Coaches believe world-ranking lists are a reliable tool for predicting international swimming performance. To examine the relationship between world-ranking and Olympic performance, we modelled world-ranking time and best time from the 2000 Olympic Games for 407 top-50 world-ranked swimmers. Analysis of log-transformed times yielded within-athlete and between-athlete coefficients of variation (CV) and percent changes in performance from world-rankings to Olympics. Variations and performance progressions were compared across sex, stroke, distance, nation and medal status. The within-athlete coefficient of variation of performance for all swimmers was 0.8% (95% confidence limits: 0.7 to 0.9%). Females were slightly less consistent, although not substantially different to males (ratio of female/male within-athlete CV: 1.1; 95% confidence limits: 1.0 to 1.2) and had a wider range of talent (ratio of female/male between-athlete CV: 1.2; 95% confidence limits: 1.1 to 1.4). Swimmers from Australia (AUS) were more consistent than those from the United States (USA) and other nations (OTHER) (ratio of within-athlete CV, USA/AUS: 1.5; 95% confidence limits: 1.0 to 2.2; OTHER/ AUS: 1.6; 95% confidence limits: 1.2 to 2.1). Most Olympic medallists (87%) had a top-10 world-ranking. Overall performance time at the Olympics was slower than world-ranking time by 0.3% (95% confidence limits: 0.2 to 0.4%), medallists improved by 0.6% (95% confidence limits: 0.4 to 0.9%) and non-medallists swam 0.6% slower (95% confidence limits: 0.5 to 0.7%). We conclude that a top-10 ranked swimmer who can improve performance time by 0.6%, equivalent to 0.13 s in the men's 50-m freestyle, will substantially increase their chance of an Olympic medal (the difference between first and fourth place). 相似文献
This article compares the organization and practice of primary English language teaching in Norway and The Netherlands, considering the strengths and weaknesses of the respective systems. It is based on surveys carried out in each country. Several issues considered essential to the success of a primary EFL program are addressed, such as starting age, contact hours, teacher competence, teaching priorities, classroom practice, the use of the target language as the language of instruction, and materials used. Special attention is given to the transition from the primary to secondary level. Although both countries share common challenges and problems, these appear to be far greater in the Netherlands than in Norway, especially with regard to continuity from primary to secondary.
Cet article compare l'organisation et la pratique de l'enseignement de l'anglais à l'école primaire en Norvège et aux Pays‐Bas, en considérant les forces et les faiblesses des systèmes respectifs. L'article se base sur des enquêtes réalisées dans chaque pays. Plusieurs éléments essentiels ont été pris en compte pour le succès du programme de EFL (anglais langue étrangère) à l'école primaire, comme l'âge des élèves, le nombre d'heures d'enseignement, la compétence du professeur, les priorités de l'enseignement, les pratiques de classe, l'utilisation de la langue cible pendant l'enseignement et le matériel utilisé. Une attention toute particulière a été accordée à la transition du niveau primaire au niveau secondaire. Bien que les deux pays partagent les mêmes ambitions et les mêmes problèmes, il semble qu'ils soient mieux abordés aux Pays‐Bas qu'en Norvège, particulièrement si l'on considère la continuité entre le niveau primaire et le niveau secondaire.
Este artículo compara la organización y la práctica de la enseñanza del idioma inglés en la escuela primaria en Noruega y en los Países Bajos, considerando lo positivo y lo negativo de los sistemas respectivos. Se basa en investigaciones realizadas en cada país. Se toman en cuenta varios elementos esenciales para el éxito del programa de EFL (enseñanza del inglés para extranjeros) en la escuela primaria, como la edad de los alumnos, las horas de enseñanza, la competencia del profesor, las prácticas de clase, el uso del idioma enseñado en la situación de enseñanza y el material utilizado. Una atención particular está otorgada a la transición de la escuela primaria a la segundaria. Aunque los dos países compartan los mismos desafíos y problemas, aparece que son tratados mejor en los Países Bajos que en Noruega, especialmente si se considera la continuidad entre el nivel primario y el segundario.
