Towards Program Evaluation in Archives

A review of the archival literature, including records and information management, indicates that archivists’ have shown over the last two decades an interest in program evaluation. The sparceness of the literature on the subject suggests a gap in an articulate body of knowledge, based on solid theoretical and methodological foundations, for evaluation of archival programs and activities. However, if they have not particularly investigated the subject from a theoretical perspective, archivists have developed in their different organizations and working environment practical knowledge of and experience with program evaluation. In large corporations as well as in public bureaucracies, they have been part of or subjected to specific or generic program evaluation initiatives conducted by internal and external evaluators. But archivists might need now to go some steps further and to look from a critical perspective at what is needed in order to get full benefit from program evaluation.     

Support or Control -- or Both? The Role of a National Agency

The article aims at critically discussing the role and position of a buffer agency from the point of view of some of its different tasks, viz. accreditation, quality audit, support of academic leadership and internal quality enhancement. The contribution seeks to illuminate the conflicting roles of a buffer organisation in the light of these tasks and pressures from the government and higher education institutions. It concludes that the different roles can support and complement each other, and that change is best accomplished by emphasising support in the early stages of the establishment of a national quality assurance system.     

The belief revision model: asymmetrical effects of noncontingency on human covariation learning

A noncontingent experience affects the subsequent detection of positive and negative contingencies between the same events. Experiments 1 and 2 showed that such preexposure can produce both an impairment in the detection of subsequent positive contingency and a facilitation of a negative one, independent of the level of contingency during the contingent phase. Experiment 3 raised difficulties for a model that assumes that associations to the context can explain this asymmetrical effect. Experiment 4 suggested that the different weights usually assigned to the different types of trials when computing the contingency between events can change as a result of a noncontingent experience with the same events. This change supports an account of the asymmetrical effect by a belief revision model based on a mechanism that updates the weights of the different trial types as a function of previous experience. More generally, the belief revision model is a statistical (i.e., nonassociative) model of learning that is capable of accounting for trial-order effects, which have long posed problems for statistical models.     

The Responses of Higher Education Institutions to Global Challenge: Innovative Universities and Human Resources Development

Before a higher education institution can develop international impact and reputation, it must first have developed its regional impact and reputation. Universities can contribute to the creation of wealth in given regions in a number of ways, not the least of which is technology transfer, the creation of firms and other spin‐off activities, and the furtherance of the their reputations for excellence. Staff and students spend a good deal of money in such regions, thus increasing regional wealth, and if given institutions pursue entrepreneurial policies in regard to the course programmes that they offer, their graduates will not only find nearby employment but will create employment for others. The “Innova” Project of the Polytechnic University of Catalonia is an illustration of how a major regional university is attempting to apply new teaching models to enhance entrepreneurial culture in the Barcelona area of Spain and thereby to increase regional human capital.     

Analysis of foot strike pattern,rearfoot dynamic and foot rotation over childhood. A cross-sectional study

The purpose of this study was to determine the foot strike patterns (FSP), rearfoot position at initial contact (RPic, i.e., No INV/EVE) and foot rotation in children in relation to age. A total of 932 children aged 3 to 16 years participated in this study. A sagittal and frontal-plane video was recorded using a high-speed camcorder to analyse these variables. There is a significant increase (p < 0.001) of rearfoot strike patterns (RFS) prevalence in relation to age; e.g. preschool children (3–6 years old) displayed an RFS prevalence 46.65% and the adolescent population(15–16 years old) an RFS prevalence 92.20%. The total RFS prevalence in all samples was 69.25%. There was a significant reduction (p < 0.001) of prevalence of RPic in relation to age groups; preschool children displayed a prevalence of RPic 60.37% and the adolescent population 10%. There was a significant reduction (p < 0.001) of prevalence of no foot rotation in relation to age groups; preschool children displayed a prevalence of no foot rotation 48.95% and the adolescent population 13.55%. In conclusion, FSP in children are influenced by age. It is noteworthy that the RFS prevalence of children is lower in comparison to the adult population.     

