A Method for Identification of Some Components of Judging Springboard Diving

Abstract

This article presents a method to analyze the scoring of judges in springboard diving by identifying some of the components of a dive which are useful in predicting the scores of the judges. A videotape recording of 26 divers doing the front dive half-twist was made at the 1979 men's A.A.U. prequalifying meet, held at Ohio State University. The method of measurement involved the use of clear plastic grids placed over the video monitor. The maximum height of the diver above the board, distance out from the board, size and duration of splash, numerous body angles at various times during the dive, as well as deviation of twist from 180 degrees were measured. A Stepwise Multiple Regression program was used to generate a prediction equation using a subset of these variables which would best predict the total score of the judges for each dive. The equation generated included height, distance, twist, and lower body angle at the point when the diver's head was opposite the board; the equation predicted the scores of the judges with a multiple correlation coefficient R = .80. The particular variables identified would of course be different for other types of dives, and might very well differ for a new set of data for the front dive half twist. However, the method presented provides the diving community with a procedure for identifying some of the components in a particular dive that partially explain what is in the judge's mind.     

The association between preschool children's social functioning and their emergent academic skills

This study examined the relationship between social functioning and emergent academic development in a sample of 467 preschool children (M = 55.9 months old, SD = 3.8). Teachers reported on children's aggression, attention problems, and prosocial skills. Preliteracy, language, and early mathematics skills were assessed with standardized tests. Better social functioning was associated with stronger academic development. Attention problems were related to poorer academic development controlling for aggression and social skills, pointing to the importance of attention in these relations. Children's social skills were related to academic development controlling for attention and aggression problems, consistent with models suggesting that children's social strengths and difficulties are independently related to their academic development. Support was not found for the hypothesis that these relationships would be stronger in boys than in girls. Some relationships were stronger in African American than Caucasian children. Children's self-reported feelings about school moderated several relationships, consistent with the idea that positive feelings about school may be a protective factor against co-occurring academic and social problems.     

Assessment drives learning: An unavoidable truth?

The debate around which factors drive medical students' learning is ongoing and controversial. What is the influence of an assessment's weighting on the motivation of students to study the particular subject? One medical school in London is in a unique position to investigate this question. At our institution, the weighting of Anatomy within the overall scheme of assessment has changed twice in recent years, a trend of increased weighting. This enabled a comparative investigation into the effect these changes have had on the students' motivation to learn Anatomy. A five‐point Likert‐scale questionnaire survey was used to evaluate students. A section within a broad survey of Anatomy teaching and learning at our institution was dedicated to the evaluation of the amount of weighting Anatomy received within the assessment structure and the effect this had on students' motivation toward learning the subject. Increasing Anatomy's weighting within the scheme of assessment produced a dramatic increasing trend toward students' motivation to learn Anatomy. The weighting of Anatomy has a profound effect on students' motivation to learn it. Although multifactorial and complex in nature, medical students' self‐reported drive to study a subject is directly influenced by the weighting of the subject in the overall scheme of assessment. Anat Sci Educ 2:199–204, 2009. © 2009 American Association of Anatomists.     

Kinematic analysis of the double side kick in pointfighting,kickboxing

The double side kick is a frequently used technique in pointfighting on which most offensive kicking techniques are based on. The aim of the study was to identify parameters, e.g., trunk and leg positions, durations and velocities that affect successful technique execution.

44 fighters, male and female, including European and World champions, participated in the research. The participants performed double side kicks to a punching bag with the target at chest level. 10 international experts scored (1–10 points; interrater correlation ICC (3,1): 0.952) videos of the best individual trial for quality of technique execution. Based on the average of the scores participants were categorised into 2 equally sized groups. For kinematic data acquisition, a Vicon 3D-motion capturing system was used. The normalised knee height of the kick leg (KHK), normalised absolute distance to the frontal shoulder (DKS) at the end of both chambering phases, the horizontal velocity during both chambering phases (KEV), the durations of all 6 functional phases and total duration, were analysed.

KHK1, KHK2, DKS1 and DKS2, total duration as well as 4 out of 6 phase durations and KEV1 showed significant differences between groups in two-sided t-test or Mann–Whitney U-test for not normally distributed variables.     

Refractive temperature

Refraction tables used in navigation and surveying are almost all derived from those of Bessel, whose computations, based on English star observations, assume that atmospheric temperature decreases with height at the rate of about 0.6 F.° per 1,000 ft. Neither this assumption nor that of any subsequent investigator is entirely in accord with present-day knowledge of atmospheric structure, which generally has a temperature decrease of around 3 F.° per 1,000 ft. to the tropopause, with widely varying conditions above it. The Bessel tables in general use cannot be extrapolated for surface air temperatures much different from 50° F.; in particular, for extreme cold conditions it is desirable to use, in place of the actual air temperature, the refractive temperature, which is that temperature for which the refraction correction given in the tables equals the correction which is actually required, and which may be estimated from general climatic considerations.