Task Switching Effects in Anticipation Timing

Abstract

In an effort to devise a simple but effective test to indicate the overall volleyball playing ability of high school boys, a thorough review of published tests was made. From this review, it was determined that there were four important aspects of a wall-volley test. Preliminary studies investigated each of these aspects and, as a result, a test similar to Brady's test was devised.

Data regarding the finalized form of the test were gathered by administering it to three classes of grade 10 and 11 boys (total N=71). The test for validity produced a correlation coefficient of .767. The reliability test yielded a coefficient of .817.

It was concluded that the test gave evidence of being worthy of further experimentation and use in its present form.     

Reviewers for Volume 84

Abstract

This report is concerned with the development and construction of a valid and reliable test of health knowledge and understanding for 5th grade pupils. Four forms of the preliminary test were administered to pupils beginning the 6th grade of instruction in public schools located in northeast Texas. The trial test was revised after item analysis and use of a statistical procedure to determine valid test items. Analysis of the data secured from administration of the final test to pupils who had just completed the 5th grade of health instruction indicated that the two final test forms were satisfactory measures of health knowledge and understanding.     

A Survey of Safety Conditions of Buildings and Grounds in Secondary Schools

Abstract

Black and white children (N = 553) in kindergarten, grade one, and grade two, as part of a total test battery were tested on items of agility, speed, power, flexibility, and endurance. An ANOVA design was employed for both equal and unequal cell frequencies to determine the effects of grade, sex, and race on gross motor performance. Significant (p < .01) improvements were found at each grade for speed, power, and endurance items; males had significantly better performances (p < .01) than females on all items with the exception of flexibility; black children had significantly (p < .01) lower values than white children in the speed item at each grade level.     

Children's Frequency of Participation in Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activities

Abstract

Third and fourth grade boys (n = 422) and girls (n = 390) in four Texas elementary schools reported their participation in moderate to vigorous physical activities (MVPAs) over a 3-day period. Students were surveyed during class on successive days. On a subsample (n = 44), the agreement between reported and observed physical activities during physical education or recess was 86.3%. Running, walking fast, games and sports, and bicycling accounted for 70% of Total MVPAs. Of Total MVPAs reported, 47.0% for boys and 44.6% for girls were 10 min or longer in duration (LMVPA). The average number of LMVPAs per day was 1.7 for both boys and girls. Students reported significantly more occurrences of LMVPAs out of school than during school. Significant interaction between grade and gender indicated that third grade boys reported more Total MVPAs and LMVPAs than third grade girls, but fourth grade boys reported fewer Total MVPAs and LMVPAs than fourth grade girls. During the 3-day reporting period, 12.3% of boys and 13.3% of girls reported no LMVPAs, and 35.6% of boys and girls reported fewer than one LMVPAs per day. While the majority of children reported obtaining at least some activity daily, a substantial proportion of children in this sample reported fewer than one LMVPA daily, indicating that many children may not be obtaining adequate amounts of physical activity.     

Measuring Selected Motor Skills in Fourth,Fifth, and Sixth Grades

Abstract

This article presents seven tests which were devised for measuring selected motor skills in fourth, fifth, and sixth grade boys and girls. An analysis of the data indicated that the tests were reliable for the population measured, and that age, height, and weight factors were not statistically significant in determining performance as measured by these tests. Performance standards were computed for each sex within each grade level.     

Effects of Self-Instructive Materials in Learning Selected Motor Skills

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if elementary school children can learn selected physical skills by using self-instructive materials. Two classes of grade 4 children were used in this study. Two classes of 30 subjects, an experimental group and a control group, were pretested and post-tested with a skill test consisting of seven tumbling-gymnastic stunts. Each subject in the experimental group was given self-instructive materials and permitted to use in his own way. were guided and encouraged byr classroom teacher. The experimental group could work with the materials every day, both at home and at school, from early November to the middle of May. The control group did not use the materials. Analysis of the data indicated that children using self-instructive materials improved significantly in all areas tested.     

