Application of Universal Design for Learning into Remote English Education in Australia amid COVID-19 Pandemic

International Journal on Studies in Education (IJonSE) is a peer-reviewed scholarly online journal. This article may be used for research, teaching, and private study purposes. Authors alone are responsible for the contents of their articles. The journal owns the copyright of the articles. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand, or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of the research material. All authors are requested to disclose any actual or potential conflict of interest including any financial, personal or other relationships with other people or organizations regarding the submitted work.

Introduction
The outbreak of COVID-19 epidemic in 2020 has been posing significant challenges to education, highlighting the necessity of ensuring the continuity and quality of schooling under the circumstance that on-campus learning is mostly replaced by remote online learning. Faced with this unprecedented and dreadful disaster, governments around the world have launched prompt crisis responses in the field of education, with special attention to promoting student wellbeing as well as maintaining schooling even if some students have to stay quarantined at home.
Despite the endeavor to promote the continuity and quality of online learning experience amid the COVID-19 pandemic, chances are that some students have limited access to stable internet, sufficient electronic devices and other appropriate learning materials to support learning from home, which makes interrupted schooling the norm subject to this long-term social fluctuations. In this sense, assuring the quality of online learning experience in COVID-19 pandemic cannot be separated from an inclusive approach to education and schooling.
Inclusive education, though frequently referring to the respect of student differences, response to student needs and objection to normalization of disadvantaged students, has its own nature in the involvement of the full participation of all students into all aspects of schooling (Loreman et al., 2011). Contrast to the notion of integration that highlights student self-adaptation to existing schooling and curriculum and a sense of marginalization, inclusion is embedded in the idea that it is the schooling that should be adapted and reformed so that students can be fully involved into learning and maximize their learning outcomes. In this regard, inclusive schooling characterized by the emphasis on student well-being, respect of individual student needs and commitment to eliminating marginalization and promoting engagement is needed and should be undoubtedly promoted during this special period. This paper presents a study of online English as an additional language (EAL) education in a particular public secondary school located in Victoria, Australia. Featured by an inclusive approach to schooling, the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) was implemented in online EAL classes with the assistance of informationcommunication technologies (ICTs) in order to examine the effects of UDL on online teaching and learning efficiency.

Literature Review Universal Design for Learning
Inspired by the architectural concept of Universal Design that refers to the design of physical products and environments that, to the largest degree, could be used by everyone without the need of further adaptation or redesign (Center for Universal Design, 1997) and based on Vygotsky"s theory that social interaction plays a significant role in the development of cognition (Vygotsky, 1978), the development of UDL theory derives from the research findings that the disconnect between student diversity and a "one-size-fits-all" strategy cannot bring the learning outcomes as anticipated (Rose & Meyer, 2002) and is shaped by advancing research in cognitive science and neuroscience, which facilitates the understanding of how students learn "through memory, language processing, perception, thinking, and problem solving" with increasing variability of student population (Dalton, 2017, p. 19). Basically, UDL is defined to be "a framework that addresses the primary barrier to fostering expert learners within instructional environments: inflexible, "one-size-fits-all" curricula…(that) raise unintentional barriers to learning" (Center for Applied Special Technology [CAST], 2011, p. 4). Otherwise stated, UDL is inclusive in nature, emphasizing that barriers to learning do not derive from the capabilities of learners but are originated from obstinate and unadaptable teaching goals, plans, materials, approaches and assessment that fail to achieve efficient interactions with students.
UDL is evidence-based and divided into two layers: conceptual layer and implementation layer. The conceptual layer includes three types of networks, and they are recognition work, strategic work and affective work.
Summarized by Al-Azaweil et al. (2016), recognition network stands for "what of learning", indicating that "learners use different ways to categorize what they see, hear, and read"; strategic work represents "how of learning" and reflects that "learners use different ways to organize and express their thoughts and ideas"; affective network explains "why of learning" and that "different ways can be applied to engage learners and keep International Journal on Studies in Education (IJonSE) 57 them excited and interested" (p. 42). In line with the three networks, there are three core principles developed by CAST embodied in the active response to student learning differences, and they are the offer of multiple means of representation, expression and engagement (Hall et al., 2003). The principle of multiple means of representation reflects "how of learning", aimed at addressing learners" various capabilities and needs by using multiple and flexible ways of presenting content and information to support recognition learning; multiple means of expression represent "what of learning", offering a great level of flexibility and diversity for students to demonstrate their knowledge and skills for strategic learning; the engagement principle sheds light on "why of learning", and similarly, it attends to students" differing learning characteristics and provides multiple options for engagement to facilitate affective learning. Each principal has three corresponding guidelines with detailed coded checkpoints, indicating how UDL can be applied in practice to achieve inclusiveness in education.

Figure 1. UDL Planning Process
The design of UDL serves for curriculum design and delivery for all learners. Bearing in mind "how", "what" and "why" of learning, teachers and educators usually need to follow a certain process to design and deliver UDL-based lessons. Stangman et al. (2005) suggest that the process should include four steps: goal setting, status analysis, UDL application and UDL lesson delivery, which can be seen in Figure 1. To set effective learning goals, teachers may need to be clearly aware of the context for instruction, whether that being local context that includes but to limited to school culture and classroom context, or broader context related to state standards. Following this, education goals should be designed and set up "for the instructional episode", and teachers need to carefully evaluate the goals "to ensure alignment as well as a clear separation between goals and standards and the means for attaining them" (Stangman et al., 2005, p. 38). This step reflects that effective learning usually occurs in specific context (Govender, 2009) with the learning goals and outcomes intelligibly specified and communicated (Mahajan & Singh, 2017). To analyze the learning status of instruction, teachers need to conduct a closer inspection of the teaching context, with special attention to the identification of "the current methodologies, assessments, and materials used to teach the learner" as well as the barriers to instruction, such as the availability of learning materials, opportunities for students to express what they have learned, to name but a few (Stangman et al., 2005, p. 38). The third step is to apply UDL into lesson planning.
Aware of the learning goals and the instruction status, teachers need to identify "the goals, methods, assessments and materials used to implement the lesson", grounded in which they need to create a UDL lesson plan and organize learning materials that can facilitate the implementation of UDL, and this is the last step of the designing process in which teachers are encouraged to "minimize barriers and realize the strengths and challenges each student brings to learning, rely on effective teaching practices, and apply challenges appropriate for each learner" (Stangman et al., 2005, p. 38). At the same time, they should revise their teaching based on students" learning progress or performance in order to ensure efficient application of UDL. This is embodied in the view that reflection on inclusive practices and learning to value student differences and diversity can help teachers identify opportunities to refine planning and teaching and thus create a more supportive learning environment for all students.
Assistive technology (AT) plays an important role in the implementation of UDL principles. Conventionally and still dominantly, AT is designed and applied to help disadvantaged students, such as those with disabilities, to overcome barriers in their surroundings or environment and to encourage independence. However, it is increasingly known that in education, AT can help achieve inclusive education for all students with different learning needs. This can be seen from the definition of AT that is the "hardware, software or system of technical components and processes that enhances the capacity for all students to engage more effectively with the curriculum and their learning environment" (Queensland Education, 2018, para. 2). In practice, UDL and AT are often used together to reduce barriers to learning, and this relationship is described by Rose et al. (2005) as "two sides of the same coin", the integration and interaction of which can "achieve optimal and practical results" as well as inclusiveness in education (p. 509). This actually reflects the benefits of ICTs in supporting teaching and learning, such as developing literacy skills, increasing motivation in schooling, promoting active learning, independent learning, dynamic and collaborative learning and meta-cognitive learning, to name but a few (see, for example, Suryani, 2010). However, UDL and AT may sometimes refer to different things and cope with schooling from differing perspectives. For instance, the former emphasizes on the change of learning environment and curriculum when students cannot fit into schooling, while the latter is designed subject to students" special needs in a more unique, customized and personal manner. Due to the limited space here, the differences will not be discussed. Nevertheless, it must be acknowledged that when UDL and AT co-exist in schooling, inclusive learning that engages everyone could be enhanced.

Inclusive Education in Australia
Inclusive education has been embodied in Australia"s educational practices for more than two decades, and its meaning has transitioned from "being exclusively about students with a disability to a now encompassing the delivery of a high-quality education to all students" who have different learning characteristics, demographic information as well as education needs (Anderson & Boyle, 2015, p. 4). Education in Australia is a complex one, as there is an increasing number of students who may be considered as disadvantaged or have distinct

International Journal on Studies in Education (IJonSE)
59 experiences and additional learning needs. To ensure the quality of education, Australia is making a national commitment through legislation and explicit policy making. This endeavor reflects the aim to create an inclusive society that has inclusive schooling and education systems which engage every student into effective learning.
However, inclusion is far from being achieved in schooling across Australia (Anderson & Boyle, 2015;Black-Hawkins, 2017;Elvey, 2017). It is assumed that the notion of integration is still commonly held by schoolteachers and leaders, prioritizing the "normalization" of disadvantaged students so that they are able to partake in existing schooling rather than inclusion that highlights the necessity for schooling to be adapted and reformed. For example, it is a common scene that students coming from the language background other than English are often pulled out from regular classroom for "compensatory" literacy classes designed to help them fit into mainstream classroom. When coming back, they may seem too upset or exhausted to keep abreast of what is happening in class. This is just the case described by Baker and Wright (2017) that "withdrawn" students "may fall behind on curriculum content delivered to others" with a sense of "stigma for absence…and feelings of alienation" (p. 291). Such endeavor to "normalize" students actually reflects the idea of integration rather than inclusion, and marginalization still occurs in this regard. Hence, although inclusion is appealed for in Australia, there is still a long way to go to truly realize it in education and rectify the harsh fact that in Australia, "living with disability is nothing compared to living with exclusion" (Young, 2013, p. 256).

