Explaining match outcome in elite Australian Rules football using team performance indicators

The relationships between team performance indicators and match outcome have been examined in many team sports, however are limited in Australian Rules football. Using data from the 2013 and 2014 Australian Football League (AFL) regular seasons, this study assessed the ability of commonly reported discrete team performance indicators presented in their relative form (standardised against their opposition for a given match) to explain match outcome (Win/Loss). Logistic regression and decision tree (chi-squared automatic interaction detection (CHAID)) analyses both revealed relative differences between opposing teams for “kicks” and “goal conversion” as the most influential in explaining match outcome, with two models achieving 88.3% and 89.8% classification accuracies, respectively. Models incorporating a smaller performance indicator set displayed a slightly reduced ability to explain match outcome (81.0% and 81.5% for logistic regression and CHAID, respectively). However, both were fit to 2014 data with reduced error in comparison to the full models. Despite performance similarities across the two analysis approaches, the CHAID model revealed multiple winning performance indicator profiles, thereby increasing its comparative feasibility for use in the field. Coaches and analysts may find these results useful in informing strategy and game plan development in Australian Rules football, with the development of team-specific models recommended in future.     

A quasi-experimental research on the educational value of performance assessment

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that performance assessment increases educational value in teachinglearning activities using a quasi-experimental research design. In this research, the three measurement criteria of educational value are suggested as ‘improvement & advancement,’ ‘sincerity & enthusiasm,’ and ‘individuality & wholeness.’ A pre-test was administered to 4 classes (156 students) in 7th grade. Classes were divided into an experimental group (2 classes, 79 students) and a control group (2 classes, 77 students), according to the pre-test results. Only the experimental group was involved in the performance assessment for 9 weeks. The results of this study show that performance assessment has a positive effect on the educational value of teaching-learning activities in schools.     

Aerobic fitness and physical activity are inversely associated with body fat,dyslipidemia and inflammatory mediators in children and adolescents living with HIV

This study aimed to investigate if moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) and aerobic fitness are associated with cardiovascular risk factors in HIV+ children and adolescents. Sixty-five children and adolescents (8 to 15 years) provided minutes of MVPA measured by accelerometers and peak oxygen uptake (peak VO₂) by breath-by-breath respiratory exchange. Cardiovascular risk factors were characterized by body fat, blood pressure, total cholesterol, HDL-c, LDL-c, triglycerides, glucose, insulin, C-reactive protein (CRP), interleukin (IL)-6, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and carotid intima-media thickness. Results indicated that higher MVPA was associated with lower values of total (β = ?3.566) and trunk body fat (β = ?3.495), total cholesterol (β = ?0.112) and LDL-c (β = ?0.830). Likewise, higher peak VO₂ was associated with lower total (β = ?0.629) and trunk body fat values (β = ?0.592) and levels of CRP (β = ?0.059). The physically active participants had lower total cholesterol (?24.4 mg.dL^?1) and LDL-c (?20.1 mg.dL^?1) compared to participants judged to be insufficiently active. Moreover, participants with satisfactory peak VO? showed lower total (?4.1%) and trunk (?4.3%) body fat, CRP (?2.3 mg.L^?1), IL-6 (?2.4 pg.mL^?1) and TNF-α (?1.0 pg.mL^?1) compared to low peak VO₂ peers. High levels of MVPA and aerobic fitness may prevent developing of cardiovascular risk factors in children and adolescents HIV+.     

A rule induction framework for the determination of representative learning design in skilled performance

Representative learning design provides a framework for the extent to which practice simulates key elements of a performance setting. Improving both the measurement and analysis of representative learning design would allow for the refinement of sports training environments that seek to replicate competition conditions and provide additional context to the evaluation of athlete performance. Using rule induction, this study aimed to develop working models for the determination of high frequency, representative events in Australian Rules football kicking. A sample of 9005 kicks from the 2015 Australian Football League season were categorised and analysed according to the following constraints: type of pressure, kick distance, possession source, time in possession, velocity and kick target. The Apriori algorithm was used to develop two models. The first consisted of 10 rules containing the most commonly occurring constraint sets occurring during the kick in AF, with support values ranging from 0.15 to 0.22. None of the rules contained more than three constraints and confidence values ranged from 0.63 to 0.84. The second model considered ineffective and effective kick outcomes and displayed 70% classification accuracy. This research provides a measurement approach to determine the degree of representativeness of sports practice and is directly applicable to various team sports.     

Multilevel analysis of the effects of student and course characteristics on satisfaction in undergraduate liberal arts courses

The purpose of this study is to analyze the effects of student and course characteristics on student satisfaction in courses by using a two-level hierarchical linear model (HLM). Based on literature reviews, 13 research variables (1 student gender, 2 student academic year, 3 student major, 4 student reason for taking the course, 5 student level of course participation, 6 student expected grade, 7 student achieved grade, 8 faculty gender, 9 faculty age, 10 faculty status, 11 academic field of the course, 12 class size, and 13 course type) were selected and specified as fixed effects in the analysis model. Data were 57,216 ratings of 1,481 undergraduate liberal arts courses at Seoul National University in 2006. The result of unconditional model analysis revealed that student characteristics’ effects on student satisfaction in courses (within-course effects, 88.1%) were much larger than course characteristics’ effects (between-courses effects, 11.9%). The result of conditional model analysis specifying student and course level predictors revealed that those 12 research variables, with the exception of student gender, had statistically significant effects on student satisfaction in courses. The explained variance was 22.0% in student level, 65.8% in course level, and 27.2% of the total variance. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 8^th International Conference on Education Research, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, October 23–25, 2007.     

