Effects of age, walking speed, and body composition on pedometer accuracy in children

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of age group, walking speed, and body composition on the accuracy of pedometer-determined step counts in children. Eighty-five participants (43 boys, 42 girls), ages 5-7 and 9-11 years, walked on a treadmill for two-minute bouts at speeds of 42, 66, and 90 m x min(-1) while wearing a spring-levered (Yamax SW-200) and a piezoelectric (New Lifestyles NL-2000) pedometer. The number of steps taken during each bout was also recorded using a hand counter Body mass index (BMI) was calculated from height and mass, and percentage of body fat (%BF) was determined using hand-to-foot bioelectrical impedance analysis. The tilt angle of the pedometer was assessed using a magnetic protractor. Both pedometers performed well at 66 and 90 m x min(-1), but undercounted steps by approximately 20% at 42 m x min(-1). Although age group, BMI, waist circumference, and %BF did not affect pedometer accuracy, children with large pedometer tilt angles (> or =10 degrees) showed significantly greater percent bias than those with small tilt angles (< 10 degrees). We suggest that the style of waistband on the child's clothing is a more important determinant of tilt angle and thus pedometer accuracy than body composition. Our results also indicate that the NL-2000 pedometer provides similar accuracy and better precision than the SW-200 pedometer, especially in children with large tilt angles. We conclude that fastening pedometers to a firm elastic belt may improve stability and reduce undercounting in young people.     

Defining the attributes for specific playing positions in football match-play: A complex systems approach

ABSTRACT

Introduction

Talent identification and development programmes that retain and develop athletes are integral to the sporting success of National Governing Bodies in football. Currently, player attributes are studied in isolation without considering the complexity of interacting components of football performance. The current study applied a systems analysis framework to describe, in a structured and systematic way, the attributes for specific playing positions in football match-play. Methods: Eight high-level football coaches were interviewed. Models of the interacting attributes were developed for each position using Work Domain Analysis (WDA). Results: Six WDA models detail the attributes associated with each playing position. The models identified purposes of playing positions (restrict opposition actions, organise and coordinate, building up of offence, goal scoring and stretch opposition), performance-related measures and the functions required to achieve the playing position purposes (game play, psychological functions, time and space and player actions). Critically, the relationships between the purposes, measures, functions, processes, and objects are described in the models.     

The relationship between college student feedback orientation and classroom engagement

ABSTRACT

This study explored the relationship between the four dimensions of students’ feedback orientation (i.e., utility, retention, confidentiality, and sensitivity) and the four dimensions of students’ classroom engagement (i.e., silent in-class, oral in-class, thinking about course content, and out-of-class) using the tenets of Feedback Intervention Theory (FIT) as a guide. Participants were 208 undergraduate students enrolled in a variety of introductory communication courses at a large mid-Atlantic university. It was found that varying combinations of students’ feedback orientation influence students’ engagement, providing further support for FIT. Specifically, feedback utility was positively related to all four dimensions of student engagement. Furthermore, feedback confidentiality was negatively related to oral in-class behaviors. Future research should continue to examine the influence of instructional feedback on students’ classroom engagement.     

Discrimination and Sleep Mediate Ethnic/Racial Identity and Adolescent Adjustment: Uncovering Change Processes With Slope-as-Mediator Mediation

This study employs slope-as-mediator techniques to explore how the daily association between ethnic/racial discrimination and sleep disturbances serves as an intermediary link between ethnic/racial identity (ERI) and psychological adjustment. In a diverse sample of 264 adolescents (M_age = 14.3 years old, 70% female, 76% United States born, 25% African American, 32% Asian American, 43% Latinx), discrimination was associated with sleep disturbance. Furthermore, ERI commitment buffered the impact of discrimination on sleep, whereas ERI exploration exacerbated the impact of discrimination. Finally, the daily level association between discrimination and sleep (i.e., daily slope) mediated the association between ERI and adolescent adjustment. Substantive links between discrimination and sleep are discussed as well as broader applications of slope-as-mediator techniques.     

“Well,You Can’t Force Them”: Altercasting in the Home Health Care Context

Home health aides are often low-paid, low-status workers, performing their job in an isolated and interpersonally complex environment. This study, made up of semistructured interviews with 36 home health aides, explores compliance-gaining challenges faced by “low status, remote workers.” It was found that altercasting, a compliance-gaining technique using social roles to govern behavior, is well suited for the home care context. Aides were found to activate four altercast roles, including parent, trainer, employee, and friend. It is suggested that by using positive altercasting as a compliance-gaining technique, aides are able to both persuade their client to complete necessary tasks of daily living at the same time they construct and maintain the moral identity of a good caregiver.     

An Argument in Search of Evidence: A Response to Camara et al. (2019)

This article offers a critique of the validity argument put forward by Camara, Mattern, Croft, and Vispoel (2019) regarding the use of college‐admissions tests in high school assessment systems. We challenge their argument in two main ways. First, we illustrate why their argument fails to address broader issues related to consequences of using admissions tests as an achievement indicator in high school accountability systems. Second, we find the evidence put forth by Camara et al. argument incomplete and/or overstated, even if evaluated against a more limited set of claims. We offer several additional comments regarding the construction of their validity argument, the lack of transparency for evaluating many of the claims, and the potential unintended negative consequences associated with the use of the ACT or SAT as the primary achievement indicator in a state accountability system.