Mumford on aesthetic–moral interaction in sport

Stephen Mumford argues that aesthetic and moral values in sport are interdependent, focusing on cases where immorality taints beautiful performance. This interdependence thesis is insightful but, I argue, in need of refinement, as its normative implications are unclear and perhaps implausible (e.g. the Nazi aesthetics problem). I also challenge Mumford’s perspective on the infamous Dynamo Kiev death match. Whereas Mumford claims that the match’s morally oppressive circumstances detract from it so that ‘it was not something knowingly we should have admired aesthetically’, I argue that, on the contrary, and in light of what Mumford says about other cases, such circumstances actually enhance the game’s aesthetics such that it would be wrong not to appreciate it aesthetically.     

The influence of the hand’s acceleration and the relative contribution of drag and lift forces in front crawl swimming

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of the hand’s acceleration on the propulsive forces and the relative contribution of the drag and lift on their resultant force in the separate phases of the front crawl underwater arm stroke. Ten female swimmers swam one trial of all-out 25-m front crawl. The underwater motion of each swimmer’s right hand was recorded using four camcorders and four periscope systems. Anatomical landmarks were digitised, and the propulsive forces generated by the swimmer’s hand were estimated from the kinematic data in conjunction with hydrodynamic coefficients. When the hand’s acceleration was taken into account, the magnitude of the propulsive forces was greater, with the exception of the mean drag force during the final part of the underwater arm stroke. The mean drag force was greater than the mean lift force in the middle part, while the mean lift force was greater than the mean drag force in the final part of the underwater arm stroke. Thus, swimmers should accelerate their hands from the beginning of their backward motion, press the water with large pitch angles during the middle part and sweep with small pitch angles during the final part of their underwater arm stroke.     

Mapping physical education teachers’ professional learning and impacts on pupil learning in a community of practice in South Korea

Background: A new national physical education (PE) curriculum has been developed in South Korea and PE teachers have been challenged to deliver new transferable educational outcomes in character development through PE. In one geographical area, in order to support teachers to make required changes, a Communities of Practice (CoP) approach to continuing professional development (CPD) was adopted. Rather than being based in a single-school, this CoP brought PE teachers together from a number of schools with the aim of sharing learning and impacting on pedagogies, practices and pupils’ learning in character development through PE.

Aims: To map and analyse the ways in which teachers (i) learnt about character education in a CoP, (ii) used this learning to inform their pedagogies and practices, and (iii) impacted on pupil learning in and beyond PE.

Method: The participants were a university professor, 8 secondary school PE teachers from 8 different schools and 41 pupils. Data collection was undertaken in two phases in Autumn 2014 and Spring 2015. In-depth qualitative data were collected in the CoP and the teachers’ schools using individual interviews, focus groups with pupils, observations of lessons, open-ended questionnaires and document analysis. Data were analysed using a constructivist revision of grounded theory.

Findings: There was clear evidence of teacher learning in the CoP and changes to their pedagogies and indirect teaching behaviours (ITBs). Pupils were also able to identify the new intended learning about character development at both cognitive and behavioural levels, although there was little evidence of understanding about or intention to transfer this learning beyond PE (which was the original aim of the Government’s character education initiative). Barriers to teacher and pupil learning are also discussed.

Conclusion: Teachers’ professional learning in the CoP impacted on the development of both teachers’ pedagogies and ITBs which then influenced pupils’ learning, however, linking teachers’ professional learning to pupils’ learning remains challenging. This study has added further insights into the complexity of the processes linking policy, teachers’ learning and pupils’ learning outcomes. While it was possible to trace clear pathways from the CoP to teachers’ learning, and in some cases to pupils’ learning, it was also apparent that a wide range of factors intervened to influence the learning outcomes.     

Effects of the golfer–ground interaction on clubhead speed in skilled male golfers

The purposes of this study were to characterise the golfer–ground interactions during the swing and to identify meaningful associations between the golfer–ground interaction force/moment parameters and the maximum clubhead speed in 63 highly skilled male golfers (handicap ≤ 3). Golfers performed shots in 3 club conditions (driver, 5-iron and pitching wedge) which were captured by an optical motion capture system and 2 force plates. In addition to the ground reaction forces (GRFs), 3 different golfer–ground interaction moments (GRF moments, pivoting moments and foot contact moments) were computed. The GRF moment about the forward/backward (F/B) axis and the pivoting moment about the vertical axis were identified as the primary moments. Significant (p < 0.05) correlations of peak force parameters (all components in the lead foot and F/B component in the trail foot) and peak moment parameters (lead-foot GRF moment and trail-foot pivoting moment) to clubhead speed were found. The lead-foot was responsible for generating the GRF moment, while the trail foot contributed to the pivoting moment more. The instant the lead arm becomes parallel to the ground was identified as the point of maximum angular effort, and the loading onto the lead-foot near this point was critical in generating both peak moments.     

