Summary .— This study investigated the relationship between suffi cient amounts of physical activity among Brazilian adolescents and the economic and social indicators of the cities where they live. Data from a large national survey including 109,104 boys and girls ages 13 to 15 yr. (47.8% boys, 52.2% girls) were analyzed. The economic and social indicators were the Human Development Index (…
Summary .— The objective of this study was to demonstrate the sequential process (i.e., social factors ➔ mediators ➔ motivation ➔ consequences) underlying the Hierarchical Model of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation at the contextual level in instruction using three teaching tools, modifi ed balls, a high net, and colored balls and cones in a college-level tennis class in South Korea. 1…
Summary.—Understanding the developmental levels of fundamental movement skills has a critical role in the improvement of motor competence in childhood. In this respect, the use of Microsoft Kinect to assess vertical jumping skill and to predict developmental levels in 9- to 12-yr.-old children was evaluated. 41 boys and girls repeated the countermovement jump test three times. Vertical jumpi…
Summary .— A study by Witchalls, et al . (2013 ) mentioned that the addition of focal vision to proprioception testing with walking produces greater proprioceptive acuity than peripheral vision alone (measured ankle proprioception in athletes with or without chronic ankle instability during a stepping task on the Active Movement Extent Discrimination Apparatus; AMEDA). According to this study…
Summary .— The associations between subjective ratings and objectively measured moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were examined in normal,and overweight and obese, pubertal boys and compared with their parents' reports. In total, 224 boys ( M age = 12.2 yr.) completed the self-report questionnaire and wore an accelerometer for 7 consecutive days. Questionnaire-based indexes of ph…
Summary .— Adequate profi ciency at object control skills, which is infl uenced by biological and environmental constraints, underlies the development of more complex sport-specifi c skills. This study describes profi ciency at six object control skills and demographic correlates associated with each skill and each skill criteria in 9- to 10-year-old children who were randomly selected from 2…
Summary .— Girls are said to outperform boys in the human fi gure drawing, but some disagreement exists among studies regarding such sex diff erences, and the reasons for these sex diff erences are unclear. The study examined how sex, age,and graphic fl uency aff ect scores at the human fi gure drawing in large sample of children aged fi ve to 12 years. To that end, the Draw-a-Person Test was…
Summary .— The objective was to determine whether gait is symmetric in healthy children 6–7 years of age and to assess the eff ects of laterality and the anatomical zone of the foot. 46 children were subjected to gait symmetry analysis in which the plantar and lateral pressures associated with kicking a ball, static balance, and dynamic support were measured. There were no signifi cant diff…
Summary .— This study tested the hypotheses that loading the ankle with a 2.3 kg weight would modify deviation (unilateral loading) and distance (unilateral and bilateral loading) during three blind navigation tasks. Ankle loading increased the distance traveled while navigating toward a previously seen target at an 8 m distance and reduced the undetected fore-aft displacement while stepping …
learned a little about ethnicity; more recently we discovered gender; and more recently still we learned something - perhaps not very much yet - about age and disability. So might a white, middle class, middle aged man with a normatively approved set of physical skills write of the history of his sociology. So might he comment on the way in which he slowly learned that 'his' sociology had never…
Those who work in economic anthropology are aware of the importance of the economy in public thought and debate. In retrospect, Adam Smith might well have titled his book The health of nations, for in our day, if not in his, it seems that the health of a country is defined by its wealth, just as the final judgement of an activity is its bottom line, how it gains or loses money. And overween…
Summary .— Use of coloured lighting in interior spaces has become prevalent in recent years. Considerable importance is ascribed to coloured lighting in interior and lighting design. The eff ects of colour on the perception of interior spaces have been studied as surface colour; but here, the eff ects of three diff erent types of chromatic light were investigated. The lighting diff ered in co…