Methodology Setting
The first case of COVID-19 in Australia was detected in January of 2020, followed by intermittent breakout till now. The state government of Victoria has introduced a set of restrictions in response to the pandemic, including the lockdown of education providers. The selected school, College X (pseudonym), is a public secondary school located in Victoria, Australia. Following the governmental instructions, College X shut down since March 2020 and began providing online courses of all disciplines to students who could continue their learning from home in a school setting. This research was conducted in the middle of 2020, when College X remained closed with online courses provided. The ICTs used for teaching were mainly Zoom (a cloud platform for audio-visual chatting and meeting) and Compass (an education management system that provides access to school emails, news, events, assignments, materials, academic reports, etc.).

Research Design
This was a mixed-methods study that was both quantitative and qualitative, aimed at generating deeper understanding of the issue being examined. School-based portfolio tasks were used to measure students" English proficiency, the results of which were marked by proficiency EAL teachers in accordance with certain rubrics.
Besides, non-participant observation of teaching was conducted in order to examine the online learning context that students were put into. Semi-structured interviews with selected students were also organized though Zoom, which could enable the researchers to closely work with participants who could tell their own "stories" of reality and help the researchers better understand the situation and the participants" actions. In what follows, the analysis of quantitative data will examine the effects of UDL on students" English proficiency in online classroom, while the qualitative data will provide some clues, at least in a preliminary way, to explain the potential benefits that UDL have on students" learning experience.

30
Year-10 EAL students -22 females and 8 malesfrom College X participated in this research, with consent obtained from the participant students, school leaders and parents. All the students were overseas students in Australia, with a majority of them coming from China (n=25) and some coming from Vietnam (n=3) and India (n=2). They were of similar ages ranging from 16 to 17 and had similar years of English learning and schooling. 15 students were put into the treatment group addressed by Teacher A using UDL, and 15 students were categorized as the control group taught by Teacher B in regular EAL classroom. Teacher A and Teacher B were proficient teachers in secondary education and had similar education background and teaching experience, but Teacher A had undertaken professional training regarding the application of UDL in schooling before the research commenced. All the population was addressed with regard to observation and collection of portfolio task results, while only 10 were interviewed, and they were selected evenly from the treatment group and the control group. The interviewed students will be addressed by pseudonyms in the paper.
In accordance with the language proficiency levels indicated in the Victorian EAL Curriculum (Victoria Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2019), all the participants students were considered by the school EAL leaders to be at Level C1 of Pathway C. Their portfolio task scores of previous semester were also analyzed through independent Samples T-test, the results of which suggested that the treatment group and the control group had similar English proficiency prior to this study (t=.967, p=.335). The statistical details can be seen in the following table.

Quantitative Study
At the end of this unit of learning, the portfolio task of persuasive writing was organized to assess students" online learning performance. It can be seen from Table 2 that there was a significant difference between the overall learning proficiency of the treatment group and the control group (t=2.165, p<.05) in the portfolio task after this unit of online classes. Meanwhile, as shown in Table 3, the treatment group made greater process than the control group, though they had similar English proficiency levels prior to the study. Specifically, the treatment group developed their English proficiency in online classes from the mean score of 69.98 in previous International Journal on Studies in Education (IJonSE) 61 semester"s portfolio task to 72.76 in this semester"s one, with the control group also making a progress from 68.76 to 69.66 but in a slight manner. This trend of proficiency gains can be also seen in the following line graph.  thoughtfully planned and prepared and that students feel less engaged with less satisfying academic performance in schooling. Admittedly, empirical and academic research needs to be conducted in secondary school settings to provide more reliable information about the reality of online learning amid COVID-19this seems to be a research gap in the context of Australia which has not yet been bridgedbut it is safe to say that online learning experience could be disappointing when lessons are designed less thoughtfully. The present study firstly compares students" English proficiency gains in a UDL-oriented EAL classroom and a regular EAL classroom, and the positive statistical findings shed light on the feasibility of UDL in online learning context. It is impossible to maintain that UDL is the best for online learning or for the entire secondary education system in Australia, whereas at least, it can be claimed that UDL is one of the possible solutions to the quandary of online learning and provides a way for improving the quality of teaching and learning amid COVID-19.

Qualitative Study
Beside the quantitative data that indicates the benefits of UDL, the analysis of qualitative data is also needed to examine what occurred in the UDL-based class and the regular EAL class and how students learned or felt in differing classes. The students in the treatment group generally held positive attitudes towards UDL-oriented online classes, which could explain why they made more significant progress of English learning than those students enrolled at regular online EAL classes. In this unit, students in the treatment group were required to understand and analyze a persuasive issue out of four that were debated in Australia, including "Should the copyright on Aboriginal flag be removed?", "Should COVID-19 vaccination be compulsory?", "Should schools be locked down due to COVID-19 pandemic?" and "Should TikTok be banned from Australia?". Students were allowed to choose one issue out of their personal interest or experience. For each issue, a list of texts of was prepared, and they were extracted from mainstream news websites (e.g. The Guardian, ABC News, BBC News, The Conversation) and were of different types (e.g. videos, news articles, editorials). Students could assess these materials through Compass and were allowed to choose any three texts out of the list to understand a specific issue and analyze it from the perspectives of "5Ws", including "what the issue is", "when the issue occurs", "where the issue occurs", "who is involved" and "why the issue is debated". Different assessment tasks were prepared to assess students" understanding, such as oral presentation, informative writing, debate and role-play, and these activities were mainly used for the purpose of formative assessment. Teacher A made good use of the breakout room function of Zoom when assessing students" performance and offering scaffolding by grouping students who analyzed the same issue into the same chatroom. The summative assessment of this unit was to construct a persuasive text based on one debated issue It can be indicated that Teacher A provided students with different types of information, multiple choices and various assessment activities to achieve the required learning outcomes, and the whole learning process was student-centered and engaging and took into account students" potential differing learning styles. This is reinforced by the interviewed students in the treatment group, such as Student YH, Student AK and Student XL whose responses are as follows. Almost all the interviewed subjects mentioned the key feature of this unit, which was differentiation, and they also admitted that they found online EAL lessons interesting, engaging or effective when they were offered multiple means of representation, expression and engagement: On the one hand, this may reflect the challenge that a number of students face during online learning, which is to handle the ICTs and make thorough use of AT functions to assist learning. On the other and probably more importantly, it was ICTs that made online learning functional and engaging, just as the participant students realized.
In comparison, the story for the control group is totally different. Students were required to understand and analyze a persuasive issue that was debated in Australia, which was "Should COVID-19 vaccination be compulsory in Australia?". In the first few classes, Teacher B introduced this issue in detail from the perspective of "5Ws". The whole class was delivered as a lecture, and Teacher B was the main speaker who presented all the key information through a PowerPoint slide, though some students asked questions by the end of classes. To understand the persuasive issue more deeply, Teacher B selected three news articles from ABC News, which illustrated the issue in more detail, such as its cause and effect, current domestic and international situation, opinions from experts of different fields and so on. In the following lessons, students analyzed the articles with teacher scaffolding, presented their understanding of the articles by paraphrasing the key information and using quotes to justify their responses on a designed worksheet, and writing a persuasive text as the formal assessment task of this unit. Throughout the learning process, Teacher B seemed to be the dominator of learning with students being the passive knowledge recipients and rigidly completing set activities. This is also reflected in students" interview responses, which can be seen as follows:

