Serious leisure: the sport of target shooting and leisure satisfaction

This study is designed to identify the underlying satisfaction dimensions gained through engagement in target shooting as a serious leisure pastime. The instrument design was based on the Leisure Satisfaction Scale. A total of 5502 useable surveys were collected through the Internet and a website related to target shooting and gun ownership. The results revealed eight dimensions: self-actualization, social interaction, location aesthetic, respite, physical benefit, connection and hedonic pleasure, which supplied the primary satisfiers of engaging in target shooting as a serious leisure activity. The demographic profile and dimensions of satisfaction may serve to dispel commonly held stereotypes of shooting hobbyists and those involved in gun ownership. The findings have important implications for leisure researchers and practitioners, to industry, both leisure and firearm related, and the target shooting community at large. This study adds to the literature of both target shooting and serious leisure.     

Incremental training intensities increases loads on the lower back of elite female rowers

Lumbar-pelvic kinematics change in response to increasing rowing stroke rates, but little is known about the effect of incremental stroke rates on changes in joint kinetics and their implications for injury. The purpose of this study was to quantify the effects of incremental rowing intensities on lower limb and lumbar-pelvic kinetics. Twelve female rowers performed an incremental test on a rowing ergometer. Kinematic data of rowers’ ankle, knee, hip and lumbar-pelvic joints, as well as external forces at the handle, seat and foot-stretchers of the rowing machine were recorded. Inter-segmental moments and forces were calculated using inverse dynamics and were compared across stroke rates using repeated measures ANOVA. Rowers exhibited increases in peak ankle and L5/S1 extensor moments, reductions in peak knee moments and no change in peak hip moments, with respect to stroke rate. Large shear and compressive forces were seen at L5/S1 and increased with stroke rate (P < 0.05). This coincided with increased levels of lumbar-pelvic flexion. High levels of lumbar-pelvic loading at higher stroke rates have implications with respect to injury and indicated that technique was declining, leading to increased lumbar-pelvic flexion. Such changes are not advantageous to performance and can potentially increase the risk of developing injuries.     

Undergraduates' personal and social problems and their appropriateness for discussion with a counsellor in a Nigerian university

An instrument, Student Survey Questionnaire, assessed the appropriateness of students' social and personal problems for discussion with a counsellor. It was hypothesized that there would be no significant relationship between the social and personal problems of students and the appropriateness of the problems for discussion with a counsellor. It was tested using a 2×5 chi square contingency table of non-admission or admission of problems against five appropriateness levels. The result showed a significant relationship: the more problems the students admit the more they want to discuss them. Most of the students who admitted they have personal and social problems saw these problems as appropriate for discussion with a counsellor.     

Exploring the everyday realities of grass-roots football coaching: towards a relational perspective

While scholars have increasingly engaged with the (micro)political and emotional experiences of coaches in professional and semi-professional football, little attention has been given to grass-roots coaches’ understandings of these issues. The aim of this paper is to outline one possible research agenda that could contribute to the development of a rich and increasingly nuanced understanding of the everyday realities of being a grass-roots football coach. In particular, we consider (volunteer) coaches’ participation in grass-roots football to be an inherently relational endeavour. Following the presentation of a creative fiction that is based upon our shared experiences of being grass-roots football coaches, we then illustrate how relational thinking might be productively applied to exploring the social, (micro)political and emotional features of grass-roots football coaching.     

