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Development and Evaluation of an AI-based Exergame Training System for Ice-Hockey Players: a Randomized Controlled Trial
No full textIntroduction: Executive functions (EF) are crucial for team sports athletes to perform effectively on the field. Especially in open-skill sports, such as ice-hockey, soccer, or volleyball, adaptability and responding appropriately to rapidly changing external cues are critical (Koch & Krenn, 2021). EF are divided into the three core components cognitive flexibility, inhibition or interference control, and working memory (Diamond, 2013). Elite athletes perform better in EF tasks compared to non-elite athletes (Logan et al., 2023) and higher EF may predict future elite potential in young team sports athletes (Lundgren et al., 2016; Vestberg et al., 2012). Exergaming combines exercise and video gaming and couples cognitive and physical stimuli. This innovative training approach was effective in improving cognitive functioning, particularly EF, in younger and older populations (Chan et al., 2024; Eng et al., 2023), however, has rarely been investigated in athletes (Martin-Niedecken et al., 2020). The main goal of this study was to develop a novel ice-hockey specific exergame and gain insights into its effects on EF in competitive ice-hockey players. Secondary outcomes included lower limb neuromuscular performance as well as exergame acceptance, usability, feasibility (adherence), and training intensity. Increased EF and neuromuscular performance in the intervention group were hypothesized.
Methods: We developed the novel exergame training system using four synchronized cameras for video-based motion tracking of the athlete, in combination with two video projectors showing the game tasks on a wall-mounted screen and on the floor in front of the athlete. Artificial intelligence (i.e., machine learning) was applied to train and validate algorithms to accurately detect joint positions of the human body based on large open-source training and validation data sets. The exergame consists of cognitive tasks, including memorizing and catching or omitting various color-coded projected targets (e.g., circles, triangles, etc.), with either the left or right foot or hand. Simultaneously, various physical tasks, such as foot tapping, squats, lateral skating jumps, and single-leg jumps, must be performed at the highest possible frequency to imitate physical load during ice-hockey match play. To evaluate our novel exergame, 36 ice-hockey players from three male elite level teams (National League, U20, U17) and one female team (Swiss Women’s Hockey League B) of the SC Rapperswil-Jona Lakers participated. Half of each team’s players were randomly assigned to either the exergame intervention (n=18, female n=5, mean age 20.6 ± 5.0 years) or control group (n=18, female n=5, mean age 20.0 ± 5.8 years). While the control group followed the regular team training, the intervention group additionally trained twice weekly over five weeks with the novel exergame for 11 min per session (i.e., 3 x 3 min with 1 min rest). Pre- and post-intervention tests comprised two computerized neuropsychological EF tests (Victoria Stroop Test and Switcher Task, PEBL software) and the countermovement jump test (CMJ) on a force plate (Forcedecks, VALD Performance, Brisbane, Australia). Acceptance was assessed with the Exergame Enjoyment Questionnaire (EEQ, 20–100 points scale), usability was assessed with the System Usability Scale (SUS), and exergame training intensity was measured as percentage of maximum heart rate (%HRmax) and rating of perceived exertion (RPE, modified Borg scale 1–10). Two-way repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze group x time interaction effects for EF and CMJ parameters.
Results: In the Switcher Task, which reflects cognitive flexibility and working memory, a statistically significant medium sized effect, in favor of the exergame intervention group, was found for the time x group interaction in test condition 1 (F(1,34)=2.96, p=0.047 one-tailed, r=0.283) and a non-significant, but medium effect in test condition 3 (F(1,34)=2.65,p=0.057 one-tailed, r=0.269). The three Victoria Stroop Test conditions showed no significant or meaningful time x group interaction effects (p≥0.05). For the relative CMJ peak power [W/kg body weight], a statistically significant time x group interaction with medium effect size was evident (F(1,31)=3.10, p=0.044 one-tailed, r=0.301) and similarly, analyses showed a medium, however non-significant effect for CMJ jump height [cm] (F(1,31)=2.80, p=0.052 one-tailed, r=0.288). Exergame acceptance, usability, and adherence were very high, with 74.0 ± 8.5 points scored in the EEQ, 90.5 ± 9.8 points in the SUS, and an average of 9.7 ± 0.6 out of 10 training sessions performed, respectively. Objective and subjective exergame training intensities were high with 89.1 ± 7.8 %HRmax and RPE of 7.1 ± 1.1 points, respectively.
