Comparison of force-related performance indicators between heavyweight and lightweight rowers

The aim of this study was to examine biomechanical variables relating to the force production of men's Lightweight (LW) and Heavyweight (HW) rowing pairs. Seven HW and seven LW coxless pairs were studied under a range of stroke rates, from 20 spm to race rating (average of 33.7 spm for the HWs and 33.9 spm for the LWs). Each crew was equipped with biomechanical apparatus allowing the measurement of gate force, horizontal oar angle, and boat velocity. The HW crews exhibited significantly higher (p < 0.05) values for all variables examined, at all rates. Peak handle force was 26.2% to 30.2% higher in the HW group. Average handle force ranged from 18.7% to 22.1% higher than the LW group. Work per stroke was found to be 26% to 28% higher for the HW crews, and Power Per Kilogram was also greater for the HW crews, from 24.0% to 29.2%. The LWs were observed to be consistently, but not significantly, slower than the HWs (from 96.9% at the race situation, to 98.7% at 28 spm). These observations are important when considering biomechanical performance indicators in rowing, as significant changes in performance indicators may lead to only minimal alteration in boat velocity.     

Making the written word “speak”: Reflections on the teaching of correspondence courses

Abstract

Learning outcomes for an interactive television‐based distance learning course in introductory high school Japanese were evaluated in three successive years by comparing student achievement in the distance learning course to that in traditional classes. Year‐end achievement tests of listening and written language competency were administered to students in both the distance and face‐to‐face courses. Results in the first two years showed that test scores of students in the distance learning course were higher than those of students in the face‐to‐face classes; however, possible group differences in motivation, general ability, and experience as language learners could not be ruled out as explanations for the difference. Therefore, achievement measures were supplemented in the third year with data on students’ perceived efficacy as Japanese language users, their grades, and their previous foreign language learning experience. The achievement data again showed differences favoring the distance learning group; trends were consistent for students with differing levels of school success and amount of prior language learning experience. Factors that could account for these results are hypothesized and suggestions for future research are proposed.     

The multi-stage fitness test as a predictor of endurance fitness in wheelchair athletes

Abstract

The aims of this study were two-fold: (1) to consider the criterion-related validity of the multi-stage fitness test (MSFT) by comparing the predicted maximal oxygen uptake ([Vdot]O_2max) and distance travelled with peak oxygen uptake ([Vdot]O_2peak) measured using a wheelchair ergometer (n = 24); and (2) to assess the reliability of the MSFT in a sub-sample of wheelchair athletes (n = 10) measured on two occasions. Twenty-four trained male wheelchair basketball players (mean age 29 years, s = 6) took part in the study. All participants performed a continuous incremental wheelchair ergometer test to volitional exhaustion to determine [Vdot]O_2peak, and the MSFT on an indoor wooden basketball court. Mean ergometer [Vdot]O_2peak was 2.66 litres · min^?1 (s = 0.49) and peak heart rate was 188 beats · min^?1 (s = 10). The group mean MSFT distance travelled was 2056 m (s = 272) and mean peak heart rate was 186 beats · min^?1 (s = 11). Low to moderate correlations (ρ = 0.39 to 0.58; 95% confidence interval [CI]: ?0.02 to 0.69 and 0.23 to 0.80) were found between distance travelled in the MSFT and different expressions of wheelchair ergometer [Vdot]O_2peak. There was a mean bias of ?1.9 beats · min^?1 (95% CI: ?5.9 to 2.0) and standard error of measurement of 6.6 beats · min^?1 (95% CI: 5.4 to 8.8) between the ergometer and MSFT peak heart rates. A similar comparison of ergometer and predicted MSFT [Vdot]O_2peak values revealed a large mean systematic bias of 15.3 ml · kg^?1 · min^?1 (95% CI: 13.2 to 17.4) and standard error of measurement of 3.5 ml · kg^?1 · min^?1 (95% CI: 2.8 to 4.6). Small standard errors of measurement for MSFT distance travelled (86 m; 95% CI: 59 to 157) and MSFT peak heart rate (2.4 beats · min^?1; 95% CI: 1.7 to 4.5) suggest that these variables can be measured reliably. The results suggest that the multi-stage fitness test provides reliable data with this population, but does not fully reflect the aerobic capacity of wheelchair athletes directly.     

