79 research outputs found
Psychometric properties of the quality of life questionnaire for children with CP
This paper describes the development and psychometric properties of a condition-specific quality of life instrument for children with cerebral palsy (CP QOL-Child). A sample of 205 primary caregivers of children with CP aged 4 to 12 years (mean 8y 5mo) and 53 children aged 9 to 12 years completed the CP QOL-Child. The children (112 males, 93 females) were sampled across Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) levels (Level I=18%, II=28%, III=14%, IV=11%, V=27%). Primary caregivers also completed other measures of child health (Child Health Questionnaire; CHQ), QOL (KIDSCREEN), and functioning (GMFCS). Internal consistency ranged from 0.74 to 0.92 for primary caregivers and from 0.80 to 0.90 for child self-report. For primary caregivers, 2-week test-retest reliability ranged from 0.76 to 0.89. The validity of the CP QOL is supported by the pattern of correlations between CP QOL-Child scales with the CHQ, KIDSCREEN, and GMFCS. Preliminary statistics suggest that the child self-report questionnaire has acceptable psychometric properties. The questionnaire can be freely accessed at http://www.deakin.edu.ac/hmnbs/chase/cerebralpalsy/cp_qol_home.php
Detergent-Free Membrane Protein Purification Using SMA Polymer
One of the big challenges for the study of structure and function of membrane proteins is the need to extract them from the membrane. Traditionally this was achieved using detergents which disrupt the membrane and form a micelle around the protein, but this can cause issues with protein function and/or stability. In 2009 an alternative approach was reported, using styrene maleic acid (SMA) copolymer to extract small discs of lipid bilayer encapsulated by the polymer and termed SMALPs (SMA lipid particles). Since then this approach has been shown to work for a range of different proteins from many different expression systems. It allows the extraction and purification of a target protein while maintaining a lipid bilayer environment. Recently this has led to several new high-resolution structures and novel insights to function. As with any method there are some limitations and issues to be aware of. Here we describe a standard protocol for preparation of the polymer and its use for membrane protein purification, and also include details of typical challenges that may be encountered and possible ways to address those
Swimming in Christchurch: how the industry was affected by the earthquakes
Throughout 2010 and 2011, the city of Christchurch, New Zealand, suffered a series of devastating earthquakes that caused serious damage to the city. This study examines the effect these earthquakes have had on the sport of swimming in Christchurch. It specifically focuses on three different aspects of the swimming industry: indoor competitive swimming, open water swimming and learning to swim. It reports on the industry prior to the earthquakes before examining the developments subsequent to the shakes. The effects on both facilities and participation numbers were examined. Results showed that many indoor swimming facilities were lost which had significant flow-on effects. In addition, many beaches were out of bounds and almost half of the schools in Canterbury lost the use of their own swimming pools. In terms of participation numbers, results showed that while there was a decrease in the number of indoor competitive swimmers, Canterbury clubs were still highly competitive and their rankings at events either remained similar or bettered during and after the period of the earthquakes. On the other hand, an increase in the number of participants was seen in swimming lessons as temporary pools were constructed and subsidies were offered to cover transport and lesson costs. Open water swimming, however, seems to have been relatively unaffected by the earthquakes.This report was made possible through Lincoln Universityâs Summer Scholarship programme. The authors would also like to acknowledge those anonymous interviewees who provided some valuable insight into the swimming industry in Christchurch
The role of science in the practice of talent identification: A case study from gymnastics in New Zealand
Talent identification is an example of a practice where âscientism threatens to engulf us all.â Talent identification and development are areas where models perceived to be scientific have been uncritically adopted into sporting practice due to the belief that they represent best practice. In this article, I track the changing talent identification systems adopted in the sport of rhythmic gymnastics in New Zealand over approximately 20Â years. The findings revealed that those in decision-making positions originally adopted the perspective of scientism in introducing a physical ability test which they perceived to have scientific value. However, scientific testing was later removed owing to the now empowered gymnastics coaches drawing on what Foucault referred to as local knowledge, acquired through their own experiences. Their experiences resulted in the coaches believing in the importance of what Latour described as social practices being more significant in talent identification than scientific testing
From Foucault to Latour: Gymnastics training as a socio-technical network
When fourteen-year-old Nadia Comaneci won gold at the 1976 Olympic Games, her youthful appearance inspired concerns about the hard training of young gymnasts. These concerns frequently centered around the coach as a figure of authority with the power to potentially exploit young girls. This paper both confirms and questions this assumption through using an Actor Network Theory (ANT) perspective. It is argued that what has been missing from previous accounts of sports training and competition is the role that nonhumans play. It is shown how existing Foucauldian work examining gymnastics can be extended through demonstrating the Latourian notion that power is enacted through nonhumans. It is further suggested that the inclusion of nonhumans such as video cameras into the gymnastics network can potentially generate different power arrangements from the traditional authoritarian coach/athlete relationship. Latour's concepts of mediators and intermediaries are used to show how nonhumans can have agency and affect gymnastics performance, demonstrating that power is shared among both human and nonhuman actants. © 2014 Human Kinetics, Inc
Sport and technology: An actor-network theory perspective
How do new technologies come to be used in sport? This is the question that Sport and technology aims to answer, moving beyond the idea of functionality to explore the many other important factors that athletes and sporting bodies consider throughout the process of technology adoption.
Sport and technology offers theoretical insights relevant to students and scholars of sport and sociology. It will also be fascinating reading for anyone interested in elite sporting practice in the twenty-first century
Integrating scientists into the sports environment: A case study of gymnastics in New Zealand
This article examines how sports scientists who operate outside the sports training arena are mobilized to work with gymnasts in New Zealand. Although sociology of sport has drawn attention to a variety of facets of sports science, there has been only little attention to the enrolment processes through which sports scientists become part of the sporting network. This study uses a perspective specifically developed by actor network theorists for the study of mobilization and enrolment: the âsociology of translationâ (Callon). The results demonstrate how this perspective reveals the power relations within the gymnastics network and how a variety of different actors, including individuals like gymnasts and coaches, and organizations, such as the government, can determine how enrolment processes operate
The Olympic Games, the IOC and Agenda 2020
As the organisation responsible for the Olympic Games, one of the largest and most dominant sport events, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has recently aimed to address a number of the criticisms of the Games, and issues in sport more widely, through what they have called Agenda 2020
Promoting athlete welfare: A proposal for an international surveillance system
Efforts to ensure the welfare of athletes have long existed in sport but have heightened recently across numerous countries in response to shocking revelations of sexual abuse in sport. Cases such as the sexual abuse of female gymnasts by a team doctor in the U.S. and sexual abuse of male footballers by a coach in the U.K. have drawn significant attention and scrutiny by stakeholders in sport and the public alike. These and other cases indicate that in spite of existing athlete welfare policies, educational programmes, and efforts to ensure compliance, numerous athletes were abused, the perpetrators were permitted to continue over an extended period of time, and some adults knew of the abuses and were complicit in failing to intervene. In this article, the authors use Bronfenbrennerâs Ecological Theory to review the current landscape with respect to initiatives to prevent and address athlete maltreatment at each level of the theory. The authors also propose that to advance athlete welfare, more attention needs to be devoted to the development of interventions at the macrosystem or international level. Using Bruno Latourâs concept of the oligopticon (1992) an argument is forwarded to create an international surveillance system to promote athlete welfare
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