toptermpaper.com

Consider and discuss the required approach to analysis of the data set provided.

As part of this explore also how you would test the hypothesis below and explain the reasons for your decisions. Hypothesis 1: Male children are taller than female children. Null hypothesis; There is no difference in height between male children and female children. Hypothesis 2: Taller children are heavier. Null hypothesis: There is no relationship between how tall children are and how much they weigh.

Analysis of data set

The data set is a list of 30 children’s gender, age, height, the data weight, upper and lower limb lengths, eye colour, like of chocolate or not andIQ.

There are two main things to consider before and the data. These are the types of data and the quality of the data as a sample.

Types of data could be nominal, ordinal, interval or ratio.Nominal is also know as categorical. Coolican (1990) gives more details of all of these and his definitions have been used to decide the types of data in the data set.

It is also helpful to distinguish between continuous numbers, which could be measured to any number of decimal places an discrete numbers such as integers which have finite jumps like 1,2 etc.

Gender

This variable can only distinguish between male or female.There is no order to this and so the data is nominal.

Age

This variable can take integer values. It could be measured to decimal places, but is generally only recorded as integer. It is ratio data because, for example, it would be meaningful to say that a 20 year old person is twice as old as a 10 year old.

In this data set, the ages range from 120 months to 156months. This needs to be consistent with the population being tested.

Height

This variable can take values to decimal places if necessary. Again it is ratio data because, for example, it would be meaningful to say that a person who is 180 cm tall is 1.5 times as tall as someone 120cmtall. In this sample it is measured to the nearest cm.

Weight

Like height, this variable could take be measured to decimal places and is ratio data. In this sample it is measured to the nearest kg.

Upper and lower limb lengths

Again this variable is like height and weight and is ratio data.

Eye colour

This variable can take a limited number of values which are eye colours. The order is not meaningful. This data is therefore nominal(categorical).

Like of chocolate or not

As with eye colour, this variable can take a limited number of values which are the sample members preferences. In distinguishing merely between liking and disliking, the order is not meaningful. This data is therefore nominal (categorical).

IQ

IQ is a scale measurement found by testing each sample member. As such it is not a ratio scale because it would not be meaningful to say, for example, that someone with a score of 125 is 25% more intelligent than someone with a score of 100.

There is another level of data mentioned by Cooligan into which none of the data set variables fit. That is Ordinal Data. This means that the data have an order or rank which makes sense. An example would be if 10students tried a test and you recorded who finished quickest, 2^ndquickest etc, but not the actual time.

The data is intended to be a sample from a population about which we can make inferences. For example in the hypothesis tests we want toknow whether they are indicative of population differences. The results can only be inferred on the population from which it is drawn it would not be valid otherwise.

Details of sampling methods were found in Bland (2000). To accomplish the required objectives, the sample has to be representative of the defined population. It would also be more accurate if the sample is stratified by known factors like gender and age. This means that, for example, the proportion of males in the sample is the same as the proportion in the population.

Sample size is another consideration. In this case it is 30.Whether this is adequate for the hypotheses being tested is examined below.

Hypothesis 1: Male children are taller than female children.

Swift (2001) gives a very readable account of the hypothesis testing process and the structure of the test.

The first step is to set up the hypotheses:

The Null hypothesis is that there is no difference in height between male children and female children.

If the alternative was as Coolican describes it as “we do not predict in which direction the results will go then it would have been a two-tailed test. In this case the alternative is that males are taller it is therefore a specific direction and so a one-tailed test is required.

To test the hypothesis we need to set up a test statistic and then either match it against a pre-determined critical value or calculate the probability of achieving the sample value based on the assumption that the null hypothesis is true.

The most commonly used significance level is 0.05. Accordingto Swift (2001) the significance level must be decided before the data is known. This is to stop researchers adjusting the significance level to get the result that they want rather than accepting or rejecting objectively.

If the test statistic probability is less than 0.05 we would reject the null hypothesis that there is no difference between males and females in favour of males being heavier on the one sided basis.

However it is possible for the test statistic to be in the rejection zone when in fact the null hypothesis is true. This is called a TypeI error.

It is also possible for the test statistic to be in the acceptance zone when the alternative hypothesis is true (in other words the null hypothesis is false). This is called a Type II error. Power is 1 -probability of a Type II error and is therefore the probability of correctly rejecting a false null hypothesis. Whereas the Type I error is set at the desired level, the Type II error depends on the actual value of the alternative hypothesis.

Coolican (1990) sets out the possible outcomes in the following table:

Part I Introduction

Introduction on Freshman Seminar

Freshman seminar 1205M offers great opportunities for students to work intimately with professors from the Science faculty on various areas of mathematics. The seminar was targeted to encourage us to open our minds to creative ideas and develop curiosity of influential mathematical theories and various subgroups of contemporary mathematics. In addition to exposure to selected subtopics in contemporary mathematics, we had valuable opportunities to develop our presentation and academic essay writing skills.

1.2 Important roles of Analogy and Intuition

The historical development of mathematics is significantly influenced by intuition acquired from real life experience and analogy quoted from various other areas (Harrison & Treagust, 1993). Analogy is an extraordinary method in developing new concepts in the history of science. In this module, famous topics in the contemporary mathematics, including geometry, number theory, set theory, randomness and game theory have been discussed. Among all topics, our team worked on Analogy and Intuition of Randomness. In this seminar, various creative analogy ideas and intuition/counter-intuition thinking have been presented based on specific cases in modern mathematics.

1.3 Method on Research and Presentation

Our team collected relevant source materials on the randomness, including books, journals, and websites on the Internet. As for presenting applications of randomness, in particular, we focused on the historical development of randomness theory, the simplified key concepts in randomness, the counter-intuitive stories happened, overlapping with other fields in nature, and some significant and influential applications of randomness theory in our daily life. We omitted complicated theories, technical formulas and rigorous proofs. Throughout the whole semester, our team has conducted two informal presentations on randomness. In order to illustrate randomness clearly and intuitively, we adopted various methods: problem solving, in-class quizzes, presentations and attractive stories. Subtopics included: Biology, quantum physics, finance, audio engineering, statistics and so on.

Part II Report on Randomness

2.1 Randomness on Communication Theory

2.1.1 Introduction of Noise in Communication Theory

In statistics, irrelevant or meaningless data is considered noise (random error). Whereas in communication theory, random disturbance in a signal is called “noise”. In essence, noise consists of a large number of disturbances with a statistically randomized time distribution.

It is assumed that noise signals have power spectral density that is proportional to 1/f^?, where f stands for frequencies of noise. For example, the spectral density of white noise is ? = 0, while pink noise has ? = 1. This special character is widely used for distinguishing among colors of noise.

2.1.2 Laws and Criterions Used to Distinguish Colors and Characteristics of Noise

The color names for noise are derived from an analogy between the spectrum of noise and the equivalent spectrum of lights with different visible colors. For instance, if we translate the sound wave of “white noise” into light waves, the resulting light will be viewed as white color. In electronics, physics, and many other areas, the color of a noise signal is usually understood as some characteristics of its power spectrum. As different colors of noise have significantly different properties. Therefore, each kind of noise requires a specific “color” to match with it.

Start with the most well-known one: “White noise”, people name different noise after colors. This is in analogy with white color light, which has a flat spectrum of power on its frequency range. Other colors, such as violet, blue, red, pink, are then given to different noises with extremely similar spectrum characteristics.

Although most of them have standardized noise patterns with specific disciplines, there are also plenty of noise spectrums with imprecise and informal definitions, like black noise, green noise, brown noise and so on.

These below parts were summarized from Wikipedia terms: Noise (electronics)

Sites: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noise_%28electronics%29

2.1.3 Inner Sources of Noise

Thermal noise is generated from the random thermal motion of charges (usually electrons) inside electrical conductors. The amplitude of the signal has a probability density function similar to the Gaussian (Normal) distribution. The amplitude of thermal noise depends on the temperature of the circuit.

Shot noise results from unavoidable random fluctuations when the charges (such as electrons) jump over a gap inside the electric circuits. It sounds rather similar to the noise created by rain falling on a tin roof.

Flicker noise has a frequency spectrum that falls down into the higher frequencies areas steadily.

Burst noise consists of sudden step-like transitions between two or more levels at random and unpredictable times. It sounds like eating popcorn.

2.1.4 Outer sources of Noise

Atmospheric noise is the natural disturbance caused by electricity discharges in thunderstorm and other natural disturbances occurring in nature, like disruptions of high-voltage wires.

Industrial noises are produced by automobiles, aircrafts and so on. The disturbances are produced by the discharge processes in these operations as well, which is similar to the atmospheric noise.

Extraterrestrial noises come from the universe. These noises include: Solar Noise, which is a radiation from the sun due to its intense nuclear reactions and the consequent high temperature, and Cosmic Noise, which are able to transmit its radiation and cosmic rays to almost everywhere.

2.1.5 Classification of Different Colors of Noise

This part was adapted and summarized from an online introductory article: “White, pink, blue and violet: The colors of noise” from the Wired Magazine Science Column, Author: Duncan Geere, Date: Apr. 07, 2011

White noise

White noise has a constant power distribution density on its spectrum. It is named after the white color light, which has a flatten frequency everywhere on the spectrum. The term is widely applied in many scientific and technical areas, including physics, audio engineering, telecommunications, statistical forecasting and many other areas. Specifically, White noise is used as a generator for random numbers. In addition, weather forecasting websites also use white noise to generate random digit patterns and simulate real weather.

Pink noise

The power density of pink noise decreases proportionally to 1/f. In the past, the term of flicker noise sometimes refers to pink noise, but it will be more appropriate if we strictly apply it only to electronic circuits. Moreover, Pink noise is also used in analysis of meteorological data and output radiation power of some astronomical bodies.

Brown noise

According to the precise definition, the term Brown noise refers to a noise whose power density decreases inversely proportional to f^2.

The density function can be generated from integrating white noise or via an algorithm of Brownian motion simulation. Brown noise is not named after the color brown spectrum, which is distinct from other noises. It can be used in climatology to describe climate shifts. However, within the scientific community, scientists have been arguing about its value for such purposes for a long time.

Blue noise

The power density of Blue noise is proportional to frequency. Blue noise has an increasing frequency over a finite frequency range. Blue noise is similar to pink noise, but instead of a decreasing spectrum, we observe an increasing one. Sometimes it is mixed up with Violet noise in informal discussion.

Violet noise

Violet noise is also known as the Purple noise. The power density of Violet noise is proportional to f^2, which means it increases in quadratic form. Violet noise is like another version of Brownian noise. Moreover, as Violet noise is the result of differentiating the white noise signal density, so people also call it the “Differentiated White noise”.

Grey noise

Grey noise is a special kind of white noise process with characteristic equal loudness curve. However, it has a higher power density at both ends of the frequency spectrum but very little power near the center. Apparently, this is different from the standard white noise which is equal loud across its power density. However, actually this phenomenon is due to the humans hearing illusion.

2.2 Randomness on Finance

2.2.1 Brief Introduction to Efficient Market Hypothesis

This part was summarized based on an online informal introductory article: “The Efficient Markets Hypothesis”, Authors: Jonathan Clarks, Tomas Jandik, Gershon Mandelker, Website: www.e-m-h.org

In financial fields, the efficient-market hypothesis asserts that stock market prices will evolve with respect to to a random walk. They have the same probability distribution and independent of each other. Random walk states that stocks take a random and unpredictable path. The probability of a stock’s future price going up is equal to going down. Therefore, the past movement (or trend) of a specific stock price or the overall market performance cannot be used as the basis to predict future movements. In addition, it is impossible to outperform the entire market without taking additional risk or putting extra efforts. However, EMH proves that a long-term buy-and-hold strategy is the most efficient, because long term prices will approximately reflect performance of the company very well, whereas short term movements in prices can be only described as a random walk.

2.2.2 Historical Backgrounds of Efficient Market Hypothesis

This part was summarized based on an online nonprofit educational website: www.e-m-h.org and a research paper: History of the Efficient Market Hypothesis, Nov.2004, Author: Martin, Sewell, Publisher: University College London.

Historically, the randomness of stock market prices was firstly modelled by a French broker, Jules Regnault, in 1863. Shortly after, a French mathematician, Louis Bachelier, developed the mathematics of Brownian motion in 1900. In 1923, the famous economist, Keynes clearly stated that investors in financial markets would be rewarded not for knowing better than other participants in the market, but rather for risk taking.

After the WWII, the efficient-market hypothesis emerged as an outstanding theory in the mid-1960s. In the 1960s, Mandelbrot proposed a randomness model for stock pricing. Fama discussed about Mandelbrot’s hypothesis and concluded that the market data confirmed his model. In addition, he defined the so-called “efficient market” for the first time, in his paper “Random Walks in Stock Market Prices”. He explained how random walks in stock market significantly influence individual stock prices. Later, he introduced definitions for three forms of financial market efficiency: weak, semi-strong and strong.

The term was eventually popularized when Burton Malkiel, a Professor of Economics at Princeton University, published his classic and prominent book: “A Random Walk Down Wall Street.”

2.2.3 Three Major Types of Markets: Weak, Semi-Strong and Strong

The three types of EMH were summarized based on an online technical blog: “The Efficient Markets Hypothesis”, Author: Jodi Beggs, Website: About.com

Weak Form of Efficiency

We cannot predict future prices through analyzing prices from the past. And we cannot earn excessive returns by using information based on historical data. In this level, technical analysis is always profitable, as share prices exhibit no dependencies on their past. This implies that future prices depend entirely on performance of companies.

Semi-Strong Form of Efficiency

Information other than market data is released, such as instant news, companies’ management, financial accounting reports, companies’ latest products. Under such condition, share prices will reflect the new information very rapidly. Therefore, investors cannot gain any excess returns by trading on the public information. Semi-strong-form efficiency market implies that neither technical analysis nor fundamental analysis can produce excess returns.

