Relationship between motor abilities and competitive anxiety among young athletes

Količina stresa koju sportista doživljava uslovljena je njegovom crtom takmičarske anksioznosti (CTA). Iako se za procenu CTA mladih sportista Srbije već dugo koristiti test SCATe (Bačanac, 1989), metrijske karakteristike testa i njegova konstrukt validnost do sada nisu provereni (Istraživanje 1). Pored toga, direktno ispitivanje povezanosti CTA i motoričkog prostora uglavnom je svedeno na motoričke veštine, te nedostatak znanja o njenoj povezanosti sa motoričkim sposobnostima (MS) može biti uzrok nekonzistentnosti rezultata dosadašnjih istraživanja i teorijskih nejasnoća (Istraživanje 2). Cilj Istraživanja 1 je bio da doprinese evaluaciji instrumenta SCATe proverom njegove validnosti i pouzdanosti. Istraživanjem je obuhvaćeno 1024 ispitanika oba pola iz 21 sportske grane, uzrasta 12 – 21 godine i sportskog iskustva 2 – 14 godina. Dobijeni rezultati ukazuju na visoku inter (Cronbach alfa coefficient iznosi 0,86) i intrapouzdanost (Spirman-Browen coefficient iznosi 0,79) Testa. Test SCATe ima odgovarajuću visoku kriterijsku validnost u odnosu na SCAT (Martens, 1967) (r >,90) i srednju u odnosu na RSE (Rosenberg, 1965) (r = -,38), a dobijene su i značajne razlike (p < 0,001) između grupa: ženska populacija ima viši nivo CTA (nasuprot muškoj), kao i sportisti u individualnim sportovima (nasuprot kolektivnim) i kolizionim sportovima (nasuprot kontaktnim i nekontaktnim). Konačno, eksplorativnom faktorskom analizom dobijeno je da trofaktorsko rešenje (trodimenzionalni konstrukt CTA) objašnjava 34,23% ukupne varijanse, a pojedinačno 22,64%, 6,61% i 4,99% sa svojstvenim vrednostima 6,79, 1,98 i 1,49. Faktori, definisani kao somatska, kognitivna komponenta i komponenta samopouzdanja imaju značajnu korelaciju (p < 0,01) sa ukupnim skorom (opseg r: ,50 – ,92), kao i među sobom (opseg r: ,32 – ,59). Na osnovu dobijenih rezultata može se zaključiti da su metrijske karakteristike SCATe prihvatljive za procenu crte takmičarske anksioznosti mladih sportista. Međutim, preporučuje se da za procenu tri pojedinačne komponente anksioznosti (subskale), sprovedu postupci daljeg razvoja i evaluacije ovog instrumenta. Ispitivanje povezanosti CTA i MS (Istraživanje 2) je obuhvatilo 604 ispitanika oba pola, uzrasta 12-21 godine i sportskog iskustva 2-14 godina u 15 sportskih grana...The amount of stress athlete experiencing is conditioned by his/her competitive trait anxiety (CTA). Although SCATe (Bačanac, 1989) has been used for over twenty years to estimate CTA in young Serbian, metrics characteristics and construct validity of the test has not yet been estimated (Research 1). In addition, investigation of the relationionship between CTA and motoric domain was mostly reduced to motorical skills. Therefore, the lack of knowledge about the association of CTA and motoric abilities (MS) could be the underlying cause of inconsistencies between previous research and theoretical uncertainty (Research 2). The aim of Research 1 was to evaluate the SCATe instrument by verifying its validity and reliability. SCATe was tested on 1024 young male and female athletes aged between 12 and 21 years, competingin 15 different sports. The obtained results indicate to high inter- (Cronbach alfa coefficient is 0.86) and intra-reliability (Spearman-Browen coefficient is 0.79) of SCATe. SCATe has high criterion validity with respect to SCAT (Martens, 1967) (r > .90), and medium when compared to RSE (Rosenberg, 1965) (r = -.38), and the significant differences were also obtained (p < 0.001) between groups: the female population has a higher level of CTA (versus male), while athletes in individual sport (opposite the collective ones) and collision sport group (opposite to contact and non-contact ones). Finally, the explorative factor analysis showed that the three-factor solution (three-dimensional CTA construct) explains 34.23% of the total variance, and 22.64%, 6.61% and 4.99% respectively, with the respective values of 6.79, 1.98 and 1.49. Factors defined as somatic, cognitive, and component of self-confidence have significant correlation (p < 0.01) with total score (range r: .50 - .92) as well as among themselves (range r: .32 - .59). Based on the obtained results it can be concluded that the metric characteristics of SCATe are acceptable for the evaluation of CTA in young athletes. However, additional evaluation of three individual components of anxiety (subscales) is needed, along with further development and evaluation of this instrument. The investigation of the relationship between competing anxiety and motor abilities (Research 2) included 604 subjects of both genders, 12 – 21 years of age and 2 – 14 years Doktorska disertacija mr Aleksandra A. Sanader x of sports experience in 15 sports branches..

