Age and sex influences on running mechanics and coordination variability

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of age on running mechanics separately for male and female runners and to quantify sex differences in running mechanics and coordination variability for older runners. Kinematics and kinetics were captured for 20 younger (10 male) and 20 older (10 male) adults running overground at 3.5 m · s^?1. A modified vector coding technique was used to calculate segment coordination variability. Lower extremity joint angles, moments and segment coordination variability were compared between age and sex groups. Significant sex–age interaction effects were found for heel-strike hip flexion and ankle in/eversion angles and peak ankle dorsiflexion angle. In older adults, mid-stance knee flexion angle, ankle inversion and abduction moments and hip abduction and external rotation moments differed by sex. Older compared with younger females had reduced coordination variability in the thigh–shank transverse plane couple but greater coordination variability for the shank rotation–foot eversion couple in early stance. These results suggest there may be a non-equivalent aging process in the movement mechanics for males and females. The age and sex differences in running mechanics and coordination variability highlight the need for sex-based analyses for future studies examining injury risk with age.     

Do ankle braces provide similar effects on ankle biomechanical variables in subjects with and without chronic ankle instability during landing?

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine effects of a sport version of a semi-rigid ankle brace (Element?) and a soft ankle brace (ASO) on ankle biomechanics and ground reaction forces (GRFs) during a drop landing activity in subjects with chronic ankle instability (CAI) compared to healthy subjects with no history of CAI.MethodsTen healthy subjects and 10 subjects who had multiple ankle sprains participated in the study as the control and unstable subjects, respectively. The CAI subjects were age, body mass index and gender matched with the control subjects. The arch index and ankle functions of the subjects were measured in a subject screening session. During the biomechanical test session, participants performed five trials of drop landing from 0.6 m, wearing no brace (NB), Element? brace and ASO brace. Simultaneous recording of three-dimensional kinematic (240 Hz) and GRF (1200 Hz) data were performed.ResultsThe CAI subjects had lower ankle functional survey scores. The arch index and deformity results showed greater arch deformity of Element? against a static load than in NB and ASO due to greater initial arch position held by the brace. CAI participants had greater eversion velocity than healthy controls. The ASO brace reduced the first peak vertical GRF whereas Element? increased 2nd peak vertical GRF. Element? brace reduced eversion range of motion (ROM) and peak eversion velocity compared to NB and ASO. In addition, Element? reduced dorsiflexion ROM and increased peak plantarflexion moment compared to NB and ASO.ConclusionResults of static arch measurements and dynamic ankle motion suggest that the restrictions offered by both braces are in part due to more dorsiflexed ankle positions at contact, and higher initial arch position and stiffer ankle for Element?.     

CSE and the 16+: Teachers' Views

During the interview ‘Mary’ – who had last year been a school pupil and this year is a first‐year undergraduate on the new degree in Education (with Teaching Certificate) – talked at some length, and with considerable feeling, about how her main frustration as a female pupil had been what she saw as her systematic disenfranchisement from influence over the content and process of the schools' curricula which she had pursued over the previous thirteen years. Although she felt that all pupils suffered this lack of influence she was convinced that girls suffered disproportionately. [Some time later in the interview], when talking about the ‘teaching practice’ she had recently completed, ‘Mary’ described how her ‘music and movement’ work had met with ‘loud and disruptive’ reaction from some of the boys in the mixed class of 7–8 year‐olds, even though the majority of the children had clearly enjoyed and been engaged by the scheme she had designed. Faced with this rejection, and experiencing some anxiety about how the teachers and her tutor would assess her potential as a future teacher if she was not seen to be exercising what they would count as ‘good control’ of the class, ‘Mary’ resolved her ‘problem’ by designing an alternative scheme which the few boys would not (and did not) reject. Although the girls had ‘subsequently shown less interest’, their quiet acquiescence to what she offered them reduced her anxiety about her assessment as a teacher. When she related her pupil experience to her teaching practice experience ‘Mary’ was dismayed to realise that she had ‘reproduced for others precisely that frustration which [she herself] had experienced as a pupil’.

