Physical activity interventions in schools for improving lifestyle in European countries

Background: In the last decades, children���s and adolescents��� obesity and overweight have increased in European Countries. Unhealthy eating habits and sedentary lifestyle have been recognized to determine such an epidemic. Schools represent an ideal setting to modify harmful behaviors, and physical activity could be regarded as a potential way to avoid the metabolic risks related to obesity. Methods: A systematic review of the literature was carried out to summarize the evidence of school-based interventions aimed to promote, enhance and implement physical activity in European schools. Only randomized controlled trials were included, carried out in Europe from January 2000 to April 2014, universally delivered and targeting pupils aged between 3 and 18 years old. Results: Forty-seven studies were retrieved based either on multicomponent interventions or solely physical activity programs. Most aimed to prevent obesity and cardiovascular risks among youths. While few studies showed a decrease in BMI, positive results were achieved on other outcomes, such as metabolic parameters and physical fitness. Conclusion: Physical activity in schools should be regarded as a simple, non-expensive and enjoyable way to reach all the children and adolescents with adequate doses of moderate to vigorous physical activity.

Implizite und explizite Motive von Leistungs- und Freizeitsporttreibenden

Nach Krug und Kuhl (2006) sollten die Motivprofile von Leistungssportlern eine Passung zu den Anforderungen der jeweiligen Sportart aufweisen. Diesen Annahmen zufolge sollten bei Leistungssporttreibenden insbesondere das Leistungs- und Machtmotiv dominant sein. Im Rahmen zweier Studien wurde die St��rke des Macht-, Leistungs- und Anschlussmotivs von Leistungssporttreibenden mit denen von Freizeitsporttreibenden verglichen. In Studie 1 wurden die Motivprofile von 29 Leistungssporttreibenden mit denen von 34 Freizeitsportreibenden aus technik- und ausdauerorientierten Sportarten verglichen. An Studie 2 nahmen 86 Tennis-, Tischtennis- und Badmintonspieler als Hochleistungssportler teil deren Motivprofile mit denen von 57 Freizeitsporttreibenden aus interaktiven Sportarten verglichen wurden. Die impliziten Motive wurden mit Bildgeschichten��bungen (Picture Story Exercise, Operanter Motive Test) erhoben, die expliziten Motive mit Frageb��gen (Zielsetzungsinventar, Personality Research Form). Die Ergebnisse best��tigen die Annahmen, dass Leistungssporttreibende h��here implizite und explizite Leistungsmotive als Freizeitsporttreibende zeigen. Die Unterschiede in den Anschlussmotiven und impliziten Machtmotiv wurden nur bei Hochleistungssportlern aus interaktiven Sportarten (Studie 2) gefunden.

Befinden und Motivation im Sport ��� Das Resultat einer Motiv-Sportziel-Passung

Um Befinden und Motivation im Sport vorherzusagen, wird in der vorliegenden Arbeit eine Motiv-Ziel-Passungsannahme gepr��ft. Zwei Studien testen die Hypothese, dass das Verfolgen sportbezogener Ziele, die zu den impliziten Motiven (Leistungs- und Anschlussmotiv) der Sporttreibenden passen, zu positivem Befinden im Sport und hoher geplanter Sportaktivit��t f��hrt, w��hrend das Verfolgen motivinkongruenter Ziele beeintr��chtigend wirkt. Eine erste korrelative Studie (N = 67) best��tigt die Hypothese f��r die Vorhersage des positiven Befindens w��hrend des Sporttreibens in einer Stichprobe bestehend aus Sportstudierenden, die selbstgesetzte Ziele verfolgen. In einer zweiten Studie (N = 67) werden motivkongruente und motivinkongruente TrainerInnen-Ziele experimentell induziert. Die Motiv-Ziel-Interaktionen sagen auch hier das Befinden und zus��tzlich die intendierte zuk��nftige Sportaktivit��t vorher. Der theoretische Erkenntnisgewinn dieser Studien besteht darin, dass fremdgesetzte TrainerInnen-Ziele sehr ��hnlich wirken wie selbstgesetzte Ziele. Die praktischen Implikationen beinhalten Zielimaginations��bungen, die die Wahl motivpassender Sportziele erleichtern sollen.

