Repeatability of scores on a novel test of endurance running performance

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to determine the repeatability of a running endurance test using an automated treadmill system that requires no manual input to control running speed. On three separate occasions, 7 days apart, 10 experienced male endurance-trained runners (mean age 32 years, s = 10; [Vdot]O_2peak 61 ml · kg^?1 · min^?1, s = 7) completed a treadmill time trial, in which they were instructed to run as far as possible in 60 min. The treadmill was instrumented with an ultrasonic feedback-controlled radar modulator that spontaneously regulated treadmill belt speed corresponding to the changing running speed of each runner. Estimated running intensity was 70%[Vdot]O_2peak (s = 11) and the distance covered 13.5 km (s = 2), with no difference in mean performances between trials. The coefficient of variation, estimated using analysis of variance, with participant and trial as main effects, was 1.4%. In summary, the use of an automated treadmill system improved the repeatability of a 60-min treadmill time trial compared with time trials in which speed is controlled manually. The present protocol is a reliable method of assessing endurance performance in endurance-trained runners.     

The Effects of Experience on the Detection and Location of Performance Differences in a Gymnastic Technique

Abstract

Four hundred male subjects between the ages of 8 and 83 were measured for reaction time and movement time. A statistical analysis of the data permits the conclusion that reaction time and movement time are significantly related.     

The Prosocial and Antisocial Behaviour in Sport Scale: Further evidence for construct validity and reliability

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to provide further evidence for the construct validity (i.e., convergent, concurrent, and discriminant validity) of the Prosocial and Antisocial Behaviour in Sport Scale (PABSS), an instrument that has four subscales measuring prosocial and antisocial behaviour toward teammates and opponents. We also investigated test-retest reliability and stability of the PABSS. We conducted three studies using athletes from a variety of team sports. In Study 1, participants (N = 129) completed the PABSS and measures of physical and verbal aggression, hostility, anger, moral identity, and empathy; a sub-sample (n = 111) also completed the PABSS one week later. In Study 2, in addition to the PABSS, participants (N = 89) completed measures of competitive aggressiveness and anger, moral attitudes, moral disengagement, goal orientation, and anxiety. In Study 3, participants (N = 307) completed the PABSS and a measure of social goals. Across the three studies, the four subscales evidenced the hypothesised relationships with a number of variables. Correlations were large between the two antisocial behaviours and small between the two prosocial behaviours. Overall, the findings supported the convergent, concurrent, and discriminant validity of the scale, provided evidence for its test-retest reliability and stability, and suggest that the instrument is a valid and reliable measure of prosocial and antisocial behaviour in sport.     

Markers of isometric training intensity and reductions in resting blood pressure

Abstract

In this study, we examined the correlations between selected markers of isometric training intensity and subsequent reductions in resting blood pressure. Thirteen participants performed a discontinuous incremental isometric exercise test to volitional exhaustion at which point mean torque for the final 2-min stage (2min-torque_peak) and peak heart rate peak (HR_peak) were identified. Also, during 4 weeks of training (3 sessions per week, comprising 4 × 2 min bilateral leg isometric exercise at 95% HR_peak), heart rate (HR_train), torque (Torque_train), and changes in EMG amplitude (ΔEMG_amp) and frequency (ΔEMG_freq) were determined. The markers of training intensity were: Torque_train relative to the 2min-torque_peak (%2min-torque_peak), EMG relative to EMG_peak (%EMG_peak), HR_train ΔEMG_amp, ΔEMG_freq, and %MVC. Mean systolic (?4.9 mmHg) and arterial blood pressure (?2.7mmHg) reductions correlated with %2min-torque_peak (r = ?0.65, P = 0.02 and r = ?0.59, P = 0.03), ΔEMG_amp (r = 0.66, P = 0.01 and r = 0.59, P = 0.03), ΔEMG_freq (r = ?0.67, P = 0.01 and r = ?0.64, P = 0.02), and %EMG_peak (systolic blood pressure only; r = ?0.63, P = 0.02). These markers best reflect the association between isometric training intensity and reduction in resting blood pressure observed after bilateral leg isometric exercise training.     

