Catching gender-Identity production in flight : making the commonplace visible

The purpose of this article is to develop and illustrate an approach for making the commonplace visible in a natural, as opposed to manipulated, social setting. The key research task was to find a way of capturing the ongoing production or enactment of the self that provides some insight into the way in which it is produced in a routine, matter of fact way. The article takes a number of steps to develop a research approach to the task. First, gender-identity was selected as a more specific aspect of self-production. Second, the concept of “flashpoints” was used to refer to a particular moment in the routine which achieves some significance or salience as a result of the participants seizing upon some otherwise unremarkable action or statement and twisting it to their purpose. In this study, the purpose was gender-identity creation. Primary school children in the classroom and their teachers were the participants of the study. Through the use of flashpoints, the article demonstrates how gender-identity production of these children can be caught in flight. The article concludes that this approach can be added to the researcher’s toolkit.

The effect of focus on form in the written work of adult learners of Arabic

One of the key debates within SLA research circles concerns grammar
- whether and hov to include it in second language (L2) instruction. 'Noninterventionist' approaches to language leaching, which centre on focus on meaning (FonM) , have been found to be neither economical nor expedient in terms of use of learners' classtime (Long & Robinson, 1998). This paper is a study of the effects oj direct grammatical instruction within a communicative context (Focus on Form - FonF) on the accuracy rate of the use of noun-adjective agreement in the written work of adult learners of Arabic. Learning the systems oj noun/adjective agreement in Arabic presents problems for beginners since. unlike languages such as English. Arabic needs to be modified for gender, number. definiteness and case. Through teaching material and methods, first-year university English speaking students of Arabic were directly exposed to morpho-syntactic inflections relevant to noun-adjective agreement. In post-tests over an extended period. instructed students showed a higher accuracy rate of some forms than their uninstructed colleagues. suggesting focusing on form is beneficial to the Arabic learner and does not need to interrupt the communicative flow in the classroom (Ellis et al. 2001).

Neck muscle activation and head postures in common high performance aerial combat maneuvers

Introduction: Neck injuries are common in high performance combat pilots and have been attributed to high gravitational forces and the non-neutral head postures adopted during aerial combat maneuvers. There is still little known about the pathomechanics of these injuries.

Methods: Six Royal Australian Air Force Hawk pilots flew a sortie that included combinations of three +Gz levels (1, 3, and 5) and four head postures (Neutral, Turn, Extension, and Check-6). Surface electromyography from neck and shoulder muscles was recorded in flight. Three-dimensional measures of head postures adopted in flight were estimated postflight with respect to end-range of the cervical spine using an electromagnetic tracking device.

Results: Mean muscle activation increased significantly with both increasing +Gz and non-neutral head postures. Check-6 at +5 Gz (mean activation of all muscles = 51% MVIC) elicited significantly greater muscle activation in most muscles when compared with Neutral, Extension, and Turn head postures. High levels of muscle co-contraction were evident in high acceleration and non-neutral head postures. Head kinematics showed Check-6 was closest to end-range in any movement plane (86% ROM in rotation) and produced the greatest magnitude of rotation in other planes. Turn and Extension showed a large magnitude of rotation with reference to end-range in the primary plane of motion but displayed smaller rotations in other planes.

Discussion: High levels of neck muscle activation and co-contraction due to high +Gz and head postures close to end range were evident in this study, suggesting the major influence of these factors on the pathomechanics of neck injuries in high performance combat pilots.

Evaluating parts-of-speech taggers for use in a text-to-scene conversion system

This paper presents parts-of-speech tagging as a first step towards an autonomous text-to-scene conversion system. It categorizes some freely available taggers, according to the techniques used by each in order to automatically identify word-classes. In addition, the performance of each identified tagger is verified experimentally. The SUSANNE corpus is used for testing and reveals the complexity of working with different tagsets, resulting in substantially lower accuracies in our tests than in those reported by the developers of each tagger. The taggers are then grouped to form a voting system to attempt to raise accuracies, but in no cases do the combined results improve upon the individual accuracies. Additionally a new metric, agreement, is tentatively proposed as an indication of confidence in the output of a group of taggers where such output cannot be validated.