Student YT: "There is very limited information I can choose…Teacher gives us (an) article from
newspapers which is really hard to read...and it"s boring." Student HW: "All I need to do is reading, reading and completing worksheet…There is a lot of online reading, quoting and discussion…and writing." Student CZ: "I hope there are more options for me to choose to learn, not just article which I need to read, read and read…I mean I already had a lot of reading task from other subjects…so I hope this class (would) be different and more interesting." The learning environment in the regular EAL classroom was oppositive to the UDL-based one, and there were limited means of representation, expression and engagement which were mostly teacher-centered. In such a learning context, there is no much doubt that students felt disengaged, bored or even unsatisfied, which can be seen from the following responses: In the treatment group, both the classroom observation and the interview responses highlight the benefits of UDL in creating inclusive, flexible and differentiated online learning experience. Particularly, there is a high frequency of words indicating the interviewees" positive feelings and attitudes reflects that in a highly studentcentered environment, such as "interesting", "effective", "excellent", "fun", "motivated", "encouraged", "happy" and so on. This is opposite to the control group that was addressed by highly teacher-centered pedagogical approach with previously set learning activities and who expressed their negative attitudes towards online learning in interviews, which can be seen from the words like "boring", "annoyed", "tired" and "wasting time".
There are two important points that can be drawn from the result of qualitative study. The first one is that in online learning context, the UDL can better engage students into effective learning compared with a traditional approach to planning and teaching. In the time of COVID-19 crisis, online learning tends to be the necessity to maintain the continuity of schooling and assessment, which is described by Dhawan (2020) as panacea to this pandemic. However, this panacea is never perfect, and problems may occur with it. For example, students may find online learning boring or unengaging and thus be unable to focus on it; online course could also be too mediocre, theoretical or didactic, failing to maximize and make use of the full potentials and flexibility of online learning. In this regard, online classes "should be made dynamic, interesting, and interactive" with efforts "made to humanize the learning process to the best extent possible" as well as attention paid to students to help them fit into and make the best of the learning environment (Dhawan, 2020, p. 9). Apart from that, inclusion needs to be maintained, not only for those students who have special learning needs (e.g. lacking technologies, disabilities) but also for those who have differing learning stylesthat is to say, a need to include everyone (Australian Coalition for Inclusive Education, 2020). To make online learning attractive and to engage every learner into effective schooling, there is an urgent need, as described by Adnan and Anwar (2020), "for academic organizations to improve their curriculum and the usage of new instructional methods and strategies should be of utmost significance" (p. 46). UDL is a proper response to such need. It is inclusive and engaging in nature, as fundamentally, it provides learners with multiple means of representation, expression and engagement in response to their learning needs or to the notion of differentiation. There is plenty of literature illustrating why UDL is inclusive and how engaging it is, which will not be reviewed and discussed here. But in light of the study presented in this paper, UDL can help students adapt to online learning environment and improve their learning efficiency compared with regular or probably unfavorable teaching approaches.
The other central idea drawn from this study is that ICTs, when used in a proper and utmost way, can pave way for the implementation of UDL in online classes. That is to say, ICTs or remote learning actually provide plenty of opportunities for UDL. A majority of the interviewed students suggested that it was ICTs that made engaging learning characterized by UDL possible amid COVID-19 pandemic, and indeed, the teacher in the treatment group did make use of the flexibility of ICTs to provide a variety of learning resources and organize engaging learning activities through Internet. This reflects the view that when information and learning materials are provided "in digital format, they can be easily changed and enhanced…, (offering) significant opportunities in considering, planning, and implementing UDL in digital…environments" (Dalton, 2017, p. 23). The Internet has provided numerous possibilities for education, without which online learning will be a mission impossible.
However, Internet itself is never enough, just as maintained by Al-Azawei et al. (2017), online learning should be facilitated by productive pedagogical approaches to make learning accessible and satisfy learners" various needs. Likewise, the potentials of UDL can be maximized with the support of "the extensive capabilities provided by digital technology to transform information into varied formats…(and) to address learner variability", though UDL can be still implemented alone through non-technologg0related means (Dalton, 2017, p. 22).
Therefore, it is safe to say, just as Figure 3 illustrates, that there is a reciprocal relationship existing here under the circumstance of COVID-19 in the manner that online learning facilitates the use of UDL that in turn can also facilitate quality online teaching and learning efficiency. That is to say, online learning affords ample opportunities of using ICTs to facilitate the implementation of UDL, and UDL characterized by multiple means of representation, engagement and expression further supports online learning, especially inclusive online learning. In sum, UDL can be one of the possible solutions to the challenge that online learning tends to less effective or inclusive than traditional learning on campus, and the implementation of it just seizes the opportunity that online learning opens up in the manner that learning and teaching activities become ICT-based.
When implemented in totally online context, UDL is not restricted to ICTs or ATs; rather, it enhances the pedagogical approaches and instructional practices to maximize online learning experience and modern technologies that render massive online classes possible in the time of COVID-19 crisis.

Limitation
A major limitation of this study is the small sample size. Although this research of experimental style can indicate the cause-effect relationship in a straightforward way, the research findings may not be generalized to the whole educational setting in Australia. Rather, they only provide teachers, educators and researchers with some thoughtful insights into online learning as well as one possible solution or initiative to optimize online learning experience. In the future, more detailed, in-depth, extensive research is needed to examine the effectiveness of UDL in Australian secondary schools.

Conclusion
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the traditional setting of education and made inclusion in schooling a vital aim to be achieved in online learning experience. It is never an easy task to address all the students" learning needs at once, and there is no one-size-fits-all strategy, either. However, teaching and learning online with the assistance of a variety of ATs or ICTs can afford ample opportunities or space for the implementation of UDL which in turn can engage students into effective learning and maximize the role online learning plays under such a special circumstance. Therefore, through a rather optimistic lens, online learning is the opportunity to implement UDL, and UDL is the solution to enhance online learning. In the present study, the effectiveness of UDL was explored with EAL students in a particular Australian secondary school. The positive research findings, such as English proficiency gains and favorable attitudes to online learning, shed light on the potentials of UDL in improving online learning efficiency and guaranteeing desirable online learning experience and quality. It is impossible to conclude that UDL is the best for all the disciplines or for the entire secondary education system in Australia, as indeed, this study was conducted only in one school with limited number of students enrolled in EAL courses. However, it is at least safe to say that, just as mentioned earlier, online learning opens up opportunities for the use of UDL that can be one of the plenty of solutions or ways to promote inclusion in online learning. Upon the construction of this paper, secondary school students in Australia have started to return to campus to continue schooling, temporarily but hopefully completely calling an end to online learning from home amid COVID-19 pandemic. However, there are still many countries or regions around the world where remote learning still continues with school lockdown frequently occurring. Out of this paper, the reciprocal relationship of online learning and UDL is probably the most valuable insight for teachers, school leaders, educators and other stakeholders who are still working on inclusive education in COVID-19.


extfieldsofstudy: Medicine Psychology

text:
Short-term effects of on-field combined core strength and small-sided games training on physical performance in young soccer players

This study aimed to compare the effects of 6-weeks combined core strength and small-sided games training (SSGcore) vs. small-sided games (SSG) training on the physical performance of young soccer players. Thirty-eight amateur soccer players (age: 16.50 ± 0.51 years) were randomly assigned to either a SSGcore (n = 20) or a SSG group (n = 18). The SSGcore group performed upper and lower body core strength exercises combined with SSG including 2-, 3- and 4-a-sided soccer games third a week. The SSG group performed only the SSG periodization. Baseline and after the 6-week training period the Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test level 1 (YYIRTL-1), 5–20-m sprint test, countermovement jump (CMJ), squat jump (SJ), triple-hop distance (THD), zigzag agility with ball (ZAWB) and without ball (ZAWOB), three corner run test (TCRT) and Y-balance test. The SSGcore group demonstrated meaningful improvements in 20 m sprint time (SSGcore: -9.1%, d = 1.42; SSG: -4.4%, d = 0.76), CMJ (SSGcore: 11.4%, d = 2.67; SSG: -7.7%, d = 1.43), SJ (SSGcore: 12.0%, d = 2.14; SSG: 5.7%, d = 1.28), THD (SSGcore: 5.0%, d = 1.39; SSG: 2.7%, d = 0.52) and TCRT (SSGcore: -3.7%, d = 0.69; SSG: -1.9%, d = 0.38). Furthermore, the SSGcore group demonstrated meaningfully higher improvement responses in both leg balance score (d = ranging from 2.11 to 2.75) compared with SSG group. These results suggest that the inclusion of core strength training to a SSG periodization is greatly effective to improve speed and strength-based conditioning in young soccer players.

INTRODUCTION
training strategy to increase soccer-specific strength and endurance performances in young soccer players. Consequently, this training strategy may be a part of strength and conditioning program as a timeefficient alternative training method for improving physical conditioning during the preseason period.
While some previous studies examined the long-term (8-12 weeks) on-field training effects of core strength training programs [17,20], other recent studies investigated the effects of strength training on physical performance responses in young soccer players [18,21].
To our knowledge, no study has performed regarding the short-term effects of combined core strength and small-sided games training on physical performance responses in young soccer players during the off-season period. Therefore, this study aimed to compare the of rest between bouts. The study results demonstrated that the players' physical fitness, anaerobic test performances and technical skills are higher in the SSG training group.
It is well known that soccer players perform numerous strengthbased activities during the matches. Consequently, core muscle strength is not only critical skill-related component of physical fitness such as coordination, balance and speed, but also important indicator of health-related components of young players [15]. Numerous studies have demonstrated that the considerable positive training effect of core strength in young soccer players improved sport-specific performances, including balance [15], endurance [16] and agility [17]. Furthermore, concurrent training method, combining strength and endurance [18] or strength and SSG [19], has also more effective Effects of core strength training on physical fitness short-term effects of on-field combined core strength and smallsided games training (SSG core ) vs. small-sided games (SSG) training on aerobic, anaerobic and balance performance responses in young soccer players. We hypothesized that the SSG core training will lead to greater improvement in speed and strength-based performance responses such as sprinting, jumping and balance.