Effects of Light and Heavy Equipment on Acquisition of Sports-Type Skills by Young Children

Abstract

This study was made to test certain hypotheses concerning proprioceptive facilitation by observing the relative effects of the use of lightweight and heavyweight equipment on the acquisition and retention of selected skills by second and third grade children. The 96 7-and 8-year-old children were equaled into four groups on the basis of summed scores derived from a five-item physical performance test battery. Each group consisted of 12 boys and 12 girls, ande were two equated groups in each grade level. One group at each grade level was randomly assigned to use lightweight plastic equipment, while the other grade group used the standard-type equipment classified as heavyweight equipment. Each lightweight group and each heavyweight group were taught the four sports-type skills and tested in the performance of the skill 2 days after the instructional lesson and retested 9 months later. It was concluded that the learning of sports-type skills by young children of limited strength may be facilitated by the use of lighter-weight equipment. To some extent, this relationship among the factors of equipment weight, strength, and the acquisition of skill would seem to be in accord with the “flower spray ending feedback” theory of proprioceptive facilitation.     

‘Sportmotorische Bestandesaufnahme’: Criterion- vs. norm-based reference values of fitness tests for Swiss first grade children

Abstract

Health is closely linked to physical activity and fitness. It is therefore important to monitor fitness in children. Although many reports on physical tests have been published, data comparison between studies is an issue. This study reports Swiss first grade norm values of fitness tests and compares these with criterion reference data. A total of 10,565 boys (7.18 ± 0.42 years) and 10,204 girls (7.14 ± 0.41 years) were tested for standing long jump, plate tapping, 20-m shuttle run, lateral jump and 20-m sprint. Average values for six-, seven- and eight-year-olds were analysed and reference curves for age were constructed. Z-values were generated for comparisons with criterion references reported in the literature. Results were better for all disciplines in seven-year-old first grade children compared to six-year-old children (p < 0.01). Eight-year-old children did not perform better compared to seven-year-old children in the sprint run (p = 0.11), standing long jump (p > 0.99) and shuttle run (p = 0.43), whereas they were better in all other disciplines compared to their younger peers. The average performance of boys was better than girls except for tapping at the age of 8 (p = 0.06). Differences in performance due to testing protocol and setting must be considered when test values from a first grade setting are compared to criterion-based benchmarks. In a classroom setting, younger children tended to have better results and older children tended to have worse outcomes when compared to their age group criterion reference values. Norm reference data are valid allowing comparison with other data generated by similar test protocols applied in a classroom setting.     

Effect of a Treadmill Run to Exhaustion on Performance of Long Addition

Abstract

College students (N = 72) took a four-minute test of addition on two separate days, once preceded by an exhausting treadmill run and once without prior exertion. Scores were recorded for speed and accuracy for each minute and for the total four minutes. It was found that the exertion had a significant negative effect on accuracy for the total four minutes as well as for the second and fourth minute. No significant effect of exertion on speed was obtained. When control and experimental conditions were considered together a significant trend in favor of high fitness subjects was found on speed of addition. Significant differences in favor of medium and high fitness subjects were found on accuracy of addition.     

Relationship between Self-Concept,Body Build,and Perception of Father's Interest in Sports in Boys

Abstract

This study was designed to assess the relationship between self-concept, body build, and perception of father's interest in sports in grade 6 and grade 9 boys. Subjects were chosen on the criteria of differing body build measured by the ponderal index and perception of high or low father interest in sports. Analysis of variance of the self-concept scores indicated differences in the grade 6 sample associated with both body build and perception of father's interest.

The lack of similar associations in the grade 9 sample suggests that the relationship between the variables changes in the junior high school level.     

