Refine
Year of publication
Document Type
- Article (22)
- Postprint (11)
- Doctoral Thesis (5)
- Part of a Book (1)
- Master's Thesis (1)
- Other (1)
Is part of the Bibliography
- yes (41)
Keywords
- performance (41) (remove)
Institute
- Strukturbereich Kognitionswissenschaften (10)
- Department Sport- und Gesundheitswissenschaften (7)
- Humanwissenschaftliche Fakultät (5)
- Hasso-Plattner-Institut für Digital Engineering gGmbH (4)
- Wirtschaftswissenschaften (3)
- Department Psychologie (2)
- Fachgruppe Betriebswirtschaftslehre (2)
- Institut für Biochemie und Biologie (2)
- Department Musik und Kunst (1)
- Department für Inklusionspädagogik (1)
Hauptanliegen der Dissertation ist es, einen Entwurf einer praktischen Ästhetik zu lancieren, der an der Schnittstelle zwischen philosophischer Ästhetik und Kunst – genauer Performancekunst - im Zeichen der Bezugsgrösse der Verletzbarkeit steht. In jüngeren Ästhetikansätzen hat sich eine Auffassung herauskristallisiert, die nicht über, sondern mit Kunst reflektiert. Die Pointe im ‚Mit’ liegt darin, dass diese Ästhetiken die Kunst nicht erklären, sie bestimmen und damit ihre Bedeutung festlegen, sondern dass diese entlang der Kunst die Brüche, Widerstände und Zäsuren zwischen Wahrnehmen und Denken markieren und diese als produktiv bewerten. Diese Lesart etabliert ein Denken, das nicht aus der Distanz auf etwas schaut (theoria), sondern ästhetisch-reflektierend (zurückwendend, auch selbstkritisch) mit der Kunst denkt. Die Disziplin der Ästhetik - als aisthesis: Lehre der sinnlichen Wahrnehmung - nimmt innerhalb der Philosophie eine besondere Stellung ein, weil sie auf ebendiese Differenz verweist und deshalb sinnliche und nicht nur logisch-argumentatorische Denkfiguren stärkt. Als eine Möglichkeit, die Kluft, das Nicht-Einholbare, die brüchige Unzulänglichkeit des begrifflich Denkenden gegenüber ästhetischer Erfahrung zu stärken, schlage ich die Bezugsgrösse der Verletzbarkeit vor. Eine solche Ästhetik besteht aus dem Kreieren verletzbarer Orte, wobei diese auf zweierlei Weisen umkreist werden: Zum einen aus der Kunstpraxis heraus anhand der ästhetischen Figur des verletzbaren Körpes, wie er sich in der zeitgenössischen Performance zeigt. Zum anderen als ein Kreieren von Begriffen im Bewusstsein ihrer Verletzbarkeit. Ausgangspunkte sind die Denkentwürfe von Gilles Deleuze und Hans Blumenberg: Die Ästhetik von Gilles Deleuze entwirft eine konkrete Überschneidungsmöglichkeit von Kunst und Philosophie, aus der sich meine These des Mit-Kunst-Denkens entwickeln lässt. Sie kann aus der Grundvoraussetzung des Deleuzeschen Denkens heraus begründet werden, die besagt, dass nicht nur die Kunst, sondern auch die Philosophie eine schöpferische Tätigkeit ist. Beide Disziplinen beruhen auf dem Prinzip der creatio continua, durch welche die Kunst Empfindungen und die Philosophie Begriffe schöpft, wobei eben genau dieser schöpferische Prozess Kunst und Philosophie in ein produktives Verhältnis zueinander treten lässt. Wie Deleuze seine Begriffsarbeit entlang künstlerischer Praxis entwickelt, wird anhand der Analyse des bis heute wenig rezipierten Textes Ein Manifest weniger in Bezug auf das Theater von Carmelo Bene analysiert. Eine ganz anderen Zugang zum Entwurf einer praktischen Ästhetik liefert Hans Blumenberg, der eine Theorie der Unbegrifflichkeit in Aussicht stellt. Im Anschluss an seine Forderung, die Metapher wieder vermehrt in die philosophische Denkpraxis zu integrieren, radikalisiert er seine Forderung, auch das Nichtanschauliche zu berücksichtigen, indem er das gänzlich Unbegriffliche an die Seite des Begrifflichen stellt. Definitorische Schwäche zeigt sich als wahrhaftige Stärke, die in der Unbegrifflichkeit ihren Zenit erreicht. Der Schiffbruch wird von mir als zentrale Metapher – gewissermassen als Metapher der Metapher – verstanden, die das Auf-Grund-Laufen des Allwissenden veranschaulicht. Im Schiffbruch wird die produktive Kollision von Theorie und Praxis deutlich. Deleuze und Blumenberg zeigen über ‚creatio continua’ und ‚Unbegrifflichkeit’ die Grenzen des Begreifens, indem sie betonen, dass sich Ästhetik nicht nur auf künstlerische Erfahrungen bezieht, sondern selber in das Gegenwärtigmachen von Erfahrungen involviert ist. Daraus folgt, dass ästhetische Reflexion nicht nur begrifflich agieren muss. Die praktische Ästhetik animiert dazu, andere darstellerische Formen (Bilder, Töne, Körper) als differente und ebenbürtige reflexive Modi anzuerkennen und sie als verletzbarmachende Formate der Sprache an die Seite zu stellen. Diese Lesart betont den gestalterischen Aspekt der Ästhetik selber. Zur Verdeutlichung dieser Kluft zwischen (Körper-)Bild und Begriff ist der von mir mitgestaltete Film Augen blickeN der Dissertation als Kapitel beigefügt. Dieser Film zeigt Performer und Performerinnen, die sich bewusst entschieden haben, ihren ‚abweichenden’ Körper auf der Bühne zu präsentieren. Das Wort Verletzbarkeit verweist auf die paradoxe Situation, etwas Brüchiges tragfähig zu machen und dadurch auch auf eine besondere Beziehungsform und auf ein existenzielles Aufeinander-Verwiesensein der Menschen. Verletzbarkeit geht alle an, und stiftet deshalb eine Gemeinsamkeit besonderer Art. In diesem Sinne sind verletzbare Orte nicht nur ästhetische, sondern auch ethische Orte, womit die politische Dimension des Vorhabens betont wird.
