Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have difficulty maintaining employment, and there are few evidenced-based practices to guide professionals when developing employment skills among this ...population. The purpose of this study was to extend the literature on covert audio coaching (CAC) by examining its effects on high school students with ASD performing a job task. We used a multiple baseline design across participants. With the introduction of CAC, the participants' job task accuracy and fluency improved. Additionally, the participants' skills maintained for several weeks and showed preliminary evidence of effectiveness for the same task completed in a community-based worksite.
The effects of covert audio coaching, a form of performance feedback delivered remotely through a two-way radio and earbud speaker, was examined on the classroom attending behavior of children with ...autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Four elementary-aged students with ASD participated. This study was conducted in a private, separate day school for students with ASD. Baseline data showed that participants emitted low levels of attending behavior with a degree of variability. During intervention, all participants increased their level of attending behavior and these data were stable. Follow-up data revealed higher levels of attending compared with baseline; however, these data were more variable than what was observed during intervention. These results and implications for future research and practice are discussed.
Background Computer-navigated knee arthroplasty has been shown to improve accuracy over conventional instruments. The next generation of computer assistance is being developed using augmented ...reality. The accuracy of augmented reality navigation has not been established. Methods From April 2021 to October 2021, a prospective, consecutive series of 20 patients underwent total knee arthroplasty utilising an augmented reality-assisted navigation system (ARAN). The coronal and sagittal alignment of the femoral and tibial bone cuts was measured using the ARAN and the final position of the components was measured on postoperative CT scans. The absolute difference between the measurements was recorded to determine the accuracy of the ARAN. Results Two cases were excluded due to segmentation errors, leaving 18 cases for analysis. The ARAN produced a mean absolute error of 1.4°, 2.0°, 1.1° and 1.6° for the femoral coronal, femoral sagittal, tibial coronal and tibial sagittal alignments, respectively. No outliers (absolute error of >3°) were identified in femoral coronal or tibial coronal alignment measurements. Three outliers were identified in tibial sagittal alignment, with all cases demonstrating less tibial slope (by 3.1°, 3.3° and 4°). Five outliers were identified in femoral sagittal alignment and in all cases, the component was more extended (3.1°, 3.2°, 3.2°, 3.4° and 3.9°). The mean operative time significantly decreased from the first nine augmented reality cases to the final nine cases by 11 minutes (p<0.05). There was no difference in the accuracy between the early and late ARAN cases. Conclusion Augmented reality navigation can achieve accurate alignment of total knee arthroplasty with a low rate of component malposition in the coronal plane. Acceptable and consistent accuracy can be achieved from the initial adoption of this technique, however, some sagittal outliers were identified and there is a clear learning curve with respect to operating time. The level of evidence was IV.
This study aimed to explore the perceptual-cognitive characteristics of coaches as they assessed team performance in youth soccer. The primary focus was to investigate the alignment between coaches' ...subjective analyses of team behaviour and objective analyses, while also examining the relationship between coaches' gaze behaviour and their levels of coaching experience, particularly considering the potential differences that may exist among coaches with varying levels of experience. Sixty-five male and female adults with various soccer coaching experience (experienced, novice, other team sport experience, and non-team sport experience) watched five 4-minute videos and assessed team behaviour. These subjective evaluations were compared to objective data obtained from video analysis and GPS, which included measures of completed skills, spatiotemporal characteristics, and passing networks. The participants' fixation duration and frequency were measured for each video clip, and the area around the ball specifically. The study found no significant differences between groups regarding the number of times participants' subjective analysis aligned with the objective data (
= 0.059, ɳ
= 0.07). However, coaches with soccer coaching experience demonstrated a higher fixation frequency and more revisits to the ball area when compared to participants without soccer experience (
= <.001, ɳ
= 0.09). The current study offers a unique approach to uncovering soccer coaching expertise by combining objective and subjective evaluations of team performance. In summary, the study reveals that coaching experience did not impact how often coaches subjective analyses matched objective data. However, soccer coaches had distinctive gaze behaviour patterns where they revisited the area around the ball more often.
Goal setting is widely applied in sport. Whereas existing reviews have addressed the performance effects of goal setting, less is known about the concurrent psychological and psychophysiological ...effects. Therefore, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis that synthesised the effects of goal setting on task performance and various psychological and psychophysiological outcomes in sport. Searches returned 17,841 articles, with 27 meeting eligibility criteria. A meta-analysis of the performance effects and a narrative synthesis of the psychological and psychophysiological effects were undertaken. Process goals had the largest effect on performance (d = 1.36) compared to performance goals (d = 0.44) and outcome goals (d = 0.09). No significant difference in performance was found between specific (d = 0.37) and non-specific goals (d = 0.72). Process goals also had large effects on self-efficacy (d = 1.11), whereas studies guided by self-regulation theory (k = 5) produced the greatest performance enhancements (d = 1.53). It was rarely possible to draw conclusions regarding the effects of goal setting on psychological/psychophysiological outcomes due to a lack of cross study evidence. Nevertheless, these findings provide important insights to guide research and practice on the use of goal setting to enhance performance and psychological/psychophysiological outcomes in sport.
