Does variability within natural turfgrass sports fields influence ground-derived injuries?

Natural turfgrass sports fields exhibit within-field variations due to climatic conditions, field construction, field management, and foot traffic patterns from field usage. Variations within a field could influence the playing surface predictability and require athletes to make abrupt or frequent adjustments that lead to increased ground-derived injury occurrence. This study introduces a new methodology aimed at evaluating the potential relationship between within-field variations of turfgrass sports field properties and ground-derived athlete injuries. Collegiate Club Sport athletes self-reported ground-derived injuries over two years. Soil moisture, turfgrass quality, surface hardness, and turfgrass shear strength were quantified from their two home fields. Hot spot analysis identified significantly high (hot spots) and low (cold spots) values within the fields. Injury locations were compared to hot spot maps each month. Binomial proportion tests determined if there were differences between observed injury proportions and expected proportions. Twenty-three ground-derived injuries were reported overall. The observed injury proportions occurring in turfgrass quality cold spots [0.52 (95% CI 0.29–0.76)] and soil moisture hot spots [0.43 (95% CI 0.22–0.66)] was significantly higher than expected [0.20 (p?p?相似文献   

Read Two Impress and the Neurological Impress Method: Effects on elementary students’ reading fluency,comprehension, and attitude

This seven-week study examined the effects of the Neurological Impress Method and Read Two Impress on reading comprehension, fluency, and students’ attitude toward reading. The 57 first-, second-, and third-grade students were randomly assigned to three conditions and were pre- and posttested on eight reading measures. Several 3 × 2 factorial analyses of variance revealed significant interaction effects on retell, comprehension questions, and the multidimensional fluency scale as well as time effects on words read correctly per minute and word recognition accuracy. Moreover, a comparison of mean difference effect sizes favored the treatment groups on all reading fluency and comprehension measures. The interventions, however, had little effect on students’ attitude toward reading. Practical implications and future research directions are also discussed.     

Children's self-efficacy, motivational intentions, and attributions in physical education and sport

The purpose of this study was to examine how differences in children's self-efficacy, age, and gender impact motivational intentions, future self-efficacy, and attributions following perceptions of failure. Children, ages 8-14 years (N = 289), were assigned to either high or low self-efficacy groups, and measures of intended effort, persistence, choice, future self-efficacy, and attributions for failure were collected following a failure scenario. Results indicated that children with higher self-efficacy chose to participate and had higher future self-efficacy scores than those with lower self-efficacy. Higher efficacy children attributed failure to lack of effort, whereas, those with lower efficacy attributed failure to lack of ability. Age-related differences were also found with choice to participate, effort, and future self-efficacy.     

Alternative convergence criteria for iterative methods of solving nonlinear equations

Let χ_m+1=T(χ_m) or even χ_m+1=T(χ_m,χ_m?1, …, χ_m?q), m=1,2,3 … be an iteration method for solving the nonlinear problem F(χ)=0, where F(χ) and its derivatives possess all of the properties required by T(χ_m). Then if it can be established that for the problem at hand ∥F(χ_m+1)∥?β_m∥F(χ_m)∥, ? m > M₀ (M₀<∞) and 0?β_m<1 , definitions are established and theorems proven concerning convergence, uniqueness and bounds on the error after ‘m’ successive iterations of a new approach to convergence properties T(χ_m). These charateristics are referred to as “alternate” (local, global) convergence properties and none of the proofs given are restricted to any specific type of method such as, e.g. contraction mapping types. Application of results obtained are illustrated using Newton's method as well as the general concept of Newton-like methods.     

Evaluating online resources in terms of learning environment and student attitudes in middle-grade mathematics classes

The main objective of this research was to use learning environment and attitude scales in evaluating online resource materials for supporting a traditional mathematics curriculum. The sample consisted of 914 middle-school students in 49 classes. A second research focus was the validation of the chosen learning environment questionnaire, the Technology-Rich Outcomes-Focused Learning Environment Inventory (TROFLEI), with an ethnically-diverse sample of middle-grade mathematics students in Florida. Finally, we complemented quantitative questionnaire data with qualitative interview data that were analysed thematically. In addition to cross-validating the TROFLEI, our study suggested that the online resource provided neither much advantage nor much disadvantage.     

Estimating parallel form reliability from one administration of a criterion-referenced test: A computer program for practitioners

Reliability of a criterion-referenced test is often viewed as the consistency with which individuals who have taken two strictly parallel forms of a test are classified as being masters or nonmasters. However, in practice, it is rarely possible to retest students, especially with equivalent forms. For this reason, methods for making conservative approximations of alternate form (or test-retest “without the effects of testing”) reliability have been developed. Because these methods are computationally tedious and require some psychometric sophistication, they have rarely been used by teachers and school psychologists. This paper (a) describes one method (Subkoviak's) for estimating alternate-form reliability from one administration of a criterion-referenced test and (b) describes a computer program developed by the authors that will handle tests containing hundreds of items for large numbers of examinees and allow any test user to apply the technique described. The program is a superior alternative to other methods of simplifying this estimation procedure that rely upon tables; a user can check classification consistency estimates for several prospective cut scores directly from a data file, without having to make prior calculations.