Una Antorcha de Esperanza: Mexico and the 1955 Pan-American Games

Abstract

While most equate Mexican Olympism with the 1968 Olympic Games, few know the drama of the event that laid its groundwork. From the creation of the Ministry of Public Education in 1921, cultural and military leaders heavily invested in sports infrastructure to help regenerate its rural masses, but by the 1940s, post-war modernizers sought the hosting of large international athletic events to boost its prestige, foment national pride, and prove to the world it was ready to springboard into modernity. This paper recounts the triumphs, betrayals, corruption, and politics of Pan-American sport and the Olympic movement in Mexico in the 1940s and 1950s that culminated in the improbable success of the 1955 Mexico City Pan-American Games.     

Exposing the dark side,an exploration of the influence social capital has upon parental sports volunteers

This study explored the influence social capital had over parental sports volunteers who are considered to be of paramount importance in the delivery of UK sports initiatives. A review of the relevant literature identifies and discusses the complexities within the debate to define social capital while human and cultural capital emerge as an essential element in the production of parental volunteers’ ability to access opportunities through a process of bonding or bridging social networks. This study used a grounded research focused on the use of semi-structured interviews and research diaries with (n = 8) study participants. The results from this study, which were analysed through a Bourdieuan perspective, suggested the process that recruits parental volunteers is exclusive; furthermore, the results show the insidious presences of the dark side of social capital, which affected the respondents by reinforcing exclusive ties and identities, which was found to exclude outsiders while reproducing a dominant social hierarchy. The paper concludes by considering the implications of the study for future practical and academic applications of social capital production within sports volunteerism.     

Elite wheelchair rugby: a quantitative analysis of chair configuration in Australia

Limited recommendations of wheelchair configurations for court sports have been identified in the published literature. To accommodate the wide range of impairments in wheelchair rugby, players are given a point score that reflects their impairment. Players have regularly been grouped as high-, mid-, or low-point players in research, with high-point players having greater levels of muscle function compared with other classifications. This research documented the wheelchair configurations of elite Australian wheelchair rugby players across classification groups. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were found for increased seat height and decreased seat depth for high-point players compared with low- and mid-point groups, respectively. Low-point players displayed reduced wheelchair mass compared with high- and mid-point players, as well as increased frame length. Camber angles showed no significant differences across the classification groups. The incorporation of anthropometric measures, such as the elbow angle at the top dead center, was also investigated. While elbow angle showed no significant differences, seat height-to-total arm length ratio was higher for high-point players. Participants also completed surveys detailing their perception of the effect of altering wheelchair configurations. It is suggested that wheelchair configurations should consider an individual’s anthropometrics, impairment, training history, and court role to promote optimal performance, with predictive modeling having the potential to reduce the associated time and cost.     

Alterations in autonomic cardiac modulation in response to normobaric hypoxia

Purpose: The present study aimed to determine if autonomic cardiac modulation was influenced by acute exposure to normobaric hypoxia. Method: Ten healthy male lowland dwellers completed five block-randomised single-blinded, crossed-over acute exposures to a normobaric hypoxic environment, each separated by 24 hours’ recovery (20.3%, 17.4%, 14.5%, 12.0% and 9.8% F_IO₂). Supine recordings were made of arterial oxygen saturation and electrocardiogram (ECG). RR intervals from the ECG trace were analysed for time (SDNN, lnrMSSD), frequency (lnVLF, lnLF, lnHF, lnTP, LFnu, and HFnu), and nonlinear (DFA-α1 and SampEn) heart rate variability components. Results: A significant reduction in arterial SaO₂ occurred with reduced F_IO₂, along with a rise in heart rate (Cohen’s d?=?1.16, 95% Confidence Interval [2.64–6.46]), significant at 9.8% F_IO₂. A decrease in autonomic cardiac modulation was also found as shown by a statistically significant (at 9.8% F_IO₂) decrease in lnTP (d?=?1.84 [1.74–1.94]), and SampEn (d?=?0.98 [0.83–1.12]) and an increase in DFA-α₁ (d?=?0.72 [0.60–0.84]) from normoxia at 9.8% F_IO₂. Conclusion: The decrease in variability indicated a reduction in autonomic cardiac modulation. There appears to be a threshold ～9.8% F_IO₂ (～6000?m equiv.), below which significant alterations in autonomic control occur.     

Avoiding Bias in Randomised Controlled Trials in Educational Research

Randomised controlled trials (RCTs) are often seen as the 'gold standard' of evaluative research. However, whilst randomisation will ensure comparable groups, trials are still vulnerable to a range of biases that can undermine their internal validity. In this paper we describe a number of common threats to the internal validity of RCTs and methods of countering them. We highlight a number of examples from randomised trials in education and health care where problems of execution and analysis of the RCT has undermined their internal validity. However, awareness of these potential biases can lead to careful planning to avoid or reduce their occurrence. If good quality randomised trials are to inform policy and practice in education then rigorous trials need to be designed that are the least susceptible to threats to their validity.