Basic qualitative analysis with QUALPRO

This paper examines a method for having preservice teachers engage in narrative inquiry with students in practicum schools. The inquiry entails: conducting a tape‐recorded interview with a student using a supplied, semistructured interview schedule; transcribing the interview; writing a narrative portrait of the student; and writing reflections. Theoretical rationales for the methods are presented as well as student teachers’ responses to the component parts of the assignment. What student teachers do and learn when they carry out this assignment was studied with reference to the work of 150 student teachers. The study clarified the ways in which the narrative inquiry supported a more self‐reflexive, connected, and friendly way of being with children or young people. In learning to relate to children, student teachers also learned how to teach. The assignment provided a contextualized and empowering way of taking up questions related to teaching and learning and of becoming critical inquirers about themes of oppression. Besides particular knowledge about children, themselves, and teaching, the student teachers also acquired a mode of inquiry for understanding new teaching situations.     

High-intensity efforts in elite soccer matches and associated movement patterns,technical skills and tactical actions. Information for position-specific training drills

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to translate movement patterns, technical skills and tactical actions associated with high-intensity efforts into metrics that could potentially be used to construct position-specific conditioning drills. A total of 20 individual English Premier League players’ high-intensity running profiles were observed multiple times (n = 100) using a computerised tracking system. Data were analysed using a novel high-intensity movement programme across five positions (centre back [CB], full-back [FB], central midfielder [CM], wide midfielder [WM] and centre forward [CF]). High-intensity efforts in contact with the ball and the average speed of efforts were greater in WMs than CBs, CMs and CFs (effect sizes [ES]: 0.9–2.1, P < 0.05). WMs produced more repeated efforts than CBs and CMs (ES: 0.6–1.3, P < 0.05). In possession, WMs executed more tricks post effort than CBs and CMs (ES: 1.2–1.3, P < 0.01). FBs and WMs performed more crosses post effort than other positions (ES: 1.1–2.0, P < 0.01). Out of possession, CFs completed more efforts closing down the opposition (ES: 1.4–5.0, P < 0.01) but less tracking opposition runners than other positions (ES: 1.5–1.8, P < 0.01). CFs performed more arc runs before efforts compared to CBs, FBs and WMs (ES: 0.9–1.4, P < 0.05), however, CBs completed more 0–90° turns compared to FBs, CMs and WMs (ES: 0.9–1.1, P < 0.01). The data demonstrate unique high-intensity trends in and out of possession that could assist practitioners when devising position-specific drills.     

How students perceive teachers’ nonverbal and verbal communication at agricultural universities in Austria,Slovenia and Albania

Purpose: This study attempts to close the research gap created by the fact that existing studies neglect the problem of how effectively agricultural professors from different European countries communicate. The aim is to identify similarities and differences in the numbers of agricultural professors perceived by students as engaging in verbal and nonverbal immediacy communication.

Methodology: An online survey was conducted among students of agricultural universities from Austria, Slovenia and Albania.

Findings: The results show that professors of agriculture from Austria, Slovenia and Albania should generally not be satisfied with their own communication patterns and should thus try to improve their communication. The result also reveals cultural differences in the shares of agriculture professors employing different communication patterns in Austria, Slovenia and Albania. Compared to Austrian and Slovenian students, their Albanian peers perceive that most of their professors use nonverbal immediacy communication. According to Austrian students, the majority of their professors use verbal immediacy. On the contrary, Albanian students assessed that some of their professors employ verbal immediacy.

Practical Implications: The results show the professors of agriculture should improve the way they communicate to students. In particular, the Albanian professors should improve their verbal communication especially in terms of providing timely and quality feedback to students.

Theoretical implications: The study reveals differences in immediacy communication among countries (Austria, Slovenia and Albania) which the scientific literature considers to have a high-context culture.

Originality/Value: Given that no study has yet examined how students perceive professors’ communication in different European countries, this research helps understand the characteristics of agricultural professors’ communication.     

The Effects of a Student Sampling Plan on Estimates of the Standard Errors for Student Passing Rates

Examined in this study were three procedures for estimating the standard errors of school passing rates using a generalizability theory model. Also examined was how these procedures behaved for student samples that differed in size. The procedures differed in terms of their assumptions about the populations from which students were sampled, and it was found that student sample size generally had a notable effect on the size of the standard error estimates they produced. Also the three procedures produced markedly different standard error estimates when student sample size was small.     

Pore structure of historic and repair Roman cement mortars to establish their compatibility

Mercury porosimetry was applied to the study of pore structure of the historic Roman cement mortars representative of different locations in Europe and time periods as well as different application techniques from architectural castings to in situ formed renders and profiles. Three categories of pores were found to coexist in the mortars. The finest pores, with diameters below 0.1 μm, are present within the hardened aged Roman cement matrix. The larger ‘air’ pores, with diameters between 0.2–2 μm, are due to the evaporation of the excess unbound water and restricted hydration. Pores larger than 2 μm are rare and, in general, can be related to microcracking induced by shrinkage drying and mortar weathering. The mortars have rarely been found to develop a dense fine-porous microstructure characteristic of the ideal conditions of moist-curing; massive architectural castings being the only exception identified. The presence of larger ‘air’ pores was, in turn, almost universally observed. The investigations of the freshly prepared Roman cement mortars have revealed that the restricted hydration could be due to the exposure of the freshly laid surface to dry real-world external environments, a high water-to-cement ratio in the original mortars, or the drawing of water from the stucco mass due to insufficient pre-wetting of the porous masonry. The insufficient reactivity of historic cements, resulting from a high content of over-burned, non-reactive cement components or coarseness of the cement grains, could be another reason for yielding poorly hydrated mortars in the past. In general, Roman cement stuccoes are in an excellent state of preservation in spite of their usual exposure to polluted urban environments for more than a century. Therefore, the coexistence of Roman cement mortars of widely different pore structures has not brought about any problems of incompatibility which field observations could reveal. The Roman cement repair materials have been found to develop pore structures similar to those of historic mortars. Therefore, they are in broad terms compatible with historic masonry or stuccoes. However, the porosity and strength of the repair materials can be controlled by a careful manipulation of the water-to-cement ratio of the mix to adapt them better to the properties of the host material.     

Physiological responses in different intensities of resistance exercise – Critical load and the effects of aging process

Aim was to identify critical load (CL) in young and elderly apparently healthy male cohorts. To contrast the metabolic, cardiovascular and perceptual responses on CL according to age. We evaluated 12 young (23 ± 3 years) and 10 elderly (70 ± 2 years) apparently healthy active males, who underwent: (1) 1 repetition maximum (1RM) test on a 45° Leg Press; (2) on different days, three high-intensity resistance exercise constant load tests (60%, 75% and 90% 1RM) until fatigue (Tlim). Absolute values of both the CL asymptote and curvature constant (kg) were significantly lower in elderly subjects (P < 0.05). In contrast, elderly subjects demonstrated a significantly higher number of repetitions at CL when compared with young subjects (P < 0.05). As expected, oxygen uptake (VO₂) and heart rate (HR) during maximal aerobic exercise testing were significantly reduced in older subjects. However, percent-predicted aerobic capacity were higher in older subjects (P < 0.05). In addition, blood lactate ([La^?]) corrected to Tlim and rating of perceived exertion values were greater in younger subjects at all intensities (P < 0.05). These findings, despite reduced force production in older subjects, endurance-related parameters are well preserved according to age-adjusted percent-predicted values in apparently healthy males.