Blocking landing techniques in volleyball and the possible association with anterior cruciate ligament injury

The number and type of landings performed after blocking during volleyball matches has been related to the potential risk of ACL injury. The aim of the present study was to determine whether gender affects the frequency of specific blocking landing techniques with potential risk of ACL injury from the perspective of foot contact and subsequent movement after the block used by volleyball players during competitive matches. Three matches involving four female volleyball teams (fourteen sets) and three matches involving four male volleyball teams (thirteen sets) in the Czech Republic were analyzed for this study. A Pearson chi-square test of independence was used to detect the relationship between gender and different blocking techniques. The results of the present study showed that gender affected single-leg landings with subsequent movement in lateral direction and double-leg landings. Although the total number of landings was lower for male athletes than for female athletes, a larger portion of male athletes demonstrated single leg landings with a subsequent movement than female athletes. Single leg landings with a subsequent movement have a higher potential risk of ACL injury.     

Assessing the impact of the funding environment on researchers’ risk aversion: the use of citation statistics

The funding environment has a profound impact on researchers’ behavior. In particular, it influences their freedom and readiness to conduct research ventures with highly uncertain outcomes. In this conceptual paper, we propose a concise new methodology to evaluate researchers’ risk aversion based on citation statistics. The derived single-number criterion P_R is sensitive to the ratio of high impact versus average impact work, based on citation counts. We demonstrate the usefulness of P_R on a micro and meso level in the field of chemistry. P_R is a potentially valuable tool for managers in higher education, to control for the impact of their funding instruments. The conducted testing may, in addition, contribute to the literature stream dealing with the effects of peer review in the allocation of research funding. Our results support the view that peer review fosters mainstream research. However, faculties with the highest percentages of third-party funding may find ways to avoid the restrictive effects. We also find evidence that permanent positions back risky research endeavors.     

ILLITERACY AND OLDER ADULTS: INDIVIDUAL AND SOCIETAL IMPLICATIONS

Literacy has become an important predictor of well being in old age. Being literate in today's society demands a myriad of functional abilities, which, when absent, can have dramatic health, economic, and social consequences. The purpose of this study was to develop a framework for defining literacy within an increasingly technological society, and to explore the experience of illiteracy among older adults. To examine these issues, qualitative data were gathered from an adult literacy program in Hamilton, Ohio. Data collected through these interactions suggest that the devastating effects of illiteracy are exacerbated throughout the lifecourse, resulting in significant disadvantage for older adults.     

Lower extremity power during the squat jump with various barbell loads

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to determine the barbell load that maximised the system power as well as the ankle, knee, and hip joint powers during the squat jump, and (2) to compare the system powers computed from two different methods: the centre of mass (COM) method and the barbell method. Seven male throwers were recruited in this study. The system power (COM method) and the ankle, knee, and hip joint powers were determined with the load incrementally set at 0%, 10%, 30%, 50%, 70%, and 90% of one repetition maximum. The largest system power was observed at the load of 30% (p < 0.008) while the largest ankle and knee powers were observed at 70% and 0% (p < 0.05). The barbell method overestimated the system power (p < 0.001) when compared to the COM method. It was concluded that the barbell method could influence load optimisation in squat jump. The optimal barbell load which maximised the system power did not maximise the ankle, knee, or hip power simultaneously.     

Mechanism of craquelure pattern formation on panel paintings

The drying shrinkage accumulation from exposure of freshly prepared gesso layers to relative humidity (RH) cycles was determined to elucidate the mechanism of craquelure pattern formation on panel paintings. The progresive drying shrinkage of the gesso is observed only under the cycles going to high RH levels which bring about transitions from brittle to ductile state of the material. The first incidence of fracture on the gesso layers occurred after a limited number of cycles ranging between a few and 100 for a range of layer thickness between 0.5 and 1?mm. The craquelure patterns stabilised also after a limited number of cycles (30 for the 1-mm thick layer). Upon increase in the gesso layer thickness, the strength of the layer is reduced and the spacing of shrinkage fractures increases. The study demonstrated that craquelure patterns, mimicking historical ones, can be realistically produced in laboratory conditions. Such studies would provide useful information for preparing specimens simulating historic panel paintings and would inform the current efforts on automatic, computer-aided classifications of crack formations on paintings.     

Teachers’ attitudes towards tracking: testing the socialization hypothesis

The paper examines how teachers’ attitudes towards tracking (separating pupils into groups with different curricula on the basis of their abilities and results) differ among various generations of teachers. Fundamental and quick changes in the educational system occurred in the Czech Republic after the Velvet Revolution in 1989 as a unified educational system moved to a system strongly accenting tracking practices. We use this ‘policy discontinuity’ to validate teacher socialization theory and test three alternative socialization hypotheses based on different key periods in teachers’ development: the pupil experience hypothesis, the pedagogical preparation hypothesis and the pedagogical experience hypothesis. We work with a data-set from 2009 covering 1002 Czech teachers. The mean tests and the logistic regression analysis support the socialization theory, however only the pedagogical experience hypothesis was found to be most influential.     

Stimulators and barriers towards social innovations in public libraries: Qualitative research study

Public libraries have a huge potential to be creators and facilitators of social innovation in communities and society. Qualitative research based on interviews with 27 librarians showed that social innovation in libraries can take the form of educational and cultural activities, leisure and networking activities and social support services. The main goal of the research was to find out what factors support and make these innovations difficult in public libraries. A four-layer model of barriers and stimulators for social innovation is presented, which includes structural, local, organizational and personnel levels. The model could serve to inform librarians, their stakeholders and governments about all levels of barriers and stimulators connected to innovation of library services and social re-positioning of public libraries in the future.