Development and validation of the Decision-Specific Reinvestment Scale

Abstract

Items from the Reinvestment Scale were modified to create a decision-specific version of the scale. Principal components analysis of responses from 165 participants revealed one-, two-, three-, and four-factor solutions for the Decision-Specific Reinvestment Scale. Confirmatory factor analysis of responses from a second sample of 111 participants revealed that a 13-item two-factor solution showed the best fit. The first factor comprised six items referring to conscious monitoring of the process involved in making a decision, and was termed decision reinvestment. The second factor, decision rumination, comprised seven items related to focus on negative evaluations of previous poor decisions. In an initial assessment of predictive validity, Decision-Specific Reinvestment Scale scores of 59 skilled team sport players were found to be highly correlated with coaches' ratings of players' tendency to choke under pressure (r = 0.74), with high Decision-Specific Reinvestment Scale scores indicating greater susceptibility to poor decision-making under pressure. It was concluded that the Decision-Specific Reinvestment Scale highlights a performer's predisposition to engage in behaviours detrimental to performance under pressure, namely decision reinvestment and decision rumination.     

The Construct and Concurrent Validity of a 12-Minute Crawl Stroke Swim as a Field Test of Swimming Endurance

This study investigated the construct and concurrent validity of a 12-minute crawl stroke swim as a field test of swimming endurance. A sample of 42 male college students who ranged from certified life savers to competitive swimmers were administered three tests. The first, a multistage swimming endurance test, required that a tethered subject swim to exhaustion under a linear progressive increase in workload. The second measure was the crawl stroke count for two lengths of a 25-yard pool. The third test was a 12-minute crawl stroke swim for distance with total distance and distance covered each minute recorded for each subject. Alpha factor analysis of the 12 minute intervals of the crawl stroke swim produced one factor which demonstrated that swimming performance was internally consistent during the 12-minute swim. There was a correlation of .898 (p < .01) between the 12-minute swim and the tethered swim test. Cross validity procedures demonstrated a high degree of stability for the correlation between the 12-minute swim and the tethered swim and for resulting regression statistics. The construct validity was established for both the multistage test and the 12-minute swim using the known groups approach. On the basis of the data the 12-minute swim is a valid field test for swimming endurance for the population studied.     

Baumgartner's Modified Pull-Up Test For Male and Female Elementary School Aged Children

Abstract

Nineteen college men and women (aged 18–23 yrs, × = 21.1) were studied to ascertain the force-time components of a rapid maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVC) for ankle dorsiflexors, knee extensors, elbow flexors, wrist flexors and hand grip. Standardized isometric strength testing protocol was used. After a practice period subjects were instructed to make an MVC without jerking and as quickly as possible, for each of the muscle actions noted above. Force readings were taken from a load cell assembly through an analogue-to-digital converter and analyzed to yield time values for MVC, 3/4 MVC, 1/2 MVC, and 1/4 MVC. The results indicated significant differences (p < .01) between the responses of the men and women, with the women reaching full MVC more rapidly than the men. Also, there were significant differences among the five muscle groups tested, with the wrist flexor muscle group developing MVC most quickly, while the knee extensors took the longest time to full MVC. Based upon these data it may be concluded that the time to full MVC differs between men and women, and also that the time to full MVC differs among the five muscle groups tested in this experiment.     

Recovery from sexual satiety in male rats

In order to describe more completely the time course of recovery from sexual satiety in male rats, 18 males were tested after each of six recovery intervals: 3, 6, 9, 11, 13, and 15 days. Different recovery rates were found for different measures of behavior. While most measures were restored to baseline levels by 6 days following satiation, the postejaculatory interval following the second ejaculation was still prolonged after 9 days of rest. No changes were seen in the number of intromissions preceding ejaculation. Systematic changes over the course of the experiment were found in the measures of copulatory behavior taken in the sessions that preceded each recovery test.     

Library development in Swaziland

Collaboration practices vary greatly per scientific area and discipline and influence the scientific performance and its scholarly communication. In this study, the collaborative pattern of the Information Retrieval (IR) research field is analyzed using co-authored articles retrieved from Social Science Citation Index for a period of 11 years from 1987 to 1997. The level of collaboration, journal collaborative distribution, disciplinary collaborative distribution and country collaboration are probed according to IR collaborative research. Findings are discussed from the above perspectives in detail. In particular, this study reveals a perceptible upward trend of collaborative IR research with the results of these research efforts being reported in all major core IR journals. The inter-disciplinary and intra-disciplinary scholarly communications in collaborative researches are very much in evidence and cover broad areas like psychology, and computer and medical sciences, respectively.