Promoting positive attitudes towards science and religion among sixth‐form pupils: dealing with scientism and creationism

A sample of 187 female students, attending a sixth‐form study day on religious studies, completed a questionnaire containing four scales concerned with assessing: attitude towards theistic religion, attitude towards science, scientism and creationism. The data demonstrated a negative correlation between attitude towards religion and attitude towards science. However, this negative correlation was transformed into a positive correlation after taking into account individual differences in the students’ views about scientism and creationism. The implications of this finding are discussed in the context of the increasing support within society for the teaching of alternatives to evolution within the science curriculum. The authors argue both that it is important to challenge scientism by developing a better understanding of the role and limits of scientific methods, and that religious belief about creation should be recognised as essentially a claim about the ontological dependence of nature rather than about the details of its origins and development.     

The relative effects of group size on reading progress of older students with reading difficulties

This study reports findings on the relative effects from a yearlong secondary intervention contrasting large-group, small-group, and school-provided interventions emphasizing word study, vocabulary development, fluency, and comprehension with seventh- and eighth-graders with reading difficulties. Findings indicate that few statistically significant results or clinically significant gains were associated with group size or intervention. Findings also indicate that a significant acceleration of reading outcomes for seventh- and eighth-graders from high-poverty schools is unlikely to result from a 50 min daily class. Instead, the findings indicate, achieving this outcome will require more comprehensive models including more extensive intervention (e.g., more time, even smaller groups), interventions that are longer in duration (multiple years), and interventions that vary in emphasis based on specific students’ needs (e.g., increased focus on comprehension or word study).     

Theory and measures of individual differences in studies of trait by treatment interaction. 1

Studies based on the methodology of Trait by Treatment Interaction (TTI) have tended to emphasize input‐output relations as they interact with individual differences. Consideration of intervening processes employed by learners has been neglected to the possible detriment of empirical and theoretical contributions. The development of taxonomies of how situations are coded and of the kinds of processes used by learners with different characteristics appears to be essential. Furthermore, assessment of individual differences must correspond to the theoretical demands of a given study. The attainment of these objectives requires renewed attention to carefully derived “theoretical”; statements of interlocking and dynamic relations among situations, traits, processes, and outcomes.     

Are changes in running economy associated with changes in performance in runners? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Improvements in running economy (RE) are thought to lead to improvements in running performance (P). Multiple interventions have been designed with the aim of improving RE in middle and long-distance runners. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of interventions of at least 2-weeks’ duration on RE and P and to determine whether there is a relationship between changes in RE (ΔRE) and changes in running performance (ΔP). A database search was carried out in Web of Science, Scopus and SPORTDiscus. In accordance with a PRISMA checklist 10 studies reporting 12 comparisons between interventions and controls were included in the review. There was no correlation between percentage ΔRE and percentage ΔP (r = 0.46, P = 0.936, 12 comparisons). There was a low risk of reporting bias but an unclear risk of bias for other items. Meta-analyses found no statistically significant differences between interventions and controls for RE (SMD (95% CI) = ?0.37 (?1.43, 0.69), 204 participants, p = 0.49) or for P (SMD (95% CI) = ?0.65 (?26.02, 24.72, 204 participants, p = 0.99). There is a need for studies of greater statistical power, methodological quality, duration and homogeneity of intervention and population. Standardised measures of performance and greater control over non-intervention training are also required.     

Post-exercise ingestion of a unique, high molecular weight glucose polymer solution improves performance during a subsequent bout of cycling exercise

The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of post-exercise ingestion of a unique, high molecular weight glucose polymer solution, known to augment gastric emptying and post-exercise muscle glycogen re-synthesis, on performance during a subsequent bout of intense exercise. On three randomized visits, eight healthy men cycled to exhaustion at 73.0% (s = 1.3) maximal oxygen uptake (90 min, s = 15). Immediately after this, participants consumed a one-litre solution containing sugar-free flavoured water (control), 100 g of a low molecular weight glucose polymer or 100 g of a very high molecular weight glucose polymer, and rested on a bed for 2 h. After recovery, a 15-min time-trial was performed on a cycle ergometer, during which work output was determined. Post-exercise ingestion of the very high molecular weight glucose polymer solution resulted in faster and greater increases in blood glucose (P < 0.001) and serum insulin (P < 0.01) concentrations than the low molecular weight glucose polymer solution, and greater work output during the 15-min time-trial (164.1 kJ, s = 21.1) than both the sugar-free flavoured water (137.5 kJ, s = 24.2; P < 0.05) and the low molecular weight glucose polymer (149.4 kJ, s = 21.8; P < 0.05) solutions. These findings could be of practical importance for athletes wishing to optimize performance by facilitating rapid re-synthesis of the muscle glycogen store during recovery following prolonged sub-maximal exercise.