Annals of Applied Sport Science
Volume:6 Issue: 2, Summer 2018

Rugby union is a team sport with a high amount of physical contact during match play. The physical performance and anthropometric characteristics required, differ based on the playing position.

The objective of this systematic review was to relate anthropometric properties with physical performance parameters in Rugby union  backs and forwards across different playing levels of Tier 1 nations.

Two electronic searches were performed in MEDLINE on the PubMed and on BISp (German Federal Sports Science Institute) databases from August 2016 to July 2017. All experimental study types in English and German were assessed for eligibility. Inclusion criteria were 15-a-side senior male backs and forwards, with anthropometric and/or physical performance data.

In n = 7 studies out of 12 selected, the elite forwards were significantly taller than the elite backs (p < 0.05). This accounted not for lower playing levels. Across all levels the forwards were significantly heavier than the backs. Significantly lower body fat percentages for the backs demonstrated n = 5 out of 6 studies. Consequently, backs were more ectomorphic than forwards. Backs reached significantly lower sprint velocities over short distances and higher ones over longer distances (10 to 40 m).

Anthropometric parameters adapt to physical performance requested. In strength and endurance test situations heavier players may be underestimated postulating careful interpretation of those results to avoid misleading conclusion.

Despite the increasing popularity of the snowboard, there is not scientific literature for sport performance indicators in this sport.

 To analyze the effects of jump difficulty on the final performance during snowboarding-slopestyle competition.

All competition sequences (n=214) from the 2014 Winter Olympic Games were analyzed. Of these, 123 were from the men´s competition and 91 were from the women´s competition. The interaction between the final score and number of rotations was calculated using regression models with quadratic or linear equations. All analyses were performed separately for women and men.

Quadratic regression had better R2 and mean absolute errors than linear regression. Linear and quadratic regressions showed that the number of rotations significantly predicts final score in men.  However, in the women´s competition, the curve of quadratic regression was almost identical to that from the linear regression.

These results have identified the importance of evaluating the jump difficulty versus its efficacy. Athletes and coaches have to weigh pros and cons of increasing the difficulty of jumps or improve jumps that are already fluent in order to master them.

The kinematics of a controlled functional task in female volleyball athletes may be an interesting area of study. Therefore, investigating if there are kinematic changes in a jump landing jump task among female athletes with low back pain (LBP) may help therapists and trainers better prevent and/or rehabilitate LBP in athletes.

The purpose of this study was to examine lumbopelvic and lower extremity kinematics in athletes with persistent LBP during a jumping task.

A comparative cross sectional study conducted in a university research laboratory. Professional female volleyball players with (n = 20) and without (n = 18) LBP were recruited from the Iranian female volleyball league. To reduce heterogeneity, one particular subgroup of athletes with LBP were selected. Kinematic data including lumbar extension, hip flexion, rotation and adduction and knee flexion and abduction angles when the center of mass was at minimum height during a jump-landing-jump maneuver were collected using a Vicon motion analysis system and analysed using MATLAB software. Independent t-tests were used to compare mean values between the groups.

Athletes with LBP had significantly greater hip flexion (LBP: -73.62±11.06˚; Control: -62.88±7.03˚, p=0.016) and significantly less knee flexion (LBP: 77.06±7.27 ˚, Control: 81.62±4.70 ˚, p=0.029) at the lowest point of the jump than athletes without LBP. There were no other significant differences between the groups (p>0.05).

A subgroup of female athletes with LBP display altered lower extremity kinematics during a jump task than athletes without LBP. This may have important implications for lower limb performance and injury.

Background:

 Low Back Pain (LBP) is a prevalent phenomenon in athletes and asymmetrical loading on the limbs has been proposed as a risk factor related to this disease.

The purpose of the present study was to compare the asymmetry of loading applied on the legs between men with and without LBP during gait.

A total of 40 participants, comprising 20 men with non-specific LBP who practiced martial arts and 20 men without LBP, participated in the study. The participants walked in gait lab and forces applied on the legs were recorded in three dimensions using a force plate. Also, asymmetry of the forces applied on the dominant and non-dominant limbs was measured.

The Asymmetry Indexes (ASI) of the first, second, and third peaks of vertical forces were respectively 3.1%, 3.4%, and 4.1% for normal participants and 4.2%, 4.2, and 2.1 for the participants who had LBP (p>0.05).

It can be concluded that martial arts athletes with LBP apply symmetrical loads on the lower extremities, similar to healthy people.

Desnutrin is an enzyme that catalyzes the first step of cytoplasmic triacylglycerol lipolysis from white adipose tissue and several other tissues, which are disrupted by the obesity and metabolic syndrome.

The aim of this study was to compare the effect of high-intensity interval training and continuous training on the desnutrin gene expression in the subcutaneous adipose tissue and the quadriceps muscle tissue of obese male rats.

