Opportunity costs associated with the provision of student services: a case study of web-based lecture technology

Universities aim to provide services that are not only beneficial to students but also efficient relative to possible alternative services. Using opportunity cost, this study considers staff and student perceptions of the usefulness and valuation of web-based lecture technology (WBLT). It reveals that a quarter of students did not use WBLT while many staff members thought WBLT had a negative impact on their face-to-face teaching. Further, over a third of students sampled said they would not be affected if WBLT were not made available and many staff members felt constrained by WBLT technology. Some staff members spent a lot of time preparing WBLT while others eschewed the technology altogether. Nevertheless, a relatively small number of students place enormous value on WBLT, as do some staff, even if only simple audio of lectures are provided. The academic policy implications of this study suggest that university provision of WBLT could take into account the opportunity cost of WBLT use as a valuation-basis, possibly recovering costs through extra fees. This would allow for improved decision-making by university administrators and facilitate a move towards a useful measurement basis of WBLT. A wider academic policy implication is to consider whether all universities should produce and deliver WBLT at all and to what extent it should encourage staff to develop enhanced WBLT. Provision of sophisticated WBLT or any other service for students bears an opportunity cost in terms of less preparation by staff for face-to-face lessons or other effective teaching or research.     

Racial/ethnic differences in Medicaid expenditures on psychotropic medications among maltreated children

This study quantifies racial/ethnic differences in Medicaid expenditures on psychotropic drugs among a national sample of children with suspected maltreatment. We linked 4,445 child participants in the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW) – consisting of children investigated for suspected abuse and neglect – to their Medicaid claims obtained from 36 states. We used propensity score matching to construct a comparison group of children without known child welfare involvement, and estimated two-part generalized linear models to examine differences in annual psychotropic drug expenditures per child between children of different races/ethnicities. When compared to a matched sample of children, African American and Latino children incur $292 and $144 less expenditures on psychotropic drugs, respectively, than white children. Among NSCAW children alone, African American children display $614 less spending on psychotropic drugs when compared to white children. Racial/ethnic differences in expenditures on psychotropic drugs occur among all children on Medicaid, but the differences are especially pronounced among African American children in contact with the child welfare system. These findings demonstrate that policymakers will need to pay special attention to the needs of children of color as Medicaid expansions proceed nationwide.     

HIP HOP for HIV awareness: using hip hop culture to promote community-level HIV prevention

The goal of this paper was to determine the effectiveness of the HIP HOP for HIV Awareness intervention, an innovative model utilising an exchange of an HIV test for a hip hop concert ticket, in a metropolitan city among African American youth and young adults. A subset of intervention participants participated in standardised testing, sex education and pre/post test administration. Data were analysed to identify changes in knowledge and attitudes with respect to HIV and sexually transmitted infections pre/post the educational session. An analysis of knowledge revealed variance in the pre- and post-assessment findings among participants receiving the intervention. Level of education and gender significantly influenced the variance in knowledge discerned from the pre- and post-assessment among participants. Two three-level significant interactions emerged from the analysis of variance: knowledge, education and gender; and knowledge, education and race/ethnicity. Programme findings suggest that an increase in knowledge and improved self-perceptions related to attitudes are the result of a brief, HIV-focused community-based intervention among young adults.     

Diving

The purpose of this study was to compare the reverse two and one half somersault dive in a tuck position (305C) performed by females (n = 24), and the reverse two and one half somersault dive in a pike position (305B) performed by males (n = 21), to determine changes required by females to successfully perform 305B. Key performance variables in reverse dives were also compared to those of forward dives. Video data of the dives performed at the 1999 FINA World Diving Cup were captured and digitised to obtain times and postures of the divers at specific events including hurdle landing, takeoff, and entry. Estimates of hurdle flight height and mass‐normalised work done on the springboard were obtained from hurdle and flight times. The males did more work on the springboard to achieve greater height and rotation than females. Females performing 305C had less hip and knee flexion at hurdle landing than males performing 305B and took longer to achieve maximum hip flexion after takeoff from the springboard. To progress from 305C to 305B females need to adjust their techniques to put more energy into the system. Desirable changes include increased height in the hurdle and increased hip and knee flexion prior to hurdle landing. Comparison of results for reverse dives with data previously presented for forward dives indicated that divers are more limited in the number of somersaults and dive position in reverse dives than forward dives despite equivalent or better height in reverse dives than forward dives.     

