26 research outputs found
Changes in physical performance, body composition and physical training during military operations : systematic review and meta-analysis
Systematic review and metaâanalysis applying PRISMA guidelines with a PICOS format was constructed to provide an overview of changes in physical performance, body composition and physical training in soldiers during prolonged (â„ 3 months) military operations. Twentyâfour studies out of the screened 4431 records filled the inclusion criteria. A small decrease in endurance performance was the most consistent finding (Hedgeâs g [g] â 0.21, 95% CI â 0.01 to â 0.41) while small overall increases in maximal strength of the lower (g 0.33, 95% CI 0.16â0.50) and upper body (g 0.33, 95% CI 0.19â0.46) were observed. In addition, small increases in strength endurance (pushâup, g 0.34, 95% CI 0.15â0.52; sitâup g 0.26, 95% CI 0.07â0.44) were observed. The overall changes in body composition were trivial. Heterogeneity in the outcome variables varied mainly between low to moderate. Large interâindividual variations were observed in physical training volume, including decrements especially in endurance training frequency and volume. A reduction in total training load was often associated with negative changes in body composition and physical performance according to the principle of training specificity. Individuals with higher initial fitness level were more susceptible to decrements in their physical performance during operation.Systematic review and meta-analysis applying PRISMA guidelines with a PICOS format was constructed to provide an overview of changes in physical performance, body composition and physical training in soldiers during prolonged (â„â3 months) military operations. Twenty-four studies out of the screened 4431 records filled the inclusion criteria. A small decrease in endurance performance was the most consistent finding (Hedge's g [g] - 0.21, 95% CI - 0.01 to - 0.41) while small overall increases in maximal strength of the lower (g 0.33, 95% CI 0.16-0.50) and upper body (g 0.33, 95% CI 0.19-0.46) were observed. In addition, small increases in strength endurance (push-up, g 0.34, 95% CI 0.15-0.52; sit-up g 0.26, 95% CI 0.07-0.44) were observed. The overall changes in body composition were trivial. Heterogeneity in the outcome variables varied mainly between low to moderate. Large inter-individual variations were observed in physical training volume, including decrements especially in endurance training frequency and volume. A reduction in total training load was often associated with negative changes in body composition and physical performance according to the principle of training specificity. Individuals with higher initial fitness level were more susceptible to decrements in their physical performance during operation.Peer reviewe
Collaborating around digital tabletops: childrenâs physical strategies from the UK, India and Finland
We present a study of children collaborating around interactive tabletops in three different countries: the United Kingdom, India and Finland. Our data highlights the key distinctive physical strategies used by children when performing collaborative tasks during this study. Children in the UK tend to prefer static positioning with minimal physical contact and simultaneous object movement. Children in India employed dynamic positioning with frequent physical contact and simultaneous object movement. Children in Finland used a mixture of dynamic and static positioning with minimal physical contact and object movement. Our findings indicate the importance of understanding collaboration strategies and behaviours when designing and deploying interactive tabletops in heterogeneous educational environments. We conclude with a discussion on how designers of tabletops for schools can provide opportunities for children in different countries to define and shape their own collaboration strategies for small group learning that take into account their different classroom practices
âHistory Cultureâ and the continuing crisis of history
Abstract
The article takes aim at a core difficulty with many current conceptualizations of âhistoricalâ culture â that of striking a balance between the common attribution of special privilege to the discipline of history and professional historians and a potential, emerging democratization of talk about the past. Seeking some working middle ground is seen as particularly timely given the contemporary media culture environment where sentiment appears to increasingly favour choosing oneâs positioning relatively freely from facts and expertise. To this end, views presented under the umbrella term of historical culture, which largely appear to reserve a curatorial role for the various history professionals, are complemented by more explicitly emancipatory orientations from debates on perceived shifts in public focus to heritage and memory as well as from key postmodern-inspired approaches to thinking about the past. Several terminological recommendations are argued for, chief among them a reconceptualization of the overall field in terms of history culture, whereby professional history and popular and public âparahistoryâ practices might more readily be viewed as on equal footing
Changes in physical fitness and anthropometrics differ between female and male recruits during the Finnish military service
Introduction: Military training programmes are often similar for male and female recruits despite sex differences in physical performance that may influence training adaptations during military service. The present study aimed to compare changes in physical fitness and anthropometrics between Finnish female and male recruits during military service.
Methods: A total of 234â690 male and 3549 female recruits participated in fitness tests at the beginning and end of military service between 2005 and 2015. Anthropometric measurements were body mass, height, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC). Fitness tests consisted 12âmin running, standing long jump, and sit-ups and push-ups.
Results: No changes were observed in anthropometrics, while both sexes improved most of the fitness test results. After adjustment for service time, branch, age, initial fitness test results, BMI and WC, improvement in running test performance was 158âm (95%âCI 142 to 173, pâ€0.001) greater in male than female recruits. Similarly, improvements were larger in male recruits for push-ups (5 reps/min, 95%âCI 5 to 6, pâ€0.001), sit-ups (2 reps/min, 95%âCI 2 to 3, pâ€0.001) and standing long jump (12âcm, 95%âCI 11 to 13, pâ€0.001) when compared with women.