Strong Form of Efficiency

Under such condition, information typically held by corporate insiders is released. Therefore, share prices reflect not only previously public information, but all private information as well. Theoretically, no one can earn excess returns. However, even before major changes are exposed to the public, corporate insiders are able to trade their company’s stocks from abnormal profits. Fortunately, such insider trading is banned by surveillance authorities, like the Securities and Exchange Commission.

2.2.4 Arguments and Critics on Efficiency Market Hypothesis

However, critics blame that the theory’s applications in markets results in financial crisis. In response, proponents of the hypothesis state that the theory is only a simplification model of the world, which means that it may not always hold true under every conditions. Hence, the market is only practically efficient for merely investment purposes in the real world rather than other aims.

2.2.5 Interesting Counter-intuitive Stories on Monkeys

The story was adapted from the Forbes Magazine, Personal Finance Column, Author: Rick Ferri, Date: Dec, 20, 2012

In order to verify the Efficient Market Hypothesis and illustrate the theories explicitly to the public, a group of researchers conducted a monkey experiment. They randomly picked up thirty stocks from a one thousand stocks poll and then let a hundred monkeys throw darts at the stocks printing on newspaper. They kept repeating this experiment for five decades, and tracked the results.

In the end, to their surprise, monkeys’ performance beat the index by 1.7% per year, which indicates that, there is certain situation where traditional technical analysis cannot even beat randomly-selected portfolios. The results have shocked the whole world by how greatly randomness affects the market stock prices.

2.3 Randomness in Physics and Biology

2.3.1 Application of Randomness in Modern Physics

In the early 19th century, physicists use the philosophy of randomness to study motions and behaviors of molecules, and they build models in thermodynamics to explain phenomenon in gas experiments.

In the 20th century, when the era comes for quantum mechanics, microscopic phenomena are considered as completely random. Randomness of things like radioactive decay, photons passing through polarizers, and other bizarre quantum effects cannot be explained and predicted with classical theories in the usual way (Scott, 2009). Therefore, physicists propose a new theory, which claims that in a microscopic world, some of the outcomes appear casual and random. For example, when we describe a radioactive atom, we cannot predict when the atom will decay. What only left for us is the probability of decay during a specific given period. In order to solve this mystery, Einstein postulates the Hidden Variable theory, which states that nature contains irreducible randomness: properties and variables work beyond our scope somehow, but they actually determine the outcomes appear in our world.

2.3.2 Application of Randomness in Biology

The modern evolutionary states that the diversity of life is due to natural selection. Randomness, an essential component of biological diversity, is associated with the growth of biological organization during evolution (Longo & Montevil, 2012). It plays important roles in determining genetic mutation, and the significance of randomness effects appear at different sizes, from microorganisms to large mammals (Bonner, 2013). During this process, a number of random genetic mutations appear in the gene library under both inner and other influences. Although this process is purely random, it indeed systematically leads to a higher chance for survival and reproduction of those individuals who possess these mutations than those without them. This mechanism plays crucial roles in the survivals of animals.

Surprisingly, randomness in biology has remarkable relations to quantum physics. Schrodinger proposes his notion of negative entropy as a form of Gibbs free energy, which also behaves similarly to randomness properties in abstract quantum world (Schrodinger, 1944).

Part III References

Beggs, J. (2014). The Efficient Markets Hypothesis. About. Retrieved Mar 30, 2014 from http://economics.about.com/od/Financial-Markets-Category/a/The-Efficient-Markets-Hypothesis.htm

Bonner, J. (2013). Randomness in Evolution. Princeton University Press. Retrieved Mar 30, 2014 from http://press.princeton.edu/titles/9958.html

Clarke, J. & Jandik, T. (2012). The Efficient Markets Hypothesis. Retrieved Mar 30, 2014 from http://ww.e-m-h.org/ClJM.pdf

Ferri, R. (2012). Any Monkey Can Beat The Market. Forbes. Retrieved Mar 30, 2014 from http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickferri/2012/12/20/any-monkey-can-beat-the-market/

Geere, D. (2011). White, pink, blue and violet: The colors of noise. Wired. Retrieved Mar 30, 2014 from http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2011-04/7/colours-of-noise/viewall

Harrison, A. G., & Treagust, D. F. (1994). Science analogies. The Science Teacher, 61, 40-43.

Longo, G & Montevil, M. (2012). Randomness Increases Order in Biological

Evolution. Retrieved Mar 30, 2014 from http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Giuseppe_Longo2/publication/221350338_Randomness_Increases_Order_in_Biological_Evolution/file/60b7d51544f17cb8d8.pdf

Schrodinger, E.: What Is Life? Cambridge U.P. (1944)

Scoot, J. (2009). Do physicists really believe in true randomness?

Ask a Mathematician. Retrieved Mar 30, 2014 from http://www.askamathematician.com/2009/12/q-do-physicists-really-believe-in-true-randomness/

Sewell, M. (2004). History of the efficient market hypothesis. Retrieved Mar 30, 2014 from http://www.cs.ucl.ac.uk/fileadmin/UCL-CS/images/Research_Student_Information/RN_11_04.pdf

Part 1 – With reference to the theory undertaken in this module, evaluate the key factors that restrict success within youth sport.

Theory that has already been undertaken in this module includes details of the factors that restrict success in Youth Sport. Factors that have been researched prior to this piece of work are Participation Rates, Support Structures, Maturation Rates, Talent Identification and School Sport Competition. Follows, will be a detailed report underpinning three of these factors and it will stress why they each restrict success in Youth Sport. Youth is another common title for a young person or young people (Konopka, G., 1973). People have different views on how they would define sport, people suggest that sport is an activity governed by rules or customs and often engaged competitively whilst others suggest differently. Sporting people have different attitudes when it comes to playing sport. Sportsmanship is an attitude that strives for fair play, courtesy toward teammates and opponents, ethical behaviour and integrity, and grace in victory or defeat (Fish and Magee 2003). Sports are most often played just for fun or for the simple fact that people need exercise to stay in good physical condition. Although they do not always succeed, sports participants are expected to display good sportsmanship, standards of conduct such as being respectful of opponents and officials. The three factors that will be that will be detailed are Relative Age Effects, Talent Identification and Significant Others. These seem to be the most contrasting factors that restrict success therefore there will be outcome of an understanding from different views and aspects of the sporting world for youths.

Depending on the dates of a child’s birth, they will be in either one season or the other to determine what school year they will be entering. For sports players, physical appearance is an agenda when it comes to selecting players off an appearance basis and measuring biological maturity is a way of finding best players; (Vaegans et al 2005). Youths that are involved in sport must be adequately prepared for a life in sport Long Term Athlete Development (LTAD) provides a model that they can work from.

Phase 1 – FUNdamentals (FUN)

Objective – TO LEARN FUNDAMENTAL MOVEMENT SKILLS
Content – Overall development, focusing on the ABC’s (Agility, Balance, Coordination, Speed) to underpin the generic skills used in many sports: Running, jumping and throwing.
Frequency – Perform physical activity 5-6 times per week.

Phase2 – Learning to Train (L2T)

Objective – TO LEARN FUNDAMENTALS SPORTS SKILLS

Content –

Concentration on the range of FUNdamental sports skills, such as throwing, catching, jumping and running.
Introduction to readiness: being mentally and physically prepared.
Basic FUNdamental tactics, e.g. if fielding, net/wall, invasion games can be introduced.
Cognitive and emotional developments are central
Skills are practised in challenging formats

Frequency – As above. If there is a favoured sport, it is suggested that at least 50% of the time is allocated to other sports/activities that develop a range of skills.

Phase3 – Training to Train (T2T)

Objective – TO BUILD FITNESS & SPECIFIC SPORTS SKILLS

Content –

This phase ideally occurs post-puberty and attention switches to:

Fitness Training
Detailed mental preparation
A focus on sport-specific skill development, including perceptual skills (reading the game/tactical understanding).

Decision making

Detailed and extensive evaluation

Frequency – For the aspiring performer, sport specific practice will now be 6-9 times per week.

Phase 4 – Training to Compete (T2C)

Objective – TO REFINE SKILLS FOR A SPECIFIC EVENT OR POSITION

Content –

Event and position specific training
Physical conditioning
Technical and tactical preparation
Advanced mental practice

All of the above come together and are developed under competition conditions.

Frequency – Training could be up to 12 timesper week.

Phase5 – Training to Win (T2W)

Objective – TO MAXIMISE PERFORMANCE IN COMPETITION

Content – Development and refinement of the aspects above, but with more use in competition modelling and more attention to rest periods and prevention of injury due to heavier load.

Frequency – Training could be up to 15 times per week

Phase6 – Retainment

For athletes/players retiring from competitive sport, many sports are developing Masters Programmes. An additional phase retainment- keeps the players/athletes involved in physical activity. Experiences gained as competitors can be invaluable, should they move into administration, coaching or officiating.

A move to another sport, perhaps at a more recreational level, may better suit some.

There are consequences that the sports person could be faced with as well as the advantages and disadvantages. According to research it has been found that approximately 70% of successful hockey and football players had a relative age advantage because they were born in the first-half of the defined age-group for their respective sports. By comparison, only 30% of these top-level players were born in the last 6 months of the respective “sport year”. One consequence that has been found is an increased drop-out rate for those youthful hockey players that had been disadvantaged by age in the past (Barnsley & Thompson 1988), suggesting that given the choice, younger children will seek to leave or avoid an activity in which their competitive position is hampered by their relative age. Interestingly and predictably, the relative age effect has also been found in other competitive sports such as baseball (Thompson et al 1991).

Steven Gerrard was affected as a youth when it came to playing football and furthering his career. Follows is a prime example of how he overcome his relative age effect.

Steven Gerrard, one of England’s most talented footballers, was born in May 1980 and was also a late developer. He describes in his autobiography his huge disappointment at not getting into the FA school at Lilleshall and subsequently not playing for England under-16s. Michael Owen, born some six months earlier in December and more physically developed made both squads easily. Steve Gerrard wrote in his autobiography: “The one nagging doubt in the back of my mind was that my rivals were bigger: I was really small and facing some tall, strong units in my position. “ Steven resented his rejection but had coaches and mentors at Liverpool who knew he needed more time.

Significant others can be described as the people who are around the sports performer. There are 4 sectors; Technical, Peers, Family and Supporters. These are also the key interpersonal support factors that affect a young person’s participation and progress in sport. The technical others are the people who see the person as a sports performer. They could be their coach, teacher, club official, sport sciencetist or medical health sciencetist. Peers are made up of people such as friends, classmates and team mates. Family is made up of parents, grandparents and siblings. Finally, supporters are people such as fans and neighbours. All 4 sectors have some form of impact on the sports player whether it is a big one or a small one. Parents are major part for the youth’s life. It is the parent that has brought the child up and it is their duty, by nature, to mould the child into a young promising adolescent. Parents have empathy for their children, perceived sharing their children’s on court emotions. They are perceived to possess knowledge and expertise of the sport so they feel entitled to comment. They also have a continuum of reactions throughout their child’s sport, good and bad. In-game negative comments are usually about 10%. (Holt et al 2008). Significant others can have a negative impact on the sports performer. These effects could include dropping out of sport all together. This could be caused by pressuring parents, lack of peers during adolescence and sibling rivalries. The parents could be either really demanding of the child and either expect too much of them in their sport or could be too strict towards them. Eccles and Harold (1991) proposed the parents expectations influence the child decision to engage in sport and activities including the intensity of effort expended and their child’s actual performance level. Next is an extract which is a study examining parental influence on children’s participation in sport, giving an idea why the parents could restrict success in Youth Sport.

X. Yang et al (1997) states ‘The purpose of this study was to examine parental influences on children’s participation in sport and their later physical activity. The population for the study consisted of a random sample of 1881 9- to 15-year-old boys and girls who were exposed to the extensive research program called “Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns” in 1980. They and their parents have been followed up for twelve years at three-year intervals by means of a short questionnaire concerning physical activity and other factors. The results indicated that the fathers’ physical activity in 1980 was related to their children’s habitual physical activity in the same year, and gave in boys and girls a significant prediction of PAI values twelve years later when the starting point was the age of 9, and also among boys from 15 years of age to 27. During the three years follow-up period, the extent of participation in sport was higher in families with active parents than in families with passive parents and single parents. The relationship of physical activity and sports participation with fathers’ socioeconomic status and education was not strong as with fathers’ physical activity.’

Talent Identification is a where a talent is found in a person. In this case it is when a talent is found in a Youth. There are different processes in which talent identification can be used in order to find potential sports persons. Scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout’s organization. Many scouts are former coaches or retired players, while others have made a career just of being scouts. Skilled scouts who help to determine which players will fit in well with an organization can be the major difference between success and failure for the team with regard to wins and losses. Talent can not only be identified by an official spectator, it can be identified by standard spectators e.g. team mates, coach, teachers. It can also be identified by parents and grandparents. If the non-official spectators were to recognise a talent within a Youth playing Sport then they could hold the boost that the player needs in order to further themselves in their chosen sport. If the non-official spectator fails to let on to the sports person then it could restrict them from being successful in sport. UK Sport holds a number of talent identification programmes for youths and generally people aged 17-25. These are ‘Pitch 2 Podium’, ‘Sporting Giants’ and ‘Girls4Gold’. UK Sport (2008) and the English Institute of Sport (EIS)began asearch for highly competitive sportswomen with the potential to become Olympic champions in cycling and other targeted Olympic sports (bob skeleton, canoeing, modern pentathlon, rowing and sailing). Girls4Gold is the single most extensive female sporting talent recruitment drive ever undertaken in Great Britain.

Girls4Gold can only take a number of people onto their programme, same with any other programme. Following the tremendous success of Team GB at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the Girls4Gold team received over 1300 applications and can’t take on anymore applicants until the next opening. This could be a restriction in itself because this programme could be missing out on extreme sports people including male participants. This is only available for females and therefore could hold a feature which a sporting male might need for success but doesn’t have on offer anywhere else on their sporting grounds.