Predicting neck pain in Royal Australian Air Force fighter pilots

Objective: Fighter pilots frequently report neck pain and injury, and although risk factors have been suggested, the relationships between risk factors and neck pain have not been quantified. The aim of this study was to identify personal and work behaviors that are significantly associated with neck pain in fighter pilots.
Methods: Eighty-two Royal Australian Air Force fighter pilots were surveyed about their flying experience, neck pain prevalence, and prevention. Multinomial logistic regressions were used to fit models between pilots' neck pain during and after flight and a range of personal and work characteristics.
Results: In-flight neck pain was very weakly, yet positively associated with flight hours. Duration of postflight pain was positively associated with the weekly desktop work hours and the sum of preventative actions taken in flight. The duration pilots were considered temporarily medically unfit for flying was positively associated with pilots' age and their weekly desktop work hours.
Discussion: The risk factors identified by the current study should guide neck pain prevention for fighter pilots. In particular, reducing desktop working hours as well as incorporating specific neck-strengthening exercises and in-flight bracing actions should be considered by agencies to help alleviating neck pain in their pilots

Pricing innovations in consumption growth: a re-evaluation of the recursive utility model

We re-evaluate the cross-sectional asset pricing implications of the recursive utility function of Epstein and Zin, 1989 and Epstein and Zin, 1991, using innovations in future consumption growth in our tests. Our empirical specification helps explain the size, value and momentum effects. Specifically, we find that (і) the beta associated with news about consumption growth has a systematic pattern: beta decreases along the size dimension and increases along the book-to-market and momentum dimensions, (іі) innovation in consumption growth is significantly priced in asset returns using both the Fama and MacBeth (1973) and the stochastic discount factor approaches, and (ііі) the model performs better than both the CAPM and Fama–French model.

Convergent evolution in locomotory patterns of flying and swimming animals

Locomotion is one of the major energetic costs faced by animals and various strategies have evolved to reduce its cost. Birds use interspersed periods of flapping and gliding to reduce the mechanical requirements of level flight while undergoing cyclical changes in flight altitude, known as undulating flight. Here we equipped free-ranging marine vertebrates with accelerometers and demonstrate that gait patterns resembling undulating flight occur in four marine vertebrate species comprising sharks and pinnipeds. Both sharks and pinnipeds display intermittent gliding interspersed with powered locomotion. We suggest, that the convergent use of similar gait patterns by distinct groups of animals points to universal physical and physiological principles that operate beyond taxonomic limits and shape common solutions to increase energetic efficiency. Energetically expensive large-scale migrations performed by many vertebrates provide common selection pressure for efficient locomotion, with potential for the convergence of locomotory strategies by a wide variety of species.

Impaired online control in children with developmental coordination disorder reflects development immaturity

The present study aimed to clarify whether a reduced ability to correct movements in-flight observed in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) reflects a developmental immaturity or deviance from the typical trajectory. Eighteen children with DCD (8–12 years), 18 age-matched controls, and 12 younger controls (5–7 years) completed a double-step reaching task. Compared to older controls, children with DCD and younger controls showed similarly prolonged reaching when the target unexpectedly shifted at movement onset and were equally slow to correct their reaching trajectory. These results suggest that impaired online control in DCD reflects developmental immaturity, possibly implicating the parietal-cerebellar cortices.