Is mental practice an effective adjunct therapeutic strategy for upper limb motor restoration after stroke?

Stroke is one of the most common conditions requiring rehabilitation, and its motor impairments are a major cause of permanent disability. Hemiparesis is observed by 80% of the patients after acute stroke. Neuroimaging studies showed that real and imagined movements have similarities regarding brain activation, supplying evidence that those similarities are based on the same process. Within this context, the combination of MP with physical and occupational therapy appears to be a natural complement based on neurorehabilitation concepts. Our study seeks to investigate if MP for stroke rehabilitation of upper limbs is an effective adjunct therapy. PubMed (Medline), ISI knowledge (Institute for Scientific Information) and SciELO (Scientific Electronic Library) were terminated on 20 February 2015. Data were collected on variables as follows: sample size, type of supervision, configuration of mental practice, setting the physical practice (intensity, number of sets and repetitions, duration of contractions, rest interval between sets, weekly and total duration), measures of sensorimotor deficits used in the main studies and significant results. Random effects models were used that take into account the variance within and between studies. Seven articles were selected. As there was no statistically significant difference between the two groups (MP vs Control), showed a ��� 0.6 (95% CI: ���1.27 to 0.04), for upper limb motor restoration after stroke. The present meta-analysis concluded that MP is not effective as adjunct therapeutic strategy for upper limb motor restoration after stroke.

Effectiveness of the Call in Beach Volleyball Attacking Play

In beach volleyball the setter has the opportunity to give her or his hitter a ���call���. The call intends that the setter suggests to her or his partner where to place the attack in the opponent���s court. The effectiveness of a call is still unknown. We investigated the women���s and men���s Swiss National Beach Volleyball Championships in 2011 and analyzed 2185 attacks. We found large differences between female and male players. While men called in only 38.4% of attacks, women used calls in 85.5% of attacks. If the male players followed a given call, 63% of the attacks were successful. The success rate of attacks without any call was 55.8% and 47.6% when the call was ignored. These differences were not significant (��2(2) = 4.55, p = 0.103). In women���s beach volleyball, the rate of successful attacks was 61.5% when a call was followed, 35% for attacks without a call, and 42.6% when a call was ignored. The differences were highly significant (��2(2) = 23.42, p < 0.0005). Taking into account the findings of the present study, we suggested that the call was effective in women���s beach volleyball, while its effect in men���s game was unclear. Considering the quality of calls we indicate that there is a significant potential to increase the effectiveness of a call.

