Housing type and depressive symptoms among older adults: a test of sense of belonging as a mediating and moderating variable
- Authors: McLaren, Suzanne , Turner, Jayne , Gomez, Rapson , McLachlan, Angus , Gibbs, Petah
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Aging & Mental Health Vol. 17, no. 8 (November 2013), p. 1023-1029
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Objectives: Higher levels of depression have been documented among older adults who reside in an assisted living facility, compared with those who remain in their own homes. The aims of the current study were to test whether the relationship between housing type and depressive symptoms was mediated by a sense of belonging and whether housing type and sense of belonging interact to influence the depressive symptoms among older adults (moderation model).Method: A sample of 257 older adults who lived in their own homes and 166 older adults who lived in an assisted living facility completed the psychological subscale of the Sense of Belonging Instrument and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale.Results: Results showed that a sense of belonging partially mediated the relationship between housing type and depressive symptoms, such that living in a nursing home was associated with lower levels of belonging, and lower levels of belonging were, in turn, associated with higher levels of depressive symptoms. Residing in an assisted living facility was associated with depressive symptoms at low and average levels of belonging.Conclusion: Results highlight the need for more research on the role of sense of belonging as an influencing factor on depressive symptoms among institutionalised older adults for both theoretical and treatment goals.
- Description: C1
K-complex detection using a hybrid-synergic machine learning method
- Authors: Vu, Huy Quan , Li, Gang , Sukhorukova, Nadezda , Beliakov, Gleb , Liu, Shaowu , Philippe, Carole , Amiel, Hélène , Ugon, Adrien
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man and Cybernetics Part C : Applications and Reviews Vol. 42, no. 6 (2012), p. 1478-1490
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Sleep stage identification is the first step in modern sleep disorder diagnostics process. K-complex is an indicator for the sleep stage 2. However, due to the ambiguity of the translation of the medical standards into a computer-based procedure, reliability of automated K-complex detection from the EEG wave is still far from expectation. More specifically, there are some significant barriers to the research of automatic K-complex detection. First, there is no adequate description of K-complex that makes it difficult to develop automatic detection algorithm. Second, human experts only provided the label for whether a whole EEG segment contains K-complex or not, rather than individual labels for each subsegment. These barriers render most pattern recognition algorithms inapplicable in detecting K-complex. In this paper, we attempt to address these two challenges, by designing a new feature extraction method that can transform visual features of the EEG wave with any length into mathematical representation and proposing a hybrid-synergic machine learning method to build a K-complex classifier. The tenfold cross-validation results indicate that both the accuracy and the precision of this proposed model are at least as good as a human expert in K-complex detection. © 1998-2012 IEEE.
- Description: 2003010569
Predicting cardiac autonomic neuropathy category for diabetic data with missing values
- Authors: Abawajy, Jemal , Kelarev, Andrei , Chowdhury, Morshed , Stranieri, Andrew , Jelinek, Herbert
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Computers in Biology and Medicine Vol. 43, no. 10 (2013), p. 1328-1333
- Full Text:
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- Description: Cardiovascular autonomic neuropathy (CAN) is a serious and well known complication of diabetes. Previous articles circumvented the problem of missing values in CAN data by deleting all records and fields with missing values and applying classifiers trained on different sets of features that were complete. Most of them also added alternative features to compensate for the deleted ones. Here we introduce and investigate a new method for classifying CAN data with missing values. In contrast to all previous papers, our new method does not delete attributes with missing values, does not use classifiers, and does not add features. Instead it is based on regression and meta-regression combined with the Ewing formula for identifying the classes of CAN. This is the first article using the Ewing formula and regression to classify CAN. We carried out extensive experiments to determine the best combination of regression and meta-regression techniques for classifying CAN data with missing values. The best outcomes have been obtained by the additive regression meta-learner based on M5Rules and combined with the Ewing formula. It has achieved the best accuracy of 99.78% for two classes of CAN, and 98.98% for three classes of CAN. These outcomes are substantially better than previous results obtained in the literature by deleting all missing attributes and applying traditional classifiers to different sets of features without regression. Another advantage of our method is that it does not require practitioners to perform more tests collecting additional alternative features. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd.