Back injuries and the fast bowler in cricket

Here, I review research that has investigated the aetiology of injuries experienced by adolescent and adult fast bowlers. Mechanical factors play an important role in the aetiology of degenerative processes and injuries to the lumbar spine. This is particularly so in fast bowling, where a player must absorb vertical and horizontal components of the ground reaction force that are approximately five and two times body weight at front-foot and rear-foot impact, respectively. Attenuated forces are transmitted to the spine through the lower limb, while additional foces at the lumbo-sacral junction are caused by trunk hyperextension, lateral flexion and twisting during the delivery stride. Fast bowlers are classified as side-on, front-on or mixed. The mixed action is categorized by the lower body configuration of the front-on action and the upper body configuration of the side-on technique. This upper body configuration is produced by counter-rotation away from the batsman in the transverse plane about the longitudinal axis of the body of a line through the two shoulders. Counter-rotations of 12–40° during a delivery stride have predicted an increased incidence of lumbar spondylolysis, disc abnormality and muscle injury in fast bowlers. During the delivery stride, the mixed bowling action also shows: more lateral flexion and hyperextension of the lumbar spine at front-foot impact, and a greater range of motion of the trunk over the delivery stride when compared with the side-on and front-on techniques. The pars interarticularis of each vertebra is vulnerable to injury if repetitive flexion, rotation and hyperextension are present in the activity. Fast bowlers should reduce shoulder counter-rotation during the delivery stride to reduce the incidence of back injuries. When a player is required to bowl for extended periods irrespective of technique, overuse is also related to an increased incidence of back injuries and must be avoided.     

Guiding Low Spatial Ability Individuals through Visual Cueing: The Dual Importance of Where and When to Look

Research suggests that spatial ability may predict success in complex disciplines including anatomy, where mastery requires a firm understanding of the intricate relationships occurring along the course of veins, arteries, and nerves, as they traverse through and around bones, muscles, and organs. Debate exists on the malleability of spatial ability, and some suggest that spatial ability can be enhanced through training. It is hypothesized that spatial ability can be trained in low-performing individuals through visual guidance. To address this, training was completed through a visual guidance protocol. This protocol was based on eye-movement patterns of high-performing individuals, collected via eye-tracking as they completed an Electronic Mental Rotations Test (EMRT). The effects of guidance were evaluated using 33 individuals with low mental rotation ability, in a counterbalanced crossover design. Individuals were placed in one of two treatment groups (late or early guidance) and completed both a guided, and an unguided EMRT. A third group (no guidance/control) completed two unguided EMRTs. All groups demonstrated an increase in EMRT scores on their second test (P < 0.001); however, an interaction was observed between treatment and test iteration (P = 0.024). The effect of guidance on scores was contingent on when the guidance was applied. When guidance was applied early, scores were significantly greater than expected (P = 0.028). These findings suggest that by guiding individuals with low mental rotation ability “where” to look early in training, better search approaches may be adopted, yielding improvements in spatial reasoning scores. It is proposed that visual guidance may be applied in spatial fields, such as STEMM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics and medicine), surgery, and anatomy to improve student's interpretation of visual content. Anat Sci Educ. © 2018 American Association of Anatomists.     

Making the case for recordkeeping literacy: a narrative approach

The role of recordkeeping in our personal and professional lives is rarely perceived as a topic of mainstream interest outside the world of professional records managers and archivists. While corporate records management has been written about throughout the recordkeeping literature, there has traditionally been less focus on what McKemmish describes as the role of ‘personal recordkeeping cultures’. Yet personal recordkeeping can play a role in creating a sense of belonging, especially for children and families. For example, within the field of Australian early childhood education, one of the key policy documents replicates a similar theme with the aptly titled ‘Early Years Learning Framework – Belonging, Being & Becoming’. By reflecting on her own personal recordkeeping story and that of her family, the author aims to explore the purpose of recordkeeping awareness and the role this plays in the wider profession. This article will draw upon relevant recordkeeping theory as well as some key early childhood education literature to introduce how ‘recordkeeping awareness’ could be reconceptualised as ‘recordkeeping literacy’. She will also explore what impact a reconceptualised understanding of continuum-based ‘recordkeeping literacy’ may have upon evolving recordkeeping theory and practice.     

Prestige auditing and the market for academic esteem: a framework and an appeal

Much has been written about the remarkable rise of global university rankings from their initial appearance in the Academic Ranking of World Universities (Shanghai) tables in 2003. The examination of all things rankings, however, has arguably outpaced its conceptual uptake. This paper addresses this imbalance by reviewing prestige audits as resource management tools and status allocation measures. The paper argues that audit ambition has courted audit failure in both dimensions. The resource management justification underestimates the challenge of devising reliable proxy variables across international higher education sectors, organizational types, and disciplinary/departmental objectives. Evidential data sets are duly recast as data narratives that compete with each other and cloud the ordinal clarity aspired to in ranking tables. The status competition approach generates Matthew effects and encourages factor gaming. Positional goods investments are also socially and economically wasteful. In either strict (rigid) or relaxed (normed) form, finally, their zero-sum logic fails to account for private and public externalities. The paper closes with an appeal to soft-variable evaluations in higher education contexts as well as to closer scrutiny of the vocabulary informing both quantitative and qualitative assessments.