Cultivating communities of care: A qualitative investigation of the communication of support among incarcerated women

In 2014, a female-only detention and re-entry facility was restructured to implement new rehabilitative philosophies rooted in strategies to prepare incarcerated women for successful transition into society. A specialized housing unit called incentive-based housing (IBH) was created within this facility to promote an environment of accountability and responsibility. Here, women are expected to be proactive in seeking and achieving successes through programming, all while offering support to one another. In this study, participant observations and interviews were used to understand how 12 incarcerated women living in IBH communicate support. This qualitative study revealed three forms of support being communicated: (a) accountability, (b) validation, and (c) compassion. This study also revealed forms of communication that complicate support, including (a) drama and (b) rivalry. Communication of support is important to consider as we devise new approaches to rehabilitation within America’s criminal justice system.     

Influence of moderate intensity physical activity levels and gender on conditioned pain modulation

This study examined the potential influence of moderate intensity physical activity (PA) levels and gender on central pain modulation using conditioned pain modulation (CPM) in healthy men and women. Twenty four individuals (12 men and 12 women) who reported engaging in the moderate intensity PA for 150 min or more per week and 24 individuals (12 men and 12 women) who reported engaging in moderate intensity PA for 60 min or less per week completed a self-report PA questionnaire and a 7-day PA assessment using an accelerometer. Furthermore, the participants completed the CPM testing to evaluate the efficiency of central pain modulation. The active individuals scored higher on the PA questionnaire and spent more minutes for light, lifestyle, moderate and vigorous intensity PA than the less active individuals. The active men and women exhibited comparable magnitudes of CPM, and showed a greater magnitude of CPM when compared to their less active counterparts. However, these beneficial effects of higher dose moderate intensity PA disappeared when time spent for vigorous intensity PA was statistically controlled for. These results suggest that the higher dose moderate intensity PA does not add to the benefits from vigorous intensity PA to further improve central pain modulatory systems.     

Classroom observation systems in context: A case for the validation of observation systems

Educational Assessment, Evaluation and Accountability - Researchers and practitioners sometimes presume that using a previously “validated” instrument will produce “valid”...     

Popularizing Nanoscience: The Public Rhetoric of Nanotechnology, 1986-1999

This study examines the representations of nanoscale science and technology in written popular media from 1986 to 1999. Nanoscale science is an emergent field that examines the principles of matter at a molecular level. This article presents the representations through which nanoscale science and technology was initially introduced to the public. Written popular media influences the ways stakeholder groups perceive, support, and fund science and technology. From 1986 to 1999 this field was introduced to the general public through articles in newspapers, magazines, and other general interest publications. During this period, nanoscale science and technology had a fragmented public image as proponents of various representations of the field competed for legitimacy. The study demonstrates that the emergence of nanoscience and technology in the popular media occurred as a competitive and transitional social-rhetorical process in which the new emerged within existing and established understandings of science but was mediated by biographical and other social accounts of the research.     

School psychology graduate education retention research characteristics: Implications for diversity initiatives in the profession

Lack of racial and ethnic diversity in the school psychology workforce has been a concern since the profession's inception. One solution is to graduate more racially and ethnically diverse individuals from school psychology programs. This structured review explored the characteristics of studies published from 1994 to 2017 that investigated graduate student retention and school psychology. An electronic search that included specified databases, subject terms, and study inclusion criteria along with a manual search of 10 school psychology journals yielded two published, peer‐reviewed studies focused primarily on graduate student retention and school psychology over the 23‐year span. Two researchers coded the studies using a rigorous coding process with high inter‐rater reliability. Findings suggest that mostly Black and White individuals served as participants, undergraduate students represented the largest group sampled, and key school psychology stakeholders’ views were missing. Additionally, programs interested in retaining racially and ethnically diverse students should have a commitment to multicultural issues, expose students to diverse professional networks and mentorship, and cultivate an inclusive program environment. Implications point to a need for more studies focused on school psychology graduate student retention in general and in specific relation to retaining racial and ethnic minoritized students.     

