Peer choice – does reviewer self‐selection work?

The British Journal of Educational Technology (BJET) uses a novel system for obtaining referees by e‐mailing the abstracts of submissions to a panel of over 250 referees and allowing these individuals to choose which papers they would like to review. An analysis of 13 experienced referees showed that, of 473 reviews assessed, these referees were slightly more lenient than the editor and that electronic records provide useful data that can be mined in interesting ways.     

Development of perceived competence,tactical skills,motivation, technical skills,and speed and agility in young soccer players

ABSTRACT

The objective of this 1-year, longitudinal study was to examine the development of perceived competence, tactical skills, motivation, technical skills, and speed and agility characteristics of young Finnish soccer players. We also examined associations between latent growth models of perceived competence and other recorded variables. Participants were 288 competitive male soccer players ranging from 12 to 14 years (12.7 ± 0.6) from 16 soccer clubs. Players completed the self-assessments of perceived competence, tactical skills, and motivation, and participated in technical, and speed and agility tests. Results of this study showed that players’ levels of perceived competence, tactical skills, motivation, technical skills, and speed and agility characteristics remained relatively high and stable across the period of 1 year. Positive relationships were found between these levels and changes in perceived competence and motivation, and levels of perceived competence and speed and agility characteristics. Together these results illustrate the multi-dimensional nature of talent development processes in soccer. Moreover, it seems crucial in coaching to support the development of perceived competence and motivation in young soccer players and that it might be even more important in later maturing players.     

Special educational needs in mainstream secondary school physical education: learning support assistants have their say

Learning support assistants (LSAs) gained more political and academic attention in Britain after Estelle Morris announced that schools of the future would include more trained staff to support learning to higher standards. LSAs, thus, should form an integral part of the culture of all school departments in Britain, including physical education (PE). The paper uses Antonio Gramsci's concept of hegemony to explore the processes and practices that shape the views and experiences of LSAs and ultimately the extent to which they facilitate an inclusive culture in PE. A web survey gathered the views and experiences of LSAs vis-à-vis the inclusion of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream secondary school PE in North-West England. A modified version of the tailored design method participant contact strategy resulted in 343 LSAs starting the web survey, with 154 (45%) following it through to completion. All quantitative data were analysed using Microsoft Excel whilst qualitative data were subjected to thematic analysis. This entailed the identification of recurring themes and patterns present in the data. The findings highlight the hegemonic status of English, maths and science when it comes to the allocation of SEN resources, which most LSAs support and often reinforce. PE is particularly disadvantaged in this hierarchy of subject priority. The majority of LSAs have not received PE-specific training, which brings into question their ability to facilitate inclusion in PE. Moreover, many schools do not appear to value the involvement of LSAs in the planning of differentiated lessons, which could have a negative impact on the PE experiences of some pupils with SEN given that LSAs are perhaps most aware of the specific learning needs of the pupils they support.     

Community,identity and contested notions of place: a study of Haitian recreational soccer players in the Dominican Republic

Soccer is a sport not commonly associated with the Dominican Republic given the positioning of baseball as the national game. Yet, for some migrant groups in the country, such as those from Haiti, soccer plays an important part in their lives. Haitians have used soccer as a way to unite their communities and establish a sense of place. This paper assesses how these Haitian migrants use the game as a means of creating a community and developing a common focal point. Through participant observations and semi-structured interviews, this work may help us construct new understandings of the ways in which migrants use sport to assimilate to new surroundings and retain links to home.     

Momentum sequence and environmental climate influence levels of perceived psychological momentum within a sport competition

The present study examined the influence of momentum sequence (positive vs. negative) and environmental climate (hot–wet vs. neutral) on supporters’ (i.e. virtual observers’) reported levels of perceived psychological momentum (PM) during a simulated cycling competition. Participants supported one of two competing cyclists involved in a race that was displayed on a screen in a lecture hall. The race scenario was manipulated so that the supported cyclist appeared to undergo either a positive or negative momentum sequence. In addition, participants were either exposed to a hot–wet environmental climate or to a neutral environmental climate while observing the race scenario. According to the results, reported levels of PM were higher in the positive momentum sequence condition than in the negative momentum sequence condition, consistent with the notion that supporters’ PM is influenced by a positivity bias, and reported levels of PM were also found to be higher in the hot–wet climate condition than in the neutral climate condition, consistent with the notion that environmental climate is a contextual factor that influences PM through the operation of a causal augmenting mechanism.     

Alterations in autonomic cardiac modulation in response to normobaric hypoxia

Purpose: The present study aimed to determine if autonomic cardiac modulation was influenced by acute exposure to normobaric hypoxia. Method: Ten healthy male lowland dwellers completed five block-randomised single-blinded, crossed-over acute exposures to a normobaric hypoxic environment, each separated by 24 hours’ recovery (20.3%, 17.4%, 14.5%, 12.0% and 9.8% F_IO₂). Supine recordings were made of arterial oxygen saturation and electrocardiogram (ECG). RR intervals from the ECG trace were analysed for time (SDNN, lnrMSSD), frequency (lnVLF, lnLF, lnHF, lnTP, LFnu, and HFnu), and nonlinear (DFA-α1 and SampEn) heart rate variability components. Results: A significant reduction in arterial SaO₂ occurred with reduced F_IO₂, along with a rise in heart rate (Cohen’s d?=?1.16, 95% Confidence Interval [2.64–6.46]), significant at 9.8% F_IO₂. A decrease in autonomic cardiac modulation was also found as shown by a statistically significant (at 9.8% F_IO₂) decrease in lnTP (d?=?1.84 [1.74–1.94]), and SampEn (d?=?0.98 [0.83–1.12]) and an increase in DFA-α₁ (d?=?0.72 [0.60–0.84]) from normoxia at 9.8% F_IO₂. Conclusion: The decrease in variability indicated a reduction in autonomic cardiac modulation. There appears to be a threshold ～9.8% F_IO₂ (～6000?m equiv.), below which significant alterations in autonomic control occur.     

Optical engineering for children – a structured approach

The present paper focuses on the application of a structured template, maximum impact flow (MIF), in order to encourage young students in the area of optics and optical engineering. MIF introduces a template in terms of individual steps and linked functionality and is shown to fuse separate learning tools together into a cohesive unit. Prioritization and teaching structures are also discussed with the promotion of technology identified as a key factor.