Imagery use by injured athletes: a qualitative analysis

The purpose of this study was to expand our knowledge and increase our understanding of imagery use by athletes in sport-injury rehabilitation using a qualitative approach. The participants were 10 injured athletes who were receiving physiotherapy at the time they were interviewed. During the interviews, the athletes provided extensive information about their use of imagery during injury rehabilitation and it was clear that they believed imagery served cognitive, motivational and healing purposes in effectively rehabilitating an injury. Cognitive imagery was used to learn and properly perform the rehabilitation exercises. They employed motivational imagery for goal setting (e.g. imagined being fully recovered) and to enhance mental toughness, help maintain concentration and foster a positive attitude. Imagery was used to manage pain. The methods they employed for controlling pain included using imagery to practise dealing with expected pain, using imagery as a distraction, imagining the pain dispersing, and using imagery to block the pain. With respect to what they imaged (i.e. the content of their imagery), they employed both visual and kinaesthetic imagery and their images tended to be positive and accurate. It was concluded that the implementation of imagery alongside physical rehabilitation should enhance the rehabilitation experience and, therefore, facilitate the recovery rates of injured athletes. Moreover, it was recommended that those responsible for the treatment of injured athletes (e.g. medical doctors, physiotherapists) should understand the benefits of imagery in athletic injury rehabilitation, since it is these practitioners who are in the best position to encourage injured athletes to use imagery.     

The role of effort in moderating the anxiety-performance relationship: Testing the prediction of processing efficiency theory in simulated rally driving

We tested some of the key predictions of processing efficiency theory using a simulated rally driving task. Two groups of participants were classified as either dispositionally high or low anxious based on trait anxiety scores and trained on a simulated driving task. Participants then raced individually on two similar courses under counterbalanced experimental conditions designed to manipulate the level of anxiety experienced. The effort exerted on the driving tasks was assessed though self-report (RSME), psychophysiological measures (pupil dilation) and visual gaze data. Efficiency was measured in terms of efficiency of visual processing (search rate) and driving control (variability of wheel and accelerator pedal) indices. Driving performance was measured as the time taken to complete the course. As predicted, increased anxiety had a negative effect on processing efficiency as indexed by the self-report, pupillary response and variability of gaze data. Predicted differences due to dispositional levels of anxiety were also found in the driving control and effort data. Although both groups of drivers performed worse under the threatening condition, the performance of the high trait anxious individuals was affected to a greater extent by the anxiety manipulation than the performance of the low trait anxious drivers. The findings suggest that processing efficiency theory holds promise as a theoretical framework for examining the relationship between anxiety and performance in sport.     

Teachers' perspectives on the challenges of teaching physical education in urban schools: the student emotional filter

The purpose of this study was to analyze how the challenges of urban schools influence physical education teachers' emotional understanding and connections with their students and the implications on their teaching. Sixty-one elementary physical educators from an urban school district in the midwestern U.S. were interviewed multiple times (N = 136) over 3 years using interpretive methodology. Teachers reported five unique challenges that significantly shaped their thinking about students and their careers, along with strategies they used to overcome or manage those challenges. The challenges were: (a) insufficient instructional resources, (b) implementing culturally relevant pedagogy, (c) dealing with community violence, (d) integrating more games in curricula, and (e) teaching in a culture of basketball. Implications centered on the guilt-inducing nature of urban teaching, developing an informed and realistic vision of urban physical education, and the role of teacher preparation and professional development.     

Immediate effects of the use of modified take-off boards on the take-off motion of the long jump during training

We investigated the immediate effects of the combined use of inclined and raised flat boards on the take-off motion of the long jump. Eight male long jumpers were videotaped with two high-speed video cameras (250 Hz) set perpendicular to the runway. The athletes jumped with three modified take-off boards: upward-inclined boards of two different inclinations (2.5 and 5.0 degrees), and a raised flat board (50 mm high). The jumpers performed pre- and post-jumps using their own techniques before and after use of the boards to test their effects. The post- jump revealed significantly less reduction in the horizontal velocity during the take-off than the pre-jump, and the effectiveness of converting the velocity from horizontal to vertical increased significantly in the post-jump. The post-jump demonstrated significantly less knee flexion of the take-off leg during take-off. The reduced knee flexion and slower extension velocity of the take-off leg in the second phase of the post-jump contributed to increasing the knee extension torque in the second phase and resulted in the increases in vertical ground reaction force and vertical velocity. These results suggest that the combined use of the inclined and raised flat boards induced immediate effective changes in the kinematics and kinetics of the take-off motion and represent appropriate training tools for take-off techniques of the long jump.     

