A Comparison of the Effects of Isotonic and Isokinetic Exercises on Leg Power

PROBLEM. The author has been interested in improving the jumping ability of the students and athletes with whom he has worked. Current literature reflects conflicting viewpoints concerning isokinetic training as a superior method to isotonic training for power development. It was the purpose of this study to determine if there is a difference between the effects of isotonic and isokinetic exercises on the leg power of men and women. PROCEDURE. Thirty-three Cedarville College students participated three days per week for five weeks in a training program for the cevelopment of leg power. The subjects were given the Vertical Power Jump test to assess their jumping abilities prior to training. On the bases of the pre-test scores and sex the subjects were divided into four groups . One group of men and one group of women trained on a Universal Gym leg press station. The other two groups trained on a Super Mini-Gym isokinetic device. Both groups did three sets of eight repetitions each training session. After the five-week training period the subjects were given the Vertical Power Jump test to determine the amount of change in leg power. FINDINGS. There were no significant differences in the amounts of change of the four groups. Gains in leg power were made by all of the groups. The biggest gain was made by the women\u27s isotonic group and the least gain was made by the women\u27s isokinetic group. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. Isotonic and isokinetic exercises both caused improvement in the leg power of men and women over a five-week training period. There was no significant difference between the types of training used. The author recommends that a similar study be done with more subjects. He also suggests that a study be done comparing different types of isokinetic training programs with the number of repetitions, number of sets, frequency of training, and speed of the device as possible variables

John A. McGillivray

https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/oral_histories/1006/thumbnail.jp

The measurement of subjective wellbeing in people with intellectual disability in Australia

The importance of measuring quality of life, and most particularly the personal wellbeing of people with intellectual disabilities (ID), is now recognized. The measurement of wellbeing is an important component of program evaluation and can assist in the identification and planning of individualized support needs. There remains, however, a need for further research in this area. This paper describes a new scale, the Personal Wellbeing Index Intellectual Disability Scales (PWI-ID), which has been shown to be valid and reliable. Data is presented regarding its use in the measurement of wellbeing in people with ID and the focus of discussion is on its advantages and limitations.<br /

Gender differences in emotionality and sociability in children with autism spectrum disorders

BackgroundFour times as many males are diagnosed with high functioning autism compared to females. A growing body of research that focused on females with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) questions the assumption of gender invariance in ASD. Clinical observations suggest that females with ASD superficially demonstrate better social and emotional skills than males with ASD, which may camouflage other diagnostic features. This may explain the under-diagnosis of females with ASD.MethodsWe hypothesised that females with ASD would display better social skills than males with ASD on a test of friendship and social function. One hundred and one 10- to 16-year-olds (ASD females, n&thinsp;=&thinsp;25; typically developing (TD) females, n&thinsp;=&thinsp;25; ASD males, n&thinsp;=&thinsp;25; TD males, n&thinsp;=&thinsp;26) were interviewed (using the friendship questionnaire (FQ)) with high scores indicating the child has close, empathetic and supportive relationships. One parent of each child completed the FQ to assess whether there are differences in perception of friendships between parents and children.ResultsIt was found that, independent of diagnosis, females demonstrated higher scores on the FQ than males. Further, regardless of gender, children with ASD demonstrated lower scores than TD children. Moreover, the effect of ASD was independent of gender. Interestingly, females with ASD and TD males displayed similar scores on the FQ.ConclusionsThis finding is supported by clinical reports that females with ASD have more developed social skills than males with ASD. Further research is now required to examine the underlying causes for this phenomenon in order to develop gender-appropriate diagnostic criteria and interventions for ASD.<br /