The long-term athlete development model: physiological evidence and application

Within the UK, the "Long Term Athlete Development" (LTAD) model has been proposed by a variety of national governing bodies to offer a first step to considering the approach to talent development. The model, which is primarily a physiological perspective, presents an advancement of understanding of developing athletic potential alongside biological growth. It focuses on training to optimize performance longitudinally, and considers sensitive developmental periods known as "windows of opportunity". However, it appears that there are a number of problems with this theoretical model that are not necessarily transparent to coaches. Principally, the model is only one-dimensional, there is a lack of empirical evidence upon which the model is based, and interpretations of the model are restricted because the data on which it is based rely on questionable assumptions and erroneous methodologies. Fundamentally, this is a generic model rather than an individualized plan for athletes. It is crucial that the LTAD model is seen as a "work in progress" and the challenge, particularly for paediatric exercise scientists, is to question, test, and revise the model. It is unlikely that this can be accomplished using classical experimental research methodology but this should not deter practitioners from acquiring valid and reliable evidence.     

William Ellery Channing's Philosophy Of Physical Education And Recreation

In the late nineteenth century, issues such as professionalization, the advancement of women, and the appropriate training of teachers faced our field. The Boston Normal School of Gymnastics (BNSG) was instrumental in addressing these issues, and perhaps addressed most thoroughly, the training of teachers. This paper examines the legacy of the BNSG on today's physical education teacher preparation (PETE) programs. Many have documented the infloence of the BNSG as one of the first successful physical education teacher training institutions. However, what has not been examined are the particular philosophies of the administrators and teachers at the BNSG that still persevere in colleges and universities today. The BNSG was instrumental in the professionalization of the field and in the advancement of women in physical education. The argument is made that perhaps the BNSG's greatest contribution was in the development of many philosophies and basic pedagogical concepts such as combining theory and practice, teaching with progressions, and using experts to train future teachers, and these philosophies and concepts that guide today's PETE programs were the same used in the BNSG over a century ago.     

Information effects on the response-reinforcer association

Pigeons were trained on a discrete-trial delayed reinforcement procedure with respect to one response key that was periodically illuminated. In some conditions, a second response key, or a tone, both previously paired with reinforcement, was interpolated in the delay-of-reinforcement interval. In comparison to a control condition with neither stimulus in the delay interval, the interpolated stimulus attenuated (blocked) the amount of responding that was maintained by the delayed reinforcement contingency. The degree of blocking was unaffected by whether the interpolated stimulus was the tone or keylight, in spite of the fact that the keylight evoked responding and the tone did not. A second study showed that the blocking effects involved the response-reinforcer association in that blocking occurred when the delayed reinforcement was response-dependent but did not occur when reinforcement was response-independent. The results thus show that response-reinforcer associations are affected by informational variables in the same manner as has been shown for stimulus-reinforcer associations. They also demonstrate that preexisting stimulus-reinforcer associations can block response-reinforcer associations, thus suggesting that both types of association depend upon the same associative process.     

Increased dietary carbohydrate and endurance during single‐leg cycling using a limb with normal muscle glycogen concentration

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that increased availability of blood‐borne glucose would improve endurance after carbohydrate loading. A single‐leg exercise model was employed, taking advantage of the fact that supercompensation of muscle glycogen occurs only in a previously exercised limb. Endurance time to exhaustion at 70% of maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂max) was determined for 11 males and three females who were then allocated to a control group or a high‐carbohydrate (CHO) group. For 3 days following Test 1 the control group maintained a prescribed normal diet whilst the CHO group increased the proportion of energy derived from carbohydrate (62.1 ± 4.3% cf. 43.9 ± 2.0%, P < 0.01). The endurance test was then repeated using the leg that was inactive during Test 1. Endurance time was increased on Test 2 (123.7 ± 43.2 min cf. 98.5 ± 21.9 min, P <0.05 one‐tailed test) for the CHO group but not for the control group (101.8 ± 21.7 min cf. 107.5 ± 9.1 min, NS). There was no indication of enhanced carbohydrate metabolism during Test 2 for the CHO group but mean heart rate was lower during Test 2 than during Test 1 (145 ± 14 beat min ^‐1 cf. 152 ± 12 beat min ^‐1, P<0.05). These results suggest that the prior consumption of a high‐carbohydrate diet improves endurance during high‐intensity cycling with a limb with normal muscle glycogen concentration.     

Supporting Middle School Students Whose Parents Are Deployed: Challenges and Strategies for Schools

Middle school students from military families face unique challenges, especially when their parents are deployed. Among the challenges they experience are frequent relocations; issues that affect academic achievement; uncertainty; and changes in roles, responsibilities, and relationships at home. Reunification involves issues of the returning parent's reintegration into the family, reacquainting with children, and recuperation. This article highlights the need for educators to recognize the unique matters surrounding military students, particularly those whose parents are deployed. It focuses on students’ needs, challenges faced by families and schools, and support mechanisms in place. Implications for practice and strategies for schools to use are provided.     

Reputation and reality: ranking major disciplines in Australian universities

League tables that rank universities may use reputational measures, performance measures, or both. Each type of measure has strengths and weaknesses. In this paper, we rank disciplines in Australian universities both by reputation, using an international survey of senior academics, and with actual performance measures. We then compare the two types of measures to see how closely they match. The criterion we use for both sets of measures is ‘international academic standing’. We find a high correlation between the survey results and the various measures of research performance. We also find a correlation between the quality of student intake and the survey rankings, but the satisfaction levels of recent graduates do not correlate well with the rankings by academics. We then construct an overall measure of performance, which gives very similar rankings to the survey results, especially for the top-ranked institutions.

Increased dietary carbohydrate and endurance during single-leg cycling using a limb with normal muscle glycogen concentration

The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that increased availability of blood-borne glucose would improve endurance after carbohydrate loading. A single-leg exercise model was employed, taking advantage of the fact that supercompensation of muscle glycogen occurs only in a previously exercised limb. Endurance time to exhaustion at 70% of maximal oxygen uptake (VO2 max) was determined for 11 males and three females who were then allocated to a control group or a high-carbohydrate (CHO) group. For 3 days following Test 1 the control group maintained a prescribed normal diet whilst the CHO group increased the proportion of energy derived from carbohydrate (62.1 +/- 4.3% cf. 43.9 +/- 2.0%, P less than 0.01). The endurance test was then repeated using the leg that was inactive during Test 1. Endurance time was increased on Test 2 (123.7 +/- 43.2 min cf. 98.5 +/- 21.9 min, P less than 0.05 one-tailed test) for the CHO group but not for the control group (101.8 +/- 21.7 min cf. 107.5 +/- 9.1 min, NS). There was no indication of enhanced carbohydrate metabolism during Test 2 for the CHO group but mean heart rate was lower during Test 2 than during Test 1 (145 +/- 14 beat min-1 cf. 152 +/- 12 beat min-1, P less than 0.05). These results suggest that the prior consumption of a high-carbohydrate diet improves endurance during high-intensity cycling with a limb with normal muscle glycogen concentration.