The Relationship Among Oral Language,Decoding Skills,and Reading Comprehension in Children with Autism

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship among oral language, decoding, and reading comprehension for children with autism. Participants included 13 English-speaking children with a diagnosis of high-functioning autism (IQ > 70) who were included in a typical classroom, and who had parents who spoke English. Parts of the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, OWLS: Listening Comprehension, and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test were administered to measure oral language abilities, and parts of the Woodcock Reading Mastery Test and Test of Word Reading Efficiency were given to assess decoding and reading comprehension. Results indicated there was no significant relationship between phonology and decoding, but there was a significant relationship between semantics and decoding. There were also significant relationships between semantics and comprehension and syntax and comprehension.     

Temporal and kinetic analysis of unilateral jumping in the vertical,horizontal, and lateral directions

Abstract

The aims of this study were to: (1) assess the reliability of various kinetic and temporal variables for unilateral vertical, horizontal, and lateral countermovement jumps; (2) determine whether there are differences in vertical ground reaction force production between the three types of jumps; (3) quantify the magnitude of asymmetry between limbs for variables that were established as reliable in a healthy population and whether asymmetries were consistent across jumps of different direction; and (4) establish the best kinetic predictor(s) of jump performance in the vertical, horizontal, and lateral planes of motion. Thirty team sport athletes performed three trials of the various countermovement jumps on both legs on two separate occasions. Eccentric and concentric peak force and concentric peak power were the only variables with acceptable reliability (coefficient of variation = 3.3–15.1%; intra-class correlation coefficient = 0.70–0.96). Eccentric and concentric peak vertical ground reaction force (14–16%) and concentric peak power (45–51%) were significantly (P < 0.01) greater in the vertical countermovement jump than in the horizontal countermovement jump and lateral countermovement jump, but no significant difference was found between the latter two jumps. No significant leg asymmetries (–2.1% to 9.3%) were found in any of the kinetic variables but significant differences were observed in jump height and distance. The best single predictors of vertical countermovement jump, horizontal countermovement jump, and lateral countermovement jump performance were concentric peak vertical power/body weight (79%), horizontal concentric peak power/body weight (42.6%), and eccentric peak vertical ground reaction force/body weight (14.9%) respectively. These findings are discussed in relation to monitoring and developing direction-specific jump performance.     

Kinematic and kinetic variability associated with the cable put and seated rotation assessments

ABSTRACT

When new protocols are developed, there is a requirement to investigate test–retest reliability of measures for valid use and interpretation of data in research and practice. Therefore, the aim of this investigation was to determine the inter-day reliability of the cable put and seated rotation assessment protocols. On three occasions, nine resistance-trained men performed cable puts and cable rotations at different loads between 6 and 42 kg on a commercially available cable cross over machine. Load stack movement was recorded using a PT5A linear position transducer from which all kinematic and kinetic variables were calculated. Reliability was excellent for peak velocity and displacement based on intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and coefficient of variation (CV) across the majority of loads and movements (cable put: ICC = 0.92 to 0.99, CV = 3.1% to 8.6%; cable seated rotation: ICC = 0.76 to 0.99, CV = ?1.7% to 16.1%). However, kinetic variables demonstrated inadequate reliability across the majority of days, loads and movements (ICC = 0.70, CV >10%). It was concluded that peak velocity is a reliable kinematic measure to assess muscular capability from cable put and seated rotation protocols; however, kinetic measures are too variable to provide reliable outputs across testing occasions.     

Effects of weighted vests and sled towing on sprint kinematics

In this study, we compared sprint kinematics of sled towing and vest sprinting with the same relative loads. Twenty athletes performed 30-m sprints in three different conditions: (a) un-resisted, (b) sled towing, and (c) vest sprinting. During sled towing and vest sprinting, external loads of 15% and 20% of body mass were used. Sprint times were recorded over 10 and 30 m. Sagittal-plane high-speed video data were recorded at 5, 15, and 25 m from the start. Relative to the un-resisted condition, sprint time increased (7.5 to 19.8%) in both resisted conditions, resulting mainly from decreased step length ( ? 5.2 to ? 16.5%) with small decreases in step frequency ( ? 2.7 to ? 6.1%). Sled towing increased stance phase duration (14.7 to 26.0%), trunk angle (12.5 to 71.5%), and knee angle (10.3 to 22.7%), and decreased swing phase duration ( ? 4.8 to ? 15.2%) relative to the un-resisted condition. Vest sprinting increased stance phase duration (12.8 to 24.5%) and decreased swing phase duration ( ? 8.4 to ? 14.4%) and trunk angle ( ? 1.7 to ? 13.0%). There were significant differences between the two resisted conditions in trunk, thigh, and knee angles. We conclude that sled towing and vest sprinting have different effects on some kinematics and hence change the overload experienced by muscle groups.     

