Effect of different swim caps on the assessment of body volume and percentage body fat by air displacement plethysmography

Isothermal air trapped in scalp hair generates an underestimation of body volume when it is measured by air displacement plethysmography. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of wearing different types of swim caps on the measurement of body volume and percentage body fat by air displacement plethysmography. It was hypothesized that wearing a silicone swim cap would more thoroughly compress scalp hair compared with a lycra swim cap, yielding higher estimates of body volume and percent body fat. Thirty female participants aged 25.7 ± 6.4 years were measured in random order when wearing no swim cap, a lycra swim cap or a silicone swim cap. For the no-cap versus lycra cap condition, the mean bias for body volume was -0.579 ± 0.380 litre (limits of agreement: -1.340 to 0.181 litre) and for percent fat -4.9 ± 3.1% fat (limits of agreement: -11.2 to 1.3% fat) (P < 0.05). For the silicone versus lycra condition, the mean bias for body volume was 0.137 ± 0.099 litre (limits of agreement: -0.062 to 0.335 litre) and for percent fat 1.2 ± 0.9% fat (limits of agreement: -0.5 to 2.9% fat) (P < 0.05). In conclusion, attention should be paid to optimal compression of isothermal air trapped in scalp hair when using air displacement plethysmography. The present results suggest that this compression may be more thorough when wearing a silicone swim cap.     

Inquiry-based science education: towards a pedagogical framework for primary school teachers

Inquiry-based science education (IBSE) has been promoted as an inspiring way of learning science by engaging pupils in designing and conducting their own scientific investigations. For primary school teachers, the open nature of IBSE poses challenges as they often lack experience in supporting their pupils during the different phases of an open IBSE project, such as formulating a research question and designing and conducting an investigation. The current study aims to meet these challenges by presenting a pedagogical framework in which four domains of scientific knowledge are addressed in seven phases of inquiry. The framework is based on video analyses of pedagogical interventions by primary school teachers participating in open IBSE projects. Our results show that teachers can guide their pupils successfully through the process of open inquiry by explicitly addressing the conceptual, epistemic, social and/or procedural domain of scientific knowledge in the subsequent phases of inquiry. The paper concludes by suggesting further research to validate our framework and to develop a pedagogy for primary school teachers to guide their pupils through the different phases of open inquiry.     

Towards Competent Systems in Early Childhood Education and Care. Implications for Policy and Practice

The close connection between the quality of provision for young children and professionaliation of the field has long been supported by international research. That the two are inseparable aspects of one picture is beginning to become accepted at European policy level, as evident in recent high level EU policy documents. This article explores the reciprocal relationship between quality and professionalisation, drawing on the findings of the study on ‘competence requirements in early childhood education and care’ (CoRe), jointly conducted by the University of East London and the University of Gent, and funded by the European Commission. Based on a review of literature in several European languages and data from a 15-country survey and seven in-depth case studies, CoRe has identified systemic conditions for a professionalisation of the entire early childhood system, beyond the formal qualification levels of individual practitioners. The article argues for a critical and systemic reconceptualisation of professional practice in a competent system.     

Arousing News Characteristics in Dutch Television News 1990–2004: An Exploration of Competitive Strategies

This study investigates the processes by which competition in the television news market might promote the presence of arousing characteristics in television news. A total of 3,024 news stories from six Dutch television news programs over the period 1990 to 2004 were investigated through content analysis. The findings of the study show overall increases in all 6 arousing characteristics. The findings also show that commercial newcomers included more arousing characteristics in their news stories than the public service broadcasters, that commercial newcomers developed a news format that featured more arousing characteristics, and that existing programs reacted to newcomers by increasing the amount of arousing characteristics in their news stories.     

L'école européenne de bruxelles

Sans résumé     

Comparing ActiGraph equations for estimating energy expenditure in older adults

Accurate estimation of energy expenditure (EE) from accelerometer outputs remains a challenge in older adults. The aim of this study was to validate different ActiGraph (AG) equations for predicting EE in older adults. Forty older adults (age = 77.4 ± 8.1 yrs) completed a set of household/gardening activities in their residence, while wearing an AG at the hip (GT3X+) and a portable calorimeter (MetaMax 3B – criterion). Predicted EEs from AG were calculated using five equations (Freedson, refined Crouter, Sasaki and Santos-Lozano (vertical-axis, vectormagnitude)). Accuracy of equations was assessed using root-mean-square error (RMSE) and mean bias. The Sasaki equation showed the lowest RMSE for all activities (0.47 METs) and across physical activity intensities (PAIs) (range 0.18–0.48 METs). The Freedson and Santos-Lozano equations tended to overestimate EE for sedentary activities (range: 0.48 to 0.97 METs), while EEs for moderate-to-vigorous activities (MVPA) were underestimated (range: ?1.02 to ?0.64 METs). The refined Crouter and Sasaki equations showed no systematic bias, but they respectively overestimated and underestimated EE across PAIs. In conclusion, none of the equations was completely accurate for predicting EE across the range of PAIs. However, the refined Crouter and Sasaki equations showed better overall accuracy and precision when compared with the other methods.     

At-risk at the gate: prediction of study success of first-year science and engineering students in an open-admission university in Flanders—any incremental validity of study strategies?

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Against the background of the increasing need for skilled scientists and engineers, the heterogeneous inflow of incoming students in science and...     

Challenging the feminisation of the workforce: rethinking the mind–body dualism in Early Childhood Education and Care

Despite the political and academic debate on the demands for more male workers in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), no European country has reached the benchmark set for 2006 to have 20% male early childhood workers. This has predominantly been countered by challenging the idea that care for the youngest implies an activity ‘that women naturally do’ and by consequently arguing for a higher status and better working conditions for caring jobs. In this article, we analyse the recent ‘schoolification’ of ECEC, and in so doing, we argue that the traditional explanations of the feminisation of the early years workforce do not suffice. In addition, we dwell upon contemporary feminism to challenge the mind–body dualism in discourses and practices of care and explore the concepts of embodied subjectivity and corporeality to further explore pathways to a more equally gendered workforce in early childhood provision.