Rethinking Polanyi’s Concept of Tacit Knowledge: From Personal Knowing to Imagined Institutions

Half a century after Michael Polanyi conceptualised ‘the tacit component’ in personal knowing, management studies has reinvented ‘tacit knowledge’—albeit in ways that squander the advantages of Polanyi’s insights and ignore his faith in ‘spiritual reality’. While tacit knowing challenged the absurdities of sheer objectivity, expressed in a ‘perfect language’, it fused rational knowing, based on personal experience, with mystical speculation about an un-experienced ‘external reality’. Faith alone saved Polanyi’s model from solipsism. But Ernst von Glasersfeld’s radical constructivism provides scope to rethink personal tacit knowing with regard to ‘other people’ and the intersubjectively viable construction of ‘experiential reality’. By separating tacit knowing from Polanyi’s metaphysical realism and drawing on Benedict Anderson’s concept of ‘imagined communities’, it is possible to conceptualise ‘imagined institutions’ as the tacit dimension of power that shapes human interaction. Whereas Douglass North claimed institutions could be reduced to rules, imagined institutions are known in ways we cannot tell.     

Open feedback in gymnastic judging causes conformity bias based on informational influencing

The aims of this study were twofold: (1) to determine whether open feedback (i.e. the ability to hear or see the scores of colleague judges after each performance) would lead judges in gymnastics to conform with their colleagues, and (2) to identify the underlying process on which this conformity is based. Twenty-three certified Flemish judges in women's gymnastics were randomly divided into panels of a maximum of five judges. These panels had to rate the same 30 videotaped individual vaults: 15 in phase 1 and 15 in phase 2. Two independent variables were orthogonally manipulated: feedback (or no feedback) during phase 1 and feedback (or no feedback) during phase 2. The results of phase 1 revealed that the variation between the judges' scores was less within panels that had received feedback than within panels that had not received feedback. We therefore conclude that the availability of feedback elicits conformity among gymnastic judges. The results of phase 2 indicated that this conformity continued even when feedback was no longer provided, suggesting that the observed conformity was based on informational influencing (i.e. because of uncertainty about the correct responses) and not on normative influencing (i.e. out of fear of standing out in the group).     

The CSGU: a measure of controllability, stability, globality, and universality attributions

This article reports initial evidence of construct validity for a four-factor measure of attributions assessing the dimensions of controllability, stability, globality, and universality (the CSGU). In Study 1, using confirmatory factor analysis, factors were confirmed across least successful and most successful conditions. In Study 2, following less successful performances, correlations supported hypothesized relationships between subscales of the CSGU and subscales of the CDSII (McAuley, Duncan, & Russell, 1992). In Study 3, following less successful performances, moderated hierarchical regression analyses demonstrated that individuals have higher subsequent self-efficacy when they perceive causes of performance as controllable, and/or specific, and/or universal. An interaction for controllability and stability demonstrated that if causes are perceived as likely to recur, it is important to perceive that causes are controllable. Researchers are encouraged to use the CSGU to examine main and interactive effects of controllability and generalizability attributions upon outcomes such as self-efficacy, emotions, and performance.     

A comparison of physiological and anthropometric characteristics among playing positions in sub-elite rugby league players

This study compared the physiological and anthropometric characteristics of specific playing positions and positional playing groups in sub-elite rugby league players. Altogether, 415 sub-elite rugby league players underwent measurements of standard anthropometry (body mass, height, sum of four skinfolds), muscular power (vertical jump), speed (10-m, 20-m, and 40-m sprint), agility ("L" run), and estimated maximal aerobic power (multi-stage fitness test). Props were significantly heavier and had a greater skinfold thickness than all other playing positions. Centres, fullbacks, and hookers were faster than props over 40 m. When the data were analysed according to positional commonality, props were taller, heavier, had a greater skinfold thickness, were less agile, and were slower over 10 m than all other positional groups. The hookers/halves and outside backs positional groups were significantly faster over 40 m than the backrowers and props positional groups. In addition, the hookers/halves and outside backs positional groups had significantly greater estimated maximal aerobic power than the props positional group. The results of this study demonstrate that few physiological and anthropometric differences exist among individual playing positions in sub-elite rugby league players, although props are taller, heavier, have greater skinfold thickness, slower 10-m and 40-m speed, less agility, and lower estimated maximal aerobic power than other positional groups. These findings provide normative data for sub-elite rugby league players competing in specific individual positions and positional playing groups.     