Experimental Approach to the Problem
A parallel group controlled design was used in order to compare short-term effects of on-field SSG core vs. SSG training on aerobic, anaerobic and balance performance responses in young soccer players during the off-season period. The study design consisted of 1-week of baseline test, 6-weeks of training intervention (3 times per week) and 1-week of post intervention tests. All players completed maximal oxygen consumption (V O 2max ), 5-20 m sprint test, countermovement jump (CMJ), squat jump (SJ), triple-hop distance (THD), zigzag agility with ball (ZAWB) and without ball (ZAWOB), three corner run test (TCRT) and Y-balance test measurements with same order before and after the 6-weeks intervention period. In this study, we especially preferred these performance determinant tests that have been shown high relationship with match performance of young soccer players [4,22]. The players were already familiar with all the tests and SSG trainings. Each training session started with a 15-min stan-

Subjects
Forty-four young male soccer players agreed to participate at the beginning of this study ( Figure 1). During the study, a total of 6 players (2 players from the SSG core , 4 players from the SSG) were excluded due to dropouts (e.g., non-attendance at training, injuries, failing to attend test sessions 62.58 ± 6.08 kg, training age: 4.11 ± 0.58 years). These players were members of a regional amateur U-17 league teams and they were also familiar with training workload of ≥ 3 training units per week (~100 minutes) and have been involved in training and competitive soccer matches at least 3 years. All players were performing 3 training sessions which includes low to moderate aerobic training, plyometric and small-sided games without core strength training at the time of the study. Players were not familiar with upper and lower core strength training. They and their parents were notified of the research requirements, procedures, risks and benefits before being given the informed consent forms. Written these forms were then obtained from all the players and their parents. The present study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the local university and was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Procedures
Testing Procedure. Body weight and body fat percentage were measured using the bioelectrical impedance measurement (BC-418, Tanita, Tokyo, Japan) before breakfast. Each player performed vertical jump height in terms of the CMJ and SJ tests with hands kept on the hips to minimize the contribution of the upper limbs. Jump performances were assessed using a portable force plate (Newtest, Finland).
A standard tape measure was used for measuring the maximum distance in the TDH, which is a valid test for evaluation of lower limb strength and power, is to reach maximum distance with 3 consecutive hops without losing balance and touching the ground with the any hands or other leg [23]. Each player performed a 20-m sprint test (with 5-m and 10-m splits), ZAWB, ZAWOB and TCR. A zigzag agility test consisting of 4-to 5-m sections was set out at 100° angles [24].
The selection of this test was based on rapid acceleration, deceleration, and balance control required for a short running time, which represented the result of the test [25]. The TCR test was used to evaluate the speed and anaerobic endurance of the players. After the starting command, the players ran to flag post (1) 80-m away from the start.
Then, they turned to the left-hand side and ran to flag post (2) 20-m away from flag post (1). Subsequently, the players ran back to flag post (3) 82.4-m away from the start. Finally, the players turned to the right-hand side, ran to the finish line (4), and crossed it [26]. The times for these tests were measured and recorded using photocells (Newtest, Finland). Before the Y balance test, each players' length of the both legs were assessed with a standard tape measure from the anterior superior iliac spine to the most distal aspect of the medial malleolus during supine lying position. The test, consisting three different movement directions such as anterior, posteromedial and posterolateral) was used to evaluate the dynamic balance with single leg stance whilst reaching in those direction. After six trials on each foot for familiarization, each player had three successful reaches separated by 15 seconds [27]. After the test, a composite score (CS) was calculated using the following formula [28]: To evaluate of aerobic capacity, The YYIRT-1, which is a reliable and acoustically progressive test [29] was performed on a natural grass pitch and according to procedures were described by Bangsbo

Statistical Analyses
Data were expressed as mean ± standard deviation (SD). Betweengroup differences were analyzed using a 2-factor repeated-measures analysis of variance with 1 "between" factor (group: SSG core vs. SSG) and 1 "within" factor (time: baseline vs. post). Effect sizes (Cohen's et al. [30]. After the test, the estimated V O 2max was calculated using the following formula Training Interventions. The training procedure is summarized in

RESULTS
Baseline and the short-term effects of on-field combined core strength training on anthropometric and performance responses of the participants are summarized in Table 2. No significant within-group differences were found in anthropometric measurements such as body mass and body fat percentage following training in both groups ation in the order of exercises [33] and one have used a cohort approach [19]. In our study, a parallel design tested a combination of SSGs and core training against only SSGs, with a clear benefit to those who experienced the combination. Specifically, in the current study aerobic performance was largely improved by both groups. The improvement is in line with findings revealed by meta-analysis [34,35].
In fact, SSGs assumes an high-intensity interval training modality and it is one of the suggested approaches for improving capacity to repeatedly perform high-intensity efforts with changes of direction [36,37].
The capacity to stress both aerobic and anaerobic systems [36], while promote some muscular tension and load can justify the benefits in field-based aerobic tests as YYIRT. In this field, none of the groups took advantage, since both meaningfully improved the aerobic capacity with no significant changes between groups.
In neuromuscular-based tests as CMJ and SJ, players experiencing the combination of SSG and core training revealed significant benefits comparing to those only performed SSGs. The SSG core group had average improvements of 11 and 12% respectively for CMJ and SJ, while the group with only SSG improved 8 and 6%, respectively.
The core performance it seems to play a beneficial effect on vertical jump performance since studies have reporting large correlations between both outcomes [38] or revealing the benefits of adding core training to regular field-based sessions [39]. Improvements in 20-m linear sprinting were also significant in SSG core comparing to SSG. This is also interesting, since a previous study establishing relationships between core performance and linear sprinting revealed large magnitudes (dependency relationship) between both [38]. Finally, balance capacity was also significantly improved by SSG core comparing to SSG, thus suggesting that core training can be highly interest- ing to promote balance as demonstrated in previous studies [40].

CONCLUSIONS
This study is not absent of limitations. The sample size is not large enough to generalize the findings and no control group was used to compare the effects. Additionally, quantifying the volume of strength training and field-based training should be considered in future studies and used as a covariable for the pre-post analysis. compared with SSG group (Figure 2).

DISCUSSION
The purpose of this study was to analyse the effects of two SSGsbased programs (SSG core and SSG) on fitness levels after a 6-week period of intervention. Within group analysis revealed that aerobic performance, linear sprinting and change of direction performance measured at zig-zag tests were significantly and largely improved by both SSG-based groups. Between groups analysis revealed greater improvements of CMJ, SJ, linear sprint at 20-m, three corner run test and both leg balance in SSG core comparing to SSG group.
The combining of SSGs with other training methods have been tested. Some articles revealed beneficial effects of combining SSGs with high-intensity running-based interval training [32,33] in aerobic capacity. A more recent study combining SSGs and strength training (in weight room) also showed beneficial effects in neuromuscular fitness [19]. However, from these three studies, only one have used a parallel design [32], while one tested the same protocol with a vari-


The important risk-taking of advocating for student partnership practice

As a lecturer in teacher education in an Irish higher education institution, I have always believed in the value of student voice and drawing on lived experience, but I never set out to be a champion of learner-teacher partnership practices. Like many others, I was concerned about student engagement in my classes, and I knew the way forward was to invite students into a dynamic participatory process where we would learn and create together. What I had not anticipated was that push back from academic peers would compel me into being a “reluctant advocate” for partnership practice. I use the term “reluctant advocate” not because I don’t believe in Students as Partners, but because it is hard being vulnerable and sharing your philosophical stance when it challenges the status quo. By sharing my lived experience now, I highlight some of the considerations facing teachers who are resisting the “how we do things” pressures that reproduce existing learner-teacher power structures and cause tensions between colleagues. This is a call to action for all higher education teachers engaged in partnership practice to consider themselves advocates, reluctant or willing, for partnership values in the face of strong cultural norms that privilege existing learner-teacher hierarchies and product over process. I argue that without teachers as drivers of a process-over-product approach to education, partnership practice will remain an idealised goal experienced by few.

As a lecturer in teacher education in an Irish higher education institution, I have always believed in the value of student voice and drawing on lived experience, but I never set out to be a champion of learner-teacher partnership practices. Like many others, I was concerned about student engagement in my classes, and I knew the way forward was to invite students into a dynamic participatory process where we would learn and create together. What I had not anticipated was that push back from academic peers would compel me into being a "reluctant advocate" for partnership practice. I use the term "reluctant advocate" not because I don't believe in Students as Partners, but because it is hard being vulnerable and sharing your philosophical stance when it challenges the status quo. By sharing my lived experience now, I highlight some of the considerations facing teachers who are resisting the "how we do things" pressures that reproduce existing learner-teacher power structures and cause tensions between colleagues. This is a call to action for all higher education teachers engaged in partnership practice to consider themselves advocates, reluctant or willing, for partnership values in the face of strong cultural norms that privilege existing learner-teacher hierarchies and product over process. I argue that without teachers as drivers of a process-over-product approach to education, partnership practice will remain an idealised goal experienced by few.

