1,721,040 research outputs found
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
Special Olympics swimming: positive effects on young people with Down syndrome
No full textPurpose: The positive effects of sport and physical activity on health and well-being are worldwide recognized, while people with intellectual disabilities are often physically inactive. The aim of this study was to examine the perception of well-being, social integration, and emotional problems of Down syndrome (DS) subjects, who participated in Special Olympic (SO) training and competitions, and to investigate whether parents and their Down children have the same opinion on the problems caused by DS. Methods: Ninety-three participants with DS were recruited for this study: 58 swimmers (aged 16.31 ± 1.55), 35 DS sedentary subjects (aged 16.06 ± 1.39), and their parents (n = 93). Two versions of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaires (SDQ) were individually administered: the Self-reported version (SDQ-SR), completed by the DS participants, and the Parental version (SDQ-P), completed by their parents. Results: Results showed significant differences between sportive vs. non-sportive groups in the overall domain scores (p < 0.01), with better results for the sportive group. Parents of DS non-sportive participants underestimated their children problems in 6 of the 8 domains (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Participation in SO competition can be recommended to improve general well-being perception and social skills in young individuals with DS
Are Change of Direction Speed and Reactive Agility Useful for Determining the Optimal Field Position for Young Soccer Players?
No full textChange Of Direction Speed (CODS) and Reactive Agility (RA) are two determining factors in the ability of young soccer players. We aimed to verify if CODS and RA could be useful in order to establish the best young soccer player field position. Ninety-two elite soccer players (15.18 ± 1.21 years, weight 59.18 ± 9.93, height 1.72 ± 0.08, BMI 19.76 ± 2.22), belonging to two youth categories from the Italian First and Second Divisions, volunteered in this study. The participants included 32 defenders (15.06 ± 0.80 years), 37 midfielders (15.11 ± 0.84 years) and 23 forwards (15.48 ± 1.16 years), and they underwent two tests, each one performed in two different ways: the Y-Agility Test, carried out in a planned and reactive mode (Y-PLAN and Y-REAC), and the Illinois for Change of Direction Test (ICODT) performed with and without the ball. REAC-INDEX, which represents the index of reactivity, was calculated as Y-REAC minus Y-PLAN. The difference between the two scores of ICODT (ICODT with the ball minus ICODT without the ball) represents the TECHN-INDEX. Multivariate Analysis of Variances (MANOVA) was used to evaluate significant differences among all position groups, for all the test scores. MANOVA showed no significant differences in test scores or in TECHN-INDEX among the groups, except for the forwards, who were significantly more reactive than the defenders (p < 0.05). The strong and significant Pearson's Correlation between ICODT with and without the ball (p < 0.01) demonstrated that physical and technical preparations have the same relevance in all positions. No significant differences were found among players in different field positions for CODS and RA performances, both with and without the ball. This study does not recommend to use RA and CODS as indicators to assign the players roles in youth soccer
The Role of Sports in Building Resilience: A Machine Learning Approach to the Psychological Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children and Adolescents
Full text link(1) Background: This study evaluated whether physical activity and sports serve as a protective factor in mitigating COVID-19 pandemic long-term consequences. (2) Methods: A survey of 1702 participants (8-18 years) used the Impact of Event Scale (IES), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), and Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale for Children (CES-DC). Participants were categorized based on their engagement in sports, cultural activities, or sedentary behaviors. Statistical analysis included non-parametric tests, CHAID models, and clustering. (3) Results: In total, 65.5% of participants experienced minimal to mild anxiety, and 34.5% reported moderate to severe anxiety. The main predictor of depression is the sample age, followed by the training experience. Depressive symptoms were identified in 71.3% of participants (75.7% adolescents; 64% children). Adolescents with longer training experience (67.6%) showed lower depression compared to those with shorter experience (77.2%). For post-traumatic stress, 38% of children and 46% of adolescents exceeded cut-off scores for significant symptoms, with age and training level identified as key predictors. Among children, sport experience with low weekly frequency was associated with the lowest depression rates (59.5%). (4) Conclusions: Four years after the pandemic, a high percentage of anxiety and depression disorders is observed in the youth population, particularly among adolescents. Sports appear to slightly alleviate this serious condition
Agility and change of direction in soccer: Differences according to the player ages
No full textBACKGROUND: The goal of this study was to compare the changes of direction speed (CODS) and reactive agility (RA) in soccer players of different ages, in order to optimize the best training of these skills. METHODS: One hundred eighty-seven players, divided into bi-annual age-groups, U12, U14, U16 and U18, performed two tests: Y-Agility Test, carried out in planned and reactive mode (Y-PLAN and Y-REAC) and Illinois for Change of Direction Test (ICODT). Difference between Y-REAC minus Y-PLAN represents the index of reactivity (REAC-INDEX). RESULTS: MANOVA showed significant differences among groups (F3, 182=14.591; P<0.01; η2p=0.244). Y-PLAN showed significant differences only between U12 and the other groups (P<0.01). ICODT results were significantly different between the groups U12 and U14 and the other groups (P<0.01). Significant Pearson's correlations between Y-TEST and ICODT, for the three categories of young players (0.398 P<0.05; 0.615 P<0.01; 0.608 P<0.01 respectively), were found, whereas no significant correlation was found in U18 group. CONCLUSIONS: The best performance of Y-PLAN and ICODT, through age, depends on physical skill level, whereas the best RA results depend on technique and experience that help the players to use anticipatory skill. The high correlations between CODS and RA performances, differently than adult athletes, suggest that an effective work program for young players may include RA and CODS training at the same time
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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