Next Steps for Mind,Brain, and Education: Strengthening Early‐Career Development

An increasing number of scholars are being trained in the field of mind, brain, and education (MBE), yet discussions of trainees' needs and how to meet them are rare. We, the inaugural International Mind, Brain, and Education Society (IMBES) Trainee Board, identify three broad needs of MBE trainees: guidance and support, greater access to and connections among the MBE community, and professional development. We report a first step to address these needs: a daylong trainee conference, which included sessions to foster connections among trainees, provide mentorship from MBE leaders, and provide knowledge and skill building for careers. Attendees' survey results suggest the conference successfully supported trainees' development. As substantial trainee needs remain, we offer specific ways that principal investigators, institutions, funding agencies, future IMBES trainee boards, and the MBE community can further address trainees' needs to support early‐career development and strengthen the MBE field generally.     

Kinematic analysis of the drag flick in field hockey

Attaining high speed of the stick head and consequently of the ball is essential for successful performance of the drag flick in field hockey, but the coordination pattern used to maximise stick head speed is unknown. The kinematics of the drag flick was studied in ten elite hockey players who performed twenty shots each towards a target located 1.5 m high. A 150 Hz active marker motion analysis system was used, alongside two force plates to detect foot touchdown. Angular velocity and contribution to stick endpoint speed of upper body joints were analysed. Repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare timing of onset and peak angular velocities between joints. Participants used a kinematic pattern that was close to a proximal-to-distal sequence. Trunk axial rotation and lateral rotation towards the target, right wrist flexion and left wrist extension were the main contributors to stick endpoint speed. Coaches should emphasise trunk rotations and wrist flexion and extension movements for maximising stick head speed. Given the high level of the participants in this study, the coordination of joints motions, as reported here, can serve as a guideline for drag flick training.     

The Dutch motor skills assessment as tool for talent development in table tennis: a reproducibility and validity study

A motor skills assessment could be helpful in talent development by estimating essential perceptuo-motor skills of young players, which are considered requisite to develop excellent technical and tactical qualities. The Netherlands Table Tennis Association uses a motor skills assessment in their talent development programme consisting of eight items measuring perceptuo-motor skills specific to table tennis under varying conditions. This study aimed to investigate this assessment regarding its reproducibility, internal consistency, underlying dimensions and concurrent validity in 113 young table tennis players (6–10 years). Intraclass correlation coefficients of six test items met the criteria of 0.7 with coefficients of variation between 3% and 8%. Cronbach’s alpha valued 0.853 for internal consistency. The principal components analysis distinguished two conceptually meaningful factors: “ball control” and “gross motor function.” Concurrent validity analyses demonstrated moderate associations between the motor skills assessment’s results and national ranking; boys r = ?0.53 (P < 0.001) and girls r = ?0.45 (P = 0.015). In conclusion, this evaluation demonstrated six test items with acceptable reproducibility, good internal consistency and good prospects for validity. Two test items need revision to upgrade reproducibility. Since the motor skills assessment seems to be a reproducible, objective part of a talent development programme, more longitudinal studies are required to investigate its predictive validity.     

Why do researchers decide to publish in questionable journals? A review of the literature

Peer review is a cornerstone of scientific publication, and consequently, predatory journals are feared to be a threat to the credibility of science as they perform no or low‐quality peer review. The question of why researchers decide to publish in a questionable journal remains relatively unexplored. This paper provides an overview of the existing literature on why researchers decide to publish papers in questionable journals, specifically whether or not they search for a low‐barrier way to getting published while being aware that the chosen journal probably does not adhere to acceptable academic standards. The choice of a publication outlet can be seen as a submission tree that consists of various incentives, and explaining why authors publish in deceptive journals may thus consist of a combination of awareness and motivational factors. Awareness and motivation of diligent authors is very different from that of unethical authors. Unethical authors may use a lack of awareness to excuse their actions, but they may actively search for a low‐barrier way to getting published. As there are different types of authors who publish in deceptive journals, we need different approaches to solve the problem.