Funktionalit��t peripherer Wahrnehmung bei Trackingaufgaben

Introduction: Beim Multiple-Object-Tracking m��ssen mehrere, sich bewegende Zielobjekte visuell verfolgt werden. Dabei scheint es vorteilhaft zu sein, den Blick zwischen den Zielobjekten zu verankern, um Bewegungsinformationen peripher wahrzunehmen (Fehd & Seiffert, 2010). Nach Pr��fung dieser Annahme (Experiment 1) wurde getestet, wie gut und schnell auf Bewegungs- und Formver��nderungen der Zielobjekte reagiert werden kann (Experiment 2), um die Funktionalit��t der peripheren Wahrnehmung zu ��berpr��fen. Methods: 14 Teilnehmer hatten die Aufgabe, zum Ende eines Einzelversuchs 4 aus 10 Vierecken wiederzuerkennen, die sich linear f��r 6 s in einem projizierten Quadrat bewegten. Dabei wurden 3 Geschwindigkeiten (6, 9 und 12��/s) in 9 Bl��cken �� 15 Versuchen pr��sentiert, um die Ergebnisse von Fehd und Seiffert (2010) zu replizieren. In Experiment 2 sollten Teilnehmer auf das Anhalten eines Targets oder dessen Formver��nderung zur Raute (Manipulation: 0.5 s) mit Knopfdruck reagieren, bei ausbleibender Ver��nderung hingegen die 4 Zielobjekte wiedererkennen (3 Bedingungen in 10 Bl��cken �� 12 Versuchen). Durch die Bestimmung von Sakkadenlatenzen (definiert als Zeitraum zwischen Beginn der Objektver��nderung und Sakkadenbeginn auf das Objekt) kann bestimmt werden, ob die Ver��nderung bereits peripher wahrgenommen wurde. Unter anderem aufgrund der Sensitivit��t der Netzhaut gegen��ber Bewegungen wurde erwartet, dass Bewegungsver��nderungen h��ufiger und schneller erkannt werden und dass h��ufiger bereits reagiert werden kann, bevor der Blick auf dem ver��nderten Zielobjekt ist. Results: Experiment 1 ergab einen signifikanten Haupteffekt f��r Geschwindigkeit, F(2,26) = 62.66, p < .01, ��p2 = .83, mit h��chsten Richtigkeiten bei 6��/s (58%). Ein Haupteffekt f��r Blickort, F(2,26) = 76.40, p < .01, ��p2 = .85, zeigt, dass der Blick unabh��ngig von der Geschwindigkeit l��nger auf dem Centroid war als auf Targets und Distraktoren. Aufgrund der h��chsten Richtigkeiten bei 6��/s wurde diese Geschwindigkeit in Experiment 2 eingesetzt und festgestellt, dass Bewegungsver��nderungen h��ufiger erkannt werden (83 %) als Formver��nderungen (59 %), F(1,10) = 17.20, p < .01, ��p2 = .63. Unterschiede in Sakkadenlatenzen, F(1,10) = 6.73, p = .03, ��p2 = .40, deuten auf eine periphere Wahrnehmung der Bewegungsver��nderungen hin. Experiment 3 wird zeigen, ob Sakkaden das Monitoring st��ren. Discussion/Conclusion: Die periphere Wahrnehmung scheint immer dann funktional zu sein, wenn mehrere, f��r eine Aufgabe relevante Objekte gleichzeitig verfolgt werden m��ssen und wenn Ver��nderungen, besonders der Bewegung, schnell erkannt werden m��ssen. Weitere Untersuchungen sollen zeigen, ob diese Funktionalit��t der peripheren Wahrnehmung auch im Sport (z.B. beim gleichzeitigen Verfolgen mehrerer Gegenspieler) erkannt werden kann. References: Fehd, H. M. & Seiffert, A. E. (2010). Looking at the center of the targets helps multiple object tracking. Journal of Vision, 10, 1���13.

