INTRA-RELIABILITY OF ACTIVE DRAG VALUES USING THE ASSISTED TOWING METHOD (ATM) APPROACH

The purpose of this research was to test the intra-reliability of the assisted towing method (ATM) approach at a constant velocity when estimating for active drag. Seven national level front crawl swimmers completed three trials of maximal free swimming and five active drag trials. The computed active drag values were analysed using within-subject intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and typical error coefficient of variance percentages (%CVTE). Results revealed a nearly perfect confidence level (ICC=0.91 with a range of 0.58 to 0.98 and a %CVTE of 11.7). Therefore, using the ATM approach to estimate active drag in its current formatting will produce reliable results and should be used to pursue further research in active drag estimations

Push-Ups are Able to Predict the Bench Press 1-RM and Constitute an Alternative for Measuring Maximum Upper Body Strength Based on Load-Velocity Relationships

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THE EFFECT OF CAMERA PAN ON THE TWO-DIMENSIONAL DIRECT LINEAR TRANSFORMATION AND SCALAR RECONSTRUCTION TECHNIQUES WHEN APPLIED TO ERGOMETER ROWING

Changes in camera pan may affect reconstruction accuracy of two-dimensional (2D) kinematic data collected in on-water rowing testing. The 2D direct linear transformation (2D-DLT) may assist in improving reconstruction accuracy of rowing kinematics when a perpendicular camera changes position. Accuracy of the 2D-DLT and scalar reconstruction techniques was compared using coefficient of multiple correlations (CMCs), range of motion difference (ROMDiff) and root mean square error (RMSE). 2DDLT was found to have significantly greater accuracy (CMC and RMSE;

A 2-DIMENSIONAL VIDEO BASED MODEL FOR USE IN ERGOMETER ROWING KINEMATICS

Motion capture of the rowing stroke using accurate 3D opto-reflective systems has been limited by the constraints of the surrounding hydrodynamic environment. As a consequence 2D lower-extremity kinematic models have been used in an attempt to counter these logistical issues (Lamb, 1989). Despite this, there is limited research supporting the accuracy of a 2D video based model (2DVBM) for motion capture of the rowing stroke. The purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy of a 2DVBM against the conventional gait model using a 3D opto-reflective system

ShopSmart 4 Health - protocol of a skills-based randomised controlled trial promoting fruit and vegetable consumption among socioeconomically disadvantaged women

BackgroundThere is a need for evidence on the most effective and cost-effective approaches for promoting healthy eating among groups that do not meet dietary recommendations for good health, such as those with low incomes or experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage. This paper describes the ShopSmart 4 Health study, a randomised controlled trial conducted by Deakin University, Coles Supermarkets and the Heart Foundation, to investigate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a skill-building intervention for promoting increased purchasing and consumption of fruits and vegetables amongst women of low socioeconomic position (SEP).Methods/designShopSmart 4 Health employed a randomised controlled trial design. Women aged 18&ndash;60 years, holding a Coles store loyalty card, who shopped at Coles stores within socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhoods and met low-income eligibility criteria were invited to participate. Consenting women completed a baseline survey assessing food shopping and eating habits and food-related behaviours and attitudes. On receipt of their completed survey, women were randomised to either a skill-building intervention or a wait-list control condition. Intervention effects will be evaluated via self-completion surveys and using supermarket transaction sales data, collected at pre- and post-intervention and 6-month follow-up. An economic evaluation from a societal perspective using a cost-consequences approach will compare the costs and outcomes between intervention and control groups. Process evaluation will be undertaken to identify perceived value and effects of intervention components.DiscussionThis study will provide data to address the currently limited evidence base regarding the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of skill-building intervention strategies aimed at increasing fruit and vegetable consumption among socioeconomically disadvantaged women, a target group at high risk of poor diets.<br /