For this purpose, after 12 weeks on a high-fat diet, 30 Wistar rats were divided into two groups: continuous training (n =10) and high-intensity interval training (n=10). Continuous (80%VO2max) and high-intensity interval exercise training (100%VO2max) sessions were conducted according to the principle of overload for six weeks and six sessions per week. Forty-eight hours after the last training session, the abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue and quadriceps muscle tissue were extracted, and the expression level was assessed using the RT-PCR method.

The study showed that the difference between high-intensity interval and continuous training on the desnutrin gene expression subcutaneous adipose tissue was significant (p=0.004), but there were no significant differences (p=0.415) between them in the quadriceps femoris muscle tissue.

According to the findings of the present study, in the adipose tissue, continuous training has a greater effect on the desnutrin gene expression than high-intensity interval training. In the muscle tissue, however, there is no difference between these two training exercises.

BDNF and NT-4/5 have been proposed to be involved in the coordinated adaptations of the neuromuscular system to the elevated level of activity, but an activity-dependent expression of neurotrophins in skeletal muscle is not well established.

We, therefore, investigated the effect of one session of resistance exercise on mRNA expression of some neurotrophins in Slow and fast muscles of Wistar rats.

The resistance training protocol consisted of climbing a 1-meter–long ladder, with a weight attached to a tail sleeve. Twenty-four hours following the main training session, Soleus and Flexor Hallucis Longus (FHL) muscles were removed. mRNA expression of BDNF, NT4/5, TrkB and p75 proteins was assessed by Quantitative RT-PCR.

The data analysis showed that one session of resistance exercise significantly (p<0.05) decreased mRNA expression of NT4/5 in soleus muscle, but not in FHL muscle. No significant effects of one resistance exercise bout were detected for BDNF and trkB. Our results also show that p75 mRNA levels in the soleus muscle were significantly elevated (7folds) after one resistance training bout (p<0.05).

The results indicate differential control of BDNF and NT-4/5 expression following resistance exercise in skeletal muscle. Also, we have provided evidence supporting the role of the p75 receptor in neurotrophins response to resistance exercise as a mechanical stimulus.

Adults benefit more from an external focus than internal focus when performing motor skills.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of internal and external focus of attention on dart throwing performance in children with and without developmental coordination disorder.

Twenty men, 20 normal boys and 20 boys with developmental coordination disorder were selected by Motor Observation Questionnaire for Teachers. The task was to throw the darts to the target which was performed in two experimental conditions including internal (related to the movements of the fingers and arm) and external (related to target and dart’s course) focus of attention.

The results of ANOVA with repeated measures indicated that along with Constrained Action Hypothesis, adults performed better in the condition of external focus of attention. However, for normal children, the use of the internal focus of attention was more effective and in children with developmental coordination disorder, no significant difference between the two conditions was found.

According to results of this study, therapists and coaches should adjust their methods and instructions based on age, experience and developmental conditions of individuals.

Although most people are aware of the advantages of physical exercise, they fail to adhere to a regular routine of exercise, which necessitates this intervention.

In this study, by controlling the moderating role of the variable of commitment to exercise, the effect of a special cognitive-behavioral intervention on the commitment and adherence to an exercise routine has been investigated in adults.

The statistical population for this study comprises 635 people with over 10 yearschr('39') professional experience. Of this number, 235 were selected. Then, 80 employees were randomly assigned to two groups, experimental and control, with 40 members each. The experimental group was trained in cognitive-behavioral therapy for four months over 14 sessions. To collect the data on commitment and adherence to the exercise routine, a questionnaire was used.

When the effect of the pretest variable on the dependent variable was adjusted, it was observed that there is a significant difference (p<0.01) between the means of the scores for commitment to exercise and adherence to exercise routine. The covariance test revealed that the difference in the adherence to exercise routine in both the experimental and control groups, after controlling the effects of commitment to exercise, was not significant (p<0.05).

The findings show that adherence to exercise routine can be improved in people by cognitive-behavioral intervention, using the moderating role of the variable of commitment to exercise and eliminating the gap between the intention to exercise and commitment to exercise. Therefore, counselors and therapists can use the cognitive-behavioral intervention protocol to improve the commitment to exercise and adherence to exercise routine.

Today, education of entrepreneurs is considered as one of the basic and fundamental guidelines for the comprehensive development of a country.

So the main purpose of this study is to investigate the mediating role of innovative supportive environment in the relationship between organizational climate and entrepreneurship in physical education male students in universities of Mashhad.