Discussion/Conclusion: The 5-week training intervention with our newly developed exergame indicated positive effects on cognitive flexibility, working memory, and lower limb neuromuscular performance. Exergame intensity successfully mirrored the high-intensity characteristics of ice-hockey match play (Naimo et al., 2015) and may therefore have contributed to EF improvements (Ai et al., 2021). A longer intervention duration might further increase effects, however, was not possible due to the busy training and match schedule. Therefore, future research should explore the impact of the exergame on EF and physical performance over a longer period and in a larger number of players to substantiate the current findings. Several opportunities for improvements of the game scenario, cognitive challenge, and difficulty progression were identified and could lead to higher cognitive training load and effects on EF. In conclusion, the exergame’s purpose of an effective and enjoyable training tool was supported by the study, indicating its potential for long-term integration into off-ice training programs of competitive ice-hockey players.
References
Ai, J.-Y., Chen, F.-T., Hsieh, S.-S., Kao, S.-C., Chen, A.-G., Hung, T.-M., & Chang, Y.-K. (2021). The effect of acute high-intensity interval training on executive function: A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(7), 3593. https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/7/3593
Chan, J. Y. C., Liu, J., Chan, A. T. C., & Tsoi, K. K. F. (2024). Exergaming and cognitive functions in people with mild cognitive impairment and dementia: A meta-analysis. npj Digital Medicine, 7(1), 154. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-024-01142-4
Diamond, A. (2013). Executive functions. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 135–168. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-113011-143750
Eng, C. M., Flynn, R. M., Thiessen, E. D., & Fisher, A. V. (2023). A literature review on the effects of exergames on executive function in youth. Technology Mind and Behavior, 4(3). https://doi.org/10.1037/tmb0000118
Koch, P., & Krenn, B. (2021). Executive functions in elite athletes – Comparing open-skill and closed-skill sports and considering the role of athletes\u27 past involvement in both sport categories. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 55, 101925. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychsport.2021.101925
Logan, N. E., Henry, D. A., Hillman, C. H., & Kramer, A. F. (2023). Trained athletes and cognitive function: A systematic review and meta-analysis. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 21(4), 725–749. https://doi.org/10.1080/1612197X.2022.2084764
Lundgren, T., Högman, L., Näslund, M., & Parling, T. (2016). Preliminary investigation of executive functions in elite ice hockey players. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 10(4), 324–335. https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.2015-0030
Martin-Niedecken, A. L., Mahrer, A., Rogers, K., de Bruin, E. D., & Schättin, A. (2020). “HIIT” the ExerCube: Comparing the effectiveness of functional high-intensity interval training in conventional vs. exergame-based training. Frontiers in Computer Science, 2. https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomp.2020.00033
Naimo, M. A., de Souza, E. O., Wilson, J. M., Carpenter, A. L., Gilchrist, P., Lowery, R. P., Averbuch, B., White, T. M., & Joy, J. (2015). High-intensity interval training has positive effects on performance in ice hockey players. International Journal of Sports Medicine, 36(1), 61–66. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0034-1382054
Vestberg, T., Gustafson, R., Maurex, L., Ingvar, M., & Petrovic, P. (2012). Executive functions predict the success of top-soccer players. PLoS ONE, 7(4), e34731. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.003473
La literatura infantil como zona de encuentro y reflexión sobre la lengua: Aportes para la formación docente en el ámbito de la enseñanza del español desde un enfoque multidisciplinar