- Description: C1
Working to rule or working safely? Part 2 : The management of safety rules and procedures
- Authors: Hale, Andrew , Borys, David
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Safety Science Vol.55, no. (2012), p.54-59
- Full Text:
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- Description: Part 1, the companion paper to this paper () reviews the literature from 1986 on the management of those safety rules and procedures which relate to the workplace level in organisations. It contrasts two different paradigms of how work rules and their development and use are perceived and managed. The first is a top-down classical, rational approach in which rules are seen as static, comprehensive limits of freedom of choice, imposed on operators at the sharp end and violations are seen as negative behaviour to be suppressed. The second is a bottom-up constructivist view of rules as dynamic, local, situated constructions of operators as experts, where competence is seen to a great extent as the ability to adapt rules to the diversity of reality. That paper explores the research underlying and illustrating these two paradigms. In this second paper we draw on that literature study to propose a framework of rule management which attempts to draw the lessons from both paradigms. It places the monitoring and adaptation of rules central to its management process and emphasises the need for participation of the intended rule followers in the processes of rule-making, but more importantly in keeping those rules alive and up to date in a process of regular and explicit dialogue with first-line supervision, and through them with the technical, safety and legal experts on the system functioning. The framework is proposed for testing in the field as a benchmark for good practice. © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A study of caregiver characteristics and carer burden when caring for people with cognitive impairment from a Cognitive Dementia and Memory Service (CDAMS) clinic in regional Australia
- Authors: Tyagi, Vaibhav , Yates, Mark , Muhi, Steve , Harvey, Jack , Dalziel, Alison
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Australasian Journal on Ageing Vol. 32, no. (June 2013), p. 42-42
- Full Text: false
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ADRA2A polymorphisms and ADHD in adults : Possible mediating effect of personality
- Authors: de Cerqueira, Caio , Polina, Evelise , Contini, Veronica , Marques, Francine , Grevet, Eugenio , Salgado, Carlos , da Silva, Paula , Picon, Felipe , Belmonte-De-Abreu, Paulo , Bau, Claiton
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Psychiatry Research Vol. 186, no. 2-3 (2011), p. 345-350
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Several studies have tested for the association between polymorphisms in the ADRA2A gene and childhood ADHD. A meta-analysis of these results, however, has pointed towards a significant heterogeneity, raising the need for explanatory studies. As the effect of other relevant clinical characteristics could be a possible source, we studied three polymorphisms in the ADRA2A gene (−1291 C>G–MspI or rs1800544; −262 G>A–HhaI or rs1800544; 1780 C>T–DraI or rs553668) in 403 adult patients with ADHD assessed in relation to comorbidity and personality characteristics, as well as in 232 controls. The diagnosis followed DSM-IV criteria, and personality dimensions were evaluated with the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI). There were no significant differences in allele and genotype frequencies between cases and controls. Patients carrying the G allele of rs1800544 presented lower scores in harm avoidance, and carriers of the T allele of rs553668 had more novelty seeking and less harm avoidance and persistence. Additionally, the haplotype carrying the G-G-T alleles (rs1800544–rs1800545–rs553668) was associated with lower scores in harm avoidance and persistence, and higher scores in novelty seeking compared to other haplotypes. These findings suggest that the conflicting findings obtained in association studies between ADRA2A polymorphisms and ADHD might be related to temperament profiles, and support additional studies addressing these effects in larger samples.
Is there a role for rare variants in DRD4 gene in the susceptibility for ADHD Searching for an effect of allelic heterogeneity
- Authors: Tovo-Rodrigues, Luciana , Rohde, Luis , Roman, Tatiana , Schmitz, Marcelo , Polanczyk, Guilherme , Zeni, Cristian , Marques, Francine , Contini, Veronica , Grevet, Eugenio , Belmonte-De-Abreu, Paulo , Bau, Claiton , Hutz, Mara
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Molecular Psychiatry Vol. 17, no. 5 (May 2012), p. 520-526
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Although several studies have demonstrated an association between the 7-repeat (7R) allele in the 48-bp variable number of tandem repeats (VNTRs) in the exon 3 at dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) gene and attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), others failed to replicate this finding. In this study, a total of 786 individuals with ADHD were genotyped for DRD4 exon 3 VNTR. All 7R homozygous subjects were selected for VNTR re-sequencing. Subjects homozygous for the 4R allele were selected paired by age, ancestry and disorder subtypes in order to have a sample as homogeneous as possible with 7R/7R individuals. Using these criteria, 103 individuals (66 with ADHD and 37 control individuals) were further investigated. An excess of rare variants were observed in the 7R alleles of ADHD patient when compared with controls (P = 0.031). This difference was not observed in 4R allele. Furthermore, nucleotide changes that predict synonymous and non-synonymous substitutions were more common in the 7R sample (P = 0.008 for total substitutions and P = 0.043 for non-synonymous substitutions). In silico prediction of structural/functional alterations caused by these variants have also been observed. Our findings suggest that not only repeat length but also DNA sequence should be assessed to better understand the role of DRD4 exon 3 VNTR in ADHD genetic susceptibility.