After summarising the three factors discussed in this essay, it is clear that they all hold possible restrictions for success in Youth Sport. Relative age effects take a greater approach to the physical side of the sports people body, as the older the sports person is, the more mature and developed their body is and the younger the person is the less developed they are. This could be a restriction when it comes to team games more than it could be a restriction to playing sport individually. This means that the player could have more chances of becoming successful in an individual sport rather than a team sport. The restriction depends on what the player’s sport is and which ‘school year’ the player is born into. Significant others can be a restriction in itself depending on who the ‘significant others’ are around the sports player. Provided that there are the right people, technically as well as emotional and mentally, the then player could be stable and could be successful. However, if those people aren’t in place to give the young sports person the interpersonal support they need then they could be self reluctant to take up opportunities in order to be successful. Talent identification is the main key to success in sport. If the payer is not recognised then the player is not faced with the opportunity to make their sport official or even turn it into a career for themselves. With this it could be argued that the sports person should not take chances and wait to be noticed and that they should help themselves be acknowledged by talent identifier. This is when they could apply for programmes such as ‘Girls4Gold’. This is when it could be ‘make or break’ for the sports player, as sometimes they are not always faced with people on the search for talent.

In the main, business managers are failing to deal with the problem of work-related stress amongst employees.

Work-related stress is a common problem of modern lifestyle which has spread all over the world and touched almost all vocations (Life, nd, p.1). “Job stress is a chronic disease caused by condition in the workplace that negatively affects an individual’s performance and/or overall well-being of his body and mind (Life, nd, p.1)”. Sources of work-related stress include high demand of performance, family pressure, poor interpersonal relationships and career concerns. The consequence of the stress will lead to less self-confidence, worse performance and even suicide. As the stress which detrimental to people’s health has become more and more severely, how to cope with the situation is attracting increasing people’s attention. This essay focuses on problems of athletes’ stress and submits some solutions to the problems for sports managers.

The natures of the stress can be split into two parts: physical symptoms and behavioral symptoms (speaking book, 2008). The physical symptoms include: “tiredness, nausea, headaches, muscle tension, nervous twitches and altered sleep patterns. Aggression, anxiety, poor decision-making, inability to prioritize, mood changes, difficulty in concentrating, feelings of failure and isolation are belonging to behavioral symptoms (speaking book, 2008, p.95)”. All of these symptoms can reflect the athletes’ work-related stress.

The causes of the athletes’ job stress are intricate and complex. They can be mostly divided into 4 parts-environmental issues, personal issues, leadership issues and team issues respectively. Firstly, environmental issues, which include selection, finance, and training environment, is a factor that contributes to the stress (Tim & Lew, 2001). Selection is consisted of late selection, a lengthy selection process and unfair selection system. Some athletes illustrate that they feel nervous and tense if they do not know whether they will be chosen for competition. They fear that they will not have enough time to prepare the competition which lead to the stress. And some unfair selection also causes the stress of athletes as they can not obtain the chance of equal competition (Tim & Lew, 2001). Finances play an important role in stress. It includes not having enough funding money and differential financial support. Athletes spend most of time on training so that they do not have extra time for earning money. Therefore, they have to obtain the funding from sport organization, sponsorship or family. If the financial support is not enough or is poorly managed, athletes will feel depressive and anxiety (Tim & Lew, 2001). Training environment may be being able to lead to the athletes’ stress if athletes exist in the two opposite environments at the same time. The incompatible environment will make athletes feel uncomfortable.

The second part which is the most important one is personal issues. Personal issues contain nutrition, career concern, interpersonal relationship, injury and external distractions (Tom, et al 2000; Tim & Lew, 2001). Poor provision of food and disorder eating habit will lead to innutrition or obesity which will influence the athletes’ performance (Tim & Lew, 2001). A female athlete says that diet is her worst puzzle, which will lead to stress (Tim & Lew, 2001). A study shows that external distractions (23%) and career concern (19%) are the two major causes for stress (Pensgaard, 1998). Roberston & Cooper(1983) believe that career stagnation, high expectation from other people and unrealistic goals, which are the main components of career concern, may give rise to stress if athletes fail to achieve the expectation and goals (Tom, et al 2000). At the same time, external influence also brings stress to athletes. The press, media, spectators and family make athletes distract from their work which consequently influence their performance (Pensgaard, 1998). For example, David Beckham, who is a talented football player, fell out with his coach because the coach thought that David paid more attention on entertainment area than on training. Such action had impeded his development of football skill. At that time, David also had to face a big stress from his wife, who was his manager for planning the commercial activities.

Poor interpersonal relationships in a team are another factor of stress. There are three important sets of relationships-relationships with sports managers, with coaches and with teammates. Low interpersonal support from sports managers, coaches and teammates will be linked with high anxiety, tension and low performance satisfaction which increase the risk of obtaining pressure (Tom, et al 2000). In addition, injury, which is the worst thing for athletes, often results in pressure. Most of the athletes who get hurt will worry about their career as they fear that they can not get opportunities to go to the competition or they will lag behind because of less training (Tim & Lew, 2001).

The third part of the cause is leadership issues which focus on the aspect of coach. Coach’s differential treatment of athletes, overbearing coach, coach very demanding and coach-athlete tension are the reasons of athletes’ pressure (Tim & Lew, 2001). Coach’s attitude influences athletes deeply because he plays a vital role in a team and has the right to decide which athlete will be chosen for competition. Most of athletes fear that they will be ignored by their coach and some athletes feel stress as they can not bear the workload (Tim & Lew, 2001). Moreover, coaching style is another cause of athletes’ stress. Some athletes can not adapt to different coaching styles which may deter their development. The poor performance of an athlete results in a rise of the pressure (Tim & Lew, 2001).

Team issues, as the last part of the cause, can not be ignored. It main includes: team atmosphere, communication and support (Tim & Lew, 2001).Team atmosphere is a main issue which relates to the tension between the athletes. A new team member, injured athletes and separate groups within team may lead to the poor team atmospheres which engender a tense situation in the team. The supports from teammates, coaches and sports managers are the mental underpinning of athletes’ which make them get rid of the negative mood. Without support, athletes may feel helpless and even stress (Tim & Lew, 2001).

Persistent stress may result in long term consequences which may alter the way the athletes feel, thinks and behaves, and may also change their physiological function (Stansfeld et al, 1999; Santer&Murphy, 1995; Cincirpini et al, 1984; Stainbrak &Green, 1983, cited in Tom, et al 2000). Effects of athletes’ stress may work on individuals and teams respectively. For individuals, effects of stress may include: “sleep disturbances, headaches, gastrointestinal upset, cardiovascular disease, anxiety and depression, labile emotions, less of concentration, lack of motivation, substance misuse and poor performance (University of Cambridge, 2008)”. While for team, consequences of stress may mean low morale, increased athletes’ complaints, increased accidents, high absenteeism and poor performance which will influence the development of the team (University of Cambridge, 2008).

Because of the high dangers of the athletes’ stress, how to tackle the problem has become the focus of sports managers. There are some solutions can be used to help sports managers cope with the stress of athletes. First of all, sports managers have to take responsibility for athletes’ diets and ensure athletes maintain good nutrition (Dean, 2007). Secondly, sports managers should prevent athletes from working overload. Therefore, they should give athletes manageable training schedule so that they will not feel too tired. Keep good relationship with athletes and manage the relationship between athletes are both important for sports managers. The supports from teammates, coaches and sports managers are the mental underpinning of athletes which can help them release from stress (Tim & Lew, 2001).

To athletes, stress is a persistent problem which often influences their performance and life. Although sports managers are trying to deal with the situation and some of them have been taken some solutions, athletes continue to be affected by stress problem (Pensgaard, 1998). The solution taken by sports managers, such as effective time management, health diet and keeping good relationship, are useful at the certain extent. However, some accidents which can not be predicted by sports managers would also result the stress. So, while deal with the existing stress is important, detecting the possible sources of stress for athletes may be is a more effective way to avoid the happening of pressure (Pensgaard, 1998).

Bibliography

Pensgaard AM, Ursin H. (1998). ‘Stress, control, and coping in elite athletes’ in Scand J Med Sci Sports Journal Vol. 8 pp183-189

Tim, W. & Lew. H. (2001). ‘ A case study of Organizational Stress in Elite Sport’in APPLIED SPORT PSYCHOLOGY Journal Vol. 13 pp207-238

Tom. C et al. (2000) Research on Work-related Stress. Bilbao: European Agency for Safety and Health at work (see Epi)

Life. ‘Stress at work’.

< http://www.lifepositive.com/mind/psychology/stress/stress-at-work.asp>

Joan, M. & Sebastian W. (2008) English for Academic Study: Speaking. England: Garnet Publishing Ltd

Human Resources Division of Cambridge University. (2008) ‘Effects of Work-Related Stress’

http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/hr/policy/stress/effects.html> [Accessed on 27/5/2008]

Dean H. (2007) ‘Stress and the Athlete’

http://coachdeanhebert.wordpress.com/2007/12/16/stress-and-the-athlete/> [Access on 16/12/2007]

Spirduso et al. (2005) gives the definition of ageing as ‘ A process or group of processes occurring in living organisms that begins with birth and, with the passage of time, leads to a loss of adaptability, functional impairment and eventually death’. Also Swain and Leutholtz (2002) define aging as a result in years of physical inactivity, and that much to do with the biological consequences of age is the sedentary lifestyles most aging people have.

Those who remain physically active throughout life demonstrate much slower rates of physical decline than do the sedentary, and a growing body of research indicates that those who have been sedentary for many years can experience significant improvements by beginning an exercise programme even at very advanced ages (Fiatrone et al. 1990).

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there is over 20 percent of the population in the United Kingdom over the age of 65 and by the year 2025 there is an overall projection that, that value will rise to almost as much as 30% of the population living in the united Kingdom to be over the age of 65 (Mcardle, Katch and Katch 2010).

Research shows that when properly prescribed exercise, elderly people can significantly improve their aerobic power (Eshani 1987), muscular strength and size (Fiatrone et al. 1990; Frontera et al. 1988), and bone density (Dalsky 1989). Improvements in functional movements such as walking speed and stair climbing power have also been reported (Fiatrone et al. 1990). These results can reverse the effects of many years of physical decline and lead to greater independence and a much higher quality of life.

More than half of elderly people have at least one disability or chronic condition, participation in a regular physical activity/exercise programme has many physiological health benefits including reducing the risk and lessening the impact of many chronic diseases (DiPietro, Caspersen and Ostfield 1995).

Aging has numerous effects on organ systems in the body, effecting skeletal muscle, body composition, the cardiovascular system, the metabolic system, the respiratory system, the nervous system, energy expenditure and energy intake and also thermoregulation. These can all seem to be contraindications for exercising when elderly such as thermoregulation being affected this means there is a decreased ability to regulate body temperature when homeostasis is challenged; decreased amount of sweat per active sweat gland; reduced response to increased blood flow during exercise attributable to structure and response of cutenous blood vessels; inadequate ability to reduce splanchnic blood flow during exercise (Kenney 1997 and King, Martin 1998).

In general, if an individual leads an active lifestyle it preserves and enhances skeletal muscle, strength and endurance, flexibility, cardio respiratory fitness and body composition for later life.

Main Content

Physiological Factors

Cardiovascular Fitness + Training

Since many elderly individuals have a low initial fitness level, it is prudent to begin exercise programmes at a low intensity and to progress gradually (Swain and Leutholtz 2002). Low cardiorespiratory fitness is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and all cause mortality (Blazer 1982). Low VO2 peak is associated with reduced ability to perform ADL’s (activities of daily living) including climbing stairs and brisk walking (Birdt 1998). A small improvement in cardiovascular fitness is associated with lower risk of death. Healthy sedentary older men and women can increase their cardiorespiratory fitness by performing aerobic exercise training (Engels et al. 1998: Kuczmarski et al. 1994). Physical activities that the elderly population, should engage in are walking (indoors, outdoors, or treadmill), gardening, swimming (water aerobics), golf and cycling (White 1995).

Combining strength with endurance training is also beneficial for the elderly individual. One study showed that after 6 months of combined resistance and endurance training, older healthy individuals increased their VO2 peak (11%) and their upper and lower body strength (Blazer 1982). The ability to carry out normal daily task such as carrying laundry, vacuuming and climbing stairs translated to carrying 14% more weight and moving 10% faster.

Resistance Training

Elderly individuals, including the oldest old and very frail elderly, demonstrate physiological adaptations to strength training (Kuczmarski et al. 1994). How much adaptation depends on the frequency, volume, mode, type of training and initial training state (Ferketich, Kirby and Alway 1998). Strength training has the potential to improve functional capacity and quality of life of the elderly person (Fiatrone et al. 1990). Most elderly individuals can participate in a resistance training programme that is individually designed. Those with hypertension or arthritis or at risk of osteoporotic fracture need to be assessed and evaluated by a physician prior to initiating resistance training programme (White 1995).

A ACSM recommendation for the elderly that bears some scrutiny is the recommendation to use machines as apposed to free weights. Swain and Leutholtz (2002) evaluates that although it is true that machines require less skill, free weights have the advantage of teaching balance and greater neuromuscular control, which may be transferrable to real world activities. Furthermore they also talk about free weights being more superior by allowing the user to add small amount of weight onto their dumbbells i.e. 1kg whereas resistance machines normally have increments of 4.5kg or more which is a large leap when the user is frail, on the other hand ACSM realise that machines require less balance requirements and the risk of injury.

Resistance training programmes lasting from 8 weeks to 1 year can increase muscle strength and mass in elderly, regardless of age and sex (Fiatrone et al. 1990).

Psychological + Sociological Factors

International Society of Sport Psychology (1992) states that “Individual psychological benefits of physical activity include: positive changes in self perceptions and well-being, improvement in self-confidence and awareness, positive changes in mood, relief of tension, relief of feelings such as depression and anxiety, influence on premenstrual tension, increased mental well-being, increased alertness and clear thinking, increased energy and ability to cope with daily activity, increased enjoyment of exercise and social contacts, and development of positive coping strategies.”