Physical and metabolic demands of training and match-play in the elite football player

In soccer, the players perform intermittent work. Despite the players performing low-intensity activities for more than 70% of the game, heart rate and body temperature measurements suggest that the average oxygen uptake for elite soccer players is around 70% of maximum (VO(2max). This may be partly explained by the 150 - 250 brief intense actions a top-class player performs during a game, which also indicates that the rates of creatine phosphate (CP) utilization and glycolysis are frequently high during a game. Muscle glycogen is probably the most important substrate for energy production, and fatigue towards the end of a game may be related to depletion of glycogen in some muscle fibres. Blood free-fatty acids (FFAs) increase progressively during a game, partly compensating for the progressive lowering of muscle glycogen. Fatigue also occurs temporarily during matches, but it is still unclear what causes the reduced ability to perform maximally. There are major individual differences in the physical demands of players during a game related to physical capacity and tactical role in the team. These differences should be taken into account when planning the training and nutritional strategies of top-class players, who require a significant energy intake during a week.     

论教师与学生的关系

教师与学生关系的性质对学生自觉性和自尊心的形成有极重要的意义.教育工作的实际经验指出,假定教师能对个别学生表扬他的任何积极方面,那末,学生就能开始注意并培养自已的这些优点. 在很多情况中,学生对自己力量没有自信心的原因,就是在教师方面对他们的能力估计不足。这个事实指出了教师与学生建立的关系上所产生的感化作用是多麽巨大,它不仅能够破坏个别学生,而且还能破坏全级学生对自己力量的信任.女教师纳·克,为了对自己的工作做得不好作辩护,经常向学生们说,他们没有能力,总是不肯好好学习等话。结果,学生们本来能够学习得很好的,丧失了自信心,这样,他们就学习得更坏,成为学校里成绩最坏的一班。这就是说:女教师纳·克只看见了学生的弱点。但是在某一时期内,这个女教师的位置上派来了另一位新教师,她很有经验而且也富有钻研心.最初几天,她注意了学生思想上已有的习惯,和他们一班所以在“学校中最坏”的原因。她就在班上开始培养学生对自己力量的自信心.她从思想上去影响学生,告诉他们,如果能够坚持和系统地工作,便会学习得很好.女教师与学生们的新的关系和正确地组织教学工作,获得了非常良好的成绩.学生们对待自己也不同了,他们信任了自己的力量,对未来的发展前途表现了无限向往.这一班“眼看着”有了转变。过了几个月,学生们自己     

语文课中自然知识的综合复习

在教学过程中进行经常而有系统的复习是学生进步条件之一。在语文课中的自然知识也应当进行综合复习的。在这种课上,只是复习已教过的最基本的和最重要的材料:明确学生的概念,扩大学生的理解力,补足学生的知能。一至三年级的综合复习课大概每一堂课可以复习一课。进行综合复习课时,必须尽量利用过去所应用过的一切教材(例如:实物教材:“活的和干燥的植物和动物标本”、图片、表格、模型、自然历、地图等等)。     

ЛК—3号飞向月球——一个假想的科学故事

一九……年五月十一日二十点十二分莫斯科时间。舱中映射着喷气式发动机和喷出的红色火焰的反照。仅历数分之一秒我们的“ЛК—3”号便稳静地与地球的新卫星——小月球分离开了。小月球是苏维埃人用自己的智慧和双手创造出来的。它是一切星球间航行艇的起点。     

滑翔机是怎样飞行的?

滑翔运动是最引人入胜的一种航空体育运动,也是青年们的一种体育运动。在一种没有发动机的叫做滑翔机的飞行器上面,人们可以在空中保持停留好几小时,航行数百公里的距离,不但能升得相当高,而且还能作一些优等航空术的特技表演。滑翔的这种锻炼能使人们熟悉飞行,培养出飞行人员的果断品质。许多苏联杰出的飞行员,例如,A.N.巴克雷斯金,A.N.莫洛得奇依等人,都是从滑翔飞行中锻     

和死亡作鬥爭

“蘇聯共產黨和蘇聯政府對於改善人民的物質生活,提高人民的文化水平和保護勞動人民的健康非常關心。在世界上没有一個國家像蘇聯具有這樣分佈廣闊的普及免費醫療的機構。在世界上也没有一個國家,醫學在那里比在蘇聯更順利地獲得發展。十九次黨代表大會的指示中曾這樣說:“醫學工