Diving

The purpose of this study was to compare the backward two and one half somersault dive in a tuck position (205C) performed by females (n = 22) and the backward two and one half somersault dive in a pike position (205B) performed by males (n = 27) and by females (n = 6) to determine changes required by females to successfully perform 205B. Video data of the dives performed at the 1999 FINA World Diving Cup were captured and digitised to obtain times and postures of the divers at specific events including maximum depression, takeoff, and entry. Estimates of mass‐normalised work done on the springboard were obtained from flight times. Males performed 31% more mass‐normalised work on the springboard to gain height than females. Based on the dive scores and the short time to extend and prepare for entry it was concluded that females are not yet able to perform 205B with the same quality as they perform 205C. Females performing backward dives need to adjust their techniques to allow increased work on the springboard to generate height and rotation. Also, faster contraction of the hip flexors may allow them to achieve the tightest position more quickly to complete rotations with more time to prepare for entry.     

Hydrodynamics of undulatory underwater swimming: A review

Undulatory underwater swimming (UUS) occurs in the starts and turns of three of the four competitive swimming strokes and plays a significant role in overall swimming performance. The majority of research examining UUS is comparative in nature, dominated by studies comparing aquatic animals' undulatory locomotion with the UUS performance of humans. More recently, research directly examining human forms of UUS have been undertaken, providing further insight into the factors which influence swimming velocity and efficiency. This paper reviews studies which have examined the hydromechanical, biomechanical, and coordination aspects of UUS performance in both animals and humans. The present work provides a comprehensive evaluation of the key factors which combine to influence UUS performance examining (1) the role of end-effector frequency and body amplitudes in the production of a propulsive waveform, (2) the effects of morphology on the wavelength of the propulsive waveform and its subsequent impact on the mode of UUS adopted, and (3) the interactions of the undulatory movements to simultaneously optimise propulsive impulse whilst minimising the active drag experienced. In conclusion, the review recommends that further research is required to fully appreciate the complexity of UUS and examine how humans can further optimise performance.     

Kinematic differences between front crawl sprint and distance swimmers at a distance pace

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine whether there are differences in kinematics between sprint and distance front crawl specialists when swimming at a distance pace using a six beat kick. Seven sprint and eight distance male specialists performed one maximum 400 m swim through a 6.75 m³ calibrated space recorded by six gen-locked cameras. The following variables were calculated: average swim velocity, stroke length, stroke frequency, upper limb and foot displacement, elbow angle, the shoulder and hip roll angle, duration of the stroke phases and time corresponding to particular events within the stroke cycle relative to hand entry. Differences between the groups were assessed by an independent t-test and effect size (d) calculations for each variable. The groups only differed significantly with respect to the average swim velocity, with the distance swimmers maintaining a greater velocity throughout the 400 m. However, effect sizes were moderate for elbow angle range during the pull phase (d = 0.78) and the total hip roll magnitude (d = 0.76). There was little evidence to suggest that sprint and distance swimmers using a six beat kick pattern differ in technique when swimming at a distance pace and therefore coaches should not encourage the development of different techniques between these groups.     

There Is an “I” in TEAM

Abstract

We investigated narcissism as a moderator of social loafing on a physical performance task. High and low narcissistic individuals twice performed a cycling task in same-sex teams of three: once when identifiability was low; and once when identifiability was high. A significant interaction between narcissism and identifiability was revealed, F(1, 40) = 4.09, p < .05, η² = .09 for performance. Follow-up tests indicated that high narcissists' performance significantly increased with greater identifiability, whereas low narcissists displayed no such performance differences. Results suggested that this effect was due to an increase in narcissists' on-task effort (ratings of perceived exertion and heart rate) when they knew that their performance was to be identified.     

“It's Cheesy When They Smile

Building on previous research in which we provided an opportunity for female college athletes to construct their own photographic portrayals, this study explored young female athletes' perceptions of the college athlete photographs. Fifty-two girls participated in focus group interviews where they viewed and discussed the images. The young athletes particularly liked images they perceived to show authentic athletes (e.g., in athletic settings, with appropriate sport attire), images they could relate to due to personal experiences, and images that reflected competent and passionate sportswomen. Images perceived as revealing a lack of motivation, poor sporting attitudes, and nonathletic poses generally were disliked. Images depicting multiple social identities (e.g., an athlete in a dress) were controversial and generated much discussion.