Development and validation of an energy-balance knowledge test for fourth- and fifth-grade students

A valid test measuring children’s energy-balance (EB) knowledge is lacking in research. This study developed and validated the energy-balance knowledge test (EBKT) for fourth and fifth grade students. The original EBKT contained 25 items but was reduced to 23 items based on pilot result and intensive expert panel discussion. De-identified data were collected from 468 fourth and fifth grade students enrolled in four schools to examine the psychometric properties of the EBKT items. The Rasch model analysis was conducted using the Winstep 3.65.0 software. Differential item functioning (DIF) analysis flagged 1 item (item #4) functioning differently between boys and girls, which was deleted. The final 22-item EBKT showed desirable model-data fit indices. The items had large variability ranging from ?3.58 logit (item #10, the easiest) to 1.70 logit (item #3, the hardest). The average person ability on the test was 0.28 logit (SD = .78). Additional analyses supported known-group difference validity of the EBKT scores in capturing gender- and grade-based ability differences. The test was overall valid but could be further improved by expanding test items to discern various ability levels. For lack of a better test, researchers and practitioners may use the EBKT to assess fourth- and fifth-grade students’ EB knowledge.     

Wear Attitude Inventory Applied to Junior High School Boys

Abstract

Form A of the Wear Attitude Inventory was administered to one randomly selected physical education class of seventh grade boys, one class of eighth grade boys, and one class of ninth grade boys in each of five junior high schools. The mean Inventory score for each grade was found to be equal to or superior to the mean reported in Wear's validation study. A significant X₂ value was found for the distribution of Inventory scores of the three junior high school grades. A biserial coefficient of correlation item analysis which was computed for each of the three grades established that the 30 items correlated significantly with the total score and that the item score also had a significant correlation with the Inventory category score. On the basis of these results, the conclusion was advanced that the Wear Attitude Inventory was an appropriate instrument to measure attitudes of junior high school boys toward physical education.     

Effects of an aerobic fitness test on short- and long-term memory in elementary-aged children

ABSTRACT

Meta-analytic evidence supports that exercise has benefits for short-term memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM). However, only three studies with children have tested the differential effects of exercise on STM and LTM. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of an aerobic fitness test on STM and LTM and to consider the moderating effects of grade level. Children (7–13 years of age) were randomly assigned to either perform an aerobic fitness test before (exercise prior) or after (exercise post) performing the Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT) to assess memory. Memory was tested again after approximately 24 hours. There were significant differences in memory performance as a function of grade with 4^th and 6^th graders consistently outperforming 2^nd graders. For learning, Day 1 Retention, 24-hr recall, and Day 2 Retention, the exercise prior group performed better than the exercise post group. It is concluded that an aerobic fitness test performed prior to a declarative memory test benefits LTM as compared to when the aerobic fitness test is performed after the memory test.     

Physical fitness percentiles for Portuguese children and adolescents aged 10–18 years

Abstract

This study aimed to produce age- and sex-specific physical fitness reference data for Portuguese youth; to report the prevalence of youth in the healthy zone of physical fitness according to the FITNESSGRAM^® criteria; to verify the agreement between the Portuguese physical fitness percentiles and the FITNESSGRAM^® healthy zones. In 2008, 22,048 Portuguese children and adolescents (10–18 years) were evaluated. Physical fitness (curl-ups, push-ups, 20-m shuttle run and modified-back-saver-sit-and-reach tests) was evaluated using the FITNESSGRAM^® Test Battery 8.0. Smoothed percentile curves were estimated using Cole’s LMS method. Boys consistently outperformed girls in every physical fitness test, except for the modified-back-saver-sit-and-reach tests. In both sexes and for all physical fitness tests, higher percentile values were observed at older ages. The 50th percentile of all physical fitness tests had the highest accuracy to discriminate between under healthy zone and healthy zone of the FITNESSGRAM^®. Portuguese schools and physical education teachers may considerer the 50th percentile for age and sex or the FITNESSGRAM^® criteria for classifying participants in the healthy zone as acceptable cut-offs, above which youth should be considered fit. These reference values can be used as normative data and for baseline values for subsequent surveillance of the physical fitness of Portuguese youth.     