Comparing teacher roles in Denmark and England

This article reports the findings of a comparative study of teaching in Denmark and England; its broader aim is to help develop an approach for comparing pedagogy. Lesson observations and interviews identified the range of goals towards which teachers in each country worked and the actions these prompted. These were clustered using the lens of Bernstein’s pedagogic discourse (1990; 1996) to construct teacher roles which provided a view of pedagogy. Through this approach we have begun to identify variations in pedagogy across two countries. All teachers in this study adopted a variety of roles; of significance was the ease with which competent English teachers moved between roles. The English teachers observed adopted roles consistent with a wider techno-rationalist discourse. There was a greater subject emphasis by Danish teachers whose work was set predominantly within a democratic humanist discourse, whilst the English teachers placed a greater emphasis on applied skills

INVESTIGATION OF COACH RATINGS OF TECHNIQUE AND FORCE-TIME PROFILES IN ELITE MALE FRONT CRAWL SPRINT SWIMMERS

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the relationship between assisted towing method (ATM) force-time profiles and coach ratings of front crawl technique. Nine elite male swimmers completed the ATM sprint swimming protocol to obtain active drag and propulsion values. Six coaches each rated overall technique from video footage and technique at each of four stroke events (entry, pull, push, and exit) from images captured throughout the ATM trials. Mean coach technique rating scores were then correlated against four performance measures (FINA point score, 100 m performance best time, active drag value and propulsion value). Results demonstrated weak to strong relationships between the ratings and performance variables for each stroke event

Children\u27s takeaway and fast-food intakes: associations with the neighbourhood food intakes : associations with the neighbourhood food environment

Objective: The present study aimed to examine associations between availability of outlets where takeaway or fast food could be purchased and consumption of takeaway or fast food among children.Design Cross-sectional: Parents completed a questionnaire regarding the frequency per week their child usually ate takeaway or fast foods. The availability of outlets where these foods could be purchased close to home and en route to school was determined with a Geographic Information System (presence of any outlets and density of outlets within 800 m from home and along the route to school, and distance from home to closest outlet).Setting: Greater Melbourne and Geelong, Australia.Subjects: Three hundred and fifty-three children aged 5&ndash;6 years and 463 children aged 10&ndash;12 years.Results: Overall, 69&middot;4 % of children consumed takeaway or fast foods once weekly or more often. Only one measure of availability of outlets close to home was associated with consumption; each additional outlet within 800 m was associated with 3 % lower odds of consuming takeaway or fast foods at least once weekly (OR = 0&middot;97, 95 % CI 0&middot;95, 1&middot;00). There were no associations between availability en route to school and the likelihood of consuming takeaway or fast food at least once weekly.Conclusions:&nbsp; Access to outlets where takeaway or fast food could be purchased did not predict frequency of consumption of takeaway or fast food in the expected direction. Such relationships appear to be complex and may not be adequately captured by the measures of access included in the current study.<br /

Noncommutative ball maps

In this paper, we analyze problems involving matrix variables for which we use a noncommutative algebra setting. To be more specific, we use a class of functions (called NC analytic functions) defined by power series in noncommuting variables and evaluate these functions on sets of matrices of all dimensions; we call such situations dimension-free. These types of functions have recently been used in the study of dimension-free linear system engineering problems. In this paper we characterize NC analytic maps that send dimension-free matrix balls to dimension-free matrix balls and carry the boundary to the boundary; such maps we call "NC ball maps". We find that up to normalization, an NC ball map is the direct sum of the identity map with an NC analytic map of the ball into the ball. That is, "NC ball maps" are very simple, in contrast to the classical result of D'Angelo on such analytic maps over C. Another mathematically natural class of maps carries a variant of the noncommutative distinguished boundary to the boundary, but on these our results are limited. We shall be interested in several types of noncommutative balls, conventional ones, but also balls defined by constraints called Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMI). What we do here is a small piece of the bigger puzzle of understanding how LMIs behave with respect to noncommutative change of variables.Comment: 46 page