Psychometric Properties of a Parental Questionnaire for Assessing Correlates of Toddlers’ Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior

This study examined the psychometric properties of a questionnaire developed with the guidance of the socialization model of child behaviour to understand modifiable correlates of toddlers’ physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Findings are based on 118 parents (33.7 ± 4.9 years; 86% female) of toddlers (19.3 ± 2.7 months; 48% female) from Edmonton, Canada in The Parents’ Role in Establishing healthy Physical activity and Sedentary behaviour habits study (PREPS). The PREPS questionnaire encompassed 21 variables across the constructs of the socialization model of child behaviour. Of the nine variables assessed for internal consistency reliability, eight had good (α ≥ 0.70) reliability. Of the 15 continuous variables assessed for 1-week test–retest reliability, 10 had moderate (intra-class correlation = 0.50–0.74) and 5 had good (intra-class correlation ≥ 0.75) reliability. Of the six categorical variables assessed for 1-week test–retest reliability, two had fair (К = 0.21–0.40), one had moderate (К = 0.41–0.60), one had substantial (К = 0.61–0.80), and two had almost perfect (К = 0.81–1.00) reliability. Of the 12 sedentary behaviour variables assessed for convergent validity, 7 were significantly correlated with children’s screen time, of which three were small (r ≤ 0.29), two were medium (r = 0.30–0.49), and two were large (r ≥ 0.50) effect sizes.     

What knowledge appears as valid in the subject of Physical Education and Health? A study of the subject on three levels in year 9 in Sweden

Background: Many studies have found that Physical Education and Health (PEH) is a popular subject among the majority of pupils. Still, there is an on-going discussion concerning the aim of PEH and what legitimises it as a school subject. It is difficult to identify what knowledge appears as legitimate within PEH, and this creates conflicts within the field.

Purpose: The main purpose of this study is to contribute to the on-going debate regarding the knowledge content and the identity problems described in PEH. The conceptual framework used is curriculum theory, inspired by Bernstein's and Lundgren's theoretical work on the social construction of knowledge and the relationship between the production and reproduction of curricular knowledge, further developed by Linde. The specific research questions are the following: (1) What knowledge appears as legitimate in the subject in Sweden on these three levels: In the syllabus, as viewed by teachers, and during the realisation of lessons? (2) What are the similarities and differences between these levels with regard to legitimate subject knowledge? (3) Can we understand the described identity problem in the subject with the help of what knowledge appears legitimate?

Research design and data collection: The data used originate from three empirical materials obtained in Sweden from 2003 to 2005: the syllabus valid for compulsory school (i.e. Lpo 94) at the time the interviews and observations took place, material from semi-structured interviews with six PEH teachers who teach year 9 in four different secondary schools, and information from 20 videotaped PEH lessons taught by the interviewed teachers.

Findings: The results indicate that one can distinguish two largely dissimilar objects of learning which differ most markedly between the field of formulation and the field of transformation and realisation. The content knowledge of the field of formulation is largely reformulated in the field of transformation, but no major change takes place from the field of transformation to the field of realisation. The ‘formulated object of learning’ primarily comprises functional physical exercise, conceptual development, and the understanding of health and lifestyles. The ‘realised object of learning’ consists of formalised sport and physical exercise, with a minor focus on conceptual development.

Conclusions: Since two largely different objects of learning emerge in the subject, consensus is low regarding what knowledge is considered legitimate; the knowledge domain on the primary field most likely differs between the two arenas. A main problem for PEH in trying to gain legitimacy is that there are many different actors in the primary field who are related to and have interest in the subject and the knowledge basis of the subject derives from several different academic disciplines and from non-academic ones.     

Intensity of effort and momentary failure in resistance training:Are we asking a binary question for a continuous variable?

<正>1.Introduction There is a growing body of research supporting the idea that a plethora of health benefits can result from resistance training using a low volume,high-effort approach(e.g.,increased metabolic rate and bone mineral density,a reduction in blood pressure,and improved muscle quality and insulin sensitivity,among others^1,2).Further,muscular strength and muscle mass—primary goals and benefits of participation in resistance training—are independently strong predictors...     

Body mass changes during training in elite rugby union: Is a single test of hydration indices reliable?

