Estimating fat-free mass in elite youth male soccer players: cross-validation of different field methods and development of prediction equation

This study determined the most effective field method for quantifying fat-free mass (FFM) in elite youth male soccer players compared to dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) values and to develop prediction equations for FFM based on anthropometric variables. Forty-one male elite-standard youth soccer players, ages 16.2–18.0 years, undertook FFM assessments including bioelectrical impedance analysis, and different skinfold-based prediction equations. DXA provided a criterion measure of FFM. Correlation coefficients, bias, limits of agreement, and differences were used as validity measures, and regression analyses to develop soccer-specific prediction equations. Slaughter et al (1988), Durnin and Wormersley (1974), and Sarria et al (1998) equations showed the lowest biases, and no significant, standardized, and substantial differences against DXA. The new youth soccer-specific anthropometric equation explained 91% of the DXA-derived FFM variance using three circumferences, eight skinfolds, and one bone breadth. All field methods compared in this study may not be adequate for estimating FFM in elite youth male soccer players, except the equations of Slaughter et al (1988), Durnin and Wormersley (1974), and Sarria et al (1998). We recommend the use of the new soccer-specific equation proposed in this study as a valid alternative to DXA to quantify FFM among elite youth male players.     

Influence of force-vector and force application plyometric training in young elite basketball players

Plyometric training composed by unilateral exercises with horizontal jumping direction seems to be an effective way to improve physical performance in athletes. The present study aimed to compare the influence of a combined jumping direction and force application (horizontal-unilateral vs. vertical-bilateral) plyometric training on linear sprinting, jumping, change of direction (COD) and dynamic balance in young elite basketball players. Twenty young (U-13 to U-14) male basketball players (age: 13.2?±?0.7 years, body mass: 59.5?±?12.7?kg, height: 172.9?±?7.9?cm) were randomly assigned either to a unilateral-horizontal (UH, n?=?10) or bilateral-vertical (BV, n?=?10) plyometric group, twice a week for 6-wk. Both groups performed between 60 and 100 jumps/session. UH executed all jumps unilaterally with horizontal direction, while jumps in the BV were bilaterally with vertical direction. Performance was assessed by a linear sprinting test, vertical and horizontal jumping tests, COD tests (V-cut and 5+5?m with a 180°COD test), an ankle dorsiflexion test and dynamic balance tests (anterior and postero-lateral directions). Within-group differences showed substantial improvements (Effect size (ES):0.31–1.01) in unilateral vertical and horizontal jumping, V-cut test and postero-lateral direction with right leg after both training interventions. Furthermore, UH group also substantially improved (ES:0.33–0.78) all sprinting times and postero-lateral direction with left leg, while BV enhanced anterior direction with left leg (ES:0.25). Between-group analyses showed substantially greater improvements (ES:0.33) in 10-m and V-cut test in UH than in BV. The likely beneficial effect (small ES) achieved in sprinting abilities suggests the combination of unilateral-horizontal jumps to improve such abilities.     

Effect of two different intensity distribution training programmes on aerobic and body composition variables in ultra-endurance runners

The aim of this study was to compare the effects of two different intensity distribution training programmes (polarized (POL) and threshold (THR)) on aerobic performance, strength and body composition variables in ultra-endurance runners. Twenty recreationally trained athletes were allocated to POL (n?=?11; age: 40.6?±?9.7 years; height: 175.4?±?7?cm; weight: 73.5?±?10.8?kg; fat mass 18.4?±?6.0%; VO₂max: 55.8?±?4.9?ml/kg/min) or THR group (n?=?9; age: 36.8?±?9.2 years; height: 178.5?±?4.2?cm; weight: 75.5?±?10.4?kg; fat mass 14.9?±?5.3%; VO₂max: 57.1?±?5.2?ml/kg/min) and performed the 12 weeks training programme. Both programmes had similar total time and load but a different intensity distribution (POL?=?79.8?±?2.1% in Zone 1; 3.9?±?1.9% in Zone 2; 16.4?±?1.5% in Zone 3; THR?=?67.2?±?4.6% in Zone 1; 33.8?±?4.6% in Zone 2; 0% in Zone 3). Body composition, isokinetic strength and aerobic running performance were measured before and after each programme. Both groups decreased fat mass after training (POL= Δ–11.2%; p?=?.017; ES?=?0.32; THR= Δ–18.8%; p?p?=?0.003; ES?=?0.71) and 12?km/h (Δ–4.5%; p?=?.026; ES?=?0.73) and running time to exhaustion (Δ2.4%; p?=?.011; ES?=?0.33). No changes were observed in strength and no significant differences were observed between the group in any variable. Compared with THR distribution, 12 weeks of POL training efficiently improves aerobic performance in recreational ultra-endurance runners.     

