title: Wrist injury prevention in gymnastics: Gymnast and coach perspectives

authors: Dalal, Sneha

subjects: gymnastics injuries

abstract: This study assesses the understanding and awareness of injury prevention programmes in minimising wrist injuries in gymnastics. The study uses a mixed-method approach, collecting extensive data via an anonymous online survey for gymnasts and their parents or guardians, and interviews with coaches. The research aims to understand program awareness, implementation, barriers, and outcomes from various perspectives. The findings from the study contribute to the existing body of knowledge on wrist injury prevention in gymnastics and provide valuable insights for improving training practices and program design to create safer gymnast-centric training programs. The study shows that flexibility and strength training alone do not significantly reduce wrist injuries in gymnastics, suggesting the need for a more comprehensive injury prevention approach. Findings also highlight the importance of balancing training frequency with adequate rest days to minimise injury risk. The lack of awareness and inconsistent implementation of injury prevention programs indicates a need for better communication and education among gymnasts, coaches and their parents/guardians. Interviews with coaches emphasise gradual training progression, strength building, and holistic well-being, underscoring the importance of a multifaceted approach to injury prevention. The study concludes that injury prevention programs must be prioritised and implemented effectively to further reduce the risk of wrist injuries, highlighting the importance of a multifaceted individualised approach to wrist injury prevention in gymnastics.

text: Wrist injury prevention in gymnastics: Gymnast and coach perspectives This study assesses the understanding and awareness of injury prevention programmes in minimising wrist injuries in gymnastics. The study uses a mixed-method approach, collecting extensive data via an anonymous online survey for gymnasts and their parents or guardians, and interviews with coaches. The research aims to understand program awareness, implementation, barriers, and outcomes from various perspectives. The findings from the study contribute to the existing body of knowledge on wrist injury prevention in gymnastics and provide valuable insights for improving training practices and program design to create safer gymnast-centric training programs. The study shows that flexibility and strength training alone do not significantly reduce wrist injuries in gymnastics, suggesting the need for a more comprehensive injury prevention approach. Findings also highlight the importance of balancing training frequency with adequate rest days to minimise injury risk. The lack of awareness and inconsistent implementation of injury prevention programs indicates a need for better communication and education among gymnasts, coaches and their parents/guardians. Interviews with coaches emphasise gradual training progression, strength building, and holistic well-being, underscoring the importance of a multifaceted approach to injury prevention. The study concludes that injury prevention programs must be prioritised and implemented effectively to further reduce the risk of wrist injuries, highlighting the importance of a multifaceted individualised approach to wrist injury prevention in gymnastics.

year: 2025

title: Applying Rasch Methodology to Examine and Enhance Precision of the Baby Care Questionnaire

authors: Truong, Quoc Cuong

abstract: The Baby Care Questionnaire (BCQ) is an established ordinal measure of parenting beliefs about infant care, which includes structure and attunement scales. Rasch analysis is a powerful method to examine and improve psychometric properties of ordinal scales. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties and improve precision of the structure and attunement scales of the BCQ using Rasch methodology. A Partial Credit Rasch model was applied to a sample of 450 mothers from the United Kingdom (n = 225) and New Zealand (n = 225) who completed the BCQ. Initial analyses indicated acceptable reliability of the structure and attunement scales of the BCQ, but some items showed misfit to the Rasch model associated with local dependency issues in both scales. After combining locally dependent items into testlets, both scales of the BCQ met expectations of the unidimensional Rasch model and demonstrated adequate and strong reliability and invariance across countries and person factors such as participants’ age and their baby’s sex. This permitted the generation of conversion algorithms to transform ordinal scores into interval data to enhance the precision of both scales of the BCQ. In conclusion, using Rasch methodology, this study demonstrated robust psychometric properties of the structure and attunement scales of the BCQ after minor modifications. The ordinal-to-interval conversion tables published here can be used to further enhance the precision of the structure and attunement scales of the BCQ without changing their original response format. These findings contribute to the enhancement of precision in measuring parenting beliefs about infant care.

text: Applying Rasch Methodology to Examine and Enhance Precision of the Baby Care Questionnaire The Baby Care Questionnaire (BCQ) is an established ordinal measure of parenting beliefs about infant care, which includes structure and attunement scales. Rasch analysis is a powerful method to examine and improve psychometric properties of ordinal scales. This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties and improve precision of the structure and attunement scales of the BCQ using Rasch methodology. A Partial Credit Rasch model was applied to a sample of 450 mothers from the United Kingdom (n = 225) and New Zealand (n = 225) who completed the BCQ. Initial analyses indicated acceptable reliability of the structure and attunement scales of the BCQ, but some items showed misfit to the Rasch model associated with local dependency issues in both scales. After combining locally dependent items into testlets, both scales of the BCQ met expectations of the unidimensional Rasch model and demonstrated adequate and strong reliability and invariance across countries and person factors such as participants’ age and their baby’s sex. This permitted the generation of conversion algorithms to transform ordinal scores into interval data to enhance the precision of both scales of the BCQ. In conclusion, using Rasch methodology, this study demonstrated robust psychometric properties of the structure and attunement scales of the BCQ after minor modifications. The ordinal-to-interval conversion tables published here can be used to further enhance the precision of the structure and attunement scales of the BCQ without changing their original response format. These findings contribute to the enhancement of precision in measuring parenting beliefs about infant care.

year: 2024-01-12

title: In your face: wearing Moko - Maori facial marking in today's world

authors: Nikora, Linda Waimarie

subjects: Moko

abstract: The early voyagers, missionaries, settlers all reacted to the pukanohi, to the marked
faces of the Maori people during the period of first contact, and the century following
it. Their accounts are vivid, judgemental, revealing, telling us as much about them, as
it does about the people they described. Curiosity and horror are mixed with a
genuine fascination; where sternly evangelizing words failed, armed confrontation
occurred; and we now live with the results, te ao hou, a new world.
In this world, today, wahine mau kauae, tangata mau moko, pukanohi - wearers - are
speaking for themselves, about themselves, and commenting on how others view
them. Unanimously, they insist the decision to take the marking is about continuity,
affirmation, identity, and commitment. It is also about wearing those ancestors,
carrying them into the future; as their moko become a companion, a salient being with
its own life force, its own integrity and power, beyond the face.

text: In your face: wearing Moko - Maori facial marking in today's world The early voyagers, missionaries, settlers all reacted to the pukanohi, to the marked
faces of the Maori people during the period of first contact, and the century following
it. Their accounts are vivid, judgemental, revealing, telling us as much about them, as
it does about the people they described. Curiosity and horror are mixed with a
genuine fascination; where sternly evangelizing words failed, armed confrontation
occurred; and we now live with the results, te ao hou, a new world.
In this world, today, wahine mau kauae, tangata mau moko, pukanohi - wearers - are
speaking for themselves, about themselves, and commenting on how others view
them. Unanimously, they insist the decision to take the marking is about continuity,
affirmation, identity, and commitment. It is also about wearing those ancestors,
carrying them into the future; as their moko become a companion, a salient being with
its own life force, its own integrity and power, beyond the face.

year: 2003-08-01