Investigating the role of age and maturation on the association between tennis experience and cognitive function in junior beginner to intermediate-level tennis players

Sport engagement, including tennis, and physical activity have been shown to have a positive influence on cognition in children. However, age has also been found to have a strong association with cognition in youth athletes. This study examines the threshold hypothesis by investigating the moderating role of age and maturation on the association between tennis experience and cognitive measures in Australian and German junior beginner to intermediate-level tennis players. The demographic information, which includes years of tennis experience, and anthropometrics (e.g. height and weight) was collected for 48 junior tennis players. A comprehensive cognitive testing battery was then completed to assess cognitive performance, with a principle component analysis used to determine an overall cognitive performance score. Multiple regression analyses were then performed to test the relationship between tennis experience and cognitive performance as well as the moderating effects of age and maturation. The results of this study indicate that the age and maturation rather than the exposure to tennis training are related to cognitive performance. Additionally, the positive relations of tennis experience to cognitive performance were stronger in younger participants, specifically those younger than 12 years old. Therefore, tennis may not provide a stimulus large enough for further cognitive improvement once players have developed a high level of cognitive performance. While age and biological maturity will largely dictate cognitive performance in adolescents, tennis experience may play some role in the cognitive performance of children (specifically <12 years of age).

Preemptive Immunotherapy for Minimal Residual Disease in Patients With t(8;21) Acute Myeloid Leukemia After Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

In patients with t(8;21) acute myeloid leukemia (AML), recurrent minimal residual disease (MRD) measured by RUNX1-RUNX1T1 transcript levels can predict relapse after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). This study aimed to compare the efficacy of preemptive interferon (IFN)-α therapy and donor lymphocyte infusion (DLI) in patients with t(8;21) AML following allo-HSCT. We also evaluated the appropriate method for patients with different levels of RUNX1-RUNX1T1 transcripts. In this retrospective study, consecutive patients who had high-risk t(8;21) AML and received allo-HSCT were enrolled. The inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) age ≤65 years; (2) regained MRD positive following allo-HSCT. MRD positive was defined as the loss of a ≥4.5-log reduction and/or &lt;4.5-log reduction in the RUNX1-RUNX1T1 transcripts, and high-level, intermediate-level, and low-level MRDs were, respectively, defined as &lt;2.5-log, 2.5−3.5-log, and 3.5−4.5-log reductions in the transcripts compared with the pretreatment baseline level. Patients with positive RUNX1-RUNX1T1 could receive preemptive IFN-α therapy or DLI, which was primarily based on donor availability and the intentions of physicians and patients. The patients received recombinant human IFN-α-2b therapy by subcutaneous injection twice a week every 4 weeks. IFN-α therapy was scheduled for six cycles or until the RUNX1-RUNX1T1 transcripts were negative for at least two consecutive tests. The rates of MRD turning negative for patients with low-level, intermediate-level, and high-level RUNX1-RUNX1T1 receiving IFN-α were 87.5%, 58.1%, and 22.2%, respectively; meanwhile, for patients with intermediate-level and high-level RUNX1-RUNX1T1 receiving DLI, the rates were 50.0% and 14.3%, respectively. For patients with low-level and intermediate-level RUNX1-RUNX1T1, the probability of overall survival at 2 years was higher in the IFN-α group than in the DLI group (87.6% vs. 55.6%; p = 0.003). For patients with high levels of RUNX1-RUNX1T1, the probability of overall survival was comparable between the IFN-α and DLI groups (53.3% vs. 83.3%; p = 0.780). Therefore, patients with low-level and intermediate-level RUNX1-RUNX1T1 could benefit more from preemptive IFN-α therapy compared with DLI. Clinical outcomes were comparable between preemptive IFN-α therapy and DLI in patients with high-level RUNX1-RUNX1T1; however, they should be further improved.

The effectiveness of task-based language teaching on the writing skill: a systematic research synthesis

Introduction. This systematic research synthesis investigated the effectiveness of Task-based language teaching interventions on L2 writing performance of intermediate level students. Objective. The main aim was to determine the effects of independent variable manipulations of task-based language teaching on different modes of writing measured holistically and by means of CALF constructs. Methodology. The integration of qualitative and quantitative data was carried out by means of a systematic literature search and retrieval of published articles from 2010 until September 2011. Substantive and methodological features of the studies were coded and compared for the identification of commonly used practices and trends within the Task-based language teaching and L2 writing research domain. Results. The results indicate 3 major types of task-based interventions: TBLT framework, task complexity manipulations and task planning conditions have prevailed as treatments. Task complexity treatments have had beneficial effects on measures of fluency and lexical complexity while strategic planning and planning time also favored fluency in L2 writing. In turn, TBLT framework lesson treatments yielded large effects measured as Cohen’s d. Conclusion. In spite of the wide variety of treatment conditions and outcome measures for different modes of L2 writing, support is given to the importance of the pre-task cycle stage management of TBLT for intermediate level learners.