INQUIRY AND RESEARCH WITH STUDENTS
Three years ago, I invited students to work with me on designing and developing a project that would increase student teachers' engagement with research methods during initial teacher education. The goal of the project was to respond to students' needs, to support them as budding researchers, and to increase their engagement with the practical application of research in the classroom. I worked with students on what ultimately became the Student Teacher Educational Research project, sharing and publishing student education research in Ireland (Brennan, 2019). The project has been lucky enough to receive continued support since its inception, but as the project grows, the power of "how we do things" sometimes calls into question the process of partnership therein.

RESISTING THE FOCUS ON OUTPUTS AND OWNERSHIP THAT DIMINISH STUDENT PARTICIPATION
When originally adopting a partnership approach, I had not anticipated how challenging it would be to ensure the integrity of students' input and to protect our shared ethos. Some colleagues and policymakers felt that predetermined decisions (made by Brennan, A. (2021). The important risk-taking of advocating for student partnership practice. International Journal for Students as Partners, 5(1). https://doi.org/10.15173/ijsap.v5i1.4554 9 teachers) were necessary to move student-teacher projects forward and that relying on student volunteers was too risky. These views position students as one homogenous group and sometimes felt reflective of discourse on marketization of education where students have "too much power." For me it was important to make sense of, rather than dismiss, students' position. I found that understanding their position was made easier through informal, often task-oriented dialogue. Through sharing responsibility for tasks and making collaborative decisions, students and teachers listened, considered and compromised. The outcome was a shared vision for the project in which all members were collectively invested. The most significant learning from the project derived from this process of working in partnership with students, yet attention and recognition from colleagues tends to focus on the outputs of that partnership. The issue with recognising product over process is that it fails to promote learner-teacher practices where students have the most power and input. As a counterbalance, I have focused much of my writing and presentations about the project on the process of partnership and have shared our model with interested organisations and colleagues in the hope that it will be adapted by new partnership projects. However, shifting the status quo is tricky and troublesome, as many scholars have noted (Lygo-Baker, 2019; Bovill et al., 2016). I continue to initiate conversation and research on the value, ethos and ethic of partnership practices to ensure dominant narratives are challenged.

SO WHY A RELUCTANT ADVOCATE RATHER THAN A CHAMPION?
• Partnership does not have widespread support because it challenges the status quo in learner-teacher power relationships and brings with it a degree of risk for teacher partners (Grace, 1995). Highlighting the misconceptions or misinterpretations of partnership can feel like criticising colleagues and institutions who are working hard in other ways to support students. Finding a way to constructively challenge misconceptions is essential.
• Talking about and writing about partnership means starting a conversation about a personal journey, a value system, and a philosophy. This can be uncomfortable for academics who are used to writing themselves out of their work. Embracing value conversations is helpful to teachers who find themselves facing tensions, misconceptions, and/or uncertainty in relation to partnership.
• By introducing student partnership into the teaching and learning vernacular we have to acknowledge that we are asking people to think differently, to approach practice differently (Matthews, 2019). Teachers who may be slower to adapt need support from advocates to ask questions, voice concerns, and seek help to adapt their practice. Respectful dialogue should be initiated by advocates.
• Promoting a partnership approach when seeking funding is difficult because it can mean committing to pre-determined outputs, numbers of participants, or deadlines that may not materialise until students are engaged in partnership. Therefore partnerships often start without funding and require a degree of risk. Teacher Brennan, A. (2021 10 partners need support from institutions and leaders who understand the professional risk associated with partnership practice, but they too must take responsibility for highlighting these risks to colleagues.
• Addressing the concerns and questions of colleagues in a measured and appropriate manner requires partners to be able to articulate their approach to partnership, but this is not easy. It took significant engagement with scholarship and reflection before discerning my approach to partnership. Admitting the complexity of partnership as a concept is important when encouraging teachers to engage.
There are wonderful groups, projects and initiatives in Ireland and abroad that help teachers to embrace a partnership approach to teaching and learning in higher education. Yet, as my lived experience signals, few teachers have first-hand experience of engaging in meaningful partnerships with students. It is incumbent upon those of us who are practicing student-partnership in academic departments without an ethos of partnership (which are far greater than those with such a culture) to resist the "how we do things" pressure that reproduces existing learner-teacher power structures. In doing so, we become advocates, reluctant or willing, who promote and encourage student partnership processes.


Effects of After-School Volleyball Program on Body Composition in Overweight Adolescent Girls

The current study aimed to investigate the effects of an after-school volleyball program on body composition in overweight adolescent girls. Forty-two girls were randomly divided into a volleyball group (VG) (n = 22 age: 15.6 ± 0.5 years) and control group (CG) (n = 20; age: 15.5 ± 0.7 years). Both groups continued with their usual physical education activities, while VG was included as small-sided games, two times a week, after school, on modified volleyball courts. Body mass, body mass index (BMI), body fat in kg, body fat percentage, and muscle mass were analyzed by a bioelectrical impedance method. There was a significant interaction of group (VG vs. CG) × time (pre-vs. post) for weight [F1, 40 = 7.933; p = 0.004] and BMI [F1, 40 = 5.764; p = 0.015]. Additionally, a significant main effect of time was found for body fat (kg) [F1, 40 = 17.650; p < 0.001] and body fat (%) [F1, 40 = 18.721; p < 0.001]. The results of the current study show that a twelve-week after-school volleyball program, including two sessions a week, can improve body composition in overweight adolescent girls.

Introduction
Nowadays, in a time of accelerated technological development, obesity in children and adolescents is taking on the character of an epidemic. The number of overweight and obese individuals worldwide has increased from 30 years ago, and, now, almost a third of the world population is defined as obese or overweight [1]. Concerningly, the majority of adolescents do not meet physical activity recommendations despite well-documented health benefits [2]. Although adolescence is a period when long-term healthy eating and exercise habits are formed, more than 340 million young people in the world were overweight or obese in 2016, and this negative trend continues to progress [3]. Accordingly, this age has been recognized as the period that may play a crucial role in the buildout and persistence of obesity and for leading to negative consequences during adulthood. Therefore, an effective approach to engage with youth and ameliorate their body composition status is of great importance. Children and adolescents spend most of their day in school. Therefore, the school setting has been recognized as a potentially effective environment for different exercise interventions [4]. Even though school interventions are effective and practical [5], previous studies [6,7] claimed that most adolescents are inactive during physical education classes and that the intensity of exercise is low. In accordance with all the above, there is a need for additional or different programs.
A previous review concluded that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) could be an effective method in accordance with the short duration of the activity for improving health-related indicators in adolescents [8]. However, there is no clear consensus on the positive effects of HIIT on body composition. Volleyball is considered to be one of the most played team sports worldwide. It is a sport that attracts all structures of the population; in particular, it involves no direct contact with the opponent but requires speed of movement and thinking. Volleyball, as an intermittent and complex activity where high-intensity elements are interrupted by a short period of low-intensity activities [9], could be included in work with obese female adolescents. Taking into account the previous statements that the type, configuration, and popularity of physical activity are required in both childhood and adolescent periods [10], volleyball appears to be an appropriate solution. Additionally, volleyball is one of the most popular physical activities in the aforementioned population [11]. Moreover, the total intensity of movements, according to the ratio of working metabolic rate (MET), can be measured at 6 METs in volleyball [12], which is considered to be vigorous [13]. Consequently, it is important to determine whether or not including volleyball as the only additional physical activity in PE classes can lead to an adjustment in body composition parameters and thus provide considerable health benefits.
Considering that volleyball has its popularity predominantly among the female population, it was of great interest to determine how it affects the body composition of female adolescents. To the best of the authors' knowledge, to date, no study has focused on investigating the effects of small-sided volleyball games on body composition in overweight female adolescents.
Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effects of a volleyball after-school program on body composition in overweight adolescent girls. We hypothesized that the exercise intervention would cause greater changes in body composition in overweight adolescent girls compared to physical education classes only.

Participants
This was a randomized study comparing an after-school volleyball program with traditional physical education classes in overweight female adolescents. Forty-two adolescent female participants from various classes of schools across Southern Serbia were included in the study. The participants were randomly divided into a volleyball group (VG) (n = 20; height: 158.97 ± 5.39; age: 15.6 ± 0.5 years) and control group (CG) (n = 22; height: 159.96 ± 10.71; age: 15.5 ± 0.7 years). Both groups continued with their usual physical education activities. During the volleyball program, there were no time-loss injuries.
The participants did not have any known medical problems. To be included, the participants had to be aged between 14 and 16 years, present a body mass index (BMI) ranging from the 85th to 95th percentile according to gender and age [14], be free of any medications that could impact the results, and not be involved in any systematic physical activities at the time of study or at least six months before the study (besides regular physical education classes at school, lasting up to 90 min/week).
All participants and parents/guardians were fully informed of the possible risks associated with the experimental procedures and gave their consent to participate in the study. Moreover, the participants and parents/guardians were informed that they could leave the experimental program at any time. The study protocol was approved by the ethics committee of the Faculty of Sport and Physical Education in Niš (Ref. No. 20/2020) and carried out in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.

