Multiple components of fitness improved among overweight and obese adolescents following a community-based lifestyle intervention

Fitness is an important component of health, and obese adolescents regularly have poor fitness. Unfortunately, few have assessed the impact of community-based lifestyle interventions on multiple components of fitness. The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of participation in a community-based intervention involving adolescents and parents on multiple components of fitness of obese adolescents. In a within-subject, waitlist controlled clinical trial with 12 months follow-up in Western Australia, participants (n = 56) completed multiple fitness measures at baseline, immediately prior to beginning an 8-week intervention and at 3, 6 and 12 months during a maintenance period. Performance on the shuttle walk was improved immediately post-intervention (increase of 42.8 m, 95% CI: 7.5, 78.2) and at 12 months post-intervention (increase of 44.6 m, 95% CI: 1.3, 87.8) compared with pre-intervention. Muscle performance of quadriceps and deltoids were improved post-intervention (increase of 1.1 (95% CI: 0.1, 2.1) kg · F and 1.0 (0.02, 2.1) kg · F, respectively) and all muscle performance measures were improved at 12 months following the intervention. There were no changes in waist circumference. A community-based lifestyle programme such as Curtin University’s Activity, Food and Attitudes Program (CAFAP) may be a viable strategy for improving fitness in overweight adolescents.     

Multivariate analyses of individual variation in soccer skill as a tool for talent identification and development: utilising evolutionary theory in sports science

The development of a comprehensive protocol for quantifying soccer-specific skill could markedly improve both talent identification and development. Surprisingly, most protocols for talent identification in soccer still focus on the more generic athletic attributes of team sports, such as speed, strength, agility and endurance, rather than on a player’s technical skills. We used a multivariate methodology borrowed from evolutionary analyses of adaptation to develop our quantitative assessment of individual soccer-specific skill. We tested the performance of 40 individual academy-level players in eight different soccer-specific tasks across an age range of 13–18 years old. We first quantified the repeatability of each skill performance then explored the effects of age on soccer-specific skill, correlations between each of the pairs of skill tasks independent of age, and finally developed an individual metric of overall skill performance that could be easily used by coaches. All of our measured traits were highly repeatable when assessed over a short period and we found that an individual’s overall skill – as well as their performance in their best task – was strongly positively correlated with age. Most importantly, our study established a simple but comprehensive methodology for assessing skill performance in soccer players, thus allowing coaches to rapidly assess the relative abilities of their players, identify promising youths and work on eliminating skill deficits in players.     

How much does lower body strength impact Paralympic running performance?

Objectives: Development of evidence-based methods of Paralympic classification requires research quantifying the relative strength of association between ratio-scaled measures of impairment and athletic performance. The purpose of this study was to quantify the extent to which muscle strength affects running performance in runners with and without brain impairment. Design: Cross-sectional study. Methods: Participants were 41 male runners: 13 with brain impairments (RBI) and 28 non-disabled (NDR). All participants completed a maximal 60-m sprint and a novel battery of three lower limb isometric strength tests. Results: RBI showed significantly lower strength scores compared with NDR on the more affected side in leg flexion (176 vs. 243?N), leg extension (993 vs. 1661?N) and plantarflexion (824 vs. 1457?N). Significant differences were also seen on the less affected side in plantarflexion (1072 vs. 1508?N). RBI were significantly slower in the acceleration phase (0–15?m) (3.2?s?±?0.3?vs. 2.8?s?±?0.2) and top speed phase (30?60?m) (4.3?s?±?0.6?vs. 3.8?s?±?0.3). Correlation analysis showed stronger relationships between strength and running performance in RBI than NDR; however, the correlations were not significant. Conclusions: This study evaluated measures to assess strength for the purposes of classification and found that the measures were significantly different in RBI compared with NDR indicating the tests were able to capture strength impairment in this population. This study indicates that strength may be an important impairment type to assess in this population, as impairments of muscle strength may influence the outcome of running performance in athletes with more severe impairments.     