Effects of 12 weeks of dynamic strength training with local vibration

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the chronic effects of dynamic strength training (ST) with local vibration on the maximum strength of elbow flexor muscles. Twenty healthy male untrained volunteers were divided randomly into the following two groups: the conventional training group (CTG) or the vibration training group (VTG). Both groups performed ST for 12 weeks, three times a week. The ST protocol included four sets of 8–10 repetition maximums (RMs) of unilateral elbow flexion exercise. The VTG performed this training protocol with local vibration at a frequency of 30 Hz and amplitude of 6 mm. The mean values of the one repetition maximum (1RM) tests for both groups increased significantly from the pretest week to the fourth week and from the fourth week to the eighth week (CTG: mean 19.02, s = 7.88%, p = 0.01; mean 10.50, s = 6.86%, p = 0.019, respectively; VTG: mean 16.02, s = 8.30%, p = 0.017; mean 12.55, s = 8.76%, p = 0.019, respectively). The increases in the maximal voluntary contraction (MVC) tests were also statistically significant from the pretest week to the fourth week and from the fourth week to the eighth week (CTG: mean 12.32, s = 8.33%, p = 0.004; mean 9.95, s = 5.32%, p = 0.006, respectively; VTG: mean 10.16, s = 11.71%, p = 0.003; mean 10.36, s = 2.96%, p = 0.01, respectively). There was no significant difference between the 1RM and MVC test results in the eighth and twelfth weeks in either group. No significant differences were observed between the groups (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the application of local vibration does not change the chronic effects of dynamic ST in untrained individuals.     

Reliability Estimates for Criterion-Referenced Measures in the Psychomotor Domain

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine procedures for estimating the reliability for a criterion-referenced measure in the psychomotor domain. Reliability is defined as the consistency of classification of examinees into mastery and nonmastery categories. Three trial mastery criteria—6, 7, 8—were utilized along with three test mastery criteria—.6n, .7n, .8n. Motor skill was defined as first-ball scores of each frame in a line of bowling. Since the empirical distribution functions for men and women subjects were significantly different at trial criteria of 6 and 7, separate reliability coefficients were estimated for each sex. The single administration estimates of reliability developed by Huynh and Subkoviak were equally good indicators of the Swaminathan-Hambleton-Algina estimate of P when the test was administered on 2 days (P represents the proportion of agreement of classifications). Variations in trial and test mastery criteria yielded different proportions of subjects assigned to mastery and nonmastery classifications. When the proportion in either category was high, P tended to be high. As the proportions in the two categories became more similar, the values of P tended to drop. In general, increasing the number of trials was paralleled by an increase in P.     

Endurance tests are the most reliable core stability related measurements

PurposeTo determine the intra-tester reliability of clinical measurements that assess five components related to core stability: strength, endurance, flexibility, motor control, and function.MethodsParticipants were 15 college-aged males who had not suffered any orthopedic injury in the past year. Core strength measurements included eight isometric tests and a sit-up test. The four core endurance tests were the trunk flexor test, trunk extensor test, and bilateral side bridge tests. Flexibility tests included the sit-and-reach test and active range of the trunk and hip joint motions. Proprioception via passive reposition tests of the hips and a single limb balance test on an unsteady platform were used to evaluate core motor control. Functional measurements consisted of a squat test and a single leg hop test for time and distance. Measurements were performed during two data collection sessions with a week's rest between the sessions. Intra-class correlation coefficients were calculated to establish reliability.ResultsThe overall intra-rater reliability for all core stability related measurements ranged from low (ICC = 0.35, left hip reposition) to very high (ICC = 0.98, sit-and-reach). As a group, the core endurance tests were observed to be the most reliable.ConclusionThere are highly reliable tests in each of the five groups. Overall, core endurance tests are the most reliable measurements, followed by the flexibility, strength, neuromuscular control, and functional tests, respectively.     