The effect of dynamic assessment based instruction on Children’s Learning

The purpose of this study is to demonstrate that dynamic assessment based instruction increases children’s learning by using a quasi-experimental research design in Korea. In this study, dynamic assessment is defined as a measurement method of the zone of proximal development (ZPD) as well as the qualitative and quantitative diagnostic information for individual children. In addition, dynamic assessment based instruction is defined as a teaching method using the diagnostic information types in order to increase children’s learning. In this study, 59 children between the ages of 4 and 5 participated. Three types of number concept achievement tests (pre-test, parallel test, and post-test) for each age group were developed and the content validity, face validity, and split-half reliability were examined. After conducting the pre-test, the children of each age group were divided into an experimental group and a control group. Dynamic assessment based instruction regarding number concepts was undertaken only with the experimental group for 4 weeks. Both groups took a post-test after completing the 4 weeks of classes. The ANCOVA technique wa ls used for data analysis. The result of this study shows that dynamic assessment based instruction has a significant effect on children’s learning of number concepts (in the case of 4-year-old children, F = 12.34, p<0.01; 5-year-old children, F = 20.03, P<0.01). Therefore, dynamic assessment based instruction should be used widely for children’s cognitive learning.     

燃料不完全燃烧对预分解窑后结圈的形成影响与对策

通过对某水泥厂预分解窑所结的后圈进行了燃料的工业分析,煤灰的化学分析,结圈料的化学和物相分析等实验分析,探讨燃料不完全燃烧对预分解窑形成后结圈的影响及采取的相应对策.     

The relationship between students ’ perceptions of classroom environment and their academic achievement in Korea

The classroom has long been recognized as a critical milieu for students ’ educational achievement. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between students ’ perceptions of classroom environment and their academic achievement in Korea. For this study, the Classroom Environment Scale (CES), developed by Moos and Trickett (1987), was revised and translated into Korean. The Korean Classroom Environment Scale (KCES), consisting of nine subscales, was used to measure the psychosocial characteristics of the classroom environment. The data was collected from May to June 2001 from a sample of 1,012 students in 10th and 11th grades at the same school district in Seoul, Korea. The results of ANOVA analysis of the data revealed that there were statistically significant differences in classroom environments according to students ’ school and classroom organizations. Additionally, the results of Pearson ’s simple correlation coefficient analysis showed that the seven subscales in the KCES (i.e., involvement, affiliation, competition, task orientation, order and organization, rule clarity, and teacher control) had a significant correlation with students ’ academic achievement. Furthermore, the results of multiple regression analysis revealed that the multiple correlation (R) between the KCES 9 subscales and students ’ academic achievement was 0.27. Based on these results, it was claimed that classroom environment was a good predictor of students ’ academic achievement.     

An evaluation study on the educational value of teaching practicum in secondary schools

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the educational value of teaching practicum in secondary schools. For this purpose, on the basis of literature review and interviews, three evaluation criteria for measuring educational value of teaching practicum are constructed as follows: (1) practical teaching competence, (2) readiness for teacher, and (3) maturity in character. A total of 29 pre-service teachers in the College of Education at Seoul National University in South Korea participated voluntarily in this study, and their practical teaching competence, readiness for teacher, and maturity in character were measured twice before and after teaching practicum. As a result, the teaching practicum had significantly improved pre-service teachers’ practical teaching competence, readiness for teacher, and maturity in character. In other words, teaching practicum increases the educational value. This study provides a conceptual framework and three instruments for measuring the educational value of many other teaching practicums. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 8th International Conference on Education Research, Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, October 23–25, 2007.     

Managing the legal proceedings: An interpretative phenomenological analysis of sexually abused children's experience with the legal process

Objective

The aim of this study was to describe how sexually abused children experience the legal process, a process that includes being questioned by the police during the preliminary investigation and by lawyers and the prosecutor in the courtroom, and meeting other professionals from various agencies.

Method

Face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with 10 children—9 girls and 1 boy between 9 and 15 years old—who had experienced child sexual abuse (CSA). The interviews were semi structured and carried out and analyzed by interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA). The aim of IPA is to explore the participants’ views of the world and to adopt as far as possible an “insider perspective.” IPA draws on a tradition of phenomenology and symbolic interactionism in attempting to understand how people make sense of their experiences.

Results

Five major themes emerged through the analysis: not being believed, making CSA visible, need for support, sanctions for offenders, and lack of respect for the child's integrity. Almost all the children had a feeling of not being believed. They described feelings ranging from anxiety to dread and even terror when they had to describe the CSA they had experienced. Even though the importance of support for such children is already well understood, the children stated that the support they were given was not sufficient. The children said that they wanted support from a single professional who was well informed about both the legal process and CSA. When the children were asked to reflect on sanctions against the abusers, they said that it was important that the perpetrator got treatment/therapy but they also said that imprisonment was desirable. Financial compensation was not as important to them; the damage had been done and money could not compensate for that damage. The children also said that both the lawyers and the media had treated them with disrespect.

Conclusions

It is valuable for children who have been exposed to CSA to learn that they can take part in the legal process as equal partners with the other participants, and it is evident that the quality of psychological care and support needs to be improved. The children want to be participants in the legal process rather than passive objects of that process.