The use of physiological, anthropometric, and skill data to predict selection in a talent-identified junior volleyball squad

The aim of this study was to determine whether physiological, anthropometric, and skill test results could discriminate between junior volleyball players of varying ability. Twenty-eight junior volleyball players competed for selection in a talent-identification volleyball programme. Participants underwent measurements of stature, standing reach stature, body mass, skinfold thickness, overhead medicine ball throw, vertical jump, spike jump, 5-m and 10-m speed, "T" test agility, maximal aerobic power, and passing, setting, serving, and spiking technique and accuracy. A discriminant analysis was conducted on the selected and non-selected groups to obtain a regression equation that could be used to predict selection in junior volleyball squads based on the dependent variables. Passing and serving technique were the only significant variables included in the discriminant analysis. Cross-validation results showed that 17 of 19 selected players (89.5%) and 5 of 9 non-selected players (55.6%) were correctly classified into selected and non-selected groups, respectively, providing an overall predictive accuracy of 78.6%. The results of this study demonstrate that selected skill test results (i.e. subjective coach evaluations of passing technique and serving technique), but not physiological and anthropometric data, discriminate between successful and unsuccessful talent-identified junior volleyball players. These results demonstrate the importance of developing passing and serving technique in talent-identified junior volleyball players.     

Use of dual-task methodology for skill assessment and development: examples from rugby league

We assessed the attentional demands of drawing and passing in rugby league players and investigated the effects of single-task and dual-task training on the acquisition, retention, and transfer of skill in these athletes. In Study 1, high-skilled and lesser-skilled rugby league players performed a standardized 2-on-1 drill under single-task (primary skill in isolation) and dual-task (primary skill while performing a secondary verbal tone recognition task) conditions. No differences were detected in primary task performance between groups, although the performance of the high-skilled players was more resistant to skill decrement under dual-task conditions. In Study 2, high-performance rugby league players were randomly allocated to either a single-task or dual-task training group. Each group underwent 8 weeks of training between the pre- and post-test sessions. While the mean improvement for draw and pass proficiency under dual-task conditions in the dual-task training group was greater than in the single-task training group (10.0% vs. 2.3%), the differences, while providing a moderate effect size (d = 0.57), were not statistically significant. These results suggest that the attentional demands of drawing and passing are reduced in high-skilled rugby league players compared with their lesser-skilled counterparts. In addition, compared with single-task training, dual-task training appears to improve the ability to perform dual-task draw and pass tasks (possibly through an improvement in time-sharing skills). Further studies are required to verify the efficacy of dual-task training as a training stimulus.     

Bowling ball dynamics revealed by miniature wireless MEMS inertial measurement unit

This paper presents a novel sensor technology to deduce the dynamics of a bowling ball. The sensor, a miniature wireless inertial measurement unit (IMU), incorporates MEMS accelerometers and angular rate gyros, a microcontroller, a low power RF transceiver, and a rechargeable battery. When embedded in a bowling ball, the IMU transmits the acceleration and angular velocity data that define the dynamics of the ball starting with the bowler’s delivery and its motion in the lane. Example results from professional bowlers illustrate how this technology can be used to assess bowler skill and ball performance. For instance, the IMU accurately measures the spin dynamics of the ball which are crucial to develop the ball “hook.” An analysis of ball dynamics in the lane is distilled to a measurable “hook potential” metric for further assessing bowler skill. Finally, the sensor presented herein is believed to be the world’s smallest, wireless IMU. This highly miniaturized and wireless design will enable parallel training systems for many sports, including basketball, baseball, crew, cricket, golf, fly fishing, soccer, softball, tennis, rowing, among others.     