Many older individuals do not have a spouse, close children or friends to rely on for socialization, assistance and support (Evans 1999). Although with age, social relationships may change from family to more formalized organizations or nonfamily members, many elderly live in social isolation and are very lonely. This is important because epidemiological studies have demonstrated a relationship between social support and physical health (Evans 1999). To add on to this it has been show that in several studies, lack of social support is a major risk factor for depression, morbidity and mortality (Engels et al. 1998).

Participation in an organized training session provides an excellent opportunity for interaction between other elderly people and when organising a session it is been seen to do all activities as in one whole group to get a more major interaction between participants (Evans 1999). Also another method which could be used to improve social interaction for the elderly participating in a exercise program could include a ‘buddy’ exercise system where individuals are matched up with similar ability to perform their exercises together.

Exercise Recommendations

Physical activity recommendations for the elderly are updated regularly by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM 2000).

High intensity activities such as running, rowing, aerobic/gravity riders, and stair steppers may not be appropriate unless the individual has a rare high fitness level. Low to moderate intensity exercise programmes can be performed daily. Higher intensity exercise sessions (>70% heart rate reserve) should only be performed 3 to 5 days per week (ACSM 2000). This allows for recovery days, which are more important for the older adult than the younger person as elders recover slower. Older individuals with a low exercise capacity may benefit from multiple daily sessions of short duration, whereas the more capable individual can benefit from three sessions per week with exercise bouts performed once per day (ACSM 2000).

Elderly individuals who are unable to perform ambulatory activities may be candidates to perform seated chair activities, stationary cycling and water activities. T’ ai chi is seen to be one of the best activities for elderly individuals to undertake as it improves strength and balance according to Dalsky (1989).

For the healthy older individual, it is recommended that exercise be performed minimally for 30 minutes but not beyond an hour in duration. If an individual beginning an exercise programme is predominately sedentary, has severe chronic disease, or has a very low fitness level, a minimum of 30minutes of continuous activity may not be possible. Sessions of as little as 10 minutes two or three times a day is appropriate in this situation. Health benefits are still obtained this way (ACSM 2000).

National and Regional Strategies
Summary

Physical activity of light to moderate intensity helps to improve health, whereas moderate to high intensity physical activity with an emphasis on aerobic endurance improves cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2) as well as health in older individuals. Elderly individuals demonstrate improvements during resistance training by increasing muscle mass and strength; this improves gait, balance, and overall functional capacity and bone health this staving off chronic diseases such as osteoporosis and improve overall quality of life. There are also psychological benefits associated with regular physical activity and exercise. Dr. Robert Butler, former director of the National Institute of Aging states ‘If exercise could be put in a bottle, it would be the strongest medicine money could buy’

In general the elderly person can improve physical and mental health by performing regular physical activity, and this should be encouraged by all medical and exercise professionals.

Ultimately, regardless of age or level of frailty, nearly all elderly persons can derive some physiologic, functional or quality of life benefit from initiating an exercise programme.

Training Sessions

Mode

Frequancy

Itenisity

Duration

Special Considerations

Aerobic Training

Intensity

Load

Reference Page

American College of Sports Medicine. (2000) ACSM’s Guidlines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. 6th Edition. Baltimore: Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins.

Birdt, T.A. (1998) Alzheimer’s disease and other primary dementia. In Harrison’s principles of internal medicine. New York: McGraw and Hill; pp. 2348-2356.

Blazer, D.G. (1982) Social support and mortality in an elderly community population. American Journal of Epidemiology; 115:684-694.

Dalsky, G.P. (1989) The role of exercise in the prevention of osteoporosis. Comprehensive Therapy. 15(9):30-37.

DiPietro L, Caspersen C.J., Ostfield A.M. (1995) A survey for assessing physical activity among older adults. Medical Science Sports and Exercise; 25: 628-642.

Engels, H.J., Drouin, J., Zhu, W., Kazmierski, J.F.(1998) Effects of low impact, moderate intensity exercise training with and without wrist weights on functional capacities and mood status on older adults. Gerontology: 44:239-244

Eshani, A.A. (1987). Cardiovascular adaptations to exercise training in the elderly. Journal of Applied Physiology. 46:1840-1843

Evans, W.J.(1999) Exercise Training Guidelines for The Elderly. Medical Science of Sport and Exercise; 31:12-17

Ferketich, A.M., Kirby, T.E., Alway, S.E. (1998) Cardiovascular and muscular adaptations to combined endurance and strength training in elderly women. Acta Physiology Scandinavia; 259-267.

Fiatarone, M.A., Marks E.C., Ryan N.D., Meredith C.N., Lipsitz L.A., Evans W.J. (1990) High intensity strength training in nonagenarians. Journal of American Medical Association. 263:3029-3034.

Frontera, W.R., Meredith, C.N. O’Reilly, K.P. Knuttgen, H.G. Evans, W.J. (1988) Strength conditioning in older men: Skeletal muscle hypertrophy and improved function. Journal of Applied Physiology, 64:1038-1044.

International Society of Sport Psychology (1992). Physical activity and psychological benefits: International Society of Sport Psychology Position Statement. The Physician and Sports medicine, 20(10), 179-184.

Keen, W.L. (1993) The older Athlete: Exercise in hot environments. Sports Science Exchange 6:44.

King, A.C. and Martin, J.E. (1998) Physical Activity promotion: Adoption and Maintenance. American College of Sports Medicines Research Manual for Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins pp 564-569.

Knutzen, K.M., Brilla, L.R. and Caine, D. (1999) Validity of 1RM prediction equations for older adults. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 13, 242-246.

Kuczmarski, R.J., Flegal, K.M., Campbell, S.M., Johnson, C.L. (1994) Increasing prevalence of overweight among U.S. adults. Journal of American Medical Association; 272:205-211.

McArdle, W.D., Katch, F.I. and Katch V.I. (2010) Exercise Physiology: Nutrition, Energy and Human Performance. 7th Edition. Baltimore: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.

Seguin, R. and Nelson, M.E. (2003) The benefits of strength training for older adults. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 25 (Suppl. 2), 141-149.

Spirduso WW, Francis KL, MacRae PG (2005). Physical Dimensions of Ageing (2nd ed). Human Kinetics, Champaign, IL, pp. 131-55.

Swain, D.P and Leutholtz, B.C. (2002) Exercise Prescription: A case study approach to the ACSM Guidelines. Champaign: Human Kinetics.

White, T.P. (1995) Skeletel muscle structure and function in older mammals. In Perspectives in Exercise Science and Sports Medicine. Carmel: Cooper; pp.115-174.

Violence and Sports

For as long as sports have been around, the issue of violence has always played an influential role and raised some controversy. Violence that occurs in and around the sporting world has resulted in severe physical and psychological repercussions for those involved. Mild forms of violence are accepted in some sports such as football and hockey. Participants in these sports, by the very act of taking part, have accepted the “inevitability of rough contact” (Maguire). These participants, however, cannot control injuries sustained from activity that violates the written and unwritten rules of the sport. An example of this occurred in 2003, when football player Bill Romanowski attacked and injured one of his teammates, Marcus Williams, during a scrimmage. Williams was forced to retire after Romanowski confronted Williams after a play, ripped off his helmet, and crushed his eye socket with a punch. Another instance of this occurred in this year’s NHL playoffs when a player named Niklas Kronwall hit a player named Martin Havlat. In the process it is likely that Havlat got a concussion, either from the hit itself, or the fall, or both. Havlat was unconscious on the ice for about a minute and because of the concussion, he missed the rest of the playoffs and some long-term damage may have occurred. Critics claim that violence in sports is a good way to release aggression and that violence draws more attention and improves ratings, but sport commissioners and league officials need to make stricter rules because violence in sports impact society in a negative way, causes long-term damage, and can escalate to other issues.

In the article “Violence and Sports – Ugly but Useful,” psychology professor and author Joseph Maguire discusses how violence is an integral part of contemporary sports. Maguire claims that aggression and violence are natural and that these two traits are instinctive and inevitable aspects of human behavior. He also claims that, “sports are seen as a form of catharsis; they allow for the safe and channeled release of the aggression that is part of every person’s instinctive makeup” (Maguire). Take boxing for example the aggressive nature of a boxing contest is an action that will not necessarily be well embraced outside of the sports arena. If two people start punching each other in the middle of the street they will get in trouble, but once they step into a ring in front of an audience, its socially acceptable. Maguire’s claim that violence in sports allows athletes to release aggression is a flawed underlying assumption. What he is saying is that if these athletes could not participate in sports then they would find other ways to release their anger and aggression, such as murder and rape. If this was the case, then retired athletes would all be in jail, and thats rarely ever an occurrence. Not everyone in the world is a violent person and most athletes do not play their sport to release aggression; they play either for money or the love of the game. Maguire also goes into more detail discussing what kind of violence is acceptable in sports. He explains:

“Borderline violence” consists of behaviors that violate the official rules of the sport but that are accepted by players and fans alike as a legitimate part of the game. Such behavior – a fistfight in ice hockey or an intentional foul in association football’s penalty zone – is rarely subject to legal proceedings and tends to be dealt with by penalties imposed by referees, umpires, or league administrators.

Baseball players get into scuffles all the time. A baseball player can throw a baseball 90 mph at another player’s head and then fistfight over the incident and only receive a few games suspension. That is a little ridiculous considering the serious injuries that have occurred. Fights in baseball have resulted in serious injuries that can easily prevented by a stricter punishment. If the punishment was say, jail-time for example, then baseball players would definitely think twice before fighting. Violence in sports is not an integral part of the game, and the punishment should be much greater than what it currently is.

In the book Media, Sports, & Society, author Lawrence A. Wenner discusses how violence in sports is acceptable because sports spectators love aggression and that it improves audiences and television ratings. Wenner states that serious sports have nothing to do with fair play, “it is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard for all rules, and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence” (275). Despite Wenner’s statement being a little extreme, he is correct that spectators do love aggression. For example, the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is a league of fighting which includes mixed-martial-arts. It has drawn an overwhelming amount of attention and despite some people calling it “human cockfighting” it has drawn high ratings. UFC’s success comes from blood-thirsty fans that enjoy watching violence in sports from their own living rooms. Wenner also explains:

There is a bloodthirstiness in people that manifests itself in mob scenes. People feel safer accepting violence when they are seated in numbers of other spectators. A group of spectators watching an organized event that they know is going to be violent is far more likely to accept violence and mayhem than bystanders on a street who witness a violent crime. (277)

Spectators may enjoy violence from the comfort of their seats or their home, but what about the athletes that are partaking in the violent events? It is sad that our society has reached a point where people can enjoy watching violence and not think about the repercussions. Many athletes are seriously injured through events that can be avoidable; but audiences enjoy watching aggression and it will continue as long as ratings are up. The society is coming closer to the point when fighting in the street will not be looked on with disdain by the public. The recent surge in staged fights at schools, with the purpose of filming and posting on the internet is another example. Many students do not turn away in disgust at these fights; instead, they egg on the participants and happily record them. It cannot be argued that the majority of sports spectators enjoy aggression and roughness in sports; but in order to save sports, most of the fighting and all the inappropriate aggression needs to be abolished. Fans can still enjoy watching a game without violence and spectators will continue to watch sports even if a stand is taken against violence and the rules are stricter. For example the 2007 Stanley Cup Final featured the Anaheim Ducks and the Ottawa Senators. The two teams were ranked 2nd and 3rd in game misconduct respectively, with Anaheim leading the league in fighting majors with 71. The 2007 Stanley Cup had below-average television ratings and the United States rankings on NBC were down 20% from the previous year’s series. On the other hand, the 2008 Stanley Cup drew one of the highest Stanley Cup ratings ever. The Detroit Redwings and Pittsburgh Penguins combined for only 72 fighting majors during the course of the 2007-08 season, which was one more than the Anaheim Ducks of 2007.

In the book “Sport Matters” author and sociology professor Eric Dunning discusses how violence in sports impacts other aspects of society in a negative way. He begins by talking about the violent behavior of the crowd at sporting events and some of the riots that have occurred. An example he gives was during a Monday Night Football game between the New England Patriots and the New York Jets in 1977. Dunning describes that riots broke out during the game due to rowdy and drunk fans and the game was interrupted half a dozen times. Two fans died while another thirty spectators were taken to the hospital; and this riot was not even one of the worse ones. Dunning stated that “the Foxboro police chief claimed to have seen ‘even worse’ incidents (171). People may ask then what causes these riots and what makes fans so violent and aggressive? Dunning answers this question by suggesting:

In common with other Western industrial societies, the USA has highly publicized mass spectator sports, some of which, especially baseball, (gridiron) football, and (ice) hockey, have a pronounced macho emphasis. The USA also has a long-established tradition of street gangs, and the dominant norms of masculinity – the ‘John Wayne’ image – lay stress on fighting and ability to ‘handle oneself’. (175)

Our society promotes being “manly” and “macho” and this has led to an inappropriate aggression by spectators in sports Spectators are supposed to watch and enjoy the game, acting violent and disrupting the game is certainly uncalled for. Another example of how violence in sports impacts other aspects of society in negative ways is how parents act at their children’s sporting events. In the article “Aggression in Sports” author and Psychology professor Daniel L. Wann states that “parents of children involved in sports often behave aggressively in sporting environments” (S32). Violence and aggression comes into play due to the competitive nature of sports and parents wanting to see their child succeed. A parent getting involved in their child’s sport is great, but like professional sport spectators, they cross the line when they bring violence into sports.

There have been some instances where violence in sports has not been enough and athletes have turned to illegal actions to supplement their aggression. For example many athletes including household names such as Kobe Bryant and Mike Tyson have been accused of rape. Former pro-football quarterback and current Executive Director of the Sports Leadership Institute Don McPherson discusses the connection between sexual violence and sports:

Early in life most boys hear the insult ‘you throw like a girl’ or something of this nature. I call it the language of sport as it attacks ones masculinity in an effort to inspire or degrade. The reality is that it teaches and perpetuates sexist and misogynistic attitudes and until it’s addressed, sport will continue to be a breeding ground for narrow masculinity and misogyny.