Get PDFExiste un consenso generalizado acerca de que los (futuros) docentes de español como lengua extranjera (ELSE) tienen que brindar formación literaria a sus alumnos y, para ello, seleccionar textos adecuados y diseñar secuencias didácticas significativas. Estas son tareas que, sin dudas, deben estar contempladas en sus estudios de formación y profundizarse a lo largo de la labor profesional. No obstante, debido a que los contenidos que se priorizan en la formación y capacitación son otros –especialmente aquellos relacionados con el desarrollo del componente gramatical y la competencia comunicativa–, el debate sobre los criterios de la selección de textos y la reflexión sobre los modos de la enseñanza de la literatura suelen quedar soslayados. A partir de este encuadre, el presente trabajoEste trabajo se enmarca en el proyecto de investigación que lleva a cabo el Grupo “Discursos e Infancias”, sobre géneros editoriales con destinatario infantil y juvenil y sus relaciones con políticas públicas y editoriales, dirigido por la Dra. Carolina Tosi, con sede en el Instituto de Lingüística (FFyL, UBA). Fue producido dentro de los proyectos PICT 2018-01830 y FILOCyT FC19-047 dirigidos por Tosi y financiados por la Agencia Nacional de Promoción de la Investigación, el Desarrollo Tecnológico y la Innovación, y la Facultad de Filosofía y Letras (UBA), respectivamente. El texto también forma parte del proyecto de investigación individual de Tosi en CONICET: “La configuración discursiva de los géneros editoriales con destinatario infantil y juvenil en vinculación con las prácticas escolares. Aportes para la enseñanza de la lectura, la escritura y las oralidades en los ámbitos educativos y editoriales”. La autora agradece especialmente a las Dras. María del Carmen Dahler, Raquel Ortega e Isis Milreu y al Dr. Xoan Lagares por permitirle participar en sus espacios docentes en las diferentes universidades brasileñas y desarrollar la transferencia de parte de su investigación. se propone el abordaje de la literatura infantil en las clases de ELSE. Por un lado, se plantea indagar y ofrecer criterios para la selección del material, priorizando la dimensión estética, la riqueza lingüística y los efectos de sentido que este pueden generar, haciendo foco en la dimensión afectiva y socioemocional. Por otro lado, teniendo en cuenta que los docentes no eligen solo textos, sino libros, se echa luz sobre las políticas editoriales que los generan y que son atravesados por tensiones entre la dimensión estética y pedagógica. Finalmente, se muestra que, a través de un abordaje literario que tiene en cuenta los factores afectivos y socioemocionales, es posible profundizar los conocimientos sobre la lengua, apelando a la reflexión sobre el lenguaje y el análisis de los efectos discursivos.There is a general consensus that (future) teachers of Spanish as a foreign language (ELSE) must provide literary training to their students and, to this end, select appropriate texts and design meaningful teaching sequences. These are tasks that, without a doubt, must be included in their training and further explored throughout their professional career. However, because the content prioritized in training and education is other—especially that related to the development of grammar and communicative competence—the debate on text selection criteria and reflection on the methods of teaching literature are often overlooked. From this perspective, this paper proposes an approach to children\u27s literature in ELSE classes. On the one hand, it aims to investigate and offer criteria for the selection of materials, prioritizing the aesthetic dimension, linguistic richness, and the meaningful effects it can generate, focusing on the affective and socio-emotional dimensions. Furthermore, considering that teachers choose not only texts but books, this paper sheds light on the editorial policies that generate them, which are influenced by tensions between aesthetic and pedagogical dimensions. Finally, it is shown that, through a literary approach that considers affective and socio-emotional factors, it is possible to deepen knowledge of the language, appealing to reflection on language and the analysis of discursive effects
Where Can We Find Opera? A Listening Methodology to Center Listeners
No full textNumerous recent calls to decolonize opera include the theme of this special issue as well as the collective behind this new opera journal. While the last decade-plus has seen a willingness and a desire to expand opera, the core repertoire has remained static. Can genuine transformation take place within such a heavily institutionalized genre? And, if we were to imagine such institutional change, where might we strategically focus our energies in order to begin to hear the results today? As always, rather than looking to the institutions themselves, I look to practitioners—singer and performance artist Juliana Snapper and artists Massimo Bartolini—for potential strategies. Snapper and Bartolini shows us how we can refocus our concern away from the glacial pace of change within operatic institutions and toward what we pay attention to, an activity each and every person can actively participate in: listening beyond the artificial limits of any given definition of opera
Mesopotamian cylinder seal from Lori Berd (Armenia): An object in an unusual location?
