Physical fitness of primary school children in relation to overweight prevalence and physical activity habits

Abstract

A cross-sectional study was carried out to analyse, through a limited number of fitness tests, the main conditioning and coordinative abilities in children aged 8–9 years, and their relationship with gender, anthropometric variables and physical activity habits. The height and weight of 256 boys and 241 girls were measured and information about physical activity habits was collected using a self-administered questionnaire. Physical performance was assessed by means of a few standardised tests: ‘sit & reach’, medicine-ball forward throw, standing long jump, 20 m running speed, and forward roll test. In both boys and girls, body weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) were positively correlated with the medicine-ball throw performances and negatively correlated for the standing long jump and speed tests, while no association was found with tests measuring back flexibility and total body coordination. Daily physical activity and participation in sport were not significantly correlated with body weight and BMI, but were positively associated with children's motor performance. The standardised fitness tests selected in the current study have been found to be suitable to identify fitness levels of primary school children. Thanks to their limited number and ease of measurement, they can be used in any school context to classify children and for monitoring the effects of targeted interventions promoting physical activity.     

An Analysis of the Validity of the Three-Mile Run as a Field Test of Aerobic Capacity in College Males

Abstract

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the concurrent and construct validity of the three-mile (4.83 km) run as afield test of aerobic capacity. Subjects included 109 college-aged males whose three-mile run time (M = 1310.31 ± 184.48 s) was measured. Fifty of the subjects were given a maximal treadmill stress test, and their peak oxygen consumption (VO₂peak) (M = 54.23 ± 7.08 ml.kg^?1.min^?1) was measured. The three-mile run was conducted on an outdoor 0.25 mile (0.425 km) track, and split tunes were recorded each 110 yds (100.32 m) for the first and last laps and total time was recorded for laps 2 through 11. The correlation coefficient between the run time and VO₂peak was -.58, indicating only moderate concurrent validity for the run as afield test for aerobic capacity. A factor analysis conducted on the split time data revealed a three-factor structure of a stable pace phase, an initial sprint, and a final sprint with the stable pace factor accounting for most of the common factor variance (69%). The three-mile run time was used to discriminate successfully between two known groups of subjects in aerobic capacity. These data provide a degree of support for the construct validity of the three-mile run as afield test of aerobic capacity.     

Recent Developments in Measurement and Possible Applications to the Measurement of Psychomotor Behavior

Abstract

Elementary physical education instructors and movement development clinicians frequently employ movement observation as their primary assessment strategy. The purpose of this study was to determine the minimal conditions of observation needed to obtain generalizable results across observers, trials, and subjects for the hop, jump, and run. The developmental sequences developed at Michigan State University were used as the observation system. Twelve children in the age range of 33–111 months were rated on five trials by 15 observers. The sample consisted of an equal number of males and females and did not involve children with handicapping conditions. The results suggest that when observers receive 1 hour of training for each skill, one observer and three trials are needed for evaluating the hop (.88), while three observers and three trials are required for the jump (.83). None of the nine measurement conditions resulted in acceptable (.80) generalizability for the run.     

Validity of Palpation Recovery Pulse Rate to Estimate Exercise Heart Rate Following Four Intensities of Bench Step Exercise

Abstract

Previous investigations regarding activity during the post-knowledge of results (KR) interval have considered the performance of interference groups over KR-supplied acquisition trials as indicative of effects upon learning. The absence of transfer tests in these studies, however, preclude such an assumption. Indeed, the use of a retention test in the present investigation (no-KR trials following an interpolated phase) provided evidence suggesting that, while activity during the post-KR interval is detrimental to performance, no such assumption can be made regarding this effect upon learning. These findings are discussed relative to recent arguments that some of the commonly accepted “Laws of KR” may be contradictory when applied simultaneously to motor learning and performance.     

Age and Sex Differences in Motor Performance of 3 through 6 Year Old Children

Abstract

This study examined the relationship of age and sex to the performance of 3, 4, 5, and 6 year olds on seven motor performance test items. Although significant age and sex differences were found on most of the motor tests, it appears that age generally was related more to performance than was gender. Overall, change with age was fairly linear except perhaps for balancing and a general tapering in improvement in the 5 to 6 year old category. On the tests of throwing and balancing, gender was as important as age, or more so, in its relationship to performance. Boys were superior to girls at all ages on the throwing tests; girls were superior to boys at age 6 on the Balance test. Gender differences of a lesser magnitude were found on the Speed Run and Standing Long Jump tests with the performance of boys generally being superior to the performance of girls. Thus, it appears that gender differences in motor performance occur as early as the preschool years. Interestingly, except for the Balance test, on all the tests the 3 and 4 year old boys performed similarly and the 5 and 6 year old boys performed similarly. For the girls there were more significant differences from year to year in performance, with the data generally indicating at least three distinct skill groups for girls from age 3 to 6.     

