The influence of rifle carriage on the kinetics of human gait

The influence that rifle carriage has on human gait has received little attention in the published literature. Rifle carriage has two main effects, to add load to the anterior of the body and to restrict natural arm swing patterns. Kinetic data were collected from 15 male participants, with 10 trials in each of four experimental conditions. The conditions were: walking without a load (used as a control condition); carrying a lightweight rifle simulator, which restricted arm movements but applied no additional load; wearing a 4.4 kg diving belt, which allowed arms to move freely; carrying a weighted (4.4 kg) replica SA80 rifle. Walking speed was fixed at 1.5 m/s (+5%) and data were sampled at 400 Hz. Results showed that rifle carriage significantly alters the ground reaction forces produced during walking, the most important effects being an increase in the impact peak and mediolateral forces. This study suggests that these effects are due to the increased range of motion of the body’s centre of mass caused by the impeding of natural arm swing patterns. The subsequent effect on the potential development of injuries in rifle carriers is unknown

What tweets tell us about MOOC participation

In this research paper, the authors analyze the collected Twitter data output during MobiMOOC 2011. This six-week data stream includes all tweets that contain the MOOC's hashtag (#mobiMOOC) and it has been analyzed using qualitative methodology. The analysis sought to examine the emotive vocabulary used, to determine if there was content-sharing via tweets, and to analyze the folksonomic trends of the tweets. In Addition sought a deeper understanding of what, and how, MOOC participants share what they share on the MOOC's Twitter channel. The aim of this study is to provide a little more insight into MOOC learner behaviors on Twitter so that future MOOC designers and facilitators can better engage with their learners.Facultad de Ciencias Exacta

"A different world" exploring and understanding the climate of a recently re-rolled sexual offender prison

Understanding how sexual offenders experience prison and its environment is important because such experiences can impact on rehabilitation outcomes. The purpose of this research investigation was to explore the rehabilitative and therapeutic climate of a recently re-rolled sexual offender prison. The research took a mixed methods approach and consisted of quantitative and qualitative phases. There were differences between prisoners and staff on their perception of the prison climate and for prisoner and staff relationships. The qualitative results helped to explain the quantitative findings and added a more nuanced understanding of the experience of the prison, the nature of prisoner and staff relationships and the opportunities for personal growth within the prison. The study has important implications for prisons that co-locate sexual offenders and want to provide an environment conducive to rehabilitation