A Parent Program: The Influences of Home Literacy Experiences that Influence the Reading and Writing Development of Five and Six year old Children

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a parent program designed to encourage literacy activities at home. Thirteen volunteer parents received information about literacy and learned how to implement strategies that engage their children in reading and writing activities during eight weekly workshop sessions. The effects of this program were determined by both pre and posttest differences in the children\u27s reading and writing behavior and by comparison with a control group of children. An analysis of variance was used to compare the groups in terms of the mean scores. Parental attitudes toward literacy behaviors were documented by a pre and post-program survey of participating parents. Results suggest when parents are taught how to interact with their children in authentic literacy activities at home, the children\u27s growth in reading and writing can be enhanced. Finally, parents who participated in the parent program now see their role as a literacy model for their children as extremely important

PERVASIVE COMPUTING TO ENHANCE SPORT PERFORMANCE

The integration of modem sensor-, information-and communication technologies provides new means for developing systems to acquire data in -training and competition. Various sensors and devices are incorporated into the sport equipment or attached to the athlete. Mobile computers acquire and present the data recorded, other systems use telemetric methods to transmit the data acquired to receiving stations, which then process and adequately present them. Portable devices, which are not bound to laboratory conditions are particularly useful. Systems of that kind have been developed for table tennis and rowing. In the example of table tennis a microcontroller based solution for analysing service techniques is presented. In the case of rowing the system was developed for giving feedback both during on water and ergometer rowing

COMPARISON OF FOOT-STRETCHER FORCE PROFILES BETWEEN ON-WATER AND ERGOMETER ROWING

The purpose of this study was to compare the reaction forces at the foot stretcher of a Concept2 ergometer with and without slides to those of the boat in single scull rowing. Four male elite rowers were tested at rates of 20 and 30 strokes per minute on the ergometer with and without slides as well as in a single scull. The coefficient of multiple determination showed a high consistency about five time-normalised successive strokes in all conditions (about 0.99). Cross-correlation calculations between on-water force curves and force curves obtained under both ergometer conditions showed higher similarities for the ergometer on slides

A COMPARISON OF PLANTAR PRESSURES BETWEEN TWO DIFFERENT PLAYING SURFACES IN TENNIS

The purpose of this study was to compare two different playing surfaces in tennis – clay vs hard-court (OptiCourt) – in order get more insight on the influence of the effect of surface on load. Eight male tennis players performed two types of tennis specific motions. Inside plantar pressure was measured for the right foot during these movements. Higher maximum forces could be observed for the OptiCourt for the baseline play. In more detail, maximum force, peak and mean pressure were higher for the heel region on the hard-court. Higher values were found on clay for the hallux and lesser toe region. These results are in agreement with those of previous studies as they give evidence that playing surface affects loading in tennis

ANALYSIS OF METHODS FOR ASSESSING THE AIMING PROCESS IN BIATHLON SHOOTING

In rifle shooting disciplines coaches and athletes are interested in the motion of the rifle just before and immediately after shooting. Normally, commercial laser systems (e.g. Noptel, Finland) are used to measure and store the hit point of the shot and the on-target trajectory of the alignment of the weapon. A major drawback of this method lies in the necessity of attaching the laser device to the rifle. The purpose of this study was to analyse the usefulness of a video-based system developed by Baca & Kornfeind (2006), which is able to track the 2D-movement of the muzzle of the weapon automatically. The results show considerable correspondence of the on-target-trajectory and the 2D-movement of the muzzle, in particular in vertical direction. However, translation movements of the shoulder during aiming, which are rather difficult to diagnose, may cause differences in the horizontal plane

