“When you’re down,stay down”:A lesson for all competitive alpine skiers supported by an ACL rupture measured in vivo

Background:During an experiment,a ski racer equipped with various measurement devices suffered an anterior cruciate ligament(ACL)rupture in his right knee.The aim of this study was to describe the underlying injury mechanism from a functional perspective.Methods:Eight giant slalom turns(i.e.,4 left turns),followed by 1 left turn at which the ACL injury occurred,were recorded by 2 video cameras,electromyography of 4 relevant muscle groups,inertial measurement units to measure knee and hip angles,and pressure insoles to determine ground reaction forces.Results:Due to a loss of balance,the ski racer began to slide sideways at the apex of a left turn.During sliding,his right(outside)leg was actively abducted upward without touching the ground.The ski racer then attempted to stand up again by dropping his leg back towards the snow surface.The end of this dropping was accompanied by a decrease in electromyographic activity in the knee stabilizing muscles.Once the inside edge of the outer ski caught the snow surface,a rapidly increasing peak force,knee flexion,and an aggressive sudden activation of the vastus medialis muscle were observed,while biceps femoris and rectus femoris further decreased their activation levels.This likely resulted in excessive anterior translation of the tibia relative to the femur,causing damage to the ACL.Conclusion:Our example emphasizes that ski racers should not get up until they stop sliding.Remember:“When you’re down,stay down.”     

Regional networks in education: a case study of an Austrian project

This case study presents the development of networks in education, using the Austrian IMST (Innovations Make Schools Top) project as illustration. The regional networks are coordinated in every Austrian federal province by groups made up of teachers, representatives of the educational authorities, and members of academia. In the framework of the IMST project, all networks are monitored by a team of the Institute of Instructional and School Development at the University of Klagenfurt. This article presents theoretical concepts, network structures and network activities, as well as evaluation data. The overall challenge in trying to enable sustainable development of learning of those involved might be described as keeping momentum between network structures and network processes or, in other words, between stability and flow.     

Applying robust regression techniques to institutional data

Regression techniques are used frequently to analyze the relationships between university activity variables and the needs for different categories of resources. The ordinary least squares method (LS) has the disadvantage of being very sensitive to outliers. As an alternative the least median of squares (LMS) technique is discussed, which can resist a large fraction of contaminated data. To demonstrate the advantages of LMS, the parameters of some regression equations, estimated some years ago by means of ordinary least squares, and describing the needs for nonacademic staff and operating funds in a university, will be reestimated by means of this robust regression technique.     

Reflecting on Scientific Thinking: Children's Understanding of the Hypothesis-Evidence Relation

3 experiments were carried out to examine children's understanding of the role of covariation evidence in hypothesis formation. Previous research suggested that it is not until 8 to 11 years of age that children begin to understand how a given pattern of covariation supports a particular hypothesis about which factor is causally responsible for an observed effect. Experiments 1 to 3 employed a different (fake evidence) technique than previous research and showed that by 6 years of age most children understand how evidence would lead a story character to form a different hypothesis than the subject's own. Experiment 3 showed that most 6- and young 7-year-olds understand how a character's future actions (e.g., choice of an object) and predictions of future outcomes depend on the hypothesis he or she holds.     

Instructional efficiency of different discussion approaches in an outreach laboratory: Teacher-guided versus student-centered

Given the rapid development of modern biotechnology, attention to socioscientific issues in educational contexts is crucially important to support students in becoming responsible citizens. The authors' research focused on the impact of discussing socioscientific issues during biology lessons under 3 different treatments (teacher guided, student centered, text only), comparing these treatments with regard to cognitive achievement, cognitive load, and instructional efficiency. The biology lessons were part of an educational intervention with Bavarian 10th-grade students (N = 583) in an out-of-school laboratory on plant genetic engineering. The teacher-guided group performed significantly better regarding knowledge increase, while the cognitive load of the student-centered group was significantly higher. Accordingly, teacher-guided discussion led to the highest instructional efficiency, suggesting an enhanced cognitive achievement through the teacher's guidance. However, a student-centered approach allows students to contribute more of their own opinions, making further research in this area desirable. Finally, we discuss potential implications for teaching and teacher education.     

The Potential of Education for Sustainable Development for Reform in Schools

Can the concept of education for sustainable development foster reform in schools? The discussion of this question is based upon some reflection on social challenges in education, on a brief presentation of three concepts of environmental education (OECD Project 'Environment and School Initiatives' (ENSI); Action Competence Model; Socio-ecological Environmental Education) and on a closer theoretical look at the term Education for Sustainable Development. With some reference to an ongoing initiative in whole school development on the basis of education for sustainability called 'Ecologisation of Schools', the present and future relevance of the sustainability debate, with all its inherent dilemmas, uncertainties and confusions, is seen as a breeding ground for promoting innovations in education which might meet and cope with the current social challenges in an active and constructive manner.