7724 research outputs found
Sort by
The Indiana Statesman, March 5, 2024
No full textCongress working to avoid shutdown; Indiana State continues partnerships; Authors and artists celebration; ISU Human Rights Day set for March 6https://scholars.indianastate.edu/statesman/1057/thumbnail.jp
The Indiana Statesman, January 30, 2024
No full textSwope: ‘It is not easy to be at the top’; New Georgia bill passes; Thief avoids more prison time after stealing famous slippershttps://scholars.indianastate.edu/statesman/1047/thumbnail.jp
An Investigation of Lower Extremity Injuries in Soccer Athletes Related to their Playing Environment
No full textContext: The goal of this study was to investigate a connection between cleat type, surface type, and increased lower extremity injury rates in soccer athletes. Our hypothesis was that the cleat model, surface type, and facility affected the lower extremity injury rate among soccer athletes. Methods: A review of survey results distributed to the male and female soccer from an NCAA D-I program was completed. The survey investigated athlete injury history related to the specific shoe worn and the field surface information where the injury occurred. Measures of central tendency were calculated. Data was analyzed using a correlation analysis with the alpha level set at 0.05. Results: Twenty-one athletes completed the survey. Of the participants, 13 were between the ages of 18 and 20, while seven were between the ages of 21 and 23. Females were 52.38% of the respondents, while 42.86% were men. The breakdown in the type of cleat worn by the athletes is as follows: NIKE MERCURIALS (9), NIKE PHANTOMS (4), NIKE TIEMPOS (6), and NIKE PREMIER (1). Out of 50 possible respondents, 21 were completed (42%). Of the 21 respondents, 13 (61.9%) reported a soccer-related injury last season. Athletes reported 10 acute injuries and 4 chronic injuries lasting longer than 6 months. The direct mechanism of injury saw 9 non-contact mechanisms, while 5 suffered a contact injury. Nineteen injuries occurred in practice, and 8 were during a game. Injuries occurred more frequently at home (11 or 52.38%) during practice (10). Injuries occurred more frequently on artificial turf (52.38%) than on natural grass (14.28%). The multiple linear regression analysis reported no significant findings. Conclusions: Our study investigated the relationship between cleat type, surface type, and increased lower extremity injury rates in soccer athletes. We rejected our hypothesis based on the statistical analysis as our results found no connection to an increased lower extremity injury rate despite the cleat worn or surface. Our results contradict other published research indicating a correlation between cleat type, surface type, and lower extremity injury rates. Studies demonstrated lower extremity injury rates increase daily by 16% on artificial turf (old-generation and new-generation) with increased ankle and foot injuries. Natural and artificial surfaces are guilty of increased hip and knee injury, with females having a significant increase in anterior cruciate ligament injury risk playing on natural grass. A limitation of our study was the small number of participants, which affected the findings. The response rate was at a lower level than hoped
Anaerobic Capacity And Lower Body Strength Deficits Related To Thermal Protective Gear In Rural Volunteer Firefighters
No full textContext: Firefighting is a dangerous job with occupational hazards, strenuous shifts, and increased work- related fatigue that contributes to risk of injury. The weight of thermal protective gear (TPG) may increase neuromuscular challenges while on-duty. The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of TPG on volunteer firefighters’ anaerobic and lower body strength performance. Methods: Nine healthy males (mean±SD: age= 41±9.3 years; ungeared body mass= 96.47 ± 14.51kg; ungeared height=181.67 ± 4.48cm; VFF experience 8 years) participated in a cross-sectional correlation study during three visits to a university research laboratory. Participants’ TPG included thermal pants, jacket, boots, and a standardized helmet and self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) with respirator. Lower extremity aerobic fitness capacity was assessed using the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. A forward-facing (F) and perpendicular facing (P) start positions were utilized. Lower extremity strength was assessed using a five repetition sit to stand (STS) measured with a linear displacement accelerometer. All tests were performed with and without TPG. Statistical analyses to determine performance differences between the ungeared and geared conditions were conducted using paired sample t-test for TUG and STS. Pearson’s coefficient correlations were conducted to determine relationships between geared and ungeared STS performance variables. Results: Geared TUG-P times were significantly slower than UG TUG-P and demonstrated a large effect size (p=\u3c0.001, d= -2.07). No significant difference was identified between geared and ungeared TUG-F performance (p\u3c0.120, d=-0.42). With STS performance, the geared condition was significant only regarding velocity and total time variables. Geared peak velocity, geared average velocity, and geared averaged peak velocity values were all significantly less than ungeared and demonstrated a large effect size (p=\u3c0.001, d = 1.58; p=0.001, d = 1.43; p=0.001, d = 1.44, respectively). Finally, geared total time STS performance was significantly longer than ungeared and demonstrated a large effect size (p=0.004, d = -1.17). The ungeared STS strength variables exhibited positive, significant relationships with geared condition strength variables (UG-average power & G- average power, r= .325, p\u3c.001; UG- average power & G- average peak power, r= .898, p\u3c.001; UG-average power & G- average peak force, r= .937, p\u3c.001; UG-average power & G- peak power, r= .856, p\u3c.003; UG-average power & G- average peak force, r= .948, p\u3c.001). Conclusions: Wearing TPG negatively affected anaerobic capacity and rapid strength compared to ungeared trials. Task completion times were significantly longer with gear compared to ungeared. Regarding strength, geared peak power and force correlated with ungeared average power. The additional weight from the TPG may cause the firefighter to exert more effort compared to the effort needed when ungeared. This decline in maximal and rapid strength and anaerobic capacity while geared simulates what the firefighter may encounter during fire rescue situations