Funktionalit��t peripherer Wahrnehmung bei Trackingaufgaben

Schl��sselw��rter: Multiple-Object-Tracking, Sakkadenlatenz, Erkennungsleistung Einleitung Beim Multiple-Object-Tracking m��ssen mehrere, sich bewegende Zielobjekte visuell ver-folgt werden. Dabei scheint es vorteilhaft zu sein, den Blick zwischen den Zielobjekten zu verankern, um Bewegungsinformationen peripher wahrzunehmen (Fehd & Seiffert, 2010). Nach Pr��fung dieser Annahme (Experiment 1) wurde getestet, wie gut und schnell auf Bewegungs- und Formver��nderungen der Zielobjekte reagiert werden kann (Experiment 2), um die Funktionalit��t der peripheren Wahrnehmung zu ��berpr��fen Methode 14 Teilnehmer hatten die Aufgabe, zum Ende eines Einzelversuchs 4 aus 10 Vierecken wiederzuerkennen, die sich linear f��r 6 s in einem projizierten Quadrat bewegten. Dabei wurden 3 Geschwindigkeiten (6, 9 und 12��/s) in 9 Bl��cken �� 15 Versuchen pr��sentiert, um die Ergebnisse von Fehd und Seiffert (2010) zu replizieren. In Experiment 2 sollten Teilnehmer auf das Anhalten eines Targets oder dessen Formver��nderung zur Raute (Manipulation: 0.5 s) mit Knopfdruck reagieren, bei ausbleibender Ver��nderung hinge-gen die 4 Zielobjekte wiedererkennen (3 Bedingungen in 10 Bl��cken �� 12 Versuchen). Erwartet wurde, dass Bewegungsver��nderungen h��ufiger und schneller erkannt werden. Ergebnisse Experiment 1 ergab einen signifikanten Haupteffekt f��r Geschwindigkeit, F(2,26) = 62.66, p < .01, ��p2 = .83, mit h��chsten Richtigkeiten bei 6��/s (58%). Ein Haupteffekt f��r Blickort, F(2,26) = 76.40, p < .01, ��p2 = .85, zeigt, dass der Blick unabh��ngig von der Geschwindig-keit l��nger auf dem Centroid war als auf Targets und Distraktoren. Aufgrund der h��chs-ten Richtigkeiten bei 6��/s wurde diese Geschwindigkeit in Experiment 2 eingesetzt und festgestellt, dass Bewegungsver��nderungen h��ufiger erkannt werden (83 %) als Form-ver��nderungen (59 %), F(1,10) = 17.20, p < .01, ��p2 = .63. Unterschiede in Sakkadenla-tenzen, F(1,10) = 6.73, p = .03, ��p2 = .40, deuten auf eine periphere Wahrnehmung der Bewegungsver��nderungen hin. Experiment 3 wird zeigen, ob Sakkaden das Monitoring st��ren. Diskussion Die periphere Wahrnehmung scheint immer dann funktional zu sein, wenn mehrere, f��r eine Aufgabe relevante Objekte gleichzeitig verfolgt werden m��ssen und wenn Ver��nde-rungen, besonders der Bewegung, schnell erkannt werden m��ssen. Weitere Untersu-chungen sollen zeigen, ob diese Funktionalit��t der peripheren Wahrnehmung auch im Sport (z.B. beim gleichzeitigen Verfolgen mehrerer Gegenspieler) erkannt werden kann. Literatur Fehd, H. M. & Seiffert, A. E. (2010). Looking at the center of the targets helps multiple object tracking. Journal of Vision, 10, 1���13.

Decision-Making Processes in Voluntary Football Clubs in Relation to External Counselling

