Tribute to Dr Jacques Rogge: muscle activity and fatigue during hiking in Olympic dinghy sailing

‘A tribute to Dr J. Rogge’ aims to systematically review muscle activity and muscle fatigue during sustained submaximal quasi-isometric knee extension exercise (hiking) related to Olympic dinghy sailing as a tribute to Dr Rogge’s merits in the world of sports. Dr Jacques Rogge is not only the former President of the International Olympic Committee, he was also an orthopaedic surgeon and a keen sailor, competing at three Olympic Games. In 1972, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master in Sports Medicine, he was the first who studied a sailors’ muscle activity by means of invasive needle electromyography (EMG) during a specific sailing technique (hiking) on a self-constructed sailing ergometer. Hiking is a bilateral and multi-joint submaximal quasi-isometric movement which dinghy sailors use to optimize boat speed and to prevent the boat from capsizing. Large stresses are generated in the anterior muscles that cross the knee and hip joint, mainly employing the quadriceps at an intensity of 30–40% maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), sometimes exceeding 100% MVC. Better sailing level is partially determined by a lower rate of neuromuscular fatigue during hiking and for ≈60% predicted by a higher maximal isometric quadriceps strength. Although useful in exercise testing, prediction of hiking endurance capacity based on the changes in surface EMG in thigh and trunk muscles during a hiking maintenance task is not reliable. This could probably be explained by the varying exercise intensity and joint angles, and the great number of muscles and joints involved in hiking.

Highlights

• Dr Jacques Rogge, former president of the International Olympic Committee and Olympic Finn sailor, was the first to study muscle activity during sailing using invasive needle EMG to obtain his Master degree in Sports Medicine at the Ghent University.

• Hiking is a critical bilateral and multi-joint movement during dinghy racing, accounting for >60% of the total upwind leg time. Hiking generates large stresses in the anterior muscles that cross the knee and hip joint.

• Hiking is considered as a quasi-isometric bilateral knee extension exercise. Muscle activity measurements during sailing, recorded by means of EMG, show a mean contraction intensity of 30-40% maximal voluntary contraction with peaks exceeding 100%.

• Hiking performance is strongly related to the development of neuromuscular fatigue in the quadriceps muscle. Since maximal strength is an important determinant of neuromuscular fatigue during hiking, combined strength and endurance training should be incorporated in the training program of dinghy sailors.

     

Manpower needs in rural school psychology

The majority of unserved and underserved handicapped children live in rural America (Sher, 1978). One obstacle to serving these children is a lack of qualified staff (Helge, 1981). The turnover rates for rural and urban school psychologists in Virginia were determined for the years 1977–78 through 1979–80: the rate for rurai school psychologists is four times the rate for urban school psychologists (p<.001). Rural school psychologists who terminated employment and rural school psychologists who remained were surveyed on selected background variables in 1981. School psychologists who remained were much more likely than those who left to have been raised in a nonurban community. Implications for training programs are discussed.     

Parents as cotherapists in think aloud

Results of two case studies in which parents served as cotherapists in a social cognitive problem-solving program are presented. Larry, nine years old, was referred due to distractibility, immaturity, and impulsivity. Robert, eight years old, was referred for aggressive behaviors. Training occurred once a week for 50 minutes for 17 weeks for Larry and for 15 weeks for Robert. Parents were included in training in an effort to promote generalization and transfer of training outcomes. The parents' role included cognitive modeling, reinforcing, providing problem situations from the prior week, and extending training through generalization tasks at home. The following dependent measures were obtained in a pre-post design: Conners Teacher and Parent Rating Scales, Sociometric measures, WISC-R Mazes and Block Design, tests of consequential and means-end thinking, and observations of task-relevant and irrelevant self-verbalizations during Mazes and Block Design: Treatment effects were found for both boys on the parent and teacher versions of the Conners questionnaire. Larry improved in task relevant self-verbalizations, Mazes performance, and consequential and means-end thinking, but he did not improve on the sociometric measures. Robert improved on the sociometric measures, but not on task-relevant self-verbalizations, Mazes, Block Design, or consequential or means-end thinking. While these results are encouraging, limitations of the study limit generalizability of findings. Studies of the long-term benefits of training are needed to determine the cost effectiveness of incorporating parents as cotherapists in social cognitive problem-solving therapy.     

The Innovative School: Organization and Instruction

Researchers in the area of educational effectiveness should attempt to develop a new theoretical framework. A critical analysis of the current models of educational effectiveness research is provided and reveals that a dynamic model of effectiveness must: (a) be multilevel in nature, (b) be based on the assumption that the relation of some effectiveness factors with achievement may be curvilinear, (c) illustrate the dimensions upon which the measurement of each effectiveness factor should be based, and (d) define relations among the effectiveness factors. In principle, each factor that refers to the classroom, school, and system, can be measured by taking into account five dimensions: frequency, focus, stage, quality, and differentiation. Examples of measuring effectiveness factors operating at different levels using these 5 dimensions are given. More attention in describing in detail factors associated with teacher behaviour in the classroom is given, since this is seen as the starting point for the development and the testing of the dynamic model. Finally, suggestions for the next steps in the development of other parts of the model are provided.     

Using Workflow for Projects in Higher Education

The WWW is increasingly used as a medium to support education and training. A course at the University of Twente in which groups of students collaborate in the design and production of multimedia instructional materials has now been supported by a website since 1995. Workflow was integrated with other components in the website to investigate whether workflow can help instructors and students to have a better overview of group progress. Our evaluation shows that the introduction of workflow does provide added value. Another outcome of the experiment is that the transfer of a business application (workflow) into the educational domain has highlighted some differences and similarities between educational and business processes. This article explores some of these issues as highlighted by the application of workflow in education.     

Integrierte Entwicklung von Automotive-Software mit AutoFocus

Zur Beherrschung der komplexen vernetzten und verteilten Funktionen von Automotive-Software ist eine Beschreibung des zu erstellenden Systems auf verschiedenen Abstraktionsebenen und schrittweise überg?nge zwischen diesen Ebenen notwendig. Neben der Definition geeigneter Ebenen werden zur Unterstützung echtzeitkritischer Systemanteile ein einheitliches Berechnungsmodell, ebenenspezifische Beschreibungstechniken, sowie methodische Regeln für diese Abstraktionsebenen eingeführt und in den Werkzeugprototypen AutoFocus integriert.