Aerobic exercise did not have compensatory effects on physical activity levels in type 2 diabetes patients

Although exercise promotes beneficial effects in diabetic patients, some studies have questioned the degree of their importance in terms of the increase in total energy expenditure. In these studies, the decrease of physical activity levels (PAL) was referred as “compensatory effect of exercise”. However, our aim was to investigate whether aerobic exercise has compensatory effects on PAL in type 2 diabetes patients. Eight volunteers (51.1 ± 8.2 years) were enrolled in a supervised exercise programme for 8 weeks (3 d · wk^?1, 50–60% of VO₂ peak for 30–60 min). PAL was measured using tri-axial accelerometers in the 1st, 8th and 12th weeks. Biochemical tests, cardiorespiratory fitness, anthropometric assessment and body composition were measured in the 2nd and 11th weeks. Statistical analysis was performed using non-parametric tests (Friedman and Wilcoxon, P < 0.05). We found no significant differences in PAL between intervention periods, and participants spent the majority of their awake time in sedentary activities. However, the exercise programme generated a significant 14.8% increase in VO₂ peak and a 15% reduction in fructosamine. The exercise programme had no compensatory effects on PAL in type 2 diabetes patients, but improved their cardiorespiratory fitness and glycaemic control.     

The track of policies for educational equality and its implications in Korea

Most countries have taken equality of education as a paramount issue, but policy initiatives have not taken the same patterns across the nations. This paper addressed the features of equality policies and their changes in South Korea through an array of target groups and types of policy measures. According to a contingency approach, Korea relied critically on non-financial instruments characteristic of regulations, when the government was not financially well prepared for equalizing opportunities. It also gave a serious consideration to out-of-school factors besides school characteristics, because the equality policy confined to schools is destined to have only so little meaning. Regulations on the advantaged group were introduced along with preferential treatment for the disadvantaged in pursuit of equality. Now Korea is in transition from outside-in movements to inside-out improvements in the process of ensuring equality, and it means that the alternatives of equality policies have become dramatically narrowed. Recently, the Korean model is facing challenges from courts and constituents who advocate for constitutional rights to free choices of education.     

Learning to lose in the mathematics classroom: a critique of traditional schooling practices in the UK

“Back‐to‐basics” policies fit easily within many mathematics classrooms. Features such as order, control, rule following, uniformity, and conformity are relatively commonplace and are now more generally in demand with the current political backlash against progressive forms of schooling. This paper examines some of the influences of these traditional features of classrooms through a case study of one mathematics department in the United Kingdom. Interviews with students, lesson observations, results of questionnaires, and other case study data are analysed to show the ways in which traditional forms of learning can inhibit understanding, reify the divide between school and the “real world,” and suppress the transfer of knowledge. The findings suggest that two key elements of British Conservative education policy the commitment to traditional forms of schooling and the drive to produce school leavers capable of adapting to the demands of the 21st century — are fundamentally in conflict.     

Grounded theory for generating theory in the study of behavior

The use of grounded theory procedures for the study of information behavior has contributed to generating theory in this field. Thirty-one works were analyzed with regard to a) their relationship to the context in which the research was carried out, b) the aspect of information behavior researched, c) the use of grounded theory procedures, and d) the generation of theory. Most of the studies were carried out in the context of health information, and grounded theory procedures were for the most part only partially applied. The theoretical propositions produced depended on the subject being studied. Although this methodology is suitable for the study of an individual's interaction with information from that individual's own point of view, documentation of the procedures involved is often deficient.     

Stakeholder analysis is key to client-supplier relationships of global outsourcing project success

Outsourcing as a logical consequence of globalization has caused a shift towards the integration of labour forces where communications play a significant role in the success of outsourcing partnerships. Utilizing the lens of an outsourced telecommunications case study we examine how a problematic client-supplier relationship across global loci was transformed by implementing a stakeholder analysis. We discuss how ineffectual project communications caused confusion, disinterest and apathy of client stakeholders challenging the outsourcing partnership. Our insight evidences not only the necessity to transparently address cultural challenges but emphasizes a crucial need to explicitly validate the different audiences. From the increased clarity and purpose provided it proved possible to instigate solutions such that real benefits to the project were realised. We suggest a number of key learning points as ‘lessons learnt’ to enlighten current and future practice of outsourcing relationships across global projects.     

New methods for an old debate: Utilizing reader response to investigate the relationship between collaboration and quality in academic journal articles

There has been a longstanding debate about the merits of collaborative research, with most studies focusing on the citation advantage of such research. However, citation studies provide only one lens on the issues. New methods of inquiry are necessary to incorporate other audiences of scholarly literature. Reader response surveys were used to evaluate the quality of collaborative versus single-authored research. Graduate students in three sections of the same library and information science course during the 2010 academic year used surveys to rate each week's assigned readings according to overall quality, usefulness for class discussion, and enjoyability. Students voted whether to keep each article in the reading list for the following semester. Data were analyzed to compare results for single-author versus multi-author works. Multi-author works were favored over single-author. These findings provide another layer of empirical support for the benefits of collaborative research and inform both scientometricians and educators.