Migrating swans profit from favourable changes in wind conditions at low altitude

Because energy reserves limit flight range, wind assistance may be of crucial importance for migratory birds. We tracked eight Bewick's swans Cygnus columbianus bewickii, using 95-g satellite transmitters with altimeters and activity sensors, during their spring migration from Denmark to northern Russia in 1996. During the 82 occasions where a swan's location was recorded in flight, average flight altitude was 165 m a.s.1. with a maximum of 759 m a.s.1., despite winds often being more favourable at higher altitudes. We also counted Bewick's swans departing from the Gulf of Finland and subsequently passing an observatory in the next major stop-over area 800 km further north in the White Sea, northern Russia, during the springs of 1994, 1995 and 1996. A comparison of these counts with wind data provided evidence for Bewick's swans using favourable changes in wind conditions to embark on migration. Changes in the numbers of birds arriving in the White Sea correlated best with favourable changes in winds in the Gulf of Finland 1 day earlier. Again, migratory volume showed a correlation with winds at low altitudes only, despite wind conditions for the swans being more favourable at high altitudes. We conclude that the relatively large Bewick's swan tends to gear its migration to wind conditions at low altitude only. We argue that Bewick's swans do not climb to high altitudes because of mechanical and physiological limitations with respect to the generation of power for flight and to avoid rapid dehydration.

Predicting migratory flight altitudes by physiological migration models

Using the altitudinal profiles of wind, temperature, pressure, and humidity in three flight models, we tried to explain the altitudinal distributions of nocturnal migrants recorded by radar above a desert in southern Israel. In the simplest model, only the tailwind component was used as a predictor of the most preferred flight altitude (T model). The energy model (E model) predicted flight ranges according to mechanical power consumption in flapping flight depending on air density and wind conditions, assuming optimal adjustment of airspeed and compensation of crosswinds, and including the influence of mass loss during flight. The energy-water model (EW model) used the same assumptions and parameters as the E model but also included restrictions caused by dehydration. Because wind was by far the most important factor governing altitudinal distribution of nocturnal migrants, differences in predictions of the three models were small. In a first approach, the EW model performed slightly better than the E model, and both performed slightly better than the T model. Differences were most pronounced in spring, when migrants should fly high according to wind conditions, but when climbing and descending they must cross lower altitudes where conditions are better with respect to dehydration. A simplified energy model (Es model) that omits the effect of air density on flight costs explained the same amount of variance in flight altitude as the more complicated E and EW models. By omitting the effect of air density, the Es model predicted lower flight altitudes and thus compensated for factors that generally bias height distributions downward but are not considered in the models (i.e. climb and descent through lower air layers, cost of ascent, and decrease of oxygen partial pressure with altitude). Our results confirm that wind profiles, and thus energy rather than water limitations, govern the altitudinal distribution of nocturnal migrants, even under the extreme humidity and temperature conditions in the trade wind zone.

Low back pain in microgravity and bed rest studies

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of low back pain (LBP) for astronauts in space (68%) is higher than the 1-mo prevalence for the general population on Earth (39%). It is unclear whether differences occur between healthy subjects and astronauts with a history of LBP. Knowledge of this issue is important to assess whether a history of LBP could have an operational impact. METHODS: We evaluated LBP prospectively during short duration spaceflight (15 d; N=20) and compared this with similar data collected during two bed rest studies (N=40). Astronauts completed a questionnaire 5-10 d preflight, during each flight day, and 5-10 d postflight. RESULTS: All astronauts with a history of LBP also developed LBP in flight. These astronauts reported a significantly longer duration of LBP and a different pain location. LBP was most often experienced in the central area of the lower back during spaceflight with an incidence of 70% and a mean pain level of 3 (on a scale of 0-10). Pain resolved within 10 d of flight. No neurological signs were present. The most frequently reported countermeasure was assuming a "knees to chest (fetal tuck) position" combined with stretching. Greater LBP intensity was reported in spaceflight than bed rest with a trend indicating a greater number of days of pain during spaceflight. DISCUSSION: The current study represents a prospective study of LBP in spaceflight. The results indicate that LBP is self-limiting in spaceflight and should not pose an operational risk. Prior LBP on Earth appears to be a risk factor for LBP in spaceflight.

