Accuracy of qualitative analysis for assessment of skilled baseball pitching technique

Baseball pitching must be performed with correct technique if injuries are to be avoided and performance maximized. High-speed video analysis is accepted as the most accurate and objective method for evaluation of baseball pitching mechanics. The aim of this research was to develop an equivalent qualitative analysis method for use with standard video equipment. A qualitative analysis protocol (QAP) was developed for 24 kinematic variables identified as important to pitching performance. Twenty male baseball pitchers were videotaped using 60 Hz camcorders, and their technique evaluated using the QAP, by two independent raters. Each pitcher was also assessed using a 6-camera 200 Hz Motion Analysis system (MAS). Four QAP variables (22%) showed significant similarity with MAS results. Inter-rater reliability showed agreement on 33% of QAP variables. It was concluded that a complete and accurate profile of an athlete's pitching mechanics cannot be made using the QAP in its current form, but it is possible such simple forms of biomechanical analysis could yield accurate results before 3-D methods become obligatory.     

Why ‘the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau’ is a myth

The often-used phrase ‘the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau’ implies a flat-surfaced Tibet rose as a coherent entity, and that uplift was driven entirely by the collision and northward movement of India. Here, we argue that these are misconceptions derived in large part from simplistic geodynamic and climate modeling, as well as proxy misinterpretation. The growth of Tibet was a complex process involving mostly Mesozoic collisions of several Gondwanan terranes with Asia, thickening the crust and generating complex relief before the arrival of India. In this review, Earth system modeling, paleoaltimetry proxies and fossil finds contribute to a new synthetic view of the topographic evolution of Tibet. A notable feature overlooked in previous models of plateau formation was the persistence through much of the Cenozoic of a wide east–west orientated deep central valley, and the formation of a plateau occurred only in the late Neogene through compression and internal sedimentation.     

Kyouzaikenkyuu: an exploration of Japanese mathematics teachers’ daily planning practices

Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education - Kyouzaikenkyuu (translated as instructional materials research) is said to be a crucial part of successful Japanese lesson study. Kyouzaikenkyuu is...     

The Exhibition: Lecture or Conversation?

The problem for art museums of striking a balance between accessibility and scholarship comes to a head in the special exhibition. This article suggests that one way to involve the viewer in this balance is to approach the exhibition not so much as a lecture but as a conversation, with the consequence that the focus is on those issues that are open to verification or resolution by the viewer.