1,721,068 research outputs found
POLITICA SPORT E IDENTITA' NAZIONALE
No full textThis study examines the relationship between politics, sports and national identity in contemporary society, following a search path historiographical launched by the British school and only in recent years landed in Italy. Therefore, we initially approached the distinctive
features of the Italian national identity and then those of any other national identities, trying to highlight the role of politics in these processes. We tried then to verify
whether the phenomenon Sports has been a decisive factor in creating the Italian national identity through the deepening of two sports that have better represented the
italian's costume: football and cycling. Finally, were analysed the many elements that characterize national cultures in the globalised context of the Olympic Games,
through the critical review of existing literature
Effects of task complexity on rhythmic reproduction performance in adults
No full textThe aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of task
complexity on the capability to reproduce rhythmic patterns. Sedentary
musically illiterate individuals (age: 34.8 ± 4.2 yrs; M ± SD)
were administered a rhythmic test including three rhythmic patterns
to be reproduced by means of finger-tapping, foot-tapping
and walking. For the quantification of subjects’ ability in the reproduction
of rhythmic patterns, qualitative and quantitative parameters
were submitted to analysis. A stereophotogrammetric system
was used to reconstruct and evaluate individual performances. The
findings indicated a good internal stability of the rhythmic reproduction,
suggesting that the present experimental design is suitable
to discriminate the participants’ rhythmic ability. Qualitative
aspects of rhythmic reproduction (i.e., speed of execution and temporal
ratios between events) varied as a function of the perceptualmotor
requirements of the rhythmic reproduction task, with larger
reproduction deviations in the walking task
Countermovement jump performance assessment using a wearable 3D inertial measurement unit
No full textThe aim of this study was to validate a wearable inertial measurement unit (IMU), containing a 3D accelerometer and gyroscope, for the estimation of countermovement jump height. The absolute vertical acceleration of the IMU positioned on the back of the participant at L5 level, compensated for trunk rotations, was used to obtain jump height by applying the equation of free-fall to the motion of the IMU. The methodology was tested on 28 participants performing five countermovement jumps each. A reference value for this quantity was obtained using stereophotogrammetry (35.4 cm, s = 4.9). Jump height scores obtained using the proposed methodology (35.9 cm, s = 5.5) presented no significant difference with respect to stereophotogrammetry (P = 0.61). A low bias of 0.6 cm confirmed the accuracy of the estimate, which also showed a high (r = 0.87) and significant (P < 0.0001) correlation with reference values. Furthermore, without compensating accelerations for trunk rotation, jump height was largely underestimated (P < 0.0001) (bias: -12.7 cm) and poorly associated (r = 0.31) with stereophotogrammetry. The results of this study show that the estimation of jump height using inertial sensors leads to accurate results when the measured accelerations are corrected for trunk rotations
Pacing and mood changes while crossing the Adriatic Sea from Italy to Albania: a case study
No full textTo evaluate the pacing strategy, rating of perceived exertion (RPE), and mood during a 78.1-km solo ultraendurance open-water swim
Biomechanical Analysis of Suspension Training Push-up
No full textThe aims of this study were to evaluate the load distribution between upper and lower extremities during suspension training (ST) push-up at different length of ST device and to predict useful equations to estimate the training load. After giving their informed consent of participation, twenty-five subjects (male=17, female=8; age=28.1+/-5.2years; weight=69.4+/-14.3kg; height=171.6+/-11.3cm; BMI=23.4+/-3.3kg[middle dot]m-2) were involved in the study. Each subject performed 14 static push-ups at 7 different lengths of ST device in two different elbow positions. The load distribution between upper and lower extremities was evaluated through a load cell and a force platform, respectively. To evaluate body inclination all tests were recorded and analyzed through motion analysis software. To estimate the training load a multi-level model regression (P<0.05) was used. Results showed that when the length of ST device increased, the body inclination decreased, while the ground reaction force decreased and the load on the ST device increased. Moreover, when subjects moved from extended to flex elbow, the ground reaction force decreased and the load on the ST device increased. In the created regression model (ICC=0.24), the reaction force was the dependent variable, while length of ST device, BMI, and elbow position were the independent variables. The main findings were that the load distribution between upper and lower extremities changes both when modifying the body inclination and the length of the straps. The use of predicted equations could help practitioners to personalize the workouts according to different specific aims by modifying the length of the ST device to guarantee load progression
Training for a 78-km solo open water swim Maria Francesca PIACENTINI1
No full textThe purpose of the present study was to report the training of a master athlete in preparation to an ultra-marathon swimming event. For 32 weeks prior to a 78-km solo open water swim from Italy to Albania, a male long distance master (48 years) swimmer was monitored. Training volume was recorded as total time and distance while intensities were recorded according to international classifications utilizing the primary goal of the session method. Thereafter, time spent in the three training zones: Z1 (low intensity training), Z2 (threshold training) and Z3 (high intensity training) was calculated. Weekly swimming volume ranged from 15 to 70 km.week-1 and training frequency ranged from 3 to 6 days.week-1. Total weekly training dedicated to swimming ranged from 270 to 1140 min. Training intensity comprised Z1=64%. Z2=28%, and Z3=8%, respectively. During the three-week taper period, total swimming volume decreased by 43% while intensity remained unchanged. The athlete succeeded in being the first swimmer to accomplish the event. These findings provide useful information for coaches on training regimens of master ultra-marathon swimmers. Compared to the literature, time spent at a Z1 training intensity was lower in favor of that spent in Z2. It could be speculated that master ultra-marathon athletes might benefit from training intensities at or above LT to counterbalance the age-related physiological decrease
Exploring correlates of physical activity behaviour in UK children and their inter-relationships using a multidisciplinary approach: A concept mapping study
No full text: It is still unknown which correlates of physical activity behaviour (PAB) may be effective and how they may influence PAB in UK children. The objective of the current study was to generate a conceptual analysis of the correlates of PAB in UK children (5-12 years) using the input of researchers in the field of physical activity (PA experts; PAE) and other fields (non-PA experts; non-PAE). A concept mapping approach was used to identify potential (new) correlates of PAB in children, assess their importance based on rating of potential modifiability and effect, and generate a concept map depicting the associations between them. In the first (brainstorming) stage (n = 32 experts) yielded 93 correlates, including 14 new correlates not identified in previous reviews. In the second (rating and sorting) stage (n = 26 experts), 32 correlates were rated as important and a four-cluster concept map was generated including themes related to Society/community, Home/social setting, Personal/social setting and Psychological/emotional correlates. Two additional concept maps were generated for PAE and non-PAE. From expert opinion, we identified new correlates of PAB that warrant further research and we highlight the need to consider the interaction between intrapersonal and external correlates when designing interventions to promote PA in UK children
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
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