Kinetic comparison of a side-foot soccer kick between experienced and inexperienced players

The aim of this study was to identify critical kinetic variables that lead to increased ball velocity during a side-foot passing kick in soccer. Seven experienced male soccer players and eight inexperienced players participated in the experiment. They were instructed to perform side-foot kicks along the ground with maximum effort with an eye on the target line. The joint angles, angular velocities, and torques of the kicking leg were determined based on the three-dimensional kinematic data. The mean ball speed of the experienced group (21.4 +/- 1.5 m/s) was significantly faster than that of the inexperienced group (16.0 +/- 1.0m/s; P < 0.001). The motions of the inexperienced players tended to be less dynamic than those of the experienced players. The most noticeable difference in the kinetics of the kick was found in the hip flexion torque throughout the back-swing phase until the leg-cocking phase. The mean peak value of the experienced group (168 +/- 20 N x or m) was significantly greater than that of the inexperienced group (94 +/- 17 N x or m; P < 0.001). To increase ball speed during a side-foot passing kick, the generation of hip-flexion torque during the earlier stage of kicking is critical.     

One to Watch

前段时间,中国市场上燃起了电视大战的硝烟,数码电视也出现在众多商场之中。本文介绍最新型的数码电视—等离子电视机。这种电视机有着显著的优点,不过就目前而言,市场状况似乎不很乐观。这是为什么呢?     

"Protoplasm...is soft wax in our hands": Paul Kammerer and the art of biological transformation

Paul Kammerer's career ended in scandal in 1926 over tampering with his evidence for "Lamarckian" evolution--the infamous midwife toad. But although Kammerer's conclusions proved false, his evidence was probably genuine. In any case his arguments were not simply for Lamarckism and against Darwinism, as the theories are understood today. If we look beyond the scandal, the Kammerer story shows us a great deal about early 20th-century biology: the range of new ideas about heredity and variation, competing theories of biological and cultural evolution and their applications in eugenics, new kinds of laboratories and professional roles for biologists, and changing standards for documenting experimental results.     

Designing nature reserves: adapting ecology to real-world problems

Establishing nature reserves is the foundation of regional conservation strategies. The science of nature reserve design is relatively new, having emerged alongside the interdisciplinary field of conservation biology over the past three or four decades. Its goal is to apply scientific ideas and methods to the selection and design of nature reserves and to related problems, such as deciding what kinds of buffer zones should surround reserves or how to establish corridors to link reserves and allow organisms to move from one area to another. As in other areas of conservation biology, designing nature reserves is a 'crisis' science, whose practitioners are driven by an acute sense of urgency over the need to stem the loss of species caused by human population growth.     

The exotic world of Pierre Pomet's A Compleat History of Druggs

The English translation of Pierre Pomet's A Compleat History of Druggs (1712) demonstrates how the expansion of print culture altered the way that scientific ideas were communicated. Although it makes utilitarian claims, the text of the History departs from the style of contemporary British pharmacopoeias by emphasizing the exotic aspects of drugs. In this sense, the text exemplifies how Enlightenment science could be sold to a cross-over audience interested as much in the fantastical as in the quality and operation of drugs.     

Patterns and predictors of father-infant engagement across race/ethnic groups

This study examines whether levels of father engagement (e.g., verbal stimulation, caregiving, and physical play) vary by race/ethnicity using a model that controls for fathers' human capital, mental health, and family relationships. It also tests whether the models work similarly across race/ethnic groups. Its sample of N=5,089 infants and their families is drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study - Birth Cohort (ECLS-B). We found that, after including controls, African American and Latino fathers had higher levels of engagement in caregiving and physical play activities than White fathers. There were no differences in verbal stimulation activities across race/ethnicity. Fathers' education (college level) predicted more verbally stimulating activities whereas fathers' report of couple conflict predicted less caregiving and physical play. Although levels of engagement differed across the groups, the overall models did not differ by race/ethnicity, except for physical play. African American mothers who reported high levels of depressive symptoms had partners who engaged in more physical play than White mothers with high levels of depressive symptoms.     

Theory of mind and social interest in zero-acquaintance play situations

Many studies have examined associations between children's theory of mind and social behavior with familiar peers, but to date none have examined how theory of mind might relate to behavior toward unfamiliar peers in a play setting. Forty-four 4-year-olds (21 girls, 23 boys) participated in standard theory-of-mind tasks and in a play session with 3 or 4 other children who were unfamiliar. Children were also tested on general vocabulary ability. No relations were found between theory of mind and social engagement. However, positive associations were found between theory of mind and time spent observing, but not interacting with, other children. Possible explanations of the links between theory of mind, temperament, and social interest are considered.     

Developing a template for National Child Protection Index Reports

Objectives

What impact does the strengthening of child rights have on the experience and circumstances of children? CRC General Comment 13 emphasizes that defining measurable targets for improvements in child protection is a key element of efforts to strengthen child rights and well-being across the world. This paper describes an attempt to identify key domains relevant to such mapping of child protection indicators, and the feasibility of collecting data—from existing data sources or otherwise—to complete a “National Child Protection Index Report” summarizing achievements and concerns at a national level.

Methods

A process of inter-agency consultation was facilitated by the CPC Learning Network to establish a template for the Index Report. The template was modeled on that used for the “Countdown to 2015” maternal, neonatal and child health initiative, aiming to capture indices not only of key protection risks but also implementation and coverage of key protection measures. The work drew on indicator development and policy initiatives by a number of international child protection agencies. The template developed was used as a basis to pilot national data collection in Indonesia and, at a sub-national level, in northern Uganda.

Findings

The template provides a concise summary of protection issues of relevance to a broad range of constituencies, global and national. However, in the pilot settings, existing routine data collection was inadequate to effectively populate a large proportion of indicators. Mechanisms of collating findings from discrete assessments—another potential source of data for completion of the index report—were also generally underdeveloped.

Practice implications

In settings where state infrastructure allows the collection and analysis of routine data in such domains as health and economic activity, such efforts should be extended to the child protection sector. Discrete assessments by governmental or non-governmental agencies also provide significant potential for more effective sharing and collation of information. National Child Protection sub-clusters or equivalent structures can play an important role in facilitating both of these processes.