The influence of gravimetric moisture content on studded shoe–surface interactions in soccer

It is desirable for the studs of a soccer shoe to penetrate the sport surface and provide the player with sufficient traction when accelerating. Mechanical tests are often used to measure the traction of shoe–surface combinations. Mechanical testing offers a repeatable measure of shoe–surface traction, eliminating the inherent uncertainties that exist when human participant testing is employed, and are hence used to directly compare the performance of shoe–surface combinations. However, the influence specific surface characteristics has on traction is often overlooked. Examining the influence of surface characteristics on mechanical test results improves the understanding of the traction mechanisms at the shoe–surface interface. This allows footwear developers to make informed decisions on the design of studded outsoles. The aim of this paper is to understand the effect gravimetric moisture content has on the tribological mechanisms at play during stud–surface interaction. This study investigates the relationships between: the gravimetric moisture content of a natural sand-based soccer surface; surface stiffness measured via a bespoke impact test device; and surface traction measured via a bespoke mechanical test device. Regression analysis revealed that surface stiffness decreases linearly with increased gravimetric moisture content (p = 0.04). Traction was found to initially increase and then decrease with gravimetric moisture content. It was observed that: a surface of low moisture content provides low stud penetration and therefore reduced traction; a surface of high moisture content provides high stud penetration but also reduced traction due to a lubricating effect; and surfaces with moisture content in between the two extremes provide increased traction. In this study a standard commercially available stud was used and other studs may provide slightly different results. The results provide insight into the traction mechanisms at the stud–surface interface which are described in the paper. The variation between traction measurements shows the influence gravimetric moisture content will have on player performance. This highlights the requirement to understand surface conditions prior to making comparative shoe–surface traction studies and the importance of using a studded outsole that is appropriate to the surface condition during play.     

Transnational connectivity,cultural interaction and selective adaptation: English Corinthians and amateur football in the Netherlands,c.1906–39

ABSTRACT

The Corinthians were synonymous with gentlemanly amateurism in English association football. They visited the Netherlands in 1906, 1922, 1923, 1924 and 1933, bringing not just a particular way of playing the game but their own socially-exclusive version of amateurism. This had significant appeal in the Netherlands, where soccer had been taken up in the late nineteenth century by middle-class young men for whom English sport signified modernity. In 1906 the Corinthians supplied a convenient model for those seeking to raise standards and improve the quality of the national team. Later, in the 1920s, as soccer became more popular and its social base widened, the tourists were welcomed by socially conservative elements associated with pre-1900 clubs who were anxious to maintain their status and influence despite being outnumbered by the newer volksclubs. Corinthian-style amateurism had many adherents in the Netherlands and the tours prompted the formation of the Swallows (1907) and the Netherlands Corinthians (1922). These clubs, however, were not simply imitators but adapted the original English model for their own purposes.     

Spectators’ points of attachment and their influence on behavioural intentions of women’s national football games

Research on women’s football is still, especially in Asia, scarce. The purpose of this research has been to investigate the underlying points of attachment of women’s football spectators and how these influence future behaviour. The points of attachment scale – drawing on social identity theory – developed previously has been modified for the research setting to detect whether they are general determinants or country-specific indicators. Research was conducted in two countries, namely Japan and Germany. Surveys were conducted at two friendlies of the national team in each country (Japan: n = 607; Germany: n = 597). Attachment with the team, coach and women’s sport were defining overall attachment best. Intention to attend matches of the national team was significantly predicted by football attachment and previously attended games, while intention to attend matches of the league was significantly predicted by attachment with the coach and attended league games in the past.     

Jason Lezak again and again - linear mixed modelling analysis of change–over times in relay swimming races

The aim of this study was to examine the importance of the change-over time in swimming relay races. Top-class international 4 x 100 m freestyle races were analysed across a 10-year period including three Olympic Games and five European and World Championships. A total of 220 swimmers (116 female, 104 male) were included in this study with an average participation of 1.7 ± 1.2 races. To consider such repeated measurements and other factors (e.g., ranking in the relay race, position in the relay team) linear mixed models for longitudinal data were used for the statistical evaluation. Our results showed significantly longer change-over times for male medallists (0.23 ± 0.08 s) than non-medallists (0.20 ± 0.09 s) which reflects a very likely effect (94.2%). Furthermore, there were significant differences in change-over times between female and male swimmers depending on the current race positions. In total, the influence of change-over time on the final performance in 4 x 100-m freestyle relay appears to be overrated in previous studies.     