Summary .— The study investigated the eff ects of chunking and perceptual patterns that guide the drawings of Rey complex fi gure. Ten adult participants ( M age = 22.2 yr., SD = 4.1) reproduced a single stimulus in four drawing modes including delayed recall, tracing, copying, and immediate recall across 10 sessions producing a total of 400 trials. It was hypothesized that the eff ect of chu…
Summary .— This study examined how a physical activity course based on the Trans-Contextual Model aff ected the variables of perceived autonomy support, autonomous motivation, determinants of leisure-time physical activity behavior,basic psychological needs satisfaction, and leisure-time physical activity behaviors. The participants were 70 Turkish university students ( M age = 23.3 yr., SD =…
Summary .— Dominant (right) and nondominant (left) hand diff erences in motor performance variables were investigated during targeted rapid aiming unimanual and bimanual (to two separate targets) speed-accuracy tasks. The performance of the dominant and nondominant hands were compared during rapid targeted unimanual and bimanual reaching tasks (50 repetitions) in adult, neurologically intact…
Summary .— The goal of this study was to investigate the diff erences in physical fi tness in relation to urban or rural living environment and between two countries:Italy and Croatia. Over 14,000 students were tested during physical education (PE) lessons. Croatian students were taller and heavier than Italian students, with women achieving better results in fl exibility. Urban students were…
Summary .— Given that children with low movement skill competence engage in less physical activity, it is important to understand how children’s perceptions relate to actual movement competence. This study examined relationships between (i) children’s self-perception and objective assessments of their movement skills (object control and locomotor) and (ii) parents’ perceptions of the c…
Summary .— The purpose of the study was to investigate the eff ects of researcharticle writing motivation and use of self-regulatory writing strategies in explaining second language (L2) research-article abstract writing ability, alongside the L2 literacy eff ect. Four measures were administered: a L2 literacy test, a research abstract performance assessment, and inventories of writing motiv…
Summary .— Self-controlled feedback on a variety of tasks are well established as eff ective means of facilitating motor skill learning. This study assessed the eff ects of self-controlled feedback on the performance of a serial motor skill. The task was to learn the sequence of 18 movements that make up the Taekwondo Poomsae Taegeuk fi rst, which is the fi rst beginner's practice form learne…
Summary .— Regular aerobic exercise and milk consumption have been found to have positive eff ects on certain cognitive functions such as short-term memory and sustained attention. However, aggregated eff ects of combining these modalities have not been explored. This study examined the combined eff ects of milk supplementation and aerobic exercise on the short-term memory and sustained atte…
Summary .— This study examined the eff ects of audio-visual aids on anxiety,comprehension test scores, and retention in reading and listening to short stories in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) classrooms. Reading and listening tests, general and test anxiety, and retention were measured in English-major college students in an experimental group with audio-visual aids ( n = 83) and a con…
• How have sociologists theorized and researched mental health and illness? • In what ways do sociologists approach this topic differently to those from other disciplines? • How do we understand mental health problems in their social context? This bestselling book provides a clear overview of the major aspects of the sociology of mental health and illness, and helps students to devel…
Summary .— The goal of this study was to investigate diff erences in physical activity (PA) levels between early, average, and late maturing boys and the eff ect of chronological age, body mass index, and fat mass. PA was measured by accelerometry in 10–14-yr.-old boys ( N = 265) during seven consecutive days. Biological maturation groups (early, average, and late) were created. Average an…
Summary .— There have been ongoing debates as to whether the syllable frequency eff ect is dependent purely on phonological representation or is also aff ected by the orthographic representation of the syllable. In two experiments, the authors investigated the eff ect of the phonologic and orthographic frequencies on the syllable frequency eff ect by manipulating the fi rst syllable's phonolo…
Summary .— Previous research has indicated that exercise can lead to decreased depression symptoms. The relationship of depression with right frontal lobe activity and self-image (body, eating, and exercise) were investigated as reasons why depressive symptoms might lead to decreased exercise. 120 college students (79 women) completed design fl uency tasks followed by a set of questionnaires…
