The Use of Meta-Analysis in Exercise and Sport: A Tutorial

Abstract

Meta-analysis is a set of procedures used to quantify, integrate, and analyze the findings of a large number of research studies. It offers the advantage of quantifying effects from individual studies in addition to specifying the procedures the authors followed when reviewing the literature. Although meta-analysis has been demonstrated as a useful technique in exercise and sport research, and new and more appropriate statistical techniques for use in meta-analysis have been developed, these procedures are not widely used. This tutorial describes these advances and provides an example of their application to data from gender differences in throwing velocity during childhood and adolescence.     

Anthropometric Characteristics of Columbia,South Carolina,Youth Baseball Players and Dixie Youth World Series Players

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare measures of body size in two samples of youth baseball players with normative data from the United States National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) growth charts. One sample of youth baseball players participated in a local little league. The second sample of youth baseball players were members of eight of the twelve teams participating in the 1995 Dixie Youth World Series. Normative data for the United States (NCHS) were used as comparative data. Two trained anthropometrists measured standing height, sitting height, lower limb height, upper limb length, arm girth, calf girth, tricep skinfold, and abdomen skinfold on all participants. In both samples, pitchers, short stops, and first basemen were a more highly skilled group and exhibited larger body size (greater standing height, sitting height, lower limb height, upper limb length) than children who played at other positions. The standing height of local little league players was similar to the median of reference data at ages 7, 8, and 9 years. The standing height and weight of skilled players in both samples approximated the 75th percentile for standing height and weight at ages 10, 11, 12, and 13 years. The results suggest that baseball players exhibit larger body size than the normal population at young ages. Body size may be an important criterion used by coaches to select and assign young players to certain positions.     

Expert-Novice Differences in Cognitive and Skill Execution Components of Youth Baseball Performance

Abstract

Previous research has shown that experts exhibit superior response selection and skill execution during performance in youth sport. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in cognitive and skill execution components of game performance in young baseball players (N = 159) with, varying levels of expertise. Three levels of expertise (low-, average-, and high-skilled players) were identified at each age level (7, 8, 9, and 10 years of age). Game performance was videotaped, and measures of skill execution (throwing accuracy, throwing force, fielding, catching, batting average, and batting contact) and cognitive components (positioning, decisions) were developed from observational analysis. The results indicated that baseball skill execution during game play maximally discriminated expertise levels.     

Widening access to educational opportunities through teaching children how to reason together

This paper reports on a project to explore the impact of promoting exploratory talk as the medium of teaching across the curriculum for 6‐ and 7‐year‐old pupils in three primary schools in the UK. We found that this focus on teaching through exploratory talk (which we call the Thinking Together approach) enabled the children to work together more inclusively and more effectively, improving their social skills and, at the same time, their use of language for reasoning and learning.     

Literature of Behavioral Economics,Part 1: Introduction and Books

Behavioral economics, a blend of cognitive psychology and economics, is a new field that has attracted much attention, both from economists and from the general public. Behavioral economists have won Nobel Prizes and written books that became New York Times bestsellers. Unlike traditional economists, whose models are based on a perfect “rational man,” behavioral economists study ways that people actually make decisions and incorporate those findings into economic theory. This article presents an overview and history of the development of behavioral economics and a selective annotated bibliography of books in the field.     

“Insourcing” of Cataloging in a Consortial Environment: The UC Santa Barbara–UC San Diego Music Copy Cataloging Project

A collaborative cataloging project for music sound recordings between two University of California campuses matches available staffing at UC San Diego with the need for better access to a high-priority collection of audio CDs at UC Santa Barbara, with promising results. This article discusses the decision to collaborate, the project planning process, cataloging standards and workflow issues, network level cataloging within an international database (OCLC), communication between personnel on the two campuses, managing cataloging review, an assessment of the project's achievements to date, and implications and future directions for similar cooperative projects.     

The Accidental Archivists: Lessons Learned from a Digital Archive Project

This article tells the story of the University of Colorado Law Library's successful effort to develop its first digital archive. The sudden death of the law school's dean was the catalyst for this project, with a goal to unveil the archive at a memorial symposium scheduled nine months in the future. The University of Colorado Law Library staff had never tackled a project of this type or scale before. This article discusses the technological, cataloging, and management issues that were encountered during the project. It also provides advice and tips on how librarians in their own institutions can accomplish such a project.     

Let Me Show You How It's Done! Desktop Sharing for Distance Learning from the D. Samuel Gottesman Library

Due to the proliferation of electronic resources, fewer users visit the library. Traditional classroom instruction and in-person consultations are no longer sufficient in assisting library users. Librarians are constantly seeking new ways to interact with patrons and facilitate efficient use of electronic resources. This article describes the development, implementation, and evaluation of a project in which desktop-sharing software was used to reach out to users at remote locations. Various ways of using this tool are described, and challenges and implications for future expansion are discussed.