The influence of equipment variations on sliotar–hurley impact in the Irish game of hurling

The game of hurling is ranked as one of the fastest and most skilful field games in the world. It is played by a stick, hurley, made of ash wood and a ball, sliotar, made of a cork core or similar viscoelastic materials. Better standardisation of the game equipment requires analysing impacts to quantify precisely the effect of variations in equipment design on the resultant impact force at low and high striking speeds. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to use a high-speed camera to (1) characterise the impact dynamics in term of impact force magnitude and duration, and (2) investigate whether a relationship exists between the game equipment and the magnitude of the impact force. An air cannon unit (ACU) test rig was set up to cause the sliotar to strike the hurley at predetermined speeds. A high-speed camera operating at 12,500 frames per second (fps) was used to capture 32 experimental impacts covering a range of sliotar and hurley brands, impact locations and impact speeds. The factor ??sliotar brand?? was identified as the most significant factor for the impact force among other main factors and two-factor interactions at a constant speed and it had a significant effect with up to 27?% difference between sliotar brands. It was demonstrated that, at higher impact speeds, the force?Cdeformation curves of the sliotar brands varied significantly, even though similar force?Cdeformation curves have been reported at quasi-static compression and similar COR values at low impact speeds using the standard free-drop test. This is the first known study to characterise the unique, highly non-linear and anisotropic sliotar?Churley impact using high-speed camera technology. It highlights the need for a tighter standard for sliotar materials and manufacturing to increase uniformity between different brands and strongly suggests that the standard free-drop test is not sufficient to characterise and compare game equipment.     

‘Getting fit basically just means,like, nonfat’: children's lessons in fitness and fatness

Current concerns about a childhood obesity crisis and children's physical activity levels have combined to justify fitness lessons as a physical education practice in New Zealand primary (elementary) schools. Researchers focused on children's understandings of fitness lessons argue that they construct fitness as a quest for an ‘ideal’ (skinny or muscular) body. The conflation of fitness with thinness, however, is complex and problematic. In this paper, we draw from research conducted with a class of primary school children in New Zealand. Drawing on the theoretical tools of Foucault and utilizing a visual methods approach, we examine how children experience school fitness lessons and construct notions of fitness, health and body. The children's responses illustrated that obesity discourses and body pedagogies ‘collided’ in a way that shaped understandings of fitness lessons in ways inextricably connected with the avoidance of being fat. The children assumed that fitness lessons increased fitness and that being fit was demonstrated by a ‘correct’ corporeal appearance. We argue that body pedagogies inside and outside the school gates shape children's ideas about the body in ways which exclude other understandings of bodies, health, and physical activity.     

Effect of Ball Mass on Dribble,Pass, and Pass Reception in 9–11-Year-Old Boys' Basketball

The objective of the study was to analyze the effect of ball mass on dribble, pass, and pass reception in real game situations in 9–11-year-old boys' basketball. Participants were 54 boys identified from six federated teams. The independent variable was ball mass, and dependent variables were number of dribbles, passes, and pass receptions. Three situations were established in which the participants played four games with each of the following: (a) regulation ball (485 g, 69–71 cm), (b) ball of smaller mass (440 g, 69–71 cm), and (c) ball of greater mass (540 g, 69–71 cm). Four observers recorded data from observing game videos using a computerized register instrument. Participants executed more dribbles, passes, and pass receptions with the 440-g ball when compared to the regulation (p < .05) and 540-g ball (p < .01). Reduction of ball mass seems to have enabled the children to go from paying attention to aspects related to ball handling to aspects of game interpretation.     

Shinty,Nationalism and National Autonomy in Scotland, 1887–1928

Studies of the relationships between sport and nationalism have often overlooked how different sports may depict alternative expressions of nationalism. This paper examines how social, cultural and political ideas associated with nationalism and national autonomy in Scotland touched the sport of shinty between 1887 and 1928. During this period, the transformation of shinty from a traditional folk game to a modern sport was consolidated within Scottish Highland society. The paper probes some of the ways that shinty was contoured by, and connected to wider social, cultural and political circumstances of the period. Three strands are considered in the analysis: (i) the place of shinty as a conduit for aspirations of national autonomy, (ii) the different expressions of nationalism in Scotland that oscillated on the landscape of culture and politics and (iii) the connections between shinty and Gaelic sports in Ireland, and the relationship with expressions of nationalism. The analysis is developed using the concepts of national autonomy and civil society. These conceptual components help to probe how shinty symbolised alternative aspirations and expressions of nationalism between 1887 and 1928.     