Get PDFArchaeological Site: Lori Berd (Northern Armenia); cemetery, dating from Middle Bronze Age till Achaemenid period.Tomb No. 106: stone chamber. Ceramic and part of the finds date to Achaemenid period. Also a pinkish chalcedony cylinder seal with gold caps on gold pin. Iconography: standing figure, seizing two upstanding caprids surrounded by symbolic fillings.Dating: a Neo-Babylonian cylinder seal of late 8th till 7th century BC.Similar example: usage of Neo-Assyrian/Babylonian cylinder seal by Irtashduna (wife of Darius I) around 500 BC.Interpretation: suitable for reciprocity of gifts in prestige-goods system of Achaemenid period. Perhaps a gift from satrap to local chief
I segnali discorsivi interazionali nel parlato di bambini plurilingui. : Aspetti acquisizionali e fenomeni di contatto tra ladino, tedesco e italiano
No full textThe aim of this paper is to investigate the use of interactional pragmatic markers in a multilingual corpus of child language in the Ladin valleys in South Tyrol (Italy). It has been argued that in contact-induced contexts speakers tend to prefer the set of elements of the pragmatically dominant language, in order to reduce the cognitive pressure they are exposed to, in particular in a minority language (cf. Matras 2000). Yet, very little is known about the use of pragmatic markers in child language, even though the pragmatic competence, i. e. the appropriate use of language as well as the proper realization of speech acts in a particular situational context, is one of the key competences children need to acquire during the language acquisition process. The present study was carried out within the sociolinguistic framework of the Ladin valleys, which is characterized by a varied multilingualism on the institutional level and in family contexts. The corpus contains approximately eight hours of spoken data from eight children aged three to six across the three official languages Ladin, German and Italian. This work aims at analysing the micro-functions of interactional pragmatic markers and at investigating how the use of these elements is linked to the linguistic and cognitive development of preschool children. It also contributes to the study of contact-induced phenomena that emerge in a multilingual context
Transformationen attributiver Genitivkonstruktionen als linguistisches und translationswissenschaftliches Problem im Bereich Leichte Sprache.: Eine kritische Betrachtung der Regelwerke vor dem Hintergrund der neuesten Studienergebnisse
Get PDFTranslation of the source texts in standard language into the target texts in German Easy Read proves to be a complex scientific issue in the translation studies. This paper examines a specific problem – the substitution of the genitive by the dative constructions – prescribed by official guidelines and linguistic research. It critically analyses related studies in order to draw theoretical conclusions for the practice of Easy Read
Wir brauchen DaF
Get PDFMuch time has passed since the European Union, through official documents such as the Maastricht Treaty and Edith Cresson’s White Paper, recommended multilingualism to its citizens – motivated by the belief that lasting peace can only be achieved through communication. The Europe “of citizens,” as Habermas envisioned it, was to be realized through multilingualism: not through an aseptic lingua franca, and even less through a hegemonic language, but through mutual understanding among the diverse cultures of the continent. Among these languages is German, which – as Dumont (1991: 15) argued – is not merely the language of a nation, but a linguistic embodiment of European tensions and identity, the quintessence de l’Europe.
Today, however, we are witnessing a regression – not only in the study of German as a foreign language, but also in the broader commitment to multilingualism tout court. Yet, as Weinrich (2000: 12) remarked, “eine möglichst große Vielfalt von Sprachen dieser Welt beim Denkgeschäft [ist zu wünschen], unter ihnen auch an keinem geringeren Platz Deutsch als Denksprache”. Against this backdrop, the following contribution presents a series of essays by Germanists who have remained passionate advocates of GFL – German as a Foreign Language – and are still actively engaged in its dissemination
Die Krise von DaZ.: Ein Lösungsansatz zur funktionalen Bestimmung von Zweitsprache im Migrationskontext
Get PDFThis article focusses on the question of the crisis in the opposition of GFL and GSL, which has once again become a relevant issue in today’s debate in the field: This crisis is attributed here to the constitutive characteristics of the category “German as a second language” itself, which can be explained from a subject-historical and acquisition-related point of view and are also appropriate in part, but which disregard essential, functional characteristics of German as a foreign language in the context of migration – primarily also in relation to the current situation and to new and more differentiated learning constellations. From a functional perspective – one could say – the second language is not defined in relation to the ‘first language’ (Erstsprache) determined by the process of language acquisition, but rather to the functional ‘first language’ (erste Sprache) determined by language use and often as such – which makes the term second language misleading. In line with Zabel et al.’s (2022: 7) proposal for a new category “German in the context of multilingualism”, a possible functional definition of second language and its categorisation in an equally functional model of multilingualism is therefore outlined
“Keep your hands off our children.” : A discourse analytical case study on the social perception of gender education for children in Hungary
Get PDFThe publication of the first storybook for children about LGBTQ people in the Hungarian language gave rise to controversy. The study seeks to delineate the social perception of Gender Education (GE) for children in Hungary by analyzing the voice of the Hungarian people who showed a genuine interest in the issue. The research draws on the online comments (N=340) which were displayed on the website that shared the official video about the LGBTQ children’s book launch in a five-month period. In the online comments, social normativity was uncovered by using Van Leeuwen’s (2008) taxonomy of discursive (de)legitimation strategies. The findings show that both the supporters and the opponents of GE for children apply a wide variety of discursive constructions of (de)legitimation to express their competing values. However, there is a degree of overlap between the arguments of the two groups, which hold opposing positions with regard to norms
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