title: Landing error scoring system: The effect of head turned position and dual tasking

authors: Anderson, Blake

subjects: sport

abstract: Sport has many mental and physical health benefits. However, with overall participation in sport 
increasing, sport-related issues and injuries are also increasing. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) 
injuries are common knee injuries in athletes and the general population, often occurring through non
contact mechanisms. The Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) is a screening task used to identify 
athletes at higher risk of non-contact ACL and musculoskeletal injuries, where higher scores indicate 
poorer landing mechanics and greater risk of injury. Although the LESS is reliable, its predictive value 
is debated and it has been criticised for lacking validity in a sporting context. Previous studies have 
adapted LESS protocols in attempts to increase sport specificity, with changing head position or 
completing a dual task potentially suitable for this purpose as linked with ACL injury situations in 
sports. This thesis contains two experimental chapters. 
In the first experiment, 35 participants (22 males, 13 females) performed the LESS in two conditions 
allocated in a random order. In the control condition, participants jumped horizontally with both legs 
from a 30-cm high box to half their body height, landed with both feet, and jumped vertically as high 
as possible in one motion. In the head turned condition, participants performed the same double-leg 
jump landing movement while maintaining eye contact with an ‘X’ marked on a wall to their right, in 
line with the landing area. Participants performed three trials in each condition. Group mean LESS 
scores were significantly greater (P = 0.027) in the head turned (mean errors = 6.8 ± 1.5) than the 
control (mean errors = 6.4 ± 1.4) condition, with the mean difference of 0.4 errors being of small 
magnitude (Cohen’s d = 0.27 [0.51, 0.03]). No significant difference was found in the odds of being 
categorised at risk between conditions (P = 0.625, odds ratio = 3.00 [0.312, 28.8] based on a 5-error 
threshold. On an individual level, 28 participants were at risk in both conditions, although 13 had a 
meaningful increase in LESS score of one or more in the head turned condition. Average jump heights 
were significantly lower in the head turned condition, with the mean difference of 2.1 cm being of small 
magnitude (Cohen’s d = 0.20 [0.07,0.34]). Overall, performing the LESS with a head turned position 
appeared to increase the complexity and sport specificity of the task. Future research is required to 
determine the ability of the LESS to predict ACL injuries with a head turned condition as this aspect 
was not assessed. 
In the second experiment, an element of cognitive challenge was incorporated to the LESS in attempt 
to recreate the complex athlete-environment relationship of sports. In experiment two, 41 participants 
(20 males, 19 females, 2 others) performed the LESS in two conditions allocated in a random order. 
The control condition was the same as in the first experiment. In the tone counting condition, 
participants completed the same double-leg jump landing movement while mentally counting a random 
series of high-pitched and low-pitched tones, known as a tone counting task. Group mean LESS scores 
were not significantly different between tone counting (mean errors = 6.0 ± 1.3) and control (mean 
errors = 6.2 ± 1.5) conditions. Average jump heights were significantly lower in the tone counting than 
the control condition, with the mean difference of -4.2 cm being of small magnitude (Cohen’s d = 0.48 
[0.30, 0.66]). No significant difference was found in the odds of being categorised at risk between 
conditions (P = 1.000, odds ratio = 1.00 [0.20, 4.95]) based on a 5-error threshold. Overall, performing 
the LESS with a secondary tone counting task significantly decreased jump heights with a small effect 
size, corroborating an increased cognitive load during testing that impaired jump performance. 
However, LESS scores were not meaningfully influenced. 
Overall, introducing a head turned position to the LESS task increased LESS errors significantly, and 
introducing a tone counting task or head turned position decreased jump heights. Although future 
research is required to determine the ability of the LESS to predict ACL injuries with these dual tasking 
conditions, this Thesis demonstrates that the complexity and sport specificity of the LESS task can be 
increased by introducing dual tasking requirements.