There is limited research studying fluid and electrolyte balance in rugby union players, and a paucity of information regarding the test–retest reliability. This study describes the fluid balance of elite rugby union players across multiple squads and the reliability of fluid balance measures between two equivalent training sessions. Sixty-one elite rugby players completed a single fluid balance testing session during a game simulation training session. A subsample of 21 players completed a second fluid balance testing session during an equivalent training session. Players were weighed in minimal clothing before and after each training session. Each player was provided with their own drinks which were weighed before and after each training session. More players gained body weight (9 (14.8%)) during training than lost greater than 2% of their initial body mass (1 (1.6%)). Pre-training body mass and rate of fluid loss were significantly associated (r?=?0.318, p?=?.013). There was a significant correlation between rate of fluid loss in sessions 1 (1.74?±?0.32?L?h^?1) and 2 (1.10?±?0.31?L.?h^?1), (r?=?0.470, p?=?.032). This could be useful for nutritionists working with rugby squads to identify players with high sweat losses.     

Trends in International Research Presented Through the Research Consortium of the American Alliance for Health,Physical Education,Recreation and Dance (1965–2008)

The extent of international research on the Research Consortium's program between 1965 and 2008 was documented. A total of 9,132 abstracts were reviewed, and 657 (7.19%) had an international component. Inclusion of international research ranged from a low of 1.97% in 1983 to a high of 14.24% in 2007. There was a decrease in the amount of international research presented between 1965 and 1983, after which there was an increase through 2008. Most growth was from increased contributions coming from researchers in Southeast Asia. In terms of general research topics, eight areas increased over the 44-year history reviewed, and five areas decreased. Seven recommendations are advanced for expanding the place and role of international research within the Research Consortium.     

Is Sport (Football) a Unifying Force or a Vehicle to Further Separation? The Case of Cyprus

In recent years studies have shown that sport can serve as a means towards conflict resolution. Since the time of British colonialism in the 1950s, and after its 1960 independence, Cyprus has experienced conflict between its two main communities – the Greek Cypriots and the Turkish Cypriots. The de facto division of the island in 1974 caused community isolation of the Turkish Cypriots who, for political reasons, have been excluded from participating in international sports competitions. This situation is more visible in football (soccer), the most popular sport on the island. In the last two years the two sides have been trying – so far unsuccessfully – to reinstate the Turkish Cypriots as members of the Official Cyprus Football Federation. This paper gives a background on what has preceded these attempts and discusses whether football is a means of reuniting the two communities, or whether it is used as a vehicle to further separation.     

Tourism diversification process around trail running in the Pays of Allevard (Isère)

The objective of this paper is to analyze the actors’ interactions around this tourism diversification process based on outdoor sports, and in particular trail running, in the Pays of Allevard. To understand the tourism diversification process, it is necessary to analyze the way the local actors use the sport, take ownership of it, and transform it according to their interests, in particular to make it a tourism resource. The results show that the actors supporting the diversification project all practice the sport in question, and therefore have an interest in its development. Thus, trail running was considered as a godsend by certain economic actors, enabling them to offer new services. Sport therefore becomes an economic resource, but also a communication and territorial marketing tool when the objective is to rejuvenate the image of the territory. However, certain local elected officials question the relevance of this diversification project, whose economic impacts remain difficult to quantify. Moreover, this opposition to the development of a new sports activity within the destination illustrates the resonance of traditionalism with respect to the management of a territory. And disagreements concerning the positioning to be adopted make it difficult to construct a tourist identity for the destination.     

Sport as a (mere) hobby: in defense of ‘the gentle pursuit of a modest competence’

In this essay, I defend sport as a (mere) hobby in contrast to sport as a ‘mutual quest for excellence through challenge’. With the assistance of ideas found in the novel Don Quixote, I raise questions about the clarity, merit, and sufficiency of the quest-for-excellence apologetic. I employ arguments made by James and Dewey to support my alternate defense of sporting activity as a hobby, that is, as ‘the gentle pursuit of a modest competence’. Based on the work of Wu, my defense stands as both a philosophic argument and a cultural critique.     