Aim The aim of the present study was to examine young female volleyballers’ body build, physical abilities, technical skills and psychophysiological properties in relation to their performance at competitions. The sample consisted of 46 female volleyballers aged 13-16 years. 49 basic anthropometric measurements were measured and 65 proportions and body composition characteristics were calculated. 9 physical ability tests, 9 volleyball technical skills tests and 21 psychophysiological tests were carried out. The game performance was recorded by the computer program Game. The program enabled to fix the performance of technical elements in case of each player. The computer program Game calculated the index of proficiency in case of each girl for each element. The first control group consisted of 74 female volleyballers aged 13–15 years with whom reduced anthropometry was provided and 28 games were recorded. The second control group consisted of 586 ordinary schoolgirls aged 13–16 years with whom full anthropometry was provided. Results In order to systematize all anthropometric characteristics, we first studied the essence of the anthropometric structure of the body as a whole. It turned out to be a characteristic system where all variables are in significant correlation between one another and where the leading characteristics are height and weight. Therefore we based the classification on the mean height and weight of the whole sample. We formed a 5 class SD classification. There are three classes of concordance between height and weight: small height – small weight, medium height – medium height, big height – big weight. The other two classes were classes of disconcordance between height and weight- pycnomorphs and leptomorphs. We managed to show that gradual increase in height and weight brought about statistically significant increase in length, breadth and depth measurements, circumferences, bone thicknesses and skinfolds. There were also systematic changes in indeces and body composition characteristics. Pycnomorphs and leptomorphs also showed differences specific to their body types in body measurements and body composition. The results of all tests were submitted to basic statistical analysis and all correlations were found between all the tests (volleyball technical skills, psychophysiological abilities, physical abilities), and all basic anthropometric variables (n = 49) and all proportions and body composition characteristics (n = 65). All anthropometric measurements and test results were correlated with the index of proficiency for all elements of the game. The best linear regression models were calculated for predicting proficiency in different elements of the game. We can see that body build and all kind of tests took part in predicting the proficiency of the game. The most essential for performing attack, block and feint were anthropometric and psychophysiological models. The studied complex of body build characteristics and tests results determine the players’ proficiency at competitions, are an important tool for testing the player’s individual development, enable to choose volleyballers from among schoolgirls and represent the whole body constitutional model of a young female volleyballer. Outlook Our outlook for the future is to continue recording of all Estonian championship games with the computer program Game, to continue the players’ anthropometric measuring and psychophysiological testing at competitions and to compile a national register for assessment of development of individual players and teams.
