A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Organizational Dissent and Workplace Freedom in Five European Economies

Individuals in five European countries—Finland, France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom (n = 1184)—completed a survey exploring the relationship between organizational dissent and workplace freedom of speech. Results revealed workplace freedom of speech is positively correlated with dissent among the entire sample in France and in Germany. Results in Spain were nonsignificant. In the United Kingdom, there was a negative relationship between workplace freedom of speech and dissent. There was a negative relationship between workplace freedom of speech and articulated dissent and a positive relationship with latent dissent in Finland. Moreover, MANCOVA testing showed nationality to have a significant effect on organizational dissent and workplace freedom of speech. Germans scored the highest on dissent and workplace freedom with Spain scoring the lowest.     

Seinfeld's Democratic Vistas

Academic appraisals of Seinfeld frequently criticize the series as apolitical or as advancing a nihilism that threatens contemporary American society. I counter that the show is better understood as a political satire that advances a robust democratic discourse predicated on inefficiency, leisure, and excessive talk. I argue that Seinfeld's discourse provides a vision of hope for democratic interaction predicated on the commonality of vices rather than a collapse into fascism or the disciplining of rhetoric by presumably higher moral standards.     

The information requirements and information-seeking behaviours of health and social care professionals providing care to children with health care needs: a pilot study

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this work were to identify the sources of information currently received, information-seeking behaviours, information requirements and preferences for future information provision amongst health and social care professionals providing care to children with health care needs. METHODS: Data were collected using a cross-sectional postal questionnaire survey. RESULTS: A wide range of information resources was reported as being available to professionals. However, a large proportion of respondents found it necessary to perform additional searches for information, suggesting that current resources were not satisfying their needs. The majority of professionals reported a preference for electronic formats, whilst a smaller proportion preferred hard copy materials. Participants promoted the use of informal networks as a means of support and exchange of information. CONCLUSION: Supplementing the information that is provided in electronic and hard copy formats, by enhancing informal networks, may be the most effective way of meeting the information needs of this group of professionals.     

Relationship between maximal oxygen uptake and oxygen uptake attained during treadmill middle-distance running

Traditionally, it has been assumed that during middle-distance running oxygen uptake (VO2) reaches its maximal value (VO2max) providing the event is of a sufficient duration; however, this assumption is largely based on observations in individuals with a relatively low VO2max. The aim of this study was to determine whether VO2max is related to the VO2 attained (i.e. VO2peak) during middle-distance running on a treadmill. Fifteen well-trained male runners (age 23.3 +/- 3.8 years, height 1.80 +/- 0.10 m, body mass 76.9 +/- 10.6 kg) volunteered to participate in the study. The participants undertook two 800-m trials to examine the reproducibility of the VO2 response. These two trials, together with a progressive test to determine VO2max, were completed in a randomized order. Oxygen uptake was determined throughout each test using 15-s Douglas bag collections. Following the application of a 30-s rolling average, the highest VO2 during the progressive test (i.e. VO2max) was compared with the highest VO2 during the 800-m trials (i.e. VO2peak) to examine the relationship between VO2max and the VO2 attained in the 800-m trials. For the 15 runners, VO2max was 58.9 +/- 7.1 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1). Two groups were formed using a median split based on VO2max. For the high and low VO2max groups, VO2max was 65.7 +/- 3.0 and 52.4 +/- 1.8 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) respectively. The limits of agreement (95%) for test-retest reproducibility for the VO2 attained during the 800-m trials were +/- 3.5 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) for a VO2peak of 50.6 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) (the mean VO2peak for the low VO2max group) and +/- 2.3 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) for a VO2peak of 59.0 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) (the mean VO2peak for the high VO2max group), with a bias in VO2peak between the 800-m runs (i.e. the mean difference) of 1.2 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1). The VO2peak for the 800-m runs was 54.8 +/- 4.9 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) for all 15 runners. For the high and low VO2max groups, VO2peak was 59.0 +/- 3.3 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) (i.e. 90% VO2max) and 50.6 +/- 2.0 ml x kg(-1) x min(-1) (i.e. 97% VO2max) respectively. The negative relationship (-0.77) between VO2max and % VO2max attained for all 15 runners was significant (P = 0.001). These results demonstrate that (i) reproducibility is good and (ii) that VO2max is related to the %VO2max achieved, with participants with a higher VO2max achieving a lower %VO2max in an 800-m trial on a treadmill.     