Procedures
Measurement of body composition of all participants at the initial and final measurement was performed in the same school hall. The measurements were performed early in the morning, before 10 a.m., on both occasions. The testing was conducted by the same researchers on the initial and final measurement and in identical order. Participants were measured in minimal clothing and barefoot for height and weight. Body height was assessed to the nearest 0.1 cm using a stadiometer (SECA Instruments Ltd., Hamburg, Germany). Body mass, BMI, body fat %, body fat in kg, and muscle mass were assessed via a bioelectrical impedance method using a standardized body composition analyzer, the InBody230 (InBody Co., Ltd., Cerritos, CA, USA). BMI was calculated using the following formula: BMI = (Weight in kilograms)/(Height in meters) squared. The InBody230 is a reliable device for women and men with high ICC for BF% (≥0.98) and has a low standard error of measurement [15]. Before the measurements, the participants were advised to excrete and refrain from drinking excessive amounts of liquids and not to deviate from their typical breakfast habits.

Exercise Intervention
It is widely accepted that children and adolescents should be engaged in strenuous or moderate physical activity for at least 60 min a day, which represents 420 min/week [16]. We included volleyball activities, played as small-sided games, two times a week after school. The experimental program lasted for 12 weeks. Volleyball was played on a court (4.5 to 6 m × 9 to 12 m), and the number of players was modified from 3 vs. 3 to 5 vs. 5 players. Each session started with a warm-up lasting 10-12 min. Moderate-intensity jogging was performed at the beginning of the warm-up session (3 min), along with dynamic stretching (4 min), and a specific volleyball warm-up with the ball (5 min). The main part of the session consisted of 40 min of volleyball. The session ended with a 5 min cool-down period. The intensity of training was monitored using the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) with a 10-point scale, collected during the training period. The CG undertook their regular PE classes involving team ball games (handball, basketball, or soccer) and individual sporting activities most common in many countries (track and field, gymnastics, or table tennis). In both groups, volleyball was excluded from regular PE classes. Both groups were not engaged in other organized physical activities besides organized volleyball activities and PE classes. The participants who had 70 > percent of attendance during the 12 weeks were taken for further analysis. There was no sample dropout during the experimental program and all participants were included in further analysis.

Statistical Analysis
Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS statistical program version 22 (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). To test the normality, we performed the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, which showed that the data were normally distributed (p > 0.05). Furthermore, Levene's tests were determined for each dependent variable. The effects of the experimental treatment were analyzed using a two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) in which the main and interaction effects (group × time) were calculated. Moreover, we used the Cohen's d effect size (ES) with the use of the following criteria: trivial 0.0-0.2; small 0.2-0.6; moderate 0.6-1.2; large 1.2-2.0; and very large > 2.0 [17]. In addition to the statistical significance, which was set at p < 0.05, a partial eta squared (η 2 ) was used for the differences between groups using 0.01, 0.06, and 0.14, determined as a small effect, medium effect, and a large effect [18].

Adherence to the Exercise Program
The average attendance for the experimental program was 92%. The main reasons for skipping the exercise sessions were menstrual cycle, cold, and fatigue.

Body Composition
The results for body composition are presented in Table 1

Discussion
The number of overweight and obese children worldwide has risen alarmingly in the last twenty years [19], partly due to insufficient physical activity and unhealthy eating habits. The school environment is the setting where adolescents usually spend most of their day. Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the effects of a 12-week school-based volleyball intervention on body composition in overweight female adolescents.
The most important results of the current study were the decrease in body mass and BMI after a relatively short volleyball program. Furthermore, the volleyball program over 12 weeks reduced body fat over time but showed no difference between the groups.
Obesity during childhood and adolescence, low cardiorespiratory fitness, and decreased physical activity have a strong association with various cardiovascular diseases [20]. Strategies to improve body composition status include diet, exercise interventions, or both. A recent study indicated that there is a general trend towards larger changes in body composition following HIIT protocols [8]. Volleyball is a sport that belongs to high-intensity activities [21], and it is predominantly popular in the female population; since it involves less high-intensity activity than other sports [22][23][24], it could be a suitable and effective activity for both obese and overweight adolescents. The current results, although among overweight adolescents, showed that the volleyball after-school program was more effective than those of the CG, with a 6.9% reduction in body mass after the experimental treatment (medium ES). Considering the baseline differences between CG and VG at the initial assessment, after the experimental program, there was a decrease in body mass index (BMI) in both groups. The reduction was greater in the VG (−5.3%) compared to CG (−0.8%). However, BMI is not the most adequate parameter to describe real differences in body composition, because a change in BMI does not mean that there has been an increase in muscle mass and a reduction in fat mass at the same time [25].
Although the current results showed a higher percentage decrease in body fat (4.3% in the VG and 2.1% in the CG group) and body fat in kg (5.5% in the VG and 1.5% in the CG) in the VG compared to the CG, the changes were not statistically significant (p > 0.05). A possible reason for the non-significant changes could be that both the CG and VG were exposed to physical activity for a period of 12 weeks. However, even the lowest level of increased physical activity leads to positive changes in the overweight and obese population. Moreover, adolescence is a period related to increased hormonal work and increased biological growth and development [26], where participants can be exposed to a longer duration of physical activity [27]. Another reason may be that, during the experimental program, the participants did not have any kind of educational content or control of nutrient intake that would affect the outcome [28].
It should be acknowledged that the study had some limitations. Firstly, physical activity was not measured during and outside school, which could be recognized as a limitation. Secondly, the small sample size of participants could also be considered as a limitation, particularly given that only overweight girls were included in the study. Third, dietary habits and total calorie intake were not controlled. However, they were instructed to maintain their usual calorie intake. Finally, after the experimental program and the final measurement, there was no further monitoring of the participants in the parameters of body composition, in order to determine whether there was a return of values to the initial level. Nevertheless, this study justifies the use of volleyball in the planning of physical education classes and after-school activities, showing that playing volleyball could significantly improve the body composition of overweight girls.

Conclusions
Overall, our findings show that an after-school volleyball program over twelve weeks is suitable for improving body composition in overweight adolescent girls. This study also shows that playing volleyball, added to regular PE classes, has the potential to reduce or even compensate for the limitations of the exercise program in a regular class in a relatively short time.


Knowledge and Attitude of Beneficiary and Non-Beneficiary Members of SHG in Kurnool District of Andhra Pradesh

Half of the Indian population were women but they were not provided with equal rights and opportunities as men. In order to empower women, they should be self-reliant which could be done with the SHG by providing micro-finance. To promote SHG, it becomes necessary to understand the knowledge and attitude level of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries of SHG. The present study was conducted at Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh. In Kurnool district, Kurnool division was selected purposively. In Kurnool, 6 villages were selected and in each village 1 SHG group with 10 beneficiaries and 10 non-beneficiaries were selected thus, constitutes 60 beneficiaries and 60 non-beneficiaries. The primary data was gathered with the help of interview schedule and the secondary data was gathered with the help of previous studies. The collected data were tabulated and analysed with suitable statistical tools and the findings were presented. The findings revealed that majority of the respondents were middle aged with primary level of education and member of an institution. They also possess medium level of knowledge and attitude because of medium level of institutional participation.

INTRODUCTION
Women in India constitutes half of the Indian population. But they were underestimated and forced to face societal and cultural constraints. To promote and develop the India, the women in India should be developed by eradicating poverty, increasing socio-economic status thus providing a better standard of living.
Microfinance offers access to poor people for their basic financial services such as loans, savings, money transfer services and microinsurance. Thus, providing micro-finance to women leads to empower financially. Self Help Group is one of the women development activities that give importance to eradicate poverty, increase livelihood pattern. NABARD (2005) describes SHG as, "average size of about 15 people from a homogeneous class. They address their common problem and encouraged to make voluntary thrift regularly. Thus the pooled resources makes a small interest to the members and the bank loans are given at market interest rate without any collateral. Gradually it builds financial discipline".
In SHG through regular contribution from group members, the group builds a common fund. Members of the group take loan from the common fund and pay it back collectively at accepted interest rate. The leader of SHG changes periodically and their decisions were taken by consensus method. This type of credit had non-exploitative interest, no need for collateral security. SHG is also referred as an cost-effective mechanism for providing financial services to the "Unreached Poor" and successful in meeting the financial needs of the rural poor women. SHG involves significant face to face interaction among members which promotes mutual trust, solidarity and social capital. Tiyas Biswas (2007) indicated that rapid progress in SHG formation now lead to empowerment of women across the country. Haussmann, Tyson and Zahidi (2010) reported that poor women had lack of access to health care services when needs was found to be disadvantaged.
Meanwhile Nair and Tankha (2014) mentioned that SHG were extensively promoted through government and nongovernment organizations in India and in addition to this, it was estimated to had 93 million members in 2012 which implies that it impacts over 300 million households. Reed (2015) figured out that about 80 per cent of the microfinance recipients were women. Uma devi and Narasaiah (2017) mentioned that, "the interventions of micro-finance has led to tremendous changes in the life of women at grass root level". Rathod Nilam and Devi Ganga (2018) commented that, "SHGs playing the leading role in changing the economic scenario". Shobha and Udaaychandra (2018) reported that most of the SHG members were middle aged, educated upto primary school and belonged to backward class. Balamurugan (2019) observed that most of the SHG members belonged to middle aged, educated upto primary education, possessed nuclear family with major occupation agriculture and earns an income of Rs.2000 per month.