Violence in sports makes masculinity a desired attribute and in some cases, athletes who strive for a sense of masculinity turn to sexual violence. Athletes have also turned to illegal actions other than rape and sexual violence and have caused fatal damage. An example of this is when former wrestler Chris Benoit murdered his family and then committed suicide. It was a tragic incident and was thought to have occurred because of steroid abuse, but was later found that it was brought on by mental problems due to multiple concussions. In the article “The Concussion Time Bomb” author Steve Maich describes that “In rare cases, victims might suffer from post-concussion syndrome in which symptoms refuse to subside, or return with a vengeance when patients physically exert themselves” (50). In Benoit’s case, the concussions he received while wrestling caused him to return with a vengeance toward both himself and his family, resulting in fatal damage.

In the book Sex, Violence, & Power in Sports, America sociologist and author Mike Messner discusses how violence in sports can cause serious long-term damage. Similar to what happened with Chris Benoit, multiple hits and blows in sports can lead to damage that in some cases can not be fixed. Messner explains:

The way athletes are taught to regard their bodies as machines and weapons with which to annihilate opponents often results in their using violence against their own bodies. Partly for this reason, former professional players in the United States have an average life-expectancy of about fifty-six years – roughly fifteen years shorter than the overall average life-expectancy of U.S. males. (95)

American culture and the media still glorify the violence in sports despite the thousands of serious and permanent injuries that occur every year. Athletes are taught to play through pain and though it gives the athlete a masculine and tough persona, playing through pain can lead to serious damage. An example of this is

Messner states, “Although most wore these injuries with pride, like badges of masculine status, athletes also grudgingly acknowledge that their healthy bodies were a heavy price to pay for glory” (95).

The Ultimate Exercise

The smell of sweat, rubber and rust swirl through the air as an athlete prepares to step under a squat bar loaded with the next weight he is about to move. As the athlete steps under the bar, he thinks about his position and form. Then removes the weight and using proper technique, moves the weight for multiple repetitions before returning the weight back to the rack.

The squat is a movement that is extremely useful for people of all ages or gender. This is because it is a natural movement that is found in everyday life. It also has other health benefits that can help improve things like joint pain, muscle mass and tone, as well as cardio vascular health. With proper technique and form, the squat can improve multiple aspects of life.

There are many different styles of squatting. Although at the core of it they all are the same motion, each squatting style has its own benefits compared to the others. Some different examples of squat styles include the style most people think of when they think of squatting. This is back squat. There is also front squat and overhead squat. Within each of these styles there are also different variations to these motions to create improvements in different aspects of life.

The back squat is the most recognizable form of the squat. This style in itself has many benefits, but to unlock these benefits you must make sure that you have the proper form and technique. This is imperative for your health and safety. According to Dariusz Czaprowski, Ryszard Biernat, and Agnieszka Kedra in their article “SQUAT – RULES OF PERFORMING AND MOST COMMON MISTAKES Squat – methodology of teaching,” they break down learning the squat into three stages

Stage one talks about reshaping the body so that the movement starts with a “hip hinge (Czaprowski 4).” Czaprowski also states that when people begin their attempt at a squat, they usually begin with bending their knees. This causes “shearing and compression forces” on the knee. This is why the hip hinge should be the first action when completing the squat. (3)

The motion of the squat is the next important stage. This motion is best described in “Back Squat Exercise: A Primer” by John M. Cissik. He breaks done the motion of the squat into three different phases. These phases are broken down into “Start, Descend, and Ascend” (Cissik 29). Cissik starts talking about the Start position by saying,

At the beginning of the back squat, the barbell is positioned on the squat rack. The athlete should step underneath the bar so that it rests on the back of his/her shoulders. The bar should be positioned where it is comfortable or the athlete. The athlete should stand up and step out of the squat rack. The feet should be even and between hip width and shoulder width apart with the weight on the athlete’s heels. The athlete should look straight ahead or slightly up. Before beginning the descent, the athlete should inflate the chest and pull the shoulders back, this action tightens the muscles along the spine helping to protect the lumbar vertebrae. (29)

By performing the steps given here by Cissik, the athlete will have a very safe starting position.

One the athlete is in the start position, Cissik then explains step by step the safe way of descending with the weight. This is very important because improper form, as stated before, can take away from the benefits of the exercise as well as increase the possibility for injury. The second phase is the descend. This phase is described by Cissik by saying,

From the start position, the athlete descends by pushing the hips back and unlocking the knees. As this is done, the weight remains on the heels. The athlete should squat down until the thighs are parallel to the floor, unless there is an injury that would modify this. As the athlete is descending, the chest needs to remain inflated with the shoulders pulled back. (29)

At the bottom of the descend phase immediately starts the third and final stage of the squat the Ascend (Cissik 29). At this point in the squat the athlete is at their lowest point. The article then explains how to perform the Ascend phase:

Once the athlete has reached the bottom position, the athlete should reverse directions and stand up. As this is done, the hips and shoulders need to rise up at the same speed to prevent the athlete from toppling forward. The athlete needs to remember to keep the chest inflated and the shoulders back throughout the ascent. (Cissik 29)

After the completion of the Ascend phase the athlete has then completed the entire squat.

With an understanding of the form and motion of the back squat, why would someone want to add this into their workout program? There are multitudes of benefits that are cited in multiple articles and journals including increased mobility, strength, functional strength, as well as many other benefits to be described later in this paper.

The main benefits that many people, men and women, should be interested in are that the squat increases functional strength as well as an increase in flexibility and strength. These will benefit not only in moving weight at a weight room, but also in doing daily activities.

The squat motion is an extremely primal motion that has been used since human beings have been on the earth. They have used this motion to hunt food, gather food items such as berries and vegetables, and move obstacles. This is why when an athlete does a squat they not only work their lower body, but they also are working the nervous system (Vales). The squat is also found throughout our day. The functionality of this movement allows us to do things like lift heavy objects and jump to reach an object. The squat also aids in creating proper posture (Cohen).

Although men are normally viewed as the type of athlete that would perform a squat, there are also many benefits for women. These include (but are not limited to) aiding in conception and the birthing process, weight loss, muscle toning, and improve balance (Daniel). Squatting in the later weeks of pregnancy helps in the birthing process by opening the pelvic area. This creates a shorter delivery time. It also creases a safer environment for a woman and her baby. Squatting increases balance and leg strength. Gains in these areas decrease the risk of falls protecting both the woman and child (Martinez).

Some of the main benefits of a squat come for an athlete or someone trying to become fit. The squat not only helps with the functionality of daily live but also helps with muscle growth, increases testosterone production, increases speed as well as vertical jump, and tones abs and muscles (Vale).

Other than the well-known back squat there many other variations of squatting you can incorporate into a workout to activate different muscle groups for specified training. The main squat variations other than your typical back squat include the Front Squat, Over-Head Squat, Zercher Squats, Anderson Squats, Bulgarian Split Squats, and One-Legged Squats. Each of these squats use the same general motion, but all have different techniques to improve your specific areas of fitness (Smith).

The first variation most typically used after the Back Squat is the Front squat. This style of squatting consists of holding a barbell across the shoulders on the front side of the body. Placing the bar here trains the quadriceps, core, and the upper back more by putting a greater emphasis on these areas. This squat is also much easier to perform correctly due to the position of the center of gravity. By including this lift into a workout regimen, athletes will gain greater strength in the core and upper back as well as increase balanced leg strength (Smith).

The front squat is also a better alternative for people struggling with some back problems. This is because the Front Squat decreases spinal compression as well as spinal flexion and Torque (Behar). The author, Jeff Behar, explains in his article “7 Benefits of Front Squats” by explaining “The difficulty of the exercise [The Front Squat] results in less weight being able to be used. Less weight on the bar, equals less spinal compression.” He also tells readers that “By carrying the bar in the front, you reduce spinal flexion. This makes the Front Squats a safer leg exercise for your back” (Behar).

After the Front squat in popularity is the Over Head Squat. This movement helps increase balance, mobility and muscular control by holding a barbell over the head. Also, this variation of the squat helps perfect the Snatch lift. Smith explains this by saying “The overhead squat strengthens the midpoint of the barbell snatch and is essential to mastering that particular lift.” This lift also emphasizes hip mobility more than any other variation of the squat (Smith).

Another squat style that can help you in other aspects of lifting exercises is the Zercher Squat (Smith). In the article, Smith explains the motion of the squat by saying “With your elbows bent at your side, place the barbell in the crook of your bent elbows. Squat until your elbows go between your knees or the bar touches your thighs. That’s one advantage of the Zercher: It tells you when you reach depth.” This movement is accepted by many lifters that do deadlift due to the similar base of a deadlift movement (Smith).

After performing many of these styles, athletes may notice that they “Bounce” at the bottom of the movement. The Anderson Squat was designed to take away this bounce and create a more honest lift from the bottom of the squat. This lift also helps with control at the bottom of the squat movement. This will help with your other squat movements (Smith). The motion is explained by the author when he says

Simply place the barbell on the safety pins in a rack at a height that would be at or near the bottom position of your squat. Be sure to pause between reps with the bar on the safety pins. This will ensure you don’t cave to the temptation to bounce for assistance. (Smith)

All of the variations of the squat motion talked about so far have required the use of both legs activating at the same time. The last two are different in the fact that you use one leg at a time. The One-Legged squat and Bulgarian Squat both require balance and strength to be performed, but when mastered they both train balance (Smith). This is because your body is more stable when you stand on two legs.

The Bulgarian Split is performed similarly to the back squat with position of the barbell. The difference comes when you place one foot behind you. The squat motion is explained by Smith in his article by saying “Place one foot a few feet behind you on a bench or raised platform. Keeping an upright torso, begin by pushing your hips back, like in a back squat. Allow your back leg to bend at the knee.” This squat uses unilateral movement to correct imbalances between the right and left side of the body. This style of squat can also be done using a Front Squat bar position (Smith).

The final squat variation is the One-Legged Squat. This is described by Smith as “The ultimate test of unilateral strength like the one-armed push-up or pull-up.” This is because the athlete is squatting their bodyweight on a single leg. This variation is very useful in developing balance. Once this motion is mastered, the athlete can then perform the movement while holding light weights (Smith).

Although there are many forms and variations to the squat, they all are the same basic motion at its core. This is why the squat is essential to any fitness program. With so many benefits, the squat is so essential to the holistic health and fitness of any athlete at any fitness level.

Works Cited

Behar, Jeff. “7 Benefits of Front Squats.”MuscleMagFitness.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 July 2014. http://www.musclemagfitness.com/fitness-and-exercises/weight-lifting/7-benefits-of-front-squats.html.

Cissik, John M. “Back Squat Exercise: A Primer.”Modern Athlete and Coach(2011): 29-31.UF OneSearch. Web. 25 July 2014. http://metis.findlay.edu:2113/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=da7d75bd-90ab-4944-a0c0-7d198225b8c0%40sessionmgr110&vid=2&hid=115.

Cohen, Ron. “A New Persective on Squats, Lunges, and Living Life.”Contemplative Fitness. N.p., 6 Mar. 2010. Web. 25 July 2014. http://contemplativefitness.me/2010/03/06/a-new-persective-on-squats-lunges-and-living-life/.

CZAPROWSKI, DARIUSZ, RYSZARD BIERNAT, and AGNIESZKA KEDRA. “SQUAT – RULES OF PERFORMING AND MOST COMMON MISTAKES Squat – methodology of teaching.”Polish Journal of Sport & Tourism19 (2012): 3-7. Web. 23 July 2014. http://metis.findlay.edu:2113/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=95bf5c29-9499-438b-88cb-6403cb194804%40sessionmgr115&vid=2&hid=115.

Daniel, Harri. “Benefits of Squats for Women.”BenefitOf.com. N.p., 8 June 2011. Web. 25 July 2014. http://benefitof.net/benefits-of-squats-for-women/.

Martinez, Eliza. “Squats Exercise for Pregnant Women.”The Nest. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 25 July 2014. http://woman.thenest.com/squats-exercise-pregnant-women-1072.html.

Smith, Christopher. “Meet The Squats: 7 Squat Variations You Should Be Doing.”BodyBuilding.com. N.p., 10 July 2013. Web. 25 July 2014. http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/meet-the-squats-7-squat-variations-you-should-be-doing.html.

Vales, John. “The 15 Benefits of Squats.”Outlaw Fitness. N.p., 2014. Web. 25 July 2014. http://www.outlawfitnesshq.com/the-15-benefits-of-squats/.

1.0 Introduction

Before the day, the sport is no more joining by the students because they put most of the effort to their class study, and the sport facilities only was important to the minority of applicants who hoped to play in university teams. Although the sport not making interest for student to join at pass time, but nowaday, that has changed, many student was take part in regular physical activity since the benefit of healthy was attach important now.

So a University was require the University sports executive in relation to their project for developing a new University Sports facility. The executive is impressed with most of the work that has been done but has concerns about the viability of the project. It has a problem that these students who study in University may use other facilities nearer their home rather than join the new University facility, because more of them live at home than University hostel. This problem may make University bear a high expensive because of lack of member going join their new sport facibility, so they need to investigate a potential secondary segment of clients for the sports facility other than the full-time students for incerease their revenue to recover the high expensive.

For this goal, the University sport executive need to make a reseach or report of detail and justification of secondary segment, the specific macro environmental issues in the market which will bring the opportunities or threats. Beside that, the promotion and offering of the new University Sports facility is need to plan for attract the new member from outside of the University and also giving a reasonable price to new member for this new University Sports facility .

2.0 Content
2.1 Detail and justification of the secondary segment

Since the University worry about there may lack of their student to joining their new University sport facilities, so they wish can aim to the second segment to rises thier revenue for it.The second segment is target to the ppl who are age 38-56 years old, adult.This is target to the person who are on the way to retire or already retired. This kind of people are very take care for thier healthy at life after their retire and the following life, and since they were reaching a high salary with working many year for their company.So, they willing to pay for the product or service that can improve their healthy. The new University sport facilities can satisfying their need and provide the profesional coach to train thier strenght and health by teach them using the new sport facilities to exercise.