To date, positive relationships between diversity and community biomass have been mainly found, especially in terrestrial ecosystems due to the complementarity and/or dominance effect. In this thesis, the effect of diversity on the performance of terrestrial plant and phytoplankton communities was investigated to get a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms in the biodiversity-ecosystem functioning context. In a large grassland biodiversity experiment, the Jena Experiment, the effect of community diversity on the individual plant performance was investigated for all species. The species pool consisted of 60 plant species belonging to 4 functional groups (grasses, small herbs, tall herbs, legumes). The experiment included 82 large plots which differed in species richness (1-60), functional richness (1-4), and community composition. Individual plant height increased with increasing species richness suggesting stronger competition for light in more diverse communities. The aboveground biomass of the individual plants decreased with increasing species richness indicating stronger competition in more species-rich communities. Moreover, in more species-rich communities plant individuals were less likely to flower out and had fewer inflorescences which may be resulting from a trade-off between resource allocation to vegetative height growth and to reproduction. Responses to changing species richness differed strongly between functional groups and between species of similar functional groups. To conclude, individual plant performance can largely depend on the diversity of the surrounding community. Positive diversity effects on biomass have been mainly found for substrate-bound plant communities. Therefore, the effect of diversity on the community biomass of phytoplankton was studied using microcosms. The communities consisted of 8 algal species belonging to 4 functional groups (green algae, diatoms, cyanobacteria, phytoflagellates) and were grown at different functional richness levels (1-4). Functional richness and community biomass were negatively correlated and all community biomasses were lower than their average monoculture biomasses of the component species, revealing community underyielding. This was mainly caused by the dominance of a fast-growing species which built up low biomasses in monoculture and mixture. A trade-off between biomass and growth rate in monoculture was found for all species, and thus fast-growing species built up low biomasses and slow-growing species reached high biomasses in monoculture. As the fast-growing, low-productive species monopolised nutrients in the mixtures, they became the dominant species resulting in the observed community underyielding. These findings suggest community overyielding when biomasses of the component species are positively correlated with their growth rates in monocultures. Aquatic microcosm experiments with an extensive design were performed to get a broad range of community responses. The phytoplankton communities differed in species diversity (1, 2, 4, 8, and 12), functional diversity (1, 2, 3, and 4) and community composition. The species/functional diversity positively affected community biomass, revealing overyielding in most of the communities. This was mainly caused by a positive complementarity effect which can be attributed to resource use complementarity and/or facilitative interaction among the species. Overyielding of more diverse communities occurred when the biomass of the component species was correlated positively with their growth rates in monoculture and thus, fast-growing and high-productive species were dominant in mixtures. This and the study mentioned above generated an emergent pattern for community overyielding and underyielding from the relationship between biomass and growth rate in monoculture as long as the initial community structure prevailed. Invasive species can largely affect ecosystem processes, whereas invasion is also influenced by diversity. To date, studies revealed negative and positive diversity effects on the invasibility (susceptibility of a community to the invasion by new species). The effect of productivity (nutrient concentration ranging from 10 to 640 µg P L-1), herbivory (presence/absence of the generalist feeder) and diversity (3, 4, 6 species were randomly chosen from the resident species pool) on the invasibility of phytoplankton communities consisting of 10 resident species was investigated using semi-continuous microcosms. Two functionally diverse invaders were chosen: the filamentous and less-edible cynaobacterium C. raciborskii and the unicellular and well-edible phytoflagellate Cryptomonas sp. The phytoflagellate indirectly benefited from grazing pressure of herbivores whereas C. raciborskii suffered more from it. Diversity did not affect the invasibility of the phytoplankton communities. Rather, it was strongly influenced by the functional traits of the resident and invasive species.
The dissertation examines the use of performance information by public managers. “Use” is conceptualized as purposeful utilization in order to steer, learn, and improve public services. The main research question is: Why do public managers use performance information? To answer this question, I systematically review the existing literature, identify research gaps and introduce the approach of my dissertation. The first part deals with manager-related variables that might affect performance information use but which have thus far been disregarded. The second part models performance data use by applying a theory from social psychology which is based on the assumption that this management behavior is conscious and reasoned. The third part examines the extent to which explanations of performance information use vary if we include others sources of “unsystematic” feedback in our analysis. The empirical results are based on survey data from 2011. I surveyed middle managers from eight selected divisions of all German cities with county status (n=954). To analyze the data, I used factor analysis, multiple regression analysis, and structural equation modeling. My research resulted in four major findings: 1) The use of performance information can be modeled as a reasoned behavior which is determined by the attitude of the managers and of their immediate peers. 2) Regular users of performance data surprisingly are not generally inclined to analyze abstract data but rather prefer gathering information through personal interaction. 3) Managers who take on ownership of performance information at an early stage in the measurement process are also more likely to use this data when it is reported to them. 4) Performance reports are only one source of information among many. Public managers prefer verbal feedback from insiders and feedback from external stakeholders over systematic performance reports. The dissertation explains these findings using a deductive approach and discusses their implications for theory and practice.
The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of dietary citric acid (CA) on the performance and mineral metabolism of broiler chicks. A total of 1720 Ross PM3 broiler chicks (days old) were randomly assigned to four groups (430 in each) and reared for a period of 35 days. The diets of groups 1, 2, 3 and 4 were supplemented with 0%, 0.25%, 0.75% or 1.25% CA by weight respectively. Feed and faeces samples were collected weekly and analysed for acid insoluble ash, calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P) and magnesium (Mg). The pH was measured in feed and faeces. At the age of 28 days, 10 birds from each group were slaughtered; tibiae were collected from each bird for the determination of bone mineral density, total ash, Ca, P, Mg and bone-breaking strength, and blood was collected for the measurement of osteocalcin, serum CrossLaps (R), Ca, P, Mg and 1,25(OH)(2)Vit-D in serum. After finishing the trial on day 37, all chicks were slaughtered by using the approved procedure. Birds that were fed CA diets were heavier (average body weights of 2030, 2079 and 2086 g in the 0.25%, 0.75% and 1.25% CA groups, respectively, relative to the control birds (1986 g). Feed conversion efficiency (weight gain in g per kg of feed intake) was also higher in birds of the CA-fed groups (582, 595 and 587 g/kg feed intake for 0.25%, 0.75% and 1.25% CA respectively), relative to the control birds (565 g/kg feed intake). The digestibility of Ca, P and Mg increased in the CA-fed groups, especially for the diets supplemented with 0.25% and 0.75% CA. Support for finding was also indicated in the results of the analysis of the tibia. At slaughter, the birds had higher carcass weights and higher graded carcasses in the groups that were fed the CA diets. The estimated profit margin was highest for birds fed the diet containing 0.25% CA. Birds of the 0.75% CA group were found to have the second highest estimated profit margin. Addition of CA up to a level of 1.25% of the diet increased performance, feed conversion efficiency, carcass weight and carcass quality, but only in numerical terms. The addition of CA up to 0.75% significantly increased the digestibility of macro minerals, bone ash content, bone mineral density and bone strength of the broiler chicks. It may, therefore, be concluded that the addition of 0.75% CA in a standard diet is suitable for growth, carcass traits, macromineral digestibility and bone mineral density of broiler chicks.
