Auckland University of Technology

About: Auckland University of Technology is a education organization based out in Auckland, New Zealand. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Context (language use). The organization has 4116 authors who have published 13461 publications receiving 353076 citations. The organization is also known as: AUT & AUT University.

Passive force, angle, and stiffness changes after stretching of hamstring muscles.

Abstract: REID, D. A., and P. J. MCNAIR. Passive Force, Angle, and Stiffness Changes after Stretching of Hamstring Muscles. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc., Vol. 36, No. 11, pp. 1944–1948, 2004. Periodic or long-term stretching programs have demonstrated changes in joint range of motion. The suggested mechanisms for these increases in range of motion are changes in the tissue properties of the muscle and more recently stretch tolerance. However, few studies have examined changes in passive resistive forces and related these changes to increases in range of motion. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of a 6-wk hamstring-stretching program on knee extension range of motion, passive resistive forces, and muscle stiffness. Methods: A randomized control trial with repeated measures was undertaken with 43 school-age subjects. Hamstring extensibility was assessed by a passive knee extension test using a Kincom® isokinetic dynamometer. The intervention group participated in a 6-wk hamstring-stretching program. Stretches were performed 5 d·wk 1 , once per day, held for 30 s, and for 3 repetitions. The control group did not stretch over the 6-wk intervention period. Measurements of hamstring extensibility were repeated at the end of the 6-wk intervention. Results: After the intervention period, significant (P 0.05) increases in knee extension range of motion, passive resistive force, and stiffness were observed in the experimental group. No significant differences were observed in the control group’s findings for the same variables. Conclusions: The findings of this study are consistent with other literature that shows periodic stretching programs over a 6-wk time frame produce significant changes in knee extension range of motion. The finding of increased stiffness in the new range of motion, gained as a result of the stretching program, provides some evidence that structural changes had occurred in the stretched muscles. Key Words: HAMSTRING STRETCHING, VISCOELASTICITY, FLEXIBILITY, TRAINING, CHILDREN

Bloom's taxonomy for CS assessment

Abstract: Bloom's Taxonomy is difficult to apply consistently to assessment tasks in introductory programming courses. The Bloom taxonomy is a valuable tool that could enable analysis and discussion of programming assessment if it could be interpreted consistently. We discuss each of the Bloom classification categories and provide a consistent interpretation with concrete exemplars that will allow computer science educators to utilise Bloom's Taxonomy for programming assessment. Using Bloom's Taxonomy to help design examinations could greatly improve the quality of assessment in introductory programming courses.

Age of Peak Competitive Performance of Elite Athletes: A Systematic Review.

Abstract: Knowledge of the age at which elite athletes achieve peak performance could provide important information for long-term athlete development programmes, event selection and strategic decisions regarding resource allocation. The objective of this study was to systematically review published estimates of age of peak performance of elite athletes in the twenty-first century. We searched SPORTDiscus, PubMed and Google Scholar for studies providing estimates of age of peak performance. Here we report estimates as means only for top (international senior) athletes. Estimates were assigned to three event-type categories on the basis of the predominant attributes required for success in the given event (explosive power/sprint, endurance, mixed/skill) and then plotted by event duration for analysis of trends. For both sexes, linear trends reasonably approximated the relationships between event duration and estimates of age of peak performance for explosive power/sprint events and for endurance events. In explosive power/sprint events, estimates decreased with increasing event duration, ranging from ~27 years (athletics throws, ~1–5 s) to ~20 years (swimming, ~21–245 s). Conversely, estimates for endurance events increased with increasing event duration, ranging from ~20 years (swimming, ~2–15 min) to ~39 years (ultra-distance cycling, ~27–29 h). There was little difference in estimates of peak age for these event types between men and women. Estimations of the age of peak performance for athletes specialising in specific events and of event durations that may best suit talent identification of athletes can be obtained from the equations of the linear trends. There were insufficient data to investigate trends for mixed/skill events. Differences in the attributes required for success in different sporting events likely contribute to the wide range of peak-performance ages of elite athletes. Understanding the relationships between age of peak competitive performance and event duration should be useful for tracking athlete progression and talent identification.

Narratives of Change: Discourse, Technology and Organization

Abstract: This article develops an understanding of organizational change predicated on the idea of organization as a performance or an effect, rather than a stable social structure. It uses the concept of ‘narratives of ordering’ to make sense of the processes that constitute organizations and the various mechanisms of ordering and organizing employed by organizational actors. It does so via a case study of change in a New Zealand hospital during a period of public sector reform. The ‘clinical leadership’ narrative introduced into the hospital at that time was simultaneously discursive in its appeal to economic notions of efficiency and enterprise, social in the development of new accountabilities and relationships within the organization, and material in its use of information technology. The contribution of the article lies in the theoretical approach used to analyse organizational change. This extends organizational discourse analysis by providing a more integrated treatment of change that accounts for the mate...