Environmental attitudes of pre-service teachers: A conceptual and methodological dilemma in cross-cultural data collection

Human generated environmental problems are significant issues of global concern. Despite this, varying attitudes towards environments continue to exist across the globe, impacting on environmental decision-making and action at local, national and international levels. This paper probes some of the similarities and differences in environmental attitudes amongst pre-service teachers in Australia, Republic of Maldives and Indonesia. Data were collected using an established environmental attitude questionnaire and individual interviews. The three communities exhibited a similar range of environmental attitudes using the established questionnaire but significant differences emerged when the interview data were analysed phenomenographically. These differences reflect diversity within and across cultural groups that cannot be satisfactorily explained by the theory underpinning the established questionnaire. Consequently, a revised conceptual framework is proposed.     

Advances in the phylogenesis of Agaricales and its higher ranks and strategies for establishing phylogenetic hypotheses

We present an overview of previous research results on the molecular phylogenetic analyses in Agaricales and its higher ranks (Agaricomycetes/Agaricomycotina/Basidiomycota) along with the most recent treatments of taxonomic systems in these taxa. Establishing phylogenetic hypotheses using DNA sequences, from which an understanding of the natural evolutionary relationships amongst clades may be derived, requires a robust dataset. It has been recognized that single-gene phylogenies may not truly represent organismal phylogenies, but the concordant phylogenetic genealogies from multiple-gene datasets can resolve this problem. The genes commonly used in mushroom phylogenetic research are summarized.     

Out of Sight, (Not Yet) Out of Mind: The Impact of Tie Strength on Direct Interaction and Social Surveillance Among Geographically Close and Long-Distance Facebook Friends

Social networking sites are considered a valuable resource to maintain existing friendships even over considerable distances. The present study emphasizes tie strength as a crucial determinant for the use of interactive and passive features among 302 active Facebook users and friends of different relational closeness (close friends vs. casual friends vs. acquaintances) as well as a moderator for the impact of physical distance. As expected, tie strength affected direct interaction linearly, whereas social surveillance followed a quadratic trend. Furthermore, moderation analyses revealed less frequent direct interaction between close friends and stronger surveillance of casual friends’ profiles as physical distance increases. These results indicate different functions in relationship maintenance for both behaviors as direct interaction aims at nurturing current relationships, while surveillance serves as a catalyst for promising future communications. As a consequence, physical distance influences direct interaction adversely due to emerging constraints but also contains informational value encouraging information-seeking behaviors.     

Food attitudes in female athletes: association with menstrual cycle length

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between indicators of risk of disordered eating, body image and varied menstrual cycle lengths. Altogether, 151 female athletes were invited from 16 sports and 70 female non-athletic controls were recruited from a university lecture class. The participants completed several surveys, including demographics, menstrual cycle history, physical activity, Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI) and the Three Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ). Selected EDI subscales were summed to reflect eating disorder risk and body image. Menstrual cyclicity was based on self-reported cycle length for the last 6 months (normal cycles = 26-32 days, irregular cycles < or =26 or >32 days). Athletes overall had more irregular cycles (29.1%) than the non-athletes (15.7%) (P < 0.05). There were significant differences in scores for eating disorder risk, body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness, cognitive restraint (TFEQ) and disinhibition (TFEQ), only when athletes were divided based on menstrual cyclicity (i.e. irregularly cycling athletes had higher scores than athletes with normal menstrual cycle lengths). No differences in these scores were found between non-athletes with normal or irregular menstrual cycle lengths. In conclusion, irregularly short or long menstrual cycle length is associated with subtle indications of higher risk of disordered eating in female athletes.     

Kinematics of the field hockey penalty corner push-in

The aims of the study were to determine those variables that significantly affect push-in execution and thereby formulate coaching recommendations specific to the push-in. Two 50 Hz video cameras recorded transverse and longitudinal views of push-in trials performed by eight experienced and nine inexperienced male push-in performers. Video footage was digitized for data analysis of ball speed, stance width, drag distance, drag time, drag speed, centre of massy displacement and segment and stick displacements and velocities. Experienced push-in performers demonstrated a significantly greater (p < 0.05) stance width, a significantly greater distance between the ball and the front foot at the start of the push-in and a significantly faster ball speed than inexperienced performers. In addition, the experienced performers showed a significant positive correlation between ball speed and playing experience and tended to adopt a combination of simultaneous and sequential segment rotation to achieve accuracy and fast ball speed. The study yielded the following coaching recommendations for enhanced push-in performance: maximize drag distance by maximizing front foot-ball distance at the start of the push-in; use a combination of simultaneous and sequential segment rotations to optimise both accuracy and ball speed and maximize drag speed.     

Circular Plate on Multipoint Supports

Formulae are derived for the deflection surface of a symmetrically loaded circular plate having several points supports which are situated at equal distances apart on a single concentric circle. There is no restriction on the diameter of the support circle, which may be as large as the diameter of the plate itself. The results of this paper compare favorably with published experimental results. Numerical deflection coefficients for a uniformly loaded plate are provided, and these could be utilized for optimizing the positions and the number of concentrated supports.