Heart rate prescribed walking training improves cardiorespiratory fitness but not glycaemic control in people with type 2 diabetes

Abstract

In this study, we examined the effects of a supervised, heart rate intensity prescribed walking training programme on cardiorespiratory fitness and glycaemic control in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus. After receiving local ethics approval, 27 individuals (21 males, 6 females) with type 2 diabetes were randomly assigned to an experimental (“walking”) or control group. Participants completed a Balke-Ware test to determine peak heart rate, peak oxygen consumption ([Vdot]O_2peak), and peak gradient. The walking group then completed a 7-week (four sessions a week) supervised, heart rate prescribed walking training programme, whereas the control group continued daily life. After training, participants completed another Balke-Ware test. Fasting blood glucose and glycosylated haemoglobin were measured at rest. The results showed that walking training elicited 80% (s = 2) of peak heart rate and a rating of perceived exertion of 11 (s = 1). Peak heart rate and [Vdot]O_2peak were higher in the walking than in the control group after training (P < 0.05). Based on the peak gradient before training, the respiratory exchange ratio was significantly lower (P < 0.05) and there was a strong trend for [Vdot]O₂ (P = 0.09) and heart rate (P = 0.09) to be lower after training at the same gradient in the walking compared with the control group. These improvements increased walking peak gradient by 5 min (s = 4 min) compared with the control (P < 0.05). There was no change in fasting blood glucose or glycosylated haemoglobin after training. Despite no change in glycaemic control, heart rate prescribed walking improved peak and sub-maximal cardiorespiratory responses. The beneficial adaptations support the use of heart rate monitoring during walking in people with type 2 diabetes mellitus.     

Alterations in Strength and Maximal Oxygen Uptake Consequent to Nautilus Circuit Weight Training

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a Nautilus circuit weight training program on muscular strength and maximal oxygen uptake ([Vdot]O ₂ max) by comparing these effects to those produced by adhering to either a free weight (FW) strength training program or a running (R) program. Male college students who voluntarily enrolled in either a FW training class (n = 11), a Nautilus (N) circuit weight training class (n= 12), or a R conditioning class (n= 13) were subjects for this investigation. All groups participated in their respective programs 3 days per week for 10 weeks. Strength was assessed using a Cybex II isokinetic dynamometer set at an angular velocity of 60° · s ^?1 and a damping of 2. The FW group served as the control group for the assessment of [Vdot]O ₂ max changes, while the R group served as controls for the assessment of strength differences. ANCOVA revealed that the N and R groups experienced significant (p < .01) increases in [Vdot]O ₂ max expressed in L · min ^?1 (10.9 and 11.4%), ml · kg ^?1 · min ^?1 (10.8 and 11.7%), and ml · kgLBW ^?1 · min ^?1 (7.1 and 7.5%) when compared to the FW group. There were no significant differences between the N and R groups. There were no significant differences among groups in final peak torque values (after covariance), and torque at the beginning and end of the range of motion for the knee extensors, knee flexors, elbow extensors, and elbow flexors. In general, isokinetic strength values elicited by the N group compared favorably to those generated by the FW group. It was concluded that for a training period of short duration, Nautilus circuit weight training appears to be an equally effective alternative to standard free weight (strength) and aerobic (endurance) training programs for untrained individuals.     

Physical Activity Practices in Elementary Schools and Associations With Physical Education Staffing and Training

