Health benefits of hard martial arts in adults: a systematic review

Participation in organized sports is promoted as a means of increasing physical activity levels and reducing chronic disease risk in adults. Hard martial arts practice (i.e. using body contact techniques), has gained in popularity over time. This review explores the evidence for health benefits of “hard” martial arts practice within the adult population. A systematic electronic database search was conducted, and quality assessments applied the Effective Public Health Practice Project tool. Twenty-eight studies met the inclusion criteria, examining balance, cognitive function, muscular skeletal status, psychological, cardiovascular fitness, and metabolic effects. The majority of studies reported positive effects resulting from hard martial arts practice, showing some improvement and maintenance of balance, cognitive function and psychological health. Benefits may be obtained regardless of the age of practice commencement. However, quality of the evidence is affected by methodological weaknesses across the studies. “Hard” martial arts seem to have potential to improve balance and cognitive functions that decline with age, which can lead to poorer health outcomes among the elderly (e.g. cognitive decline, falls and fractures). Benefits should be further investigated with improved intervention studies, representative samples and longer follow-up periods in order to establish associations with morbidity and mortality in the long term.     

Kinematics and kinetics of handcycling propulsion at increasing workloads in able-bodied subjects

In Paralympic sports, biomechanical optimisation of movements and equipment seems to be promising for improving performance. In handcycling, information about the biomechanics of this sport is mainly provided by case studies. The aim of the current study was (1) to examine changes in handcycling propulsion kinematics and kinetics due to increasing workloads and (2) identify parameters that are associated with peak aerobic performance. Twelve non-disabled male competitive triathletes without handcycling experience voluntarily participated in the study. They performed an initial familiarisation protocol and incremental step test until exhaustion in a recumbent racing handcycle that was attached to an ergometer. During the incremental test, tangential crank kinetics, 3D joint kinematics, blood lactate and ratings of perceived exertion (local and global) were identified. As a performance criterion, the maximal power output during the step test (P_max) was calculated and correlated with biomechanical parameters. For higher workloads, an increase in crank torque was observed that was even more pronounced in the pull phase than in the push phase. Furthermore, participants showed an increase in shoulder internal rotation and abduction and a decrease in elbow flexion and retroversion. These changes were negatively correlated with performance. At high workloads, it seems that power output is more limited by the transition from pull to push phase than at low workloads. It is suggested that successful athletes demonstrate small alterations of their kinematic profile due to increasing workloads. Future studies should replicate and expand the test spectrum (sprint and continuous loads) as well as use methods like surface electromyography (sEMG) with elite handcyclists.     

Exploring Neuroscience: A Guide for Getting Started

Neuroscience becomes more relevant for disciplines pertaining to children's development and education with each passing year. Thus, there is an urgent need for scholars and practitioners in these disciplines to educate themselves about the structure, function, and development of the brain, and to explore the neuroscience literature connected with their areas of professional expertise. A detailed rationale, study strategies, and resources for beginning this process are presented, based on the author's recent experiences. They provide a framework and specific guidelines for those who wish to begin to integrate a neuroscience perspective into their teaching, research, and interactions with the community, and they may arouse the curiosity of those who are not yet interested. Numerous examples of pertinent neuroscience research are included.     

Understanding student/alumni satisfaction from a consumer's perspective: The effects of institutional performance and program outcomes

The benefits of understanding and promoting student/alumni satisfaction are numerous. While this article draws on previous studies of the determinants of satisfaction in higher education, it has a different research focus. The study investigates the student/alumni satisfaction phenomenon in a consumer satisfaction framework. Results indicate that the formation of satisfaction judgments is a multidimensional process, and that the process is dependent on the degree of goal development that a student has for a particular aspect of his or her educational experience. If students have poorly formed goals for an aspect of education, they are likely to base their satisfaction judgments on institutional performance. If their goals are well formed, they are likely to base satisfaction judgments on the outcomes of the institutional performance. In general, however, student/alumni assessments of satisfaction with higher education are influenced by both the perceived quality of the service provider's performance and the perceived outcomes of that performance.The authors' names are ordered alphabetically to reflect equal contributions.     

Further abuse of sexually abused children

OBJECTIVE: To determine the incidence of re-abuse in children known to have been sexually abused and to find factors that increase the risk of re-abuse. METHOD: The study group consisted of 183 children with substantiated sexual abuse who presented to two children's hospitals' Child Protection Units in Sydney, Australia during 1988 through 1990. At intake, when the children were aged between 5 years and 15 years, data about the child, the family, and the nature of the index sexual abuse were collected. Six years after presentation for the abuse, records of the Department of Community Services were checked to see if any of the young people had been the subject of substantiated notifications for abuse/neglect before and after intake to the study. Predictors of notifications for abuse/neglect after presentation for the index sexual abuse were identified. RESULTS: Of the sexually abused young people, nearly one in three were the subject of subsequent substantiated notifications to the Department of Community Services for some form of child abuse and neglect or behavior which placed them at risk of harm. Later notifications for abuse/neglect were predicted by notifications for emotional abuse before the index sexual abuse (adjusted RR = 4.88, CI: 1.43 to 16.65), severity of the index sexual abuse (p = .03), and the number of changes in the child's primary caregivers before intake (p = .03). Approximately one in six of the sexually abused young people were notified for sexual abuse after intake to the study. One in 10 also had prior notifications for sexual abuse. Sexual abuse notifications after study intake were predicted by caregiver changes before intake (p = .01) and whether or not there were notifications for emotional abuse before the index sexual abuse (adjusted RR = 3.40, CI: 1.05 to 11.02). CONCLUSIONS: Revictimization of children appears to be a marker of ongoing family dysfunction. Intervention in child sexual abuse needs to consider a range of risk factors associated with re-abuse and, in particular, should focus on family functioning if further abuse is to be prevented.     

Using Qualitative Evaluation Methods to Identify Exemplary Practices in Early Childhood Education

The proliferation of early childhood programs for children with and without disabilities has occurred without clear indicators or standards of program quality. Evaluations of these programs often consist of compliance monitoring or outcome assessment. Little attention is given to program context or the quality of individual components of the program. In this paper, an alternative evaluation model, a connoisseurship or professional review model using on-site observations, interviews, and document review, was used to identify exemplary practices in early childhood education in one large midwestern state. The results indicated that with proper training and support, early childhood professionals without experience in qualitative methods can become proficient in interviewing techniques, observation, and document review. The resulting case study reports were useful for identifying and describing exemplary practices across the state, demonstrating the potential for this alternative approach to evaluation in early childhood education.     

Knowledge Organization from an Indigenous Perspective: The Mashantucket Pequot Thesaurus of American Indian Terminology Project

Native Americans create, preserve, and organize knowledge within the context of community, thereby ensuring the inclusion of Native American philosophies. Historically, mainstream cataloging and classification systems have not adequately represented this knowledge. The Mashantucket Pequot Thesaurus of American Indian Terminology was designed to incorporate an Indigenous perspective into mainstream controlled vocabularies. Using story as pedagogy, this article examines the conceptual foundations, theoretical framework, and application of the Thesaurus to a museum setting.