Introduction to Philosophical Issues in Sport Science

The role and value of science within sport increases with ever greater professionalization and commercialization. Scientific and technological innovations are devised to increase performance, ensure greater accuracy of measurement and officiating, reduce risks of harm, enhance spectatorship and raise revenues. However, such innovations inevitably come up against epistemological and metaphysical problems related to the nature of sport and physical competition. This special issue identifies and explores key and contemporary philosophical issues in relation to the science of sport and exercise. The opening four chapters focus on the nature of scientific evidence, and causation in sport; the middle four chapters on the influence of science and technology and its relationship to sport officiating; whilst the final three chapters consider the way in which science affects the construction of sport. It brings together scholars working on philosophical problems in sport to examine issues related to the values and assumptions behind sport and exercise science, key problems that result, and provide recommendations for improving its practice

Exploring the use of digital gaming to improve student engagement at a resource poor institution in South Africa

Although student engagement has potential to enhance learning and student retention, the use of digital games to achieve this learning outcome remains a challenge in higher education. while the role of gamification is highly predicated in horizon reports to enter mainstream education, the popularity of game-based learning has remained marginal. in this paper we report on the use of game-based learning at a higher education institution where students are pre-disposed to play games outside formal educational settings. this is further compounded by the challenging nature of designing learning activities that fully exploits students' capacity to engage. this paper reports on a case study using game based learning as a tool to mediate engagement for students enrolled in health science education at a resource poor higher education institution in south africa. the aim of this study was to examine the role of a digital game to enhance student engagement within the classroom. by means of mixed methods, this study utilised a design-based enquiry using a case study of sport science curricula. design-based research was used as part of the design and implementation of an interactive learning environment using a technology (gaming) innovation within an education setting. sixty-four students from a sport science department volunteered to participate in this study. quantitative and qualitative data was collected. results indicate that even though 89% if participants indicated that they have played digital games, only 46 % indicated that they have engaged with a digital game for the purpose of learning. baseline data prior to intervention suggested that students did not learn well in groups (70.3%, m=1.91; sd=0.938). however, in post-intervention focus group interviews students expressed that the introduction of a digital game for learning in the classroom aided co-construction of knowledge in a fun and meaningful way. this study concludes that the use of digital games is a valuable mediating tool in sport science education as it strengthens collaborative learning and improves engagement. this paper recommends a strategy to improve engagement and ultimately student retention. this study offers new insight into understanding student engagement within a game based learning environment

The role of physical function in the association between physical activity and gait speed in older adults: a mediation analysis

© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).Adequate levels of physical function (PF) are essential for vulnerable older adults to perform their daily tasks safely and remain autonomous. Our objective was to explore the mediating role of PF in the relationship between physical activity (PA) and gait speed (GS) in a large sample of older adults from the north of Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study that analyzed 697 older adults (mean age 70.35 ± 6.86 years) who participated in the project "Health, Lifestyle, and Physical Fitness in Older Adults in Amazonas" (SEVAAI). PA was assessed using the Baecke Questionnaire, PF using the Senior Fitness Test, and GS using the 50-foot Walk Test. Mediation pathways were analyzed to test the possible mediating role of PF between specific PA domains (PA-total score, PA-housework, PA-sport, PA-leisure) and GS. Regarding PA-total, the analysis showed that high-performance GS was partially mediated in approximately 19% by better PF performance. Moreover, the PF could partially mediate the association between PA-sport and PA-leisure with GS, at levels of approximately 9% and 46%, respectively. An inverse relationship was observed between PA-housework (sedentary lifestyle) and GS. This association was partially mediated to an extent of approximately 9% by better PF performance. We conclude that PF plays a crucial role in mediating the association between PA and GS among vulnerable older adults.We acknowledge support from the Swiss National Centre of Competence in Research LIVES–Overcoming vulnerability: life course perspectives, which is funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant number: 51NF40-185901). Moreover, AI acknowledges support from the Swiss National Science Foundation (grant number: 10001C_189407). E.R.G., C.F. and B.R.G. acknowledge support from LARSyS—Portuguese national funding agency for science, research and technology (FCT) pluriannual funding 2020–2023 (Reference: UIDB/50009/2020).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Kako učitelji-trenerji vplivajo na pomembne spremembe v vedenju športnih trenerjev?

This article provides an overview of how coach educators influence meaningful behavior change in sports coaches. Drawing upon the extant research, we outline gaps in the literature before reviewing key factors that influence behavior change in sport coaches. The framework for this article provides examples of five specific hypotheses, including: H1: Ensure coach education programs are structured and sequenced; H2: Coach characteristics drive behaviors: H3: Behavior change is more likely to occur when coaches understand the impact of their behavior: H4: The learning environment must align with needs of coaches; and H5: Delivering and receiving feedback appropriately informs coach education practice. We include evidence of how an experienced coach educator influences meaningful behavior change in sports coaches. We conclude with recommendations for sport coach development programs and future researchers.//Prispevek obsega pregled, kako učitelji-trenerji vplivajo na pomembne spremembe v vedenju športnih trenerjev. Na podlagi obstoječih raziskav smo prikazali vrzeli v literaturi, nato pa smo pregledali glavne dejavnike, ki vplivajo na spremembo vedenja športnih trenerjev. Okvir tega prispevka so primeri petih specifičnih hipotez, in sicer H1: zagotovitev, da so programi izobraževanja trenerjev strukturirani in izvedeni zaporedno; H2: značilnosti trenerjev pogojujejo njihovo vedenje; H3: sprememba vedenja se bolj verjetno pojavi, kadar trenerji razumejo vpliv svojega vedenja; H4: učno okolje je treba uskladiti s potrebami trenerjev in H5: ustrezno dajanje in prejemanje povratnih informacij izpopolnjuje prakso izobraževanja trenerjev. Predstavljamo tudi dokaze, kako izkušen učitelj-trener vpliva na pomembne spremembe vedenja športnih trenerjev. Prispevek se zaključi s priporočili za programe razvoja športnih trenerjev in bodočih raziskovalcev

A review of contemporary techniques for measuring ergonomic wear comfort of protective and sport clothing

Protective and sport clothing is governed by protection requirements, performance, and comfort of the user. The comfort and impact performance of protective and sport clothing are typically subjectively measured, and this is a multifactorial and dynamic process. The aim of this review paper is to review the contemporary methodologies and approaches for measuring ergonomic wear comfort, including objective and subjective techniques. Special emphasis is given to the discussion of different methods, such as objective techniques, subjective techniques, and a combination of techniques, as well as a new biomechanical approach called modeling of skin. Literature indicates that there are four main techniques to measure wear comfort: subjective evaluation, objective measurements, a combination of subjective and objective techniques, and computer modeling of human–textile interaction. In objective measurement methods, the repeatability of results is excellent, and quantified results are obtained, but in some cases, such quantified results are quite different from the real perception of human comfort. Studies indicate that subjective analysis of comfort is less reliable than objective analysis because human subjects vary among themselves. Therefore, it can be concluded that a combination of objective and subjective measuring techniques could be the valid approach to model the comfort of textile materials