North West Cross Institutional Action Learning developing women's leadership

ABSTRACT

Human resource development professionals in Higher Education are continually striving to develop efficient interventions to increase the capabilities of their leaders. As a result of evaluating feedback from an action learning (AL) programme designed and delivered in North West Higher Education Institutions in the UK for women in senior academic and professional service roles, we are able to share how AL can be utilised to transcend and supplement traditional leadership training. The article discusses the approach taken to support participants to develop vital leadership behaviours through the acquisition of critical questioning and reflective habits whilst developing strong supportive cross-institutional relationships with other higher education leaders.     

Improving energy expenditure estimates from wearable devices: A machine learning approach

ABSTRACT

A means of quantifying continuous, free-living energy expenditure (EE) would advance the study of bioenergetics. The aim of this study was to apply a non-linear, machine learning algorithm (random forest) to predict minute level EE for a range of activities using acceleration, physiological signals (e.g., heart rate, body temperature, galvanic skin response), and participant characteristics (e.g., sex, age, height, weight, body composition) collected from wearable devices (Fitbit charge 2, Polar H7, SenseWear Armband Mini and Actigraph GT3-x) as potential inputs. By utilising a leave-one-out cross-validation approach in 59 subjects, we investigated the predictive accuracy in sedentary, ambulatory, household, and cycling activities compared to indirect calorimetry (Vyntus CPX). Over all activities, correlations of at least r = 0.85 were achieved by the models. Root mean squared error ranged from 1 to 1.37 METs and all overall models were statistically equivalent to the criterion measure. Significantly lower error was observed for Actigraph and Sensewear models, when compared to the manufacturer provided estimates of the Sensewear Armband (p < 0.05). A high degree of accuracy in EE estimation was achieved by applying non-linear models to wearable devices which may offer a means to capture the energy cost of free-living activities.     

Very Long-Term Memory for Information Taught in School

Students who completed a Child Development course (N = 1168) from 3 to 16 years prior to retention testing were tested for recognition and recall of facts and application of mental skills. Students who subsequently served as course tutors were also tested for retention. Fact retention was superior to application retention and retention for both question types declined rapidly from year 3 to year 7 after which it stabilized. Recognition items were superior to recall items for high achieving students only. Tutors retained more than non-tutors for eight years after which there were no differences.     

Construct validation of physical activity surveys in culturally diverse older adults: a comparison of four commonly used questionnaires

The purpose of this study was to establish validity evidence of four physical activity (PA) questionnaires in culturally diverse older adults by comparing self-report PA with performance-based physical function. Participants were 54 older adults who completed the Continuous Scale Physical Functional Performance 10-item Test (CS-PFP10), Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE), HAMPS Physical Activity Questionnaire for Older Adults, Yale Physical Activity Survey (YPAS), and modified Baecke questionnaire. The total PASE score, three outcome scores for the CHAMPS, and three summary indices for the YPAS were significantly correlated with total CS-PFP10 score. The modified Baecke exhibited no correlations with CS-PFP10 scores. The PASE, CHAMPS, and YPAS appear to be the most valid PA self-report questionnaires for culturally diverse older adults.     

The Models of Architeuthis

Models of the giant squid (Architeuthis spp.) are probably unique in natural history exhibition: they are representations of a giant living animal that has never been seen in a healthy state by a human being. Since its discovery in the mid-nineteenth century, the giant squid has remained one of the world's great zoological mysteries. In the attempt to introduce this fabulous creature, museums around the world have resorted to life-sized models. Yale teuthologist A.E. Verrill was responsible for the first such models in 1882; then Ward's Natural Science Establishment in Rochester, New York, manufactured and sold them. In this century, various museums (and one zoo) have made their own models of these ten-armed monsters of the deep. Their disparate attempts to re-create Architeuthis for the museum public represent one of the most intriguing case histories in the annals of museum exhibition.     

Network-related teaching and changes in classroom seating

The extent to which teachers make changes in classroom seating reflects, in part, the degree to which they value promoting positive peer relationships in the classroom. We assessed the frequency with which teachers made both minor (i.e., involving only 2–3 students) and major (involving half or more students in the class) changes in classroom seating. We tested whether the frequency of seating changes was linked to teachers' beliefs about promoting positive peer relationships, their attunement to child- or peer-reports of peer victimization, and their concern about bullying at the school. Participants were 37 fourth-grade teachers and their students (N = 677). The frequency of major seating changes was negatively associated with teachers' peer-focused classroom seating (PFCS) beliefs and to their attunement to student peer victimization. Minor seating changes were positively associated with PFCS beliefs for teachers with low or average attunement to peer victimization; however, teachers highly attuned to peer victimization made fewer minor seating changes regardless of their PFCS beliefs. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Self-reported ability assessment in rock climbing

Level of ability within rock climbing is generally expressed in terms of a "best ascent", rated using various grading systems within the sport. The most common method of obtaining this information is via self-report. The aim of this study was to examine the validity of self-reported climbing grades. Twenty-nine competitive rock climbers (17 males, 12 females) were first asked to report their current (defined as within the last 12 months) best on-sight lead ascent grade (Aus/NZ). The participants then climbed a specifically designed indoor route, under on-sight conditions (one attempt, no route practice or preview), to obtain an assessed grade. The route increased in difficulty, and was such that the distance achieved by the climber corresponded to a particular grade. The mean (±standard deviation) self-reported and assessed grade was 22.6?±?3.4 and 22.0?±?3.0 (Aus/NZ) respectively. Despite slight over- and underestimations in males and females respectively, there was no statistically significant difference between self-reported and assessed on-sight climbing grades. The results of this study suggest that self-reported climbing grades provide a valid and accurate reflection of climbing ability.