Defining Training and Performance Caliber: A Participant Classification Framework

Throughout the sport-science and sports-medicine literature, the term “elite” subjects might be one of the most overused and ill-defined terms. Currently, there is no common perspective or terminology to characterize the caliber and training status of an individual or cohort. This paper presents a 6-tiered Participant Classification Framework whereby all individuals across a spectrum of exercise backgrounds and athletic abilities can be classified. The Participant Classification Framework uses training volume and performance metrics to classify a participant to one of the following: Tier 0: Sedentary; Tier 1: Recreationally Active; Tier 2: Trained/Developmental; Tier 3: Highly Trained/National Level; Tier 4: Elite/International Level; or Tier 5: World Class. We suggest the Participant Classification Framework can be used to classify participants both prospectively (as part of study participant recruitment) and retrospectively (during systematic reviews and/or meta-analyses). Discussion around how the Participant Classification Framework can be tailored toward different sports, athletes, and/or events has occurred, and sport-specific examples provided. Additional nuances such as depth of sport participation, nationality differences, and gender parity within a sport are all discussed. Finally, chronological age with reference to the junior and masters athlete, as well as the Paralympic athlete, and their inclusion within the Participant Classification Framework has also been considered. It is our intention that this framework be widely implemented to systematically classify participants in research featuring exercise, sport, performance, health, and/or fitness outcomes going forward, providing the much-needed uniformity to classification practices.

EXAMINING GENDER AND NATIONALITY BIAS IN DECISION-MAKING BY ENGINEERING STUDENT TEAMS

This study uses two-stage team quizzes to assess differences in team decision-making based on the factors gender and nationality. Over 200 teams in two different engineering design courses delivered using Team-Based Learning across five years were considered. In the two-stage quizzes, individuals first committed to their own answers, and then the team discussed the same questions and answered as a group. Cases where an individual was incorrect and the team adopted that same incorrect answer were used as a measure of influence of that individual on team decision-making (i.e., “pushing” behaviour by the individual). Similarly, cases where an individual was correct but the team adopted a different (incorrect) answer were used as a measure of lack of influence (i.e., “switching” behaviour by the individual). Overall, no significant gender or nationality differences were found in pushing behaviours. Male students and international students were found to be more likely to engage in switching behaviours. The overall differences in switching were modest (0.3-0.4% difference per question), but this translates to between 5 and 15 more male/international students engaging in switching behaviours in a typical 75- to 150-student course.

Field Study on Nationality Differences in Thermal Comfort of University Students in Dormitories during Winter in Japan

Comfort in university dormitory buildings in Japan is under-investigated as compared to offices and residences. A winter field survey conducted in two university dormitories in Central Japan aimed at investigating the differences in thermal responses of occupants relative to nationality and; to estimate their neutral and comfortable temperature under identical climatic conditions. Acceptability of the indoor environment was invariably high. While evaluation and preference votes depended on nationality; thermal sensation vote did not. Both Japanese and non-Japanese subjects voted neutral at a mean indoor temperature of 22 C. The estimated probability of voting neutral for Japanese subjects was highest (65%) from 19 C to 22 C, while for non-Japanese subjects it was highest (75%) at a wider range: From 19 C to 24 C. Japanese students were more sensitive of and more critical about their indoor environment as opposed to the internationals (adjusted regression coefficients 0.55/K and 0.20/K). Griffiths’ model estimated the comfortable temperature for non-Japanese subjects at a 2 C wider range and at a 2 C higher average than for Japanese subject. Neutral and comfortable temperatures observed and estimated in the study were split above and below the recommended temperature threshold of 20 C for Japan in winter

LANGUAGE LEARNING STRATEGY OF STUDENTS IN INTENSIVE ENGLISH LANGUAGE INSTITUTE (IELI) OF FLINDERS UNIVERSITY

This study aims to examine the influence of gender and nationality on the use of language learning strategies. The population of this study was the students who enrolled and studied in IELI of Flinders University and 34 students became the convenience samples. Strategy Inventory for Language Learner (SILL) questionnaire version 7.0 developed by Oxford (1990) was used as the main instrument of the research. The data analysis in this research used quantitative approach with Cronbach’s α for measuring item reliability, descriptive statistics for demographic data and Independent-Samples T-test for gender differences, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) for nationality differences. The results showed that gender and nationality has had an insignificant effect in the use of language learning strategies.