2.2 Macro environmetal Issue

“The company and all of the pther actors operate in a larger macroenvironment of forces that shape opportynities and pose threats to the company.(Kotler,Armstrong 2004)” The macroenvironment include demographic environment, economic environment, natural environment, technological environment, political environment, and cultural environment.

Demography refers to the study of the human populations in terms of size, age, race, occupation, density, location, and density. It is very important to undestand the demographic environment because it is very helpful in deivide the human populations into the market segment and how they going target into which market. For example, according to the born of the years,we can saw there have 3 generations before this, such as baby boomers, who are born between 1946 and 1964, generation X, who are born between 1965 and 1976, and generation Y, who are born between 1977 and 1994. The generation of the baby boomers are the larger number of this 3 generation. So if the marketing segmatation can include this generation and that may bring a high revenue for the market because they are become mature nowaday and getting a stable job and may reaching they higher income earning in this many year they work before. They would like to spend and making purchases when thier income is getting high than other new generation. According to all of this, they also treat their healthy very important because of the larger age and willing to pay for their health care, so if the new Universitiy sport facibilities can segment to this generation and it will bring a opportunities for the University.

Economic environment refer what is the way that make the potential consumer would like to make purchases and willing to pay for the products or services. “Change in major economic variables such as income, cost of living, interest rates , and savings and borrowing patterns have a large impact on the marketplace.(Kotler,Armstrong 2004)” For example, if the personal income of every worker is rising then their purchasing power will increasing and would like to make payment for the products and services, it is provide opportunities to market. In other hand, if the economic fall down and getting bad,such as increasing of the unemployment rates, then the money will be hold by the consumer to survive and reduce the purchasing power.

Natural environment is about the natural resources that a company uses as inputs and the possible of their marketing activities may cause pollution to the natural or no. Threat for this enviroment will bring to the firm or company when their marketing activities are increasing the pollution, cause the shortages of raw materials seriously and increasing governmental intervention because of the complaint from the public sector. All of this will affect the company’s reputation and make it hard to getting their goal or mission because the intervention of the government to their business activities.

The technological environment is one of the fastest changing factors in the macroenvironment and no one can ignore this. That is very important to understand the changes of technological “because competitors will exploit it sooner or later, with implications for your product and its market. (Brassington, Stephen)” Technological advance in a company can help and give opportunity for them to create the new markets and new uses for products and maximum their profit in market. Another advantages that getting technological in advance are can negotiating the right of the skill or technological right and development of the marketable product with successful from it before the competition.

The political environment is strongly affect the marketing decisins and it include the laws and regulation set by the government that limit the business action in social. That is very important for the company to be aware of these restrictions in this market.It always cause the threat for the company since the law and regulation often limit thier activities and they need to making decision for a long time period to fulfill in the right situation.

2.3 Outline of the new university sport facilities’s offer

The benefits that the new university sport facilities going to offer to the member can attract the interest of the people to join whether the main objective of it is improvement of healthy. The offer provided just is a activity that influece and increase the motivation of them to join the new universitiy sport facilities. Here are the offers that provide to the new members:

Bonus for introduce of new member
Lastest model of sport facilities provided
Free professional coach teaching
Security
Free safety insurance
Free try for a day
Discout of member fees
2.4 Pricing strategy

In this new University sport facilities, the amount of the fees to the new member is very important because it may decide how many people willing to join depend to the price. The pricing strategy that use must satisfying the consumer need and enable to pay from every one. The market-penetration pricing can using for it and it is setting a low price with provide high quality of the product and service. It bring advantages to attract larger amount of the consumer to join and also gain larger market share. The lower price setting also can bring the opportunity to consumer to choose the new Universities sport facilities as their first choice. In other hand, it also will have the threat that seeting the lower price.Some of the consumer will treat the lower price will just provide the low quality product or service and they may no willing take risk to try, so in this case, it is need to making communication with them for provide the clearly information from the promotion.

Training is the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. Training has specific goals of improving one’s capability, capacity, productivity and performance. (Wales)

Body’s physiological response during exercise:

Physiological response to exercise depends on intensity, duration and frequency of exercise and also depends on environment surroundings. During exercise requirement of oxygen and substrates in skeletal muscle are increased simultaneously leads to increase removal of metabolites and carbon dioxide. Chemical, mechanical and thermal stimuli affect alterations in metabolic, cardiovascular and ventilator function in order to meet these increased demands (Stokes).

Adenosine triphosphate is a high-energy phosphate molecule that initiate muscle contraction, immediate source of energy supplies to muscle are initially provided by energy sources like ATP and Phosphocreatine before other aspects of metabolism are activated. Pulmonary ventilation increases as increase in respiratory rate to cope up increase in oxygen demand (Stokes)

Some enzymes (ATPase) are able to use the energy stored between ADP and Pi bond. Water is involved is called hydrolysis. Each molecule of ATP releases 7.3 k cal.(30.7 kj) Energy can also provided by acetylate kinase reaction where ATP is produced from the conversion of two molecules of adenosine diphosphate(ADP to adenosine monophosphate(Amp) and ATP. (Stokes)Phosphocreatine stored in the muscle is a high-energy source for skeletal muscle it contributes energy in first 10 seconds of high intensity activities such as sprinting and are rapidly depleted but they provide important energy source in first few seconds of exercise before other aspects of metabolism are activated. (Stokes)

resynthesis of ATP from energy-dense substrates glycolysis is a pathway by which glycogen and glucose are converted to two pyruvate molecules in the presence of oxygen, pyruvate enters the Krebs cycle via acetyl coA. Each turn of the Krebs cycle produces hydrogen carriers that enter the electron transport chain (ETC) and ultimately donate H+ to oxygen to form water, allowing ETC to proceed, however, when oxygen is not present, ETC cannot proceed which prevents flux through the Krebs cycle and result in a build up of pyruvate(Stokes. If it was allowed to continue the glycolysis may stop and no further ATP would be synthesized. Fortunately, pyruvate can accept the hydrogen carrier, forming lactic acid yields only 3 moll ATP per molecule of glycogen, but this can occur in absence of oxygen. In contrast, complete breakdown of glycogen via glycolysis, the Krebs cycle and the ETC yields 39 ATP per molecule of glycogen. (Stokes) Fatty acids are more energy dense than glycogen and there are very large stores of fat in adipose tissue, all energy stored as fat is stored as glycogen, body mass would increase by 50 Kg. Fatty acids are catabolized and enter into the Krebs cycle and ETC. A fully oxidized fat yields 129 molecules of ATP. The rate of resynthesize of fat is too slow to be of great importance during high intensity training. During exercise ventilation might increase from values around 5-6 liters min to >100 liter min. in an average young male, resting oxygen consumption is about 250 ml min and in endurance athlete during internes exercise might reach 5000 ml min (Stokes).Changes which occur in arterial pH, PO2 and PCO2 values during exercise are usually small, the increased reliance on glycolysis results in increased accumulation of lactic acid, which initially leads to an increase in PaCO2. Ventilation increases abruptly in the initial stages of exercise and is then followed by a more gradual increase. (Stokes) Oxygen requirements of working skeletal muscles are dramatically elevated above resting requirements. Resting blood flow to muscle is usually 2–4 ml•100 g muscle?1 min?1, but might increase to nearly 100 ml•100 g muscle?1 min?1 during maximal exercise. The circulatory changes which occur are increase blood flow to muscle leads to increase in cardiac output which leads to increase oxygen consumption. (Stokes) In the body maximum efficiency for conversion of energy nutrients into muscular work is 20-25%, the remaining is released in non-usable form of heat which raises body temperature this heat is due to increase metabolism in the body during exercise and blood supply to skin is increased which in tern stimulates sweat glands which starts sweating which causes heat loss. (Stokes)

Training in Heat (Rg)

This report discuss the temperatures that are considered hot, how the physiology of a human body adjusts an increase in temperature, what the stages of illness that are caused by heat, along with precautions that should be taken while exercising in heat.

Generally the human body tries to maintain a certain body temperature range. This helps it function within its optimal levels. The normal human body temperature is 37°C. Increases in body temperature of 2°C to 3°C generally do not result in causing ill effects. However, increases in body temperature above 40°C to 41°C can be associated with a variety of heat-related problems (Astrand.P, 1986). During exercise, constant heat is produced as a bi-product of metabolism and muscular contraction. This heat increases the core temperature of the body, which alarms its thermoregulatory mechanism, returning the body back to a homeostatic state. There are two important functions contributing to this mechanism are increase in blood flow to the skin, facilitating cooling and increasing sweating. This sweat helps evaporate the heat and lowers the core temperature.

The result of the aforementioned mechanism leads to cardiovascular strain due to the increase in blood flow to skin, blood flowing to the muscles and the decrease of blood plasma volume, due to sweat loss. This leads to a cardiovascular drift. Cardiovascular drift is due to the competition of the blood flow toward the skin and muscles. This leads to a decrease in stroke volume, meaning in order to maintain cardiac output we would have to increase heart rate. Increasing heart rate helps provide proper blood supply to skin and working muscles.

The process of the body’s core temperature increasing occurs when the blood perforates the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus then signals the rest of the body to reduce its exercise intensity (Phil wallace, 2013) . Exercising in hot climates without proper acclimatization can lead to a severe consequence called “Heat illness.” This illness is categorized into different stages based on the pathological events occurring at that time.

(wordPress, 2012)

Figure taken from (Ali Al-Nawaiseh, 2013)

The different stages of heat illness are:

Heat Cramps: It is thought to be due to the ingesting water with no salt during restitution from thermal dehydration.

Clinical Feature – Defined by a painful muscle cramp.

Heat exhaustion: It is caused by sweat loss that results from exposure to high environmental heat or hard work.

Clinical Feature – Defined by clinical symptoms that involve a high body core temperature and signs of cerebral ischemia such as weakness, fatigue, discomfort, anxiety, dizziness, and headache.

Heat syncope: It reflects cardiovascular failure caused by reduced venous return to the heart due to excessive seat loss.

Clinical features – Includes dizziness, fainting, and pale face.

Heat stroke: It is the most severe heat-related disturbance and can be fatal.

Clinical Feature – Core temperatures greater than 40°C accompanied by hot and dry skin, indicative of impaired thermoregulation. It is also associated with delirium, convulsions or coma, indicating, impaired central nervous system function.

Figure taken from (Yamazaki, 2012)

Heat Acclimatization: – Heat acclimatization is a process which body adapts to temperature change. It happens for the first 10-15 days of initial change, but major change occurs for the first 3 to 4 days. Heat acclimation improves endurance exercise performance in the heat, and thermal comfort at a given exercise rate. The primary adaptations that occur during heat acclimation are: Increased plasma volume by 10% – 12%, earlier onset of sweating, higher sweat rate, reduced salt loss in sweat, reduced blood flow to skin and increased synthesis of heat shock proteins

There are many precautions that need to be taken while exercising in hot environments few of them are “obtain players or exercisers history of previous heat illnesses. Allow a period of seven to the ten days for acclimatization. Instruct players to wear appropriate clothing during the acclimatization period. Take regular measurements of the WBGT index. Encourage players to adequately replace fluids. Record body weight of players before and after, during practice and matches. Identify susceptible players. Constantly be vigilant and monitor players for signs of heat illness. Players must have unlimited access to water”. (International Hockey Federation (FIH), 2010)

Training in Cold Conditions (Tyler)

Exercising in cold temperatures is a complex idea. There are many factors and variables that need to be taken into account before contemplating or beginning to exercise in a cold environment or during a cold season. There are four major topics that we will be discussing: A) Metabolic changes B) Cardiovascular changes C) Thermal aspects and D) Adaptations.

Choosing the correct diet for exercising in the cold can be tricky. After researching the subject there has shown to be no one significantly superior style of diet, whether it is carbohydrate, fat or protein dominant. However, one study did show that more work was achieved after a 3-day high carbohydrate diet (600g/day) as opposed to a 3-day normal diet (300g/day) [Thorp et al. 1990]. This would indicate an important relationship between exercise performance in a cold environment and carbohydrate intake. A study conducted by “Doubt and Hsieh in 1991 and Jacobs et al in 1984, 1985” shows us that venous lactate concentrations are higher with exercise in cold temperatures, which is due to the inverse relationship between muscle temperature and glycolysis. Lactate values have shown to be higher in colder temperature (-2°C), these values also seemed to increase at a slower rate than they did at warmer temperature (+24°C); indicating that there may be a temperature-related delay in lactate release. Samples were taken at the end of each incremental increase in workload throughout the study, leading to these results (Therminarias et al. 1989).

Ventilation experiences an increase when the body is exposed to a colder environment. However, the differences between ventilation in a cold environment and that of warmer environment diminish as we increase our exercise workload (Therminarias et al. 1989). As we know, during respiration our lungs work to bring in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide. However, if there is an increase in ventilation, this could result in the reduction of end-tidal carbon dioxide. Maintaining higher levels of CO2 within the body could eventually lead toward impaired mental function in persons working in a cold environment (Cooper et al. 1976). When we introduce our body into a cold environment, our body reacts. This is usually in the form of the cutaneous thermal receptors sending distress signals to our central nervous system via afferent signalling.

The body uses two mechanisms to account for higher VO2 during exercise in a cold environment. 1) A flux in our total body heat occurs (Nadel 1984; Park et al. 1984; Rennie 1988; Sagawa et al. 1988) 2) Our net mechanical efficiency is decreased (Pendergast 1988). If a flux in total body heat occurs, the body responds via negative feedback. First the body’s thermal receptors detect an unwanted change in body temperature at the skin. These receptors send a message via afferent messaging to the central nervous system which determines the best way to return the body back to its homeostatic state. A signal then is sent from the brain, to the hypothalamus which responds by sending its own message to our muscles forcing them to repeatedly contract at an express pace, this is commonly referred to as “shivering.” The more the body shivers, the more heat that is produced which in turn raises the body’s core temperature. After a homeostatic balance is regained, we begin to stop shivering as the “heat-promoting” portion of the hypothalamus begins to shut down. When considering the efficiency of our body to perform specific actions, we need to take into account how the cold temperature will affect us. Cold muscles tend to have a reduced contractile force, regardless of whether or not the kinetic energy requirement has been altered. This means that the body may have to try and recruit additional motor units to meet the required work output (Blomstrand et al. 1986). Exposure to a cold climate causes significant peripheral vasoconstriction, resulting in elevation of blood pressure. Cold temperature has the ability to affect cardiac output through an increase in intrathoracic blood volume, which is secondary to peripheral vasoconstriction (Pendergast 1988). The increase in intrathoracic volume is indicated through larger increases in stroke volume (McArdle et al 1976) or total body insulation (Rennie 1988). Increasing the intrathoracic blood volume has shown to increase both left ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic dimensions at rest and during exercise (Sheldahl et al. 1984).

