Improved determination of dynamic balance using the centre of mass and centre of pressure inclination variables in a complete golf swing cycle

Golf requires proper dynamic balance to accurately control the club head through a harmonious coordination of each human segment and joint. In this study, we evaluated the ability for dynamic balance during a golf swing by using the centre of mass (COM)–centre of pressure (COP) inclination variables. Twelve professional, 13 amateur and 10 novice golfers participated in this study. Six infrared cameras, two force platforms and SB-Clinic software were used to measure the net COM and COP trajectories. In order to evaluate dynamic balance ability, the COM–COP inclination angle, COM–COP inclination angular velocity and normalised COM–COP inclination angular jerk were used. Professional golfer group revealed a smaller COM–COP inclination angle and angular velocity than novice golfer group in the lead/trail direction (P < 0.01). In the normalised COM–COP inclination angular jerk, the professional golfer group showed a lower value than the other two groups in all directions. Professional golfers tend to exhibit improved dynamic balance, and this can be attributed to the neuromusculoskeletal system that maintains balance with proper postural control. This study has the potential to allow for an evaluation of the dynamic balance mechanism and will provide useful basic information for swing training and prevention of golf injuries.     

从语言与思维的关系看中国传统思维方式对汉语词汇的影响

语言是思维的工具,又是思维的产物,人类思维的某些方面总不可避免地在语言中留下印记。汉语词汇中,事物的形体因素和情景图像表现突出,这是重直觉、重类比、重了悟的中国传统思维方式渗透的结果。     

Adaptive relevance feedback method of extended Boolean model using hierarchical clustering techniques

The relevance feedback process uses information obtained from a user about a set of initially retrieved documents to improve subsequent search formulations and retrieval performance. In extended Boolean models, the relevance feedback implies not only that new query terms must be identified and re-weighted, but also that the terms must be connected with Boolean And/Or operators properly. Salton et al. proposed a relevance feedback method, called DNF (disjunctive normal form) method, for a well established extended Boolean model. However, this method mainly focuses on generating Boolean queries but does not concern about re-weighting query terms. Also, this method has some problems in generating reformulated Boolean queries. In this study, we investigate the problems of the DNF method and propose a relevance feedback method using hierarchical clustering techniques to solve those problems. We also propose a neural network model in which the term weights used in extended Boolean queries can be adjusted by the users’ relevance feedbacks.     

Integration of a social skills training: a case study of children with low social skills

This study explores changes in children's social skills after a cognitive-social skills model intervention. The intervention was conducted over a period of 12 weeks within a regular preschool setting. Sixteen children including four considered to have low social skills participated in the study. Data analysis revealed that the four children with low social skills demonstrated changes in social skills through positive play behaviours such as asking positive questions, offering suggestions, initiating play episodes, and sharing play materials, although they had limited ability to maintain play episodes.     

Rethinking the History of Education for Asian-American Children in California in the Second Half of the Nineteenth Century

This article brings to light discourses that constituted the education of Asian-American children in California in the second half of the nineteenth century. Guided by Foucaultian ideas and critical race theory, I analyze California public school laws, speeches of a governor-elect and a superintendent, and a report of the board of supervisors, from the 1860s to the 1880s. During this targeted period, the images and narratives of Asian-American children were inscribed with racism. Racializing politics rendered them to be disqualified from attending public schools. Segregated schooling for them was legally ordered and therefore unquestioned. It was a discursive practice implemented on their bodies by dint of a mechanism of a spatial division. This article reveals the shifting dominancy of discourses regarding Asian-American children. Rather than accepting the given historical facts, I intend to reread historical texts in order to rethink the education of Asian-American children through a Foucaultian encounter with critical race theory. Acknowledging different interpretations of the past events is a way of rethinking them and interrogating the history through the revelation of different histories in the education for Asian-American children.     

Becoming an academic: the role of doctoral capital in the field of education

This paper draws on Bourdieu’s concepts of field, capital and habitus to examine the learning and enculturation of alumni of a Canadian PhD programme in the discipline of Education. We introduce the concept of doctoral capital to help explain how and why some PhD graduates go on to secure faculty positions and others do not. Our research suggests that certain existing and acquired academic practices, attributes, dispositions and behaviours collectively form a type of doctoral capital that alumni can then use in the academic marketplace.     

Student participation in a dementia-outreach research project as community-based experiential learning

People with dementia (PWD) and their family caregivers need an increasing number of diverse health and social services. A multidisciplinary person-centered approach to dementia services is required to meet the complex needs of PWD and their family caregivers. However, educational programs struggle to prepare health and social work students to meet the complex needs of PWD and their family caregivers. This study aimed to assess the self-efficacy, competence, target complaints, and attitudes regarding interactions with PWD and their family caregivers among healthcare and social work students who participated in a large community dementia-outreach research project. A one-group pretest and posttest design was used to collect data from 23 undergraduate students studying nursing, public health, or social work. Students participated in a community dementia-outreach research project as an extracurricular activity. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected using a pre- and post-participation self-report questionnaire. Students showed increased self-efficacy and competence after project participation. Students’ perceived barriers to interacting with PWD and their family caregivers decreased. In answering open-ended questions, students showed enhanced understanding of PWD and their family caregivers, positive attitudes toward dementia care, and a career preference for dementia care. Findings provided evidence of the benefits of community-research-project participation as an experiential learning tool to enhance dementia care among health and social work students.     

Grounded blends and mathematical gesture spaces: developing mathematical understandings via gestures

This paper examines how a person’s gesture space can become endowed with mathematical meaning associated with mathematical spaces and how the resulting mathematical gesture space can be used to communicate and interpret mathematical features of gestures. We use the theory of grounded blends to analyse a case study of two teachers who used gestures to construct a graphical anti-derivative while working on a professional development task in a calculus modelling activity. Results indicate that mathematical gesture spaces can encourage mathematical experimentation, lighten the cognitive load for students and can be limited by a person’s physical constraints.