Conclusions: The study revealed sex differences in adaptations to the standardised military training. Both male and female recruits improved their physical fitness, but smaller gains were observed in women using the same training programme. The mechanisms explaining sex differences in adaptations to military training, and whether tailored training programmes are needed specifically for female recruits to reduce sex differences during military service, warrants further studies.peerReviewe
Associations of Physical Fitness and Body Composition Characteristics With Simulated Military Task Performance
The purpose of this study was to evaluate
the associations of physical fitness and body composition
characteristics with anaerobic endurance performance, tested in
the combat load using the occupationally relevant military simulation
test (MST). Eighty-one male soldiers, deployed to a crisis
management operation in the Middle East, volunteered for the
study and participated in a test battery consisting measurements
of muscle strength, body composition characteristics, endurance
capacity, and MST. A Spearman correlational analysis revealed
that the strongest variable, correlated with MST time, was the
countermovement jump performed with the combat load
(CMJ2) (rs = 20.66, p , 0.001). Among the individual body
composition variables, the MST time had the strongest relationship
with fat percentage (rs = 0.53, p , 0.001) and skeletal
muscle mass (SMM) (rs = 20.47, p , 0.001). The use of the
dead mass ratio, which was calculated dividing body mass by fat
mass accompanied with the weight of the combat load, increased
body composition-based associations significantly, and this variable
turned out to be the best single predictor for the MST performance
(rs = 20.67, p , 0.001). Significant predictors of the
MST time in the stepwise multivariate regression analysis included
CMJ2, 3000 m, SMM, and push-ups. Together, these variables
explained 66% (R2
adj Œ 0:658, model p , 0.001) of the variance in
the MST time. In conclusion, the novel MST is a promising military
specific assessment method of muscle power of the lower
extremities and endurance capacity, which are crucial performance
components in anaerobic combat situations.peerReviewe
Physical fitness and anthropometrics in Finnish soldiers during their early career : prospective changes during a 3-year follow-up
Introduction: Physical fitness is a fundamental capability required of military personnel, but studies focusing on longitudinal changes in physical fitness and anthropometrics in soldiers are lacking. The aim was to evaluate physical fitness and anthropometrics in soldiers during their early career.
Methods: A 3-year prospective study included 180 male soldiers (baseline age 26±2âyears) with measures of a 12âmin running test, standing long jump, sit-up and push-up tests, and body mass, height and waist circumference (WC). Baseline data were stratified into tertiles, and the changes within each tertile were analysed using dependent t-tests and analysis of variance.
Results: 12âmin running test distance decreased on average by 2% (â54 m), sit-up performance 3% (â1.5 repetitions (reps)/min), push-up performance 4% (â1.9 reps/min) and standing long jump performance 1% (â2.1 cm) over the 3-year period (p<0.05). Both aerobic and muscular fitness decreased consistently among the highest baseline tertile (12âmin running test: â70âm, sit-ups: â3.2 reps/min, push-ups: â7.5 reps/min, standing long jump: â5.5âcm; p<0.001), whereas both aerobic and muscular fitness levels were maintained and push-up performance was improved (p<0.05) in the lowest baseline tertiles. Body mass increased on average by 4% (+3.4 kg) and WC by 4% (+3.9 cm) (p<0.001), and these increases were observed for all baseline tertiles (p<0.05).
Conclusions: Small decrements in physical fitness and anthropometrics exist during the early career of soldiers. The changes in physical fitness differed according to baseline fitness levels. The results indicate that support for exercise training may be needed even in a soldierâs early career.peerReviewe
Analysing inclusive groupsâ peer interactions using mobile eye tracking in educational context
Abstract
Research abounds on deploying interventions to support peer interactions between children on the autism spectrum (AS) and neurotypical children [1â2]. Technological advancements such as eye tracking devices have provided ample affordances to the field of autism research in terms of facilitating the collection of insightful data related to the gaze-based interaction behaviour of children on the AS [3]. Yet, further empirical understanding on how children interact within inclusive educational contexts is needed [4].
Addressing this gap, we present our research study set in a naturalistic inclusive school environment in which small groups of three children interact playing a boardgame, Alias, while wearing mobile eye tracking glasses. Alias is a word game during which a person guesses the word that another person is explaining by giving them hints and tips. In our study, we analysed the game play by focusing on 3 roles: an explainer, as the person giving clues for a guesser to guess what the word was, while an observer watched the interactions.
25 children (age 10â12 years, 4th â 5th grade, 15 males) from 3 different schools in Finland participated in the study. For data analysis, 2 categories were used: children with no diagnosis (n=19) and children on the autism spectrum (AS) (n=6). 43 data collection sessions of about 45 minutes each were carried out. Each session was set so that a small inclusive group of 3 children, each wearing mobile eye tracking glasses (Tobii Glasses 2), engaged for 10 minutes in a ludative task planned by the researchers and for 25 minutes in a curricular task planned by the teacher. Here we present the analysis of 9 sessions during which Alias was used.
The mobile eye tracking glasses data collected was coded using Tobii Pro Lab. We analysed the childrenâs gaze behaviour from the perspective of the role taken, focusing on the proportion of time that the children spent looking at three areas of interest: other childrenâs faces, the task (i.e., the table where the game cards were placed) and the surrounding environment area. The statistical analysis of the coded data (i.e., areas of interests) was carried out using SPSS, and within-group comparisons were conducted with related samples Friedmanâs two-way analysis of variance by ranks, with Dunnâs pairwise post hoc test with Bonferroni correction. Results show promising insights on the gaze-based interactions behaviour of children on the AS when compared with neurotypical peers, including a perceived sensitivity to the requirements of the game roles that they play.
Our work contributes towards empirical research implementations of mobile eye tracking glasses to understand natural peer interactions in inclusive educational environments. The insights obtained could support teachersâ classroom practices to foster childrenâs collaborative work in inclusive educational contexts