The Research Quarterly and Its Antecedents

Abstract

In this introductory article to the 50th Anniversary Issue, Roberta J. Park traces the efforts of professional physical education organizations, especially at the national level, to accommodate scholarly/research interests. She describes the forerunner of the Research Quarterly and the way in which efforts led to establishment of a research journal. Park tells the history of the Quarterly since its inception in 1930 and notes a number of concerns related to its operations and policies that have been periodically expressed over the past 50 years. Several of these issues have assumed increasing importance as a result of the knowledge explosion in the various subdisciplines in physical education, along with the problems associated with expanding our national organization and its ability to serve all of its interest groups.     

The Relationship Between Measures of Physical Growth and Gross Motor Performance of Primary-Grade School Children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) to investigate the relationship between strength and achievement in physical education among 200 college women by comparing grip strength with grades in the instructional physical education courses and (2) to compare the results obtained on college women with those of college men in the study by Tinkle and Montoye reported in this issue of the Research Quarterly. A table of random numbers was used to secure the sample. The results indicated that grip strength among college women was significantly related to achievement in physical education instructional courses as measured by grades. Also, grip strength was found to be directly related to and probably dependent upon body weight and only indirectly related to height in college women. The relationship between grades in physical education and grip strength among college women substantiates the results of the college men's study.     

Sport and Mathematics: A Definition and Delineation

Abstract

Charles O. Dotson begins this section by discussing the concept of research reflecting high density logic, indicating that the most desirable research papers are those sharply reasoned contributions with maximal application of inductive syllogisms. This is followed by a critical review of the quality of research published in the Research Quarterly over the past 50 years. Dotson suggests that much of this research reflects low logical density, and concludes his paper with several recommendations for upgrading the logical density of research in physical education. The second paper in this section was prepared by Robert W. Schutz, who discusses the role of mathematical analysis in the study of sport strategy and structure and in the development and verification of theories of motor behavior. Schutz delineates a field of sports studies labelled sport mathematics and classifies topics of investigation amenable to mathematical analysis. He presents arguments supporting the identification of mathematics and sport as a subdiscipline within sports studies. Mathematical analysis in the study of motor behavior, on the other hand, is viewed as a methodology.     

Effects of Different Combinations of Intensity Categories on Self-Reported Exercise

Abstract

Self-reports of exercise are used extensively in behavioral, social psychological, and epidemiological research (Ainsworth, Montoye, & Leon, 1994; Caspersen, 1997). Schwarz (1999) noted that many characteristics strongly influence self-reports of behavior, including question wording, format, and context. Of particular interest in the present study is the possible effect of providing different combinations of intensity categories (i.e., light/mild, moderate, and vigorous/strenuous) on self-reported exercise. A review of the exercise measurement literature indicates that researcher-developed and published questionnaires have varied in the number of exercise intensity categories they present to respondents. For example, researcher-developed questionnaires have often used only one category of exercise intensity, such as moderate (e.g., Miller, Trost, & Brown, 2002; Wallace, Buckworth, Kirby, & Sherman, 2000) or vigorous (e.g., Owen, Sedgwick, & Davies, 1988; Washburn, Goldfield, Smith, & McKinlay, 1990). Conversely, published questionnaires have typically used multiple intensity categories, such as moderate and vigorous/strenuous (e.g., Blair et al., 1985; Heath, Pate, & Pratt, 1993) or light/mild, moderate, and vigorous/strenuous (e.g., Baecke, Burema, & Frijters 1982; Godin & Shephard, 1985; Myers, Bader, Madhavan, & Froelicher, 2001). It is unknown, however, if providing different combinations of exercise intensity categories has any effect on the amount of exercise reported in a given intensity category or in total.     

