Perception of the cursive handwriting movement in writers and pre-writers

The objective of this study was to confirm the existence of knowledge relating to the cursive writing movement for French pupils in 3rd year of kindergarten, 2nd grade and 5th grade of elementary school. 141 pupils were asked to watch a visual presentation of cursive handwriting to determine whether they were able to detect violations of two rules of handwriting: continuity and sequentiality of the cursive handwriting movement. Our results showed progressive development of the understanding of characteristics of the cursive handwriting movement, with different developmental trajectories of knowledge for the different rules. The ability to detect continuity of the cursive writing movement developed earlier than the ability to detect sequentiality. Correct decisions were not always accompanied by correct justifications, which developed more slowly than detection of rule violations.     

Announcing the Engagement of Sudoku: An In‐Class Genetic Algorithm Game

This teaching brief describes an engaging, in‐class exercise that introduces genetic algorithms as well as advanced Excel functions and capabilities by modeling the familiar Sudoku puzzle. Student groups are first asked to manually solve a given puzzle and then translate that solution methodology to a spreadsheet model. This exercise can be used to build classroom community and as a launching point for the content area of genetic algorithms and the use of Evolutionary Solver.     

The physical profile of adult male basketball players: Differences between competitive levels and playing positions

This study examined the physical differences in adult male basketball players of different competitive level and playing position using a large cohort. In the middle of the regular season, 129 players from four different Divisions completed a Yo-YoIR1 and, after 3-to-8 days, they performed a 6-min continuous running test (Mognoni’s test), a counter-movement jump (CMJ) test and a 5-min High-intensity Intermittent running test (HIT). Magnitude-based inferences revealed that differences in HIT were very likely moderate between Division I and II and likely small between Division II and III. The differences in absolute peak power and force produced during CMJs between Division I and II and between Division II and III were possibly small. Differences in Yo-YoIR1 and Mognoni’s test were very likely-to-almost certain moderate/large between Division III and VI. We observed possibly-to-likely small differences in HIT and Mognoni’s test between guards and forwards and almost certainly moderate differences in absolute peak power and force during CMJs between guards and centres. The ability to sustain high-intensity intermittent efforts (i.e. HIT) and strength/power characteristics can differentiate between competitive level, while strength/power characteristics discriminate guards from forwards/centres. These findings inform practitioners on the development of identification programs and training activities in basketball.     

School board decision-making and the elimination of sport participation fees

Public schools in the US are increasingly charging ‘pay-to-play’ fees for participating in sports. Although these fees can cause reductions in participation, particularly for children from lower-income families, pay-to-play has become a legitimate practice within the field of public education. This study examines what leads some school districts to abandon sport participation fees, despite the trend in adoption. In particular, using a qualitative, case study approach, we investigate why and how school districts eliminate pay-to-play. We found that the decision to terminate pay-to-play in the ‘Ellis’ district was shaped by the community culture and district leadership. Our findings are supported by data on surrounding school districts. This study contributes to the literatures on institutional change; privatization of health, sport and physical education; and school board decision-making. The findings also shed light on the local context of pay-to-play—a policy that has implications for social equity and youth health and wellness.     

蚌埠市砂姜黑土地综合开发治理刍议

本文采用系统分析方法，从砂姜黑土的内在属性、外部环境条件入手，对土壤的优势、不足进行系统分析，提出综合开发砂姜黑土，发挥其最大优势，应建立行之有效地排灌系统、培肥系统及种植结构系统，以适应农业的持续发展。     

A comparative study of African American and European American ethnic identity

Differences between African Americans and European Americans were examined to find how ethnic identity salience was enacted in interethnic conversations, A sample of 126 African Americans and 78 European Americans was recruited from the community using a snowball sampling method. First, different factor structures for the two groups indicated that African Americans conceptualize sociocultural and political identity as separate constructs while European Americans express a singular and social definition of ethnic identity and experience less identity salience than African Americans. Secondly, although our sample is small, those who used the label “African American” expressed greater political ethnic identity salience than those who used the label “Black”. This finding is consistent with others' research indicating a continuing trend toward a positive political posture for African Americans. Third, ethnic identity was found to be negatively related to interethnic communication satisfaction for European Americans. Stronger European American ethnic identity was related to less satisfying interethnic conversational outcomes in less intimate relationships. Ethnic identity salience showed no significant relationship to interethnic conversational outcomes for European Americans communicating with friends nor for African Americans no matter the relational distance.     

Addressing health disparities: African American consumer information resources on the web

The Web continues to rapidly evolve as a medium of information exchange. One major area where the Web is now playing a definitive role is in increasing consumer accessibility to health information for personal health and disease-related questions. The comprehensiveness of health information on the Web has the potential to empower consumers when making critical health-related decisions. Conversely, the myriad of information resources presents an array of challenges when seeking specific, credible, and timely health information. As the United States health care system continues to change, community concerns about the quantity, quality, and broad nature of information has become critical. In particular, the Web can play a vital role in health awareness and promotion by disseminating health information for traditionally underrepresented groups, particularly African Americans. Increased accessibility for this group has not always been the focus of attention; however, the growth of the Web coupled with heightened awareness of public health initiatives brings to the forefront numerous opportunities to provide tools that promote essential health information literacy.     

Psychometric properties of child- and teacher-reported curl-up scores in children ages 10-12 years

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of child- and teacher-reported curl-up (CU) scores in children ages 10-12 years in both a norm-referenced (NR) and criterion-referenced (CR) framework. Eighty-four children, 36 boys and 48 girls, performed the FITNESSGRAM (Cooper Institute for Aerobics Research, 1992) CU test on 2 days separated by 48-72 hr. Two video cameras were used to record students' CU performances. Two students performed the CU at the same time, with each child's performance recorded by one camera. The test was terminated when the child stopped due to fatigue or after two form errors occurred. Teacher-reported scores were the average of two independent ratings of each video performance, while child-reported scores came from data collected and recorded by the children. Single trial norm-referenced reliability was R = .75 for girls and R = .80 for boys for teacher-reported CU and R = .69 and R = .70 for child-reported CU for girls and boys, respectively. CR reliability was examined using P, proportion of students who consistently passed or failed the test across 2 days, and km, defined as reliability with chance removed. For teacher-reported scores, P = .89 and km = .78 for boys and P = .81 and km = .62 for girls. For child-reported scores, P = .86 and km = .72 for boys, while P = .79 and km = .58 for girls. For teacher-reported data, 39% of boys passed and 50% failed the test on both days, while for girls the percentages were 27% pass and 54% fail. For child-reported data, 64% of boys passed and 22% failed on both days, while 54% of girls passed and 25% failed. NR validity was examined by correlating teacher and child-reported scores. The resultant coefficient was r = .42 (95% CI = .11-.66) for boys and r = .67 (95% CI = .58-.74) for girls. Additionally, child-reported scores were significantly higher than teacher-reported scores. CR validity was examined with a contingency coefficient, and results indicated C = .55 with 44% false master errors for boys and C = .65 with 29% false master errors for girls. The findings of this study suggest that while NR reliability estimates were moderate for teacher-reported scores, single trial estimates suggest that child-reported CU should be viewed with caution. In regard to CR reliability, both teacher-reported and child-reported reliability were moderate. However, there were marked differences between teacher- and child-reported scores, with children reporting higher percentages of students passing and lower percentage of student failing the test when compared with scores reported by teachers. Validity was rather moderate when viewed in either a NR and CR framework. It is suggested that problems with child-reported scores may be due to the need for additional practice or simplification of the testing protocol.