Effects of power variation on cycle performance during simulated hilly time-trials

It has previously been shown that cyclists are unable to maintain a constant power output during cycle time-trials on hilly courses. The purpose of the present study is therefore to quantify these effects of power variation using a mathematical model of cycling performance. A hypothetical cyclist (body mass: 70?kg, bicycle mass: 10?kg) was studied using a mathematical model of cycling, which included the effects of acceleration. Performance was modelled over three hypothetical 40-km courses, comprising repeated 2.5-km sections of uphill and downhill with gradients of 1%, 3%, and 6%, respectively. Amplitude (5–15%) and distance (0.31–20.00?km) of variation were modelled over a range of mean power outputs (200–600?W) and compared to sustaining a constant power. Power variation was typically detrimental to performance; these effects were augmented as the amplitude of variation and severity of gradient increased. Varying power every 1.25?km was most detrimental to performance; at a mean power of 200?W, performance was impaired by 43.90?s (±15% variation, 6% gradient). However at the steepest gradients, the effect of power variation was relatively independent of the distance of variation. In contrast, varying power in parallel with changes in gradient improved performance by 188.89?s (±15% variation, 6% gradient) at 200?W. The present data demonstrate that during hilly time-trials, power variation that does not occur in parallel with changes in gradient is detrimental to performance, especially at steeper gradients. These adverse effects are substantially larger than those previously observed during flat, windless time-trials.     

Beyond Heroes and Villains: Examining Explanatory Mechanisms Underlying Moral Disengagement

In recent years, theorizing regarding the role and importance of media entertainment in everyday life has garnered much serious attention by media effects scholars. The role of moral judgments, sanctions, and lack thereof are areas in which theoretical development has expanded. The present study examines narrative exposure, identification, and moral judgment as indicators of the degree to which individuals may morally disengage during mediated entertainment experiences. In addition, this study attempts to further expand disposition theory and theorizing about the role of moral disengagement by moving beyond conceptualizations of good, bad, and morally ambiguous characters to explore more subtle moral distinctions between characters as they exist within the same narrative and along a continuum. Results suggest that identification and moral judgment serve as important mediators predicting moral disengagement; however, the nature of these relationships are moderated by the perception of the character’s moral fortitude.     

Evaluating the Instructional Sensitivity of Four States' Student Achievement Tests

As state tests of student achievement are used for an increasingly wide array of high- and low-stakes purposes, evaluating their instructional sensitivity is essential. This article uses data from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's Measures of Effective Project to examine the instructional sensitivity of 4 states' mathematics and English language arts assessments to 5 measures of pedagogical quality. The results indicate modest overall levels of sensitivity, with some state assessments insensitive to most or all measures of pedagogical quality. Furthermore, there are sometimes substantial differences across states in the sensitivity of their assessments. The article calls for more research on what makes state tests instructionally sensitive and cautions against the use of insensitive assessments for consequential decisions.     

Curricular Differences and Unidimensionality of Achievement Test Data: An Exploratory Analysis

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether a linear factor analytic method commonly used to investigate violation of the item response theory (IRT) unidimensionality assumption is sensitive to measurable curricular differences within a school district and to examine the possibility of differential item performance for groups of students receiving different instruction. For grades 3 and 6 in reading and mathematics, personnel from two midwestern school systems that regularly administer standardized achievement tests identified the formal textbook series used and provided ratings of test-instructional match for each school building (classroom). For both districts, the factor analysis results suggested no differences in percentages of variance for large first factors and relatively small second factors across ratings or series groups. The IRT analyses indicated little, if any, differential item performance for curricular subgroups. Thus, the impact of factors that might be related to curricular differences was judged to be minor.     

Social Work Intervention with White Collared Employees and Their Families

This investigation presents a framework for understanding and also to test the efficacy of Social Work intervention on the well being of the white collared employee (industrial employee) and his/her family. A comprehensive and intensive personal- family exploration was done to uncover the relatedness of seemingly disparate areas of the clients lives. A total of 80 executives (industrial employees) served as subjects. A baseline assessment was done using structured, standardized interview-schedules/questionnaires. The results of the study can be enumerated as follows: After the Social Work intervention, the executives in occupational profile, there were significant changes in Role perception, overload, role conflict, low status and poor peer relations. In coping strategies there was significant improvement in sub-scales like problem solving and unproductive coping. Significant reduction was noticed in their proneness to heart disease, depression, inadequate mental mastery, and perceived ill health. There was significant improvement in their family group support, and in their expressiveness, achievement, orientation, active-recreational and organizational characteristics.