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Sue
Get PDFSue is a collection of poetry investigating the cyclical nature of grief through the lens of Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick’s schemas of paranoid and reparative readings. The poems employ motifs such as hunting, disease, and human remains to capture the temporal disorientation experienced in the wake of loss. Via an extensive use of metaphor and recurring poem titles, Sue exploits the multivalence of language to conjure a dense field of meaning, meant to capture the undecidability of language noted by philosopher Jacques Derrida. This collection also employs several vectors of derivation, including erasure of text lifted from the 2002 strategy video game Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade and a sequence of responses to Suzanne Vega’s 1990 album Days of Open Hand in the ekphrastic spirit. Thus, Sue is intended to contribute to and deepen the meaning of these other pieces of art while also forwarding its own unique perspectives on grief, language, and formal play
TRANSACTIONAL AND TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP IN THE SUPERINTENDENCY: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL STUDY OF THREE UPPER PENINSULA SUPERINTENDENTS’ EXPERIENCES
Get PDFThis study aimed to analyze and provide an understanding of how three rural public school superintendents in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan practiced transformational leadership. Transformational leadership includes the elements of idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation, and individual consideration (Burns, 1978). Transformational superintendents must lead our schools to provide students with the best educational opportunity. The study focused on the superintendents experiences in deciding to become a superintendent, their beliefs about leadership, and how they approached decisions through a transactional or transformational process. The study also sought to provide insight into the relationship with their school board and how it supports the superintendent in being transformational within their school district. The researcher interviewed three currently practicing superintendents who each had over three years of experience in the same district. The results of this study show that the three superintendents not only practiced Thompson\u27s (2014) transformation style with the elements of developing trust, respect, and interdependence with one another and members of the facility and community, but they met Fullan’s (2002) definition of creating a transformational culture. This includes possessing moral purpose, an understanding of the change process, the ability to improve relationships, knowledge creation and sharing, and coherence making
BIOMECHANICAL ANALYSIS OF ELITE FEMALE RUGBY PLACE KICKERS
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to investigate rugby place kicking technique of elite female players. Five International-level female place kickers took at least five maximum range place kicks, and their technique was analysed using 3D motion capture. In comparison to successful male kickers, females achieved slower kicking foot and ball velocities and shorter maximum kicking distances. Reduced extension of the support leg hip and knee joints, combined with slower centre of mass deceleration, meant that females appeared to transfer less momentum from their approach to the ball, thus, requiring them to perform more positive work at their kicking hip. A faster approach to the ball and more pronounced support leg extension may enable females to achieve greater place kicking distances
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TRUNK ENERGY FLOW AND COLLEGIATE SOFTBALL HITTING PERFORMANCE
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between trunk energy flow and performance (exit velocity) during collegiate softball hitting. Nineteen collegiate softball athletes (age: 19.6 ± 1.0yrs) performed three maximal effort swings off a pitching machine. Kinematic data were collected using an electromagnetic tracking system. A segmental power analysis was performed to quantify peak rates of trunk energy flow (proximal inflow (IF) and distal outflow (OF) on front and back sides). Regression analyses determined exit velocity was best predicted by peak rate of distal trunk energy OF on the front side. On average, the model showed exit velocity increased by .9 mph for every 100 W increase in distal trunk energy OF on the front side while holding body mass constant
MAPPING OUT THE RESPONSE SEQUENCE OF THE SPRINT START
Get PDFEstablishing the limits of sprint start response time (SSRT) requires the mapping of the muscular sequence of activation and mechanical response delays and was the aim of the current study. Sprint start performance of 15 sprinters was examined with kinematic, EMG, and block force data collected. A general muscle activation sequence was identified, with both deltoid muscles, the rear leg rectus femoris, and the rear leg tibialis anterior the first muscles to increase activation from the set position. With ankle dorsiflexion the initial motion during the block push, examining the period between tibialis anterior muscle onset and block force onset is critical for quantifying mechanical response delays . Estimates of this delay period were as low as 7 ms which has implications for our understanding of the minimum SSRT a sprinter can legally produce
EFFECT OF HEAD POSITION ON CENTRE OF MASS VARIABILITY DURING HANDSTAND: PRELIMINARY RESULTS
Get PDFThe aims of this study were: a) to determine to determine the change in joint angle kinematic variability during the handstand with different head positions, and b) to determine the contributions made by wrist, shoulder, and hip joint angles variability on CoM variability in handstand. Four young active female gymnasts performed 3 trials of handstands with three head positions (normal, straight, and flexed). 3D kinematics were collected for each trial. Statistical differences were analysed using One-way ANOVA and effect sizes (ES) reported. Forward stepwise regression was carried out between CoM variability and joint angle variability. The prevalent control strategies were at the shoulder with straight and flexed head position, and hip strategy in normal head position
The effect of lower-limb wearable resistance on anterior pelvic tilt during high-speed running: A pilot study
Get PDFThis study determined the effect of two different lower-limb wearable resistance loads on anterior pelvic tilt during high-speed (4.72 – 6.71 m/s) treadmill running. Nine athletes completed a series of 10-second intervals at a self-selected speed for each experimental condition. Compared to unloaded running, the heaviest wearable resistance load (0.91 – 1.24 kg) significantly (p \u3c 0.05) reduced anterior pelvic tilt at the instants of maximal hip extension and maximal hip flexion by -3.54⁰ (ES = 0.80) and -3.30⁰ (ES = 0.55), respectively. Individual responses showed a primary trend towards a reduction in anterior pelvic tilt when running with wearable resistance (6/9 athletes). This study provides initial evidence for the use of lower-limb wearable resistance as a training stimulus to induce pelvic kinematic changes over time
ACCURACY OF THE MOTUSBASEBALLTM WEARABLE SENSOR
Get PDFThe purpose of this study was to assess the accuracy of the motusBASEBALLTM sensor. Trained/developmental male adult baseball pitchers (n = 10) threw ten pitches each from a regulation mound while kinematic and kinetic data were captured using an optical motion capture system and a motusBASEBALLTM sensor. Absolute and relative agreement were assessed. Outputs from the motusBASEBALLTM sensor were significantly different to the motion capture outputs for elbow varus torque, shoulder rotation, and arm speed (p \u3c .05). Data were similar for arm slot (p = .847). Correlations (r) between system outputs were not significant (p \u3e .05) and ranged from 0.312 to 0.630. The motusBASEBALLTM sensor is not a valid sensor for measuring elbow varus torque, shoulder rotation, and arm speed. Researchers and practitioners should use the device with caution
ESTIMATING LOWER LIMB JOINT MOMENTS IN GAIT USING COMMON MACHINE LEARNING APPROACHES
Get PDFThe aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of common machine learning algorithmic approaches to estimate lower limb joint moments during fast walking gait. Kinematic and ground reaction force data on 19 participants were captured with a force-plate and motion caption capture system. Inverse dynamics was used to calculate the right lower limb joint moments and common machine learning algorithmic approaches, such as Random Forest (RF), Linear Regression (LR), Neural Network (NN), AdaBoost (AB) and Gradient Boosting, were used to predict the corresponding joint moments using only the kinematic data. High coefficient of determination values (R2\u3e0.9) for predicting moments using random forest, neural network and AdaBoost are observed in for the ankle, knee and hip joints in frontal, sagittal and transverse planes. The other approaches had R2 values between ranged 0.71 and 0.97. This suggests that common machine learning algorithms may be a feasible approach to estimate joint moments during fast walking in a clinical setting for monitoring sport injury prevention and management