Specific Barriers to Athletic Trainers’ Familiarity with and Attitudes Toward Concussion Biomarkers: A Phenomenological Qualitative Study
No full textContext: The diagnosis of concussions is largely reliant on subjective information in conjunction with objective measures that might not be the most valid and/or reliable. There is now new research being performed evaluating the use of biological indicators, or biomarkers in the diagnosis and management of concussion. However, the amount of knowledge about biomarkers among athletic trainers is unknown. Additionally, the barriers preventing ATs from using such biomarkers has yet to be studied. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to examine athletic trainers’ familiarity with and their attitude towards concussion biomarkers, while evaluating specific barriers preventing their use in current clinical practices. Methods: The design of this study was a phenomenological qualitative research design. The participants for this study were recruited from a previous survey-based study in which participants were recruited through the National Athletic Trainer’s Association (NATA) research survey service. Additionally, social media and snowball sampling were used to increase recruitment efforts. From this, there were several participants that stated they would be willing to participate in follow-up research. Then, a total of 11 participants, all of which were certified athletic trainers, comprised of five females and six males, were chosen at random to be part of the research. Data was collected via Zoom (Zoom Video Communications. Version 5.13. San Jose, CA: Yuan, Eric; 2022) interviews. All participants were asked the same nine questions by the same interviewer. The interviews were converted from speech to text transcripts, which were then reviewed by three additional researchers. Following that review, the participants were sent their transcripts to make any changes and/or provide clarifications. The final step was to go through each transcript as a research group and code each line by a theme and subcategory. Results: There were four themes total that were found within the transcripts. Each theme had at least two subcategories. The specific theme that is the focus of this presentation is “barriers specific to biomarker use”. Within this theme, there were four subcategories, which were setting/population specific, resources, training, and cost. The order in which they are listed is from most lines coded to the least. There were 70 total words/phrases coded under setting/population specific, 59 under resources, 34 under training, and 21 under cost. Conclusions: Based on the results, it can be concluded that the amount of knowledge varies among athletic trainers, but most participants have a broad idea about what biomarkers are. It can also be concluded that athletic trainers see the potential of biomarker use but have concerns due to the various barriers discussed. Overall, athletic trainers need to see improvements in budgets, specific training, and more specific resources to effectively implement biomarkers into their concussion diagnosis and management practices. Many of the participants expressed concerns regarding not having the appropriate setting for such tools to be implemented, like a secondary school that does not typically have a large budget for the sports medicine department, as well as the appropriate and/or supportive stakeholders. Add in the gray areas about the resources that are needed to implement biomarkers and what the process would look like, as well as what training outside of athletic training would be, and athletic trainers feel left in the dark. While they have a generally positive view on the future of biomarkers, they do not know how it would come to fruition with these barriers
Rhetoric vs. Reality: A Study of Public Rhetoric and Private Behavior Across Party Lines
No full textIn the United States, Republicans and Democrats are viewed as being intrinsically distinct in their moral convictions. More specifically, Republicans are generally viewed as the party which more frequently upholds and uses religious and moral rhetoric, particularly regarding sexual activity, while Democrats are generally thought to rely on more pragmatic and inclusive rhetoric. Previous explanations explore why these partisan stereotypes exist but fail to compare how these different rhetorical styles compare to the actual behavior exhibited by both parties’ members. By using measurements of how often individuals from both parties participate in sexual morally contentious activities, such as viewing pornography, cheating on a spouse, and engaging in premarital or casual sex, this research examines whether there is a significant difference in the private conduct of individuals across party lines. While Republicans are generally perceived as the morally superior party, I hypothesize that they engage in these morally contentious activities at similar rates to Democrats. These results have implications in political science by challenging the stereotype of moral superiority of Republicans by illustrating a gap that exists between their public rhetoric and private behavior. This existent gap implies that Republicans may care more about the perception of moral superiority rather than behaving as such. Second, these results illustrate similarities in human behavior regardless of party affiliation
A Comparative Case Study of Alumni of Two Multi-Term Civic Learning Programs
No full textThis paper presents a comparative case study of the alumni of two multi-term civic learning programs that combine academic service-learning with a series of other student experiences such as the creation of online portfolios and capstone experiences over at least four semesters of an undergraduate education. Findings of this study suggest that alumni perceive substantial impact on their civic and professional experiences after graduation because of their participation in such programs while undergraduates