Strategies for the Analysis of Repeated and Multiple Measures Designs

Differentiation is made relative to repeated and multiple measure analyses. A flowchart is provided to help the researcher determine the appropriate analysis for the design of interest. Conservative tests and a multivariate approach are suggested for repeated measures designs. For designs with multiple dependent measures, the following suggestions are provided: rank reduction, Bonferroni approach, and MANOVA. Post hoc tests are also suggested once a significant multivariate F is obtained. The post hoc tests are univariate F tests, two-group breakdown, simultaneous confidence intervals, discriminant analysis, step-down analysis, and contrasts on the classification variable. It is suggested that inclusion of these more appropriate analyses will increase the internal validity of research published in the Research Quarterly.     

Towards a critical sport heritage: implications for sport tourism

ABSTRACT

This paper reflects upon the development and increased acceptance for heritage becoming a key component of sport tourism research. The original sport heritage typology, as posited by Ramshaw and Gammon [2005, More than just Nostalgia? Exploring the heritage/sport tourism nexus. Journal of Sport & Tourism, 10(4), 229–241], is re-examined through a more critical lens, revealing additional dimensions that help augment its key components. More specifically, it is argued that future studies should consider the more intangible features of sport heritage, as well as acknowledging the expanding global nature of sport and its impact upon fandom. Also, the case is made for research to explore the dissonance inherent in much of sports heritage, as well as determining where the power lies in allocating and championing current sport heritages. Lastly, the more general implications to the field of sport tourism are offered with particular regard to motivation, place, and consumption.     

Impact of a physical education-based behavioural skill training program on cognitive antecedents and exercise and sport behaviour among adolescents: a cluster-randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACT

Background: School-based physical education has been associated with a multitude of potential learning outcomes. Representatives of a public health perspective suggest that promoting physical activity in and outside the context of school is an important endeavour. While the importance of behavioural skill training to improve (motor) learning is well documented in both general and physical education, the promotion of behavioural skills to foster physically active lifestyles constitutes a rather neglected area in physical education research.

Purpose: To examine whether a standardized physical education-based behavioural skill training program has the potential to positively impact on adolescents’ self-reported exercise and sport participation, as well as cognitive antecedents involved in the regulation of exercise and sport behaviour.

Research design: Cluster-randomized controlled trial.

Methods: A sample of 143 secondary school students (50% girls, aged 14–18 years) attending academic high schools in German-speaking Switzerland were assigned class-wise to the intervention (behavioural skill training) and control condition (conventional physical education lessons). Data were assessed prior and after completion of the 7-week intervention program, which was composed of four 20-min lessons and two reflection phases. Exercise and sport behaviour and cognitive antecedents (exercise/sport intention, motivation, implementation intentions, coping planning, self-efficacy) were assessed via self-reports. A multilevel mixed effects linear regression procedure was used to test the main hypotheses. The regression analyses were adjusted for clustering of school classes, and controlled for baseline levels of the outcome measure and potential confounders.

Results: Compared to a control condition, the intervention program resulted in significant improvements with regard to introjected motivation (p?<?.05), coping planning (p?<?.001) and self-efficacy (p?<?.01). The intervention also had a positive impact on adolescents’ self-reported sport/exercise behaviour (p?<?.001). Improvements in exercise/sport intention (p?<?.05), coping planning (p?<?.01), and self-efficacy (p?<?.01) were associated with increased levels of self-reported exercise/sport participation.

Conclusion: Behavioural skill training as part of compulsory physical education has the potential to improve cognitive antecedents of exercise and sport behaviour and to foster adolescents’ exercise and sport participation. Enhancing behavioural skills might be one way in which school physical education can contribute to the creation of more physically active lifestyles among adolescents.     

Adaptive expertise – a characteristic of expertise in outdoor instructors?

ABSTRACT

Background: Over the past 10 years, research has started to investigate the pedagogic practices of instructors and coaches working in adventure sports settings. Outdoor instructors face particular challenges regarding the impact the dynamic environment has on the coaching process and their students. This challenging combination of factors obliges the instructor to be agile in response. We propose that this adaptive expertise is characteristic of these factors and that adaptability may be a beneficial focus of outdoor instructor training and education.

Purpose: The major aim was to identify if adaptive expertise is an attribute of outdoor instructors? And if so, what are its characteristics in this context?