Statement of the Problem
In olden days, in rural and remote areas, the women were restricted to take part in decision making activities of their own family. But at present, the scenario was changed and women were independent in decision-making. Meanwhile, most of them were engaged in income generating activities with the help of NGO which provide micro-finance to rural poor women and leads to women empowerment for better standard of living. Hence, in order to promote rural poor women, they should be empowered socially and economically, which can be done with the help of SHG"s income generating activities. Thus, there arises a need to study the knowledge and attitude of beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries towards the activities of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS). With this context in mind, the following objectives were formulated:  To assess the socio-economic profile of the beneficiary and non-beneficiary members/respondents of Self Help Groups (SHGs) in the study area.  To study the knowledge and attitude of beneficiary and non-beneficiary members towards the activities of Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS).

MATERIALS AND METHODS
Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh was purposively selected for the study as it possess greater number of SHGs. In addition to this, it was the only corporation in which Ministry for Eliminations of Poverty in Municipal Areas (MEPMA) is incorporated. In Kurnool district, among the three revenue divisions, Kurnool division was purposively selected. Out of 20 villages in Kurnool division, Gundur, Kodumuru, Kothapalle, Krishnagiri, Kurnool and Srisailam. From the selected 6 villages, one SHG from each village was selected, thus constitutes the 6 SHG. From the selected 6 SHG, 10 members from 1 SHG, thus makes 60 SHG beneficiary members. Meanwhile, 10 non-beneficiary members were selected from each village, which constitutes 60 nonbeneficiary members. Thus, 60 beneficiary members and 60 non-beneficiary members constitutes the 120 respondents. Primary data was collected from the respondents with the help of pre-tested structured interview schedule. Secondary data were gathered from the thesis, newspaper, reports.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The data gathered were categorized, analysed with suitable statistical tools and the results were presented. The socio-economic characteristics like age, family type, family size, educational status were studied and the findings were presented in table.1. The sample as a whole shows the predominance of nuclear family type. Among the Govt. promoted SHG, a larger percentage of families (68%) had a family size with five to eight members per household. This was followed by 24 percent whose family size was up to four members per family. Two percent of the sample families had 13-16 persons per family. The family size of NGO promoted SHG households was (64 %) of 5-8 people per family followed by 32 percent with four members per family. The rest had a small family with up to four members per family. Seventy-three percent of the Non-SHG member households had 5-8 persons per family and the rest 27 percent of families had up to four persons per family. Education status of the sample respondents is presented in table 4.4 and in the case of Govt. promoted SHG members, 10 percent had high school education, 40 percent had primary school education, four percent were functionally literates, two percent had a college education and rest 24 percent were illiterates. Among the NGO promoted SHG, 18 percent were illiterates, four percent were functionally literates, eight percent had high school and 46 percent had primary education, and 24 percent had middle school education. Among Non-SHG member household"s women, 26.6 percent were illiterates, 26.7 percent had middle school education, 3.3 percent had a high school education, and 40 percent had primary school education. At the pooled level of SHG members, 21 percent of women were illiterate 9 percent had high school and 22 percent had middle education and 4 percent were functionally literate.
The institutions that were considered include Milk Cooperatives, Mahila Mandals, Village Panchayat, and Zilla Panchayat. A perusal of Table 4.5 shows that among Govt. promoted SHG households, 24 percent of them were not participating in any institution and 76 percent had participated in one or more institutions. In case the NGO promoted SHG households, 84 percent of the respondents had institutional participation in one or more institutions and 16 percent had not participated in any institution. Among Non-SHG member households, 17 percent of the respondents had institutional participation in one or more institutions and a majority of respondents (83%) did not show participation in any institution. The knowledge level of beneficiaries and nonbeneficiaries of SHG towards the activities of PACS were studied and the results were presented in table.2.  The attitude level of Govt promoted respondents from table.4.7, revealed that 36 per cent of respondents had medium level of attitude, followed by 34 percent of low level and 20 percent of the respondents had high level of respondents. Similarly, 46 percent of NGO promoted respondents had medium level of attitude level, followed by 30 percent had low level and 14 percent had high level of attitude level. Meanwhile, non-SHG members had low level of attitude (43.33%), followed by 40 percent had medium level and 16.66 per cent had high level of attitude.

CONCLUSION
Microfinance programs to promote loans, savings, insurance and other financial products for low-income clients in India. The Self Help Group is responsible for empowering women by the way of promoting self-reliance, self confidence and educating them to realize their fundamental rights. From the present study, it could be understand that majority of the respondents were middle aged with nuclear family consisting of 5 to 8 members per family, educated upto primary level of education and member in an institution. Most of the respondents had medium level of knowledge and attitude level towards the activities of PACS. It could be suggested to eliminate the constraints faced by the respondents to increase the number of SHGs. If women are empowered, then ultimately our nation will be empowered economically and socially.


s2fieldsofstudy: Education Medicine

text:
From the Bottlecap to the Bottleneck: Frequent Esophageal Impaction of Bottlecaps Among Young Males in a Small University Town

There have been few reports of ingestion of bottlecaps worldwide. However, all of these seemed to be unlikely accidental ingestions with a comic side effect. In contrast to this, the authors of this study found an accumulation of bottlecap ingestions in a small university town. Hence, we conducted a study to investigate the nature of these ingestions. We conducted a retrospective cohort study in a tertiary referral center in a small German university town (Göttingen). All patients that were admitted for esophageal foreign bodies were screened for accidental ingestion of bottlecaps and included in the study at hand. Overall, there were 14 cases of bottlecap ingestion within 12 years. Patients were exclusively male, average age was 23.0 ± 4.2 years, ranging from 18.3 to 35.6 years. In 13 out of 14 cases, association to a fraternity was found. Young men, particularly those belonging to a fraternity, should be beware of bottlecap ingestion when consuming beer in risky rituals in small university towns. Alternatively, competitive beer drinking may generally be avoided.

Introduction
Constant consumption of alcohol is dangerous to both mental and physical wellbeing. Nonetheless, (regular) consumption of alcohol is deeply embedded into many societies and a frequent, if not obligatory part of social convention. Regular consumption of alcoholic beverages in moderate amounts, in particular of those that are rich in polyphenol, has even been discussed to have beneficial long-term effects on health and wellbeing [1]-even though there are viewpoints that negate any beneficial effect of alcohol consumption [2].
There are many forms of protracted consumption, one of which is binge drinking where ample amounts of alcoholic beverages are ingested in a short period of time with the overall aim of becoming inebriated. When inebriated, the probability of esophageal impaction significantly increases [3].
While the nature of the ingested foreign bodies naturally varies according to age, social surroundings and objects at hand, the authors of this study noted a peculiar cumulation of esophageal impaction of bottlecaps, particularly in context fraternity drinking rituals. Fraternities often cultivate a strong tradition of heavy drinking rituals. While cases of esophageal impaction of bottlecaps in the scientific literature are scarce [4], we felt that this incidentally detected finding was a common clinical picture in a small German university town. Hence, we decided to investigate the nature of these incidents.

Patients and Methods
The study at hand was registered with the ethics committee of the University of Göttingen under the File No. 29/6/12 An. The need for informed consent was waived since the nature of this study was a purely retrospective analysis; the inhouse standard-of-care was not altered due to this study. Moreover, cases were detected by a full text search within the radiology findings database using the German term for bottlecap ("Kronkorken"). The University Medical Center Göttingen is a tertiary referral center and an academic teaching hospital of Göttingen University.
Patients that had claimed to have ingested a bottlecap during their anamnesis or where the diagnosis of ingestion of a bottlecap was based on an incidentally detected finding by radiography or endoscopy were included.
Patient files were used to collect data about the date of ingestion, the patients age at ingestion, the radiologic documentation, bloodwork, the general and specific anamnesis of the patient, the symptoms with which the patient presented, the localization of the bottlecap as well as the treatment and the follow-up of the patients.
Patients were routinely treated either by the Otorhinolaryngology or the Gastroenterology Department; the individual reports from the interventions were then analyzed for the study as well. By otorhinolaryngologists a rigid endoscopy in general anesthesia was performed; a flexible endoscopy was performed by the gastroenterologists in sedation.
Fraternity association was deduced from the patients addresses of residency or where the incident took place and comparison of these addresses with that of local fraternities. Additionally, available membership lists the Kösener Corpslisten and the Mitgliederverzeichnis des Cartellverbandes were used to cross-reference fraternity association.

