Mixed-method pre-cooling reduces physiological demand without improving performance of medium-fast bowling in the heat

This study examined physiological and performance effects of pre-cooling on medium-fast bowling in the heat. Ten, medium-fast bowlers completed two randomised trials involving either cooling (mixed-methods) or control (no cooling) interventions before a 6-over bowling spell in 31.9±2.1°C and 63.5±9.3% relative humidity. Measures included bowling performance (ball speed, accuracy and run-up speeds), physical characteristics (global positioning system monitoring and counter-movement jump height), physiological (heart rate, core temperature, skin temperature and sweat loss), biochemical (serum concentrations of damage, stress and inflammation) and perceptual variables (perceived exertion and thermal sensation). Mean ball speed (114.5±7.1 vs. 114.1±7.2 km · h(-1); P = 0.63; d = 0.09), accuracy (43.1±10.6 vs. 44.2±12.5 AU; P = 0.76; d = 0.14) and total run-up speed (19.1±4.1 vs. 19.3±3.8 km · h(-1); P = 0.66; d = 0.06) did not differ between pre-cooling and control respectively; however 20-m sprint speed between overs was 5.9±7.3% greater at Over 4 after pre-cooling (P = 0.03; d = 0.75). Pre-cooling reduced skin temperature after the intervention period (P = 0.006; d = 2.28), core temperature and pre-over heart rates throughout (P = 0.01-0.04; d = 0.96-1.74) and sweat loss by 0.4±0.3 kg (P = 0.01; d = 0.34). Mean rating of perceived exertion and thermal sensation were lower during pre-cooling trials (P = 0.004-0.03; d = 0.77-3.13). Despite no observed improvement in bowling performance, pre-cooling maintained between-over sprint speeds and blunted physiological and perceptual demands to ease the thermoregulatory demands of medium-fast bowling in hot conditions.     

Self‐Acceptance of Jewishness By Young Jewish People

This article focuses on one aspect of a case study of three congregations (Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant): the structure of the religious education programs. The three institutions were structured in much the same way, and the way they were structured looked like public school. If we have more in common with our neighborhood churches and public schools than we may have thought, the implication for scholarship and policy work in Jewish education is that we would benefit from more comparative work as we seek to produce more comprehensive scholarship, better informed policies, and more satisfying experiences in synagogue-based education.     

Discrepant SAT Critical Reading and Writing Scores: Implications for College Performance

Despite the similarities that researchers note between the cognitive processes and knowledge involved in reading and writing, there are students who are much stronger readers than writers and those who are much stronger writers than readers. The addition of the writing section to the SAT provides an opportunity to examine whether certain groups of students are more likely to exhibit stronger performance in reading versus writing and the academic consequences of this discrepant performance. Results of this study, based on hierarchical linear models of student performance, showed that even after controlling for relevant student characteristics and prior academic performance, an SAT critical reading–writing discrepancy had a small effect on 1st-year grade point average as well as English course grades in college. Specifically, students who had relatively higher writing scores as compared to their critical reading scores earned higher grades in their 1st year of college as well as in their 1st-year English course(s).     

Achievement and Climate Outcomes for the Knowledge is Power Program in an Inner-City Middle School

This study was designed to examine the effects of a whole school reform, the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP), specifically designed to raise academic achievement of at-risk urban middle school students by establishing an extended school day and year, a rigorous curriculum, after-school access to teachers, and increased family-school connections. In our mixed-methods design, qualitative (interview and observation) and quantitative (survey and achievement test) measures are employed to determine first-year program implementation and student outcomes for the KIPP:DIAMOND (Daring Individual Achievers Making Outstanding New Dreams) Academy (KIPP:DA), an inner-city school in a large, high-poverty urban district. For the achievement analyses, 49 KIPP:DA students were individually matched to highly comparable control students of the same ethnicity, socioeconmic status, gender, and ability, who attended different district schools in the same neighborhood. Statistically significant and educationally meaningful advantages for KIPP:DA students were found on 4 out of 6 standardized tests. The achievement results are interpreted in relation to the key program elements, the positive school climate established, and the quality of the 1st-year implementation.     

Exploring the Underlying Factor Structure of the Parent Reading Belief Inventory (PRBI): Some Caveats

Although mainstream preschool programs have been in existence since the 1970s, little is known about the ways in which typical children attempt to understand what it means for a peer to have a disability. In this study, 4-year-old children without disabilities who were enrolled in a mainstream preschool class explained their peers' disabilities by referring to concepts of immaturity, accident, or adaptive equipment to account for the behavioral differences that they observed. The implications of these cognitions for children's developing attitudes and behaviors toward peers with disabilities are discussed.