The effect of implicitly incentivized faking on explicit and implicit measures of doping attitude
(2015)
The Implicit Association Test (IAT) aims to measure participants' automatic evaluation of an attitude object and is useful especially for the measurement of attitudes related to socially sensitive subjects, e.g. doping in sports. Several studies indicate that IAT scores can be faked on instruction. But fully or semi-instructed research scenarios might not properly reflect what happens in more realistic situations, when participants secretly decide to try faking the test. The present study is the first to investigate IAT faking when there is only an implicit incentive to do so. Sixty-five athletes (22.83 years +/- 2.45; 25 women) were randomly assigned to an incentive-to-fake condition or a control condition. Participants in the incentive-to-fake condition were manipulated to believe that athletes with lenient doping attitudes would be referred to a tedious 45-minute anti-doping program. Attitudes were measured with the pictorial doping brief IAT (BIAT) and with the Performance Enhancement Attitude Scale (PEAS). A one-way MANOVA revealed significant differences between conditions after the manipulation in PEAS scores, but not in the doping BIAT. In the light of our hypothesis this suggests that participants successfully faked an exceedingly negative attitude to doping when completing the PEAS, but were unsuccessful in doing so on the reaction time-based test. This study assessed BIAT faking in a setting that aimed to resemble a situation in which participants want to hide their attempts to cheat. The two measures of attitude were differentially affected by the implicit incentive. Our findings provide evidence that the pictorial doping BIAT is relatively robust against spontaneous and naive faking attempts. (B) IATs might be less prone to faking than implied by previous studies.
Introduction
We investigated blood glucose (BG) and hormone response to aerobic high-intensity interval exercise (HIIE) and moderate continuous exercise (CON) matched for mean load and duration in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM).
Material and Methods
Seven trained male subjects with T1DM performed a maximal incremental exercise test and HIIE and CON at 3 different mean intensities below (A) and above (B) the first lactate turn point and below the second lactate turn point (C) on a cycle ergometer. Subjects were adjusted to ultra-long-acting insulin Degludec (Tresiba/Novo Nordisk, Denmark). Before exercise, standardized meals were administered, and short-acting insulin dose was reduced by 25% (A), 50% (B), and 75% (C) dependent on mean exercise intensity. During exercise, BG, adrenaline, noradrenaline, dopamine, cortisol, glucagon, and insulin-like growth factor-1, blood lactate, heart rate, and gas exchange variables were measured. For 24 h after exercise, interstitial glucose was measured by continuous glucose monitoring system.
Results
BG decrease during HIIE was significantly smaller for B (p = 0.024) and tended to be smaller for A and C compared to CON. No differences were found for post-exercise interstitial glucose, acute hormone response, and carbohydrate utilization between HIIE and CON for A, B, and C. In HIIE, blood lactate for A (p = 0.006) and B (p = 0.004) and respiratory exchange ratio for A (p = 0.003) and B (p = 0.003) were significantly higher compared to CON but not for C.
Conclusion
Hypoglycemia did not occur during or after HIIE and CON when using ultra-long-acting insulin and applying our methodological approach for exercise prescription. HIIE led to a smaller BG decrease compared to CON, although both exercises modes were matched for mean load and duration, even despite markedly higher peak workloads applied in HIIE. Therefore, HIIE and CON could be safely performed in T1DM.
Air pollution is the number one environmental cause of premature deaths in Europe. Despite extensive regulations, air pollution remains a challenge, especially in urban areas. For studying summertime air quality in the Berlin-Brandenburg region of Germany, the Weather Research and Forecasting Model with Chemistry (WRF-Chem) is set up and evaluated against meteorological and air quality observations from monitoring stations as well as from a field campaign conducted in 2014. The objective is to assess which resolution and level of detail in the input data is needed for simulating urban background air pollutant concentrations and their spatial distribution in the Berlin-Brandenburg area. The model setup includes three nested domains with horizontal resolutions of 15, 3 and 1 km and anthropogenic emissions from the TNO-MACC III inventory. We use RADM2 chemistry and the MADE/SORGAM aerosol scheme. Three sensitivity simulations are conducted updating input parameters to the single-layer urban canopy model based on structural data for Berlin, specifying land use classes on a sub-grid scale (mosaic option) and downscaling the original emissions to a resolution of ca. 1 km x 1 km for Berlin based on proxy data including traffic density and population density. The results show that the model simulates meteorology well, though urban 2m temperature and urban wind speeds are biased high and nighttime mixing layer height is biased low in the base run with the settings described above. We show that the simulation of urban meteorology can be improved when specifying the input parameters to the urban model, and to a lesser extent when using the mosaic option. On average, ozone is simulated reasonably well, but maximum daily 8 h mean concentrations are underestimated, which is consistent with the results from previous modelling studies using the RADM2 chemical mechanism. Particulate matter is underestimated, which is partly due to an underestimation of secondary organic aerosols. NOx (NO + NO2) concentrations are simulated reasonably well on average, but nighttime concentrations are overestimated due to the model's underestimation of the mixing layer height, and urban daytime concentrations are underestimated. The daytime underestimation is improved when using downscaled, and thus locally higher emissions, suggesting that part of this bias is due to deficiencies in the emission input data and their resolution. The results further demonstrate that a horizontal resolution of 3 km improves the results and spatial representativeness of the model compared to a horizontal resolution of 15 km. With the input data (land use classes, emissions) at the level of detail of the base run of this study, we find that a horizontal resolution of 1 km does not improve the results compared to a resolution of 3 km. However, our results suggest that a 1 km horizontal model resolution could enable a detailed simulation of local pollution patterns in the Berlin-Brandenburg region if the urban land use classes, together with the respective input parameters to the urban canopy model, are specified with a higher level of detail and if urban emissions of higher spatial resolution are used.
