Male teacher shortage: black teachers’ perspectives

In this paper the authors draw on the perspectives of black teachers to provide a more nuanced analysis of male teacher shortage. Interviews with two Caribbean teachers in Toronto, Canada, are employed to illuminate the limits of an explanatory framework that foregrounds the singularity of gender as a basis for advocating male teachers as role models. The study concludes that educational policy attempting to address male teacher shortage would benefit from engaging with both analytic frameworks and empirical research that is capable of unravelling the politics of representation and intersectionality as they relate to addressing questions of male teacher shortage in elementary schools.     

Hong Kong parents and their children’s music training: measurement properties of the Parental Involvement in Music Training Questionnaire

Many Hong Kong-Chinese parents are active in their support for their children’s music training. To better understand this support, the Parental Involvement in Music Training Questionnaire (PIMTQ) is designed to measure the variability in parental involvement in their children’s music training. This study begins by exploring the factor structure of the PIMTQ and then establishes its measurement properties using Rasch modelling. Two hundred and ninety-five Hong Kong-Chinese parents completed a Chinese version of the 42-item instrument with principal components analysis of the responses showing seven factors. However, Rasch modelling showed that two of the five factors (Family Music Background and Family Music Interest) are unable to reliably predict variability in parent responses. We conclude, however, that the remaining five factors (Parental Support Toward Music Training, Parental Expectations, Home Music Environment, Music Programme Support and Attitude Toward Music) of the PIMTQ can be used as subscales to measure the involvement of Hong Kong-Chinese parents in their children’s music training.     

Is it just too good to be true? Unearthing the benefits of disruptive technology

The rate of digital disruption is escalating and placing increasing pressure on organisations to adopt emerging technologies in order to improve their productivity and bottom-lines. Unfortunately, however, many organisations are often being seduced by the purported benefits of disruptive technologies often based on embellished or even falsified claims. This is particularly true in construction, where organisations are being required to embrace disruptive technologies (e.g. Building Information Modelling and Industry 4.0) to address performance and productivity issues. Unsubstantiated claims about expected benefits subvert the justification and benefits realisation process as the change management that is required is downplayed or ignored. It is, therefore, imperative that the business case as part of the process of evaluation, is based on evidence to enable the development of a change management and implementation strategy. In this paper, we present an overview of a longitudinal line of inquiry that sought to examine the benefits of disruptive technology, namely Systems Information Modelling (SIM). Our research revealed that more than a 90 % cost reduction to document electrical systems and a corresponding improvement in productivity was achieved. We suggest that engaging in the process of critical thinking, possessing a conscious awareness and healthy scepticism of technology places organisations in a position of control. As a consequence, organisations are better-positioned to understand the nature of technology and ‘how’ value can be generated from potential new ways of working.     

Determinants of mHealth success: An empirical investigation of the user perspective

Mobile health (mHealth) applications have become an important tool to support public health, especially in times of increased health awareness in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is still uncertainty about what factors determine successful mHealth services from the users’ perspective. Based on the results of a systematic literature review, a qualitative content analysis of available apps and semi-structured user and expert interviews, we derive a structural model with antecedents on user attitudes towards mHealth and user satisfaction with the mHealth application. These variables determine users’ intention to continue using the application and their intention to recommend it to others. For verification, we tested the model with a sample of 249 German mHealth users from the “MyFitnessPal” community using structural equation modelling and found that all derived path relations have significant coefficients.     

Teachers’ conceptions of assessment: Comparing two inventories with Ecuadorian teachers

Teacher beliefs about the purpose of assessment matter to how assessment is implemented in classroom settings. Two different teacher conceptions of assessment inventories have originated separately in Spain and New Zealand. This study examined (a) the extent to which the models for each inventory could be recovered and (b) the relationship between inventories. Responses were obtained from 566 Ecuadorian primary and secondary teachers in two rounds of surveying. Results showed that with a few modifications both the Spanish and New Zealand models fit the data. Mean scores were strongest for improvement, caution, and societal control factors. Factor inter-correlations between the Spain and New Zealand models indicated that the teaching, certifying, and accounting domains were moderately correlated with accountability and improvement purposes, while societal control correlated with caution, and formative regulation correlated with irrelevance. These results are consistent with how teachers seem to conceive of assessment within strong examination systems.     

An examination of the jump-and-lift factors influencing the time to reach peak catch height during a Rugby Union lineout

The goal of an offensive Rugby Union lineout is to throw the ball in a manner that allows your team to maintain possession. Typically, the player catching the ball jumps and is lifted upwards by two teammates, reaching above the opposing player who is competing for the ball also. Despite various beliefs regarding the importance of the jumper’s mass and attempted jump height, and lifters’ magnitude and point of force application, there is negligible published data on the topic. The squeeze technique is one lifting method commonly employed by New Zealand teams during lineout plays, whereby the jumper initiates the jump quickly and the lifters provide assistance only once the jumper reaches 20–30 cm. While this strategy may reduce cues to the opposition, it might also constrain the jumper and lifters. We developed a model to explore how changes in the jumper’s body mass and attempted jump height, and lifters’ magnitude and point of force application influence the time to reach peak catch height. The magnitude of the lift force impacted the time-to-reach peak catch height the most; followed by the jumper’s (attempted) jump height and body mass; and lastly, the point of lift force application.     

Does inside passing contribute to the high incidence of groin injuries in soccer? A biomechanical analysis

Groin injuries are common in soccer and often cause time-loss from training. While groin injuries have been linked to full effort kicking, the role of inside passing is unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate hip joint kinematics and muscle force, stress and contraction velocity for adductor longus and gracilis during inside passing. 3D kinematics of ten soccer players (23.4 yrs; 77.5 kg; 1.81 m) were captured with a motion capture system inside a Footbonaut. Muscle force and contraction velocity were determined with AnyBody Modelling System. Gracilis muscle forces were 9% lower compared to adductor longus (p = 0.005), but muscle stress was 183% higher in gracilis (p = 0.005). Contraction velocity reveals eccentric contraction of gracilis in the last quarter of the swing phase. Considering the combination of eccentric contraction, high muscle stress and the repetitive nature of inside passing, gracilis accumulates high loads in matches and training. These results indicate that the high incidence of groin injuries in soccer could be linked to isolated pass training. Practitioners need to be aware of the risk and refrain from sudden increases in the amount of pass training. This gives the musculoskeletal system time to adapt and might avoid career threatening injuries.     

Development and field validation of an omni-domain power-duration model

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To validate and compare a novel model based on the critical power (CP) concept that describes the entire domain of maximal mean power (MMP) data from cyclists.

Methods: An omni-domain power-duration (OmPD) model was derived whereby the rate of W? expenditure is bound by maximum sprint power and the power at prolonged durations declines from CP log-linearly. The three-parameter CP (3CP) and exponential (Exp) models were likewise extended with the log-linear decay function (Om3CP and OmExp). Each model bounds W? using a different nonconstant function, W?eff (effective W?). Models were fit to MMP data from nine cyclists who also completed four time-trials (TTs).

Results: The OmPD and Om3CP residuals (4 ± 1%) were smaller than the OmExp residuals (6 ± 2%; P < 0.001). W?eff predicted by the OmPD model was stable between 120–1,800 s, whereas it varied for the Om3CP and OmExp models. TT prediction errors were not different between models (7 ± 5%, 8 ± 5%, 7 ± 6%; P = 0.914).

Conclusion: The OmPD offers similar or superior goodness-of-fit and better theoretical properties compared to the other models, such that it best extends the CP concept to short-sprint and prolonged-endurance performance.