Neuro-mechanical adjustments to shod versus barefoot treadmill runs in the acute and delayed stretch-shortening cycle recovery phases

In habitually shod recreational runners, we studied the combined influence of footwear and stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) fatigue on treadmill running pattern, paying special attention to neuro-mechanical adjustments in the acute and 2-day delayed recovery periods. The SSC exercise consisted of a series of 25 sub-maximal rebounds on a sledge apparatus repeated until exhaustion. The acute and delayed functional fatigue effects were quantified in a maximal drop jump test. The neuro-mechanical adjustments to fatigue were examined during two submaximal treadmill run tests of 3 min performed either barefoot or with shoes on. Surface electromyographic (EMG) activities, tibial accelerations and kinematics of the right lower limb were recorded during the first and last 15 s of each run. The main result was that neuro-mechanical differences between the shod and barefoot running patterns, classically reported in the absence of fatigue, persisted in the fatigued state. However, in the delayed recovery phase, rearfoot eversion was found to significantly increase in the shod condition. This specific footwear effect is considered as a potential risk factor of overuse injuries in longer runs. Therefore, specific care should be addressed in the delayed recovery phase of SSC fatigue and the use of motion control shoes could be of interest.     

Outdoor education: Research topic or universal value? Part three

From the discussion in parts one and two there are two main points that emerge. The first is that it is difficult to identify from outdoor education literature a philosophical framework on which practice is based. Secondly, the body of outdoor education literature attaches more importance to learning outcomes relating to personal and social education than environmental education. The purpose of part three is to offer a philosophical framework and use it to consider the relationship between outdoor education, environmental education and the related concept of sustainability education. The paper starts out by looking at the development of western thought and how it has promoted the concept of epistemological dualism's. The paper then presents an alternative framework of epistemological diversity including experiential, presentational, propositional and practical ways of knowing that has particular relevance for environmental education and sustainability education. Although the prime focus of this paper is environmental education it also deals explicitly with a philosophical framework which includes experiential learning. Consequently, it has relevance to other claims made of outdoor education in particular personal and social education.     

Fees,flows and imaginaries: exploring the destination choices arising from intra-national student mobility

ABSTRACT

Are intra-national student flows driven by the same forces as international student mobility? This paper addresses this question by analysing cross-border student mobility in the UK. The paper identifies four principles that one might expect to drive the destination choices of students from Scotland enrolling in English universities. Following a statistical analysis of student destination choices, it is argued that cross-border moves from Scotland to England are stimulated by some of the same global forces as international student mobility (such as a desire to accumulate cultural capital), but in terms of destination choice the imaginaries held by Scottish students of ‘good’ places to study in England to accumulate cultural capital are constructed differently from the imaginaries of international students.     

Effects of dynamic upper-body exercise on lower-limb isometric endurance

Following preliminary indications that in some individuals arm exercise enhanced rather than reduced simultaneous leg endurance, ten young men and women performed three forms of intermittent work to volitional exhaustion, under duty cycles of 45 s work, 15 s rest. The protocols were as follows: (A) knee extensions at 30% maximum voluntary contraction (MVC); (B) 30% MVC knee extensions combined with arm cranking at 130% of their own lactate threshold; (C) combined 30% MVC knee extensions and arm cranking at 20% of their own lactate threshold. Heart rate, oxygen uptake (VO(2)), and blood lactate concentration were among the variables recorded throughout. All physiological indicators of demand were substantially higher in protocol B than in protocols A or C [heart rate: (A) 154 beats . min(-1), (B) 171 beats . min(-1), (C) 150 beats . min(-1); VO(2): (A) 11.9 ml . kg(-1) . min(-1), (B) 21.7 ml . kg(-1) . min(-1), (C) 14.2 ml . kg(-1) . min(-1); blood lactate concentration: (A) 3.3 mmol . l(-1), (B) 5.1 mmol . l(-1), (C) 2.8 mmol . l(-1)], yet there were no significant differences (P > 0.05) in the endurance times between the three conditions [(A) 11.43 min, (B) 11.1 min, (C) 10.57 min] and seven participants endured longest in protocol B. Results from protocol (C) cast doubt on explanations in terms of psychological distraction. We suggest that lactic acid produced by the arms is shuttled to the legs and acts there either as a supplementary fuel source or as an antagonist to the depressing effects of increased potassium concentration.     

Suprasegmental Phonology Development and Reading Acquisition: A Longitudinal Study

Previous studies implicate suprasegmental phonology in reading acquisition. However, little is known about how suprasegmental sensitivity develops or how it contributes to reading. Here, 130 Spanish primary-school children participated in this 2-year longitudinal study. Nonlinguistic rhythm, lexical-stress sensitivity and metrical-stress sensitivity, along with phonological awareness, vocabulary, nonverbal intelligence, and reading aloud, were assessed on five occasions. Results suggest that prosody abilities have different developmental trajectories and that prosody explains unique variance in reading beyond that explained by other factors. There was some evidence that the contribution of each prosody skill occurred at different phases in reading development. Nonlinguistic rhythm, lexical-stress sensitivity, and metrical-stress sensitivity assessed at the end of kindergarten, the start of Grade 1, and the end of Grade 1, respectively, predicted reading performance 6 months later. Nevertheless, sample size and reliability temper the conclusions that can be made. The implications of prosody skills for literacy development are discussed.     

Learning from ‘Outsiders’ as Experts

Abstract

This paper aims to contribute to the ongoing debate on how best the appraisal of headteachers can be effected. It presents an analysis of the findings of a study which compared self‐appraisals of their managerial peformance by a sample of primary headteachers (n=36), with appraisals of these headteachers by their teaching staff. Respondents completed the 100‐item Management Performance Profile (MPP) Questionnaire and the resulting profiles of the headteachers'performance in 10 managerial categories, were compared. In addition, data were generated on headteachers' perceptions of their personal and professional identity, using a semi‐structured interview schedule. The findings are that there is a high level of concordance between perceptions by headteachers and teachers of the managerial priorities of the primary headteacher. However, two groups of schools are identified, in which there are significant differences between evaluations of the headteachers' managerial performance. Interview data is used to illuminate the analysis and discussion of these differences. The conclusion is that staff participation in headteacher performance review has much to offer and that the MPP questionnaire is a tool of value in this respect.