Effects of a power-focussed resistance training intervention on backward grinding performance in America's Cup sailing

This study determined whether backward grinding performance in America's Cup sailing could be improved using a training intervention to increase power capability in the upper-body pull movement. Fourteen elite male sailors (34.9 ± 5.9 years; 98.1 ± 14.4 kg; 186.6 ± 7.7 cm) were allocated into experimental (speed-focussed) and control groups. Grinding performance was assessed using a grinding ergometer and an instrumented Smith machine measured force, velocity and power during the bench pull exercise. Conventional training produced significant improvements in bench pull 1 RM (5.2 ± 4.0%; p = 0.016) and maximum force production (5.4 ± 4.0%; p = 0.014). Speed-focussed training improved maximum power (7.8 ± 4.9%; p = 0.009), power at 1RM (10.3 ± 8.9%; p = 0.019) and maximum velocity (8.4 ± 2.6%; p = 0.0002). Backward grinding performance showed greater improvements in the experimental group than the control group for moderate (+1.8%) and heavy load (+6.0%) grinding. Changes in maximum power output and power at 1 RM had large correlations (r = 0.56–0.61) with changes in both moderate and heavy load grinding performance. Time to peak force had the strongest relationship, explaining 70% of the change in heavy load grinding performance. Although the performance benefit was not entirely clear the likelihood of a detrimental effect was low ( < 5%) and therefore implementation could be recommended.     

External work and peak power are reliable measures of ergometer grinding performance when tested under load,deck heel,and grinding direction conditions

The reliability of grinding performance was assessed in 18 current Emirates Team New Zealand America's Cup sailors in two test sessions separated by 5 h using a custom-built ergometer. Sixteen different grinding conditions that varied by load (Light 39 N·m, Moderate 48 N·m, Heavy 68 N·m), deck heel (Flat 0° control, Downhill 25°, Uphill 25°, Right 25°, Left 25°), and grinding direction (forwards, backwards) were assessed using peak power and external work over 5 s during maximal-effort 8-s grinds. Reliability statistics included the difference in mean (M_diff), standard error of measurement (SEM), and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). External work (SEM = 1.6–6.9%; ICC = 0.91–0.99) was a more consistent performance measure than peak power (SEM = 1.3–9.6%; ICC = 0.84–0.99) across all test conditions. Testing under different load conditions resulted in external work SEMs of 1.6–3.9% with performance more reliable in lighter load conditions. Grinding performance during different heel conditions was less reliable (external work SEMs = 4.6–6.9%). Grinding direction (forward or backward) did not appear to affect performance reliability, although external work was 10–15% higher in forward grinding. Reliability is acceptable across various loads, but testing under different heel conditions may need some protocol development to allow the detection of smaller differences in performance.     

The Great Teacher is a Creative Individual

Paradoxes of Education in a Republic By Eva Brann The University of Chicago Press, 1979,172 pages, $12.95. Reviewed by Perry C. Mason.

Group Memory: A Guide to College and Student Survival in the 1980s By Alston Chase Boston: Little, Brown, xviii + 330 pages, $12.95 Reviewed by Robert L. Spaeth.

Paradigms Lost: Reflections on Literacy and Its Decline By John Simon New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1980, 222 pages, index, $12.95. Reviewed by Carol A. Martin.     

Haraway's ‘bag lady story-telling’: relocating childhood and learning within a ‘post-human landscape’

In this article, we explore some alternate ways of approaching childhood and learning by taking three short forays into what Donna Haraway calls a ‘post-human landscape’. This exploration takes us beyond the horizons of orthodox educational approaches, in which the individual child is typically seen to be developing and learning within his/her (exclusively human) sociocultural context. The post-human landscape relocates childhood within a world that is much bigger than us (humans) and about more than our (human) concerns. It allows us to reconsider the ways in which children are both constituted by and learn within this more-than-human world. Adopting Haraway's feminist narrative strategy, we offer three very different ‘bag lady’ stories that consider the ethics and politics of child/non-human animal cross-species encounters. Each of these stories gestures towards the ways in which we can learn to live with ‘companion species’ rather than only ever learn about them.