Contexts and critiques in contemporary internet scholarship

Argumentation and Debating, Revised Edition. By William Trufant Foster, Boston, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1917: Cloth pp. IX + 468. $1.40.

Winning Orations, in Intercollegiate Contests in South Dakota. Compiled By O. W. Coursey. Mitchell, S. D.; The Educator Supply Company, 1917. Cloth, pp. 263.

American Ideals, Edited By Norman Foerster and W. W‐pierson, Jr., Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1917. Cloth, pp. 326. $1.25.

University Debaters Annual. Edited By Edith M. Phelps* New York: The H. W. Wilson Company, 1917. Cloth pp. 270. $1.80.     

Talent identification and selection process of outfield players and goalkeepers in a professional soccer club

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyse the talent identification process of a professional soccer club. A preselection of players (n = 64) aged 9–10 years and a final selection (n = 21) were performed by the technical staff through the observation during training sessions and matches. Also, 34 age-matched players of an open soccer camp (CampP) acted as controls. All participants underwent anthropometric, maturity and performance measurements.

Preselected outfield players (OFs) were older and leaner than CampP (P < 0.05). Besides, they performed better in velocity, agility, endurance and jump tests (P < 0.05). A discriminant analysis showed that velocity and agility were the most important parameters. Finally, selected OFs were older and displayed better agility and endurance compared to the nonselected OFs (P < 0.05). Goalkeepers (GKs) were taller and heavier and had more body fat than OFs; also, they performed worse in the physical tests (P < 0.05). Finally, selected GKs were older and taller, had a higher predicted height and advanced maturity and performed better in the handgrip (dynamometry) and jump tests (P < 0.05).

Thus, the technical staff selected OFs with a particular anthropometry and best performance, particularly agility and endurance, while GKs had a different profile. Moreover, chronological age had an important role in the whole selection process.     

The intersection of environmental and sustainability education,and character education: An instrumental case study

Although fostering values is promoted within environmental and sustainability education (ESE) and a shift in values is seen as essential for a sustainable future, recent international findings indicate that this aspect of ESE is being neglected. Previous research has shown there to be common ground between ESE and the field of character education (CE), a form of values education. Bringing together these two strands of theory and practice has the potential to be fruitful in terms of strengthening current, and introducing new, practices in both fields, particularly through drawing on existing evidence-based strategies within CE to inform ESE. While there has been some work in this regard, this has been almost exclusively theoretical and there has been little research regarding the practice of such integration. This paper details an instrumental case study exploring an existing case of where ESE and CE come together in practice. A study was conducted at a Scottish, independent, all-ages, holistic education-oriented school, exploring how ESE is carried out. Data were gathered via teacher interviews, school observations, field notes and document analysis. Thematic analysis revealed four themes: the school as a sustainable organism; holistic learning; fostering a connectedness with nature; and nurturing the whole person. The data were then analysed from a CE perspective revealing multiple points of ESE–CE intersection, e.g. school climate/ethos, role-modelling and service-learning. The findings reveal commonalities between ESE and CE and provide examples of integrated ESE–CE practice, demonstrating potential for collaboration or shared ESE–CE practice. Avenues for further research are suggested.     

Capoeira for beginners: self-benefit for,and community action by,new Capoeiristas

Capoeira could be defined as a Brazilian martial art and game to be played. This research explored how capoeira play might be considered to facilitate connectedness amongst newly-recruited persons, plus any other ramifications of capoeira involvement. A beginners’ course of capoeira was provided to participants, free of charge, in an English city in the West Midlands—new capoeiristas in a new venue for capoeira. Researchers attended classes to collect/construct overt non-participant observation data. In addition, semi-structured interviews were undertaken with the new capoeiristas post-course. This article explores researchers’ observation fieldnotes and interviewees’ narratives. These qualitative data-driven debates include the concepts: self, identity, escapism, multiparty endeavour, community, temporality, enjoyment, and transcending boundaries. Capoeira is theorised in a fresh manner that highlights social benefits of capoeira—for example as an enjoyable and supportive group endeavour which includes elements of social play and community-building—plus benefits for self that can transcend the boundaries of the class. Findings highlight how capoeira can be considered an inherently multiparty endeavour whereby social actors form, and experience, a community in order to embrace capoeira play. Data suggest capoeira can facilitate group playfulness, joviality, and laughter. Further, capoeiristas can enact and experience—some mode of—escapism via capoeira, whereby new place and pursuit can facilitate hedonistic diversion from the mundane. Capoeira appears to provide adventure and liberation into a relatively unburdened part of, or place in, social life. Corporeal and discursive boundary-empowerment can also be experienced by capoeiristas, fostering positive identity work in the wider world. Capoeira can be argued to facilitate mutuality (e.g. community experience and group work) and egoism (e.g. an individual's identity work) concurrently. This research suggests that modified capoeira for beginners can be beneficial for both the new capoeiristas themselves and for positive community action during and beyond class.     

Bone health in elite Kenyan runners

Impact loading in athletes participating in various sports has been positively associated with increased bone mineral density (BMD), but this has not been investigated in elite Kenyan runners. Body composition and site-specific BMD measures quantified with dual x-ray absorptiometry were measured in 15 elite male Kenyan runners and 23 apparently healthy South African males of different ethnicities. Training load and biomechanical variables associated with impact loading, such as joint stiffness, were determined in the elite Kenyan runners. Greater proximal femur (PF) BMD (g · cm^?2) was higher (P = 0.001, ES = 1.24) in the elite Kenyan runners compared with the controls. Six of the 15 (40%) Kenyan runners exhibited lumbar spine (LS) Z-Scores below ?2.0 SD, whereas this was not found in the apparently healthy controls. PFBMD was associated with training load (r = 0.560, P = 0.003) and ankle (r = 0.710, P = 0.004) and knee (r = 0.546, P = 0.043) joint stiffness. Elite Kenyan runners exhibit greater PFBMD than healthy controls, which is associated with higher training load and higher joint stiffness. Our results reaffirm the benefits of impact loading on BMD at a weight-bearing site, while a high prevalence of low LSBMD in the elite Kenyan runners is hypothesised to be the result of a mismatch between energy intake and high training load. Future research investigating energy availability in Kenyan runners and the possible association with musculoskeletal injury should be investigated.