The Effect of self-controlled practice on forearm passing, motivation, and affect in women’s volleyball players

Motor learning research has suggested that self-controlled practice (or “autonomy”) leads to more effective learning of motor tasks. Debate continues, however, as to why. Most motor behaviorists maintain the better learning is due to cognitive and information-processing factors. Recently, others have proposed the learning enhancement is due to such psychological factors as motivation and affect. The present study sought to measure motor skill learning, intrinsic motivation, and affect in self-controlled versus externally-controlled (yoked) practice conditions. Participants, 16 collegiate women’s volleyball student-athletes from two National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I programs, were paired by forearm passing skill level, and one of each pair was randomly placed in either the self-control or yoked group. The self-control participants were asked to design their own forearm passing drill during the practice phase of the experiment. The yoked participants followed the design established by the self-control participant to whom they were yoked. Each of the participants’ forearm passing accuracy was measured in a free ball passing drill consisting of a pre-test and practice phase on Day 1, and a post-test on Day 2. Their intrinsic motivation was measured using the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI), and their positive and negative affect was measured using the Positive and Negative Affect Scale – Expanded Edition (PANAS-X). The IMI and PANAS-X were administered in a baseline condition (after a team practice one week prior to participation in the study) at the end of Day 1, and the end of Day 2. Analysis of the data revealed no statistically significant differences between groups in either forearm passing, intrinsic motivation, or affect. Further research is needed to determine if intrinsic motivation and affect are partially responsible for the learning benefits of self-controlled practice

Dynamics of trade-by-trade price movements: decomposition and models

In this paper we introduce a decomposition of the joint distribution of price changes of assets recorded trade--by--trade. Our decomposition means that we can model the dynamics of price changes using quite simple and interpretable models which are easily extended in a great number of directions, including using durations and volume as explanatory variables. Thus we provide an econometric basis for empirical work on market microstructure using time series of transactions data. We use maximum likelihood estimation and testing methods to assess the fit of the model to a year of IBM stock price data taken from the New York Stock Exchange.Activity, autologistic, conditional independence, decomposition, directions, durations, forecasting, GLARMA, logarithmic distribution, prediction decomposition, size, transactions data.

Sex differences in adverse drug events from cardiovascular medicines in routine care

In preventive drug treatment of cardiovascular disease, adverse drug effects often lead to suboptimal compliance with a risk of disability and shorter life expectancy. The overall aim of this thesis was to assess the nature and extent of adverse drug events (ADEs) from cardiovascular drugs in both women and men treated in routine care. A special focus was on bleeding events from antithrombotic treatment, in particular warfarin. Better understanding of potential differences in adverse drug effects between women and men could contribute to more successful prevention. Different sources of information were used in order to obtain information about sex differences in ADEs from cardiovascular drugs: spontaneous reporting of ADEs in routine care, a cross sectional study conducted at an Emergency Ward setting, data from national pharmacovigilance and prescription databases, medical files, and the national patient register. Study I describes the prevalence, preventability and reporting of adverse drug reactions (ADRs) in an emergency medicine ward. 40% of the patient population had at least one possible ADR, in 18% ADRs were the reason for or had contributed to admission, and 24% of these ADRs were preventable. The most common ADRs were cardiovascular and the under-reporting of ADRs was 99%. Study II presents sex differences in spontaneous reports on bleeding events from clopidogrel, low-dose aspirin and warfarin (1999-2010 and 2005-2010). We found that more men were dispensed clopidogrel although the reported bleeding event risk was higher in women. For low-dose aspirin, the reported bleeding event risk was lower in women while no sex difference was found for warfarin. Study III presents sex differences in spontaneous reports on ADEs from common antihypertensive drugs (2005-2012). In six out of ten groups of antihypertensives (angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-Is), ACE-I-combinations, angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB)-combinations, thiazides, diuretics and potassium sparing agents and dihydropyridine (DHP) calcium channel blockers), women had a higher prevalence of ADE-reports with a potential linkage to dose exposure. Aldosterone antagonists was the only group with a higher prevalence of ADE-reports in men but without any sex difference in dose exposure. Study IV describes sex differences in severe bleeding events during warfarin treatment. Women had a lower incidence of bleeding which corresponded to a lower overall risk of severe bleeding in women, even after adjusting for age, comorbidity and co-medication. Women had a lower risk of CNS and urogenital bleeding. However, in the age groups 40-49 and 50-59 as well as in patients with renal failure, women had a higher risk of severe bleeding than men

Investigating the selectivity of weed harrowing with new methods

In six field experiments it was investigated whether row spacing, timing, direction and orientation of post-emergence weed harrowing in spring barley influenced the selectivity and whether it is important that increasing intensities of harrowing are generated either by increasing number of passes or increasing driving speed. Selectivity was defined as the relationship between crop burial in soil immediately after treatment and weed control. To estimate crop burial, digital image analysis was used in order to make the estimations objective. The study showed that narrow row spacing decreased selectivity in a late growth stage (21) whereas row spacing in the range of 5.3 cm to 24 cm had no effects in an early growth stage (12). Harrowing across rows decreased selectivity in one out of two experiments. Whether repeated passes with the harrowing were carried out in the same orientation along the rows or in alternative orientations forth and back was unimportant. There were indications that high driving speed decreases selectivity and that repeated passes with low driving speed are better than single treatments with high driving speed. Impacts on selectivity, however, were small and only significant at high degrees of weed control. Timing had no significant impact on selectivity

Rapport från resultat av preliminära sammanställningar av pH-mätning och smakbedömning av renkött under slaktsäsongen 1983-84

Det har framgått, att kött med dålig lukt och smak aven kan ha ett normalt pH. Samma sak aven det omvanda forhållandet. Kroppar med dåliga lukt- och smakpoäng har uttagits på grund av kannbar lukt vid uppslaktningen