Cardiorespiratory fitness and arm bone mineral health in young males with spinal cord injury: the mediator role of lean mass

Spinal cord injury (SCI) derives in loss of bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD). However, physical activity is an important determinant in bone mass acquisition, which is partially mediated through the lean mass (LM). The aim was to examine the effect of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) on BMD and BMC arms of adult males with SCI and able-bodied controls using the arm LM as a mediator variable. Thirty able-bodied men and thirty men with SCI participated. BMC and BMD were analysed by DXA, and indirect calorimetry was used to calculate VO_2peak during a progressive arm-cranking test. When groups were divided by the amount of LM, the subgroup with highest LM had significantly higher arm BMC compared to the lowest LM subgroup (p ≤ 0.05) in both SCI and able-bodied groups. Moreover, same differences were found when confidence intervals were analysed. Only in the SCI group, arm LM mediated the relationship between bone mass and CRF at 30.9%, as indicated by the Sobel test (z = 2.17 and z = 2.04 for BMC and BMD, respectively). In conclusion, LM mediates the indirect association between CRF and bone health, specifically in the arms. This finding highlights the importance of having an adequate CRF for the maintenance of good bone health in SCI men.     

The influence of short-term fixture congestion on position specific match running performance and external loading patterns in English professional soccer

The aim of the current study was to investigate positional specific physical performance and external load responses to short term fixture congestion in English professional soccer. A total of 515 match observations were categorised as G1: the first game in a week with >4 days following a previous game, G2: the second game in a week played <4 days since G1, and G3: the third game in a week played with <4 days between each of the previous games. Global positioning system and accelerometer-based metrics were partitioned into fifteen-minute epochs. These data were then analysed using a linear mixed model to assess both the within and between game positional differences. Total, low-intensity (<4.0 m·s^?1), medium-intensity (MID; 4.0–5.5 m·s^?1), and sprint distance (>7.0 m·s^?1) were significantly different across games. No between game positional differences were identified; however, within match position specific differences were observed for measures of MID and HID. No significant differences were evident for accelerometer derived metrics between games or across positions. The current data suggests that the use of fifteen minute within game epochs enables the detection of alterations in physical output during congested schedules. The observed within game positional differences has implications for player specific conditioning and squad rotation strategies.     

Acute effects of aerobic exercise performed with different volumes on strength performance and neuromuscular parameters

The aim of the present study was to investigate the acute effect of the aerobic exercise volume on maximum strength and strength-endurance performance; and possible causes of strength decrements (i.e. central and peripheral fatigue). Twenty-one moderately trained men were submitted to a maximal incremental test to determine anaerobic threshold (AnT) and maximum dynamic strength (1RM) and strength-endurance (i.e. total volume load [TV]) tests to determine their baseline strength performance. Following, subjects performed six experimental sessions: aerobic exercise sessions (continuous running at 90% AnT) with different volumes (3?km, 5?km or 7?km) followed by 1RM or strength-endurance test in the 45° leg press exercise. Maximum voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC), voluntary activation (VA) level, contractile properties, and electromyographic activity (root mean square [RMS]) of the knee extensor muscles were assessed before and after aerobic exercises and after strength tests. TV was lower after 5?km and 7?km runs than in the control condition (12% and 22%, respectively). Additionally, TV was lower after 7?km than 3?km (14%) and 5?km (12%) runs. MVIC, VA, RMS, and contractile properties were reduced after all aerobic exercise volumes (～8%, ～5%, ～11% and ～6–14%, respectively). Additionally, MVIC, VA, and contractile properties were lower after strength tests (～15%, ～6%, ～9–26%, respectively). In conclusion, strength-endurance performance is impaired when performed after aerobic exercise and the magnitude of this interference is dependent on the aerobic exercise volume; and peripheral and central fatigue indices could not explain the different TV observed.