Research design and data collection: We applied a mixed methodology to a sample of outdoor instructors (n?=?64). The instructors were asked to complete a quantitative adaptive expertise inventory. We then interviewed a selected sub-sample (n?=?12).

Participants and setting: Quantitative data was collected from outdoor instructors working in the UK (n?=?64). The sample consisted of instructors qualified to work independently with groups in adventurous settings in a range of activities. Qualitative data was collected from a smaller sample (n?=?12) via a series of thematically analysed semi-structured interviews.

Findings: Results suggest that the participating outdoor instructors have high levels of adaptive expertise. A characteristic of that adaptive capacity is a combination of skills revolving around reflection, metacognition, and situational awareness. There were differences, however, between less and more experienced outdoor instructors in their adaptive capacity, with less experienced instructors being adaptive to a lesser extent.

Conclusions: The implication is that further research is worthwhile to examine the development of instructors’ adaptive capacity. The training and education of outdoor instructors requires pedagogic approaches that facilitate and engender adaptability, flexibility and agility in neophyte instructors.     

Heritage sporting events: theoretical development and configurations

ABSTRACT

Although sports heritage is increasingly recognized as a potential catalyst of tourism, heritage sporting events (HSEs) are still an emerging concept in the academic literature. Notions that associate sports events and heritage remain rare, and are usually analysed through the scope of nostalgia sport tourism. This can be partly explained by an inclination to associate the notion of heritage with conventional ideas about folklore and traditional culture. Through a constructivist approach of heritage, this contribution argues that contemporary sports events, which would generally have competition as their primary focus, might also be perceived as HSEs. A comprehensive framework, built on a multi-disciplinary literature review, is presented to show the process that transforms an initial resource (a sports event) into an accomplished resource (a HSE), which might represent a competitive advantage for the territory. A qualitative–comparative analysis is conducted among 24 sports events in the French-speaking part of Switzerland, to observe the configurations of HSEs and understand which characteristics are necessary for the perceptions of a sports event as a heritage good. Interestingly, this contribution shows that if the event needs to be sustainable in the territory to be perceived as a HSE, it is not sufficient. Indeed, a differentiation strategy should be set up to distinguish the event from other more or less similar events, to be perceived as an authentic feature of the territory by the local population.     

Interpreting Youth Baseball: Players' Understandings of Fun and Excitement,Danger, and Boredom

Purpose: There is demand in applied sport settings to measure recovery briefly and accurately. Research indicates mood disturbance as the strongest psychological predictor of mental and physical recovery. The Brief Assessment of Mood (BAM) is a shortened version of the Profile of Mood States that can be completed in less than 30 s. The purpose of this study was to examine the BAM as a quick measure of mood in relation to recovery status in elite rugby players alongside established physiological markers of recovery. Method: Using elite rugby union players (N = 12), this study examined the utility of BAM as an indicator of mental and physical recovery in elite athletes by exploring pattern change in mood disturbance, energy index, power output, cortisol, and testosterone 36 hr before and 12 hr, 36 hr, and 60 hr after a competitive rugby match. Results: Repeated-measures multivariate analysis of variance indicated significant changes in all variables across the 4 time points (p < .05, η² range = .20–.48), concurrent with previous study findings. Although visual inspection of the graphs indicated that the pattern of change for mood disturbance and energy index mapped changes in all physiological variables, only a low correlation was observed for power output (r = ? .34). Conclusions: Although BAM scores changed significantly over time in accordance with the hypotheses, further testing is required to confirm the utility of the BAM as a measure of recovery. The results indicate that the BAM could be used as 1 indicator of recovery status alongside other measures.     

Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Cognitive Performance Among Young Adults in a Higher Education Setting

Purpose: Acute benefits of aerobic exercise on executive functioning have been reported frequently under laboratory conditions. However, to date, a beneficial effect on long-term memory has been less well supported and no data are available regarding nonlaboratory conditions in young adults. The aim of the current study was to investigate acute effects of aerobic exercise on cognitive functioning in a university classroom setting. Method: Using a cross-over design, 51 participants performed a bout of moderately intense running (RUN) and read an article while seated (CON). Afterwards, they completed free-recall tests, followed by a Flanker task and an n-back task. Results: Participants in the RUN condition compared with those in the CON condition showed shorter reaction time on the inhibition task, F(1, 50) = 5.59, p = .022, η² = .101, and recalled more words in the immediate- and delayed-recall tests, F(1, 50) = 8.40, p = .006, η² = .144. Conclusion: The present findings suggest that a moderately intense bout of aerobic exercise benefits verbal short-term and long-term memory as well as inhibitory control among students in a classroom setting.     

Sport,Ethnicity and Racism: The Experience of Asian Heritage Boys

Abstract

It is now almost two decades since concerns were originally expressed regarding the participation of Asian heritage schoolchildren in physical education and sport. Since then, an increasing flow of research literature and, in many instances, successful school initiatives to implement positive multicultural/antiracist policies, have been undertaken to provide equality of opportunity for these pupils. However, problems of access and achievement in physical activity still affect this group and serious health concerns continue to occur, perhaps as a result of such low levels of participation. There remains little take‐up of sport as a career among Asian heritage children. Against the backdrop of these various concerns, this paper contributes to knowledge of issues surrounding the participation of Asian heritage boys in physical education and sport. Through use of interviews and observation, the research focuses on the experiences of primary and secondary age boys within four inner‐urban schools in the North West of England. Findings suggest, primarily, that the role of Asian heritage parents within the sport socialisation experiences of their children was highly influential. Multicultural/antiracist policies were working well within these schools and racism was not stated as the main reason for non‐participation; the low status afforded to physical education and sport, within the home and community, was found to be a more influential factor. Where schools had become proactive in addressing this issue, improved participation had resulted. Findings suggest that education should focus more on Asian heritage attitudes in addition to maintaining and enhancing the antiracism process.     

Kinematic characteristics of elite men's 50 km race walking

Abstract

Race walking is an endurance event which also requires great technical ability, particularly with respect to its two distinguishing rules. The 50 km race walk is the longest event in the athletics programme at the Olympic Games. The aims of this observational study were to identify the important kinematic variables in elite men's 50 km race walking, and to measure variation in those variables at different distances. Thirty men were analysed from video data recorded during a World Race Walking Cup competition. Video data were also recorded at four distances during the European Cup Race Walking and 12 men analysed from these data. Two camcorders (50 Hz) recorded at each race for 3D analysis. The results of this study showed that walking speed was associated with both step length (r=0.54,P=0.002) and cadence (r=0.58,P=0.001). While placing the foot further ahead of the body at heel strike was associated with greater step lengths (r=0.45,P=0.013), it was also negatively associated with cadence (r= ?0.62,P<0.001). In the World Cup, knee angles ranged between 175 and 186° at initial contact and between 180 and 195° at midstance. During the European Cup, walking speed decreased significantly (F=9.35,P=0.002), mostly due to a decrease in step length between 38.5 and 48.5 km (t=8.59,P=0.014). From this study, it would appear that the key areas a 50 km race walker must develop and coordinate are step length and cadence, although it is also important to ensure legal walking technique is maintained with the onset of fatigue.     

From the Baedeker to the bull ring and the boxing ring: spaces of sport in Death in the Afternoon (1932)

ABSTRACT

Through his work, Death in the Afternoon (1932), Ernest Hemingway provides access to international cultural heritage that States-side readers might not have otherwise. In crossing inquiries regarding space and sports together, the intimate relationship between the two comes to the forefront, emphasising Hemingway’s passion for both. Readers may ask themselves if Hemingway uses sports to write about Spain, or if he uses Spain to write about sports: the two topics are intrinsically linked, especially in this work of non-fiction dedicated to the sport of bullfighting. In this analysis based on a geocritical approach and literary cartography, I am going to study the relationship between narrative spaces and sports to pinpoint how and to what extent Hemingway exploits Spanish geography and the sport of bullfighting as representative of a system of sportsmanship values. More precisely, this analysis will identify Hemingway’s spatial intertextuality of bullfighting Spain, the multiplicity of geographic scales, and the stratification of sports spaces. By aligning the Spanish ‘art’ with athletics known to the American audience, Hemingway renders the unknown ‘knowable’, without requiring readers to be ‘always looking at map’.     

