The Dutch motor skills assessment as tool for talent development in table tennis: a reproducibility and validity study

A motor skills assessment could be helpful in talent development by estimating essential perceptuo-motor skills of young players, which are considered requisite to develop excellent technical and tactical qualities. The Netherlands Table Tennis Association uses a motor skills assessment in their talent development programme consisting of eight items measuring perceptuo-motor skills specific to table tennis under varying conditions. This study aimed to investigate this assessment regarding its reproducibility, internal consistency, underlying dimensions and concurrent validity in 113 young table tennis players (6–10 years). Intraclass correlation coefficients of six test items met the criteria of 0.7 with coefficients of variation between 3% and 8%. Cronbach’s alpha valued 0.853 for internal consistency. The principal components analysis distinguished two conceptually meaningful factors: “ball control” and “gross motor function.” Concurrent validity analyses demonstrated moderate associations between the motor skills assessment’s results and national ranking; boys r = ?0.53 (P < 0.001) and girls r = ?0.45 (P = 0.015). In conclusion, this evaluation demonstrated six test items with acceptable reproducibility, good internal consistency and good prospects for validity. Two test items need revision to upgrade reproducibility. Since the motor skills assessment seems to be a reproducible, objective part of a talent development programme, more longitudinal studies are required to investigate its predictive validity.     

Discrimination of Biomechanically Possible and Impossible Hand Movements at Birth

The development of human body perception has long been investigated, but little is known about its early origins. This study focused on how a body part highly relevant to the human species, namely the hand, is perceived a few days after birth. Using a preferential‐looking paradigm, 24‐ to 48‐hr‐old newborns watched biomechanically possible and impossible dynamic hand gestures (Experiment 1, N = 15) and static hand postures (Experiment 2, N = 15). In Experiment 1, newborns looked longer at the impossible, compared to the possible, hand movement, whereas in Experiment 2 no visual preference emerged. These findings suggest that early in life the representation of the human body may be shaped by sensory‐motor experience.     

Do labels matter? Analysis of teachers' self-efficacy towards the autism spectrum disorder depending on the diagnostic label used (ASD or Asperger's)

Changes in the classification of autism and Asperger's syndrome led to changes in social perception of ASD. Since last criteria, studies indicate higher levels of stigma towards ASD than towards Asperger's. These prejudices are barriers to inclusive education. Thus, it is relevant (1) to evaluate pre-service teachers' self-efficacy towards the label of ASD; (2) to evaluate pre-service teachers' self-efficacy towards the label of Asperger's and (3) to compare those results to analyse whether the use of different diagnostic labels brings about different levels of self-efficacy. One hundred and eighty-six primary education pre-service teachers participated in the current study. Two adaptations of the Autism Self-Efficacy Scale for Teachers (ASSET) were used: a version with the label of ‘ASD’ (n = 96) and another for ‘Asperger's’ (n = 90). The scores obtained by the group asked about ASD were high according to the ASSET score range, while the scores obtained by the group asked about Asperger's were medium. After comparing the results, participants asked about the label ASD showed higher levels of self-efficacy than participants asked about Asperger's. These results could be a consequence of the consolidation of the ASD diagnosis among society and the higher presence of children with ASD in schools and cultural products, among other factors.     

DEVELOPING AND USING INTERDISCIPLINARY CASE STUDIES IN TEACHING GERIATRICS TO PRACTICING HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS

Continuing education programs for health care professionals who practice in geriatrics are an important part of improving the health care provided to older adults. Programs utilizing active forms of learning that mimic the clinical environment are more successful at changing the behavior of health care professionals than traditional didactic styles of teaching. Problem-based learning methods allow learners to identify their own areas of strength and weakness and to work toward improvement in a manner best suited to their needs. This article describes an interdisciplinary team of educator-clinicians in geriatrics who developed clinical case studies embodying these approaches as one method of improving the learning process for adult health care providers. An actual sample case study is presented as an illustration of the principles embodied in this process. Lessons learned from the development and use of these case studies are summarized in the context of improving the quality of continuing education programs for health care professionals in geriatric practice.     

Teacher Perceptions of School Consultant Social Influence Strategies: Replication and Expansion

The goals were to (a) replicate the findings of previous research with regard to the Consultee/Teacher Version of the Interpersonal Power Inventory (IPI), and (b) advance the literature by examining IPI scores about a current consultation relationship. Sample 1 included 99 elementary school teachers (44.4% Hispanic) who completed the IPI. Results replicated Erchul et al. Sample 2 (N = 37; 45.9% Hispanic) represented a subset of Sample 1 who participated in a consultation project and completed the IPI about influence in their current consultation relationship. The results advance the literature by offering evidence for convergent and predictive validity of the IPI soft power bases. Teachers who reported being influenced by soft power strategies experienced greater change in their behaviors and their students’ behaviors than those who reported being not influenced by such strategies. Implications for research and practice in school consultation are discussed.     

Hopf bifurcation and synchronization of a five-dimensional self-exciting homopolar disc dynamo using a new fuzzy disturbance-observer-based terminal sliding mode control

Having found hidden hyperchaos in a 5D self-exciting homopolar disc dynamo, we study the existence of a Hopf bifurcation, which leads to unstable limit cycles bifurcating from a stable equilibrium. Hidden chaos with only stable equilibria can be observed from the Hopf bifurcation: a typical way to enable hidden attractors to be located. We then provide a new fuzzy controller, and a fast fuzzy disturbance observer, based on terminal sliding mode control for synchronization of the hyperchaotic system. Fuzzy inference is considered to weaken the chattering phenomena. Using Lyapunov stability theory, the stability of the closed-loop system is proved. Finally, simulations of synchronization are illustrated to show the efficient performance of the designed control method via external disturbances and dynamic uncertainties.