Personal and sub-personal: a defence of Dennett's early distinction

Since 1969, when Dennett introduced a distinction between personal and sub‐personal levels of explanation, many philosophers have used ‘sub‐personal’ very loosely, and Dennett himself has abandoned a view of the personal level as genuinely autonomous. I recommend a position in which Dennett's original distinction is crucial, by arguing that the phenomenon called mental causation is on view only at the properly personal level. If one retains the commit‐’ ments incurred by Dennett's early distinction, then one has a satisfactory anti‐physicalistic, anti‐dualist philosophy of mind. It neither interferes with the projects of sub‐personal psychology, nor encourages ; instrumentalism at the personal level. People lose sight of Dennett’s personal/sub-personal distinction because they free it from its philosophical moorings. A distinction that serves a philosophical purpose is typically rooted in doctrine; it cannot be lifted out of context and continue to do its work. So I shall start from Dennett’s distinction as I read it in its original context. And when I speak of ‘the distinction’, I mean to point not only towards the terms that Dennett first used to define it but also towards the philosophical setting within which its work was cut out

Human Performance Assessments in Cadet Populations

This study assessed potential physiological differences between the Ranger Challenge (RC) Competition team and junior year cadets in an Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program. The method included: RC (m = 11, f = 2) and junior year cadets (m = 7, f = 3) were assessed in the following areas: 1) quickness and agility (5-10-5 shuttle run), 2) total-body power (standing broad jump), and 3) grip strength (hand grip dynamometry) assessed. The 5-10-5 shuttle run was performed twice (opening once to the left and once to the right). The standing broad jump required that cadets stand with their toes behind a line, perform a maximum of three preparatory movements, triple extend their knees, hips, and ankles while using their upper body to propel them as far forward as possible. After the jump the distanced reached was measured from the line to the heel of the nearest foot. Hand grip dynamometry was performed once on each hand. The cadet held the dynamometer out to his or her side and squeezed it as they lowered it to their hip. The results were that there were no significant differences between groups for the 5-10-5 shuttle run (p = 0.91), standing broad jump (p = 0.49), or grip strength (p = 0.31). RC did not outperform

Perspectives on Fruit and Vegetable Consumption and Government Dietary Guidelines: Content Analysis of Comments on News Websites

Background: News websites are an essential source of medical news for the public. Many websites offer users the opportunity to leave comments, which may provide rich insights into public perspectives on health issues. With an established role in public health, fruit and vegetable (FV) consumption is central to the government’s dietary guidelines. However, FV intake continues to fall short of government recommendations. Objective: Using comments from news websites, this study aims to explore public perspectives on FV intake and related government dietary guidelines. Methods: Data comprised 2696 web user comments generated in response to substantial media coverage for a meta-analysis examining FV consumption and the risk of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, and total cancer. Using an inductive thematic approach, the data were analyzed and coded in an iterative process. Results: Four overarching themes emerged: personal factors, rejection, lack of knowledge, and food landscape, each with component subthemes. The lack of clarity around government dietary health guidelines was apparent, and this, along with emergent personal factors, may hinder better consumption. Rejection was also evident, as was a quality versus quantity of life debate. Conclusions: There are gaps in the public’s understanding of government guidelines, which may act as a constraint to better compliance. Further work should examine this issue and rejection and the possibility of public fatigue related to dietary health information and news. Similarly, future work should also explore targeted interventions with a specific emphasis on health literacy

Addressing the Confusion Within Periodization Research

In this editorial, we focus on recent problematic developments in sport science, and more specifically, problems related to periodization research. Primary areas discussed are (1) appreciation of history, (2) considerations for training studies, (3) the development of concepts, and (4) programming-driven training models

Effects of Weightlifting Training on Isometric Mid-Thigh Pull Rate of Force Development

PURPOSE: To examine the influence of three distinct training phases on isometric mid-thigh pull (IMTP) measures in well-trained weightlifters. METHODS: Pre- and post-block IMTP data from 11 collegiate weightlifters was used for analysis. The mean of the best two attempts from each athlete for measures of PF and RFD from 0-50ms, 0-100ms, 0-150ms, 0-200ms, and 0-250ms were used for comparison. In total, results from five timepoints for each of the 11 athletes were examined in order to compare the effects of the three training phases. RESULTS: A repeated measures ANOVA revealed no statistically significant (p ≥ 0.05) effects of training on any of the variables measured. When comparing post block values from each phase to pre-training cycle values, the largest increase in RFD200 (d = 0.22) and RFD250 (d=0.22) occurred post strength-power (SP) phase, while the peak in RFD50 (d = 0.32), RFD100 (d = 0.31), and RFD150 (d = 0.22) occurred after the peak/taper (PT) phase. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results of the study, it is possible that changes in IMTP RFD may reflect the expected adaptations of block periodization. Rather than examining RFD changes at only one time-band, it may be valuable to monitor RFD across multiple time bands as changes in early and late RFD may not occur proportionally during a peak/taper phase

Troubleshooting a Nonresponder: Guidance for the Strength and Conditioning Coach

Ideally an athlete would continue to improve performance indefinitely over time, however improvement slows as the athlete approaches their genetic limits. Measuring performance is complex—performance may be temporarily depressed following aggressive training for multiple reasons, physiological and psychosocial. This reality may be vexing to the strength and conditioning coach, who, as a service provider, must answer to sport coaches about an athlete’s progress. Re-cently an evaluation mechanism for strength and conditioning coaches was proposed, in part to help coaches establish their effectiveness within the organization. Without formal guidance and realistic expectations, if an athlete is not bigger, leaner, stronger, etc. as a result of training within a specified timeframe, blame is often placed upon the strength and conditioning coach. The purpose of this article is to explore possible causes of what may be perceived as athlete non-responses to training and to provide guidance for the coach on how to handle those issues within their domain. A process of investigation is recommended, along with resources to assist coaches as they consider a broad range of issues, including enhancing existing testing methods, improving athlete behaviors, and adjusting processes designed to bring about performance improvement

Addressing the Confusion within Periodization Research

In this editorial, we focus on recent problematic developments in sport science, and more specifically, problems related to periodization research. Primary areas discussed are (1) appreciation of history, (2) considerations for training studies, (3) the development of concepts, and (4) programming-driven training models

Addressing the confusion within periodization research

© 2020 by the authors. In this editorial, we focus on recent problematic developments in sport science, and more specifically, problems related to periodization research. Primary areas discussed are (1) appreciation of history, (2) considerations for training studies, (3) the development of concepts, and (4) programming-driven training models