text: Landing error scoring system: The effect of head turned position and dual tasking Sport has many mental and physical health benefits. However, with overall participation in sport 
increasing, sport-related issues and injuries are also increasing. Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) 
injuries are common knee injuries in athletes and the general population, often occurring through non
contact mechanisms. The Landing Error Scoring System (LESS) is a screening task used to identify 
athletes at higher risk of non-contact ACL and musculoskeletal injuries, where higher scores indicate 
poorer landing mechanics and greater risk of injury. Although the LESS is reliable, its predictive value 
is debated and it has been criticised for lacking validity in a sporting context. Previous studies have 
adapted LESS protocols in attempts to increase sport specificity, with changing head position or 
completing a dual task potentially suitable for this purpose as linked with ACL injury situations in 
sports. This thesis contains two experimental chapters. 
In the first experiment, 35 participants (22 males, 13 females) performed the LESS in two conditions 
allocated in a random order. In the control condition, participants jumped horizontally with both legs 
from a 30-cm high box to half their body height, landed with both feet, and jumped vertically as high 
as possible in one motion. In the head turned condition, participants performed the same double-leg 
jump landing movement while maintaining eye contact with an ‘X’ marked on a wall to their right, in 
line with the landing area. Participants performed three trials in each condition. Group mean LESS 
scores were significantly greater (P = 0.027) in the head turned (mean errors = 6.8 ± 1.5) than the 
control (mean errors = 6.4 ± 1.4) condition, with the mean difference of 0.4 errors being of small 
magnitude (Cohen’s d = 0.27 [0.51, 0.03]). No significant difference was found in the odds of being 
categorised at risk between conditions (P = 0.625, odds ratio = 3.00 [0.312, 28.8] based on a 5-error 
threshold. On an individual level, 28 participants were at risk in both conditions, although 13 had a 
meaningful increase in LESS score of one or more in the head turned condition. Average jump heights 
were significantly lower in the head turned condition, with the mean difference of 2.1 cm being of small 
magnitude (Cohen’s d = 0.20 [0.07,0.34]). Overall, performing the LESS with a head turned position 
appeared to increase the complexity and sport specificity of the task. Future research is required to 
determine the ability of the LESS to predict ACL injuries with a head turned condition as this aspect 
was not assessed. 
In the second experiment, an element of cognitive challenge was incorporated to the LESS in attempt 
to recreate the complex athlete-environment relationship of sports. In experiment two, 41 participants 
(20 males, 19 females, 2 others) performed the LESS in two conditions allocated in a random order. 
The control condition was the same as in the first experiment. In the tone counting condition, 
participants completed the same double-leg jump landing movement while mentally counting a random 
series of high-pitched and low-pitched tones, known as a tone counting task. Group mean LESS scores 
were not significantly different between tone counting (mean errors = 6.0 ± 1.3) and control (mean 
errors = 6.2 ± 1.5) conditions. Average jump heights were significantly lower in the tone counting than 
the control condition, with the mean difference of -4.2 cm being of small magnitude (Cohen’s d = 0.48 
[0.30, 0.66]). No significant difference was found in the odds of being categorised at risk between 
conditions (P = 1.000, odds ratio = 1.00 [0.20, 4.95]) based on a 5-error threshold. Overall, performing 
the LESS with a secondary tone counting task significantly decreased jump heights with a small effect 
size, corroborating an increased cognitive load during testing that impaired jump performance. 
However, LESS scores were not meaningfully influenced. 
Overall, introducing a head turned position to the LESS task increased LESS errors significantly, and 
introducing a tone counting task or head turned position decreased jump heights. Although future 
research is required to determine the ability of the LESS to predict ACL injuries with these dual tasking 
conditions, this Thesis demonstrates that the complexity and sport specificity of the LESS task can be 
increased by introducing dual tasking requirements.

year: 2025

title: Road User Interactions: Patterns of Road Use and Perception of Driving Risk

authors: Charlton, Samuel G.

