Sport Records Are Social Facts

In this paper I address the topic of sport records and concentrate on the ontology of sport records. I argue that sport records are social facts in the sense that sport records not only depend on the physical facts of sport competitions, but also on the attitude we take towards the phenomenon—our attitude is partly constitutive of the phenomenon of sport records. In particular, the Mieto–Wassberg incident and the Larsson–McKee incident show that performance records should also be regarded as social facts. Lastly, I show how my view sits with the view that sports are response-sensitive. I argue that the latter gives us further reason to believe that sport records, in particular performance records, are social facts.     

论道德理想：世俗生活中医学美德何以可能

道德理想在现代道德哲学理论建构与医学道德实践生活中占有非常重要的地位和作用。道德理想作为道德行动的卓越目标,体现为个人、社会与国家三个层次。在道德理想与道德义务的关系上存在着三种不同的观点。医学美德的实现有赖于医生的超义务行为或份外行善,道德英雄和道德圣人展现出了卓越的道德品质。道德理想虽然不像道德义务那样具有强制性,但完全缺乏任何道德理想的社会生活是不可欲的。医学美德不仅在世俗生活中是可能的,而且我们应该在医学职业中给予它应有的道德地位,它的崇高性、典范性、激励性深刻地展示了人类道德的价值和主体性尊严。

     

Evaluating behavioral skills training to teach safe tackling skills to youth football players

With concussion rates on the rise for football players, there is a need for further research to increase skills and decrease injuries. Behavioral skills training is effective in teaching a wide variety of skills but has yet to be studied in the sports setting. We evaluated behavioral skills training to teach safer tackling techniques to six participants from a Pop Warner football team. Safer tackling techniques increased during practice and generalized to games for the two participants who had opportunities to tackle in games.     

The role of athlete as contributor to peer status in school-age and adolescent females in the United States: From pre-title IX to 2000 and beyond

Despite its importance for males, athleticism has been considered inconsequential as a predictor of peer status for females. In the United States, however, female sports have seen dramatic increases in participation, sport type variety, and role models since the passage of Title IX. An extensive literature review was conducted to determine if athletic variables have become more significant predictors of peer status for school-age (ages 7–13) and adolescent (ages 14–18) females in the United States over the past 30 years. An integration of findings suggested that the relation between athletic variables and peer status remained relatively stable across age groups. Review of literature addressing the internal perceptions of female athletes allowed for speculation regarding the increases in participation despite the lack of peer status benefits.     

Effects of posting self-set goals on collegiate football players' skill execution during practice and games

The effects of self-set goals and public posting on athletic performance of 5 collegiate football players was studied. All players were linebackers on a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Division II football team. The dependent variables were the percentage of correct occasions when the linebacker (a) positioned himself to cover a specified area on the field during a pass or from the line of scrimmage during a run; (b) moved to the correct position in response to the positioning of the offense; and (c) tackled and stopped the progress of the ball carrier. A multiple baseline design across behaviors showed an immediate increase in the practice performance of the players and a corresponding increase in game performance following introduction of the independent variable. This study extends research using public posting in sport by demonstrating the effects of player-determined goals and public posting of goal attainment.     

An application of the matching law to evaluate the allocation of two- and three-point shots by college basketball players

We applied the matching equation to evaluate the allocation of two- and three-point shots by male and female college basketball players from a large Division 1 university. The matching law predicts that the proportion of shots taken from three-point range should match the proportional reinforcement rate produced by such shots. Thus, we compared the proportion of three-point shots taken relative to all shots to the proportion of three-point shots scored relative to all shots scored. However, the matching equation was adjusted to account for the greater reinforcer magnitude of the three-point basket (i.e., 1.5 times greater than the two-point basket reinforcer magnitude). For players with substantial playing time, results showed that the overall distribution of two- and three-point shots was predicted by the matching equation. Game-by-game shot distribution was variable, but the cumulative proportion of shots taken from three-point range as the season progressed was predicted almost perfectly on a player-by-player basis for both male and female basketball players.     

Leveling the playing field: can psychological coping resources reduce the influence of physical and technical skills on athletic performance?*

Background and Objectives: The present study assessed the extent to which individual differences in psychological coping resources are related to athletic performance; whether they can attenuate the amount of performance variance accounted for by physical/technical skills; and whether coping resources remain significant predictors of performance when physical/technical skill level is statistically controlled.

Methods: Twenty college golf coaches rated the physical/technical skills of 189 men and women varsity golfers on their teams. Athletes completed the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI-28), with the total (Personal Coping Resources) score serving as a global measure of sport-relevant psychological coping resources. Subsequent performance (stroke average per round) of 105 golfers was assessed over a mean of 12.04 competitive rounds during the remainder of the season.

Results: Physical/technical skills and psychological coping resource measures were minimally correlated and both were significant and similarly influential predictors of performance. With psychological resources controlled, performance variance accounted for by physical/technical skills was reduced from 21.2% to 10.6%. With physical/technical skills statistically controlled, psychological coping resources, though reduced from 18.2% to 7.5% of accountable variance, remained a significant predictor of performance.

Conclusion: Results support the significant role played by psychological coping resources as predictors of athletic performance, together with their ability to “level the field” by reducing the influence of physical/technical talent.     

社区老年人执行功能和加工速度与运动能力的关系

随着年龄的增长,老年人的运动能力和执行功能,以及心理加工速度都出现不同程度的衰退。已有的研究多集中于步行与跌倒,未能统合考察运动能力、心理加工速度以及执行功能各子成分之间的关系。本研究对66名老年人的运动能力、执行功能以及加工速度进行了测试,通过经典范式对老年人四种运动能力测试(握力、30秒连续坐起、闭眼单足站立、起立行走计时)与执行功能各子成分(抑制控制、刷新功能、转换功能以及工作记忆)及心理加工速度进行了统合考察,更深入地探究了老年人运动能力与认知能力之间的关系。结果发现,在运动能力中,起立行走计时的成绩与执行功能和加工速度的关系最为密切,对起立行走计时的预测模型中加工速度权重最大。结果提示,对老年人认知功能的干预可能会影响老年人的基本运动能力。