Summary .— The purpose of this study was to translate and culturally adapt the Sensory Profi le (SP), which is used to measure sensory processing abilities of children ages of 3–10 years, and test its reliability and validity for use with Turkish children with autism. A cross-cultural adaptation process was carried out by bilingual experts, following typical guidelines. The test-retest rel…
The transport properties of concrete measure the ability of fl uids to move through it. The equations for them were fi rst documented by the end of the nineteeth century (Fick 1855 ; Darcy, 1856 ) and applied to concrete by the middle of the twentieth century (Powers et al ., 1954 ). However, they remain diffi cult to measure, particularly if the common in situ tests are used. Interest in …
I suspect that the writing of almost any book is a labour of love, and this is no exception. What you have before you is in some ways a culmination of my interest, over several decades, in the interdisciplinary and systematic analysis of fisheries, and in seeking out approaches to improving the sustainability of fisheries. I have sought, in writing this, to produce something accessible to e…
The infrastructure of constructed facilities for the transportation and housing of people, goods, and services, which grew exponentially over the latter half of the last century is rapidly approaching a critical period, with increasing signs of deterioration and reduced functionality. Defi ciencies in the existing bridge inventory, for example, range from those related to wear, environment…
Summary .— This study examined whether parental attachment mediates the relationship between parental social support and self-esteem in Korean middle and high school athletes. 591 sports athletes attending middle and high schools that specialize in sport volunteered. Parental social support and parental attachment had a signifi cant positive eff ect on self-esteem; parental attachment had a g…
Summary .— This study evaluated whether the judogi colour (blue or white)could infl uence a combat outcome (victory or defeat) in 1,233 judo offi cial combats. Sex, age group, and level of competition were also considered in the analysis. Binomial probability tests showed a higher probability of an athlete's winning a combat wearing blue judogi for both sexes, levels of competition (regional …
An article published by Suminski, Wasserman, Mayfi eld, and Mc-Clain in the August 2013 issue of Perceptual & Motor Skills highlighted the infl uence of adult perceptions about environmental infl uence on physical activity. Interviews with both women and men between the ages of 18 and 91 years provided self-reported information about their own physical activities in their neighborhoods, as wel…
Summary .— Current accounts of the Ebbinghaus illusion emphasize either size contrast or contour interaction processes. To assess these alternatives, four variants of the Ebbinghaus fi gure were constructed using 1, 5, 9, or 13 small circles dispersed along the perimeter of larger contextual circles. 30 observers ranked the perceived size of the central circles and a single control circle. Th…
Summary .— This study identifi ed several physiological indices that can accurately monitor mental workload while participants performed multiple tasks with the strategy of maintaining stable performance and maximizing accuracy. Thirty male participants completed three 10-min. simulated multitasks: MATB (Multi- Attribute Task Battery) with three workload levels. Twenty-fi ve commonly used men…
Summary .— This study assessed whether video self-modeling improves running performance and infl uences the rate of perceived exertion and heart rate response. Twelve men ( M age = 26.8 yr., SD = 6; M body mass index = 22.1 kg.m –2 , SD = 1) performed a time to exhaustion running test at 100 percent maximal aerobic velocity while focusing on a video self-modeling loop to synchronize their …
Summary.—The goal was to study reaction time and maximal velocity of upper limbs of healthy young adults of both sexes during transition from a simple to a more involved task. Performance of dominant and non-dominant arms was recorded. Participants were 43 healthy, right-handed, untrained men (n = 22) and women (n = 21),18–22 years old. The simple task required a single jerk-like movement. …
Summary .— According to social cognitive theory, group cohesion and selfeffi cacy have been identifi ed as important environmental and individual elements in students’ physical activity. This study examined the correlations among group cohesion, exercise self-effi cacy, perceived interest, and physical activity among 143 le college students ( M age = 21.2 yr., SD = 4.2) enrolled in aerobic…
Summary.—This study examined choking in basketball by identifying the effects of game outcome and situational variables during the last 5 min. and overtimes of close games. The sample consisted of two 5 min. segments (last 5 min. of the game, n = 147, of which 97 did not go into overtime; 5 min. of overtime, n = 50) drawn from 147 games from the Spanish Professional Basketball League (2007 to…
