Masculinity in Singapore: the residual culture of the Chinese martial artist

The study set out to understand the complex landscape of masculinities in Singapore. In particular, it sought to investigate whether, apart from the common muscular and powerful dominant form, there are traditional views of masculinity sustained by Chinese cultural influence, in particular, the culture of Chinese martial arts. Open-ended survey responses from 48 male and female Singaporean first and second year undergraduate students on a sport and critical thinking course were elicited and then followed up by focused online asynchronous discussions to further elaborate understandings. Informants reflected on elements that construct masculinity in Chinese martial arts and how these may differ to what they consider to be the dominant or hegemonic masculinity, related in particular to the body builder. Responses indicate that a residual culture persists nourished by traditional Chinese culture and that this is quite different to the contemporary male identities of metrosexuals and spornosexuals revered in the West.     

An occlusion paradigm to assess the importance of the timing of the quiet eye fixation

Abstract

The aim of the study was to explore the significance of the ‘timing’ of the quiet eye (QE), and the relative importance of late (online control) or early (pre-programming) visual information for accuracy. Twenty-seven skilled golfers completed a putting task using an occlusion paradigm with three conditions: early (prior to backswing), late (during putter stroke), and no (control) occlusion of vision. Performance, QE, and kinematic variables relating to the swing were measured. Results revealed that providing only early visual information (occluding late visual information) had a significant detrimental effect on performance and kinematic measures, compared to the control condition (no occlusion), despite QE durations being maintained. Conversely, providing only late visual information (occluding early visual information) was not significantly detrimental to performance or kinematics, with results similar to those in the control condition. These findings imply that the visual information extracted during movement execution – the late proportion of the QE – is critical when golf putting. The results challenge the predominant view that the QE serves only a pre-programming function. We propose that the different proportions of the QE (before and during movement) may serve different functions in supporting accuracy in golf putting.     

Assessing Precollege Science Education Outreach Initiatives: A Funder's Perspective

We describe an assessment of the collective impact of 35 grants that the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) made to biomedical research institutions in 1999 to support precollege science education outreach programs. Data collected from funded institutions were compared with data from a control group of institutions that had advanced to the last stage of review but had not been funded. The survey instrument and the results reveal outcomes and impacts that HHMI considers relevant for these programs. The following attributes are considered: ability to secure additional, non-HHMI funding; institution buy-in as measured by gains in dedicated space and staff; enhancement of the program director''s career; number and adoption of educational products developed; number of related publications and awards; percentage of programs for which teachers received course credit; increase in science content knowledge; and increase in student motivation to study science.     

The importance of research on the ultras: introduction

Abstract

The ultras have become the most spectacular form of football fandom in the early twenty-first century. Thanks to global media, social media and increased travel, fans view, engage and interact with a range of fans from across the globe and bring various local dimensions to their fandom. This volume brings together a range of articles into the ultras style of football fandom. Whilst the ultras phenomenon began in Italy, then spread across Southern Europe into Northern Europe, it has now become truly global. This volume is designed to be an introduction; a first account of ultras for the uninitiated. What follows are analyses and accounts of ultras in Italy, France, Germany, Poland, Turkey, Israel, North America, Australia, Indonesia and Croatia. Not only does this demonstrate the prevalence of the ultras style of fandom across the globe, it shows how football becomes an important cultural arena to see the intersections of globalisation and localism.     

Mass media representations of the evidence as a possible deterrent to recommending exercise for the treatment of depression: Lessons five years after the extraordinary case of TREAD-UK

Exercise or physical activity are recommended options within stepped-care treatment models for depression. However, few physicians present these options to patients, in part because of the impression that the supporting evidence is weak or inconsistent. We speculate that the coocurrence of “counter-messaging” and deficient critical appraisal may lead to such impressions. We focus on TREAD-UK (ISRCTN16900744), the largest trial to investigate “whether physical activity can be an effective treatment for depression within primary care”. In media statements, researchers declared that exercise was ineffective in lowering depression. We examined (a) the results of the trial, critiques, and rejoinders, (b) the impact on internet searches, and (c) whether TREAD-UK was critically appraised, as reflected in citing articles. We show that the results of TREAD-UK were misrepresented. The media campaign resulted in a fourfold increase in relevant internet searches. Of articles characterising the results, 57% adopted the interpretation that exercise failed to lower depression, whereas only 17% were critiques. We identify similarities to media portrayals of the OPERA (ISRCTN43769277), DEMO (NCT00103415), and DEMO-II trials (NCT00695552). We note a disconcerting trend of media campaigns that misrepresent the effects of exercise on depression and call for increased scrutiny in peer reviewing both pre- and post-publication.     

Beyond Warmth and Conflict: The Developmental Utility of a Boundary Conceptualization of Sibling Relationship Processes

Translating relationship boundaries conceptualizations to the study of sibling relationships, this study examined the utility of sibling enmeshment and disengagement in predicting child adjustment difficulties in a sample of 282 mothers and adolescents (mean age = 12.7 years). Mothers completed a semistructured interview at the first measurement occasion to assess sibling interaction patterns. Adolescents, mothers, and teachers reported on children’s adjustment problems across 2 annual waves of assessment. Supporting the incremental utility of a boundary conceptualization of sibling relationships, results of latent difference score analyses indicated that coder ratings of sibling enmeshment and disengagement uniquely predicted greater adolescent adjustment difficulties even after taking into account standard indices of sibling relationship quality (i.e., warmth and conflict) and sibling structural characteristics (e.g., sex).