using the job resources-demands framework. A sample of 2,229 faculty members (57.1% male) throughout public universities in the Czech Republic completed a questionnaire comprising measures of burnout and psychosocial work environment characteristics from the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire II. We formulated a structural model that hypothesised a positive effect of job demands (quantitative demands, work-family conflict (WFC), job insecurity) and a negative effect of job resources (influence, social community, role clarity) on burnout. Results showed that the strongest predictor of burnout was WFC, which had a direct positive effect on burnout and mediated the positive effect of quantitative demands on burnout. Further, a small direct negative effect of age and an indirect positive effect of involvement in research grants and administrative paperwork on burnout were observed. The findings indicate that university management can most effectively address burnout in academic staff not only by implementing policies that reduce WFC, workload and administrative paperwork, but also by providing more job resources to younger faculty and faculty involved in grant-based projects.     

Eco-School in kindergartens: the effects,interpretation, and implementation of a pilot program

This study presents an analysis of a Czech pilot project in implementing the Eco-School program in kindergartens. The evaluation applied a mixed design that included pre/post testing of children using picture-based questionnaires, and interviews with the teachers responsible for conducting the program. The findings revealed a significant increase in the pro-environmental attitudes of the children (N = 419) between the pre-test and the post-test. The results of the qualitative part showed a broad spectrum of the ways in which the program was interpreted by the teachers (N = 16): while some teachers interpreted the program in a highly instrumental way, others interpreted it as emancipatory. Their different ways of interpreting the program led the teachers to different models of distribution of power between the adults and the children. Some of the teachers made the effort to establish a democratic participation of the children in setting the program agenda, but others manipulated the children to obtain their agreement with pre-selected activities. Although the study did not find any evidence that the instrumental implementation of the program would be less effective in promoting children’s attitude change, it showed differences in the interpretation of the merit of the program among the teachers.     

Structural embeddedness of students’ professional expectations: the Czech Republic and Taiwan in comparative perspective

Abstract

We compare the role of gender, socioeconomic background and measured ability on students’ secondary school placement and professional expectations in Taiwan and the Czech Republic, two countries that have experienced substantial reforms in their educational systems in the context of political change and economic development. Using data from the international PISA 2006 survey of 15-year-olds, our analysis reveals that Czech academic upper-secondary schools are much more selective in terms of socioeconomic background and gender than comparable Taiwanese senior high schools. Controlling for measured ability and other factors, students’ professional expectations are also more closely linked to socioeconomic background and gender in the Czech Republic than in Taiwan.     

The Effects of Gratitude Journaling on Turkish First Year College Students’ College Adjustment,Life Satisfaction and Positive Affect

This study examined the effects of gratitude journaling on first-year college students’ adjustment, life satisfaction, and positive affect. Students who scored high (i.e., scores between 35 and 56) on the Perceived Stress Scale (Cohen et al. in Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 24, 385–396, 1983) and low (i.e., scores between 48 and 144) on the University Life Scale (Alada? et al. in Türk Psikolojik Dan??ma ve Rehberlik Dergisi, 2(20), 41–47, 2003) were invited to participate in the study. Among the 24 students who met the criteria, 21 volunteered to participate. Students in the experimental group (11) kept a gratitude journal for 3 weeks, whilst those in the control group (10) were not involved in any gratitude-related activity. Results indicated that students in the experimental group had significantly higher post-test scores on gratitude, adjustment to university life, life satisfaction, and positive affect. Results related to gratitude interventions, positive emotions and college student adjustment are discussed.