“Good,better, creative”: the influence of creativity on goal scoring in elite soccer

This study investigated the level of creativity of goals scored in football. Therefore, all goals in the Football FIFA World Cup 2010 and 2014, as well as the Football UEFA Euro 2016 were qualitatively examined. Three Football experts evaluated the last eight actions before each goal using a creativity scale ranging from 0 to 10 (0 = not creative, 10 = highly creative) of all goals scored via open play (311 goals in 153 matches). Level of creativity was revealed using an Analysis of Variance and the frquency of high highly creative goals using a Kruskall- Wallis Test. The results showed that the closer the actions to a goal, the more creative they were evaluated. Teams that advanced to the later rounds of the tournament demonstrated greater creativity than teams that failed to do so. High creativity in the last two actions before the actual shot on goal proved to be the best predictor for game success. In conclusion, this study is the first one to show that creativity seems to be a factor for success in high level football. Thereby it provides an empirical basis for the ongoing debate on the importance of creativity training in football.     

Coeducational and single-sex physical education: students’ situational interest in learning tasks centred on technical skills

Background: A student’s choice to engage in a learning task is highly related to the student’s environmental stimuli and his or her perception of interest. From this perspective, the construct of situational interest (SI) has been used to interpret students’ motivation in task engagement. SI is assumed to be transitory, environmentally activated, and context specific. It has been conceptualized as a multidimensional construct with five dimensions: instant enjoyment, exploration intention, attention demand, novelty, and challenge. Few prior studies have compared SI between girls and boys in physical education (PE) contexts, and these studies have offered contrasting findings. They were conducted in coeducational (coed) or single-sex contexts and used learning tasks centred on a variety of outcomes: technical or tactical skills, creativity and cultural understanding.

Purpose: In the context of the debate on single-sex and coed classes in PE, this study aimed to estimate the effects of single-sex and coed PE classes on students’ situational interest (SI) within learning tasks centred on technical skills. The researchers decided to study learning tasks centred on the development of students’ technical skills, since these tasks are often used by teachers in PE.

Participants: The sample consisted of 177 Swiss secondary school students, aged 11–17 years (M?=?14.07, SD?=?1.41, 96 boys, 81 girls).

Data collection: The students completed the French 15-item SI Scale after practising a technical learning task in single-sex and coed PE contexts. The researchers chose five physical activities (i.e. athletics, basketball, dance, gymnastics, and volleyball), which are commonly taught in the state of Vaud (Switzerland) and provide a balance between masculine and feminine activities.

Data analysis: A two-way repeated-measures MANOVA was performed to examine the main and interaction effects of student sex and class sex composition on the five SI dimensions.

Findings: The results showed a main effect of class sex composition on student SI but no main effect of student sex and no interaction effect of student sex and class sex composition. More precisely, the scores for three SI dimensions (i.e. instant enjoyment, exploration intention, and attention demand) were higher in the coed context than in the single-sex context.

Conclusions: This study encourages teachers to propose coed PE classes to enhance students’ motivation and engagement when practising learning tasks centred on technical skills. This study offers supplementary evidence of the teacher’s role in promoting student SI. Beyond accounting for students’ dispositional factors (e.g. sex), PE teachers can significantly impact students’ SI in technical learning tasks through instructional choices.     

Isokinetic trunk flexion–extension protocol to assess trunk muscle strength and endurance: Reliability,learning effect,and sex differences

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine the reliability and the learning effect of an isokinetic trunk flexion–extension protocol designed to simultaneously assess trunk muscle strength and endurance. In addition, the effect of the participants' sex on the reliability data was examined.MethodsFifty-seven healthy and physically active young men (n = 28) and women (n = 29) performed the isokinetic protocol 5 times, separated by a week between each of the first 4 sessions and by a month between the last 2 sessions. The protocol consisted of performing 4 trials of 15 maximum flexion–extension concentric exertions at 120°/s (range of trunk motion = 50°). The absolute and relative peak torque and total work were calculated to assess trunk flexion and extension strength. In addition, endurance ratio, modified endurance ratio, fatigue final ratio, recovery ratio, and modified recovery ratio variables were used for the assessment of trunk muscle endurance in both directions.ResultsRegarding the absolute reliability, no relevant changes were found between paired-comparison sessions for most strength and endurance variables, except for total work and relative total work variables in the flexion movement in both sexes. In addition, the typical error of the isokinetic variables was lower than 10% in both males and females, and minimum detectable changes ranged from 7% to 20%, with a tendency to be higher in females and in endurance variables. The strength variables showed high-to-excellent intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs; >0.74); however, for the endurance variables only the endurance ratio and the modified endurance ratio obtained moderate-to-high ICC values (0.57 < ICC < 0.82). In addition, the analysis of the variance reported no significant differences between consecutive pairs of sessions for most variables in both sexes.ConclusionOverall, these findings provide clinicians, trainers, and researchers with a 10-min single-session protocol to perform a reliable muscle strength and endurance evaluation of trunk flexor and extensor muscles, all within the same protocol.