Resilience in higher education students: a scoping review

ABSTRACT

The health, wellbeing and employability of university students are key considerations within higher education. In response, interest in student resilience is on the rise. Reviews of contemporary resilience literature highlight both conceptual and methodological weaknesses, issues which hamper attempts to design effective resilience interventions. To inform the design of a student resilience program, to be piloted at three Australian universities, a scoping review of resilience specific to the higher education context was undertaken. Searches of three electronic databases (PsychINFO, CINAHL and ProQuest) were conducted. Seventy-two peer-reviewed articles published between 2007 and 2017 were included in the review. While the review reaffirms the conceptual and methodological issues found in previous resilience research, it provides a useful critique of key issues in relation to university student resilience and interventions to enhance students’ resilience. Recommendations for educators and researchers are provided.     

The accuracy of computational fluid dynamics analysis of the passive drag of a male swimmer

The aim of this study was to build an accurate computer-based model to study the water flow and drag force characteristics around and acting upon the human body while in a submerged streamlined position. Comparisons of total drag force were performed between an actual swimmer, a virtual computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the swimmer, and an actual mannequin based on the virtual model. Drag forces were determined for velocities between 1.5 m/s and 2.25 m/s (representative of the velocities demonstrated in elite competition). The drag forces calculated from the virtual model using CFD were found to be within 4% of the experimentally determined values for the mannequin. The mannequin drag was found to be 18% less than the drag of the swimmer at each velocity examined. This study has determined the accuracy of using CFD for the analysis of the hydrodynamics of swimming and has allowed for the improved understanding of the relative contributions of various forms of drag to the total drag force experienced by submerged swimmers.     

Sports History: Reflections on My Journey So Far

Abstract

In this article, I reflect on my journey into sports history and my career path so far. I also discuss my experiences as part of the British Society of Sports History.     

The effect of ball carrying method on sprint speed in rugby union football players

Different methods of ball carrying can be used when a player runs with the ball in rugby union. We examined how three methods of ball carrying influenced sprinting speed: using both hands, under the left arm and under the right arm. These methods were compared with running without the ball. Our aim was to determine which method of ball carrying optimizes sprinting speed. Altogether, 48 rugby union players (age 21 +/- 2 years, height 1.83 +/- 0.1 m, body mass 85.3 +/- 12 kg, body fat 14 +/- 5%; mean +/- s) were recruited. The players performed twelve 30-m sprints in total (each player performed three trials under each of three methods of carrying the ball and sprinting without the ball). The design of the study was a form of Latin rectangle, balanced across the trial order for each of the methods and for pairwise combinations of the methods in blocks of four per trial. Each sprint consisted of a 10-m rolling start, followed by a 20-m timed section using electronic timing gates. Compared with sprinting 20 m without the ball (2.58 +/- 0.16 s), using both hands (2.62 +/- 0.16 s) led to a significantly slower time (P < 0.05). Sprinting 20 m with the ball under the left arm (2.61 +/- 0.15 s) or under the right arm (2.60 +/- 0.17 s) was significantly quicker than when using 'both hands' (P < 0.05), and both these methods were significantly slower than when running without the ball (P < 0.05). Accordingly, running with the ball in both hands led to the greatest decrement in sprinting performance, although carrying the ball under one arm also reduced the players' sprinting ability. Our results indicate that to gain a speed advantage players should carry the ball under one arm.     

Quality Assessment, Student Need, and Pastoral Care at the University of Strathclyde

For young people moving from school to higher education, the continued provision of high quality pastoral care should be an important consideration. However, though all institutions provide some sort of service, its quality can vary significantly. Even where provision has been good, it has normally been seen as a 'bolt‐on' extra, rather than something central to the student's experience. At the University of Strathclyde, a key element in the creation of a more effective and integrated approach has been the development of the personal tutor role into that of the more clearly defined and structured one of Academic Counsellor.     

Developing a comprehensive model of risk and protective factors that can predict spelling at age seven: findings from a community sample of Victorian children

The paper reports on a study designed to develop a risk model that can best predict single-word spelling in seven-year-old children when they were aged 4 and 5. Test measures, personal characteristics and environmental influences were all considered as variables from a community sample of 971 children. Strong concurrent correlations were found between single-word spelling and single-word reading while expressive language and, to a lesser extent, receptive language were less strongly correlated. Predictors of single-word spelling at ages 4 and 5 were dominated by child-related factors such as letter knowledge, a history of speech impairment and expressive language along with maternal word reading ability. Based on the strength of the predictive factors identified at both age 4 and 5, our results provide initial support for using a targeted model for screening pre-schoolers at risk of not mastering spelling in a timely manner.     

Individual Differences in Fifth Graders’ Literacy and Academic Language Predict Comprehension Monitoring Development: An Eye-Movement Study

In this study, we investigated fifth graders’ (n = 52) fall literacy, academic language, and motivation and how these skills predicted fall and spring comprehension monitoring on an eye movement task. Comprehension monitoring was defined as the identification and repair of misunderstandings when reading text. In the eye movement task, children read two sentences; the second included either a plausible or implausible word in the context of the first sentence. Stronger readers had shorter reading times overall suggesting faster processing of text. Generally fifth graders reacted to the implausible word (i.e., longer gaze duration on the implausible vs. the plausible word, which reflects lexical access). Students with stronger academic language, compared to those with weaker academic language, generally spent more time rereading the implausible target compared to the plausible target. This difference increased from fall to spring. Results support the centrality of academic language for meaning integration, setting standards of coherence, and utilizing comprehension repair strategies.