James Lee

In ice hockey, the butterfly style/stance is a technique distinguished by the goalkeepers (goalie) dropping to their knees to block attempts to score. Although this goalie style has been around for many years, comparisons between on and off-ice attire has not been undertaken. Therefore, this preliminary study compared differences in torso acceleration and energy expenditure by way of the Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET) during off-ice and on-ice butterfly stances/saves. Seven participants each performed 8 on-ice butterfly saves/stances whilst wearing full hockey attire followed by 8 off-ice butterfly stances without wearing full hockey attire whilst torso acceleration was collected. The off-ice movement significantly increased vertical torso acceleration (p < 0.01, d > 0.90) with increased MET, compared to on-ice motion. Despite no significant difference in anteroposterior and mediolateral torso kinematics, vector magnitudes were significantly greater (p < 0.01, d > 0.90) when the stance was performed off-ice. The increased vertical acceleration observed when goalies performed the movement off-ice could be due to a failure to maintain adequate posture without the support of the external load. The results of this study may help inform off-ice training interventions for ice hockey goalkeeping.

Background: Adding new approaches to teaching curriculums can be both expensive and complex to learn. The aim of this research was to gain insight into students’ literacy and confidence in learning sports science with new wearable technologies, specifically a novel program known as STEMfit. Methods: A three-phase design was carried out, with 36 students participating and exposed to wearable devices and associated software. This was to determine whether the technology hardware (phase one) and associated software (phase two) were used in a positive way that demonstrated user confidence. Results: Hardware included choosing a scalable wearable device that worked in conjunction with familiar and readily available software (Microsoft Excel) that extracted data through VBA coding. This allowed for students to experience and provide survey feedback on the usability and confidence gained when interacting with the STEMfit program. Outcomes indicated strong acceptance of the program, with high levels of motivation, resulting in a positive uptake of wearable technology as a teaching tool by students. The initial finding of this study offers an opportunity to further test the STEMfit program on other student cohorts as well as testing the scalability of the system into other year groups at the university level.

Appropriate cycling cleat adjustment could improve triathlon performance in both cycling and running. Prior recommendations regarding cleat adjustment have comprised aligning the first metatarsal head above the pedal spindle or somewhat forward. However, contemporary research has questioned this approach in triathlons due to the need to run immediately after cycling. Subsequently, moving the pedal cleat posteriorly could be more appropriate. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a triaxial accelerometer to determine acceleration magnitudes of the trunk in outdoor cycling in two different bicycle cleat positions and the consequential impact on trunk acceleration during running. Seven recreational triathletes performed a 20 km cycle and a 5 km run using their own triathlon bicycle complete with aerodynamic bars and gearing. Interpretation of data was evaluated based on cadence changes whilst triathletes cycled in an aerodynamic position in two cleat positions immediately followed by a self-paced overground run. The evaluation of accelerometer-derived data within a characteristic overground setting suggests a significant increase in total trunk acceleration magnitude during cycling with a posterior cleat with significant increases to longitudinal acceleration (p = 0.04) despite a small effect (d = 0.2) to the ratings of perceived exertion (RPE). Cycling with a posterior cleat significantly reduced longitudinal trunk acceleration in running and overall acceleration magnitudes (p < 0.0001) with a large effect size (d = 0.9) and a significant reduction in RPE (p = 0.02). In addition, running after cycling in a posterior cleat was faster compared to running after cycling in a standard cleat location. Practically, the magnitude of trunk acceleration during cycling in a posterior cleat position as well as running after posterior cleat cycling differed from that when cycling in the fore-aft position followed by running. Therefore, the notion that running varies after cycling is not merely an individual athlete’s perception, but a valid observation that can be modified when cleat position is altered. Training specifically with a posterior cleat in cycling might improve running performance when trunk accelerations are analysed.

In the multisport of triathlon cycling is the longest of the three sequential disciplines. Triathlon bicycles differ from road bicycles with steeper seat tube angles with a change to saddle height altering the seat tube angle. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a tri axial accelerometer to determine acceleration magnitudes of the trunk in outdoor cycling in two saddle positions. Interpretation of data was evaluated based on cadence changes whilst triathletes cycled in an aerodynamic position in two saddle positions. The evaluation of accelerometer derived data within a characteristic overground setting suggests a significant reduction in mediolateral acceleration of the trunk, yielding a 25.1% decrease when saddle height was altered alongside reduced rate of perceived exertion (3.9%). Minimal differences were observed in anteroposterior and longitudinal acceleration. Evaluation of sensor data revealed a polynomial expression of the subtle changes between both saddle positions. This study shows that a triaxial accelerometer has capability to continuously measure acceleration magnitude of trunk movements during an in-the-field, varied cadence cycle protocol. Accessible and practical sensor technology could be relevant for postural considerations when exploring saddle position in dynamic settings.

