Futures education for the gifted

Futures education is an important area for educators of the gifted who are interested in leadership potential for it develops those skills which students can use to meet the issues and challenges of today's and tomorrow's world.     

The relationship between shoulder alignment and elbow joint angle in cricket fast-medium bowlers

The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between shoulder alignment and elbow angle during the delivery action of fast-medium bowlers. The elbow and upper trunk alignment were recorded for 13 high-performance bowlers (mean age 20 years) using a 12-camera Vicon motion analysis system operating at 250 Hz. The three highest velocity trials for "good" and "short" length deliveries were analysed. Results showed that bowlers with a more front-on shoulder alignment at back-foot impact and when the upper arm was horizontal to the ground experienced a significantly greater elbow flexion--extension range when compared with those who had a more side-on orientation at the same point in the delivery action. Bowlers with greater shoulder counter-rotation also recorded higher elbow flexion and subsequently extension during the period from upper arm horizontal to ball release. Shoulder alignment and elbow angles were similar for "short" and "good" length deliveries. It was concluded that bowlers with a more front-on shoulder orientation at back-foot impact demonstrated a higher elbow extension from upper arm horizontal to ball release and are therefore more likely to infringe International Cricket Council elbow tolerance levels, compared with those who adopt a more side-on shoulder orientation at back-foot impact.     

The penalty throw in water polo: a cinematographic analysis

Three-dimensional (3-D) high-speed cinematography was used to record the penalty throw in water polo by six elite male (M) and six elite female (F) players. The direct linear transformation technique (DLT) was used in the 3-D space reconstruction from 2-D images recorded via laterally placed phase-locked cameras operating at 200 Hz. Five of the twelve subjects lifted the ball from underneath at the start of the throw whilst the remaining subjects opted for a rotation lift. As the ball was brought behind the head the females used very little hip and shoulder rotation compared to the male players so that four of the six female subjects were square on to the target at the rear point. At the completion of the backswing the wrist was flexed to a similar angle (M-162 degrees; F-158 degrees); the elbow angle showed significantly greater flexion for females (85 degrees) than males (107 degrees). During the forward swing, from rear point to release, the wrist joint of the female players flexed from a rear point angle of 158 degrees to 148 degrees at release. The wrist movement for male subjects was different from the females in that it flexed from 162 degrees to 147 degrees, 0.10 s prior to release and then extended to 159 degrees at palmar release before again flexing to 156 degrees at release. The amount of elbow extension during the forward swing was 48 degrees for both groups; however, the females actually released the ball with the forearm vertical (89 degrees) compared to the male forearm angle of 78 degrees. Maximum angular velocity of the wrist and elbow occurred at release for 9 of the 12 subjects. Both the wrist and elbow joints (F-148 degrees; M-156 degrees at wrist and F-126 degrees; M-148 degrees at elbow) demonstrated greater flexion at release in female subjects, compared with males. Maximum linear endpoint velocities for the forearm and hand segments occurred at ball release resulting in mean ball velocities of 19.1 m s-1 and 14.7 m s-1 for male and female subjects respectively.