Educative Software for the Learning of Croatian as Foreign Language

Svjetski jezici poput engleskoga i francuskoga svojim učenicima nude različite moderne metode. Računalo je jedna od najpopularnijih, a đaci učenje stranih jezika pomoću računala ne smatraju teškim, nego uživaju u njemu. U Austriji učenje hrvatskoga nije jako prošireno, čak ni u Gradišću. Kako hrvatski nije svjetski jezik, za njegovo se učenje moraju pronaći drugi poticaji. Bez dobrih i privlačnih metoda poučavanja broj se učenika može samo smanjivati. U radu se spominju gradišćanskohrvatski i hrvatski računalni materijali za učenje hrvatskoga. Opisuje se put do interaktivnih računalnih vježba za poticanje učenja hrvatskoga kojima svatko može i samostalno poboljšavati svoj hrvatski.World languages such as English or French do a lot for language learning with modern methods. In Austria, Croatian is not widely taught, and even in Burgenland the interest for learning Croatian could be better. To improve the popularity of Croatian language in Austria interactive exercises are offered. They enable users to learn Croatian at different places and at different times. A survey of Burgenland-Croatian and Croatian material in use as well as offerings on the Austrian internet is included

A NOVEL METHOD FOR INITIAL CONTACT DETECTION IN TREADMILL RUNNING USING SIDE RAIL REFLECTIVE MARKER

Treadmill running analysis is often preferred to overground running due to the small observation volume. Splitting the cyclic running motion into single cycles requires the robust detection of common features identifying the initial contact (IC). Kinematic features such as HEEL marker velocity zero-crossing (ZC) in vertical or anteroposterior direction are proposed in literature. In this study (n = 14 male, 3.5 m/s, 3 right steps, 8 VICON MX cameras, 250 fps) a novel treadmill mounted marker (TREA) is compared to these two features. TREA vertical velocity ZC appears (6.8 ± 12.8) ms after HEEL anteroposterior ZC and can therefore be used as an easy-to-use feature for IC detection in treadmill running. HEEL vertical velocity ZC is to be doubted as it appears (59.0 ± 19.7) ms later than TREA vertical velocity ZC

A single step analysis of plantar pressure distribution in tennis specific movements

Studies indicate that injury risks in tennis depend on the playing surface type. In order to assess loading during tennis specific movements, plantar pressure parameters are determined and analyzed. So far, only comparisons between whole stride sequences on different surfaces have been performed showing some inconsistent results. We assumed that on the more slippery clay higher vertical forces are required to accelerate, and that on hard-court higher loadings occur during deceleration. Hence, we analyzed the influence of the playing surface on respective types of steps. Eight experienced male tennis players performed two different tennis specific movements on clay and hard-court. We used a Pedar-X insole measurement system for determining selected plantar pressure parameters for the whole foot as well as for the forefoot and rear foot area. Steps were categorized as accelerating or decelerating regarding the path of the center of pressure during impact of the foot on the ground. For accelerating steps, a multivariate analysis revealed significant differences (Pillai-Spur; p < .05) for both repeated factors as well as their interaction for both playing conditions. All loading parameters were significantly higher in the forefoot area on clay for one of the two playing conditions investigated. For decelerating steps, the multivariate analysis revealed significant differences for both repeated factors for one playing condition. Higher values were observed for all loading parameters in the rear foot area in both playing conditions on clay. Running styles during tennis specific movements depend on the court surface. Separate analyses of acceleration and deceleration steps may help revealing high-risk parts and periods

Mobile Motion Advisor — a feedback system for physical exercise in schools

AbstractThe Mobile Motion Advisor (MMA) is a mobile feedback system designed to support high school students by giving them instructions during their physical exercises based on the integration of up-to-date sensor, data transmission and processing technologies to provide optimal training assistance. The aim is to give individually customized exercise instructions. We expect students to develop a positive attitude towards physical exercising when they do not experience frustration due to overstrain. This article gives an overview of the system architecture of the MMA framework and highlights some of the implementations

A Server-Based Mobile Coaching System

A prototype system for monitoring, transmitting and processing performance data in sports for the purpose of providing feedback has been developed. During training, athletes are equipped with a mobile device and wireless sensors using the ANT protocol in order to acquire biomechanical, physiological and other sports specific parameters. The measured data is buffered locally and forwarded via the Internet to a server. The server provides experts (coaches, biomechanists, sports medicine specialists etc.) with remote data access, analysis and (partly automated) feedback routines. In this way, experts are able to analyze the athlete’s performance and return individual feedback messages from remote locations