The Prestige of Social Scientists in Spain and France: An Examination of Their h-Index Values Using Scopus and Google Scholar

We analyze the prestige of 1,500 scholars in economics, sociology, and management who have Spanish and French institutional affiliations operationalized by their h-index in Scopus and Google Scholar. We use a negative binomial count model to examine how some individual factors affect the h-index from both databases. The results show a non-monotonic relationship between the researchers’ career length and their h-index. There is a positive and statistically significant relationship between total research output and the h-index. The share of publications in English over total publications has also a positive and statistically significant effect on the h-index, except in a single case, while the share of publications in other foreign languages does not have such effect. Finally, we found that the effects of the number of citations received by documents in English (international impact) and by those in the vernacular language (local or regional impact) on the h-index vary according to the database, the country, and the discipline in question.

     

Nutritional intake in soccer players of different ages

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the dietary practices of soccer players of different ages. The diets of the members of four soccer teams (mean ages of 14.0, 15.0, 16.6 and 20.9 years, respectively) were examined. Our results show that the caloric intake per kilogram of body mass was significantly higher among the youngest players when compared with the adult players (P < 0.05). The contribution of carbohydrates to total energy intake was lower than that recommended for athletes. This contribution decreased with age from 47.4% of total energy intake for the 14-year-olds to 44.6% for the adult players. No significant differences in protein or total fat intake were detected among the teams examined. Overall, our results show that the nutritional intake of the soccer players was not optimal, and that this intake was poorer among the adult players than among the adolescents. On the basis of our results, we recommended that nutritional education should be given to soccer players at an early age and should continue throughout adolescence, not only with a view to improving performance but also to promoting more healthy dietary practices in the long term.     

The Birth of Particle Physics In Spain

Experimental high-energy and nuclear physics was created in Spain thanks to Joaquín Catalá de Alemany, who founded the Institute of Corpuscular Physics (IFIC) at the University of Valencia in 1950. The physics of photographic emulsions, cheap and easy to manipulate, were well adapted to the depressed situation in Spain following the Civil War. This essay describes how, using these techniques, Catalá de Alemany created a group, established links with international laboratories, and fostered a tradition that continues today.     

Conflict Management in Pre-schoolers: A cross-cultural perspective La Gestion des Conflits chez les Enfants d'Age Pre´scolaire: Une perspective interculturelle Gestio´n de Conflictos en los Preescolares: Una perspectiva inter-cultural

