Influence of Three Different Training Programs on Strength and Speed of a Limb Movement

Abstract

The experiment was designed to compare the effects of isometric-isotonic (A), dynamic-overload (B), and free swing (C) exercise programs on the speed and strength of a lateral arm movement The 26 college men in each group—three experimental and one control—were given pre- and post-training speed and strength trials. Each experimental group performed its assigned exercise twice a week during the 10-week training period. Reliability coefficients for both strength and speed of movement measurements were found to be high. Following training there were significant speed increases in both the isometric-isotonic and dynamic-overload groups (t=10.06 and 8.10; however, the difference in speed gain between conditions was nonsignificant (F=.10). Also, strength increases in both of these groups were significant (t=8.81 and 3.08), with that of the isometric-isotonic group significantly greater than the dynamic-overload group (F=5.11). No significant speed or strength gains were registered by either the free swing or control group.     

‘To honor and glorify God’: the role of religion in one intercollegiate athletics culture

Numerous events have provided evidence that the cultural values and assumptions of intercollegiate athletic departments are often incongruent with those of their host institutions. This discrepancy has even been evident in Christian institutions which seek to integrate faith into the learning experience. Using the organizational culture perspective, this study sought to determine how religion influenced the culture of one intercollegiate athletics department. The study took place at a highly selective evangelical Christian college with a nationally competitive athletic department. Data were collected through interviews with 19 campus leaders, observation of cultural events and document analysis. Analysis occurred qualitatively through a process of theorizing. The results indicate that evangelical Christianity played a significant role in the athletic department's culture by constraining its membership, influencing its pedagogy and guiding department decisions. As a result, its values and assumptions were consistent with those of the overall campus culture. The reasons underlying this cultural integration offer coaches and administrators of all institutional affiliations the possibility that the organizational culture perspective can be used to create athletic programs that are more consistent with institutional values.     

Greater lower limb flexion in gymnastic landings is associated with reduced landing force: a repeated measures study

High impact forces during gymnastic landings are thought to contribute to the high rate of injuries. Lower limb joint flexion is currently limited within gymnastic rules, yet might be an avenue for reduced force absorption. This study investigated whether lower limb flexion during three gymnastic landings was related to force. Differences between landings were also explored. Twenty-one elite women's artistic gymnasts performed three common gymnastic techniques: drop landing (DL), front and back somersaults. Ankle, knee, and hip angles, and vertical ground reaction force [(vGRF) magnitude and time to peak], were measured using three-dimensional motion analysis and force platform. The DL had significantly smaller peak vGRF, greater time to peak vGRF and larger lower limb flexion ranges than landing from either somersault. Peak vGRF and time to peak vGRF were inversely related. Peak vGRF was significantly reduced in gymnasts who landed with greater hip flexion, and time to peak was significantly increased with increasing ankle, knee, and hip flexion. Increased range of lower limb flexion should be encouraged during gymnastic landings to increase time to peak vGRF and reduce high impact force. For this purpose, judging criteria limitations on lower limb flexion should be reconsidered.     

Une question nouvelle pour l'action educative et la formation: Le vieillissement des populations

Résumé L'auteur met l'accent sur l'une des principales contradictions des sociétés industrialisées: l'accroissement de l'espérance de vie aux âges élevés et, en même temps, la marginalisation des personnes âgées. Le vieillissement dans ses différents aspects, notamment socio-démographiques, devrait constituer un thème éducatif de première importance dans le cadre de l'enseignement scolaire et dans la formation des intervenants auprès des personnes âgées. L'éducation peut enfin contribuer à enrichir les connaissances des personnes âgées mais aussi les aider à mieux assurer leur rôle de transmetteur de savoirs et d'expériences.

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The author stresses one of the principal contradictions in industrialized societies: the increase in life expectancy at advanced ages, at the same time as the marginalization of the elderly. Aging, in its different aspects, and notably that of social demography, should be an educational topic of first importance both in school teaching and in the training of those who care for the elderly. Education can help to enlarge older people's learning, but it can also assist them in their role of transmitter of knowledge and experience.

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Zusammenfassung Der Autor hebt einen der Hauptwidersprüche in Industrieländern hervor: die Erhöhung der Lebenserwartung und zur gleichen Zeit die Ausgrenzung älterer Menschen. Das Altern sollte mit seinen unterschiedlichen Aspekten und besonders dem Aspekt der sozialen Demographie als bildungspolitisches Thema höchste Priorität besitzen, und zwar sowohl im schulischen Bereich als auch in der Ausbildung von Altenpflegern. Bildung kann Lernmöglichkeiten für Ältere erweitern, aber sie kann sie auch in ihrer Rolle als Übermittler von Wissen und Erfahrungen bestärken.

     

Higher prevalence of childhood sexual abuse among Latino men who have sex with men than non-Latino men who have sex with men: data from the Urban Men's Health Study

OBJECTIVE: The prevalence of childhood sexual abuse among Latino adult men who have sex with men who live in the US was estimated because a history of childhood sexual abuse increases HIV sexual risk behaviors and other negative health outcomes in adulthood. METHOD: The Urban Men's Health Study is a random-digit telephone probability survey of 2881 adult men who have sex with men (MSM) aged 18 years or older residing in San Francisco, New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. Self-reported history of childhood sexual abuse was the main outcome measure gathered from 2692 MSM. RESULTS: A significantly higher proportion of Latino MSM reported sexual abuse before age 13 (22%) than did non-Latino MSM (11%). CONCLUSIONS: Latino MSM are twice as likely to report a history of childhood sexual abuse than are non-Latino MSM. Given the association between childhood sexual abuse and increased risk for HIV and other negative health outcomes, health providers must remain vigilant to the possibility of childhood sexual abuse histories among their Latino patients.     

Influences of Witnessed Affect on Information Processing in Children

Children between the ages of 5 and 10 years watched a videotape of a child having a routine medical exam. Embedded within the scenes were systematic variations of depicted facial affect shown by doctor and child. Measures were taken of autonomic reactions and information-processing errors in response to positive, neutral, and negative affective cues. For 5-6-year-olds, processing errors were greatest in the negative affect condition. Additionally, peak increases in heart rate (HR) and skin conductance level (SCL) were demonstrated by 5-6-year-olds in response to negative affect shown by the witnessed child; increases in HR were in turn predictive of processing errors. Older children (9-10 years) showed trends reflecting reduced processing errors in response to witnessed negative affect. It was suggested that younger children respond to salient threat cues with a "defensive" response pattern that is relatively adaptive at younger but not older ages.     

Transition to School: Developmental Trajectories and School Experiences

Because of the premium now placed on a formal education as well as the changing demographics of American society, school failure is now more costly than ever. Given that academic difficulties experienced by children are traceable to problems in underachievement that begin during the first years of early schooling, a thorough understanding of the transition-to-school process is needed. We suggest two principal assumptions in examining this transition-to-kindergarten period. First, multiple risk factors associated with certain child, family, and child care characteristics are expected to predict early school experience, both in and out of the classroom, and, thereby, social and academic success and failure in the early school years. Secondly, it is expected that day-to-day experiences in the classroom and on the playground will exacerbate or mitigate risk, resulting in some children performing better than would otherwise be expected and others functioning worse than anticipated. Thus, a critically important problem involves the identification of child, family, child care, and schooling factors and processes which account for risk being realized or not realized with regard to subsequent academic and school performance.