Exposure to cold temperatures during exercise can sometimes lead to injury, such as a non-freezing cold injury or frostbite. This can be seen early throughout the distal extremities. The distal extremities depend on blood flow to maintain a suitable local temperature because their intrinsic capacity to generate heat in limited (Doubt & Francis 1989). Our peripheral systems utilize a negative feedback technique to regain a suitable local temperature by alternating vasoconstriction and vasodilation (Rusch et al. 1981).

References

Wales, J. (, 2013). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Training

Stokes , K. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://ceaccp.oxfordjournals.org/content/4/6/185.full

Ali Al-Nawaiseh, M. B. (2013). Physiological Responses of Distance Runners during Normal and Warm Conditions . Journal of Exercise Physiology online, 12.

Astrand.P, K. (1986). Textbook of Work Physiology. New York: McGraw-Hill Companies.

International Hockey Federation (FIH). (2010). Competition in Hot and Humid Enivironments . Guidence competition in Hot and Humid Enivironments, 10.

Phil wallace, M. M. (2013, Novemeber 4). Environmental Ergonomics. St catherines, Ontario, Canada.

wordPress. (2012, February 15). Exercise Physiologist. Retrieved March 27, 2014, from wordpress.com: http://exercisephysiologist.wordpress.com/2012/02/15/the-human-homoeothermy/

Yamazaki, F. (2012). Importance of heat acclimation in the prevention of heat illness during sports activity and work. Importance of heat acclimation in the prevention of heat illness during sports activity and work, 8.

C.J, Baker-Fulco et al (2001). Nutrition for Health and Performance.

J.W, Thorp et al (1990). Work Enhancement and Thermal Changes during Intermittent Work in Cool Water after Carbohydrate Loading.

A, Therminarias et al (1989). Influence of Cold Exposure on Blood Lactate response during Incremental Exercise.

D.R, Pendergast (1988). The Effect of Body Cooling on Oxygen Transport during Exercise. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

D.W, Rennie (1988). Tissue Heat Transfer in Water: Lessons from Korean Divers. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise.

T.J, Doubt (1991 ). Physiology of Exercise in the Cold.

E, Blomstrand et al (1986). Temperature-induced changes in Metabolic and Hormonal Responses to Intensive Dynamic Exercise. Acta Physiologica Scandinavica .

E.R, Nadel (1984). Energy Exchanges in Water. Undersea Biomedical Research.

K.E, Cooper et al (1976). Respiratory and other Responses in subjects immersed in cold water. Journal of Applied Physiology .

L.M, Sheldahl et al (1984). Effect of Central Hypervolemia on Cardiac Performance during Exercise. Journal of Applied Physiology.

N.J, Rusch et al (1981). The Effect of Profound Cooling on Adrenergic Neurotransmission in Cutaneous Veins. Journal of Physiology (London).

S, Sagawa et al. (1988). Water Temperature and Intensity of Exercise in Maintenence of Thermal Equilibrium . Journal of Applied Physiology .

T.J, Doubt et al (1989). Hazards of Cold Water.

W.D, McArdle et al (1976). Metabolic and Cardiovascular Adjustment to Work in Air and Water at 18, 25 and 33C. Journal of Applied Physiology.

Y.S, Park et al (1984). Decrease in Body Insulation with Exercise in Cool Water. Undersea Biomedical Research.

Howley, E. & Powers, S. 2012. Exercise Physiology: Theory and Application to Fitness and Performance. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Hue, O. (2011). The Challenge of Performing Aerobic Exercise in Tropical Environments: Applied Knowledge and Perspectives. International Journal Of Sports Physiology & Performance, 6(4), 443-454.

Hardy and Grace, (1997) outlined the importance of team building research in sport when they suggested whether a team is successful or not is frequently attributed to the effectiveness of their teamwork. To develop the effective team many team building programs attempt to increase cohesion amongst a group as team cohesion can affect performance (Eys et al, 2005). Different areas of group dynamics can be used to increase team cohesion, this section of the report will focus on the research conducted on leadership, role ambiguity and goal setting.

Leadership is an important component for developing cohesion in sports teams (Carron et al, 2005). It has been suggested that effective leadership is a vital contributor to member satisfaction (Reimer & Chellandurai, 1995). Leadership behaviours and styles adopted can have a big impact on team cohesion and subsequent performance. (Carron et al. 2005)

An early study, investigating the relationship between (the coaches) leadership behaviours and team cohesion within sports teams, found adopting a democratic style produced higher levels of task cohesion (Lee et al. 1993). In addition, a variety of studies reported that an increase in social support behaviour increased task cohesion (Lee et al. 1993, Westre & Weiss, 1991; Riemar & Chellandurai, 1995). One study, Riemar & Chellandurai, (1995) went further and examined the leadership behaviours preferred and perceived by players depending on their position. They found defensive athletes perceived and preferred higher levels of social support and democratic and autocratic styles then the offensive athletes. They also found member satisfaction was greatly influenced by social support.

More recent research has tended to focus on the role of the athlete as a leader within the team, for example, the captain. Research has suggested athlete leaders are in fact better than coaches at administering leadership behaviours, such as; a democratic decision making style and social support (Loughead and Hardy, 2005). What’s more, further research has been conducted to assess different types of athlete leadership. For example, Loughead et al, (2006) discovered two types of leader within a sports team; a team captain and a peer leader (supplies leadership to at least 2 team members). In addition, Eys et al, (2007) investigated how 218 athletes perceived the athlete leader distributions within their sports teams. Their results suggest that members of a team are more satisfied when 3 leadership roles (social, task, external) are performed to the same extent regardless of how many are leaders present within the team.

Carron et al, (2005) identified individual clarification of role responsibilities to be one of the most important factors in sport. The vast majority of research on role states in team sports has been on role ambiguity (role clarity) and its relation to performance using the conceptual model proposed by Beauchamp et al, (2002).

The effect role ambiguity had on both task cohesion and task self efficacy was investigated by Eys & Carron (2001). They concluded that members within basketball teams who were unsure of their role responsibilities, reported lower levels of attraction towards the team and felt their team was less unified in their task approach.

Another study, Eys et al, (2003) demonstrated that team member’s perceptions of role ambiguity decreased throughout a competitive season. Additionally, although perceptions of role ambiguity are individual, members of a team could share the same beliefs. Finally, new editions to the team are more likely to perceive role ambiguity compared to experienced members of the team at the start of the season. Nevertheless, as the authors suggested, the results of this study will be difficult to apply to other team sport settings (e.g age group, competitive standards) as it was undertaken on a homogeneous population (Eys et al, 2003).

It has also been reported that greater role ambiguity and role clarity could affect an athletes’ self efficacy, satisfaction and performance. These factors could not only affect the individual but the team as a whole (Forsyth, 1999). Beauchamp & Bray (2001) investigated university athlete’s perceptions of role ambiguity and role conflict among their respective sports teams. Results demonstrated that members who perceived greater levels of role ambiguity and conflict had lower levels of efficacy and were less inclined to perform their role responsibilities. This is concurrent with Bandura, (1997) who suggested a decrease in persistence and effort will occur if the athlete is unclear of their role. The associated performance is also likely to suffer (Bandura, 1997) as indicated by Beauchamp et al, (2002) who found a negative relationship between role efficacy and role performance. Additionally, the relationship between leadership and role ambiguity could prove further understanding of this subject (Eys et al, 2003).

The more detailed, specific and challenging yet realistic a goal is the more effective it will be (Gould, 1993). However, research found team members often set themselves unclear and generally descriptive goals (Brawley et al, 1992).

In addition, when Dawson et al, (2002) interviewed varsity athletes to determine their goal setting habits, they found team members set personal goals and their respective teams had group goals. Research has indicated that team as opposed to individual goals are better for improving team sport performance (Johnson et al, 1997). The authors demonstrated how subjects who set team goals improved their bowling performance in cricket, yet subjects who set personal goals did not.

The addition of team goals to a group has proven successful in the past. Lee (1988) found that adding team goals to female hockey teams had a positive effect on team performance. This was concurrent with Senecal et al’s, (2008) study of female basketball players. Over a season long intervention, they found team cohesion significantly increased in the intervention group compared to the control groups when they utilised team goal setting. Furthermore, Mellalieu et al. (2006) found a goal setting program with professional rugby players to have a positive impact on performance. It has been suggested that goal setting can enhance team cohesion by providing a team focus (Widemeyer & Ducharme, 1997). Focusing on one goal can improve group communication, commitment and satisfaction, improving group cohesion and subsequent performance (Carron & Spink, 1993)

Nevertheless, there have not been many studies carried out in sport that have investigated the effect of team goals on team performance (Widemeyer & Ducharme, 1997), with the majority of studies conducted outside of the sport setting (Weingart, 1992).

Team building intervention

A team goal setting program was chosen as the intervention topic to improve team cohesion (see appendix a). Early research from Widemeyer et al, (1992), as cited in Widemeyer & Ducharme (1997) found athletes felt having a team goal was the most significant contributor to task cohesion from a choice of 35 variables. More recently, Stevens & Bloom (2003) found team goals to be the most effective topic to utilise in a team building intervention. The following team building intervention applied principles from Eys et al, (2006) in Senecal et al. (2008), Widemeyer & Ducharme, (1997) and Widemyer & McGuire, (1996) in Carron et al, (2005).

Step 1: Developing Long term goals

Firstly, the athletes and coaches will work together to decide the long term goal of the team (Kyllo & Landers, 1995) for example, achieve a top 3 position in the league. This will take place during an all day workshop during the first week of pre season. The athletes will work in small sub groups of 3-4 and discuss long team goals for the team (Eys et al, 2005). Once the sub groups have decided a long term goal, the coach will write the goals on the white board and the team will discuss together (Dale & Wrisberg, 1996), narrowing down to one specific and measurable goal (Gould, 1993). The Long term goal will then be posted in the changing rooms for the remainder of the season, to help motivate the athletes (Weldon & Weingart, 1988).

Step 2: developing short term outcome goals

To achieve the long term goal, specific and measurable (Carron et al, 2005) short term goals will be set as stepping stones (Kingston & Hardy, 1997), for example, win the next 3 out of 5 games. To decide the goals, the coach will remind the players of last season’s statistics (eg. Wins, losses, league position) (Widemeyer & Ducharme, 1997). After the long term goals are decided, the players will use these statistics and repeat the same procedure as in step 1 by getting into subgroups (Eys et al, 2005). Once discussed, 5-6 specific and achievable short term outcome goals will be decided (Widemeyer & Mcguire, 1996)

Step 3: Developing short term performance goals

In addition, the players will set performance goals during a second all day workshop, 2 weeks into the pre season. The use of multiple goal setting strategies has been shown to be more beneficial to performance (Filby et al, 1999). For this intervention, the players will only be working towards team goals as previous research has suggested team goals are better for improving team performance (Johnson et al, 1997) and that individually hidden goals have no significant impact on performance (Kyllo & Landers, 1995).

The performance goals will be decided through the use of performance profiling (Dale & Wrisberg, 1996). This will be a group profile for the team as a whole. Firstly, the players will discuss what characteristics they believe a successful football team has. The players will express their opinions to the coach while they write them down onto a white board. The characteristics will need to be specific, so if there too general they will be re-evaluated until clearer. When the athletes and coach are happy that at least ten appropriate characteristics are on the white board, the players will individually and anonymously write all the characteristics off the white board on to paper. Examples of characteristics could be; putting 100% effort into every training session and game, winning over 80% of their aerial battles. The players will then proceed to evaluate their team’s characteristics between a scale of 1-10, with 1 being weak and 10 being strong. Once completed, each characteristic will be calculated as a mean. The lowest mean scores will be the areas developed into performance goals that the team will aim to achieve. Additionally, the coach will use the same procedure to demonstrate their perceptions of the team. At the next group meeting the team will discuss the results (lowest scores) and agree on 5-6 performance goals to improve their perceived weaknesses (Dale & Wrisberg, 1996).

When the specific performances goals are established, the team needs to decide realistic yet challenging target levels for these goals (eg. more than 5 shots on target per game) (Carron et al, 2005). To make sure their realistic and challenging the coach will again provide the athletes with statistics from last season (eg. shots on goal, tackles won). The sub group procedure used in step 1 and 2 will be utilized to achieve this (Eys et al, 2005). After negotiations the team will conclude the appropriate targets for their team. This process will be repeated during the middle and the end point of the competitive calendar (Dale & Wrisberg, 1996) so that the performance goals can be updated throughout the season

Step 4: Monitoring and evaluation of short and long term goals

The Long and short term goals will be continually monitored throughout the intervention. Prior to every match and practice session (1 of each per week) throughout the pre and competitive season the team will be reminded of the goals they set for themselves in attempt to provide a focus for the team and help motivate the players (Weldon & Weingart, 1988). To do this team goals will be written on the white board in the changing rooms, the coach will then highlight the importance of these goals during their team talk.

In addition, after each match team statistics (eg. goals scored and corners won in that game) and the statistics for the agreed performance indices will be posted in the changing rooms. The team members can then look at the statistics and measure their progress towards their target levels.