The aim of the present article is to study of role that cultural differences play in peer interactions. We analysed children's behaviour during play, focusing on the conflicts that took place among pre-schoolers during leisure time, comparing the results obtained between children from Andalusia and Holland. We found a tendency for Andalusian children to prioritise the maintenance of the interaction above personal objectives, as well as a more marked interest in the Dutch pre-schoolers in conserving their own point of view before others, regardless of the possibility of disrupting the activity. Our explanation of the results was supported by consideration of peer interactions as peer cultures, which at the time of producing one's own social order reproduce the order of the adult culture in which they are developing. The influence of the collective - individualistic dimension as centre of important differences between the two cultures completes our argument. Le présent article a pour but d'étudier le rôle des différences culturelles dans l'interaction entre enfants du même âge. Nous avons analysé le comportement d'enfants en train de jouer, en nous concentrant sur les conflits qui se produisaient entre enfants d'âge préscolaire pendant leurs loisirs, et en comparant les résultats obtenus pour des enfants d'Andalouise et de Hollande. Nous avons trouvé que les enfants andalous avaient tendance à donner la priorité à la sauvegarde de l'interaction plutôt qu'à leurs objectifs personnels, tandis que les petits hollandais montraient un intérêt plus marqué envers le maintien de leur point de vue par rapport aux autres, sans se préoccuper de la possibilité de perturber l'activité. L'explication des résultats a été appuyée en considérant les interactions d'enfants du même âge au sein de leur groupe, qui, au moment de la production de leur propre ordre social, reproduisent l'ordre de la culture adulte dans laquelle ils se développent. L'influence du collectif - la dimension individualiste en tant que centre de différences importantes entre les deux cultures - complète notre argument. El objectivo del presente artículo es estudiar el papel que las diferencias culturales juegan en Las interacciones entre iguales. Estudiamos el comportamiento de los niños durante el juego centrándonos en los conflictos que tuvieron lugar entre preescolares a la hora del recreo, comparando los resultados obtenidos entre niños de Andalucía y de Holanda. Descubrimos que había una tendencia en los niños andaluces a priorizar el mantenimiento de la interacción por encima de los objetivos personales, así como un interés más marcado en los preescolares holandeses por conservar su propio punto de vista frente a los demás, sin tener en cuenta la posibilidad de trastornar la actividad. La explicación de los resultados apoyó en la consideración de las interacciones entre iguales, como en cursiva, donde los niños, a la vet de producir que en el momento un producir el orden social propio, reproducen el orden de la cultura adulta en la que se desarrollan. La influencia de la dimensión colectivismo-individualismo como ejc de importantes diferencias entre ambas culturas completa nuesta argumentación.     

Can Empathy Improve Concern for Secondary Group Members? Testing an Emotionally Engaging Video Intervention

Media presentations that attempt to improve intergroup relations often portray stigmatized group members in a sympathetic light in order to induce empathy. Emotion priming research suggests that induced empathy may not only affect reactions to those portrayed, but also to a wide range of secondary others. In order to test this possible secondary or transfer effect, the present study assessed whether empathy induced by a video of a boy with cancer could also increase caring for an unrelated stigmatized group member. Although the video was not found to have a direct effect, it did have a significant indirect effect on caring for the stigmatized group member, mediated by concern for the boy. In addition, this indirect effect was also moderated by both age and gender.     

Beyond English hegemony: language,migration and Appalachian schools

Co‐authored by an academic who has worked in ESL teacher improvement programmes under the No Child Left Behind Act, an assistant director of an Appalachian school district, and a trilingual translator and teacher who works with indigenous Mexican populations, this article is narrated in the voice of the first author. The essay addresses how teachers in a Tennessee school district have learned to engage new English speakers and how existing ‘English only’ law affects the process. Contrasting today's immigrants with those of the past, the narrator relates her experience of working with Purépecha children in Morristown and considers the perils of stereotyping others' literacy. The children's comfort with speaking English is affected by their awareness that, as undocumented people, they and their families do not enjoy full citizenship.     

Environmental education research in Brazil

Abstract

This Editorial to the current collection provides a brief historical, cultural, regional and contemporary picture of environmental education research in Brazil. Its main purpose is to offer readers a short background and orientation to the collection, and in so doing, illustrate how its contributions relate to some wider tendencies, trends and issues in environmental education, as well as to different locales of research and knowledge generation in the country. Of particular note for environmental education in Brazil are: the effects of social and political backdrops and issues, the unique environments on which environmental education is grounded, and how environmental education research, in turn, may echo or influence particular educational and public policies.