Referee bias contributes to home advantage in English Premiership football

Abstract

Officiating bias is thought to contribute to home advantage. Recent research has shown that sports with subjective officiating tend to experience greater home advantage and that referees' decisions can be influenced by crowd noise, but little work has been done to examine whether individual referees vary in their home bias or whether biased decisions contribute to overall home advantage. We develop an ordinal regression model to determine whether various measures of home advantage are affected by the official for the match and by crowd size while controlling for team ability. We examine 5244 English Premier League (EPL) match results involving 50 referees and find that home bias differs between referees. Individual referees give significantly different levels of home advantage, measured as goal differential between the home and away teams, although the significance of this result depends on one referee with a particularly high home advantage (an outlier). Referees vary significantly and robustly in their yellow card and penalty differentials even excluding the outlier. These results confirm that referees are responsible for some of the observed home advantage in the EPL and suggest that home advantage is dependent on the subjective decisions of referees that vary between individuals. We hypothesize that individual referees respond differently to factors such as crowd noise and suggest further research looking at referees' psychological and behavioural responses to biased crowds.     

Influence of playing standard on the physical demands of professional rugby league

Abstract

In this paper we report on two studies that investigated the physical demands of professional rugby league match-play. Instudy one, National Rugby League (NRL) and National Youth Competition (NYC) players underwent global positioning system (GPS) analysis during competitive matches. No differences (P > 0.05) were observed between playing standards for minutes played, total distance covered, or the distances covered at low and high speeds. However, NRL players engaged in significantly more repeated high-intensity effort bouts than NYC players (13.1 ± 0.8 bouts vs. 9.7 ± 1.1 bouts). Reductions in physical performance occurred from the first to second half for both NRL and NYC players. In study two, we investigated, in the same players, the physical demands of professional rugby league match-play when players were competing in trial and regular fixture matches. The locomotor demands of trial matches were lower than fixture matches, with players covering less distance per minute of match-play, including less distance at low and high speeds. Players were also less likely to engage in repeated high-intensity effort bouts in trial matches than fixtures. These findings demonstrate that neither NYC matches nor NRL trial matches adequately reflect the intense physical demands of NRL fixture matches.     

Psychometric Properties of a Parental Questionnaire for Assessing Correlates of Toddlers’ Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior

This study examined the psychometric properties of a questionnaire developed with the guidance of the socialization model of child behaviour to understand modifiable correlates of toddlers’ physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Findings are based on 118 parents (33.7 ± 4.9 years; 86% female) of toddlers (19.3 ± 2.7 months; 48% female) from Edmonton, Canada in The Parents’ Role in Establishing healthy Physical activity and Sedentary behaviour habits study (PREPS). The PREPS questionnaire encompassed 21 variables across the constructs of the socialization model of child behaviour. Of the nine variables assessed for internal consistency reliability, eight had good (α ≥ 0.70) reliability. Of the 15 continuous variables assessed for 1-week test–retest reliability, 10 had moderate (intra-class correlation = 0.50–0.74) and 5 had good (intra-class correlation ≥ 0.75) reliability. Of the six categorical variables assessed for 1-week test–retest reliability, two had fair (К = 0.21–0.40), one had moderate (К = 0.41–0.60), one had substantial (К = 0.61–0.80), and two had almost perfect (К = 0.81–1.00) reliability. Of the 12 sedentary behaviour variables assessed for convergent validity, 7 were significantly correlated with children’s screen time, of which three were small (r ≤ 0.29), two were medium (r = 0.30–0.49), and two were large (r ≥ 0.50) effect sizes.