Summary .— This cross-sectional study examined fundamental movement skill competency among deprived preschool children in Northwest England and explored sex diff erences. A total of 168 preschool children (ages 3–5 yr.) were included in the study. Twelve skills were assessed using the Children's Activity and Movement in Preschool Motor Skills Protocol and video analysis. Sex diff erences we…
Summary .— The present study examined human-computer interactions in which the operator has to detect errors made by software designed to automatically recognize technical documents. The goal was to assess the eff ect of user-initiated interruptions of the recognition process to correct these errors. Participants were asked to check the interpretations, either with or without the possibility …
Settlement calculation is one of the three major issues in foundation engineering and it has not yet been resolved completely. Especially settlement calculation of super high-rise buildings still remains the most difficult problem for engineers. Due to lack of practical settlement data, there is few systematic research result and rarer monograph to investigate this special problem. This bo…
Stock identification involves delineation of population structure of fishery resourcesda central theme in fisheries science and management. Developments in molecular biology and chemistry and advances in image analysis and tagging technologies have prompted revolutionary changes in many stock identification approaches. Stock identification is developing as an increasingly interdisciplinary fiel…
The provision of earthquake resistant structures and facilities is one ofthe main concerns of Civil and Earthquake Engineering Profession. As such, the main objective of seismic instrumentation program for civil engineering structural systems is to improve our understanding of the behavior and potential for damage of structures under the dynamic loads of earthquakes. As a result of this und…
In the present decade, the world has witnessed many great earthquakes like Bhujj in India in 2001, Iran in 2003, the Asian Tsunami in Indonesia in 2004 and Pakistan in 2005 resulting in the death of thousands of people and significant property damage. Housing and safety are basic human needs. Structures adequately designed for usual loads need not necessarily be safe for earthquake forces.…
1 In Benin cashew plantations, yields and nut quality are lost mainly as a result of insect pests. In the present study, we investigated the effectiveness of the African weaver ant Oecophylla longinoda as a biocontrol agent against Beninese cashew pests. 2 In a 2-year study, nut yield and quality were compared among: (i) trees with weaver ants O. longinoda; (ii) trees where weaver ants we…
Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) is a promising crop for food security in dry areas. Studies have been conducted to define nitrogen (N) fertilization levels and to understand the responses of quinoa to drought, but little is known about the response of this crop to N fertilization under drought stress. The aim of this study was to investigate whether N fertilization could improve quinoa yield…
Despite the importance of mucilage for soil–plant relations, little is known about the effect of soil drying on mucilage exudation. We introduce a method to collect mucilage from maize growing in wet and dry soils. Mucilage was collected from brace roots. The amount of mucilage exuded did not change with soil water content and transpiration rate. Mucilage exuded in dry soils had a higher …
Summary .— This study assessed the concurrent and construct validity of the Borg 6–20 Scale and WHEEL Scale during arm ergometry exercise stress testing in ( n = 24) adolescents and adults with spina bifi da. Signifi cant, moderate, positive correlations were observed between power output and relative heart rate and power output to relative VO 2 peak. Further, a moderate, signifi cant corre…
Summary .— Sensory information from the environment is used for body orientation and maintaining posture for eff ective movement, and the eff ects of specifi c senses on orientation and posture can be tested by removing input. In the present study, fi eld dependence was used to evaluate the importance of vision in the perception of verticality when an upside-down posture was adopted under wat…
Summary .— Visual fi xation patterns were analyzed to gain insight into developmental changes in attention allocation in a cross-modal task. Two patterns that have been associated with increased task diffi culty, gaze aversion and fi xation duration,were recorded using an eye-tracker. In this exploratory study, 37 elementary age children ( M age 7–10 yr.) and 23 undergraduates engaged in vi…