INSTEP KICK TECHNQIUE DOES NOT ALTER FOLLOWING SELF-PACED EXERCISE

The purpose of this study was to determine whether amateur soccer players alter their instep technique in response to self-paced exercise. Comparison of the dominant (D) and non-dominant limbs (ND) was also carried out. Twelve male amateur soccer players performed 10 consecutive trials of instep kick for both lower limbs, prior to and following the completion of a 30-minute self-paced treadmill running protocol. Three-dimensional ground reaction forces and kinematic data were recorded during each instep. Only a minimal change in movement technique during the instep-kick self-paced exercise were demonstrated suggest that players more sensitive to fatigue effects during ND-instep compared to D-instep. This was due to lower limb dominance bias, with lower skill proficiency for the performance of ND-instep

Drowning Prevention: Define and Then Gather Evidence or Gather Evidence to Define?

According to the World Health Organization, drowning fatalities are a neglected public health issue ranked as the third most frequent cause of unintentional death by injury. Data used to record drowning incidents are acknowledged as inaccurate. Recommendations on drowning prevention based on these data are currently not informed by accurate, detailed and reliable evidence. Two modifications to current practice are proposed: 1) an Aquatic Incident Report needs to be developed as an extension of the current workplace incident report to prompt for information commonly not included in current drowning reports; and 2) National Water Safety Plans should be modified to include a learn-to-swim program database registering the name/elements of programs taught. Worldwide implementation of these modifications is the goal. Using improved information databases will enable researchers to better identify patterns in the drowning data. Improved current data collection methods will lead to more informed recommendations on drowning prevention

FATIGUE INDUCED POSTURAL CHANGES IN AUSTRALIAN RULES FOOTBALL PLAYERS WITH AND WITHOUT A HISTORY OF HAMSTRING INJURY

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of game fatigue on sprint mechanics in Australian Rules Football (ARF) players with and without a history of hamstring strain injury (HSI). Thirty community level ARF players, 11 with a HSI within the previous two years, undertook a game protocol simulating the running requirements of an ARF match. Three-dimensional kinematic trunk and lower limb data of 10 sprints were collected prior to the game protocol, and at the end of each simulated quarter, allowing the influence of game fatigue to be assessed. In players with a history of HSI, joint angle data revealed changes in sagittal plane hip and lumbar spine position with increasing fatigue. Persistent hamstring dysfunction may be revealed as the athlete progresses through a game and has potential implications for injury recurrence

CAN WE ALTER YOUTH ATHLETE’S LANDING STRATEGY IN A STOP-JUMP MOVEMENT?

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of four different neuromuscular training programs on the kinematic landing patterns of pre elite youth athletes during a stop-jump movement. Eighty-nine pre-elite youth athletes from the Western Region Academy of Sports Basketball, Netball, Softball, Triathlete and Hockey squads were recruited for biomechanical analysis before and after the completion of one of four randomly assigned 12-week training intervention programs, in conjunction with a strength and conditioning program. Results of this study identify youth athletes with poor movement competency acquire similar alterations in their kinematic landing pattern regardless of the type of training intervention completed, identifying that a basic strength and conditioning program can implemented to alter landing technique in a stop-jump task