Health-related fitness knowledge growth in middle school years: Individual- and school-level correlates

BackgroundHealth-related fitness knowledge (HRFK) has been an essential concept for many health and physical education programs. There has been limited understanding and longitudinal investigation on HRFK growth. This longitudinal study examined HRFK growth and its individual- and school-level correlates in middle school years under 1 curriculum condition: Five for Life.MethodsParticipants were 12,044 students from 47 middle schools. Data were collected at both individual/participant and school/institution levels. Individual-level variables included gender, grade, and HRFK test scores. School-level variables included percentage of students receiving free and reduced meals (FARM), student-to-faculty ratio for physical education, and school academic performance (SAP). We used hierarchical linear modeling to examine HRFK 3-year growth in relation to individual- and school-level correlates.ResultsThe average HRFK score at 6th grade for females was 42.81% ± 1.32%. The predicted HRFK growth was 17.06% ± 1.02% per year, holding other factors constant. A 1-standard deviation increase in FARM correlated with a 14.68%-point decrease in predicted test score (p = 0.02). A 1-standard deviation increase in SAP was associated with an 11.90%-point increase in HRFK score. Males had a significantly lower growth rate than females during the middle school years (0.78%/year, p = 0.02).ConclusionThe result showed that both individual- and school-level variables such as gender, FARM, and SAP influenced HRFK growth. Educators should heed gender differences in growth curves and recognize the correlates of school-level variables.     

The management of the long head of the biceps in rotator cuff repair: A comparative study of high vs. subpectoral tenodesis

BackgroundTenodesis of the long head of the biceps (LHB) is commonly undertaken during arthroscopic rotator cuff repair. We assessed the clinical and structural outcomes after high arthroscopic tenodesis (HAT) or mini-open subpectoral tenodesis (ST). We hypothesized that the clinical and structural results after HAT and ST are similar.MethodsWe included 40 patients with rotator cuff tear and LHB tendinopathy. Twenty patients (7 women and 13 men; mean age: 57.9 years; range: 56–63 years) were treated using HAT, and 20 patients (8 women and 12 men; mean age: 58.5 years; range: 55–64 years) were treated using ST. Functional evaluation was performed preoperatively and at 6 weeks, 6 months, and 1 year after surgery, using the Constant Murley Score and Simple Shoulder Test scores; the LHB was evaluated using the LHB score. A Visual Analogue Scale was administered to all patients preoperatively and 2 days after surgery.ResultsThe postoperative total and pain subscale's Constant scores were significantly higher in the ST group. Moreover, 2 LHB score values were significantly different between the groups. The postoperative LHB total score in the ST and HAT groups averaged 86.9 ± 4.1 (mean ± SD) points and 73.3 ± 6.4 points, respectively. The Pain/Cramps subscale in the ST and HAT groups averaged 47.1 ± 5.9 and 33.2 ± 4.6 points, respectively. The 2 groups showed no difference in Visual Analogue Scale values (5.5 in the HAT group; 5.8 in the ST group) postoperatively. One patient in the HAT group reported a secondary onset of Popeye deformity.ConclusionBoth high arthroscopic and mini-open ST of the LHB tendon produced reliably good functional results, but the ST group was associated with better postoperative clinical outcomes.     

利用学生素质敏感期实施运动处方教学的实践与探索

研究目的:针对学生成长过程中各年龄段对应各项素质敏感期的生理特征,利用素质敏感期在体育教学融入运动处方,促进学生身体素质提升。方法:随机抽取石家庄市白佛小学四年级四个班和峰峰春光中学高二年级四个班的学生为研究对象。所抽取的小学、中学各四个班中前两个班为实验组,后两个班为对照组。实验前对小学各班进行50米测试,中学各班男生进行1000米测试,女生进行800米测试。对实验组实施运动处方教学,对照组按照传统方式进行授课,经过10周的教学后再次分别对实验组和对照组进行对应项目的测试,观测利用素质敏感期实施运动处方教学的效果。结果:实验组经运动处方教学后男、女生测试成绩均显著高于对照组,经统计学检验,差异具有高度显著性(P<0.01)或差异具有显著性(P<0.05)。结论与建议:在学生素质敏感期进行针对性的运动处方教学,对于提升学生素质效果显著,建议体育教学应充分利用学生素质敏感期实施针对性的运动处方教学。