Effects of coffee and caffeine anhydrous on strength and sprint performance

Caffeine and coffee are widely used among active individuals to enhance performance. The purpose of the current study was to compare the effects of acute coffee (COF) and caffeine anhydrous (CAF) intake on strength and sprint performance. Fifty-four resistance-trained males completed strength testing, consisting of one-rep max (1RM) and repetitions to fatigue (RTF) at 80% of 1RM for leg press (LP) and bench press (BP). Participants then completed five, 10-second cycle ergometer sprints separated by one minute of rest. Peak power (PP) and total work (TW) were recorded for each sprint. At least 48 hours later, participants returned and ingested a beverage containing CAF (300?mg flat dose; yielding 3–5?mg/kg bodyweight), COF (8.9?g; 303?mg caffeine), or placebo (PLA; 3.8?g non-caloric flavouring) 30 minutes before testing. LP 1RM was improved more by COF than CAF (p?=?.04), but not PLA (p?=?.99). Significant interactions were not observed for BP 1RM, BP RTF, or LP RTF (p?>?.05). There were no sprint?×?treatment interactions for PP or TW (p?>?.05). 95% confidence intervals revealed a significant improvement in sprint 1 TW for CAF, but not COF or PLA. For PLA, significant reductions were observed in sprint 4 PP, sprint 2 TW, sprint 4 TW, and average TW; significant reductions were not observed with CAF or COF. Neither COF nor CAF improved strength outcomes more than PLA, while both groups attenuated sprint power reductions to a similar degree. Coffee and caffeine anhydrous may be considered suitable pre-exercise caffeine sources for high-intensity exercise.     

Measurement precision of body composition variables in elite wheelchair athletes,using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry

The purpose of this study was to assess the reproducibility of body composition measurements by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in 12 elite male wheelchair basketball players (age 31 ± 7 years, BMI 21 ± 2 kg/m² and onset of disability 25 ± 9 years). Two whole body scans were performed on each participant in the supine position on the same day, using Lunar Prodigy Advance DXA (GE Lunar, Madison, WI, USA). Participants dismounted from the scanning table and were repositioned in-between the first and second scan. Whole body coefficient of variation (CV) values for bone mineral content (BMC), fat mass (FM) and soft tissue lean mass (LTM) were all <2.0%. With the exclusion of arm FM (CV = 7.8%), CV values ranged from 0.1 to 3.7% for all total body and segmental measurements of BMC, FM and LTM. The least significant change that can be attributed to the effect of treatment intervention in an individual is 1.0 kg, 1.1 kg, 0.12 kg for FM, LTM, and BMC, respectively. This information can be used to determine meaningful changes in body composition when assessed using the same methods longitudinally. Whilst there may be challenges in the correct positioning of an individual with disability that can introduce greater measurement error, DXA is a highly reproducible technique in the estimation of total and regional body composition of elite wheelchair basketball athletes.     

Provider documentation of patient education: a lean investigation

Purpose

The study evaluates how providers give patient education materials and identifies improvements to comply with Meaningful Use (MU) requirements.

Methods

Thirty-eight patient-provider interactions in two health care outpatient clinics were observed.

Results

Providers do not uniformly know MU patient education requirements. Providers have individual preferences and find gaps in what is available. Accessing and documenting patient education varies among providers. Embedded electronic health record (EHR) materials, while available, have technical access barriers.

Conclusions

Providers'' EHR skills and knowledge levels contribute to non-standardized patient education delivery.     

Education,Welfare Reform and Psychological Well-Being: A Critical Psychology Perspective

There are established links between education and well-being, and between poverty and education. This article draws on interviews with parents of school-aged children impacted by a policy in the UK commonly referred to as the ‘bedroom tax’. A critical psychology perspective to education is put forward, acknowledging the complex interrelationships between psychological well-being, sociopolitical factors and education.     

The Nature–Nurture Question: Teachers’ perceptions of how genes and the environment influence educationally relevant behaviour

Despite a substantial body of research suggesting genetic influence on educationally relevant behavioural traits, it is not clear how the nature–nurture question is perceived by teachers. In order to answer this question, we surveyed 667 UK primary school teachers, and for comparison also surveyed 1,340 parents about their perceptions of genetic and environmental influence on personality, intelligence, behaviour problems, learning difficulties, and mental illness. For these five domains of behaviour, the percentages of teachers who reported that genetics were at least as important as environment were .87, .94, .43, .94, and .91, respectively. Results for parents were similar (.92, .93, .54, .86, and .89). We also found that 80% of teachers reported no coverage of genetics during teacher training.