Im Mittelpunkt des Beitrags steht ein Vergleich der Organisation und Praxis des Grundschul‐Englischunterrichts in den Niederlanden und in Norwegen, wobei Stärken und Schwächen der jeweiligen Systeme aufgezeigt werden. Die Untersuchung beruht auf Umfragen, die unter Lehrkräften in den beiden Ländern durchgeführt wurden. Eine Reihe wichtiger Aspekte, die für den Erfolg von Englischprogrammen im Grundschulbereich verantwortlich sind, wie Eingangsalter der Schüler, Stundendeputat, Kompetenz der Lehrkraft, Unterrichtsziele, Unterrichtspraxis, Unterrichtsprache und Lehrmittel, werden angesprochen. Besondere Aufmerksamkeit wird dem Übergang vom Grundschul‐ zum Sekundarbereich gewidmet. Obwohl beide Länder vor ähnlichen Problemen und Herausforderungen stehen, scheinen diese in den Niederlanden sehr viel schwerwiegender als in Norwegen zu sein, ganz besonders in Bezug auf die Frage der Kontinuität beim Wechsel von der Grundschule zur Sekundarstufe. 相似文献
December 1989 meant for the Romanian academie world the break off with the communist dogmaticism and the politics of indoctrination and also the possibility of installing a critical analysis and the continuity of the true values of Romanian universities. Two inquiries conducted in 1990 and 1991 among students and Professors revealed a strong contesting pathos (persons, teaching contents and methods. The entire educational System were contested) and also a true desire to find out the critical aspects which enhances a new ideology in the higher education System. Students and a part of the faculty have discovered expressions like “academic freedom” and “academie autonomy”. They started to use concepts like “change”, “academic democracy”, “social responsibility”. New expectations concerning the behavioural offer of Professors occurred. When defining the direction of this change, authors chose the expression “toward normality”. Indices of normality could be the assumption by the university of new functions and value orientations previously forgotten and abandoned, under the dictatorial system such as creation and diffusion of values, introduction of criteria of competence and morality in evaluating both academic status and behaviour of Professors.相似文献
Estimates of progression and variability of athletic performance in competitions are useful for researchers and practitioners interested in factors that affect performance. We used repeated-measures mixed modelling to analyse 676 official race times of 26 US and 25 Australian Olympic swimmers in the 12-month period leading up to the 2000 Olympic Games. Progression was expressed as percent changes in mean performance; variability was expressed as the coefficient of variation in performance of an individual swimmer between races. Within competitions, both nations showed similar improvements in mean time from heats through finals (overall 1.2%; 95% confidence limits 1.1 to 1.3%). Mean competition time also improved over 12 months by a similar amount in both nations (0.9%; 95% confidence limits 0.6 to 1.2%). The US swimmers showed a greater improvement between the finals (a difference of 0.5%; 95% confidence limits ?0.2 to 1.1%), which paralleled changes in the medal haul of the two nations. The coefficient of variation in performance time for a swimmer between races was 0.60% (95% confidence limits 0.56 to 0.65%) within a competition and 0.80% (95% confidence limits 0.73 to 0.86%) between competitions. Our results show that: (a) to stay in contention for a medal, an Olympic swimmer should improve his or her performance by ～1% within a competition and by ～1% within the year leading up to the Olympics; (b) an additional enhancement of ～0.4% (one-half the between-competition variability) would substantially increase the swimmer's chances of a medal. 相似文献
Assessment is a key component of the education process and strategies involving peer-feedback are considered beneficial to student learning. This study aims to analyse the benefits giving and receiving feedback have for students’ development of cognitive and metacognitive, affective and professional competences. One-hundred and eighty-eight students enrolled in teacher education answered a survey. Results indicate that, after providing feedback, the students perceived a better learning experience and an increased sense of commitment to their own learning and their colleagues’ progress. A key finding from this study was the role of students in their own learning. As most participants recognised, providing feedback helped them improve their learning, which is a clear indicator that students want to adopt an active role in their own learning and consider their involvement critical in the design of teaching and learning experiences. To achieve the greatest advantages, feedback must be accompanied by tutoring and mentoring to ensure positive connections with the task, address doubts and clarify the comments received. 相似文献
Some of the main concerns in international higher education are the feeling of isolation among international students and their inability to adapt to the host environment, which may result in sub-optimal academic performance. Theoretically, peer learning can be an effective method to reduce these problems since it has the capacity to address isolation and adaptability issues among international students in a way that improves their learning experience and outcomes. Given the above, our study was designed to investigate this topic, focusing on the experience of international students. In this exploratory case study of a leading Irish university, we adopted a survey method via questionnaire to quantify and compare the experiences of a sample of international students at the said university. Five aspects of peer learning were explored, namely usage rate, current practices, outcomes, challenges, and coping strategies. We also included an open-ended section in the survey instrument for respondents to offer qualitative suggestions to the host institution. Through methodological triangulation of the quantitative and qualitative data, we discovered diverse practices, challenges, and outcomes of peer learning across different groups of international students in this university. The paper concludes with a discussion of research implications and suggestions for future studies. 相似文献
This article examines the factors which contribute to the success of female academics engaging in research in social sciences. The data were obtained through a series of interviews carried out at public universities in Catalonia with women, all of whom were the heads of research groups recognized by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Government). These results reveal several aspects relevant for women academics, at both the individual and institutional levels, in terms of employment opportunities, management of research programmes, development of teaching strategies and individual time management. This should assist the development of institutional policies and practices within higher education to help women build successful research careers. 相似文献
