Ten-season epidemiological study of match injuries in men’s international rugby sevens

ABSTRACT

The aim of this study was to describe the incidence, nature and causes of match injuries in men’s international rugby sevens and to compare these to values for international rugby fifteens. The study comprised a 10-season, whole population, prospective study of the Sevens World Series. Over the ten seasons, the overall incidence of injury was 122.4 (95% CI = 116.3 to 128.9) injuries/1000 player-match-hours and the mean severity of injury was 43.0 (95% CI = 40.3 to 45.7) days-absence. There was an increasing trend in the incidence of injury over the ten-season period (slope = 5.3 injuries/1000 player-hours/season, R² = 0.68, p = 0.003) but no trend in the mean severity of injury (slope = 0.02 days/season, R² < 0.01, p = 0.971). Head/face (15.7%), knee (15.6%), ankle (15.4%) and shoulder/clavicle (11.9%) were the most common injury locations and ligament sprain (30.5%), muscle strain (16.4%), concussion (12.6%) and haematoma/bruise (10.6%) the most common types of injury sustained. Being-tackled (33.1%), tackling (23.4%), running (16.1%) and collisions (12.4%) were the most common events leading to injury. These results indicate that the burden of injury in international rugby sevens is two to three times higher than that reported for international rugby fifteens.     

Meta‐evaluation in clinical anatomy: A practical application of item response theory in multiple choice examinations

The nature of anatomy education has changed substantially in recent decades, though the traditional multiple‐choice written examination remains the cornerstone of assessing students' knowledge. This study sought to measure the quality of a clinical anatomy multiple‐choice final examination using item response theory (IRT) models. One hundred seventy‐six students took a multiple‐choice clinical anatomy examination. One‐ and two‐parameter IRT models (difficulty and discrimination parameters) were used to assess item quality. The two‐parameter IRT model demonstrated a wide range in item difficulty, with a median of ?1.0 and range from ?2.0 to 0.0 (25th to 75th percentile). Similar results were seen for discrimination (median 0.6; range 0.4–0.8). The test information curve achieved maximum discrimination for an ability level one standard deviation below the average. There were 15 items with standardized loading less than 0.3, which was due to several factors: two items had two correct responses, one was not well constructed, two were too easy, and the others revealed a lack of detailed knowledge by students. The test used in this study was more effective in discriminating students of lower ability than those of higher ability. Overall, the quality of the examination in clinical anatomy was confirmed by the IRT models. Anat Sci Educ 3:17–24, 2010. © 2009 American Association of Anatomists.     

Team Research at the Biology–Mathematics Interface: Project Management Perspectives

The success of interdisciplinary research teams depends largely upon skills related to team performance. We evaluated student and team performance for undergraduate biology and mathematics students who participated in summer research projects conducted in off-campus laboratories. The student teams were composed of a student with a mathematics background and an experimentally oriented biology student. The team mentors typically ranked the students'' performance very good to excellent over a range of attributes that included creativity and ability to conduct independent research. However, the research teams experienced problems meeting prespecified deadlines due to poor time and project management skills. Because time and project management skills can be readily taught and moreover typically reflect good research practices, simple modifications should be made to undergraduate curricula so that the promise of initiatives, such as MATH-BIO 2010, can be implemented.     

Talking about gendered headship: how do women and men working in schools conceive and articulate notions of gender?

In this paper I explore how a woman secondary school headteacher and her colleagues talk about her gendered headship. To facilitate and contextualise the semi-structured interviews, participants were asked to categorise a range of attributes and qualities that have been seen as 'masculine' or 'feminine'. They attempted to plot their perceptions of her gendered headship on a continuum from 'extremely masculine' to 'extremely feminine' in relation to her appearance and interactions in various contexts. Their talk, as they explained and illustrated their thinking, reveals that even from a dualist starting point many have an understanding of the fluid nature of complex, subjective, gendered identities. The rejection of binary notions of gender by some participants disrupts the perpetuation of gender as a dualist concept. In particular, the headteacher forces open a space in which to consider the complexity of her own gendered headship.     

A longitudinal comparison of WISC-III and WISC-R scores of special education students

This study investigated the performance of 166 special education students who had been administered the WISC-R and approximately 3 years later the WISC-III. The sample ranged in age from 6.0 to 16.6 years. The scores were analyzed using Pearson product moment correlation coefficients and t tests of the differences between means for related samples. The results indicated that there was a significant, positive correlation among global scales (p < .001). This finding suggests that the WISC-R and the WISC-III IQ scores measure similar abilities. Analysis of mean IQ score differences revealed significant differences in the WISC-R and the WISC-III IQ scores, with the WISC-III global scores being lower. Implications for the evaluation of students for special education are discussed, with special emphasis on the role and function of the psychologist practicing in the schools. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.