The Interaction of Functional and Dysfunctional Emotions During Balance Beam Performance

The interaction between functional and dysfunctional emotions, as one of the major tenets of the Individual Zones of Optimal Functioning (IZOF) model (Hanin, 2000), was studied in a sport specific setting. Fourteen female gymnasts performed three attempts of a compulsory balance beam routine at three different heights. Heart rate and self-report of functional and dysfunctional emotions were measured during each routine. These data revealed the effectiveness of inducting emotions by manipulating height. Also, performance decreased on the most challenging condition, (i.e., the first attempt on the highest height). Moderated hierarchical regression analysis revealed a significant interaction between functional and dysfunctional emotions only when the dysfunctional emotion level was low.     

The energetics and benefit of an arm swing in submaximal and maximal vertical jump performance

Abstract

The aims of this study were to investigate the energy build-up and dissipation mechanisms associated with using an arm swing in submaximal and maximal vertical jumping and to establish the energy benefit of this arm swing. Twenty adult males were asked to perform a series of submaximal and maximal vertical jumps while using an arm swing. Force, motion and electromyographic data were recorded during each performance and used to compute a range of kinematic and kinetic variables, including ankle, knee, hip, shoulder and elbow joint powers and work done. It was found that the energy benefit of using an arm swing appears to be closely related to the maximum kinetic energy of the arms during their downswing, and increases as jump height increases. As jump height increases, energy in the arms is built up by a greater range of motion at the shoulder and greater effort of the shoulder and elbow muscles but, as jump height approaches maximum, these sources are supplemented by energy supplied by the trunk due to its earlier extension in the movement. The kinetic energy developed by the arms is used to increase their potential energy at take-off but also to store and return energy from the lower limbs and to “pull” on the rest of the body. These latter two mechanisms become more important as jump height increases with the pull being the more important of the two. We conclude that an arm swing contributes to jump performance in submaximal as well as maximal jumping but the energy generation and dissipation sources change as performance approaches maximum.     

The development of students’ use of additive and proportional methods along primary and secondary school

This study investigates the development of proportional and additive methods along primary and secondary school. In particular, it simultaneously investigates the use of additive methods in proportional word problems and the use of proportional methods in additive word problems. We have also studied the role played by integer and non-integer relationships between the given numbers and the nature of quantities (discrete or continuous) in the development of these phenomena. A test consisting of additive and proportional missing-value word problems was solved by 755 primary and secondary school students (from fourth to tenth grade). The findings indicate that the use of additive methods in proportional situations increased during primary school and decreased during secondary school, whereas the use of proportional methods in additive situations increased along primary and secondary school. Moreover, the presence or absence of integer ratios strongly affects this behavior, but the nature of quantities only has a small influence on the use of proportional methods.     

The role of self- and social directed goals in a problem-based, collaborative learning context

Students’ learning goals demonstrate much stronger variety than traditional goal orientation models for classroom learning assume, especially when the educational context allows so. In this empirical study we will investigate the richness of students’ goal orientation in a collaborative learning context. We do so with the help of a goal setting framework that is based on a two-facet approach distinguishing multiple contents (performance, learning, well-being) and goal directions (varying degrees of self vs social direction). To investigate the role of different goal constellations, goal setting and learning performance data of first year students (n = 2,636) in a problem-based, collaborative learning program, and evaluation data of problem-based tutorial groups (#groups = 206) are combined into a multilevel model. Each tutorial group functions in two different educational settings: one directed at open-ended, group problems, the other at closed, individual problems. Educational context appears indeed to have a crucial role in the relationship between students’ goal setting at the one side, and students’ performance and group functioning on the other side.     

A Behaviorally Oriented Study Skills Program

A study skills program should have low time requirements, raise the student’s GPA, and create durable behaviors. Twenty-four male sophomore cadets at the USAF Academy were placed in one of two groups by their rank-order place on a list of academically deficient students. The experimental group and the control group both received normal directive counseling. The experimental group received a behaviorally oriented study skills program requiring two hours of supervisory time and minimal behavior recording and showed a mean increase of .54 GPA points; the control group showed an increase of .02 at the end of the semester. The results indicate this program satisfied the basic requirement of study skills training.     

Ownership concentration and innovativeness of corporate ventures

Corporate venture investments are an established means for incumbent firms to access radical innovation. Drawing from a behavioural agency framework, we distinguish two mechanisms that govern the relationship between corporate venture investment and radical innovation, the safety net that corporate sponsors provide and control incentives. While the safety net induces a gap between the radical innovation success of corporate ventures (CVs) and ventures without a corporate sponsor, the superior radical innovation success of CVs decreases with the corporate sponsor’s incentives to control the venture. The impact of the safety net and control incentives further depends on the corporate sponsor’s position vis-à-vis her aspiration level.     

Students’ Ability to Connect Function Properties to Different Types of Elementary Functions: An Empirical Study on the Role of External Representations

Recent research on the phenomenon of improper proportional reasoning focused on students’ understanding of elementary functions and their external representations. So far, the role of basic function properties in students’ concept images of functions remained unclear. We add to this research line by investigating how accurate students are in connecting functions to their corresponding properties and how this accuracy depends on function types and representations. A large group of 10th graders evaluated for different function types, represented in either a graphical, a formulaic, or a tabular mode, the correctness of statements about their general properties and behavior. Results show that students succeeded rather well in making the right connections between properties and functions. Errors depended not only on the type of function for which the properties were evaluated but also on the kind of representation in which the function was presented. These results highlight the importance of function properties in students’ concept images of functions and suggest positive effects of making these properties explicit to students.     

The Development of Attention to Objects and Scenes: From Object-Biased to Unbiased

Selective attention is the ability to focus on goal-relevant information while filtering out irrelevant information. This work examined the development of selective attention to natural scenes and objects with a rapid serial visual presentation paradigm. Children (N = 69, ages 4–6 years) and adults (N = 80) were asked to attend to either objects or scenes, while ignoring the other type of stimulus. A multinomial processing tree model was used to decompose selective attention into focusing and filtering components. The results suggest that attention is object-biased in children, due to difficulty filtering attention to goal-irrelevant objects, whereas attention in adults is relatively unbiased. The findings suggest important developmental asymmetries in selective attention to scenes and objects.     

A path analytic test of the reading strategies mediation model: Relating cognitive competences and motivational influences to individual differences in fifth-grade students' reading comprehension

This study examined a theoretical model hypothesizing that reading strategies mediate the effects of intrinsic reading motivation, reading fluency, and vocabulary knowledge on reading comprehension. Using path analytic methods, we tested the direct and indirect effects specified in the hypothesized model in a sample of 1105 fifth-graders. In addition to standardized tests and questionnaires, we administered a performance test to assess students' proficiency in the application of three reading strategies. The overall fit of the model to the data was good. Both cognitive (fluency and vocabulary) and motivational (intrinsic reading motivation) variables had an indirect effect on reading comprehension through their influence on reading strategies. Reading strategies had a unique effect on reading comprehension and partially mediated the effects that cognitive and motivational variables had on fifth-graders' reading achievements.