Differences in trunk and thigh muscle strength,endurance and thickness between elite sailors and non-sailors

Dinghy sailors lean their upper body over the windward side of the boat (‘hiking’) to keep the boat’s balance and maximise its speed. Sustaining the hiking position is essential for competitive performance and this study examined sport-specific differences of muscles relevant for hiking in elite sailors. Knee extensor muscle strength as well as trunk muscle strength, muscle endurance and muscle thickness were assessed in elite dinghy sailors (n = 15) and compared to matched, non-sailing controls (n = 15). Isometric extensor strength was significantly higher in sailors at 60° (+14%) but not at 20° knee flexion. Sailors showed significantly higher trunk flexor (but not extensor) strength under isometric (+18%) and eccentric (+11%) conditions, which was associated to greater muscle thickness (rectus abdominis +40%; external oblique +26%) and higher endurance for ventral (+66%) and lateral (+61%) muscle chains compared to non-sailors. Greater muscles thickness and the particular biomechanical requirements to maintain the hiking position may drive the increases in isometric and eccentric muscle strength as well as ventral and lateral trunk endurance. The current findings identified sport-specific muscle function differences and provide performance benchmarks for muscle strength and endurance in elite sailors.     

Genauigkeit von Aufwandssch?tzungen in Reengineering-Projekten – Erfahrungen aus einer Sprachumstellung von Assembler nach COBOL

Die Sch?tzung des Aufwands für die Erstellung oder die überarbeitung von grossen Softwaresystemen stellt immer noch ein betr?chtliches Risiko dar. Dieses versch?rft sich noch weiter, wenn wie im vorliegenden Fall das Projekt auf Festpreisbasis, d.h. ohne M?glichkeit zu Budgetnachforderungen w?hrend des Projekts selbst, abzuwickeln ist. Dieser Beitrag beschreibt die Erfahrungen mit der Sch?tzung und vor allem der Nutzung der detailliert ermittelten Produktivit?tsmasse in einem grossen Konversionsprojekt, bei dem 350 Assembler-Programme aus dem Wertpapierbereich einer Bankorgansiation mit unver?nderter Funktionalit?t nach COBOL zu konvertieren waren. Dabei wurden w?hrend des Projekts die bereits vorliegenden Produktivit?tszahlen genutzt, um neben einer weiteren Optimierung der Verfahren und Abl?ufe auch die Sch?tzung bez. der noch zu bearbeitenden Arbeitspakete weiter zu verbessern. Es hat sich auch in diesem Projekt gezeigt, dass auch einfachere Sch?tzans?tze tragen, wenn sie denn auf den Erfahrungen der eigenen Projektorganisation basieren. Allgemeine algorithmische Ans?tze sind zwar als grober Anhaltspunkt brauchbar, ersetzen aber nicht die eigenen Zahlenbasen. Diese in jedem Projekt immer wieder konsequent und detailliert zu ermitteln, bleibt die vorrangige Aufgabe zur Unterstützung der Sch?tzung weiterer Projekte.     

Das AutoMoDe-Projekt Modellbasierte Entwicklung softwareintensiver Systeme im Automobil

Die Entwicklung eingebetteter Software für Automobile ist inh?rent komplex und vereint verschiedene Entwicklungsphasen, mehrere fachliche Disziplinen, sowie verschiedene Akteure in beteiligten Unternehmen. Der AutoMoDe-Ansatz zur Entwicklung automotiver Software beschreibt Systeme auf verschiedenen Abstraktionsebenen und definiert schrittweise überg?nge zwischen diesen Ebenen. Neben der Definition geeigneter Ebenen werden zur Modellierung von Echtzeitsystemen ein einheitliches Berechnungsmodell sowie dom?nenspezifische Beschreibungstechniken verwendet. Automatisierte Anbindungen für Analyse und Synthese komplexer Softwaresysteme mit dem Ziel eines konsistenzbetonten Entwicklungsprozesses wurden realisiert. Die beschriebenen Techniken wurden in den Werkzeugprototypen AutoFocus integriert und im Zusammenspiel mit einer Werkzeugkette demonstriert.     

Observing Interprofessional Collaboration: Impact on Attitude and Knowledge Acquisition

Interprofessional collaboration (IPC) in the medical field is an important factor for good clinical outcomes and should be taught as early as in undergraduate medical education. Since implementing IPC training is an organizational challenge, students are often limited in their opportunities to experience real-life IPC. Therefore, an approach where students observe successful IPC activities of role models in an applied anatomical format was proposed. It was studied whether observing IPC activities in undergraduate anatomical education has an impact on both students' attitude toward IPC and on knowledge acquisition. Further, it was examined whether the attitudes and knowledge of students from different medical disciplines were influenced in different ways. Therefore, 75 medical students and thirty-eight physiotherapy students participated in a study with the task of observing a live broadcast of an interprofessional teaching session. Participants were asked about their attitudes toward interprofessional learning, their evaluation of professional responsibilities, and their profession-specific knowledge before and after observing the IPC session. The participants' attitude toward interprofessional learning improved for both groups of students. Moreover, students of physiotherapy adjusted their evaluation of their own and others' professional responsibilities after observing IPC. In both student groups, knowledge increased, in particular, with respect to the field of knowledge in other professions. So, observing IPC can modify students' attitudes and support knowledge acquisition. The implementation of IPC observations provides students from various healthcare disciplines with a clearer impression of professionals' responsibilities and gives learners the opportunity to acquire knowledge from healthcare fields unfamiliar to them.     

Quality assurance and its impact from higher education institutions’ perspectives: methodological approaches,experiences and expectations

This paper reports on methodological approaches, experiences and expectations referring to impact analysis of quality assurance from the perspective of three higher education institutions (students, teaching staff, quality managers) from Germany, Finland and Romania. The presentations of the three sample institutions focus on discussing the core characteristics of quality assurance procedures applied and their expected and observed impacts, and how intended and non-intended undesirable ones are measured. It turns out that all sample institutions have already some instruments and sub-procedures in place for impact analysis of quality assurance and all of them are striving for further improvement by applying internal and external quality assurance procedures and impact analyses. Finally, a closer look at the recently revised Standards and Guidelines for Quality Assurance in the European Higher Education Area shows that the European sample institutions are on their way towards coherent quality assurance policies, while there is also room left for further improvement and investigation (for example, in implementing systematic methodologies of impact evaluation and quality policies in general).     

The effects of gender on group work process and achievement: an analysis through self‐ and peer‐assessment

The importance of teamwork skills as part of employability has been widely acknowledged and accompanied by active research on successful cooperative learning. However, relatively few studies have focused on the effects of gender on students' group work, and only a limited number of empirical studies exist that examine students' group work process and performance through the results of self‐ and peer‐assessment. This study examines the effects of gender on group work process and performance using the self‐ and peer‐assessment results of 1001 students in British higher education formed into 192 groups. The analysis aggregates all measures on the group level in order to examine the overall group performance. Further, a simple regression model is used to capture the effects of group gender compositions. Results suggest that students in gender balanced groups display enhanced collaboration in group work processes. The enhanced collaboration could be associated with less social loafing behaviours and more equitable contributions to the group work. However, the results imply that this cooperative learning environment does not lead to higher student performance. Students' comments allow us to explore possible reasons for this finding. The results also indicate underperformance by all‐male groups and reduced collaborative behaviours by solo males in male gender exception groups (i.e., groups consisting of one male student and other members being female). The results thus have implications for the composition of groups. The pedagogical implications of these findings are discussed.