subjects: driving

abstract: The goal of the Road User Interactions research programme is a better understanding of the human factors of our road transport system: road user demographics, risk perceptions of road users, and the driving attitudes of various road user groups. Our analysis of the 1989 and 1999 New Zealand Household Travel Surveys identified several fundamental road user differences and consistent demographic trends over the past 10 years. The driver characteristics of gender, age, and area of residence (urban, secondary urban, and rural) are the demographic factors which most clearly differentiate New Zealand road user groups. Analysis of the patterns of road use suggests that, although these road user groups do drive at distinctly different times, there are periods of conflict which are also associated with the greatest crash risk for these drivers. Our analysis of a sample of road user groups in Hamilton, Auckland, Gisborne, New Plymouth, and Palmerston North found significant differences in their perceptions of risk and driving behaviours. Rural drivers and women drivers rated a range of driving situations as having greater risk than did the other road user groups, and they rated the high risk scenarios as being much riskier. Men indicated the greatest willingness to accept the risk in driving situations and rated their own driving skill as higher. Older drivers also rated driving situations as having higher risk, and young drivers generally rated low risk situations much lower than other drivers. In the survey of driving behaviour, young men in our sample reported very high levels of violations and aggressive violations. The male drivers’ rates of violations and aggressive violations were significantly higher than the women drivers’ and the number of both decreased significantly with age. Finally, inspection of crash data show that young drivers’ and older drivers’ crashes have some characteristics in common; both groups have a disproportionate number of crossing, turning, and manoeuvring crashes at intersections in the mid-afternoon.

text: Road User Interactions: Patterns of Road Use and Perception of Driving Risk The goal of the Road User Interactions research programme is a better understanding of the human factors of our road transport system: road user demographics, risk perceptions of road users, and the driving attitudes of various road user groups. Our analysis of the 1989 and 1999 New Zealand Household Travel Surveys identified several fundamental road user differences and consistent demographic trends over the past 10 years. The driver characteristics of gender, age, and area of residence (urban, secondary urban, and rural) are the demographic factors which most clearly differentiate New Zealand road user groups. Analysis of the patterns of road use suggests that, although these road user groups do drive at distinctly different times, there are periods of conflict which are also associated with the greatest crash risk for these drivers. Our analysis of a sample of road user groups in Hamilton, Auckland, Gisborne, New Plymouth, and Palmerston North found significant differences in their perceptions of risk and driving behaviours. Rural drivers and women drivers rated a range of driving situations as having greater risk than did the other road user groups, and they rated the high risk scenarios as being much riskier. Men indicated the greatest willingness to accept the risk in driving situations and rated their own driving skill as higher. Older drivers also rated driving situations as having higher risk, and young drivers generally rated low risk situations much lower than other drivers. In the survey of driving behaviour, young men in our sample reported very high levels of violations and aggressive violations. The male drivers’ rates of violations and aggressive violations were significantly higher than the women drivers’ and the number of both decreased significantly with age. Finally, inspection of crash data show that young drivers’ and older drivers’ crashes have some characteristics in common; both groups have a disproportionate number of crossing, turning, and manoeuvring crashes at intersections in the mid-afternoon.

year: 2002

title: Too many Māori and Asian people are drowning – can better cultural understanding reverse the trend?

authors: Wheaton, Belinda

abstract: The article discusses the high rate of drownings in New Zealand, particularly among Māori and Asian communities. It highlights the need for culturally specific water safety education to address this issue. The Asian community, in particular, includes many first-generation migrants who may lack water skills due to their upbringing and fear of water. Overprotectiveness towards children around water is also common among Asian parents. The article emphasizes the importance of providing support and learning opportunities to help Asian migrants develop water skills and feel more comfortable in outdoor activities. Additionally, it mentions the declining water skills among New Zealand children in general and the need for better resourcing of school programs and community initiatives like ActivAsian. Culturally relevant knowledge and education are deemed crucial in changing attitudes and behaviors towards water safety. The article stresses that making New Zealand's beaches and waterways safe for all residents, including migrants, requires targeted funding and a collaborative effort to prevent tragic drowning incidents.

text: Too many Māori and Asian people are drowning – can better cultural understanding reverse the trend? The article discusses the high rate of drownings in New Zealand, particularly among Māori and Asian communities. It highlights the need for culturally specific water safety education to address this issue. The Asian community, in particular, includes many first-generation migrants who may lack water skills due to their upbringing and fear of water. Overprotectiveness towards children around water is also common among Asian parents. The article emphasizes the importance of providing support and learning opportunities to help Asian migrants develop water skills and feel more comfortable in outdoor activities. Additionally, it mentions the declining water skills among New Zealand children in general and the need for better resourcing of school programs and community initiatives like ActivAsian. Culturally relevant knowledge and education are deemed crucial in changing attitudes and behaviors towards water safety. The article stresses that making New Zealand's beaches and waterways safe for all residents, including migrants, requires targeted funding and a collaborative effort to prevent tragic drowning incidents.

year: 2022-12-20