There are currently no evidence-based practical automated injury risk factor estimation tools to monitor low back compressive force in ambulatory or sporting environments. For this purpose, inertial sensors may potentially replace laboratory-based systems with comparable results. The objective was to investigate inertial sensor validity to monitor low back compression force. Thirty participants completed a series of lifting tasks from the floor. Back compression force was estimated using a hand calculated method, an inertial sensor method and a three-dimensional motion capture method. Results demonstrated that semi-automation with a sensor had a higher agreement with motion capture compared to the hand calculated method, with angle errors of less than six degrees and back compression force errors of less than 200 Newtons. It was concluded that inertial sensors are valid to implement for static low back compression force estimations.

School-based education programmes are increasingly focused on the teaching of skills thought to be more suitable for an increasingly technological society. These STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) skills are often seen as enablers for the workforce of tomorrow. This paper utilises wearable sensors during prescribed physical activity as a vehicle for student engagement through their direct involvement in the creation of personalised data sets, direct questioning about their physical activity and the development of a nexus between what they do and fundamental physical properties such as the laws of motion. Results demonstrate the technical challenges, including the selection of appropriate monitoring technologies and development of appropriate technology tools suitable for school cohorts, together with sample results obtained through field trials in metropolitan and remote schools to demonstrate the utility of such technologies.

In tertiary education, disciplines such as sports science that require experimental components in their courses represent a significant challenge for online and distance education. This paper demonstrates the design and construction of an enriched experiment, together with the prototype software solution which can all be operated remotely using a web-based client. It presents research that investigated how to visualise data from internet of things (IoT) sensor devices (inertial sensor) used for tracking football sideline throw-ins. In this simple experiment, data was collected from one footballer, fitted with a single inertial sensor. A two-dimensional (2D) video, three-dimensional (3D) motion capture system and inertial sensor were all used to detect the release point of a sideline ball throw-in. In this project, inertial sensor data was used to create a 3D model using web graphical language and three.js.

A major barrier to wearables utility for kinematic analysis is convenience. Attachment to skin requires significant expertise and is time consuming. Instead this research applies principles of sensor analysis to clothing attachments, to examine temporal immunity to clothing artefact. No known research has validated temporal outputs of inertial measurement units when embedded in clothing. Nine participants completed five repetitions of conventional deadlifts while being monitored with inertial sensors fixed on anatomical landmarks and embedded in clothing. The agreement of group means between timing outputs of inertial sensor anteroposterior axis data were compared between sensor locations. Will Hopkins Typical Error of the Estimate, Pearson's correlation and a Bland Altman Limits of Agreement analysis were implemented for validation. Strong agreement was found based on trivial standardised error (<0.1) for all agreement analyses. Results support past research for applications applying temporal features of wearables to monitor human movement.

Inertial and inertial-magnetic sensors are miniaturised and lightweight which allows the technology to be used to assess human movements in sports. These sensors can produce up to nine channels of time series data which can often be difficult to read and interpret. This paper describes the development of a 3D visualisation tool for inertial/magnetic sensors. A sensor fusion technique known as an attitude heading reference system (AHRS) is used to calculate 3D orientation of the sensor. With AHRS data from a gyroscope and magnetometer can be expressed in animation as orientation of the sensor. However acceleration does not appear in the animation. Therefore the function to express the magnitude and direction of the acceleration using a shake of the sensor animation is added to the tool. It was confirmed that the tool produce an animation which clearly portrayed athlete posture and accelerations synchronised with the gait cycle.

Interventions that are designed to stem plagiarism do not always override the motivation of individuals to cheat and, therefore, may not diminish misconduct. To inform more effective approaches, we conducted a systematic review to clarify the psychological causes of plagiarism. This review of 83 empirical papers showed that a specific blend of circumstances may foster plagiarism: an emphasis on competition and success rather than development and cooperation coupled with impaired resilience, limited confidence, impulsive tendencies, and biased cognitions. Fortunately, whenever students feel their life and studies align to their future aspirations, many of these circumstances tend to dissipate.