Results
Overall, 14 patients presented with an ingested bottle cap between 01/2005 and 10/2014 were included in the study. The study population was exclusively male with an average (physical) age of 23.0 ± 4.2 years at the time of treatment with the eldest patient being 35.6 years and the youngest 18.3 years. Fraternity association was confirmed in 13 patients.
Upon first presentation, 12 patients reported a definitive ingestion of a bottlecap; in two patients there was no information available as to why the patients were admitted to the ER. All patients presented within 24 h after ingestion. Symptoms described were in all patients odyno-, dys-or aphagia, foreign body sensation and/or retrosternal pain. No patient was actually capable of properly swallowing. In nine patients, there was a positive anamnesis for alcohol consumption; in the other five cases, there were no information on previous alcohol consumption available in the patient files. Average blood alcohol concentration was 1.2 ± 0.8 g/l ( Table 1).
In all patients, there was radiographic proof by chest or neck X-ray of a bottlecap stuck in the esophagus. 10 (71.4%) were localized in the cranial third of the esophagus, 3 (21.4%) were localized in the middle third of the esophagus and 1 (7.1%) was localized in the caudal third of the esophagus (Figs. 1, 2, 3). Interestingly, in all imaging findings, the bottlecap has nearly the same alignment in space, flat parallel to the spine. 7 (50%) of the patients were treated by the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and 7 (50%) were treated by the Gastroenterology Department. In all of the patients treated by rigid esophagoscopy, the bottlecap was successfully recovered upon the first attempt (7 of 7, 100%). It was removed by using an appropriate grasping forceps. In three of the seven patients treated by flexible endoscopy, the bottlecap was accidentally lodged into the stomach and subsequently removed by endoscopy within the same procedure in one case. Two of those cases (2 of 7, 28.6%) required a second day procedure. During flexible endoscopy the bottlecap was removed by appropriate grasping forceps in 5 cases, and using a mesh loop in 2 cases. In two cases, a "golden bottlecap" was reported or documented. 76.9% showed mucosal lesions after removal of the bottlecap. A control endoscopy after successful removal was performed in two of those cases. A nasogastric feeding tube has not been placed in any case. All patients were discharged the same day or within the following 48 h after bottlecap removal. None of the patients were readmitted for the same or another bottlecap. In the further follow-up, a 22-year-old patient died 18 months after removal of the bottlecap in an alcoholrelated incident.

Discussion
Firstly, we found in the cohort at hand that the ingestion of bottlecaps seems to be-albeit the foreign body is relatively sharp and its ingestion regularly associated with intoxication-not particularly dangerous: There was no sign of advanced esophageal damage apart from local erythema or slight mucosal erosions. This is probably owed by the fact that the diagnostic and clinical challenges after bottlecap ingestion are not particularly difficult: The majority of patients actually state to have previously ingested a  bottlecap, and diagnosis is safely confirmed by X-ray of the neck or thorax. Moreover, all patients presented shortly after the incident. However, this does not mean bottlecap ingestion into the esophagus is not a serious issue-it is our conviction that the relatively harmless numbers are mostly due to the small sample size and the early admission to the hospital. In addition to this, the collective is young andapart from the underlying intoxication-healthy, making a serious course of the condition less likely. Finally, these cases highlight an important aspect when it comes to foreign bodies that are strange in nature: every account needs to be taken seriously.
Consequently, the subsequent removal is easily feasible either by rigid or flexible endoscopy and can regularly be achieved without further complications, as recommended by the appropriate guidelines [3,5]. Generally speaking, flexible endoscopy for removal of foreign bodies may be associated with a little less discomfort and hence favorable [5,6]. However, as far as conclusions may be drawn from the data at hand, in terms of bottlecaps rigid endoscopy may be favorable over flexible endoscopy. This is since the latter lodged the bottlecap into the stomach in several cases and eventually even required additional procedures. Moreover, rigid endoscopy may provide additional protection when retracting the foreign body.
However, what is striking about the collective at hand is not so much the conclusion that may be drawn from the handling of the esophageal foreign bodies. There is an ample amount of scientific literature addressing esophageal foreign bodies [7,8], including numerous reports of remarkable foreign bodies [9,10] and even scientific guidelines [3]. What is remarkable about the collective at hand is both the homogeneity of the foreign bodies as well as the patients characteristics: It has been established that bottlecaps pose a considerable danger to the eyes [11] the knee [12] and, if severely misplaced, even the urogenital tract [13]. Hence one might deduce that bottlecaps themselves are accidents just waiting to happen, and that beer and other soft drinks should henceforth only be sold in soft cartridges like milk. However, the fact that there were 14 cases of bottlecap ingestion within a 10-year period in a city of only approximately 100,000 inhabitants needs to be put in perspective: In scientific literature, we found six cases of ingestion of bottlecaps in a 30-year period worldwide, with reports coming from Australia, the USA, Belgium, Poland and Germany, and a considerable heterogeneity on age (yet not gender) and how the bottlecap was ingested. (Table 2) [4,[14][15][16][17][18] The collective at hand on the other hand is quite homogenous. However, the great common denominator of both the aforementioned reports as well as the case series at hand is the gender of the subjects. The subjects were exclusively male. While there are numerous potential explanations for this observation, we believe that this observation goes hand  in hand with another aspect of the collective at hand: the association to fraternities. It is our conviction that the ingestions of said bottlecaps occurred during the academic drinking rituals which have a long, ongoing and strong tradition amongst German fraternities. The American author Mark Twain used to describe these occasions in Heidelberg, Germany in his report "A Tramp Abroad": "Nine-tenths of the Heidelberg students wore no badge or uniform; the other tenth wore caps of various colors, and belonged to social organizations called "corps." (…) The "KNEIP" seems to be a specialty of theirs, too. Kneips are held, now and then, to celebrate great occasions, (…). The solemnity is simple; the five corps assemble at night, and at a signal they all fall loading themselves with beer, out of pint-mugs, as fast as possible, (…) the one who has drank the greatest number of pints is proclaimed king. I was told that the last beer king elected by the corps-or by his own capabilities-emptied his mug 75 times. No stomach could hold all that quantity at one time, of course-but there are ways of frequently creating a vacuum, which those who have been much at sea will understand" [19]. While the times and occasions obviously have changed over the course of time, the general idea of (binge) drinking in fraternities is very much the same to this day. Members of different fraternities meet in gloomy basements, and disproportionate quantities of beer are consumed from large vessels over short periods of time as a competition between the fraternities. Numerous beer bottles are opened hastily with anything sharp-edged, flinging the bottlecaps elliptically into the void-the probability of one ending up in a drinking vessel is not a matter of probability, but of time.
This kind of alcohol rich lifestyle is still practiced, promoted and even commercially marketed to young fraternity students in Germany, as is vividly documented in public accounts in social media like Octopott or Korpo-Meme. Hence, it is very likely that these bottlecaps were accidentally ingested when large quantities of alcohol were hastily consumed as part of fraternity rituals-very much like institutionalized binge drinking.
So how to prevent bottlecap ingestion in fraternity students? It has been suggested that champagne is a significantly safer choice as a beverage [4], since the ingestion of a champagne cork is anatomically significantly more difficult and has-to the best of our knowledge-not yet been reported in scientific literature. However, conservative institutions like fraternities are not terribly prone to change, and regular consumption of champagne might pose a pecuniary challenge for university students. So after careful and lengthy debate amongst the authors of this paper, we recommend the change of beer brand as a first step in increasing the safety of fraternity students. A beer that may be more appealing to the palate rather than the pocket is possibly drunk in a slower habit, and thus the risk on hastily bottlecap ingestion is reduced. Moreover, we believe that serving cold beer could also decrease the risk of bottlecap ingestion-while at the same time being more enjoyable. Fast ingestion of cold food or beverages is known to cause ice cream induced headaches (or colloquially "brain-freeze") [20]. The attempt of drinking a large amount of ice-cold beer in a short period of time would most likely be unpleasant to the drinker (and rather entertaining to bystanders).
However, all these (comic) considerations aside, the fact that fraternity rituals regularly caused bottlecap ingestions is considerable cause for concern: Any ingestions of a foreign body is harmful and potentially lethal [21], particularly when inebriated. Moreover, fraternity rituals have repeatedly been reported to be harmful and even lethal [22]. Hence it is not surprising that one patient that was included in the study at hand eventually died in an alcohol-related incident within a short period of time. While the authors of this study do not wish to demonize neither fraternities nor their rituals, the dataset at hand should at least raise concern over some of the respective drinking habits.

Conclusion
We found a remarkably homogenous collective of young men that had previously ingested bottlecaps. All patients presented with a clear anamnesis of bottlecap ingestion, and diagnosis was safely confirmed by X-ray. Removal was easily feasible by either flexible or rigid endoscopy; however, the authors would recommend rigid over flexible endoscopy. We believe bottlecap ingestion was due to fraternity drinking rituals. While all patients easily recovered after surgical bottlecap removal, one patient eventually died in an alcoholrelated incident. This highlights the considerable dangers of excessive drinking rituals, as they are-to this very daypracticed in fraternities, drinking societies and likewise.
Data Availability The authors of this manuscript declare that the data at hand have not been published, submitted or used in any other manuscript elsewhere. The original, anonymous dataset is available upon request from the corresponding author.

Compliance with Ethical Standards
Conflict of interest MB would like to point out that he is a member of a catholic fraternity in Munich, Germany. Neither his fraternity nor any members or relatives of members of his fraternity were involved in the funding, the design, the data analysis or the writing of the study at hand. There are no other conflicts of interest to declare.

Consent for Publication
All authors have read the final version of the manuscript and agree with its publication.

Ethical Approval
The entire study was registered with the ethics committee of the University of Göttingen under the File No.
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