(N)Olympia in Germany? An analysis of the referendum against Munich 2022

In November 2013, local citizens of Munich and the surrounding districts voted in a referendum against a city’s bid for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games. Since this is but one example of such a failed referendum—others being the ones in Poland, Switzerland and Austria—it is astonishing that it seems to become common practice to conduct public polls regarding the bid for a mega sport event. The city of Hamburg, for instance, will be the next German city to hold a referendum on its bid for the 2024 Olympic Games in November 2015. Against this backdrop, we introduce the ‘Arenatheoretical Model’ into mega event research and conduct a qualitative content analysis of the media coverage on the Munich referendum. Three nationwide German newspapers were analysed as the model suggests that this coverage has a profound influence on the public opinion in other parts of the country. The aim was to identify arguments brought forward to explain the outcome of the referendum. Besides a number of other issues, such as concerns regarding event legacy and regional matters, major findings stress the significance of a damaged brand image of international sport organisations and ‘their’ events. Based on these insights, a number of implications can be derived for other cities/nations and sport organisations that depend on a favourable public opinion in their efforts to stage a mega sport event.     

Effects of a 12-Week Physical Activity Protocol Delivered by YMCA After-School Counselors (Youth Fit For Life) on Fitness and Self-Efficacy Changes in 5–12-Year-Old Boys and Girls

Abstract

To address reduced physical education (PE) in elementary schools, a 12-week physical activity protocol was tested on 5–12-year-old, primarily African American, girls (n= 226) and boys (n = 344) at 14 YMCA after-school care sites. The 3 times/week, 45-min session curriculum included cardiovascular, resistance, and flexibility training, in which all children could participate simultaneously, and a behavioral skills education component. After-school counselors, formerly untrained in PE methods, administered the sessions, with periodic supervision by YMCA wellness staff members. Analyses of the eight Age x Sex subsamples indicated significant improvements on body composition, strength, and endurance, both within-groups and when predicted changes due to maturation were accounted for. Exercise barriers self-efficacy significantly increased in subsamples of 9–10- and 11–12-year-old girls only. The need for replication across ethnic groups was suggested. Limitations and the need for extension of research on supplementation of elementary school PE were discussed.     

A dolphin only looks like a fish: Players’ behaviour analysis is not enough for game understanding in the light of the systems approach – a response to the reply by McGarry and Franks

Abstract

In this article I defend my previously published system approach to game playing in sports (Lebed, 2006). Founded on the main argument of mine about insufficiency of performance analysis only for games study, it is based on an inter-disciplinary comprehension of sporting game events from four different angles: the logical-philosophical, the behavioural (performance), the anthropological, and complexity angles. The paper consists of four parts, corresponding to the four angles. The first three parts offer deconstructive and reconstructive analysis. The three provide criticism of McGarry and Frank's arguments against my view of complex dynamical systems in sports. The logical analysis negates my opponents’ general view of a match (a process) as a dynamical system. The behaviour analysis refutes their claim about couple oscillator dynamics as a universal dynamically interpreted model of game playing. The anthropological panoramic vision of sporting games leads me to conclude that my opponents’ analysis of two exclusively interacting sides in a squash or soccer contest is too narrow and insufficient to explain the broad diversity of games. According to the, classification suggested in Lebed (2004), I offer seven possible models that can systematically reflect different groups of games. In the fourth part, the complexity angle is analysed from a constructive point of view. Here I take one of the above seven models and try to outline a ‘‘soccer-like’’ game perspective modelling founded on the view of play process as a conflict of two four-level self-regulating complex systems, where each one is additionally involved in its own loop of cybernetic regulation.     

What happened to the legacy from London 2012? A sociological analysis of the processes involved in preparing for a grassroots sporting legacy from London 2012 outside of the host city

Preparations for London 2012 included promises for a sporting legacy across Britain. APS data suggest that, despite a slight spike in 2012, we have not experienced the rise in participation promised. The importance of preparations for legacy were well documented but little research has examined these processes. We examine planning for sporting legacy within a non-Olympic city in England, Birmingham. Thirty-Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted with people delivering sport in Birmingham to provide a figurational analysis of relationships involved. The change in government during the economic recession saw budget cuts and a reduction in sport development personnel. Whilst various organisations struggled financially, others wanted to link to legacy. This increase in groups involved led to confusion and the unintended outcome of ‘initiativitis’. In trying to leverage legacy, a strategic approach to managing potential opportunities with clear communication of opportunities is vital. A belief in inherent inspiration cannot be relied upon.     