Step 5: Updating team goals

After every 3-5 games, the coach and players will work with the intervention specialist on evaluating and possibly updating the team goals if needed, eg. Removing or adding performance goals and changing the target level (Senecal et al, 2008). This will be achieved using their performance statistics from the previous 3-5 games and the characteristics of their next 3-5 opponents (Widemeyer & McGuire, 1996). Again, the procedure demonstrated in step 1 will be used to administer the changes.

Stage 6: Praise continued progress toward team goals

During the intervention the coach will continually openly praise his team when they do well and progress toward their team goals, feedback on goal progress may enhance the use of team goals (Widemeyer & Ducharme, 1997).

Step 7: post intervention check.

1 week after the intervention was completed; A 5 question, post intervention questionnaire (Stevens & Bloom, 2002) was completed by every player to assess the effectiveness of the intervention (Senecal et al, 2008). In addition, 1 and 3 months after the intervention is completed interviews will be conducted with each player (Stevens & Bloom, 2003). Players will be instructed to relax and openly discuss their opinions of the TBI’s effectiveness.

Critical analysis of team building interventions in sport

Team building interventions are designed to improve group performance by increasing group cohesiveness (Carron et al, 1997). However previous studies have produced mixed results on the effectiveness of team building interventions (TBI) on improving cohesion. Some were effective (Voight & Callaghan, 2001; Senecal et al, 2008; McClure & Foster 1991; Mellalieu et al, 2006) and some were unsuccessful (Prapavessis et al, 1996; Cogan & Petrie, 1996; Stevens & Bloom, 2002). One study, Steven & Bloom (2003) found their TBI to be effective during the pre season but not throughout the competitive season.

Nevertheless, Brawley & Paskevich (1997) have highlighted many methodological concerns with the research conducted using team building interventions. For example, the pre-test, post-test experimental design employed by various TBI (Voight & Callaghan 2001: Senecal et al, 2008; Prapevessis et al, 1996; Stevens & Bloom, 2002; Mellalieu et al, 2006) makes it difficult to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. Although three of these studies were effective (Voight & Callaghan 2001: Senecal et al, 2008; Mellalieu et al, 2006), due to the absence of measures throughout the competitive season, although likely it makes it difficult to determine whether or not it was the TBI that improved performance or outside interference, questioning the validity of their results. For example, Brawley & Paskevich, (1997) suggested leadership change; a less competitive calendar or the loss of an unsettling member could have all influenced team cohesion independent of the TBI.

Some studies that employed a quasi – experimental design (Cogan & Petrie, 1996; Stevens & Bloom, 2003) reported their TBI to be ineffective at improving team cohesion. The design could be the reason for their lack of significant results. A quasi – experimental design rarely includes random assignment making it difficult to determine whether factors such as differences in coaching style and team atmosphere affected the results (Stevens & Bloom, 2003). Randomly assigning members to different teams, allows experimenters to observe which treatment of the TBI infers change (Brawley & Paskevich, 1997). One study employed an experimental design (Mclure & Foster, 1991). The results of their study suggested their intervention was effective at increasing cohesion among gymnasts. The positive results of their study could be attributed to the experimental design as this method includes random assignment. Therefore they were able to notice a difference in cohesion amongst randomly assigned athletes without interference from some of the problems mentioned above.

Furthermore, some studies did not utilise a control group, one was effective at improving cohesion (Voight & Callaghan 2001) another was ineffective (Bloom & Stevens 2002). The absence of a control group however, questions the validity of Voight & Callaghan’s (2001) results. As suggested by Brawley & Paskevich, (1997) it is difficult to establish whether their TBI was actually the cause for the improvement in performance as there were no control or placebo groups to compare the results to. In addition, as Stevens & Bloom (2002) did not include a control group, whether or not cohesion levels would have decreased over the season and therefore whether or not the intervention was helpful to the team is unclear.

Additionally, the duration of the TBI is another methodological concern identified by Brawley & Paskevich (1997). It has been suggested interventions are fairly slow processes (French & Bell, 1984) and at least 1 season of a TBI is needed to produce results of any significance (Brawley & Paskevich, 1997). Therefore the results of studies that lasted less than a season (Prapavessis et al, 1996; Mellalieu et al, 2006) may not portray the long-term effects of the intervention. Studies that have lasted at least a season (Senecal et al, 2008; Mclure & Foster 1991; Stevens & Bloom, 2002; Voight & Callaghan, 2001; Stevens & Bloom, 2003; Cogan & Petrie, 1996) are more likely to provide clearer results. In addition, although the vast majority some of these studies administered post intervention checks (Cogan & Petrie, 1996; Senecal et al, 2008; Mellalieu et al, 2006; Stevens & Bloom; Voight & Callaghan, 2001; Prapevessis et al, 1996; Stevens & Bloom, 2002) none of these studies administered any questionnaires 3 or 6 months after the intervention to examine the long term effects of their intervention.

Sampling size can be another methodological concern for researches conducting TBI’s. Two studies had a very small sample size (Mellalieu et al, 2006: 5 participants; McClure & Foster, 1991:15 participants. Some studies have only used a slightly larger sized sample consisting of no more than 45 participants (Cogan & Petrie, 1996; Voight & Callaghan, 2001; Stevens & Bloom, 2003; Stevens & Bloom, 2002). Only 2 studies have used relatively large sample sizes: Senecal et al, (2008); (n=86) & Prappevessis et al, (1996); (n=137). Nevertheless, all studies have reported sufficient details such as gender, age, sport and team ability (Cogan & Petrie, 1996; Voight & Callaghan, 2001; Stevens & Bloom, 2003; Stevens & Bloom, 2002; McClure & Foster, 1991; Mellalieu et al, 2006; Senecal et al, 2008; Prapavessis et al, 1996) However, some of the characteristics reported in the studies can be vague. Many studies have failed to state appropriate details, such as race (Voight &Callaghan, 2001; Prapevessis et al, 1996; Senecal et al, 2008; McClure & Foster, 1991; Stevens & Bloom, 2002; Mellalieu et al, 2006). Furthermore, the majority of studies also seem to be generalized to similar populations. For example, the majority of studies were conducted on females (Voight &Callaghan, 2001; Senecal et al, 2008; McClure & Foster, 1991; Cogan & Petrie, 1996; Steven & Bloom, 2003; Stevens & Bloom, 2002), on ages ranging between 18-24 (Voight &Callaghan, 2001; McClure & Foster, 1991; Cogan & Petrie, 1996; Steven & Bloom, 2003; Mellalieu et al, 2006) and on high school or university teams (Cogan & Petrie, 1996; Steven & Bloom, 2003; McClure & Foster, 1991; Senecal et al, 2008). In addition, the studies that indicated the race of the subjects were predominately on Caucasians (Cogan & Petrie, 1996; Steven & Bloom, 2003). As these studies are on similar populations the generalizability of these interventions is limited. Therefore, the results are difficult to apply to a wide range of sports teams, as member characteristics such as age, gender, race and ability can vary greatly per team.

Previous studies on sport teams have had the coach/manager as the main facilitator of the intervention, working with the intervention specialist. As a result, Some TBI’s have taken a more indirect approach (Prappevessis et al, 1996) or used a combination of indirect and direct models (Steven & Bloom, 2003; Cogan & Petrie, 1996; Mellalieu et al, 2006). However, Brawley & Paskevich (1997) identified indirect models to have weaknesses. The authors explain that coaches/managers may not be capable of undertaking a TBI as they do not have the knowledge, time and commitment to make it successful. On the other hand, direct models have the advantage of often allowing the intervention specialist to work directly with the participants. In addition, the team members become more involved in the decision making process during the intervention. Bloom, (1996), suggested the involvement of the athletes is a key factor in improving team performance. From the four studies reviewed that utilised a direct team building model, 3 were effective at improving cohesion (Senecal et al, 2008; Voight & Callaghan 2001; McClure & Foster, 1991) with only one unsuccessful (Stevens & Bloom, 2003).

References

Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. New York: Freeman.

Beauchamp, M. R., & Bray, S. R. (2001). “Role ambiguity and role conflict within interdependent teams”. Small Group Research, 32, 133-157.

Beauchamp, M. R., Bray, S. R., Eys, M. A.,&Carron, A. V. (2002). “Role ambiguity, role efficacy, and role performance: Multidimensional and mediational relationships within interdependent sport teams”. Group Dynamics: Theory, Research, and Practice, 6, 229-242.

Bloom, G. A. (1996). Life at the top: Philosophies of success. In J. H. Salmela (Ed.), Great job coach! Getting the edge from proven winners (pp. 37-65). Ottawa, ON: Potentium.

Bloom, G.A. and Stevens, D.E. (2002). “Case study: A team-building mental skills training program with an intercollegiate Equestrian Team”. Athletic Insight 4, The Online Journal of Sport Psychology

Brawley, L.R., Carron, A.V. & Widmeyer, W.N. (1992). “The nature of group goals in sport teams: A phenomenological approach”. The Sport Psychologist, 6, pp323-333.

Carron, A.V., & Spink, K.S. (1993). Team building in an exercise setting. The Sport Psychologist, 7, 8-18.

Carron, A.V., Spink, K.S., & Prapavessis, H. (1997). “Team building and cohesiveness in the sport and exercise setting: Use of indirect interventions”. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 9, pp61-72.

Carron, A.V. and Hausenblas, H. A., & Eys, M.(2005). Group dynamics in sport. Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology.

Cogan, K.D. and Petrie, T.A. (1996). “Sport consultation: An evaluation of a season-long intervention with female collegiate gymnasts”. The Sport Psychologist, 9, pp282-296.

Dale, G.A. & Wrisberg,, C.A. (1996). “The use of a performance profiling technique in a team setting; Getting the athletes and coach on the ‘same page’”. The Sport Psychologist, 10, pp261-277.

Dawson, K. A., Bray, S. R., & Widemeyer, W. N. (2002) “Goal setting by female intercollegiate sport teams and athletes, Avante, 8, pp14-23

Eys, M. A., & Carron, A. V. (2001). “Role ambiguity, task cohesion, and task self-efficacy. Small Group Research, 32, 356-373.

Eys, M. A., Carron, A. V., Beauchamp, M. R., & Bray, S. R. (2003). “Role ambiguity in sport teams”. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 25(4), 534-550.

Forsyth, D. R. (1999). Group dynamics (3rd ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth

Eys, M, A., Patterson, M. M., Loughead, T. M., Carron , A. V. (2005) “Team building in sport”. In Hackfort, D., Duda, J. L., Lidor, R., Handbook of Research in Applied Sport Psychology: International Perspectives (pp219-233). Morgantown, WV: Fitness Information Technology

Eys, M. A., Loughead, T. M., Hardy, J. (2007) “Athlete leadership dispersion and satisfaction in interactive sport teams”, Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 8, pp281-296

Filby, W. C., Maynard, I. W., & Graydon, J. K. (1999) “The effect of multiple goal strategies on performance outcomes in training and competition. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 11, pp230-246

French, W.D. & Bell. C.H. (1984). Organization development: Behavioural science interventions for organization improvement (3rd Ed). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Rentice-Hall.

Gould, D. (1993). Goal setting for peak performance (2nd ed.).Mountain View, CA: Mayfield Publishing Company

Johnson, S. R. Ostrow, A. C., Perna, F. M., & Etzel, E, F. (1997) “The effects of group versus individual goal setting on bowling performance. The Sport Psychologist, 11, pp190-200.

Kingston & Hardy (1997). “Effect of different types of goals on processes that support performance”. The Sport Psychologist, 11, pp277 – 293.

Kyllo, L. B., Landers, D. M. (1995) “Goal setting in sport and exercise: A research synthesis to resolve the controversy”. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 17, pp117-137

Lee, C. (1988). “The relationship between goal setting, self-efficacy, and female field hockey team performance”. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 20, pp147- I61

Lee, H. K., Kim, B.H., Lim, B. H.(1993) “The influence of structural characteristics of team success in sports”, Korean Journal of Sport Science, 5, pp138-154

Loughead, T. M., & Hardy, J. (2005). A comparison of coach and peer leader behaviours in sport. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 6, 303-312.

Loughead, T. M., Hardy, J., & Eys, M. A. (2006). The nature of athlete leadership. Journal of Sport Behaviour, 29, 142-158.

McClure, B. & Foster, C.D. (1991). “Groupwork as a method of promoting cohesiveness within a women’s gymnastics team”. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 73, pp307-313.

Mellalieu, S.D., Hanton, S., & O’Brien, M. (2006). The effects of goal setting on rugby performance. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 39, pp259 – 261.

Prapavessis, H., Carron, A.V. & Spink, K.S. (1996). “Team building in sport”. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 27, pp269-285.

Riemar, H.A. & Chelladurai, P. (1995). Leadership and satisfaction in athletes”. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 17, pp276-293.

Senecal, J., Loughead, T.M. & Bloom, G.A. (2008). “A season-long team-building intervention: Examining the effect of team goal setting on cohesion”. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 30, pp186 – 199.

Stevens, D.E., & Bloom, G.A. (2003). “The effect of team building on cohesion”. Avante, 9, pp43-54.

Voight, M. and Callaghan, J. (2001). “A team building intervention programme: Application and evaluation with two university soccer teams”. Journal of Sport Behaviour, 24 ,pp420 – 431.

Weldon, E.. & Weingart. L.R. (1988). “A theory of group goals and group performance”. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Academy of Management. Anaheim, CA.

Weingart. L.R. (1992). Impact of group goals, task component complexity, effort, and planning on group performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 77. 682-693.

Westre, K. R. And Weiss, M. R., (1991) “The relationship between perceived coaching behaviours and group cohesion in high school football teams”, Sport psychologist, 5, pp41-54

Widmeyer. W.N., Silva. J.M.& Hardy, C.J. (1992). “The nature of group cohesion in sport reams: A Phenomenological approach”. Paper presented at the annual meeting Of the Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology. Colorado Springs, CO.

Widemeyer, W. N., & McGuire, E, G. (1996) Sport psychology for ice hockey. Presentation to Ontario Intermediate Coaching Clinic, Waterloo; Ontario

Widmeyer, W.N. & DuCharme, K. (1997). “Team building through team goal setting”. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 9, pp97-113.