The Importance of Adolescents’ Participation in Organized Sport According to VO2peak: A Longitudinal Study

Research from several countries has documented a decline in physical activity (PA) levels and in participation in organized sport with increasing age, indicating that organized sport may be of importance to adolescents’ cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF). Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine how regular participation in organized and unorganized PA affected the development of adolescents’ CRF (peak oxygen consumption [VO₂peak]), when controlled for sex interaction. Method: Data on direct measures of VO₂peak and participation in organized PA among adolescents organized into 3 groups (participation in organized sport, participation in unorganized PA, and no weekly PA) were collected from 76 students (39 boys and 37 girls), when they were aged 14 and 19 years old. Results: Statistically significant differences were found between VO₂peak values in the 3 groups at both 14 years of age, F(2, 73) = 7.16, p < .05, ?² = .170, and 19 years of age, F(2, 73) = 14.00, p < .05, ?² = .300, independent of sex at both 14 and 19 years of age, F(2, 73) = 0.05, p > .05, ?² = .02, and F(2, 73) = 0.05, p > .05, ?² = .00. Adolescents participating in organized sport also had statistically significantly higher VO₂peak values than adolescents participating in unorganized PA and those with no weekly PA, at both 14 and 19 years of age. Conclusion: From a health perspective, in terms of CRF, the findings highlight the importance of encouraging adolescents to participate in organized sport and to refrain from dropping out of organized sport programs.     

Different combinations of perceived autonomy support and control: identifying the most optimal motivating style

Background: According to Self-Determination Theory, teachers and sport coaches can differ in the motivating style they rely upon to motivate young people. When endorsing an autonomy-supportive motivating style, instructors try to identify, vitalize, and nurture youngsters’ inner motivational resources. In contrast, instructors with a dominant controlling motivating style rather pressure youngsters to think, feel, or behave in prescribed ways. While the dimensions of autonomy support and control can be conceptually differentiated, in reality both dimensions may co-occur to different degrees.

Purpose: The present study investigates to what extent perceived autonomy support and control can be combined and which motivating style then yields the most optimal pattern of outcomes.

Research design: Multi-Study with Cross-Sectional Design.

Findings: In two studies, conducted among elite athletes (N?=?202; M_age?=?15.63; SD?=?1.70) and students in physical education (N?=?647; M_age?=?13.27; SD?=?0.68) reporting on their instructor’s motivating style, cluster analyses systematically pointed towards the extraction of four motivating profiles. Two of these groups were characterized by the dominant presence of either autonomy support (i.e. high-autonomy support) or control (i.e. high control), while the two dimensions were found to be equally present in the two remaining groups (i.e. high–high or low–low). Results revealed that the high-autonomy support group showed to the most optimal pattern of outcomes (e.g. need satisfaction, autonomous motivation), while the high-control group yielded the least optimal pattern of outcomes. Results further showed that perceiving one’s instructor as high on control is detrimental (e.g. higher need frustration, amotivation) even when the instructor is additionally perceived to be autonomy-supportive. Finally, it appeared better to be relatively uninvolved than to be perceived as exclusively high on control.

Conclusions: When coaches or teachers are perceived to be high on autonomy support and low on control, this is likely to benefit youngsters’ motivation and well-being. Also, while some instructors, particularly those who are functioning in a more competitive context where pressure is considered more normative, may endorse the belief that the combination of autonomy support and control yields the most effective cocktail to motivate young people (e.g. using competitive and game-based activities to make it fun, while treating ‘the losers’ with punishments such as push-ups or humiliating comments), this perspective is not supported by the findings of the current study. Apart, from its theoretical relevance, the findings of the present study are valuable for future intervention development.     

