An examination of the jump-and-lift factors influencing the time to reach peak catch height during a Rugby Union lineout

The goal of an offensive Rugby Union lineout is to throw the ball in a manner that allows your team to maintain possession. Typically, the player catching the ball jumps and is lifted upwards by two teammates, reaching above the opposing player who is competing for the ball also. Despite various beliefs regarding the importance of the jumper’s mass and attempted jump height, and lifters’ magnitude and point of force application, there is negligible published data on the topic. The squeeze technique is one lifting method commonly employed by New Zealand teams during lineout plays, whereby the jumper initiates the jump quickly and the lifters provide assistance only once the jumper reaches 20–30 cm. While this strategy may reduce cues to the opposition, it might also constrain the jumper and lifters. We developed a model to explore how changes in the jumper’s body mass and attempted jump height, and lifters’ magnitude and point of force application influence the time to reach peak catch height. The magnitude of the lift force impacted the time-to-reach peak catch height the most; followed by the jumper’s (attempted) jump height and body mass; and lastly, the point of lift force application.     

Haptic perception accuracy depending on self-produced movement

Abstract

This study measured whether self-produced movement influences haptic perception ability (experiment 1) as well as the factors associated with levels of influence (experiment 2) in racket sports. For experiment 1, the haptic perception accuracy levels of five male table tennis experts and five male novices were examined under two different conditions (no movement vs. movement). For experiment 2, the haptic afferent subsystems of five male table tennis experts and five male novices were investigated in only the self-produced movement-coupled condition. Inferential statistics (ANOVA, t-test) and custom-made devices (shock & vibration sensor, Qualisys Track Manager) of the data were used to determine the haptic perception accuracy (experiment 1, experiment 2) and its association with expertise. The results of this research show that expert-level players acquire higher accuracy with less variability (racket vibration and angle) than novice-level players, especially in their self-produced movement coupled performances. The important finding from this result is that, in terms of accuracy, the skill-associated differences were enlarged during self-produced movement. To explain the origin of this difference between experts and novices, the functional variability of haptic afferent subsystems can serve as a reference. These two factors (self-produced accuracy and the variability of haptic features) as investigated in this study would be useful criteria for educators in racket sports and suggest a broader hypothesis for further research into the effects of the haptic accuracy related to variability.     

开放大学面临的挑战：来自韩国的案例

韩国国立开放大学有过成功的历史，但目前它正处在困境之中。本文通过数据分析，描述了开放大学所存在的主要困难：①报名人数和在学学生的人数急剧减少；②学生注册率呈连续下降趋势；③学生出现女性化和大龄化的趋势；④学生数量少于招生指标的院系数目增多，不同院系学生数量之间的差距增大。根据韩国开放大学的经验，作者提出以下建议：把学生数维持在一个合理的范围内；开放大学要尽力提高教育质量。     

Examining the development of action learning practice in South Korea

This year marks the 25th anniversary since action learning (AL) was first introduced in 1993 in South Korea. Although AL has greatly contributed to meeting organizational needs so that it would result in its strong presence as an organizational learning tool, there is no single review study on the development of AL practice in Korea. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to examine the development of AL practice in Korea to understand its current state and envision the future. To that end, two research questions guided our inquiry: What are the distinctive features of the development of AL practice in Korea? What is unique about the development of AL practice in Korea? To answer the two research questions, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 13 AL practitioners who have experienced AL practice for many years, analyzed 13 annual AL conference proceedings published since 2005, and reviewed Korean publications on AL published since 2000. Based on the triangulated data analysis, we discuss the uniqueness of the development of AL practice in Korea and implications for research and practice.     

Research incentives and research output

This paper first briefly reviews the worldwide development of the size of the university sector, its research merits and authorities’ use of incentive systems for its academic staff. Then, the paper develops a static model of a researcher’s behaviour, aiming to discuss how different salary reward schemes and teaching obligations influence his or her research merits. Moreover, special focus is placed on discussing the importance of the researcher’s skills and of working in solid academic environments for quality research. The main findings are as follows: First, research achievements will improve irrespective of the relative impact quantity and quality of research have on researchers’ salaries. Second, small changes in fixed salary and teaching duties will not influence the amount of time academics spend on research and, as such, their research merits. Third, because research productivity, i.e. the number of pages written and research quality increase with the researcher’s skills and effort, both these figures signal a researcher’s potential when adjusting for his or her age and the kind of research carried out. Finally, because researchers’ utility depends on factors beyond salary and leisure time, employers have a number of instruments to use in order to attract skilled researchers in a globalised market.     

Searching for Expertise in Counseling, Psychotherapy, and Professional Psychology

The expertise literature within cognitive science has provided a rich series of ideas which can be used to improve applied practice. The authors of the articles in this special issue have taken many of these ideas and made useful elaborations and extensions. In reaction to the articles, we suggest five blocks to a full utilization of the expertise literature and other constructs in practitioner development. These blocks are: (a) the need to go beyond the cognitive realm to the working alliance for the fundamental construct in the domain; (b) the need to realize that the novice-to-expert path takes a long time—perhaps 15 years—to travel; (c) the inappropriate use of a short experience differential in comparative studies of novices and experts; (d) the importance of reflection for development; and (e) the need for professors, in order to be experts, to also be practitioners in the domain.