- Description: C1
A HMM-based adaptive fuzzy inference system for stock market forecasting
- Authors: Hassan, Md Rafiul , Ramamohanarao, Kotagiri , Kamruzzaman, Joarder , Rahman, Mustafizur , Hossain, Maruf
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Neurocomputing Vol. 104, no. (2013), p. 10-25
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: In this paper, we propose a new type of adaptive fuzzy inference system with a view to achieve improved performance for forecasting nonlinear time series data by dynamically adapting the fuzzy rules with arrival of new data. The structure of the fuzzy model utilized in the proposed system is developed based on the log-likelihood value of each data vector generated by a trained Hidden Markov Model. As part of its adaptation process, our system checks and computes the parameter values and generates new fuzzy rules as required, in response to new observations for obtaining better performance. In addition, it can also identify the most appropriate fuzzy rule in the system that covers the new data; and thus requires to adapt the parameters of the corresponding rule only, while keeping the rest of the model unchanged. This intelligent adaptive behavior enables our adaptive fuzzy inference system (FIS) to outperform standard FISs. We evaluate the performance of the proposed approach for forecasting stock price indices. The experimental results demonstrate that our approach can predict a number of stock indices, e.g., Dow Jones Industrial (DJI) index, NASDAQ index, Standard and Poor500 (S&P500) index and few other indices from UK (FTSE100), Germany (DAX) , Australia (AORD) and Japan (NIKKEI) stock markets, accurately compared with other existing computational and statistical methods.
Everyday discrimination in the workplace, job satisfaction and psychological wellbeing: age differences and moderating variables
- Authors: Taylor, Philip , McLoughlin, Christopher , Meyer, Denny , Brooke, Elizabeth
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Ageing & Society Vol. 33, no. 7 (2013), p. 1105-1138
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: In this article we explore the importance of ‘everyday discrimination’ and other psycho-social variables for psychological wellbeing, considering differences according to age, gender and socio-economic position. Using employee survey data collected within Australian organisations we explore a statistically reliable model of the relationship between aspects of the psycho-social work environment, psychological wellbeing and job satisfaction. The employee survey was carried out in two phases during mid-2007 and mid-2008 in a national university, two international freight terminals of a large international airline, a national manufacturing company and the roadside assistance division of a motoring organisation. Structural Equation Modelling was used to configure a model including psycho-social factors: respect, support, training, job insecurity and personally meaningful work. Everyday discrimination and consultation with supervisor were considered in terms of their direct effect on psychological wellbeing and job satisfaction and their indirect effect via the psycho-social factors enumerated above. Importantly, this generalised model attempts to describe the interrelations of these factors effectively for various age groups, gender and socio-economic position. We identify age, gender and socio-economic differences in the strength and relative importance of these relationships. A further validation study with an independent sample will be required to verify the model proposed in this article. The implications for the design of workplace interventions concerned with age discrimination are discussed.
Do retirement villages enhance social connectedness?
- Authors: Blume, Suzanne , Macgill, Jennifer
- Date: 2012
- Type: Text , Conference paper
- Relation: Australian Association of Gerontology, 45th National Conference, Australasian Journal on Ageing Vol. 31, p. 6-6
- Full Text: false
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- Description: C1
- Description: In Australia, there is a growing trend toward early retirement at 50 plus years. Many early retirees also make lifestyle changes and move into cluster housing ‘retirement villages’. Some retirement villages offer a range of care services to support inhabitants as they age. The cluster housing concept is designed to enhance security, social collectiveness and connection for older people. This research will look at the relationship of social connectedness and retirement village design through exploration of theoretical concepts and analysis of inhabitants’ stories about life and living in a regional retirement village in Victoria, Australia.