Effects of omega-3 PUFA on the vitamin E and glutathione antioxidant defense system in individuals at ultra-high risk of psychosis

BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress and impaired antioxidant defenses are reported in schizophrenia and are associated with disturbed neurodevelopment, brain structural alterations, glutamatergic imbalance, increased negative symptoms, and cognitive impairment. There is evidence that oxidative stress predates the onset of acute psychotic illness. Here, we investigate the effects of omega-3 PUFA on the vitamin E and glutathione antioxidant defense system (AODS). METHOD: In 64 help-seeking UHR-individuals (13-25 years of age), vitamin E levels and glutathione were investigated before and after 12 weeks of treatment with either 1.2g/d omega-3 (PUFA-E) or saturated fatty acids (SFA-E), with each condition also containing 30.4mg/d alpha-tocopherol to ensure absorption without additional oxidative risk. RESULTS: In multivariate tests, the effects on the AODS (alpha-tocopherol, total glutathione) were not significantly different (p=0.13, p=0.11, respectively) between treatment conditions. According to univariate findings, only PUFA-E caused a significant alpha-tocopherol increase, while PUFA-E and SFA-E caused a significant gamma- and delta-tocopherol decrease. Total glutathione (GSHt) was decreased by PUFA-E supplementation. CONCLUSION: Effects of the PUFA-E condition on the vitamin E and glutathione AODS could be mechanisms underlying its clinical effectiveness. In terms of the vitamin E protection system, PUFA-E seems to directly support the antioxidative defense at membrane level. The effect of PUFA-E on GSHt is not yet fully understood, but could reflect antioxidative effects, resulting in decreased demand for glutathione. It is still necessary to further clarify which type of PUFA/antioxidant combination, and in which dose, is effective at each stage of psychotic illness.

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus antibody reactors among camels in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in 2005

We tested, using a low starting dilution, sequential serum samples from dromedary camels, sheep and horses collected in Dubai from February/April to October of 2005 and from dromedary camels for export/import testing between Canada and USA in 2000-2001. Using a standard Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) neutralization test, serial sera from three sheep and three horses were all negative while sera from 9 of 11 dromedary camels from Dubai were positive for antibodies supported by similar results in a MERS-CoV recombinant partial spike protein antibody ELISA. The two negative Dubai camels were both dromedary calves and remained negative over the 5 months studied. The six dromedary samples from USA and Canada were negative in both tests. These results support the recent findings that infection with MERS-CoV or a closely related virus is not a new occurrence in camels in the Middle East. Therefore, interactions of MERS-CoV at the human-animal interface may have been ongoing for several, perhaps many, years and by inference, a widespread pandemic may be less likely unless significant evolution of the virus allow accelerated infection and spread potential in the human population.

Characterizing changes in fitness of basketball players within and between seasons

We assessed the magnitude of changes in fitness and anthropometric test scores of well-trained basketball players between phases of a year and over several years. Players were 1011 females and 1087 males in Basketball Australia's State and National junior programs (1862 and 236 players respectively). Players undertook a set of three fitness and three anthropometric tests on 2.6 ± 2.0 (mean ±SD) occasions over 0.8 ± 1.0 y. Mixed modeling was used to estimate mean changes within and between seasons, and to estimate individual variability as the standard deviation of change scores between assessments. Changes were expressed as standardized (Cohen) effect sizes for interpretation of magnitudes (trivial <0.2; small 0.2-0.6, moderate 0.6-1.2). In the first 2 y National and State males showed small longitudinal improvements in body mass, skinfolds, and shuttle-run performance (effect size 0.28 – 0.42). After 2 y National females made small improvements in most tests (0.27 – 0.42), but National males showed a small decline in shuttle-run performance (0.55). Other changes in mean test scores within and between seasons were trivial. Individuals showed small to moderate variability about the mean change between phases (0.23 – 0.87) and between years (0.26 – 1.03), with State-level players having greater variation in all tests (State/National ratio 1.1 – 2.4). Coaches or sport scientists monitoring or modifying fitness of basketball players should recognize there is generally little overall change in mean fitness within and between seasons. They should also take into account the small to moderate changes in individuals.