The effect of smartphones and playing video games on decision-making in soccer players: A crossover and randomised study

ABSTRACT

The objective of this study was to analyse the effect of the use of social networks in smartphones or playing video games on the passing decision-making performance in professional soccer athletes. Participants were 25 male professional soccer athletes (mean ± SD: age 23.4 ± 2.8 years). The participants performed three randomised conditions divided into three groups: control (CON), smartphone (SMA), and video game (VID). Before and after each experimental condition, the Stroop Task assessed the level of induced mental fatigue. Then, the athletes performed a simulated soccer match. A CANON® camera recorded the matches for further analysis on passing decision-making performance. A group effect was identified (p < .01) with impairment on passing decision-making performance for the SMA (p = .01, ES = 0.5) and VID (p = .01, ES = 0.5) conditions. We concluded that the use of social networks on smartphones and/or playing video games right before official soccer matches might impair the passing decision-making performance in professional soccer athletes.     

Broadening access to the curriculum through using technology to link home and school: a critical analysis of reforms intended to improve students' educational attainment

This article reports on a UK study identifying innovative practice in the use of ICT to link home and school and its potential for enhancing learning. It is set in the context of recent political tensions and the mismatch between ICT use in the home and traditional educational systems. The theoretical framework draws upon curriculum theories and reviews what is already known about home use of ICT. A survey was administered to schools identified for innovative models of practice in both teaching and learning, and management and administration. From the 115 responses, eight contrasting case-study schools were selected. Three exemplars highlight a shift in practices: a move towards self-directed learning; greater flexibility and autonomy for students; and improved communication between home and school. We argue that technology could support a broader access to the curriculum, but that policy-makers should be aware of the digital divide issues. Young people's home use of technology suggests a rich experience involving exploratory activities, access to knowledge and the opportunity to publish their views. Curriculum reform is essential in order to maximize the potential of technology. It demands a shift away from current curriculum and pedagogy towards critical thinking and knowledge construction.     

Producing an information leaflet to help patients access high quality drug information on the Internet: a local study

Objectives: To develop a patient information leaflet (PIL) to help local patients meet their drug information needs using the Internet, and to perform a preliminary evaluation of this tool. Methods: Development—a cross‐sectional survey of the drug information needs of local patients using a semi‐structured questionnaire; assessment of websites offering free, consumer‐orientated medicines information using set criteria; identification of consensus criteria to evaluate the quality of health‐related on‐line information; evaluation—views on a draft patient information leaflet from a focus group. Results: Those surveyed felt that being directed to high‐quality websites and being provided with assessment criteria for on‐line information would be useful. The three websites fulfilling most of the set quality criteria were Surgery Door ( www.surgerydoor.co.uk ), InteliHealth ( www.intelihealth.com ) and medline plus ( www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus ). The six most frequently cited assessment criteria were currency, authorship, commerciality, relevance, links and attribution. A draft leaflet was constructed listing the above three websites and six criteria along with tips on how to search the Internet effectively. A focus group reacted favourably. Conclusion: The Internet is a source of drug information—an information leaflet may help to guide local patients through its variable information quality.     

A novel alternating current multiple array electrothermal micropump for lab-on-a-chip applications

The AC electrothermal technique is very promising for biofluid micropumping, due to its ability to pump high conductivity fluids. However, compared to electroosmotic micropumps, a lack of high fluid flow is a disadvantage. In this paper, a novel AC multiple array electrothermal (MAET) micropump, utilizing multiple microelectrode arrays placed on the side-walls of the fluidic channel of the micropump, is introduced. Asymmetric coplanar microelectrodes are placed on all sides of the microfluidic channel, and are actuated in different phases: one, two opposing, two adjacent, three, or all sides at the same time. Micropumps with different combinations of side electrodes and cross sections are numerically investigated in this paper. The effect of the governing parameters with respect to thermal, fluidic, and electrical properties are studied and discussed. To verify the simulations, the AC MAET concept was then fabricated and experimentally tested. The resulted fluid flow achieved by the experiments showed good agreement with the corresponding simulations. The number of side electrode arrays and the actuation patterns were also found to greatly influence the micropump performance. This study shows that the new multiple array electrothermal micropump design can be used in a wide range of applications such as drug delivery and lab-on-a-chip, where high flow rate and high precision micropumping devices for high conductivity fluids are needed.     

