A teacher’s identity trajectory within a context of change

This article examines the effects of political, socio-economic and educational change on a South African teacher’s identity trajectory. Our research was conducted at a primary school in a historically disadvantaged community in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. We applied a cultural-historical activity theoretical (CHAT) lens to explore the identity trajectory of one of the teachers. Our findings suggest that a teacher’s identity is a social product, drawn from social history, actively internalized and re-authored in response to new circumstances. This was especially evident during the transformation at the macro-political, educational and institutional levels in South Africa since 1994.Key words: agency; CHAT; disadvantaged context; emerging economy; identity trajectory; practical activity; primaryschool; teacher; transformatio

Veteran athletes exercise at higher maximum heart rates than are achieved during standard exercise (stress) testing

Objective. The stress electrocardiogram (sECG) is routinely used to screen individuals for underlying cardiac pathology before an exercise programme is prescribed. The underlying assumption is that the cardiac responses elicited during the sECG test are similar to those achieved during participation in sportiilg activities. However, this premise may be incorrect since the physical demands of different modes of exercise vary substantially.Design. Ten veteran league squash players (LSP), 10 social squash players (SSP), 10 league runners (LR), 10 social runners (SR) and 10 sedentary individuals (SED) were recruited for the study. All subjects completed a lifestyle questionnaire, a full medical examination and a routine sECG. Thereafter each subject's heart rate (HR) was monitored on two separate occasions while participating in sporting activity.Results. No sECG exercise-induced abnormalities were observed, although five subjects showed resting abnormalities. Maximal HR during the sECG, and maximal and mean HR during the field tests, were not significantly diHerent between groups. However, maximal HR was significantly higher in all groups during their sporting activities than during stress testing in the laboratory (P < 0.01).Conclusions. Maximal HR in veteran athletes during specific sporting activities was significantly higher than that attained during a routine sECG. This finding was not sport-specific, nor was it related to the level of competitiveness of the trial participants. These data show that a routine sECG is a submaximal test of exercise performance, and should be interpreted as such

RAFI replication: easier done than said?

This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in The Journal of Asset Management. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Glabadanidis, Paskalis Teodoros; Obaydin, Ivan; Zurbruegg, Ralf, RAFI replication: easier done than said?, The Journal of Asset Management, 2012; 13(3):210-225 is available online at: dx.doi.org/10.1057/jam.2012.7We investigate whether adding fundamental indices to a portfolio provides increased diversification benefits. Our results show that equity investors who care only about portfolio mean and variance will benefit from including a fundamental index in their portfolios. This benefit is especially pronounced during periods of average stock market volatility. We also find that investors can construct a do-it-yourself buy-and-hold replicating portfolio that frequently outperforms the Research Affiliates Fundamental Index®(RAFI®), exchange traded fund out-of-sample.Paskalis Glabadanidis, Ivan Obaydin, Ralf Zurbrueg

Effective practices of international volunteering for health : perspectives from partner organizations

Abstract: The demand for international volunteer experiences to promote global health and nutrition is increasing and numerous studies have documented the experiences of the international volunteers who travel abroad; however, little is known about effective practices from the perspective of partner organizations. This study aims to understand how variables such as the skill-level of volunteers, the duration of service, cultural and language training, and other key variables affect partner organizations’ perceptions of volunteer effectiveness at promoting healthcare and nutrition..