Case Study of an Urban Elementary School\u27s Transition from Failing to Distinguished School Status

This qualitative study seeks to understand how the multidimensional functioning of an urban high-poverty high-minority elementary school changed as it moved from failing school status to distinguished school status and to determine how school change promoted the organizational well-being of the school using a case study methodology. The multidimensional lenses used to view changes at Eagle included school purpose, culture, structure, leadership, organizational and professional learning, and teacher emotions. Using these lenses to view changes provides an explanation of not only how Eagle transitioned from failing school status to distinguished school status, but more importantly, how it has been able to sustain its success over a five year period and beyond. This case study provides essential elements that emerged to provide a clear picture of how one high-poverty, high-minority urban elementary school bridged the achievement gap between failing and distinguished school status. Findings from the study add to the body of literature about successful educational change in high-poverty highminority schools. This study has theoretical significance in that it embraces the concepts of educational change theory to understand organizational dynamics that may result in failing school status and positive school change. The study\u27s holistic approach to examining educational change and school improvement suggests that schools serve a broader purpose than the cognitive focused demands of standardized tests

Reliability of Three-Dimensional Angular Kinematics and Kinetics of Swimming Derived from Digitized Video

The purpose of this study was to explore the reliability of estimating three-dimensional (3D) angular kinematics and kinetics of a swimmer derived from digitized video. Two high-level front crawl swimmers and one high level backstroke swimmer were recorded by four underwater and two above water video cameras. One of the front crawl swimmers was digitized at 50 fields per second with a window for smoothing by a 4(th) order Butterworth digital filter extending 10 fields beyond the start and finish of the stroke cycle (FC1), while the other front crawl (FC2) and backstroke (BS) swimmer were digitized at 25 frames per second with the window extending five frames beyond the start and finish of the stroke cycle. Each camera view of one stroke cycle was digitized five times yielding five independent 3D data sets from which whole body centre of mass (CM) yaw, pitch, roll, and torques were derived together with wrist and ankle moment arms with respect to an inertial reference system with origin at the CM. Coefficients of repeatability ranging from r = 0.93 to r = 0.99 indicated that both digitising sampling rates and extrapolation methods are sufficiently reliable to identify real differences in net torque production. This will enable the sources of rotations about the three axes to be explained in future research. Errors in angular kinematics and displacements of the wrist and ankles relative to range of motion were small for all but the ankles in the X (swimming) direction for FC2 who had a very vigorous kick. To avoid large errors when digitising the ankles of swimmers with vigorous kicks it is recommended that a marker on the shank could be used to calculate the ankle position based on the known displacements between knee, shank, and ankle markers

MAGNITUDE OF MAXIMUM SHOULDER AND HIP ROLL ANGLES IN BACK CRAWL AT DIFFERENT SWIMMING SPEEDS

The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of maximum shoulder and hip roll angles in back crawl at different swimming speeds. Ten male elite swimmers performed back crawl at four different swimming speeds. The swimming trials were filmed by a total of six digital video cameras and three-dimensional coordinates of swimmer's anatomical landmarks were calculated using the three-dimensional direct linear transform. The data were input to a MATLAB programme to calculate linear and angular kinematics. Among the four speed trials, maximum shoulder and hip roll angles were unchanged, and maximum shoulder roll angle was significantly larger than maximum hip roll angle in all trials. In conclusion, the swimming speed does not affect swimmer's shoulder and hip roll angles in back crawl swimming

THE APPLICATION OF FOURIER ANALYSIS TO DEMONSTRATE THE IMPACT OF THE FLUTTER KICK ON LONGITUDINAL ROTATION IN FRONT CRAWL

The contribution of the flutter kick to front crawl performance from its influence on longitudinal body rotation has not been thoroughly investigated. Fourier analysis was used to examine the impact of the kick on segmental and whole body angular momentum about the body’s longitudinal axis in fourteen elite front crawl specialists swimming at sprint and 400m pace. The third harmonic frequency, representing the effects of the six-beat flutter kick, was greater at sprint than 400m pace in lower limb, upper limb, and whole body angular momentum. The presence of the third harmonic in upper limb and whole body angular momentum indicates that the flutter kick has an influence on longitudinal body rotation. The role of the flutter kick in front crawl performance may be linked to actions of the torso muscles to help control longitudinal body rotation

Magnitude of maximum shoulder and hip roll angles in back crawl at different swimming speeds.

The purpose of this study was to identify the characteristics of maximum shoulder and hip roll angles in back crawl at different swimming speeds. Ten male elite swimmers performed back crawl at four different swimming speeds. The swimming trials were filmed by a total of six digital video cameras and three-dimensional coordinates of swimmer's anatomical landmarks were calculated using the three-dimensional direct linear transform. The data were input to a MATLAB programme to calculate linear and angular kinematics. Among the four speed trials, maximum shoulder and hip roll angles were unchanged, and maximum shoulder roll angle was significantly larger than maximum hip roll angle in all trials. In conclusion, the swimming speed does not affect swimmer's shoulder and hip roll angles in back crawl swimming

A METHOD OF QUANTIFYING TORSO SHAPE TO ASSESS ITS INFLUENCE ON RESISTIVE DRAG IN SWIMMING

Torso shape characteristics such as cross-sectional area, curvatures and indentations influence the pressure distribution of fluid flow around the torso. The purpose of this study was to introduce a new method of quantifying torso shape using photographic imaging. The contours of the torso in the frontal and sagittal planes were obtained by tracing photographs of the swimmers. Anterior, posterior and lateral flow lines were interpolated to samples spaced at 1mm vertically and used to determine continuous form gradients of four elite male swimmers. The maximum rate of change in cross-sectional area was estimated from chest-waist and waist-hip by modelling each vertical sample of the torso as an ellipse. The method provides implications for discussion with coaches and athletes and future research to determine the role of torso shape in talent identification and swimming performance