A Portrait of a Rugby Man with a ‘Broken Face’ Le Flambeau dans la nuit (Torch in the Night) (1927) by Henry Decoin

Although the historiography of the First World War has, on numerous occasions, examined deaths and injuries, and their causes and social impacts, only a small number of historians have studied the physical and mental consequences among athletes. While literature offers a way to portray a world that is devoid of substance, where characters are searching for escape, war writing raises the question of human beings' vulnerability. Based on the story of a rugby man with a ‘broken face', the article will consider how a former international rugby champion was unable to reintegrate back into himself into civilian life after losing his sight during the fighting. Henri Decoin was therefore an unusual witness to the First World War, who raised the existential issue faced by all ‘broken faces’, that is to say how to learn to live in society again with faces that bore the marks of war? With the literary character of ‘blind soldier’ deserving greater attention, that of the blind soldier-cum-sports champion has been given particular focus here, inasmuch as such a champion embodied a model of corporal excellence. Analysis of the novel Le Flambeau dans la nuit (Torch in the Night), published in 1927, explains how experience of life on the Western Front quite literally altered perceptions of the world for writers of the young generation. It is also observed how masculinity was called into question under the sign of disability, particularly within the rugby milieu. With few resources allowing reading of what the disfigured said about their mutilated bodies, beyond the information given by associations or in medical writings, this novel is indeed seen as a precious and useful source of information for historians.     

Much ‘more than a club’: Football Club Barcelona’s contribution to the rise of a national consciousness in Catalonia (2003–2014)

In Catalonia, fervour for Football Club Barcelona (Barça) goes well beyond sporting success as the team supports the demands of the stateless nation. Much ‘more than a club’, Barça is a platform for the expansion of a Catalan national consciousness. At a time when Catalonia is at a critical point in its relations with the Spanish state, claiming the right to national self-determination and presenting the possibility of secession, this paper examines how Barça boosts the strength of Catalan nationalist feelings through dynamics characteristic of the football sphere, such as rituals of group belonging, fandom performances of loyalty, the dramatization of rivalries, the elevation of those achieving sporting success to national icons or the strength of feeling provided by the sports ground. Looking at the period 2003–2014, it concludes that Barça is key in advancing claims that Catalonia is a sovereign nation with the right to decide its political future.     

A randomised trial comparing the efficacy and safety of topical ketoprofen in Transfersome® gel (IDEA-033) with oral ketoprofen and drug-free ultra-deformable Sequessome™ vesicles (TDT 064) for the treatment of muscle soreness following exercise

We compared the effectiveness of topical ketoprofen in Transfersome^® gel (IDEA-033) with oral ketoprofen and drug-free Sequessome? vesicles (FLEXISEQ^® Sport; TDT 064) in reducing calf muscle soreness. One hundred and sixty eight healthy individuals with a pain score ≥3 (10-point scale) 12–16 h post-exercise (walking down stairs with an altitude of 300–400 m) were randomised to receive IDEA-033 plus oral placebo (two dose groups), oral ketoprofen plus TDT 064, or TDT 064 plus oral placebo. The primary endpoint was muscle soreness reduction from pre-dosing to Day 7. Higher pain scores were recorded with oral ketoprofen plus TDT 064 (mean ± s 462.4 ± 160.4) versus IDEA-033 plus oral placebo (434.7 ± 190.8; P = 0.2931) or TDT 064 plus oral placebo (376.2 ± 159.1; P = 0.0240) in the 7 days post-exercise. Recovery from muscle soreness was longer with oral ketoprofen plus TDT 064 (mean 91.0 ± 19.5 h) versus IDEA-033 plus placebo (mean 81.4 ± 22.9 h; P = 0.5964) or TDT 064 plus placebo (mean 78.9 ± 22.8 h; P = 0.0262). In conclusion, ultradeformable phospholipid vesicles ± ketoprofen did not retard recovery from muscle soreness. TDT 064 improves osteoarthritis-related pain and could be of interest as a treatment for joint pain during and post-exercise.