PROFESSIONAL COMPETENCE REQUIREMENTS: THE VIEWS OF SEVERAL PHYSICAL AND SPORTS EDUCATION TEACHERS (CASE IN MOSTAGANEM PROVINCE, ALGERIA)

The purpose of this study was to identify the opinions of Physical and Sports Education (PSE) teachers regarding professional competence and the specific requirements of the work. A questionnaire was drawn up and sent to 85 PSE teachers in secondary schools based the Mostaganem “Wilaya” or Province in Algeria. The findings indicate that this group of teachers could not clearly define general or specific competence. However, they largely agreed that the teacher/coach plays a very important role in establishing the professional competence of trainees. Competence that is specific to PSE is described in studies as “how to apply competence by competence the approach to teaching PSE” and “knowing how to apply legislation”. None of the teachers responding cited a basic competence in the professional sphere, described in the literature: sound knowledge of legislation and administrative procedures. In addition, the findings show that the teachers are not satisfied with the training they received and that it does not enable them to reinvest their training in their professional role. From the opinions expressed by the population studied, their training does not encourage professionalism. This finding is also confirmed by research by Laroua et al (2014)

Effects of physical exercise on butyrylcholinesterase in obese adolescents

Abstract The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of a 12 week program of physical exercise (PE) on butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) in obese adolescents. This study compared obese adolescents (N = 54) before and after PE, regarding the relative intensity (RI) and activity of different molecular forms (G1, G2, G4 and G1-ALB) of BChE found in plasma. Waist circumference (WC) and lipid profile were also assessed before and after PE. It was shown that before PE, mean plasma BChE activity was significantly higher in obese than in non-obese adolescents and that it was significantly reduced after PE, becoming similar to that found in non-obese adolescents. Lipid profile and WC also changed in response to PE. These results are consistent with studies that found a correlation between BChE and lipid metabolism and suggest that PE may have led to a physiological regularization of plasma BChE activity. Although mean BChE activity of each isoform was significantly reduced by PE, their RI did not change. This is in accordance with a previous suggestion that this proportion is maintained under factors such as obesity, and may therefore be important for BChE functions. Key words: BChE activity; physical exercise, obesity. Butyrylcholinesterase (BChE; EC 3.1.1.8) is coded by BCHE gene (3q26.1-q26.2), synthesized in the liver and distributed to several parts of the organism. Plasmatic BChE is found in four possible homomeric forms (G1 monomers, G2 dimmers, G3 trimers and G4 tetramers) or heteromeric forms formed in association with other proteins, such as albumin, G1-Alb (Masson, 1989). Several studies verified that BChE has a role in lipid metabolism The aim of this study was to compare the relative intensity (RI) of BChE isoforms revealed as bands (G1, G1-Alb, G2 and G4) in obese adolescents before and after 12 weeks of physical exercise (PE), and to search for a correlation between RI of BChE isoform bands, plasma BChE activity and PE. The sample comprised 54 obese adolescents (BMI above percentile 95 and mean age 12.6 ± 2.01), these being participants of a 12 week program of physical exercise. Aerobic exercise consisted of 50 to 100 min activity during the first four weeks. Intensity was set at 35%-55% of VO 2 peak, and was increased to 55%-75% during the next eight weeks. Plasma was sampled at baseline and after terminating the program. A sample of non-obese adolescents (N = 45; mean age 13.3 ± 2.15) was used to measure plasma BChE activity. The detection and analysis of BChE bands in plasma was made according to Mean plasma BChE activity was significantly reduced after the 12 weeks program (before: 7.66 ± 2.64 KU/L, after: 5.89 ± 2.34 KU/L; t = 2.96, p = 0.008). Accompanying BChE activity, waist circumference (WC; before: 97.41 ± 11.20 cm, after: 94.62 ± 10.51 cm, t = 3.6 and p = 0.03), LDL-cholesterol (LDL-C; before: 94.45 ± 20.83 mg/dL, after: 86.00 ± 16.37 mg/dL, t = 2.77 and p = 0.012) and triglycerides (TG; before: 114.30 ± 57.14 mg/dL, after: 82.75 ± 42.66 mg/dL, t = 3.1 and p = 0.006) also showed significant reduction with PE

Corporeality, equality and education. A biopedagogical perspective

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The machine body metaphor: From science and technology to physical education and sport, in France (1825–1935)

International audienceThe long history of the conception of physical exercise in France may be viewed as a function of a series of changes in understanding the body. Scientific concepts were used to present the body in official texts by authors specializing in the subject, or to describe them, as did Michel Foucault, as epistemic 1 changes. A departure occurred during the 19th century that is clearly demonstrated in the writings of Gustave Adolphe Hirn. This breakthrough concerned the idea of considering the organism as an energy-generating machine. This metaphor was employed in describing the body during physical exercise from the 17th to the 19th centuries, when the body was thought of as mechanical. Such metaphors were used by the most relevant figures writing at the end of the 19th century in the rationale that is examined in this paper. It shows how Hirn, Marey, Lagrange, Demenij, Hebert, and Tissié saw the body and how they employed machine metaphors when referring to it. These machine metaphors are analyzed from the time of their scientific and technological origins up to their current use in physical and sports education. This analysis will contribute to the understanding of how a scientific metaphor comes to be in common use and may lead to particular exercise practices