Young weightlifters' performance across time

Prestigious professional organisations have questioned the efficacy of resistive training by children or have often neglected to address weightlifting in their position papers on resistive training for children. The purpose of this paper was to address the deficit in data regarding the efficacy of training children for weightlifting and to report data regarding to safety in this population. Eleven subjects (3 female, 8 male) who had trained at the USA Weightlifting Development Centre in Shreveport Louisiana for a minimum of 22 months (mean = 28.8; SD +/- 4.4) served as subjects for this study. Means for the pool of subjects subjected to t-test to compare data obtained at each subject's initial competition with that obtained at the individual's most recent competition revealed significant positive changes in body weight, snatch weight, clean and jerk weight, and total weight lifted. The latter three were significant both in absolute weight and in weight lifted per kg of body weight. Total weight lifted at competitions plotted separately for boys and for girls across time indicated an apparently steeper slope of improvement for boys. The latter were not tested for significance because of the small sample sizes. The lack of injury in training and in 534 competitive lifts was discussed. None required medical attention or loss of training time. It was concluded that there can be no doubt regarding the efficacy of weightlifting as carried out at the USA Weightlifting Development Centre. The importance of proper application of scientific theory of conditioning in a conservative manner for this population was emphasised.     

Announcement - ACEI 11TH BIENNIAL CONFERENCE - The University of St. Thomas (UST), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA - Detailed Schedule

Call for Papers

Announcement - ACEI 11TH BIENNIAL CONFERENCE - The University of St. Thomas (UST), Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA - Detailed Schedule     

Multidimensional Linking: Four Practical Approaches

This paper introduces and evaluates four practical multidimensional linking procedures that are based on the theoretical framework recently proposed by Davey, Oshima, and Lee (1996): (a) the Direct method, (b) the Equated Function method, (c) the Test Characteristic Function (TCF) method, and (d) the Item Characteristic Function (ICF) method. The evaluation was conducted using simulated data. As anticipated, the competing procedures yielded different linking parameter estimates. The TCF and ICF methods were found to be more stable and recovered the true linking parameters better than the other two methods. Furthermore, all procedures were found to be acceptable under almost any of the minimization criteria and offered dramatic improvement over not linking at all. It is recommended that the choice of a linking procedure should depend on the purpose of linking.     

Taiwanese Grandmothers: Strengths and Learning Needs as Perceived by Grandmothers,Mothers, and Granddaughters

The purposes of this study were to (a) determine how three generations of females from the same families perceived the grandmothers, (b) identify strengths and learning needs of the grandmothers, and (c) recommend guidelines and curriculum themes to assist the grandmothers in adjusting to change. The 348 Taiwanese subjects included grandmothers (n = 116), mothers (n = 116), and teenage granddaughters (n = 116). Subjects completed a Mandarin version of the Grandparent Strengths and Needs Inventory. Each generation reported favorable ratings for grandmothers on the frustration, difficulty, information needs, and satisfaction scales. Unfavorable ratings were given for the teaching and success scales.     

Korean EFL teachers’ perceptions of the impact of EFL teacher education upon their classroom teaching practices

This study employed qualitative data collection and analysis methods to investigate the influence of English as a foreign language teacher education programme on Korean teachers’ classroom teaching practices. Six in-service secondary-school teachers participated in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was applied to the data collected from these interviews. Findings from the analysis included that: a) most of the teachers were dissatisfied with the largely theory-oriented pre-service teacher education programmes that they attended; b) a major source of influence on their teaching was their experience of in-service teacher training programmes with practical curricula; c) observation of other fellow teachers’ teaching had the strongest impact upon the teachers’ teaching practices; and d) the teachers’ low English proficiency and the washback effect of the Korea Scholastic Aptitude Test hindered the maintenance of the changes brought about by in-service teacher education programmes. This study ends with a discussion of the implications of these findings.     

Extrovert and Lonely Individuals’ Social TV Viewing Experiences: A Mediating and Moderating Role of Social Presence

Social TV viewing is generally understood as a simultaneous act of watching TV and engaging in communication about the TV program with other TV viewers connected online. In response to the increasing popularity of this new TV viewing practice, the current study examined how individuals’ extrovert personality and loneliness influence social TV viewing experiences through the theoretical notion of social presence. An online survey was completed by 330 individuals. Results demonstrated that extrovert personality positively influenced social TV viewing experiences; it is important to note that this relationship was mediated by social presence. Loneliness itself was negatively related to social TV viewing experiences; however, this relationship was moderated by social presence. Specifically, when lonely people felt strong social presence, they enjoyed social TV viewing experiences. The findings provide theoretical implications for social TV research, the dynamic role of social presence, social enhancement model, and social compensation model.     

Who gets the best grades at top universities? An exploratory analysis of institution-wide interviews with the highest achievers at a top Korean University

This study explores what makes high achievement at a top university in order to gain insights into college learning. For this purpose, institution-wide in-depth interviews were conducted with the 45 highest achievers (GPA of 4.0/4.3 or higher) at a top Korean university, and the interview data were primarily analyzed qualitatively to investigate in-depth determinants. The results revealed that these highest achievers share the following specific cognitive, motivational, and self-regulation strategies: (1) they recorded all of the information provided in class; (2) used a motivational regulation strategy rather than motivation itself; and (3) were highly managerial in their cognition, emotions, physical condition, time management, and interpersonal relationships. These findings were verified by quantitative data obtained from online surveys of 1,111 students at the university. Critical implications and suggestions, such as institutional support, evaluation criteria, cultural differences, and other related issues, were discussed.     

The influence of drink temperature on thermoregulatory responses during prolonged exercise in a moderate environment

Abstract

Nine males cycled at 53% (s = 2) of their peak oxygen uptake ([Vdot]O_2peak) for 90 min (dry bulb temperature: 25.4°C, s = 0.2; relative humidity: 61%, s = 3). One litre of flavoured water at 10 (cold), 37 (warm) or 50°C (hot) was ingested 30 – 40 min into exercise. Immediately after the 90 min of exercise, participants cycled at 95%[Vdot]O_2peak to exhaustion to assess exercise capacity. Rectal and mean skin temperatures and heart rate were recorded. The gradient of rise in rectal temperature was influenced (P < 0.01) by drink temperature. Mean skin temperature was highest in the hot trial (cold trial: 34.2°C, s = 0.5; warm trial: 34.4°C, s = 0.5; hot trial: 34.7°C, s = 0.6; P < 0.01). Significant differences were observed in heart rate (cold trial: 132 beats · min^?1, s = 13; warm trial: 134 beats · min^?1, s = 12; hot trial: 139 beats · min^?1, s = 13; P < 0.05). Exercise capacity was similar between trials (cold trial: 234 s, s = 69; warm trial: 214 s, s = 52; hot trial: 203 s, s = 53; P = 0.562). The heat load and debt induced via drinking resulted in appropriate thermoregulatory reflexes during exercise leading to an observed heat content difference of only 33 kJ instead of the predicted 167 kJ between the cold and hot trials. These results suggest that there may be a role for drink temperature in influencing thermoregulation during exercise.