In the context of back pain, great emphasis has been placed on the importance of trunk stability, especially in situations requiring compensation of repetitive, intense loading induced during high-performance activities, e.g., jumping or landing. This study aims to evaluate trunk muscle activity during drop jump in adolescent athletes with back pain (BP) compared to athletes without back pain (NBP). Eleven adolescent athletes suffering back pain (BP: m/f: n = 4/7; 15.9 ± 1.3 y; 176 ± 11 cm; 68 ± 11 kg; 12.4 ± 10.5 h/we training) and 11 matched athletes without back pain (NBP: m/f: n = 4/7; 15.5 ± 1.3 y; 174 ± 7 cm; 67 ± 8 kg; 14.9 ± 9.5 h/we training) were evaluated. Subjects conducted 3 drop jumps onto a force plate (ground reaction force). Bilateral 12-lead SEMG (surface Electromyography) was applied to assess trunk muscle activity. Ground contact time [ms], maximum vertical jump force [N], jump time [ms] and the jump performance index [m/s] were calculated for drop jumps. SEMG amplitudes (RMS: root mean square [%]) for all 12 single muscles were normalized to MIVC (maximum isometric voluntary contraction) and analyzed in 4 time windows (100 ms pre- and 200 ms post-initial ground contact, 100 ms pre- and 200 ms post-landing) as outcome variables. In addition, muscles were grouped and analyzed in ventral and dorsal muscles, as well as straight and transverse trunk muscles. Drop jump ground reaction force variables did not differ between NBP and BP (p > 0.05). Mm obliquus externus and internus abdominis presented higher SEMG amplitudes (1.3–1.9-fold) for BP (p < 0.05). Mm rectus abdominis, erector spinae thoracic/lumbar and latissimus dorsi did not differ (p > 0.05). The muscle group analysis over the whole jumping cycle showed statistically significantly higher SEMG amplitudes for BP in the ventral (p = 0.031) and transverse muscles (p = 0.020) compared to NBP. Higher activity of transverse, but not straight, trunk muscles might indicate a specific compensation strategy to support trunk stability in athletes with back pain during drop jumps. Therefore, exercises favoring the transverse trunk muscles could be recommended for back pain treatment.
In the context of back pain, great emphasis has been placed on the importance of trunk stability, especially in situations requiring compensation of repetitive, intense loading induced during high-performance activities, e.g., jumping or landing. This study aims to evaluate trunk muscle activity during drop jump in adolescent athletes with back pain (BP) compared to athletes without back pain (NBP). Eleven adolescent athletes suffering back pain (BP: m/f: n = 4/7; 15.9 ± 1.3 y; 176 ± 11 cm; 68 ± 11 kg; 12.4 ± 10.5 h/we training) and 11 matched athletes without back pain (NBP: m/f: n = 4/7; 15.5 ± 1.3 y; 174 ± 7 cm; 67 ± 8 kg; 14.9 ± 9.5 h/we training) were evaluated. Subjects conducted 3 drop jumps onto a force plate (ground reaction force). Bilateral 12-lead SEMG (surface Electromyography) was applied to assess trunk muscle activity. Ground contact time [ms], maximum vertical jump force [N], jump time [ms] and the jump performance index [m/s] were calculated for drop jumps. SEMG amplitudes (RMS: root mean square [%]) for all 12 single muscles were normalized to MIVC (maximum isometric voluntary contraction) and analyzed in 4 time windows (100 ms pre- and 200 ms post-initial ground contact, 100 ms pre- and 200 ms post-landing) as outcome variables. In addition, muscles were grouped and analyzed in ventral and dorsal muscles, as well as straight and transverse trunk muscles. Drop jump ground reaction force variables did not differ between NBP and BP (p > 0.05). Mm obliquus externus and internus abdominis presented higher SEMG amplitudes (1.3–1.9-fold) for BP (p < 0.05). Mm rectus abdominis, erector spinae thoracic/lumbar and latissimus dorsi did not differ (p > 0.05). The muscle group analysis over the whole jumping cycle showed statistically significantly higher SEMG amplitudes for BP in the ventral (p = 0.031) and transverse muscles (p = 0.020) compared to NBP. Higher activity of transverse, but not straight, trunk muscles might indicate a specific compensation strategy to support trunk stability in athletes with back pain during drop jumps. Therefore, exercises favoring the transverse trunk muscles could be recommended for back pain treatment.