This is a descriptive-correlational and analytical study and has been done by field method. The statistical population of the present study consists of all male students of physical education and sport sciences faculties in the city of Mashhad (1083 people). Among these students, 308 people were selected as study samples. The sampling method was cluster and simple random. Organizational climate questionnaire by Sussman & Deep (1989) and Moghimi (2013) and entrepreneurship questionnaire of Kevin & Slavin (1986) were used for data collection. Also for evaluating the innovative supportive environment, the questionnaire of Cheng Hava Tassi through a five-point Likert scale was used. The overall reliabilities of questionnaires were obtained respectively 89%, 84% and 92%. The software package of spss21 was used for descriptive statistics and the software of Liserl8.5 was used for confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM).

The study results showed that there is a positive and significant relationship between all three factors of organizational climate, entrepreneurship and innovative supportive environment (55%). In this relationship, organizational climate (56%) and innovative supportive environment (74%) were effective on entrepreneurship.

Based on research findings, it could be stated that to have Entrepreneur University in the male student part, having merely organizational space is not adequate and the space that has innovative supportive environment should govern it so in interaction with each other causes increasing entrepreneurship in these students.

The sports industry plays an important role in the progress of the economy in developed countries. The role of technology is remarkable in the enhancement of the economy.

The present study investigates the effects of technology spillover on the economic growth of Iran’s sports industry through the import of intermediate and capital goods for the period from 1974 to 2012.

The research method was econometrics and the autoregressive distributed lag model was used. To do so, the following categories of data was analyzed by Eviews software: value added to cultural, recreational and sports services; current and construction expenditures of the government compared to the GDP (government size); import of intermediate and capital goods; capital stock of sports and active economic population of the sports section.

The results of model estimation showed that technology spillover has a significant and positive effect on the economic growth of Iran’s sports industry (p<0.05) both in the short and the long term. The error correction model also indicated a speedy movement of distortions and imbalances towards the long-term equilibrium.

The findings show that the import of capital and intermediate goods creates the context for increased productivity in Iran’s sports sector by facilitating access to the required intermediate agent and global technologies for organizations.

Brand Personality (BP) is one of the most commonly used concepts in marketing literature, and academicians and marketers believe in its benefits. Today, brand personality plays an important role in strategic management and it is considered as one of the most important tactics of an organization to gain a Competitive Advantage (CA).

This paper aims to investigate the factors that cause the growth and development of brand personality of the Premier League of Iranchr('39')s Soccer and identify the actions and interactions resulting from this phenomenon, and the results and consequences of the use of these actions and interactions.

To this end, the present study was conducted in the framework of a qualitative approach using the Grounded Theory (GT) method. The data collection tools included semi-structured in-depth interviews. Using the purposive sampling method, 23 individuals including academic elites, experts familiar with brand management issues in sports, certified managers and sports practitioners in soccer league organization, club managers, and sports media and brand specialists, were selected and interviewed. The obtained data were analyzed using the three-step process of open, axial and selective codings.

Based on the results obtained from the open coding of the qualitative interviews, 103 attributes were identified with regards to the factors that shape Premier League brand personality. The findings indicate that there are 83 effective attributes in the brand personality phenomenon and its growth and development. The required strategies and consequences of the brand personality in the Premier League of Iranchr('39')s Soccer were classified into 9 concepts, including organizational attributes, team attributes, function, fans, direct resources, indirect resources, performance attributes, non-performance attributes, brand strength and relationships.

Considering the key concepts associated with the formation of the brand personality of Premier League, namely the organizational attributes, team attributes, function and fans, executives and planners of the premier league of soccer can act and interact based on the provided strategies, so as to obtain the expected results, that is, emergence of the brand personality of premier league, and the consequences of this emergence, such as two-way communication with the customers and potential beneficiaries, and to strengthen the brand success variables such as the image, attitude, purchase preferences and services provided by the league.

When asked about employeeschr('39') political behavior in the workplace, they often see it as signs of good behavior and see it as an ugly act that achieves personal goals at the expense of others, and May be harmful to the goals of the organization or individuals.

This study aimed to test a model of factors affecting political behavior in the sports industry. In the study, other objectives such as the moderating role of political skills and will, as well as the mediating role of the perception of organizational politics are discussed.

The sample size of the present research is 705 people which are employees of the Ministry of Sport and federations (of football, volleyball, handball, basketball, weight-lifting, wrestling, taekwondo, veterans and disabled). These were selected by simple random sampling and a questionnaire was used to evaluate the variables under study.

The results did not show significant direct relationship between inter-organizational factors and show that perception of organizational politics mediated the relationship between inter-organizational factors and political behavior. The results showed that political skills and will, played the role of the moderator of organizational factors with political behavior.

Politics is a fact of life in the organizations. Those who are not able to observe their political behavior cannot understand the fact that organization is a political system. Thus, the organizations should lead to the politicization and managers should make necessary attempts towards reaching organizational goals which is important.