Physical Performance Tests in Job Selection a Model for Empirical Validation

Abstract

The aim of this study was to establish the net energy cost of dribbling a soccer ball. Eight male footballers ran for 5 min on a treadmill at speeds of 9, 10.5, 12 and 13.5km ·h ^–1 while dribbling a football against a rebound box; running at each of these speeds without the ball constituted controls. Oxygen uptake ([Vdot]O ₂ ), perceived exertion (RPE) and blood lactate levels were measured and compared between the two conditions. The energy expended increased linearly with speed for both exercise modes, the mean increment of 1.24 kcal·min ^–1 caused by dribbling being independent of the speed of motion. Individual differences in efficiency of dribbling could not be explained by considering different patterns of stride characteristics. Similarly, RPE showed a constant elevation for dribbling over running at each speed, and a linear increase with speed of motion for both modes. Blood lactate increased disproportionately with speed for dribbling, onset of metabolic acidosis being attained at a lower speed for the experimental task. It was concluded that dribbling a ball does significantly increase the energy cost and perceived exertion of motion, as well as inducing disproportionate rises in blood lactate when performed at high speeds.     

找对方法才能事半功倍——怎样做好思品主观题（以2012年南京中考思想品德试题第26题为例）

思品主观题观点太多,而且容易混淆,很多学生面对题目束手无策。这就要求教师在日常教学中予以正确的指导。帮助学生找到解题的方法,提高解题能力。我们要正确解读设问,做好分解分类;并关注一材料多考点,做到举一反三;最后注意总结考点,做好查漏补缺,细心仔细,才能做好主观题。     

Physical Education Teacher Attitudes toward Fitness Tests Scale: Cross-Revalidation and Modification

This study aimed to provide further evidence of validity and reliability for the Physical Education Teacher Attitudes toward Fitness Tests Scale (PETAFTS), which consisted of affective and cognitive domains. There were two subdomains in the affective domain (i.e., enjoyment of implementing fitness tests and enjoyment of using test results) and one domain in the cognitive domain (i.e., beliefs in the usefulness of test results). Full-time physical education teachers (N?=?469) from two southwestern states in the United States participated in the study. Reliability and validity of the scale were examined. Alphas were computed for the entire 16-item scale, the affective and cognitive domains, and the two subdomains, respectively, to test the reliability. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to investigate the construct validity. The commonly used CFA indices, such as the chi square (χ²), the comparative fit index (CFI), the Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI), the goodness of fit index (GFI), and the root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA), were used to assess the fit of the data to the model. The CFA results suggested that the data from the study did not fit the original model proposed by Keating and Silverman (2004b) Keating, X. D. and Silverman, S. 2004b. Physical education teacher attitudes toward fitness test scale: Development and validation. Journal of Teaching in Physical Education, 23: 143–161. [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar], resulting in the elimination of item 3. The fitness of the data to the model was improved and deemed acceptable. More studies on the reliability and validity of the scale are needed in the future in order to use the scale with more confidence.     

J. E. W. Wallin's diagnostic theory for classifying the feeble-minded and backward in early twentieth-century public schools in America

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, American psychologists began addressing problems related to the intellectual capacity of students enrolled in public schools. This paper focuses on the role and influence of psychologists in addressing these problems, specifically the difficulty of classifying students deemed feeble-minded and backward. This paper discusses the diagnostic theory of the clinical psychologist John Edward Wallace Wallin (1876–1969), who was one of America's leading proponents of diagnosing and classifying students in public schools. I show that, in addressing treatment for the feeble-minded and backward, he emphasised educational instruction suited to a child's individual needs and adopted individual/multiphase methods rather than primarily focusing on efficiency-based diagnostic methods. In a democratic society, such as the USA, it was important to establish educational placement and differentiated instruction suited to individual needs.     

我国大学教育存在的问题及改革方向分析

目前我国大学考试中存在一些问题，诸如目标测查错位；内部考试标准不高，管理不严；考试功能未全面发挥；考试方式单一；考试中充斥着许多不公平现象等。鉴于此，我国大学考试改革应从五个方面着手；转变考试观；加强对内部考试的管理，充分发挥外部考试的功能，并处理好二的关系；积极探索新的考试管理形式，正确认识考试与素质教育的关系，使考评有机结合起来；提倡乐生教育，逐渐淡化考试。