Form and Content, Again
(2017)
The following statement suggests reconsidering recent debates on a theory of lyric in terms of form and content. Four aspects and issues of the ongoing debate are discussed. In a first step, it is necessary to establish the relation between authorial poetics and lyric theory, since it is often characterised by fuzzy boundaries. Secondly, in order to specify the problem of form in lyric theory, it is suggested to have a closer look at the performative in lyric practice. Another important aspect of form is the semantics of lyrical genres. Lyrical genres mark an area in which form and content are intertwined and in which aspects of the form itself become semantic. Finally, the author argues that we should discuss - if possible assisted by a didactics sensitive to literary texts - whether and how theoretical proposals could be transformed into a practice of teaching poetry.
In the context of back pain, great emphasis has been placed on the importance of trunk stability, especially in situations requiring compensation of repetitive, intense loading induced during high-performance activities, e.g., jumping or landing. This study aims to evaluate trunk muscle activity during drop jump in adolescent athletes with back pain (BP) compared to athletes without back pain (NBP). Eleven adolescent athletes suffering back pain (BP: m/f: n = 4/7; 15.9 +/- 1.3 y; 176 +/- 11 cm; 68 +/- 11 kg; 12.4 +/- 10.5 h/we training) and 11 matched athletes without back pain (NBP: m/f: n = 4/7; 15.5 +/- 1.3 y; 174 +/- 7 cm; 67 +/- 8 kg; 14.9 +/- 9.5 h/we training) were evaluated. Subjects conducted 3 drop jumps onto a force plate (ground reaction force). Bilateral 12-lead SEMG (surface Electromyography) was applied to assess trunk muscle activity. Ground contact time [ms], maximum vertical jump force [N], jump time [ms] and the jump performance index [m/s] were calculated for drop jumps. SEMG amplitudes (RMS: root mean square [%]) for all 12 single muscles were normalized toMIVC (maximum isometric voluntary contraction) and analyzed in 4 time windows (100 ms pre- and 200 ms post-initial ground contact, 100 ms pre- and 200 ms post-landing) as outcome variables. In addition, muscles were grouped and analyzed in ventral and dorsal muscles, as well as straight and transverse trunk muscles. Drop jump ground reaction force variables did not differ between NBP and BP (p > 0.05). Mm obliquus externus and internus abdominis presented higher SEMG amplitudes (1.3-1.9-fold) for BP (p < 0.05). Mm rectus abdominis, erector spinae thoracic/lumbar and latissimus dorsi did not differ (p > 0.05). The muscle group analysis over the whole jumping cycle showed statistically significantly higher SEMG amplitudes for BP in the ventral (p = 0.031) and transverse muscles (p = 0.020) compared to NBP. Higher activity of transverse, but not straight, trunk muscles might indicate a specific compensation strategy to support trunk stability in athletes with back pain during drop jumps. Therefore, exercises favoring the transverse trunk muscles could be recommended for back pain treatment.
Impact of normal weight obesity on fundamental motor skills in pre-school children aged 3 to 6 years
(2017)
Normal weight obesity is defined as having excessive body fat, but normal BMI. Even though previous research revealed that excessive body fat in children inhibited their physical activity and decreased motor performance, there has been only little evidence about motor performance of normal weight obese children. This study aims to establish whether normal weight obese pre-school children aged 3-6 years will have a significantly worse level of fundamental motor skills compared to normal weight non-obese counterparts. The research sample consisted of 152 pre-schoolers selected from a specific district of Prague, the Czech Republic. According to values from four skinfolds: triceps, subscapula, suprailiaca, calf, and BMI three categories of children aged 3-6 years were determined: A) normal weight obese n = 51; B) normal weight non-obese n = 52; C) overweight and obese n = 49. The Movement Assessment Battery for Children (MABC-2) was used for the assessment of fundamental motor skills. Normal weight obese children had significantly higher amount of adipose tissue p < 0.001 than normal weight non-obese children but the same average BMI. Moreover, normal weight obese children did not have significantly less amount of subcutaneous fat on triceps and calf compared to their overweight and obese peers. In majority of MABC-2 tests, normal weight obese pre-schoolers showed the poorest performance. Moreover, normal weight obese children had significantly worse total standard score = 38.82 compared to normal weight non-obese peers = 52.27; p < 0.05. In addition, normal weight obese children had a more than three times higher frequency OR = 3.69 CI95% (1.10; 12.35) of severe motor deficit performance <= 5th centile of the MABC-2 norm. These findings are strongly alarming since indices like BMI are not able to identify normal weight obese individual. We recommend verifying real portion of normal weight obese children as they are probably in higher risk of health and motor problems than overweight and obese population due to their low lean mass.
