The Evidence Regarding Exercise Training in the Management of Cystic Fibrosis: A Systematic Review

Purpose: To conduct a systematic review of the evidence regarding the efficacy of exercise training in the management of cystic fibrosis (CF).Methods: Articles were found by searching PEDRO, MEDLINE, and CINAHL databases. Included articles involved exercise-related interventions for long-term adaptations (ie, not acute effects of exercise). Articles were excluded if the language was other than English or if other non-exercise interventions were used. Date of publication was not a factor for exclusion. Two independent reviewers evaluated the included articles using Sackett''s levels of evidence and select scoring criteria.Results: Twelve articles were eligible for inclusion. Interventions studied included various aspects of exercise training: anaerobic, aerobic, or resistance training. Study end-points included pulmonary function, aerobic capacity, strength, and health-related quality of life (HRQL).Conclusions: Exercise training in individuals with CF is beneficial, with aerobic and resistance training having the greatest support in the literature for improved aerobic capacity and strength, respectively. Exercise training does not appear to have an effect of improving pulmonary function, but may have a preservation effect. Strong conclusions about improvement in HQRL from exercise training cannot be made. However, greater consistency in measuring this outcome is needed in future trials. There is a paucity of evidence regarding the role of exercise training in reducing hospitalization and health care utilization, and questions raised by this review should be considered in the design of future trials.Key Words: cystic fibrosis, aerobic exercise, review     

Different centre of pressure patterns within the golf stroke I: Cluster analysis

Weight transfer research in the golf swing has produced conflicting and inconclusive results. A limitation of previous studies is the assumption that only one swing "style" exists within the golf swing. If different styles, or movement strategies, exist and if the different styles are analysed together in a single group, statistical errors will result. The aim of this study was to determine if different weight transfer styles exist in the golf swing by applying cluster analysis to centre of pressure (CP) patterns in the direction of hit (CPy) and to evaluate cluster analysis issues. Sixty-two professional to high handicap golfers performed simulated drives, hitting a golf ball into a net, while standing on two force plates. Centre of pressure position relative to the feet (CPy%) was quantified at eight swing events identified from 200-Hz video. Cluster analysis identified two major CPy% styles: a "Front Foot" style and a "Reverse" style. Both styles began with CPy% positioned evenly between the feet, moved to the back foot during backswing, and then forward during early downswing. Beyond early downswing, the Front Foot group continued to move CPy% to the Front Foot through to ball contact, while the Reverse group moved CPy% towards the back foot through ball contact and follow-through. Both weight transfer styles were evident across skill levels from professional to high handicap golfers, indicating that neither style was a technical error. Cluster analysis should include hierarchical and non-hierarchical clustering and use objective measures combined with theoretical assessment to determine the optimal number of clusters. Furthermore, a number of validation procedures should always be used to validate the solution.     

Animalympics,Or How I Became a Sport Scholar

Abstract

While at first unintentional, the author’s path to becoming a sport historian has incorporated her academic trajectory of sport and German/European history along with working in the sport industry. These experiences have benefited both her scholarly research and her teaching and experiential learning opportunities for students in sport management programs.     

Aspiration and Reflection: Sport Historians on Sport History

Abstract

Following the series of Presidential Forum conversation pieces instigated by Kevin Wamsley on the NASSH website, this piece places the context of the collection of comments and criticisms by 29 contributors to this special issue on sport historians reflecting on the field of sport history.     

Sink or Swim: Learning by Doing in a Supply Chain Integration Activity*

Studies show that supply chain integration (SCI) is important to organizations. This article describes an activity that places students in the middle of an SCI scenario. The highly interactive hands‐on simulation requires only 50 to 60 minutes of classroom time, may be used with 18 to about 36 students, and involves minimal instructor preparation. Through the activity, students learn the basics of SCI and then analyze an SCI event to better appreciate the need for collaboration and information sharing. In courses that address supply chain management, instructors can use the activity early in the semester to introduce students to the complexities of supply chain networks. Alternatively, instructors may use the simulation later to provoke a more nuanced discussion.     

Training from cradle to grave? Social justice and training for people with learning difficulties

In this paper we question whether the radical change in the life situation of people with learning difficulties triggered by the closure of long‐stay hospitals does in fact represent an adequate inclusion into civil society or whether people with learning difficulties continue to experience strong exclusionary tendencies. We will explore the implications of a range of contemporary social justice theories for people with learning difficulties and examine the justice inherent in arrangements for training people with learning difficulties made by Local Enterprise Companies (LECs). We argue that training may be seen as a crucible of social values since its distribution transmits powerful messages about who is considered salvageable or unsalvageable, who is likely to become economically active and who is to be consigned to some special status of otherness. Finally, we consider what conceptualizations of social justice might hold out most hope for people with learning difficulties.     

Validation of a stages of exercise change questionnaire

The purpose of this study was to examine evidence for the validity of a stages of change measure of the Transtheoretical Model for exercise behavior. Participants were 152 university students (53.3% women, 71.6% Caucasian, M age = 19.18 years) who completed processes of change, self-efficacy, decisional balance, stages of change, and exercise behavior questionnaires as well as a maximal treadmill test. Participants in the action and maintenance stages had the highest strenuous (PC/C/P < A/M) and moderate (PC/C < A/M) self-reported exercise behavior. Those in the maintenance stage had the highest estimated aerobic fitness (PC/P < MA). The differences between the early stages (PC, C, and P) and the later stages (A and M) as described by the first function were primarily due to the behavioral process of change. The differences between the extreme stages (PC and M) and the middle stages (C, P, and A) were due to the experiential processes of change and the pros of decisional balance. The hypothesized patterns of stage differences were partially supported. Failure to obtain full support may have been due to methodological issues or inherent difficulties in detecting evidence for the validity of stages of change measures.