Middle and elementary school students’ changes in self-determined motivation in a basketball unit taught using the Tactical Games Model

Studies examining student motivation levels suggest that this is a significant factor in students’ engagement in physical education and may be positively affected when teachers employ alternative pedagogical models such as game-centered approaches (GCAs). The aim of this study was to investigate changes in self-determined motivation of students as they participated in a GCA-basketball unit taught using the Tactical Games Model (TGM). Participants were 173 students (84 girls), 79 middle school (45 girls) and 94 (39 girls) elementary school students from four seventh and five fourth/fifth grade co-educational classes. Two teachers taught 32 (middle) and 33 (elementary) level one TGM basketball lessons. Need satisfaction and self-determined motivation data were collected using a previously validated instrument, while lesson context and teacher behavior data were recorded using systematic observation instruments. Repeated measures MANOVAs were employed to examine pre-posttest differences. Results revealed a significant main effect for time in need satisfaction for both middle (relatedness increased) and elementary school students (autonomy decreased) and a significant main effect in self-determined motivation for middle school students only (introjected regulation, external regulation, and amotivation all increased). Approximately 48%/42% (middle/elementary) of lesson time was game play, 22%/22% skill practice, 17%/17% management, and 13%/19% knowledge. The primary teacher behaviors used were instruction, management, specific observation, corrective feedback and modelling. Results indicate that it is important for future research to pay greater attention to the contextual factors associated with the application of the TGM, such as the students’ previous exposure to TGM lessons, and the teachers’ training and experience in utilizing the TGM. Indeed, results of the present study demonstrate that a longer-term commitment to the TGM is necessary to reduce controlling teacher behaviors, which will lead to positive changes in students’ need satisfaction and self-determined motivation. Future research is therefore needed to embrace this challenge to provide an increased evidence-base for GCAs such as the TGM

Gender and school-level differences in students' moderate and vigorous physical activity levels when taught basketball through the tactical games model

The Tactical Games Model (TGM) prefaces the cognitive components of physical education (PE), which has implications for physical activity (PA) accumulation. PA recommendations suggest students reach 50% moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). However, this criterion does not indicate the contribution from vigorous physical activity (VPA). Consequently, this study investigated: a) the effects of TGM delivery on MVPA/VPA and, b) gender/school level differences. Participants were 78 seventh and 96 fourth/fifth grade coeducational PE students from two different schools. Two teachers taught 24 (middle) and 30 (elementary) level one TGM basketball lessons. Students wore Actigraph GT3× triaxial accelerometers. Data were analyzed using four one-way ANOVAs. Middle school boys had significantly higher MVPA/VPA (34.04/22.37%) than girls (25.14/15.47%). Elementary school boys had significantly higher MVPA/VPA (29.73/18.33%) than girls (23.03/14.33%). While TGM lessons provide a context where students can accumulate VPA consistent with national PA recommendations, teachers need to modify lesson activities to enable equitable PA participation

MAGMO: Coherent magnetic fields in the star forming regions of the Carina-Sagittarius spiral arm tangent

We present the pilot results of the `MAGMO' project, targeted observations of ground-state hydroxyl masers towards sites of 6.7-GHz methanol maser emission in the Carina-Sagittarius spiral arm tangent, Galactic longitudes 280 degrees to 295 degrees. The `MAGMO' project aims to determine if Galactic magnetic fields can be traced with Zeeman splitting of masers associated with star formation. Pilot observations of 23 sites of methanol maser emission were made, with the detection of ground-state hydroxyl masers towards 11 of these and six additional offset sites. Of these 17 sites, nine are new detections of sites of 1665-MHz maser emission, three of them accompanied by 1667-MHz emission. More than 70% of the maser features have significant circular polarization, whilst only ~10% have significant linear polarization (although some features with up to 100% linear polarization are found). We find 11 Zeeman pairs across six sites of high-mass star formation with implied magnetic field strengths between -1.5 mG and +3.8 mG and a median field strength of +1.6 mG. Our measurements of Zeeman splitting imply that a coherent field orientation is experienced by the maser sites across a distance of 5.3+/-2.0 kpc within the Carina-Sagittarius spiral arm tangent.Comment: 19 pages, 13 figures, accepted for publication in MNRA

Flame Imaging System

A system for imaging a flame and the background scene is discussed. The flame imaging system consists of two charge-coupled-device (CCD) cameras. One camera uses a 800 nm long pass filter which during overcast conditions blocks sufficient background light so the hydrogen flame is brighter than the background light, and the second CCD camera uses a 1100 nm long pass filter, which blocks the solar background in full sunshine conditions such that the hydrogen flame is brighter than the solar background. Two electronic viewfinders convert the signal from the cameras into a visible image. The operator can select the appropriate filtered camera to use depending on the current light conditions. In addition, a narrow band pass filtered InGaAs sensor at 1360 nm triggers an audible alarm and a flashing LED if the sensor detects a flame, providing additional flame detection so the operator does not overlook a small flame

‘Fixing’ the climate crisis: capital, states, and carbon offsetting in India

The paper analyzes dynamics of accumulation and displacement in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). It combines the theoretical work of David Harvey and James O’Connor with a case study of the Gujarat Fluorochemicals Limited HFC-23 destruction project in Gujarat, India. The framework is used to connect the factors driving opportunities for capital accumulation in the CDM market with the causes of social and ecological dislocation at the local project level. We argue that the CDM is a spatial fix to the ecological crisis of climate change which secures conditions of production for fossil fuel industries and promotes new sites of accumulation for other companies. The political–economic ‘fix’ is dependent on ‘fixing’ a global sociospatial divide between developed and developing countries down to ‘fixed’ projects at the local level. This spatial fix facilitates a displacement of the costs of responding to the climate crisis from North to South. </jats:p

Plant disease - black spot (anthracnose) of grapes

Black spot or Anthracnose of grapes caused by the fungus Elsinoe ampelina is a widespread and serious disease. In commercial vineyards it is often responsible for considerable reduction in yield and quality of fruit, and in home gardens also it may prove very damaging. Under commercial conditions the disease has proved difficult to control in seasons favourable for its development despite the routine application of accepted fungicides. Fortunately, preliminary results of recent spray trials indicate that greatly improved control is likely to result in future from the use of a number of new fungicides

The Magnetic Field of the H~II Region NGC 6334A

We have studied the polarization characteristics and Faraday rotation of the extragalactic radio source J17204$-$3554, that appears projected on the north lobe of the galactic H II region NGC 6334A. From observations made with the Very Large Array at 6.0 and 3.6 cm in three different epochs (1994, 1997, and 2006), we estimate a rotation measure of +5100$\pm$900 rad m$^{-2}$ for the extragalactic source. This large rotation measure implies a line-of-sight average magnetic field of $B_\parallel \simeq +36\pm6$ $\mu$G, the largest obtained by this method for an H II region. NGC 6334A is significantly denser than other H II regions studied and this larger magnetic field is expected on the grounds of magnetic flux conservation. The ratio of thermal to magnetic pressure is $\sim$5, in the range of values determined for more diffuse H II regions.Comment: 5 pages, 0 figure