The effectiveness of 4 weeks of fundamental movement training on functional movement screen and physiological performance in physically active children.

The effectiveness of fundamental movement training interventions in adolescents is not fully understood. The Functional Movement Screen (FMS) may provide means of evaluating the effectiveness of such programs alongside traditional tests of physiological performance. Twenty-two children completed the FMS, plank, side plank, sit and reach, and multistage fitness test. Participants were pair matched by total FMS score and assigned to control or intervention. The intervention group received a weekly 4 × 30-minute training sessions with an emphasis on movement quality, whereas the control group was involved in generic multisport activity. A smallest worthwhile effect of 0.2 between-participant SDs was set a priori for all measures except total FMS score for which a change of 1 unit was chosen. When compared with the control, our intervention had a likely trivial effect for FMS score (0.2 Arbitrary Units [AU], 90% confidence limits ±1.2 AU), a very likely small beneficial effect for plank score (87 ± 55%), but a possibly small harmful effect for side plank score (-22 ± 49%). A likely trivial effect was observed for the sit and reach test (0.3 ± 15%), whereas the effect of the training intervention on predicted (Equation is included in full-text article.)was unclear (-0.3 ± 11%). Unexpectedly, generic multisport activity enhanced both side plank and sit and reach test performances in the control group. These results demonstrated that short-term interventions might affect specific isolated components of fitness but not FMS performance.

An alternative approach to analyzing perception of environmental hazard

As the twenty-first century approaches natural disasters will occur with greater frequency bringing serious consequences for more people than ever before. The problem of minimizing damage is aggravated by inadequate recognition of hazard both at home and abroad. This paper develops a framework for understanding how percepctions of natural hazard are associated with ideas about the passage of time and ideas about the future. These constructs filter and shape perception so that aspects of the environment are either amplified or minimized thereby affecting hazard recognition. Ideas about the nature of change are thought to be especially relevant to the study of the perception of future disaster. It is argued that images of the environmental future are relatively stable but may change temporarily in response to immediate threat. The persistent character of temporal constructs may explain the short-term effect of disaster experience. A case study is used to show how faulty assumptions about shared temporal meanings confound communication between professionals and individuals. The condition of "temporal discalibration" is described and explained. The issues brought forth point to reasons why disaster prevention and mitigation ideas may be difficult for some people to accept. The promise of continued research is that ideas about time can be used to speed teh transition from unreadiness to readiness (AU)