A psychological pathway from insomnia to depression among older adults
- Authors: Sadler, Paul , McLaren, Suzanne , Jenkins, Megan
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Psychogeriatrics Vol. 25, no. 8 (2013), p. 1375-1383
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Higher levels of insomnia predict greater depression severity among older adults; however. The psychological mechanisms underlying this relationship are unclear. This study tested a path model that explored whether dysfunctional beliefs about sleep and hopelessness mediate. The relationship from insomnia to depression. It was hypothesized that insomnia would predict depression, both directly and indirectly, via dysfunctional beliefs about sleep and hopelessness. Methods: A community sample of 218 independent-living Australian older adults aged from 65 to 96 years completed a self-report questionnaire package. From the initial 218 participants, 171 completed a measure of depression three months later. Results: Path analysis demonstrated that maladaptive sleep beliefs and hopelessness partly explained how insomnia influenced depression, irrespective of the presence of obstructive sleep apnea and/or restless legs syndrome. Conclusions: An older adult's beliefs about sleep and sense of hopelessness were important psychological factors that helped explain how insomnia related to depression. © 2013 International Psychogeriatric Association.
- Description: 2003011128
Gaming across cultures: experimenting with alternate pedagogies
- Authors: Pillay, Soma , James, Reynold
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Education and Training Vol. 55, no. 11 (2013), p. 7-233
- Full Text:
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- Description: Purpose – Higher education is influenced, to an increasing extent, by changing student demographics. This requires educators to design and deliver learning systems which will enhance students’ learning experience with innovative, real world and engaging resources. The authors predict that transformations in the learning systems will increase as higher learning institutions seek to add educational value. The authors maintain that current pedagogies in cross-cultural education are insufficiently adapted to student learning-style needs. This problem is particularly noticeable in one cross-cultural setting. This study aims to explore games, as an alternate pedagogy, to enhance learning systems. Design/methodology/approach – Students’ feedback formed the primary qualitative data for this study. The paper develops a conceptual model which provides an organised framework to manage intercultural differences, using games. The Mapping, Bridging, Integrating (MBI) model creates an opportunity for students to appreciate differences and understand the model's implications for their careers in international management. Findings – Participants’ responses to the games were overwhelmingly positive. Participants’ responses indicated games as a preferred method for developing the intercultural competence, team work, decision making and self awareness skills essential for business and entrepreneurship. Practical implications – There is a growing need to consider and align the relationship between education, the increasing cultural diversity in student populations, and the learning and teaching styles of a changing student population in order to enhance the extent of expected knowledge transfer. Originality/value – In this study, the authors adopted a qualitative approach to trialling the use of games in a cross-cultural context with the view to reducing international cross-cultural barriers and developing skills in intercultural competence, self awareness, collaborative working and decision making. This study shows the need for alternative, more integrative models of education comprising elements of complexity that fit with an increasingly complex world.
A randomized head to head trial of MoodSwings.net.au: An internet based self-help program for bipolar disorder
- Authors: Lauder, Sue , Chester, Andrea , Castle, David , Dodd, Seetal , Gliddon, Emma , Berk, Lesley , Chamberlain, James , Klein, Britt , Gilbert, Monica , Austin, David , Berk, Michael
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Affective Disorders Vol. 171, no. (2014), p. 13-21
- Full Text:
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- Description: Background Adjunctive psychosocial interventions are efficacious in bipolar disorder, but their incorporation into routine management plans are often confounded by cost and access constraints. We report here a comparative evaluation of two online programs hosted on a single website (www.moodswings.net.au). A basic version, called MoodSwings (MS), contains psychoeducation material and asynchronous discussion boards; and a more interactive program, MoodSwings Plus (MS-Plus), combined the basic psychoeducation material and discussion boards with elements of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. These programs were evaluated in a head-to-head study design. Method Participants with Bipolar I or II disorder (n=156) were randomized to receive either MoodSwings or MoodSwings-Plus. Outcomes included mood symptoms, the occurrence of relapse, functionality, Locus of Control, social support, quality of life and medication adherence. Results Participants in both groups showed baseline to endpoint reductions in mood symptoms and improvements in functionality, quality of life and medication adherence. The MoodSwings-Plus group showed a greater number of within-group changes on symptoms and functioning in depression and mania, quality of life and social support, across both poles of the illness. MoodSwings-Plus was superior to MoodSwings in improvement on symptoms of mania scores at 12 months (p=0.02) but not on the incidence of recurrence. Limitations The study did not have an attention control group and therefore could not demonstrate efficacy of the two active arms. There was notable (81%) attrition by 12 months from baseline. Conclusion This study suggests that both CBT and psychoeducation delivered online may have utility in the management of bipolar disorder. They are feasible, readily accepted, and associated with improvement. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Safety regulation: The lessons of workplace safety rule management for managing the regulatory burden
- Authors: Hale, Andrew , Borys, David , Adams, Mark
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Safety Science Vol. , no. (2013), p.
