Being critical: an account of an early career academic working within and against neoliberalism

In 2014 I attended a symposium concerning Early Career Academics (ECAs) in the field of physical education and sport pedagogy. I was struck by the dominance of a particular theme at that symposium—that is, how to obtain a position and survive in academia. The aim of this paper is to use an inciting moment that occurred at this symposium as a means to confront some of the broader issues that I thought were at stake. Specifically I seek to interrogate the possible consequences of thinking about ECAs and academia in neoliberal terms, for the future of the field—a field that has a strong critical tradition. To this end I utilise autoethnographic techniques to connect the personal to the cultural and attempt to describe and analyse my story of becoming and being a critical scholar of sport, in a neoliberal context.     

Characteristics of the start in women's World Cup skeleton

This study characterizes key elements of the start in elite female World Cup skeleton athletes. The top 20 female competitors in three World Cup races were videotaped within a calibrated space to allow the following components of the start to be quantified: (1) acceleration (velocity at 15-m mark, time to 15-m mark), (2) capacity (time to load, total number of steps to load), and (3) load (velocity at 45-m mark). A correlation analysis was used to establish the relationship between the variables of interest and overall start time (15- to 65-m mark). Velocity at the 15-m mark accounted for 86% of the variance in overall start time at St. Moritz and 85% at Sigulda. A stepwise regression analysis revealed that approximately 89% of the variation in start time could be explained by velocity at the 15-m mark, time to load, and velocity at the 45-m mark. Of the variables analysed in this study, rapid acceleration to attain a high velocity at the 15-m mark was the most important component of a fast overall start time. The importance of the time to load and velocity at the 45-m mark vary according to the different track characteristics.     

Reliability of a combined biomechanical and surface electromyographical analysis system during dynamic barbell squat exercise

An analysis system for barbell weightlifting exercises is proposed to record reliable performance and neuromuscular responses. The system consists of surface electromyography (sEMG) synchronized with electrogoniometry and a barbell position transducer. The purpose of this study was to establish the reliability of the three components of the system. Nine males (age 28.9 ± 4.8 years, mass 85.7 ± 15.1 kg) performed squat exercise at three loads on three separate trial days. A data acquisition and software system processed maximal knee angle (flexion), mean power for the concentric phase of squat exercise, and normalized root mean square of the vastus lateralis. Inter-trial coefficients of variation for each variable were calculated as 5.3%, 7.8%, and 7.5% respectively. In addition, knee joint motion and barbell displacement were significantly related to each other (bar displacement (m) = 1.39-0.0057 × knee angle (degress), with goodness-of-fit value, r2 = 0.817), suggesting knee goniometry alone can represent the kinematics of a multi-joint squat exercise. The proven reliability of the three components of this system allows for real-time monitoring of resistance exercise using the preferred training methods of athletes, which could be valuable in the understanding of the neuromuscular response of elite strength training methods.     

The Engaged Reader

Earlier this year a study was carried out to understand and measure the user experience that ebooks provide. With an emphasis on the Apple iPad 2, the study evaluated the user experience that fourth generation ebook readers offer. Qualitative and quantitative study affirmed that the user experience rests not just in the ebook but on the device that the ebook is read. The experience must be harmonious between book and cover, and the reading experience will be heightened if both device and contents can engage the reader on a functional, material, and emotional level as well as a cognitive or experiential level.     

A study of user's acceptance on situational mashups in situational language teaching

Situational awareness and mashups are two key factors influencing the success of situational language teaching. However, traditional situational language teaching cannot smoothly conduct relevant learning activities in changing learning context. This study developed a situational mashups system for detecting users' context and proposed a research model for evaluating users' acceptance on the situational mashups in situational language teaching. The proposed model consisted of users' individual experiences, situational learning theory and technology acceptance theory. The experimental results showed that users' experiences of using computer, Internet, mashups system and mashups‐based learning, as well as users' perceived enjoyment, perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of situational mashups are all key factors affecting users' acceptance of situational mashups in situational language teaching.     

The Silent Game: A Critical Reading of the History of Netball in Australia

Abstract

Netball is commonly cited as being the national game for females in Australia. Yet the game’s popularity is not reflected in the field of sport history in the breadth or depth of analysis compared to other sports. There are only two major published academic articles pertaining to the origins and development of netball in Australia. In this paper, these articles are critically analyzed. The analysis reveals gaps, limitations, and inconsistencies in the history of netball in Australia. Despite what is said to be known about the history and historical significance of netball in Australia, many important questions remain.     

Have We Passed Peak Book? The Uncoupling of Book Sales from Economic Growth

This paper uses time series data on UK book sales to establish what correlation exists between the national income of a country and its sales of books. This is tested by comparing series data in real terms for GDP per capita and for various data series for the UK market, including sales invoiced by publishers and point of sale data on consumer purchasing. The first period, from 1985 to 1999, shows a strong relationship between total sales and GDP per capita. In the second period, from 2001 to 2015, the link appears to disappear when we examine invoiced sales from publishers, even before the impact of the 2008 crisis. This is also including the growth of digital sales towards the end of the period. The direct consumer data shows sales tracking GDP until the onset of the financial crisis; thereafter the only trade sector to have kept pace with GDP is children’s, and this contrasts with the areas of adult fiction and non-fiction. Have we therefore seen a structural shift in the book market? If we have passed peak book, what has brought about this uncoupling of book sales from economic growth? Factors are considered including changes in retail, competition from other media, and a prioritization of experience over the accumulation of stuff.     

Adapting to Learner Attributes: experiments using an adaptive tutoring system

A composite learner model for adaptive tutoring systems has been developed, which combines a model of learner attributes with a simple overlay model of the learner's domain knowledge state. The model of learner characteristics enables several different forms of psychological and background data about the student to be taken into account, and provides a profile of the learner in terms of pedagogically useful attributes. An Adaptive Tutor Using Learner Attributes (ATULA) has been constructed, which uses the composite learner model. The system is able to select for the learner the optimal form of the learning material for the group of topics about to be presented. Experiments carried out with the adaptive tutoring system over 3 successive academic years with two disparate groups of students are described. User records collected during the experiments provide insight into the operation of the model, both at initialisation and during the student's interaction with the system. Previous users’ records also enable comparisons to be made with the result of previous experiments using a non‐adaptive system.