INTRODUCTIONSoccer coaches are critical to academies as they are central to identifying players with the potential to succeed (i.e., talent). Research suggests coaches perceive skill as determining ...players' potential. Regardless, researchers only broadly explored their views and quantified players' skill using objective measures, which is problematic as coaches still rely on their subjective intuition. A plausible reason is that skill assessments do not meet coaches' needs.OBJECTIVESo,this study explored academy soccer coaches' perspectives on skilfulness.METHODSParticipants required a minimum B-level AFC/FA Pro Coaching Licence and five years' experience for inclusion. Australian soccer coaches (n = 4) and academy directors (n = 7) (Mage = 35.90 ± 8.36 years; Mexperience = 14 ± 7.02 years) participated in semi-structured interviews (Mtime = 50.73 ± 7.33).RESULTSWe analysed coaches' responses using reflexive thematic analysis, generating four themes describing skilful players as i) technically proficient, ii) adaptable, iii) effective decision-makers, and iv) influential to their team's success. We produced three themes on the situational and contextual nature of their views, perceiving skill through a v) developmental lens, relying on their vi) experiential knowledge, and their views were vii) context-specific.CONCLUSIONAdditional research is needed to create a refined conceptual model for assessing soccer skilfulness.
Purpose: The effectiveness of early talent identification and development programs in soccer is questionable due to the dynamic nature of these processes in young and adolescent players. To date, ...only a few studies have longitudinally modelled developmental trajectories of functional characteristics in youth soccer players, yet none have captured the entire typical age range of soccer development programs (5-20 years). Furthermore, these studies have often failed to take into account the multidimensional nature of talent identification and development processes. Methods: This study used segmented linear models to map the periods of accelerated and decelerated development of motor competence and physical fitness in a large sample (2228 players with 6120 observations) of high level Belgian youth soccer players between 5-20 years. Results: The segmented models revealed that motor competence showed faster development well before the average estimated Age at Peak Height Velocity. Agility, lower body explosive power, intermittent endurance, and straight line running speed showed continuous development that does not slow down until players are between 15-17 years old. Conclusion: This study highlights the dynamic nature of talent development and provides practical considerations for those involved in talent identification and development programs in youth soccer.
The expression of TNF-Receptor Associated Factor 6 (TRAF6) is essential for many physiological processes. Here we studied the phenotype of TRAF6L74H knock-in mice which are devoid of TRAF6 E3 ligase ...activity in every cell of the body, but express normal levels of the TRAF6 protein. Remarkably, TRAF6L74H mice have none of the phenotypes seen in TRAF6 KO mice. Instead TRAF6L74H mice display an entirely different phenotype, exhibiting autoimmunity, and severe inflammation of the skin and modest inflammation of the liver and lungs. Similar to mice with a Treg-specific knockout of TRAF6, or mice devoid of TRAF6 in all T cells, the CD4+ and CD8+ T cells in the spleen and lymph nodes displayed an activated effector memory phenotype with CD44high/CD62Llow expression on the cell surface. In contrast, T cells from WT mice exhibited the CD44low/CD62Lhigh phenotype characteristic of naïve T cells. The onset of autoimmunity and autoinflammation in TRAF6L74H mice (two weeks) was much faster than in mice with a Treg-specific knockout of TRAF6 or lacking TRAF6 expression in all T cells (2-3 months) and we discuss whether this may be caused by secondary inflammation of other tissues. The distinct phenotypes of mice lacking TRAF6 expression in all cells appears to be explained by their inability to signal via TNF Receptor Superfamily members, which does not seem to be impaired significantly in TRAF6L74H mice.
The current study aimed to investigate the performance characteristics that discriminate Australian youth soccer players according to their academy status. A total of 165 youth soccer players ...participated in this study and were sub-divided into either an early adolescence (n = 92, age = 13.0 ± 0.6 years) or mid-adolescence (n = 73 age = 14.8 ± 0.6 years) group. Players completed multifactorial assessments of anthropometry, motor competence, physical fitness, decision-making and psychological traits. Statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Multivariate analysis of variance identified dynamic balancing ability (both age groups), object manipulation (mid-adolescence), lateral jumping ability (both age groups), linear speed over 5 m (both age groups), change of direction skill (mid-adolescence), intermittent aerobic endurance (mid-adolescence) and total response time on a decision-making assessment (early adolescence) to discriminate academy status. Interestingly, a binomial logistical regression showed that a 0.1 s decrease in sprint time (i.e. running faster) increased the odds of a player belonging to a tier one academy by 19% and 47% for early and mid-adolescent players, respectively. Overall, performance in the motor competence and physical fitness assessments were in favour of the tier one academy players. These findings are indicative of a potential selection bias in the Australian talent pool or a training effect whereby tier one academy programmes emphasise the development of physical attributes. However, future research is required to further substantiate this in a larger sample of youth soccer players from other playing regions within Australia.
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