Accuracy of training recommendations based on a treadmill multistage incremental exercise test
(2018)
Competitive runners will occasionally undergo exercise in a laboratory setting to obtain predictive and prescriptive information regarding their performance. The present research aimed to assess whether the physiological demands of lab-based treadmill running (TM) can simulate that of over-ground (OG) running using a commonly used protocol. Fifteen healthy volunteers with a weekly mileage of ≥ 20 km over the past 6 months and treadmill experience participated in this cross-sectional study. Two stepwise incremental tests until volitional exhaustion was performed in a fixed order within one week in an Outpatient Clinic research laboratory and outdoor athletic track. Running velocity (IATspeed), heart rate (IATHR) and lactate concentration at the individual anaerobic threshold (IATbLa) were primary endpoints. Additionally, distance covered (DIST), maximal heart rate (HRmax), maximal blood lactate concentration (bLamax) and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) at IATspeed were analyzed. IATspeed, DIST and HRmax were not statistically significantly different between conditions, whereas bLamax and RPE at IATspeed showed statistical significance (p < 0.05). Apart from RPE at IATspeed, IATspeed, DIST, HRmax and bLamax strongly correlate between conditions (r = 0.815–0.988). High reliability between conditions provides strong evidence to suggest that running on a treadmill are physiologically comparable to that of OG and that training recommendations and be made with assurance.
Accuracy of training recommendations based on a treadmill multistage incremental exercise test
(2018)
Competitive runners will occasionally undergo exercise in a laboratory setting to obtain predictive and prescriptive information regarding their performance. The present research aimed to assess whether the physiological demands of lab-based treadmill running (TM) can simulate that of over-ground (OG) running using a commonly used protocol. Fifteen healthy volunteers with a weekly mileage of ≥ 20 km over the past 6 months and treadmill experience participated in this cross-sectional study. Two stepwise incremental tests until volitional exhaustion was performed in a fixed order within one week in an Outpatient Clinic research laboratory and outdoor athletic track. Running velocity (IATspeed), heart rate (IATHR) and lactate concentration at the individual anaerobic threshold (IATbLa) were primary endpoints. Additionally, distance covered (DIST), maximal heart rate (HRmax), maximal blood lactate concentration (bLamax) and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) at IATspeed were analyzed. IATspeed, DIST and HRmax were not statistically significantly different between conditions, whereas bLamax and RPE at IATspeed showed statistical significance (p < 0.05). Apart from RPE at IATspeed, IATspeed, DIST, HRmax and bLamax strongly correlate between conditions (r = 0.815–0.988). High reliability between conditions provides strong evidence to suggest that running on a treadmill are physiologically comparable to that of OG and that training recommendations and be made with assurance.
La música como rizoma
(2018)
Con este trabajo se persigue establecer las bases de una nueva epistemología de la educación musical inspirándose para ello en la obra Mil mesetas de los franceses Deleuze y Guattari. Concebir la música como rizoma y el aula de música como sistema rizomórfico, nos permitirá analizar las características del hacer musical como sistema descentrado en el que interactúan fuerzas performativas que trascienden la partitura en sentido tradicional como principal y único monumento a considerar como parte del curriculum, distanciándose con ello del museo imaginario y de sus ideólogos.
Entender el aula de música como espacio social performativo permite estudiar las características de los sistemas rizomórficos en esta área de conocimiento y con la ayuda de los principios de conectividad, heterogeneidad, multiplicidad, ruptura asignificante y cartografía se comprobará cómo los universales de la musicología convencional no son válidos cuando se toman como única referencia para aplicarlos a contextos educativos.
In this cartography, I examine M.K. Gandhi’s practice of fasting for political purposes from a specifically aesthetic perspective. In other words, to foreground their dramatic qualities, how they in their expressive repetition, patterning and stylization produced a/effected heightened forms of emotions. To carry out this task, I follow the theater scholar Erika Fischer-Lichte’s features that give name to her book Äesthetik des Performativen (2004). The cartography is framed in a philosophical presentation of Gandhi’s discourse as well as of his historical sources. Moreover, as a second frame, I historicize the fasts, by means of a typology and teleology in context.
The historically and discoursively framed cartography maps four main dimensions that define the aesthetics of the performative: mediality, materiality, semioticity and aestheticity. The first part analyses the medial platforms in which the fasts as events have been historically recorded and in which they have left their traces and inscriptions. These historical sources are namely, newspapers, images, newsreels and a documentary film. Secondly, the material dimension depicts Gandhi’s corporeal condition, as well as the spatiality and temporality of the fasts. In the third place, I revise and reformulate critically Fischer-Lichte’s concepts of “presence” and “representation” with resonating concepts of G. C. Spivak and J. Rancière. This revision illustrates Gandhi’s fasts and shows the process of how an individual may become the embodiment or representation of a national body-politic. The last chapter of the cartography explores the autopoetic-feedback loop between Gandhi and the people and finishes with a comparison of the mise en scène of the hunger artists with the fasts of the Indian the politician, social reformer, and theologian. The text concludes interpreting Gandhi’s practice of fasting under the light of the concepts of “intellectual emancipation” and “de-subjectivation” of the philosopher J. Rancière.