The Job Interview and Cognitive Performance: Does Structure Reduce Performance on Selection Batteries,and Can Explanation of Purpose Improve It?

Structuring job interviews is a method of decreasing bias and increasing the predictive validity of job performance, but research suggests that applicants can react negatively to structure (Chapman & Zweig, 2005) and that negative attitudes about selection tools can predict performance (Hausknecht, Day, & Thomas, 2004). The current exploratory study investigates how structuring the job interview in conjunction with priming the ethnicity and sex of the applicant, and in some conditions providing an explanation of the structure, affected post‐interview cognitive ability performance. Three levels of structure were randomly assigned. Those who experienced a structured interview without an explanation of its purpose scored lower than those who experienced an unstructured interview, but those who experienced a structured interview with an explanation of its purpose did not score lower than those who experienced an unstructured interview. Scores differed for females and Hispanics depending on the structure condition, but not in the same manner. Implications for recruitment, selection, and performance management are discussed.     

Assessing Quality in Toddler Classrooms Using the CLASS-Toddler and the ITERS-R

Many very young children attend early care and education programs, but current information about the quality of center-based care for toddlers is scarce. Using 2 observation instruments, the Infant/Toddler Environment Rating Scale–Revised (ITERS-R) and the Classroom Assessment Scoring System, Toddler Version (CLASS-Toddler), 93 child care classrooms for toddlers across the state of North Carolina, representing a range of quality, were assessed to determine overall quality, and associations between observed quality and teachers' ratings of child behavior problems and competence outcomes using the Brief Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment. Research Findings: Findings indicated that overall, toddler classrooms were rated as being of moderate quality. Associations between observed quality and teacher-reported child behavior problems and competence outcomes indicated that CLASS-Toddler ratings were positively associated with fewer behavior problems; specifically, children in classrooms with higher levels on the CLASS-Toddler domains of Emotional and Behavioral Support as well as Engaged Support for Learning were reported to have fewer behavior problems. Similarly, the ITERS-R subscales of Interaction and Listening and Talking were positively related to fewer reported behavior problems. Regression models showed that the CLASS-Toddler Emotional and Behavioral Support domain predicted differences in child behavior problems. Practice or Policy: Findings suggest the need for additional research related to very young children's experiences in center-based child care to examine associations between quality and child experiences and outcomes. Children's experiences over time need to be examined to understand how these early child care experiences are related to children's later school adjustment and performance. On a related note, professional development for teachers in toddler classrooms needs to be addressed in terms of preparing effective teachers for young children during the toddler developmental period.     

Inclusive practice within the lived cultures of school communities: research case studies in teaching,learning and inclusion

This paper provides an account of a teacher's use of theory as a tool to develop inclusive practice through a social studies programme in a new entrant class. The account illustrates the ways in which the teacher drew on research to assist in the facilitation of an inclusive educational environment. Presented are research case studies the teacher encountered in an in-service teacher education programme, and the ‘social constructionist’ and ‘personal tragedy’ models that were used as theoretical tools to assist the teacher's planning and teaching practice. Mounted cameras, broadcast microphones and pre- and post-unit interviews with the teacher and students were used to explore the lived culture of the classroom, and the nature and effectiveness of the strategies the teacher used. An ‘interrupted narrative’ methodology engages the reader in the interplay between research and theory in the research case studies. Four major strategies used by the teacher have been identified and these are presented as theoretical tools for other teachers and teacher educators to use, critique and develop to support inclusive practice in their own contexts.