Acquisition of expertise in cricket fast bowling : perceptions of expert players and coaches

Objectives: Experiential knowledge of elite athletes and coaches was investigated to reveal insights on expertise acquisition in cricket fast bowling. Design: Twenty-one past or present elite cricket fast bowlers and coaches of national or international level were interviewed using an in-depth, open-ended, semi-structured approach. Methods: Participants were asked about specific factors which they believed were markers of fast bowling expertise potential. Of specific interest was the relative importance of each potential component of fast bowling expertise and how components interacted or developed over time. Results: The importance of intrinsic motivation early in development was highlighted, along with physical, psychological and technical attributes. Results supported a multiplicative and interactive complex systems model of talent development in fast bowling, in which component weightings were varied due to individual differences in potential experts. Dropout rates in potential experts were attributed to misconceived current talent identification programmes and coaching practices, early maturation and physical attributes, injuries and lack of key psychological attributes and skills. Conclusions: Data are consistent with a dynamical systems model of expertise acquisition in fast bowling, with numerous trajectories available for talent development. Further work is needed to relate experiential and theoretical knowledge on expertise in other sports.

Review of the nutrition policy of the Arnhem Land Progress Association

The process of implementation and the effect of the nutrition policy of the Arnhem Land Progress Association (ALPA) were reviewed three years after implementation of the policy in five remote Aboriginal community retail stores in May 1990. In 1993, compliance with the policy varied among stores. Recommended foods were available regularly in most communities; however, promotional and educational components of the policy were not widely implemented. Dietary improvements were evident in those communities where stores most complied with the policy. Some aspects of the ALPA nutrition policy require modification, and renewed commitment to the policy is likely to improve further the diet in the Aboriginal communities involved. The ALPA nutrition policy is a potential model for the development of other local food and nutrition policies in remote Aboriginal communities.

Assessing land-use and transport integration via a spatial composite indexing model

Achieving sustainable urban development is identified as one ultimate goal of many contemporary planning endeavours and has become central to formulation of urban planning policies. Within this concept, land-use and transport integration is highlighted as one of the most important and attainable policy objectives. In many cities, integration is embraced as an integral part of local development plans, and a number of key integration principles are identified. However, the lack of available evaluation methods to measure extent of urban sustainability levels prevents successful implementation of these principles. This paper introduces a new indicator-based spatial composite indexing model developed to measure sustainability performance of urban settings by taking into account land-use and transport integration principles. Model indicators are chosen via a thorough selection process in line with key principles of land-use and transport integration. These indicators are grouped into categories and themes according to their topical relevance. These indicators are then aggregated to form a spatial composite index to portray an overview of the sustainability performance of the pilot study area used for model demonstration. The study results revealed that the model is a practical instrument for evaluating success of local integration policies and visualizing sustainability performance of built environments and useful in both identifying problematic areas as well as formulating policy interventions.

Patron-driven acquisition of online video

Letting the patron choose ebooks has been a successful experience. Why not apply the same purchase model to other formats? This showcase outlines Queensland University of Technology’s experience with a trial of patron driven acquisition (PDA) for online video. The trial commencing in August 2012 provided access to over 700 online videos licensed from Kanopy across a number of discipline areas. As online video publishing is still in the early stages of development, and as the trial is only in the very early stages, it is too early to draw any firm conclusions about the likely suitability of this model for online video selection and acquisition. However, the trial provides some interesting initial comparisons with ebook PDA and existing online video purchase models and prompts further consideration of PDA as a method for online video selection and licensing.

Possible, inevitable or fait accompli? An analysis of streaming video acquisition, acceptance and use in higher education

This paper explores the potential for online video as a mechanism to transform the ways students learn, as measured by research, user experience and usage following surveys and trials of patron-driven acquisition collaboratively undertaken by Queensland University of Technology, La Trobe University and Kanopy.

Prickly pear land : transnational networks in settler Australia

The story of prickly pear in Australia is usually told as a tale of triumphant scientific intervention into an environmental disaster. Instead, this unarticle considers it as a transnational network in order to better understand the myriad of elements that made this event so important. Through this methodology emerges the complex nature of prickly pear land that included people, places, ideas, rhetoric and objects that traveled from all over the world into settler Australia.

How small-sided and conditioned games enhance acquisition of movement and decision-making skills

This article summarizes research from an ecological dynamics program of work on team sports exemplifying how small-sided and conditioned games (SSCG) can enhance skill acquisition and decision-making processes during training. The data highlighted show how constraints of different SSCG can facilitate emergence of continuous interpersonal coordination tendencies during practice to benefit team game players.

Development of an integrated GIS and land use planning course : impacts of hybrid instructional methods

This study reports an action research undertaken at Queensland University of Technology. It evaluates the effectiveness of the integration of GIS within the substantive domains of an existing land use planning course in 2011. Using student performance, learning experience survey, and questionnaire survey data, it also evaluates the impacts of incorporating hybrid instructional methods (e.g., in-class and online instructional videos) in 2012 and 2013. Results show that: students (re)iterated the importance of GIS in the course justifying the integration; the hybrid methods significantly increased student performance; and unlike replacement, the videos are more suitable as a complement to in-class activity.

Mathematical relationships for metal build-up on urban road surfaces based on traffic and land use characteristics

The study investigated the influence of traffic and land use parameters on metal build-up on urban road surfaces. Mathematical relationships were developed to predict metals originating from fuel combustion and vehicle wear. The analysis undertaken found that nickel and chromium originate from exhaust emissions, lead, copper and zinc from vehicle wear, cadmium from both exhaust and wear and manganese from geogenic sources. Land use does not demonstrate a clear pattern in relation to the metal build-up process, though its inherent characteristics such as traffic activities exert influence. The equation derived for fuel related metal load has high cross-validated coefficient of determination (Q2) and low Standard Error of Cross-Validation (SECV) values indicates that the model is reliable, while the equation derived for wear-related metal load has low Q2 and high SECV values suggesting its use only in preliminary investigations. Relative Prediction Error values for both equations are considered to be well within the error limits for a complex system such as an urban road surface. These equations will be beneficial for developing reliable stormwater treatment strategies in urban areas which specifically focus on mitigation of metal pollution.

Rural people and the land

There is a long and fundamental connection between rural place and the land. Whereas land is simply the foundation for the construction of towns and cities, whose urban culture and economy thrives on human ingenuity and industry that may have little direct attachment to the physical ground over which it occurs, historical discourses of rurality place the land at the heart of the rural economy and society. Rural people, such discourses hold, live on the land, work the land, tend the land and know the land. The land formed not only the base of the rural economy (as ‘a physical, tangible resource which can be ploughed, sown, grazed, built upon’ (Macnaghten and Urry 1998, 200)), but also shaped rural culture and the rural calendar, and contributed to the constitution of the rural character (see Bell 1994). As such, the land is central to rural sense of place.