In search of invariant athletic behaviour in sport: An example from championship squash match‐play

Analysis of competitive sport performance from a priori observation is frequently used to prepare an athlete for a future contest. This practice necessarily assumes that the observed athletic behaviours are invariant, in that the data from an earlier contest apply to the next. We report different analyses of championship squash matches from 1987 and 1988 in search of such invariance and thus a general signature of athletic behaviour. The results show that once the preceding condition to an athletic response (shot) becomes more detailed, by either accounting for where on court the previous shot was played to, or by pairing the previous shot with its own antecedent, the corresponding response becomes more predictable (P > 0.25). This is especially the case for a squash champion when the forehand and backhand characteristics of his shot response are accounted for. The finding that the champion is more consistent if his forehand and backhand shot responses to a preceding shot are analysed separately, shows that the level of analytic detail is an important consideration if the derived information from sport analysis is to prepare an athlete reliably for future sport competition. Finally, we consider sport competition from an ecological perspective with regard to the natural organization and stability of non‐linear systems in an attempt to explain the empirical data.     

Analysis and modification of verbal coaching behaviour: The usefulness of a data‐driven intervention strategy

This study tested a computer‐aided coaching analysis instrument (CAI) as part of an intervention strategy designed to modify verbal coaching behaviour. Four coaches were observed and analysed over 12 practice sessions. Coaches A, B and C received intervention feedback through CAI data, where selected behaviours were highlighted for discussion, and videotape images were used to illustrate discussion points. Coach D was provided with videotapes of his own performance and told to formulate and implement any of his own recommendations. The CAI data are primarily quantitative, so target values were created for the different dimensions of verbal behaviour. This benefited the coaches in interpreting their effectiveness and provided a reference to evaluate the magnitude of change. Written journals and audiotape recordings were also used to promote insight into the complexity of verbal behaviour and the ‘human factors’ (e.g. relationship with players, attitude to researcher) that affect behaviour modification.

Instructional effectiveness was assessed by time‐series analysis. There was evidence from each behaviour dimension that change can occur and be maintained as a result of exposure to the CAI intervention strategy. However, this is clearly contingent upon the coach understanding what is asked of him or her, and remains focused and committed to changing these particular behaviours. The analysis of Coach D's behavioural change suggests there are limitations to the sensitivity of discretionary viewing, as only two dimensions of behaviour were identified for, and resulted in, positive change. The results of this study provide support for Locke's (1984) contention that behaviour modification can occur by using data as direct feedback, as reinforcement and as information in the form of recommendations. However, the study also illuminates several factors that can negate the modification and maintenance of verbal coaching behaviour.     

Children's Perception of Proportion in Graphs

Children ranging in age from 9 to 13 years made judgments of proportion with a variety of graphical elements in 2 experiments. Younger children can be misled by irrelevant dimensions of objects used to portray magnitudes and proportions, but older children make their judgments like adults, ignoring or accommodating the extra dimensions. Although the psychophysical function for older children and adults is approximately linear, closer inspection reveals a complex pattern of bias that is not captured by traditional psychophysical models. A characteristic pattern of over- and underestimation was observed and also turns out to be present, but previously unnoticed, in judgments made by adults. The pattern of bias is consistent with the view that the visual system extracts real or virtual axes of symmetry and that subjects use these, in addition to the object boundaries, as points of reference when making their judgments. A model that assumes repulsion of judgments away from these reference points is described and fitted to the children's data. The model is motivated by both neurophysiological and cognitive considerations.     

Picturing global educational inclusion? Looking and thinking across students’ photographs from the UK,Zambia and Indonesia

Over the last few years we have engaged children and young people in participatory photography projects in a diverse range of international contexts. The projects, diverse as they are, have been school-based and primarily focused on students' experiences of educational inclusion/exclusion. Photographs taken by students can stimulate conversations in which different perspectives are shared and considered. Whilst this process is meaningful within a local context, it is also compelling to reflect more widely on what children and young people's photographs and commentary (and through these their interpretations of their educational experiences) have to tell and, indeed, show us about educational inclusion globally. In this paper, we begin by explaining what we mean by the term 'educational inclusion', and consider what methodological relevance the participatory photography has for engaging in research with children and young people about their educational experiences. We then briefly describe the contexts of the projects this paper draws on, which took place in the UK, Zambia and Indonesia. In the main body of the paper, we will look across these international projects and consider a selection of students' photographs and interpretations in relation to several broad themes about educational inclusion which they suggest.