Purpose: Authorities recommend that schools provide a variety of opportunities for students to obtain physical activity (PA) before, during, and after school. This study assessed the prevalence of several school PA practices—including measures of quantity and quality of physical education (PE)—in elementary schools and examined the associations of PA practices with school resources (PE staffing, training, and facilities). Method: Surveys were obtained from respondents in nationally representative samples of elementary schools from 2009–2010 to 2011–2012 (1,831 schools). Results: Few schools (20.8%) provided students with PE class every day, but most (76.3%) had an appropriate PE student-to-teacher ratio ( ≤ 25:1). Many schools (74.0%) offered 20 min of recess daily, but fewer than half offered organized opportunities for PA before or after school (e.g., sports). After controlling for demographics and school size, having a full-time PE teacher and requiring PE teachers to obtain PE-related continuing education (CE) were associated with PE practices such as offering ≥ 150 min of PE per week (for 3rd-grade students) and testing PE knowledge, skills, and fitness. Required CE was also associated with a higher likelihood of offering PA during the school day (i.e., activity breaks and PA outside of PE class) and before or after the school day (i.e., afterschool PA programs). Conclusion: Few schools offer a broad array of PA programming. However, PE staffing and CE are positively associated with many PA practices including those outside of PE, possibly indicating that PE staff serve a crucial role in promoting a whole-school PA-supportive environment.     

Never the gentleman: caste,class and the amateur myth in English first-class cricket, 1920s to the 1960s

ABSTRACT

This article analyses the near-impossibility, for the duration of the amateur-professional divide, of cricketers born into working-class families being admitted to amateur status and, thus, to county captaincy, in the English first-class game. Its principal argument is that the hegemony achieved in the latter half of the nineteenth century by the English upper class (the aristocracy, major landowners and leaders of financial capital and their families) had one of its most visible manifestations in the culture of first-class cricket. The hegemony of this group (represented by the Marylebone Cricket Club) was sustained by a specific myth of amateurism that was rooted in caste-like social relations. By the late 1930s these relations had become unsustainable and hegemony was maintained by a subtle and unacknowledged switch to relations of class. The article charts this process, using four case studies of working-class professional cricketers, each of which brought the ideological reality of the amateur myth into sharp relief.     

库珀中心纵向研究：有氧运动的灵魂

目的：为肯尼斯·库珀（Kenneth H. Cooper）于1970年提出的库珀中心纵向研究（CCLS）提供详细历史。方法：对库珀中心纵向研究人群和库珀诊所所检查的重要参数,以及库珀诊所患者的各种疾病发病率和死亡率进行数据描述。并对近50年来已发表的库珀中心纵向研究的主要研究结果进行总结。结果：在库珀诊所检查期间,通过最大跑台运动测试客观地测量出的心肺功能（CRF）已成为各种疾病发病率和死亡率的强大且独立的风险因素。更具体地说,库珀中心纵向研究明确表明,中高水平的心肺功能与人体全因、心血管疾病和癌症死亡率有显著相关关系。此外,已经证明,中年人群的心肺水平是全因痴呆、Ⅱ型糖尿病、慢性肾病、癌症发病率和存活率以及一些其他慢性疾病的预测因子。因此,库珀中心纵向研究结果还表明,中年人群的心肺水平与老年时期的医疗保健成本呈显著相关。结论：除罕见情况以外,已经进行了近50年的库珀中心纵向研究的研究结果表明,相对于较低水平的心肺功能,中高水平的心肺功能可以有效预防许多疾病。     

Acute cardiovascular responses to interval exercise: A systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

Interval exercise training is increasingly recommended to improve health and fitness; however, it is not known if cardiovascular risk is different from continuous exercise protocols. This systematic review with meta-analyses assessed the effect of a single bout of interval exercise on cardiovascular responses that indicate risk of cardiac fibrillation and infarction compared to continuous exercise. Electronic databases Medline, CINAHL, Embase, Scopus and Cochrane were searched. Key inclusion criteria were: (1) intervals of the same intensity and duration followed by a recovery period and (2) reporting at least one of blood pressure, heart rate variability, arterial stiffness or function. Cochrane Risk of Bias tool and GRADE approach were used. Meta-analyses found that systolic blood pressure responses to interval exercise did not differ from responses to continuous exercise immediately (MD 8 mmHg [95% CI ?32, 47], p = 0.71) or at 60 min following exercise (MD 0 mmHg [95% CI ?2, 1], p = 0.79). However, reductions in diastolic blood pressure and flow-mediated dilation with interval exercise were observed 10–15 min post-exercise. The available evidence indicates that interval exercise does not convey higher cardiovascular risk than continuous exercise. Further investigation is required to establish the safety of interval exercise for clinical populations.