The relationship between strength asymmetries and jumping performance in professional volleyball players

Knee peak torque (PT) is associated to jump performance in volleyball players. It is not clear whether muscle strength imbalances of the knee joint can influence jump performance. The purpose of study was to analyse the association between PT and knee muscular imbalances with jump performance in professional volleyball players. Eleven elite male volleyball players (90.3 ± 9.7 kg body mass and 1.94 ± 0.06 m height) were evaluated in an isokinetic dynamometer at speeds of 60, 180 and 300 deg/s. Muscle strength imbalances were obtained through calculation of contralateral deficit between limbs and the conventional ratio (hamstrings/quadriceps). Countermovement jump (CMJ) was performed on a force plate to calculate mechanical power and height. Association was found between knee extensor PT at 180 deg/s with CMJ power (r = 0.610, p = 0.046). Conventional ratio at 300 deg/s showed negative association with CMJ (r = ?0.656, p = 0.029). The optimal ratio between knee extensors PT in relation to the flexors PT is associated with the greater mechanical power in CMJ. Contralateral deficit does not seem to be associated with the CMJ performance. Considering the knee extensor PT is associated with CMJ power, our findings suggest that strength-based training in volleyball athletes should not omit the conventional muscle ratio.     

Customizing and Implementing Training Evaluation

One barrier that human resource managers may face in evaluating their training programs is lack of expertise in how to customize and implement an evaluation model. Using a case study approach, we conducted a research study to document the process and results of customizing and implementing a training program evaluation model in an organization. In this article, we describe the steps that the HRD managers in one organization used to customize and implement the Training Effectiveness Evaluation (TEE) model (Swanson & Sleezer, 1987), and the decisions and actions that were required to move from the model to actual practice. We also describe how the decisions and actions in implementing the model influenced the evaluation results. When the project began, the HRD managers lacked expertise in customizing and implementing an evaluation model. By the end of the project, they had overcome this barrier and gained new skills. They had learned to use the tools of the TEE model and had customized the model to meet the needs of their organization.     

Using Performance Analysis for Training in an Organization Implementing Integrated Manufacturings A Case Study

Focused efforts to improve organizational and individual performance begin with analysis of the needs. However, the theory and practice of performance analysis are not well connected. This case study examined the use of a theory-based model, the Performance Analysis for Training (PAT) Model, for assessing performance needs within an organization that was integrating its manufacturing processes. The results showed that the PAT Model was a useful guide for assessing performance needs. This research also showed that the process and product of the performance analysis were influenced by the organization's characteristics, the decision maker's characteristics, and the analyst's characteristics. In practice, the PAT model and the actual process of performance analysis were similar. However, the analyst noted three adaptations of the model. These adaptations suggest that performance analysis in some instances may be more an iterative than a linear process.     

The NICE OECD countries' geographic search filters: Part 2—validation of the MEDLINE and Embase (Ovid) filters

Objective:We previously developed draft MEDLINE and Embase (Ovid) geographic search filters for Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries to assess their feasibility for finding evidence about the countries. Here, we describe the validation of these search filters.Methods:We identified OECD country references from thirty National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines to generate gold standard sets for MEDLINE (n=2,065) and Embase (n=2,023). We validated the filters by calculating their recall against these sets. We then applied the filters to existing search strategies for three OECD-focused NICE guideline reviews (NG103 on flu vaccination, NG140 on abortion care, and NG146 on workplace health) to calculate the filters'' impact on the number needed to read (NNR) of the searches.Results:The filters both achieved 99.95% recall against the gold standard sets. Both filters achieved 100% recall for the three NICE guideline reviews. The MEDLINE filter reduced NNR from 256 to 232 for the NG103 review, from 38 to 27 for the NG140 review, and from 631 to 591 for the NG146 review. The Embase filter reduced NNR from 373 to 341 for the NG103 review, from 101 to 76 for the NG140 review, and from 989 to 925 for the NG146 review.Conclusion:The NICE OECD countries'' search filters are the first validated filters for the countries. They can save time for research topics about OECD countries by finding the majority of evidence about OECD countries while reducing search result volumes in comparison to no filter use.     

School physical education in the transition from solid modernity to liquid modernity: the Brazilian case

This article discusses the implications of the contemporary transition from a solid modernity to a liquid modernity for school physical education, according to the metaphors adopted by the Polish sociologist and English resident Zygmunt Bauman. By leveraging Bauman's sociological theory, this article pursues two aims: (1) to examine how physical education was forged by the characteristics of solid modernity and (2) to demonstrate how the cultural dynamics of contemporary bodily practices can be analyzed and interpreted based on the characteristics of the so-called liquid modernity. The article further argues that the contours of liquid modernity indicate the need for a ‘culturalist turn’ in physical education, which would mean giving up a model requiring universal claims of solid modernity. Finally, the article concludes with some reflections on the need to revise the social mandate of school physical education, as well as on some of the challenges that must be faced by this field.