The analysis and forecasting of male cycling time trial records established within England and Wales

The format of cycling time trials in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, involves riders competing individually over several fixed race distances of 10–100 miles in length and using time constrained formats of 12 and 24 h in duration. Drawing on data provided by the national governing body that covers the regions of England and Wales, an analysis of six male competition record progressions was undertaken to illustrate its progression. Future forecasts are then projected through use of the Singular Spectrum Analysis technique. This method has not been applied to sport-based time series data before. All six records have seen a progressive improvement and are non-linear in nature. Five records saw their highest level of record change during the 1950–1969 period. Whilst new record frequency generally has reduced since this period, the magnitude of performance improvement has generally increased. The Singular Spectrum Analysis technique successfully provided forecasted projections in the short to medium term with a high level of fit to the time series data.     

Role of teachers in influencing the development of adolescents’ possible selves

During late childhood and early adolescence, there is a dramatic increase in cognitive skills which influences how young people begin to think about their futures. The construct of possible selves has been used to help understanding of adolescents’ views of their future plans and goals by exploring their social perceptions to gain insight about how they think about the world and themselves. This study examined the role of perceived teacher support in adolescents’ development of possible selves. Results suggest that the four groups (White males, Latinos, White females and Latinas) in this study think in different ways about their future possible selves of graduating from a 4-year university. This study provides important theoretical as well as practical implications.     

Water,sanitation, and primary school attendance: A multi-level assessment of determinants of household-reported absence in Kenya

This cross-sectional analysis examined the influence of school and household water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) conditions on recent primary school absence in light of other individual, household, and school characteristics in western Kenya. School latrine cleanliness was the only school WASH factor associated with reduced odds of absence. The marginal effect of household characteristics, such as distance to water source, child involvement in water collection, and presence of a latrine, differed by gender. Demographic features were more important predictors of absence, suggesting that interventions to improve attendance must consider existing differentials attributable to gender, socio-economic status, and other household characteristics.     

Student Perceptions Using Augmented Reality and 3D Visualization Technologies in Chemistry Education

Journal of Science Education and Technology - Visualizing molecular conformations and complex compound structures and chemical transformations in 3D is one of the most difficult tasks for...     

Effects of wax-based anti-graffiti on copper patina composition and dissolution during four years of outdoor urban exposure

The protection against graffiti has become a serious problem in most cities. Unfortunately such form of vandalism does not save the cultural heritage. The use of anti-graffiti coatings is a common treatment that can also temporary protect the surface from degradation due to interactions with the environment. Aspects that have not yet been sufficiently investigated from a metal artefact perspective are whether the presence of the anti-graffiti coating will influence the patina composition and reduce the degree of patina dissolution. Long-term (four years) effects of wax-based anti-graffiti coatings on bare copper sheet and pre-patinated copper exposed to urban atmospheric conditions are presented and discussed in terms of changes in patina dissolution rates, barrier properties and composition. The investigation is based on a multi-analytical approach combining chemical analysis, analytical and electrochemical tools (stereomicroscopy, FTIR, XRD, SEM/EDS, AAS, EIS, colorimetric measurements). Results are believed to provide important information related to the long-term applicability of such coatings to preserve the Cultural Heritage.     

Social Work Professions in an Aging World: Opportunities and Perspectives

Given world aging, social workers will be involved in assisting older persons in their home-country and/or abroad in various types of governmental or nongovernmental agencies. This paper identifies potential opportunities for social workers with gerontological backgrounds interested in working in international and cross-cultural settings. Discussed are the role of social work education in assisting the development of student interest and competence in working with and for older persons in an aging world. Also discussed are international opportunities in field placements for work with older people.     

Disciplinary Differences: LCSH and Keyword Assignment for ETDs from Different Disciplines

This research concerns the frequency of the assignment of author-supplied keyword strings and cataloger supplied subject heading strings within a library catalog. The results reveal that, on average, more author-assigned keywords and more cataloger-assigned Library of Congress Subject Headings were assigned to works emerging from the arts & humanities than to works emerging from the social sciences and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines. STEM disciplines in particular received a lower amount of topical metadata, in part because of the under-assignment of name/title, geographical, and corporate subject headings. These findings reveal how librarians could increase their understanding of how topical access is functioning within academic disciplines.