Effect of different loading conditions on running mechanics at different velocities

Weighted vests are widely used to improve running economy and performance. However, it is not well-studied how running mechanics are adapted to counteract the higher peak vertical ground reaction forces (Fpeak) while running with such a device. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of different loading conditions on running mechanics at different velocities. Thirteen subjects participated in two separate sessions one week apart. In the first session, maximal aerobic speed (MAS) was determined through a maximal incremental running test while in the second session, they were instructed to run during one minute under different loading (0%, +10% and +20% of body mass [BM]) and velocity (60%, 80% and 100% of MAS) conditions in a random order. Spatiotemporal data were recorded and then running mechanics modelled using the spring-mass model. The main results indicated that vertical and leg stiffness (Kvert and Kleg, respectively) were increased (P?P?>?.05) when load was changed. At the same time, alterations of the running kinematics were observed such as longer contact times, reduced flight times, stride frequencies and step lengths, as well as an increase of the centre of mass dynamics. Based on these results it is assumed that runners maintain a certain stiffness level for each velocity despite different loading conditions. As a consequence, Fpeak increases and this probably causes spatiotemporal adjustments in the movement kinematics.     

The Impact of an Erasmus Placement in Students’ Perception of their Intercultural Communicative Competence

Pre- and post-questionnaires answered by UK Nottingham Trent University (NTU) and Spain’s University of Salamanca (USAL) students on their placement abroad support a comparative analysis of its impact on their intercultural communicative competence, comprising the awareness, attitude, skills and knowledge dimensions. NTU students started their placements with better results in them all. Yet, while both groups completed their stay with a similarly increased awareness, the knowledge and skills of the USAL group matched the results of NTU students and, whereas the scores of the attitude dimension towards the host country of NTU students did not increase significantly, those of USAL students decreased.     

Between Tradition and Change: Hunting as Metaphor and Symbol in State Socialist Hungary

Through the historic metaphor of hunting the essay examines the lifestyle of the dominant elites of Hungary between 1945 and 1990 on the basis of archival documents, private records, and oral history interviews. The analysis emphasizes the fact that there were interactions between the old, prewar aristocracy and the new state socialist elites. The co-incidence of lifestyles can be viewed through the lens of social and cultural change: new elements hit against the old, shaping and dissolving old behavioural patterns. The article analyses hunting in the contexts of social differentiation and social grouping. Using semiotics the author shows how, even during the era of state socialism, power and social distinctions were articulated on the level of lifestyles, and transmitted via the social, semiotic function of behaviours, patterns of taste, and forms of interaction. Thus, hunting evolved into a metaphor over time in Hungary: it was not only an indispensable part of the everyday life of the elite, but also became a symbol for belonging to it.     

Understanding Leadership in Major Sporting Events: The Case of the 2005 World Aquatics Championships

The purpose of this paper was to begin understanding leadership within a major sporting event. A case study of the 2005 Fédération Internationale de Natation (FINA) World Aquatics Championships was built by means of interviews and archival material, using a multi-stakeholder perspective. Findings highlighted that core elements of upper-management level leadership in events were best described by the multiple-linkage leadership theory, which includes task commitment, ability and role clarity, work organization, cooperation and mutual trust, resources and support, and external coordination as the six intervening variables. While charismatic and transformational leadership styles surfaced as contributing to the overall success of an event, the multiple-linkage leadership theory offered a more comprehensive understanding of leadership in major sporting events from a multi-stakeholder perspective.     

How should cultural diversity be measured? An application using the French publishing industry

Despite the lack of a clear definition of the concept, “cultural diversity” has remained a core issue for more than a decade (WTO, UNESCO, etc.). The aim of this paper is to begin to fill this gap. We argue that cultural diversity is a multi-dimensional concept and that accurate metrics must rely on three criteria: variety, balance and disparity. We also stress that supplied and consumed diversity have to be distinguished. We apply this set of multiple measures of diversity to publishing data for France over the period 1990–2003. Our main result is that the situation of the publishing industry in terms of cultural diversity is highly dependent on the dimension considered. Hence, diversity increases when variety is the sole consideration, whereas taking balance or disparity into account leads to the opposite conclusion. This issue raises a series of questions about the use of diversity measures in a policy debate concerned with furthering cultural diversity.

A season-long team-building intervention: examining the effect of team goal setting on cohesion

The purpose of the current study was to determine whether the implementation of a season-long team-building intervention program using team goal setting increased perceptions of cohesion. The participants were 86 female high school basketball players from 8 teams. The teams were randomly assigned to either an experimental team goal-setting or control condition. Each participant completed the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ; Carron, Brawley, & Widmeyer, 2002; Carron, Widmeyer, & Brawley, 1985), which assessed cohesion at both the beginning and end of the season. Overall, the results revealed a significant multivariate effect, Pillai's trace F(12, 438) = 2.68, p = .002. Post hoc analyses showed that at the beginning of the season, athletes from both conditions did not differ in their perceptions of cohesion. However, at the end of the season, athletes in the team goal-setting condition held higher perceptions of cohesion than athletes in the control condition. Overall, the results indicated that team goal setting was an effective team-building tool for influencing cohesiveness in sport teams.