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: There is a strong political consensus in a number of countries that occupational safety and health regulation is stifling industrial innovation and development and is feeding a culture of damaging risk aversion and petty bureaucracy. In a number of countries this has led to proposals to repeal regulations and reduce the regulatory burden. The authors were commissioned to prepare a discussion paper on this issue by the Mercatus Center of George Mason University in Arlington, Virginia, aimed particularly at an American audience. This paper is based on that report (Hale et al., 2011). The paper is based on previous work of the first two authors, developing a framework of occupational safety rule management at the workplace level (Hale and Borys, 2012a,b). Based on a literature study, this paper analyses the similarities and differences between rules at the workplace level and the development, use and enforcement of regulations at the national level to influence and control organisational behavior. It traces the forces encouraging the growth of regulatory detail and hence the bureaucratic burden of compliance and the options open to reduce that burden without loosening control so much that the level of safety declines. The analysis uses the hierarchy of rules from goals, through process (risk management) rules to detailed action rules as framework for predicting the level of ownership and responsibility felt by the regulated.
- Description: C1
Managing older workers during a period of tight labour supply
- Authors: Taylor, Philip , McLoughlin, Christopher , Brooke, Elizabeth , Di Biase, Tia , Steinberg, Margaret
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Ageing & Society Vol. 33, no. 1 (2013), p. 16-43
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: This article reports on a recent survey of employer attitudes and policies towards older workers in Australia at a time of sustained economic growth and ongoing concerns about labour shortages. Findings from a survey of 590 employers with more than 50 employees in the State of Queensland point to an unusually strong orientation towards the recruitment of older workers among respondents, although the retraining of older workers is not prioritised by the majority. The issue of workforce ageing is viewed as being of medium-term importance by the majority of respondents, although for a substantial number the issue is of immediate concern. Both sector and organisation size are predictive of the application of a broad range of policies targeting older workers, with public-sector and larger organisations more likely to be active. Concerns about workforce ageing and labour supply are predictive of employer behaviours regarding older workers, suggesting that sustained policy making may be emerging in response to population ageing over and above more immediate concerns about labour shortages and that this broad thrust of organisational policy making may be immune to the point in the economic cycle. This study found no evidence that the flexible firm will not countenance an ageing workforce.
Attitude and behaviour of junior rugby union players towards tackling during training and match play
- Authors: Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Safety Science Vol. 50, no. 4 (April 2012), p. 1157
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
Posttreatment attrition and its predictors, attrition bias, and treatment efficacy of the anxiety online programs
- Authors: Al-Asadi, Ali , Klein, Britt , Meyer, Denny
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Medical Internet Research Vol. 16, no. 10 (2014), p. e232
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Background: Although relatively new, the field of e-mental health is becoming more popular with more attention given to researching its various aspects. However, there are many areas that still need further research, especially identifying attrition predictors at various phases of assessment and treatment delivery. Objective: The present study identified the predictors of posttreatment assessment completers based on 24 pre- and posttreatment demographic and personal variables and 1 treatment variable, their impact on attrition bias, and the efficacy of the 5 fully automated self-help anxiety treatment programs for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social anxiety disorder (SAD), panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (PD/A), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Methods: A complex algorithm was used to diagnose participants' mental disorders based on the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition, Text Revision; DSM-IV-TR). Those who received a primary or secondary diagnosis of 1 of 5 anxiety disorders were offered an online 12-week disorder-specific treatment program. A total of 3199 individuals did not formally drop out of the 12-week treatment cycle, whereas 142 individuals formally dropped out. However, only 347 participants who completed their treatment cycle also completed the posttreatment assessment measures. Based on these measures, predictors of attrition were identified and attrition bias was examined. The efficacy of the 5 treatment programs was assessed based on anxiety-specific severity scores and 5 additional treatment outcome measures. Results: On average, completers of posttreatment assessment measures were more likely to be seeking self-help