Beneficial Effects of Inspiratory Muscle Training Combined With Multicomponent Training in Elderly Active Women

ABSTRACT

Purpose: This study aims to analyze changes in Maximum Inspiratory Pressure (MIP), lung function, cardiorespiratory fitness, and blood pressure, in 10 healthy active elderly women, following 7 weeks of inspiratory muscle training (IMT) combined with a multicomponent training program (MCTP). The association among these health parameters, their changes after training (deltas), and the influence of MIP at baseline (MIP_pre) are also considered. Methods: IMT involved 30 inspirations at 50% of the MIP, twice daily, 7 days a week, while MCTP was 1 hr, twice a week. MIP, lung function (FVC, FEV₁, FEV₁/FVC, FEF_25-75%, PEF), 6MWT, and blood pressure (SBP, DBP), jointly with body composition, were assessed before and after the intervention. Results: Seven weeks were enough to improved MIP (p = .019; d = 1.397), 6MWT (p = .012; d = .832), SBP (p = .003; d = 1.035) and DBP (p = .024; d = .848). Despite the high physical fitness (VO₂ peak: M = 23.38, SD = 3.39 ml·min·Kg^?1), MIP_pre was low (M = 39.00, SD = 7.63 cmH₂O) and displayed a significant negative correlation with ΔMIP_pre-post (r = ?.821; p < .004), showing that women who started the intervention with lower MIP achieved higher improvements in inspiratory muscle strength after training. Conclusions: No significant changes in spirometric parameters may signal that lung function is independent of early improvements in inspiratory muscles and cardiorespiratory fitness. Absence of correlation between physical fitness and respiratory outcomes suggests that being fit does not ensure cardiorespiratory health in active elderly women, so IMT might be beneficial and should supplement the MCTP in this population.     

Anthropometric assessment of Premiership soccer players in relation to playing position

Abstract

A squad of Premiership soccer players (n=24) provided informed consent to participate in this study. Using ISAK (International Society of Advancement of Kinanthropometry) accredited methods, a total of 39 measurements (sectioned as: skinfolds, girths, lengths, and breadths) were made for each player. The procedure involved three measures at each site to calculate a mean value and an acceptable technical error margin. All data collection was performed by an ISAK level 3 accredited anthropometrist. The data analysis consisted of demographic and anthropometric data, including fractionation of body mass and estimated body fat from sum of skinfolds. Scaling of the raw data was done by using the phantom strategem to obtain calculated data for inter-player comparison. Mean calculated scores for playing position were obtained. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed no differences between positions (F _15,41.810=0.783, P=0.688). Previous studies have reported heterogeneity between playing positions. However, in this study, stature and body mass were not different between strikers, midfielders, defenders, and goalkeepers. Research has suggested that a soccer player's anthropometric dimensions can be a major determinant for success within a playing position. In this study, within-position variation was quite large in some cases, which could indicate that a team that does not have the opportunity to hand-pick players, based on anthropometric characteristics, may be at a disadvantage.     

Reconstruction of Tradition: Modernity,Tourism and Shaolin Martial Arts in the Shaolin Scenic Area,China

Abstract

This paper begins with an interpretation of how Shaolin martial arts were used to provide military service for imperial authorities before 1949, and how it was restricted and forbidden to practise in Mao’s era from 1949 to 1978. It then examines how UNESCO’s international heritage conventions and China’s post-1978 heritage policies have influenced the reconstruction of Shaolin martial arts and tourism development at the Shaolin Temple since 1978. It investigates the relationship between different agents and how they have influenced the reconstruction of traditional Shaolin martial arts and tourism development. This paper argues current Shaolin martial arts, known as Shaolin Kungfu, have been deliberately reconstructed to serve contemporary political and economic needs. Contemporary Shaolin Kungfu is, in fact, a product of the interaction between heritage authorization processes and tourism development. The reconstruction of Shaolin martial arts also demonstrates hierarchical relationships of power between these different actors. This has led to a situation in which ‘experts’ and local residents are positioned unequally. The overarching finding of this study is that Shaolin martial arts worked as a tool for Shaolin monks to develop the Shaolin Temple in history and Shaolin monks have assumed the role of ‘expert’ in reconstructing Shaolin martial arts.