Virtual Play: Beckettian Experiments in Virtual Reality

The past ten years have seen extensive experimentation with Beckett and new technological media at Trinity College Dublin. Research projects have included the stage adaptation and installation of a teleplay (Ghost Trio, 2007), the HD digital video exploration of two teleplays (Abstract Machines, 2010, including new versions of ?but the clouds? and Nacht und Tr?ume), and numerous smaller projects involving audio and video within the remit of ?fundamental research? at the Samuel Beckett Laboratory (2013?present). The most recent project, Virtual Play, explores Beckett?s Play (1963) within FVV (free-viewpoint video), a form of user-centred VR (virtual reality). This project, reflecting interdisciplinary and cross-faculty collaboration between the V-SENSE project (within the School of Computer Science and Statistics) and the School of Creative Arts, has made high-impact contributions in both FVV research and Beckett Studies, and has now been recognised at European level, receiving first prize at the 2017 New European Media Awards. After introducing the idea behind the project in a short video, this intervention addresses the main outcomes of this research for both Beckett Studies and the study of VR. The researchers believe that the project revealed not only new ways to think about Beckett and Play, as might be expected from any new production of his text, but also insights that extend the existing field of research in Beckett and technology. The use of Beckett in this context also led to new thinking about VR acting and the VR audience, research which is ongoing for the computer scientists involved. Finally, Virtual Play has demonstrated some structural characteristics of the type of research ecosystem that might allow such interdisciplinary collaborations to flourish, visions which may have implications for the way that universities organise research between the separate but overlapping fields of ?creative technologies? and ?creative arts practice?

Preliminary surveys of the endangered Lord Howe Island cockroach Panesthia lata (Blattodea: Blaberidae) on two islands within the Lord Howe Group, Australia

Little is known of the Endangered Lord Howe Island Cockroach Panesthia lata Walker, other than that it disappeared from Lord Howe Island following the introduction of ship rats Rattus rattus (Linnaeus, 1758) in 1918. With a rodent-eradication programme being planned for Lord Howe Island, an opportunity exists to reintroduce P. lata once rodents have been removed. Previous brief surveys of other islands within the Lord Howe Group have found that P. lata still occurs on some of these islands. In this study, further surveys were conducted on two of those islands (Blackburn and Roach) to gain a better understanding of the distribution and abundance of P. lata there and to investigate potential survey techniques. Brief observations were also made of the behaviour and ecology of the species. Extrapolation from survey plots showed that although 60% of the estimated population of 10 000 individuals on Blackburn Island were living beneath the sole Banyan Ficus macrophylla Desf. tree, P. lata was widely distributed across the island, utilising both native and exotic vegetation, including the introduced Rhodes Grass Chloris gayana Kunth. On Roach Island, the bulk of the estimated population of 3500 individuals occurred within Leafy Flat Sedge Cyperus lucidus R. Br. habitat. Panesthia lata seemingly spends considerable time sheltering within refuges rather than foraging on the surface; consequently, population estimates based on surface counts are underestimates. Improving either the accuracy or precision of these counts risks damaging individuals and their habitat. Mark-recapture techniques were not applicable for assessing the abundance of this species, but trials of novel attraction stations indicated that such devices could be useful for monitoring distribution and gross fluctuations in population size. Panesthia lata appears to feed on any dead vegetation, but primarily leaves. Individuals were relatively sedentary overnight, sheltering by day under any object that provided the appropriate microenvironment. Soil characteristics in areas where P. lata sheltered were significantly modified, suggesting that this species may play an important role in soil conditioning and nutrient cycling. Maintaining the rodent-free status of islands on which P. lata occurs is a high priority for this species

Interspecific fostering of a wedge-tailed shearwater ardenna pacifica by white-necked petrels pterodroma cervicalis on Phillip Island, Norfolk Island group

We report the cross-fostering of a Wedge-tailed Shearwater chick by White-necked Petrels during the 2016/17 breeding season in the Norfolk Islands. Our finding highlights the possibility that cross-fostering of these procellariids can be used in conservation applications

SIGGRAPH 2018

This poster describes a reinterpretation of Samuel Beckett?s theatrical text Playfor virtual reality (VR). It is an aesthetic reflection on practice that follows up an a technical project description submittedto ISMAR 2017 [O?Dwyer et al. 2017]. Actors are captured in a green screen environment using free-viewpoint video (FVV) techniques,and the scene is built in a game engine, complete with binaural spatial audio and six degrees of freedom of movement. The project explores how ludic qualities in the original text help elicit the conversational and interactive specificities of the digital medium. The work affirms the potential for interactive narrative in VR, opensnew experiences of the text, and highlights the reorganisation of the author?audience dynami