Extract from author's notes when evaluating a new pre‐service degree course, June 1983.     

The Impact of Changing Roles on Relationships between Professionals in Inclusive Programs for Young Children

As inclusion of young children with disabilities into preschool programs has become more prevalent, there have been concomitant changes in the roles assumed by the professionals and paraprofessionals in these programs. In this paper we examine the ways in which inclusive models influence the roles assumed by the program staff and the factors that affect the ability of staff members to assume these roles. Data, which included interviews, participant observation and document analysis, were collected as part of a multi-site national study of inclusive education programs and practices. From these data, themes emerged regarding the changing roles and relationships of staff members in inclusive early childhood programs. These themes are discussed as both facilitators of and barriers to successful inclusive programs.     

Validity extension of the Course-Faculty Instrument (CFI)

The Course-Faculty Instrument (CFI) demonstrates similar measurement properties with student populations at four diverse institutions. These students agree about the nature and extent to which course and instructor attributes relate to their learning. The results suggest that: (1) a perceived learning criterion may have general relevance to students, and (2) validity extension research is an economically feasible alternative to full-scale instrument development and validation efforts. Since validity extension is practical and facilitates cross-institutional comparisons, it appears to be a more viable strategy for researching and instituting student evaluation systems than is suggested by its current usage.     

Experiences of instructors in online learning environments: Identifying and regulating emotions

In an effort to expand existing research on the barriers of instructors experience in online learning environments (OLEs), a qualitative study was conducted at a large mid-Atlantic university. Six instructors teaching in different OLE formats (e.g., asynchronous, hybrid, and synchronous via videoconferencing) participated in two focus groups in order to explore their emotional experiences and ways to regulate the emotions when teaching in OLEs. The overarching themes included emotions of feeling (a) restricted, (b) stressed, (c) devalued, (d) validated, and (e) rejuvenated. The article also provides practical strategies on how participating instructors attempted to manage the challenging emotions. A consensus among all participants is that continuous dialog in a community of practice about strategies to enhance OLEs is imperative.     

Promoting Diversity and Pluralism in Contemporary Communication Policies in the United States and the United Kingdom

Recent revisions of media regulation and legislation have emphasized diversity and pluralism as key objectives. Both the Federal Communication Commission's rewriting of broadcasting ownership rules in 2003 and the United Kingdom government's 2003 Communications Act insist that the public interest is best met through providing a dynamic, market-led approach to communications regulation. This article highlights definitions of diversity and pluralism that are increasingly ubiquitous in legislative and regulatory instruments that seek to "modernize" media systems in our present "communications cornucopia." This approach involves conceptualizing media diversity and media pluralism as twin outcomes of strategies designed to maximize consumer choice and market competition. The article argues that we need to challenge the assumption that meaningful forms of diversity can be brought forth only through market structures and questions the validity of quantitative assessments of media sectors that equate choice and competition with diversity. The article suggests that we need to win back a notion of diversity that is based on citizens' engagement with and interrogation of the world rather than the idea that diversity can be measured simply through the number of organizations and channels in the contemporary media environment.     

Race as a Factor in Persuasion

This study analyzed College Characteristics Index data for 207 students enrolled in a college of business administration to determine institutional press. The obtained scores were compared with Stern’s normative sample. Mean scores for College of Business Administration (CBA) and Arts (A) and Sciences (S) samples were analyzed in terms of the t ratio to determine the degree of press. No significant variance appeared for the groups in Work-Play, Group Life, and Academic Organization. In Non-Vocational Climate and Student Dignity significant differences appeared favoring the A and S sample. Mean scores for all other factors favored the CBA students. Press related to courses showed no threat. Factors related to Social Life interest the students only to a minor degree.