商品个性标志的定义及其在美国流行文化中的角色

在过去的一个多世纪,商品的个性标志一直是美国人钟爱的广告工具。各种各样被广告商作为传播体系的＂会说话的动物＂和＂会跳舞的产品＂已悄无声息地蔓延在美国的流行文化中。1982年,有人在做调查后发现,凡是商品特征明显的广告,在改变品牌偏好的能力上要比同行业其他品牌强。这一点表明社会正在接收商品个性标志这样的讯息。然而,尽管商品个性标志的运用在广告商和消费者中大受欢迎,却几乎被完全遗忘在广告和流行文化研究的角落。本文将从相关文学的角度解析什么是商品个性标志,以及其如何运用在现代广告业中,并与消费者进行交流。     

美国中学与大学体育的管理机制与司法治理

体育作为中学课外活动的教育内容之一,主要由美国各州政府自行管理,各州的中学也组成了高中体育管理联合会来制定和执行校际体育活动的有关规则。美国法院遵循司法谦抑原则,通常不会干预联合会的决定,除非决定所依据的规则或所依据的程序违反了成文法,或侵犯了联邦或州宪法规定的基本权利。大学校际体育由大学自发组成的各种联合会进行管理,其中最重要的是全国大学体育联合会（NCAA）,NCAA以维持大学体育的业余性、保证体育作为高等教育的有机组成部分为宗旨,有权制定和强制实施各项规则及处罚。NCAA不是政府组织,无法对其管理大学体育的行为适用美国联邦宪法,但可以适用美国联邦反垄断法。     

讀了職業教育專號以後

我是喜欢研究职业教育的人,却並不是職業教育的专家,我向來對於职业教育也很懷疑,對於職業学校尤其怀疑。不過我所懷疑的,是職業教育和職業學校在中國何以不能显出效能,不是懷疑職業教育和职業學校的本身,職業教育在教育史上的年代,原來很短,就是最發達的德国,美國,提倡的時期,距今也還不遠,他們也有許多問題,不能得到圓满的解決,正怪不得我們中國還在‘議論紛紜,莫衷一是’     

The role of upper torso and pelvis rotation in driving performance during the golf swing

While the role of the upper torso and pelvis in driving performance is anecdotally appreciated by golf instructors, their actual biomechanical role is unclear. The aims of this study were to describe upper torso and pelvis rotation and velocity during the golf swing and determine their role in ball velocity. One hundred recreational golfers underwent a biomechanical golf swing analysis using their own driver. Upper torso and pelvic rotation and velocity, and torso-pelvic separation and velocity, were measured for each swing. Ball velocity was assessed with a golf launch monitor. Group differences (groups based on ball velocity) and moderate relationships (r > or = 0.50; P < 0.001) were observed between an increase in ball velocity and the following variables: increased torso-pelvic separation at the top of the swing, maximum torso-pelvic separation, maximum upper torso rotation velocity, upper torso rotational velocity at lead arm parallel and last 40 ms before impact, maximum torso-pelvic separation velocity and torso-pelvic separation velocity at both lead arm parallel and at the last 40 ms before impact. Torso-pelvic separation contributes to greater upper torso rotation velocity and torso-pelvic separation velocity during the downswing, ultimately contributing to greater ball velocity. Golf instructors can consider increasing ball velocity by maximizing separation between the upper torso and pelvis at the top of and initiation of the downswing.     

Open feedback in gymnastic judging causes conformity bias based on informational influencing

The aims of this study were twofold: (1) to determine whether open feedback (i.e. the ability to hear or see the scores of colleague judges after each performance) would lead judges in gymnastics to conform with their colleagues, and (2) to identify the underlying process on which this conformity is based. Twenty-three certified Flemish judges in women's gymnastics were randomly divided into panels of a maximum of five judges. These panels had to rate the same 30 videotaped individual vaults: 15 in phase 1 and 15 in phase 2. Two independent variables were orthogonally manipulated: feedback (or no feedback) during phase 1 and feedback (or no feedback) during phase 2. The results of phase 1 revealed that the variation between the judges' scores was less within panels that had received feedback than within panels that had not received feedback. We therefore conclude that the availability of feedback elicits conformity among gymnastic judges. The results of phase 2 indicated that this conformity continued even when feedback was no longer provided, suggesting that the observed conformity was based on informational influencing (i.e. because of uncertainty about the correct responses) and not on normative influencing (i.e. out of fear of standing out in the group).     

Correlations between serum and salivary hormonal concentrations in response to resistance exercise

The aim of present study was to examine the relationships between serum and salivary values of free testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, and cortisol before and after a session of resistance exercise. Twenty-eight healthy men (mean age 40 years, s = 4) participated in the present study. Serum and salivary samples were collected at rest and after a multiple-sets resistance exercise protocol, of approximately 25 minutes duration. Concentrations of free testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone, and cortisol were measured using radioimmunoassay kits. No significant correlation was observed between serum free testosterone and salivary testosterone (r = 0.22 to 0.26, P > 0.05). Serum cortisol was significantly correlated with salivary cortisol before (r = 0.52, P = 0.005) and after (r = 0.62, P = 0.001) the exercise protocol. Serum and salivary concentrations of dehydroepiandrosterone were significantly correlated before (r = 0.68, P < 0.001) and after (r = 0.7, P < 0.001) exercise. The results of the present study suggest that even under exercise conditions, the salivary values of cortisol and dehydroepiandrosterone can reflect the behaviour of these hormones in blood. However, further studies are necessary to verify if salivary testosterone reflects the behaviour of serum free testosterone during resistance exercise.     

Psychometric evaluation of the exercise identity scale among Greek adults and cross-cultural validity

The present study reported on translating the Exercise Identity Scale (EIS: Anderson & Cychosz, 1994) into Greek and examining its psychometric properties and cross-cultural validity based on U.S. individuals' EIS responses. Using four samples comprising 33, 103, and 647 Greek individuals, including exercisers and nonexercisers, and a similar sample comprising 800 U.S. individuals, the concurrent validity, factor structure, internal reliability, test-retest reliability, external validity, gender invariance, and cross-cultural validity of the EIS responses were examined using confirmatory factor analytical procedures. The results supported the concurrent validity, an adequate unidimensional factor structure for the translated EIS and the internal reliability and test-retest reliability over a 6-week interval. Further, cross-gender configural, partial metric, partial strong factorial, and partial strict factorial invariance and cross-cultural configural and partial metric invariance supported the cross-cultural equivalence of the EIS versions. Moreover, the external validity of the translated EIS responses was also supported. Overall, the findings supported the validity of the exercise identity construct outside North American boundaries and the EIS items' equivalence, providing initial evidence for its cross-cultural applicability.     

A season-long team-building intervention: examining the effect of team goal setting on cohesion

The purpose of the current study was to determine whether the implementation of a season-long team-building intervention program using team goal setting increased perceptions of cohesion. The participants were 86 female high school basketball players from 8 teams. The teams were randomly assigned to either an experimental team goal-setting or control condition. Each participant completed the Group Environment Questionnaire (GEQ; Carron, Brawley, & Widmeyer, 2002; Carron, Widmeyer, & Brawley, 1985), which assessed cohesion at both the beginning and end of the season. Overall, the results revealed a significant multivariate effect, Pillai's trace F(12, 438) = 2.68, p = .002. Post hoc analyses showed that at the beginning of the season, athletes from both conditions did not differ in their perceptions of cohesion. However, at the end of the season, athletes in the team goal-setting condition held higher perceptions of cohesion than athletes in the control condition. Overall, the results indicated that team goal setting was an effective team-building tool for influencing cohesiveness in sport teams.