PART VI: NUTRITION

Food intake of Kalenjin runners in Kenya: A field study.     

The Sport Commitment Model: An Investigation of Structural Relationships with Thai Youth Athlete Populations

Grounded in the conceptual framework of the Sport Commitment Model and previous empirical studies conducted in Western countries, this study was designed to (a) test and validate a Thai version of the Athlete Opinion Survey to assess components of the Sport Commitment Model in Thai youth athletes and (b) examine structural relationships among various constructs of the Sport Commitment Model as assessed by the Thai version of the Athlete Opinion Survey. Survey data were collected from 1,704 Thai youth athletes and analyzed via structural equation modeling methodologies to establish evidence for validity and measurement reliability. Results from various analyses indicated adequate support for the hypothesized factorial structure and acceptable reliability estimates of the Thai version of the Athlete Opinion Survey subscales. Moreover, modeling analyses showed empirical support for the hypothesized structural relationships underlying the Sport Commitment Model in the Thai youth athlete population. The findings from this study have implications for a better understanding of sport commitment in different cultural settings.     

‘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.     

Curriculum,pedagogy and assessment: three message systems of schooling and dimensions of quality physical education

This paper identifies ‘quality’ as an internationally relevant concept to be problematised in contemporary debates about physical education (PE). Drawing on the conceptualisation of curriculum by B. Bernstein in 1977, pedagogy and assessment as three inter-related message systems of schooling, the paper presents and explores curriculum, pedagogy and assessment as three fundamental dimensions of ‘quality PE’. Discussion addresses what quality in each dimension may mean in PE, and demand in practice. Contemporary initiatives in Australia and New Zealand provide a reference point for exploring the prospective application of quality conceptualised in terms of the three inter-related dimensions. Attention is drawn to frameworks in mainstream education that may be utilised in endeavours to critically review current practices, and inform developments directed towards achieving quality in PE. It is argued that achieving quality in PE requires that quality is pursued and demonstrated within and across curriculum, pedagogy and assessment, and that meanings of quality always need to be contextualised in cultural, social and institutional terms.     

A response to David Kirk: personal/professional views from US authors

This paper represents the views of two scholars in the USA with respect to the scholar lecture presented by David Kirk at the 2012 BERA – Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy (PESP) Special Interest Group meeting. We discuss how two unique features of the American universities have an impact on both the corporate nature of our work and our scholarship. These features are described as ‘the notion of outreach scholarship’ and the ‘nature of giving.’ In addition, we discuss our different situations and how they affect our ability to do the best academic work. We can, and by consequence, give our best efforts to resist the hegemony of corporatization.     

Comparison between the force application point determined by portable force plate system and the center of pressure determined by pressure insole system during alpine skiing

The purposes of this study were (1) to compare the force application point (FAP) calculated by a portable force plate system and the center of pressure (COP) calculated by a pressure insole system during alpine skiing, and (2) to assess whether any statistical differences between FAP/COP characteristics were influenced by the skiing modes, skiers’ skill levels, or pitch of the slope. Seven expert and eight intermediate skiers performed 20 double turns with two different skiing techniques. Similarities between the time characteristics of both systems and repeated measures ANOVA were used for the statistical analysis. Time characteristics of both systems in the y direction (anterior–posterior) were highly comparable. The mean FAP and COP in the x direction (medial–lateral) were different in all skiing modes for the outer ski and for the inner ski for the expert skiers. The ranges of the FAP in both directions were greater than the COP in almost all conditions.     

Peer Assessment Training in Teacher Education: Effects on performance and perceptions

The implementation of peer assessment receives much attention in teacher education. This paper reports the effects of peer assessment training on the performance of student teachers. Ninety-three student teachers were randomly assigned to control groups and experimental groups. The experimental groups were trained in defining performance criteria, giving feedback and writing assessment reports. This was done through peer assessment tasks that were embedded in a redesigned course. Analyses of data derived from peer assessment reports written by the students showed that the experimental groups surpassed the control groups in the quality of the assessment skill. As a result of the training, students from the experimental groups also scored significantly higher grades for the end products of the course than students from the control groups. The results of the questionnaire showed that all students were significantly more satisfied with the redesigned course.     

Promoting historical contextualisation in classrooms: an observational study

The aim of this observational study is to explore how history teachers promote historical contextualisation in their lessons. Historical contextualisation is the ability to situate phenomena and individuals’ actions in the context of time, historical location, long-term developments, or specific events to give meaning to these phenomena and actions. Using the Framework for Analysing the Teaching of Historical Contextualisation (FAT-HC), five trained raters observed eight history teachers twice. To further analyse the observation scores, the FAT-HC items were divided into eight categories while distinguishing between items that demonstrate historical contextualisation and items focusing on engaging students in historical contextualisation processes. The results indicate that the teachers in the sample did not explicitly promote historical contextualisation in their lessons. No teacher obtained a mean FAT-HC score >2.00 on a four-point scale. The teachers mainly demonstrated historical contextualisation, while engaging students in historical contextualisation processes was observed far less often. The findings can be used to help teachers formulate domain-specific instruction to promote students’ ability to perform historical contextualisation.     

Quality assurance in Higher Education: Fit for the new millennium or simply year 2000 compliant?

The current focus on quality assuranceprocedures emphasises compliance andaccountability. Drawing upon experience, mainlyfrom the UK, the article argues that whilstthis approach is understandable given thecircumstances of the 1990s, it has led to aninstitutional culture that is in danger ofalienating academic staff to the detriment ofthe system as a whole. If quality assurancesystems are to recognise the increasinglydiverse nature of higher education institutionsin the new millennium, compliance will need tobe balanced by a greater emphasis onencouraging innovation and self-improvement onthe part of individual members of staff. Bothquality assurance agencies and institutionsthemselves will need to adapt their policies,procedures and culture if higher educationsystems are to respond positively to thechallenges of the new millennium.     

Investigation of blood pulse PPG signal regulation on toe effect of body posture and lower limb height

Objective: To study the regulation of blood pulse volume via photoplethysmography (PPG) signal detected from toe, while the lower limb is passively raised in different height positions. Methods: Use a modified non-invasive PPG technique to detect the blood pulse signal on toe with infrared (IR) photo sensor. A protocol consisting of two postures, i.e., supine and 45° reclining, was designed to conduct laboratory trial in this study. During the period of performing the protocol of these postures, the lower limb was passively raised from the heights of 10 cm to 60 cm randomly and individually with sponge blocks underneath the foot. Results: In the supine posture, the higher the foot was passively raised, the more the blood PPG signal decreased. In the 45° reclining posture, the blood PPG signal increased at the beginning and then decreased in the foot height position from 10 cm to 60 cm. In both postures the normalized AC signal changes significantly while the normalized DC signal changes little. Conclusion: The toe PPG signals can obviously indicate the regulated blood volume change with the designated postural procedures due to the heart level position.