Introduction Recruiting and retaining volunteers who are prepared to make a long-term commitment is a major problem for Swiss sports clubs. With the inclusion of external counselling for the change and systematisation of volunteer management, sports clubs have a possibility to develop and defuse problems in spite of existing barriers and gaps in knowledge. To what extent is external counselling for personnel problems effective? It is often observed that standardised counselling inputs lead to varying consequences for sports clubs. It can be assumed that external impulses are interpreted and transformed differently into the workings of the club. However, this cannot be solely attributed to the situational or structural conditions of the clubs. It is also important to consider the underlying decision-making processes of a club. According to Luhmann���s organisational sociological considerations (2000), organisations (sports clubs) have to be viewed as social systems consisting of (communicated) decisions. This means that organisations are continually reproduced by decision-making processes. All other (observable) factors such as an organisation���s goals, recruiting strategies, support schemes for volunteers etc., have to be seen as an outcome of the operation of prior organisational decisions. Therefore: How do decision-making processes in sports clubs work in the context of the implementation of external counselling? Theoretical Framework An examination of the actual situation in sports clubs shows that decisions frequently appear to be shaped by inconsistency, unexpected outcomes, and randomness (Amis & Slack, 2003). Therefore, it must be emphasised that these decisions cannot be analysed according to any rational decision-making model. Their specific structural characteristics only permit a limited degree of rationality ��� bounded rationality. Non-profit organisations in particular are shaped by a specific mode of decisionmaking that Cohen, March, and Olsen (1972) have called the ���garbage can model���. As sport clubs can also be conceived as ���organised anarchies���, this model seems to offer an appropriate approach to understanding their practices and analysing their decision-making processes. The key concept in the garbage can model is the assumption that decision-making processes in organisations consist of four ���streams���: (a) problems, (b) actors, (c) decision-making opportunities, and (d) solutions. Method Before presenting the method of the analysis of the decision-making processes in sports clubs, the external counselling will be described. The basis of the counselling is generated by a sports clubs��� capability to change. Due to the specific structural characteristics and organisational principles, change processes in sports clubs often merge with barriers and restrictions. These need to be considered when developing counselling guidelines for a successful planning and realisation of change processes. Furthermore, important aspects of personnel management in sports clubs and especially volunteer management must be implied in order to elaborate key elements for the counselling to recruit new volunteers (e.g., approach, expectations). A counselling of four system-counselling workshops was conceptualised by considering these specific characteristics. The decision-making processes in the sports clubs were analysed during the counselling and the implementation process. A case study is designed with the appropriate methodological approach for such explorative research. The approach adopted for these single case analyses was oriented toward the research program of behavioural decision-making theory (garbage can model). This posits that in-depth insights into organisational decision-making processes can only be gained through relevant case studies of existing organisational situations (Skille, 2013). Before, during and after the intervention, questionnaires and guided interviews were conducted with the project teams of the twelve par-ticipating football clubs to assess the different components of the ���streams��� in the context of external counselling. These interviews have been analysed using content analysis following guidelines as for-mulated by Mayring (2010). Results The findings show that decision-making processes in football clubs occur differently in the context of external counselling. Different initial positions and problems are the triggers for these decision-making processes. Furthermore, the implementation of the solutions and the external counselling is highly dependent on the commitment of certain people as central players within the decision-mak-ing process. The importance of these relationships is confirmed by previous findings in regard to decision-making and change processes in sports clubs. The decision-making processes in sports clubs can be theoretically analysed using behavioural decision-making theory and the ���garbage can model���. Bounded rationality characterises all ���streams��� of the decision-making processes. Moreo-ver, the decision-making process of the football clubs can be well illustrated in the framework, and the interplay of the different dimensions illustrates the different decision-making practices within the football clubs. References Amis, J., & Slack, T. (2003). Analysing sports organisations: Theory and practice. In B. Houlihan (Eds.), Sport & Society (pp. 201���217). London, England: Sage. Cohen, M.D., March, J.G., & Olsen, J.P. (1972). A garbage can model of organisational choice. Ad-ministrative Science Quarterly, 17, 1-25. Luhmann, N. (2000). Organisation und Entscheidung. Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag. Mayring, P. (2010). Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse. Grundlagen und Techniken. Weinheim: Beltz. Skille, E. ��. (2013). Case study research in sport management: A reflection upon the theory of science and an empirical example. In S. S��derman & H. Dolles (Eds.), Handbook of research on sport and business (pp. 161���175). Cheltenham, England: Edward Elgar.

More volunteers in football clubs. An evaluation of a method to increase the number of volunteers

An increasing number of clubs experience difficulties in recruiting and retaining sufficient numbers of volunteers to manage and staff their clubs (Lamprecht, Fischer, & Stamm, 2012). In order to facilitate volunteer recruitment, sport clubs need a specific strategy to recruit and retain volunteers for both formal positions and ad hoc tasks. Therefore, the intervention ���More Volunteers in Football Clubs��� was designed and its impact was evaluated in detail. The question this evaluation research wants to address is: Can football clubs recruit and retain volunteers successfully by implementing the intervention ���More Volunteers in Football Clubs���? The designed intervention is based on the different expectations and needs of volunteers, as well as non-profit human resource management and organisational development management, with a strong emphasis on club-specific counseling and support. Task forces of the twelve participating football clubs attended four workshops in which they received tailor made counseling to reach the desired number of volunteers. The intervention has been implemented and its effectiveness tested in cooperation with the Swiss Football Federation with twelve Swiss football clubs following a pretest, intervention, posttest design Data have been gathered and analysed using a combination of qualitative and quantitative methods. Outcome measurements are: volunteer rate, number of recruited volunteers, number of filled volunteer positions and volunteer satisfaction. Four months after the intervention all clubs that completed the proposed intervention were successful in recruiting the desired number of volunteers. Further, all participating clubs found the intervention helpful and would recommend other clubs to participate as well. With the development of this practical intervention a solution for football clubs is provided to overcome the difficulties in recruiting and retaining sufficient numbers of volunteers. Lamprecht, M., Fischer, A., & Stamm, H.-P. (2012). Sportvereine in der Schweiz. Strukturen, Leistungen, Herausforderungen. Z��rich, Switzerland: Seismo.