The four main concerns of this cartography are: Firstly, in the field of Gandhi’s reception, to explore the aesthetic dimension as both alternative and complementary to the two hegemonic interpretative lenses, i.e. a hagiographic or a secular political understanding of the fasts. From a theoretical perspective, the cartography pursues to be a transdisciplinary experiment that aims at deploying concepts that have been traditionally developed, derived from and used in the field of the arts (theater, film, literature, aesthetic performance, etc.) in the field of the political. In brief, inverting an expression of Rancière, to understand politics as aesthetics. Thirdly, from a thematic point of view, the cartography inquires the historical forms of staging and perception of hunger. Last yet importantly, it is an inquiry of the practice of fasting as nonviolence, what Gandhi, its most sophisticated modern theoretician and practitioner considered its most radical expression.
Objectives
The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of a six-week in-season period of soccer training and games (congested period) on plasma volume variations (PV), hematological parameters, and physical fitness in elite players. In addition, we analyzed relationships between training load, hematological parameters and players’ physical fitness.
Methods
Eighteen elite players were evaluated before (T1) and after (T2) a six-week in-season period interspersed with 10 soccer matches. At T1 and T2, players performed the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test level 1 (YYIR1), the repeated shuttle sprint ability test (RSSA), the countermovement jump test (CMJ), and the squat jump test (SJ). In addition, PV and hematological parameters (erythrocytes [M/mm3], hematocrit [%], hemoglobin [g/dl], mean corpuscular volume [fl], mean corpuscular hemoglobin content [pg], and mean hemoglobin concentration [%]) were assessed. Daily ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were monitored in order to quantify the internal training load.
Results
From T1 to T2, significant performance declines were found for the YYIR1 (p<0.001, effect size [ES] = 0.5), RSSA (p<0.01, ES = 0.6) and SJ tests (p< 0.046, ES = 0.7). However, no significant changes were found for the CMJ (p = 0.86, ES = 0.1). Post-exercise, RSSA blood lactate (p<0.012, ES = 0.2) and PV (p<0.01, ES = 0.7) increased significantly from T1 to T2. A significant decrease was found from T1 to T2 for the erythrocyte value (p<0.002, ES = 0.5) and the hemoglobin concentration (p<0.018, ES = 0.8). The hematocrit percentage rate was also significantly lower (p<0.001, ES = 0.6) at T2. The mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin content and the mean hemoglobin content values were not statistically different from T1 to T2. No significant relationships were detected between training load parameters and percentage changes of hematological parameters. However, a significant relationship was observed between training load and changes in RSSA performance (r = -0.60; p<0.003).
Conclusions
An intensive period of “congested match play” over 6 weeks significantly compromised players’ physical fitness. These changes were not related to hematological parameters, even though significant alterations were detected for selected measures.
Objectives
The aims of this study were to investigate the effects of a six-week in-season period of soccer training and games (congested period) on plasma volume variations (PV), hematological parameters, and physical fitness in elite players. In addition, we analyzed relationships between training load, hematological parameters and players’ physical fitness.
Methods
Eighteen elite players were evaluated before (T1) and after (T2) a six-week in-season period interspersed with 10 soccer matches. At T1 and T2, players performed the Yo-Yo intermittent recovery test level 1 (YYIR1), the repeated shuttle sprint ability test (RSSA), the countermovement jump test (CMJ), and the squat jump test (SJ). In addition, PV and hematological parameters (erythrocytes [M/mm3], hematocrit [%], hemoglobin [g/dl], mean corpuscular volume [fl], mean corpuscular hemoglobin content [pg], and mean hemoglobin concentration [%]) were assessed. Daily ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) were monitored in order to quantify the internal training load.
Results
From T1 to T2, significant performance declines were found for the YYIR1 (p<0.001, effect size [ES] = 0.5), RSSA (p<0.01, ES = 0.6) and SJ tests (p< 0.046, ES = 0.7). However, no significant changes were found for the CMJ (p = 0.86, ES = 0.1). Post-exercise, RSSA blood lactate (p<0.012, ES = 0.2) and PV (p<0.01, ES = 0.7) increased significantly from T1 to T2. A significant decrease was found from T1 to T2 for the erythrocyte value (p<0.002, ES = 0.5) and the hemoglobin concentration (p<0.018, ES = 0.8). The hematocrit percentage rate was also significantly lower (p<0.001, ES = 0.6) at T2. The mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin content and the mean hemoglobin content values were not statistically different from T1 to T2. No significant relationships were detected between training load parameters and percentage changes of hematological parameters. However, a significant relationship was observed between training load and changes in RSSA performance (r = -0.60; p<0.003).
Conclusions
An intensive period of “congested match play” over 6 weeks significantly compromised players’ physical fitness. These changes were not related to hematological parameters, even though significant alterations were detected for selected measures.
Evaluating the performance of self-adaptive systems (SAS) is challenging due to their complexity and interaction with the often highly dynamic environment. In the context of self-healing systems (SHS), employing simulators has been shown to be the most dominant means for performance evaluation. Simulating a SHS also requires realistic fault injection scenarios. We study the state of the practice for evaluating the performance of SHS by means of a systematic literature review. We present the current practice and point out that a more thorough and careful treatment in evaluating the performance of SHS is required.