online programs; have heard about the program from traditional media or from family and friends; were receiving mental health assistance; were more likely to learn best by reading, hearing and doing; had a lower pretreatment Kessler-6 total score; and were older in age. Predicted probabilities resulting from these attrition variables displayed no significant attrition bias using Heckman's method and thus allowing for the use of completer analysis. Six treatment outcome measures (Kessler-6 total score, number of diagnosed disorders, self-confidence in managing mental health issues, quality of life, and the corresponding pre- and posttreatment severity for each program-specific anxiety disorder and for major depressive episode) were used to assess the efficacy of the 5 anxiety treatment programs. Repeated measures MANOVA revealed a significant multivariate time effect for all treatment outcome measures for each treatment program. Follow-up repeated measures ANOVAs revealed significant improvements on all 6 treatment outcome measures for GAD and PTSD, 5 treatment outcome measures were significant for SAD and PD/A, and 4 treatment outcome measures were significant for OCD. Conclusions: Results identified predictors of posttreatment assessment completers and provided further support for the efficacy of self-help online treatment programs for the 5 anxiety disorders
Commentary on van der Pol etal. (2014): Reconsidering the association between cannabis exposure and dependence
- Authors: Temple, Elizabeth
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Addiction Vol. 109, no. 7 (July 2014 2014), p. 1110-1111
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: C1
Association between leg power and sprinting technique with 20-m sprint performance in elite junior australian football players
- Authors: Young, Warren , Grace, Steve , Talpey, Scott
- Date: 2014
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: International Journal of Sports Science and Coaching Vol. 9, no. 5 (2014), p. 1153-1160
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: The main purpose of this study was to determine the association between leg power and sprint technique with 20-m sprint performance. Seventy-seven elite junior Australian Rules football players were assessed on a 20-m sprint test, a countermovement jump (CMJ) and a two bound test, and on a new method of quantifying sprint technique from simple video recordings. Technique assessment involved rating 14 points on a scale from 1-5. Players were median-split into faster and slower groups based on their 20-m times, and they were compared for differences in leg power and technique. The faster group was significantly better (p<0.05) in the two-bound test (5.2%) and the technique score (8.2%), but not in the CMJ (p>0.05). A multiple regression indicated that the two-bound test and technique accounted for 37.7% of the variance associated with the 20-m sprint time (p<0.05). It was concluded that the technique assessment tool captured some important characteristics of 20-m sprint performance and could potentially be used to profile or monitor athletes. Further the two-bound test is a more relevant test for developing athletes because of its specificity to sprinting, compared to the CMJ.
Understanding safety management system applicability in community sport
- Authors: Donaldson, Alex , Borys, David , Finch, Caroline
- Date: 2013
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Safety Science Vol. 60, no. (2013), p. 95-104
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/565907
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Despite recent interest in understanding the implementation context for sports injury prevention interventions, little research attention has been paid to the management structures and processes of community sporting organisations. This study developed expert consensus about the importance of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) setting-related safety management system (SMS) principles and performance indicators in the context of Australian community sporting organizations, and the feasibility of these organisations meeting the requirements for the SMS performance indicators. Twenty-nine sports injury prevention, community sports administration and OHS SMS experts participated in a three-round online Delphi study by rating the importance of 64 SMS performance indicators categorised under the five principles of Commitment and Policy; Planning; Implementation; Measurement and Evaluation; and Review and Improvement. Overall, consensus agreement - define as rated 'essential' or 'very important' on a five-point scale by ≥75% of the participants in Round 3 - was reached for 57 performance indicators. Ten (15%) performance indicators were rated as 'very difficult' or 'relatively difficult', and six (9%) were rated as 'very easy' or 'relatively easy' on a four-point scale, by ≥75% of participants. This research suggests that the guiding principles and associated performance indicators that underpin OHS safety management systems in the workplace are very relevant and applicable to community sporting organisations in Australia. However, considerable work is required to build organisational capacity to be able to develop and implement meaningfully and useful SMSs to prevent sports injuries in the most common setting in which they occur. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. Funded by NHMRC.
- Description: 2003011206