Are Teachers’ Beliefs Related to Their Preferences for ADHD Interventions? Comparing Teachers in the United States and New Zealand

This investigation examined the relationship between teachers’ beliefs and their preferences for classroom interventions for behaviours consistent with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Teacher ratings of intervention acceptability, effectiveness, and rate of change were compared across United States and New Zealand samples. Beliefs examined were personal teaching efficacy, general teaching efficacy, and pupil control ideology (PCI). Samples were compared regarding their preferences for the daily report card, response cost technique, classroom lottery, and medication as classroom strategies for managing ADHD-related behavioural concerns. Data were analysed using general linear modelling techniques, and an interaction was demonstrated between ADHD intervention x PCI x nationality. Differences were observed for ADHD interventions across samples based upon pupil control orientations. Implications for educators and their classroom practices are discussed.

Декоративные вербы в западной Беларуси и восточной Литве во второй половине ХХ–начале ХХI вв.

В статье рассматривается вопрос об особенностях функционирования декоративных верб в этнически и конфессионально смешанной среде западной Беларуси и восточной Литвы во второй половине ХХ–начале ХХI вв. На основе полевых этнографических материалов устанавливаются основные типы декоративных верб и определяется характер используемого для их украшения материала. Устанавливается связь пальмообразных и вильнюсских верб с этническими и конфессиональными характеристиками верующих, а также рассматривается использование освященного символа в послепраздничное время. Выясняется, что распространение декоративных верб во второй половине ХХ в. определяется их рецепцией как символа Вербного воскресенья, а также их эстетическими качествами. Связанные с конфессиональными и этническими характеристиками населения декоративные вербы функционируют в западной Беларуси и восточной Литве как отходящий от своей христианской основы и вместе с тем наполняющийся новой семантикой образец современной религиозной и, в частности, народной культуры региона.Ключевые слова: декоративная верба, ива, можжевельник, вильнюсская верба, западная Беларусь, восточная Литва, православные, католики, символ....Jonas MardosaThe decorated verba in Western Belarus and Eastern Lithuania in the second half of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century Various consecrated symbols play a special role in folk culture and folk religion. In the Christian liturgy, the verba (palm) is a symbol having a concrete religious meaning. In the second half of the 20th century, in Western Belarus and Eastern Lithuania, a tendency to consider verba from the aesthetic point of view emerged. An exceptional case among the verba (between Belarusian, Russian, Polish, and Lithuanian believers) are the decorated symbol, which may be called palm-shape verba.Amongst the believers of Belarus, regardless of confession, the decorated verba (with flowers) has become a symbol of the contemporary religious identity. Verbas with decorations in Eastern Lithuania are more popular amongst Polish believers; in Western Belarus, they are blessed regardless of confessional and nationality differences. In the beginning of the 21st century, three main variants of palm-shaped verba may be found. The first variant is made from willow or juniper twigs decorated with dry and green flower blossoms (or the twigs of both trees are used together). The second and very popular decoration variant is artificial flowers attached to a willow twig. In the third variant, the blossoms made from threads are arranged along the whole length of a willow twig.An exceptional case among the decorated verbas in Eastern Lithuania are the Vilnius verba. This variant of decorated verba first appeared at the start of the 19th century in the surrounding areas of Vilnius. Originally, these verbas were associated with the Polish religious and folk culture of Southeast Lithuania. In the second half of the 20th century, the Vilnius verbas were strongly linked with the Catholic Lithuanian and Polish folk culture of the Vilnius region, but have not been popular amongst the believers of Belarus.Considerable differences may be noticed in the scope and content of decorative elements in the verba of Lithuania and Belarus. In Lithuania, decorated verbas are more popular among urban Catholics. Thus, verba reveals the diversity of the Christian tradition, which comprises the exceptional features of the contemporary folk religion in Eastern Lithuania and Western Belarus. Through the link between the verba and the ethnic and confessional communities, these variants of the symbol become an important identity-forming factor for the inhabitants of Western Belarus and Eastern Lithuania in the second half of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century.