Styra och ställa - En studie om hur företag arbetar med sin interna styrning för att uppnå framgång

In year 2006 Carlings was named the most profitable chain, selling clothes, in Sweden. A year after they ended up on the podium once again. What is remarkable about this result is the fact the company does not exploit any direct marketing or offer a differentiated product compared to its competitors such as H&M and Gina Tricot. How did they manage to do this? The intention of this paper is to try to find out what makes a company successful by looking at their financial control, organizational culture, leadership styles and construction of brand image. We want to find out which of these elements leads to the best results. We chose to make use of a case study to examine Carlings actions in depth. The theoretical data, consisting of books and articles, have been proved or disproved trough interviews and observations of Carlings stores. In conclusion, we have found that Carlings way to motivate the staff but also to invest money on kickoffs and staff meetings is the most favorable for their success. The money they save on direct marketing is also good for their brand identity since the rock culture does not go hand in hand with traditional advertising. It also contributes to the employee’s joy to come to work, they feel essential, that they can climb in the company and get different kinds of rewards for it. This makes the management happy of the good results and can give even more back to the employees. The employees are happy and radiate a good personality, while providing customers good service. Who could imagine that Carlings could beat all giant chain’s profitability in Sweden two years in a row and it bottomed in something as simple as win-win-win

Competitive trait anxiety and general self-esteem of athletes according to the sport type and gender

Traditionally, anxiety has been interpreted as a negative emotional state characterized by nervousness, worry, fret, uncertainty and vague fear which could have an adverse effect on sports achievement. On the other hand, sport type and its specific nature and demands, may also be connected with the level of state and trait anxiety. This study aimed to investigate potential differences in the competitive trait anxiety level and general self-esteem according to gender in sports of different contact level. The sample consisted of 1024 (590 males and 434 females) young athletes. Independent variables were sport contact level (non-contact, contact and collision sports) and gender. Dependent variables were measured by the adjusted versions of Sport Competition Anxiety Test and Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale. Basic descriptive statistics was calculated for all the groups, and the differences between them were established using χ² test and MANOVA. The results suggest significant differences in trait competitive anxiety per sport type, gender and their interaction, and no differences in the general self-esteem level. The current study reveals that not only the intensity but also the intergroup relationship of a sport contact level (non-contact, contact and collision sports) is gender determined. These findings are important in psycho-diagnostic procedure and choosing appropriate coping strategies for athletes

Anthropometric and Physical Performance Profiles of Elite Karate Kumite and Kata Competitors

Karate tournaments consist of two equally important karate disciplines: the kumite and kata competitions. Due to being based both on the distinctive selection of movement techniques and their kinematic and kinetic patterns, we hypothesized that the elite kumite and kata competitors could differ regarding their anthropometric and physical performance profiles. Thirty-one senior male karate competitors of the national karate team (kumite n = 19; kata n = 12) participated in this study. The tests applied included both the assessment of anthropometric (body height, mass and body mass index) and the following physical performance measurements: the adductor and hamstring flexibility (sideward leg splits test), speed and acceleration (20-m sprint test with 10-m acceleration time), explosive power (countermovement and standing triple jump), agility ("T"- test) and aerobic endurance (20-m multistage shuttle run test). The kumite competitors revealed a larger body size through body height (p = 0.01) and mass (p = 0.03), while the differences in body composition were non-significant. The kumite competitors also demonstrated higher acceleration (p = 0.03) and explosive power (standing triple jump; p = 0.03). A 6-7 degrees higher flexibility of the kata competitors remained somewhat below the level of significance (p = 0.09). The findings could be interpreted by the distinctive differences in the movement techniques. Specifically, a higher explosive power could be beneficial for kumite, while both a smaller stature and higher flexibility (particularly of the lower extremity) could be important for the exceptionally low postures of the kata competitors. Although further elucidation is apparently needed, the obtained finding could be of importance for both the early selection and training of karate competitors

Factorial validity of extended sport competitive anxiety test evaluated with young athletes

The Sport Competitive Anxiety Test (SCAT) has been applied most widely to estimate anxiety in sport. Although the SCAT has been modified to make the instrument more appropriate for the assessment of the multidimensional competitive trait anxiety construct, the extended version (SCATe) has not been validated to date. The aim of this study was to investigate factorial validity of the SCATe, as well as the consistency of the three subscale measures within the global score. SCATe was evaluated with 1024 young competitors aged 12 to 21 years, involved in 21 sports. The Cronbach's coefficients, exploratory and confirmatory factorial analysis and the Spearman Correlation were applied. The three-factor model accounts for 34.23% of the total variance of competitive anxiety. All three dimensions revealed significant inherent eigenvalues (6.79, 1.98, and 1.49). The somatic component was 23%, while self-confidence and cognitive components were 7% and 5%, respectively. The results indicated acceptable internal consistency and factorial validity for successful evaluation of a global score for competitive trait anxiety and the three individual subscale scores: somatic, cognitive and self-confidence. The data suggest that SCATe could be applied as alternative test to SCAT, however, further improvement of the SCATe metric characteristics is recommended