Kinematic and kinetic analysis of overhand,sidearm and underhand lacrosse shot techniques

Lacrosse requires the coordinated performance of many complex skills. One of these skills is shooting on the opponents’ net using one of three techniques: overhand, sidearm or underhand. The purpose of this study was to (i) determine which technique generated the highest ball velocity and greatest shot accuracy and (ii) identify kinematic and kinetic variables that contribute to a high velocity and high accuracy shot. Twelve elite male lacrosse players participated in this study. Kinematic data were sampled at 250 Hz, while two-dimensional force plates collected ground reaction force data (1000 Hz). Statistical analysis showed significantly greater ball velocity for the sidearm technique than overhand (P < 0.001) and underhand (P < 0.001) techniques. No statistical difference was found for shot accuracy (P > 0.05). Kinematic and kinetic variables were not significantly correlated to shot accuracy or velocity across all shot types; however, when analysed independently, the lead foot horizontal impulse showed a negative correlation with underhand ball velocity (P = 0.042). This study identifies the technique with the highest ball velocity, defines kinematic and kinetic predictors related to ball velocity and provides information to coaches and athletes concerned with improving lacrosse shot performance.     

Football,Place, and Community in a New Zealand Mining Town, 1877–1939

Abstract

Resource towns (such as lumber camps, power plants, and mining towns) are by their very nature peripheral. They frequently exist in a space of isolation, not only geographically but also culturally as well. The South Island mining town of Kaitangata is a classic example of this process – an industrial, working class, and heavily migrant community positioned within an otherwise agricultural, conservation, and homogenous tract of rural New Zealand. Kaitangata, in the words of one writer, ‘possessed a unique character and pattern of social interaction’ that marked it out from its immediate environment. One way in which these differences manifested themselves was in the sporting activities of the town. In a part of the world where rugby union held absolute hegemony, the town broke the mould by also fielding teams in association football, rugby league, and even Australian Rules football (distinguishing itself as the only town outside of the provincial capital of Dunedin where these three sports obtained a foothold). This paper analyses how these sporting activities contributed to a unique sense of space, addressing themes including class, ethnicity, masculinity, and identity.     

Promoting a self-sustaining learning community: investigating an internal model for teacher development

The authors report an investigation of a five-step structured study-group approach to promoting a?self-sustaining learning community that supports teachers in developing the ‘habits of mind’ necessary for improving literacy acquisition and development for urban African American students attending a low-performing, high-poverty elementary school. The authors report that over a two-year time period the conversations among the teachers at the study-group meetings changed to be more positive about the children, to make linkages between themselves and the culture the children bring to school, to enthusiasm for sharing their own strategies and engaging in public reflection, and collaborating in developing new instructional approaches.     

The ego function of protest songs: An application of Gregg's theory of protest rhetoric

This essay applies Richard Gregg's theory of protest rhetoric to 705 American social movement songs from 1800 to 1985 to discover how songs enable protestors to identify against others and thus to locate themselves positively in the social hierarchy. Songs are ideal messages for ego‐enhancement because they are movement‐centered, concerned with social relationships, and highly self‐directed. Terms denoting innocent victimage and wicked victimizer dominate the selected songs, and the vision of reality is negative, dangerous, threatening, and unfair. Relatively few songs emphasize the unity, virtue, wisdom, or bravery of protestors. The self‐image contained in songs does not appear to express a strongly positive identity or locate the oppressed very high in the symbolic or social hierarchy. This self‐image would seem to fulfill three ego functions essential for the early phases of social movements: raising consciousness, allaying guilt, and reclaiming or proclaiming one's ego. However, a different self‐image is needed as movements grow, confront opposition successfully, achieve some goals, suffer setbacks, and splinter into factions. This analysis of songs indicates that protestors have difficulty making the essential transition from a self‐image of victim to one of power, worth, and virtue. They cannot extricate themselves from symbolically defensive positions in a hostile environment.     

Children’s play behaviour and social communication in integrated special day-care groups

This paper considers the role of the Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENCO), the teacher responsible for the implementation of policies relating to the teaching and learning of children with special educational needs (SEN) in mainstream schools in England and Wales. SENCOs also have a role to play in the inclusion of children with learning difficulties/disabilities in mainstream schools. Yet research indicates that despite the revision of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice in 2001, many SENCOs are still overwhelmed by the operational nature of the role with little support, time or funding to consider more strategic aspects of inclusion and SEN. The article draws on research by the author and offers the voices of SENCOs from two unitary authorities in the north of England which suggest that where the SENCO is supported by senior management within the school, the role can be a powerful one in relation to inclusion. It concludes by arguing that the role of the SENCO needs to be re‐conceptualized, redefined and remunerated as a senior management post within mainstream schools. If this were to be enforced by national policy, every mainstream school could have at least one powerful advocate for the inclusion of children with learning difficulties/disabilities.