Antecedentes do Compromisso com as Metas Orçamentárias

ABSTRACT Objective: this study analyzes the interactions between budgetary participation, motivation at work (intrinsic and extrinsic), and commitment to budgetary goals. Methods: a survey was carried out with 131 intermediate level managers from different organizational areas of companies classified among the best and biggest companies in Brazil. Results: the results of modeling structural equations indicate that intrinsic and extrinsic motivations have different roles in their interactions with budgetary participation and commitment to goals. And their involvement in the budgetary process reveals behavioral and motivational effects. Conclusions: it is concluded that participation in the budgetary process can positively reflect on managerial performance, insofar as it is able to trigger intrinsic motivational effect and favor behaviors aimed at the commitment to budgetary goals.

Antecedents of Commitment to Budgetary Goals

ABSTRACT Objective: this study analyzes the interactions between budgetary participation, motivation at work (intrinsic and extrinsic), and commitment to budgetary goals. Methods: a survey was carried out with 131 intermediate level managers from different organizational areas of companies classified among the best and biggest companies in Brazil. Results: the results of modeling structural equations indicate that intrinsic and extrinsic motivations have different roles in their interactions with budgetary participation and commitment to goals. And their involvement in the budgetary process reveals behavioral and motivational effects. Conclusions: it is concluded that participation in the budgetary process can positively reflect on managerial performance, insofar as it is able to trigger intrinsic motivational effect and favor behaviors aimed at the commitment to budgetary goals.

Unabridged Short Stories by 21st-Century Spanish-Speaking Authors in Teaching Spanish as a Foreign Language

Introduction. The need to include authentic works of fiction in the foreign language teaching process is obvious, but the selection of texts of the appropriate level at the elementary and intermediate stages of Spanish teaching remains a challenge. Since this phenomenon has not been sufficiently explored, the aim of this article is to present a list of unabridged short stories that correspond to the intermediate level (B1 PCIC) and the results of the study on the benefits of using these stories as a means of stimulating communication skills in the Spanish class. Materials and Methods. To study the problem, a Likert scale questionnaire, oral interviews, and a check of the final work were carried out. The study involved 54 students from three Russian universities and one school where Spanish and English are studied in depth. The collected data were processed by methods of mathematical statistics in Microsoft Office Excel. For the study, 36 short stories by contemporary Hispanic authors were selected and pre and post-reading questions were developed to introduce the topic and stimulate oral speech. Results. Based on the results of the study, it was revealed that the selected stories correspond to the B1 level of the Cervantes Instituteʼs curriculum, and the topics presented in the stories stimulate communication in the class, pushing the fear of making a mistake into the background. Many Spanish teachers introduce unabridged fiction starting at B2 level. This experiment demonstrates the successful use of short stories at an intermediate level of language proficiency. Discussion and Conclusion. The results of the study contribute to the development and improvement of the methodology of teaching Spanish with the use of authentic fiction texts. The materials of the article will be useful for practicing teachers and methodologists of the Spanish language.

COMMUNICATIVE COMPETENCES OF FUTURE INTERMEDIATE LEVEL MANAGERS AS A PEDAGOGICAL PHENOMENON

Statement of the problem. Reforming of the professional education system required by conscious choice of secondary school graduates wishing to start their independent life quickly and which guarantees successful start of their career, is connected with corresponding changes in substantive, technological and competence aspects. Blue-collar and white-collar qualifications become popular among young people. The labor market sets new requirements for graduates of secondary vocational schools and this defines the range of professional competences of future intermediate-level managers. The purpose of article is to define psychological and pedagogical bases of formation of communicative competence in future intermediate-level managers. Methodology of research consists of a competent and systematic approach as a basis for structuring of future intermediate-level managers professional competences; State Educational Standard of Secondary Vocational Training in 16.0631.01 Car Mechanics; Federal State Education Standard requirements to the curriculum for training qualified employees. Research results. Composition of competences (general and professional competences) of future intermediate-level managers is identified and substantiated. The main causes of the communication problems are stated: shortcomings in secondary vocational education; inconsistencies of terms in requirements for general competence in the Federal State Education Standard and Car Mechanic Professional Standard. Conclusion. Article defines psychological and pedagogical foundations for development of communicative competences in future car mechanics during learning mathematics. Teacher issues related with choosing a form of collaboration with students in math class are identified.

Higher Commercial Education in Great Britain and Ireland

Intermediate-level adult and commercial education was well established in Manchester and Liverpool by the last third of the nineteenth century, but the first dedicated Faculty of Commerce was founded in Birmingham in 1902, headed by William Ashley. There was, however, little local support for the initiative, which was moreover aimed at school-leavers, and the Faculty of Commerce created in Manchester shortly afterwards had much greater early success. The teaching of commerce in British and Irish universities was established by the 1920s, but there was a general failure to establish a curriculum and develop supporting texts and journals. By the later 1940s these early foundations were increasingly teaching economics, indicating the way in which commercial education in Britain was mainly a vehicle for the development of the teaching of economics.