Reviewing the Variability-Overuse Injury Hypothesis: Does Movement Variability Relate to Landing Injuries?

Purpose: Overuse injuries are common in sport, but complete understanding of injury risk factors remains incomplete. Although biomechanical studies frequently examine musculoskeletal injury mechanisms, human movement variability studies aim to better understand neuromotor functioning, with proposed connections between overuse injury mechanisms and changes in motor variability. Method: In a narrative review, we discuss the variability-overuse injury hypothesis, which suggests repeated load application leads to mechanical tissue breakdown and subsequent injury when exceeding the rate of physiological adaptation. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of this hypothesis, we incorporate concepts from motor control, neurophysiology, biomechanics, as well as research design and data analysis. We therefore summarize multiple perspectives while proposing theoretical relationships between movement variability and lower extremity overuse injuries. Results: Experimental data are presented and summarized from published experiments examining interactions between experimental task demands and movement variability in the context of drop landing movements, along with comparisons to previous movement variability studies. Conclusion: We provide a conceptual framework for sports medicine researchers interested in predicting and preventing sports injuries. Under performance conditions with greater task demands, we predict reduced trial-to-trial movement variability that could increase the likelihood of overuse injuries.     

Race differences on the developmental test of Visual Motor Integration,the Slosson Intelligence Test,and the ABC Inventory

Preschoolers' scores on the Developmental Test of Visual Motor Integration (VMI), the Slosson Intelligence Test (SIT), and the ABC Inventory (ABCI) were analyzed for race and sex differences. Separate ANOVAs revealed no race effect on the VMI, whereas race differences favoring whites were found for the SIT and ABCI. There were no effects for sex on any measure, nor were there any interactions. Results are discussed in terms of the inconsistent findings for race effects in the perceptual-motor literature.     

Educational program on evaluation of alleged sexual abuse victims

Increased awareness of the problem of child sexual abuse has resulted in increasing numbers of children presenting to professionals for the evaluation of possible sexual victimization. A multidisciplinary project to develop professionals' knowledge and skills in the identification and evaluation of possible victims is described. The program focused on the child as a victim and emphasized developmental perspectives with regard to identification, interviewing children, the medical examination, and children in the legal system. Fifty-one medical and social work professionals from ten Indiana counties attended the program and responded to questionnaires about their experience and knowledge. Of 40 (78%) respondents, 63% had had no previous training in the medical evaluation for child sexual abuse. Child protective workers referred alleged victims primarily to the child's regular physician (37%) or emergency room (31%) for medical examination. Knowledge about child sexual abuse improved significantly at two weeks postsymposium (p = .001) and remained improved at six months postsymposium (p less than .02). These original participants have subsequently organized similar multidisciplinary programs in their local communities for medical, social, law enforcement, and legal professionals; thus, they have been "seeds" for further educational and cooperative efforts throughout the state.     

Decision-making skills and deliberate practice in elite association football referees

We examined sport expertise as a function of role. In study 1, referees were better than players in a video-based decision-making task. This provides evidence that there are role-specific skills within one domain or sport. In study 2, we examined the training activities that could be influential in the development of skills in sports officials. Elite association football (soccer) referees retrospectively reported time spent in and perceptions of training activities for three periods: their first year of formal refereeing, 1998 (before formal training programmes were available), and the current year (2003). This allowed us to examine an area of skill with a limited culture of practice, where performance simulations with direct feedback are usually not feasible. The results showed that referees specialize early and, as they develop, they engage in greater volumes and types of training. Competitive match refereeing is considered a relevant activity for skill acquisition that does not fit Ericsson and colleagues' (1993) original definition of deliberate practice. Our findings indicate that actual performance is a significant activity for skill acquisition and refinement.     

Contextual influences on baseball ball-strike decisions in umpires, players, and controls

Baseball umpires, players, and control participants with no baseball experience were asked to call balls and strikes for video clips. In a basic judgement task, umpires and players were significantly better at calling pitches than controls. In a direct information task, borderline pitches were presented following clips of definite balls and definite strikes. Participants called target pitches closer to the strike end of the scale when viewed after definite balls than when they followed definite strikes. Similarly, when borderline pitches were shown in different pitch counts, participants called pitches more towards the strike end of the scale when there were three balls in the count (3-0, 3-2). These findings indicate that the standard for evaluation changes based on the context in which stimuli are processed. Moreover, the strength of the contextual factors is illustrated in that the effects were shown in observers with and without experience in the task. Overall, however, umpires had a greater tendency to call strikes, indicating that they may use a norm of "hastening the game".     

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 new footwear technology to promote non-heelstrike landing and enhance running performance: Fact or fad?

This study sought to compare the kinetics and kinematics data in a group of habitual shod runners when running in traditional running shoes and newly designed minimalist shoes with lug platform. This novel footwear design claims to simulate barefoot running and reduce energy loss during impact. We compared footstrike angle (FSA), vertical average (VALR) and instantaneous (VILR) loading rates, energy loss and initial vertical stiffness between two shoe conditions. Runners demonstrated a decreased FSA while running in minimalist shoes with lug platform than traditional shoes (P = 0.003; Cohen’s d = 0.918). However, we did not observe a landing pattern transition. VALR and VILR between two footwear conditions showed no significant difference (P = 0.191–0.258; Cohen’s d = 0.304–0.460). Initial vertical stiffness (P = 0.032; Cohen’s d = 0.671) and energy loss (P = 0.044; Cohen’s d = 0.578) were greater when running in minimalist shoes with lug platform. The results show that minimalist shoes with lug platform reduce the FSA but may not lead to a landing pattern switch or lower vertical loading rates. Interestingly, the new shoe design leads to a greater energy loss than traditional running shoes, which could be explained by a higher initial vertical stiffness.     

On Searching for the Latin American Sportswoman and Finding an Argentine Sports Historian

Abstract

This paper is a personal account of the author’s interest in the field of sports history and its emergence in Argentina. It explores several prejudices and misunderstandings that have contributed to a limited and partial vision of this scholarly discipline.     

Teacher Educators' Readiness,Preparation, and Perceptions of Preparing Preservice Teachers in a Fully Online Environment: An Exploratory Study

With a view to attracting more students and offering flexible learning opportunities, online teaching and learning is becoming increasingly widespread across the higher education sector. It is now found across a wide range of disciplines (e.g., business, health, psychology, accounting, information technology) and program levels (e.g., from associate degrees to doctorate degrees). Online delivery is also strongly represented in the teacher education sector at many universities. Research of online delivery in higher education generally and teacher education specifically has pointed to a range of benefits and challenges associated with this mode of learning. Within the teacher education literature, many aspects of the online preparation of teachers remain poorly understood. More specifically, there is scant literature on the experiences and beliefs of teacher educators in relation to their readiness and preparation for online teaching as well as their beliefs in relation to the appropriateness of online education for preservice teachers. This article responds to this gap in the literature and reports on an exploratory study that worked with academic staff, teaching in a fully online teacher education course, at a mid-size Australian university. Twenty-seven teacher educators completed a 34-item questionnaire that consisted of closed and open-ended questions. With regards to readiness and preparation for teaching online, the majority of teacher educators reported lacking confidence and competence in the technological and pedagogical skills required to teach online. By and large, the study participants were welcoming of individualized “at-elbow” support that seemed to abate some of their fears of online teaching. The teacher educators were generally divided on whether the online classroom was an appropriate method for preparing preservice teachers. This article concludes with several recommendations for consideration by teacher educators who work in an online environment and sets the stage for a more ambitious study.