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Generative Artificial Intelligence Users Beware: Ethical Concerns of ChatGPT Use in Publishing Research

Samuel W. Logan

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Volume 12 (2024): Issue S1 (Aug 2024)

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Volume 12 (2024): Issue 2 (Aug 2024)

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Effect of Simultaneous Intervention in Kindergarten and Home to Improve Ball Skills

Masashi Watanabe, Naoko Aoyagi, and Naomi Kaminaga

This study examines the effectiveness of a simultaneous intervention in kindergarten and home to improve ball skills in children. Two kindergartens in Ibaraki, Japan, were divided into intervention (N = 98, mean age = 5.5 [0.6] years) and control groups (N = 88, mean age = 5.6 [0.6] years). The intervention was for 4 weeks. Parents received emails with video URLs for four ball activities once a week, and they undertook the activities introduced in the video at home with their children. Before the intervention, a 60-min workshop was held for kindergarten teachers. Ball skills (distance thrown and percentage of ball catches) were assessed pre- and postintervention. Two-way repeated measures analysis of variance and multiple regression analysis were used to compare the groups and explore the factors related to the improvement of ball skills. As a result, although throwing skills did not change significantly in both groups, there was an increase in the frequency of ball activity at home and perceived change of batting skills, both of which were associated with postthrowing skills. Catching skills improved significantly only in the intervention group; however, no significant factors related to the improvement of these skills were found. Our study demonstrates that simultaneous intervention in kindergarten and home may contribute to improve catching skills over a short period of time.

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Introducing the Task as a Challenge Does Not Mitigate the Negative Effect of Gender Stereotype Threat on Motor Skill Learning in Adolescents

Sara Soltanifar, Rasool Abedanzadeh, Adele Ahmadinezhad, and Seyyed Mohammadreza Mousavi

Gender stereotype threat is a sociocultural variable that has received significant attention over the past two decades. We explored whether presenting a task as a practical and challenging activity would reduce the negative impact of implicit activation of gender stereotype threat on motor learning in adolescent girls. Forty-five adolescent girls (M age ± SD: 13.24 ± 1.06) participated in the study and were asked to throw a tennis ball toward a circular target using their nondominant hand. They were asked to perform five throws as an initial assessment and then were randomly assigned to three groups: IS/CH (i.e., implicit stereotype threat activation and framing the task as a challenge), IS/TH (i.e., implicit stereotype threat activation and framing the task as a threat), and the control (with no instructions). In the IS/CH and IS/TH groups, the participants performed the acquisition phase (five blocks of 10 trials) in the presence of a male evaluator. We used verbal instructions to frame the task as a practical and challenging activity (i.e., learning this task might be a big help in physical education classes in school because it improves throwing skills, and it will help improve control over the nondominant arm which is important in daily activities) and/or threat (i.e., show how good you are on this type of task, and based on your scores, we will be able to measure your natural ability at throwing tasks) before the acquisition phase. One day after the acquisition phase, participants were asked to participate in the retention (10 throws) and transfer tests (10 throws from a distance of 6.5 m). Our findings demonstrated that participants in the control group were able to achieve more effective learning compared with participants in the IS/TH and IS/CH groups. Possible reasons for these results were discussed.

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Relationship Between Motor Competence and Soccer-Specific Skills: A Longitudinal Study With Young Players

Álvaro Fortunato, Celina Gonçalves, and Vítor P. Lopes

The complexity of interactions in team sports requires players to have excellent technical skills. The purpose of this study was to longitudinally investigate the predictive value of motor competence (MC) on soccer-specific skills development. Participants were n = 79 boys, aged between 5.89 and 14.63 years at baseline followed for 3 consecutive years. MC was assessed with Körperkoordination Test für Kinder, and soccer-specific skills were assessed with soccer wall-volley, soccer dribble, juggling, and shuttle run with a ball. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to estimate developmental trajectories of proficiency in soccer-specific skills. The final model shows that soccer-specific skills proficiency significantly improved, and that MC was a significant predictor of this improvement. For every point increase in MC, the change in soccer-specific skills proficiency improved to 0.03 z scores each year. In conclusion, MC is a predictor of specific soccer skills.

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Automated Classification of Manual Exploratory Behaviors Using Sensorized Objects and Machine Learning: A Preliminary Proof-of-Concept Study

Priya Patel, Harsh Pandya, Rajiv Ranganathan, and Mei-Hua Lee

Manual exploratory behaviors during object interaction that form the basis of tool use behavior, are mostly qualitatively characterized in terms of their frequency and duration of occurrence. To fully understand their functional and clinical significance, quantitative movement characterization is needed alongside their qualitative analysis. However, there are two challenges in quantifying them—(a) reliably classifying the type of movement and (b) performing this classification on a time series automatically. Here, we propose a machine learning-based classification method to address these challenges. We measured three common exploratory behaviors (object rotation, fingering, and throwing) in college-aged adults using “sensorized objects” that had wireless Inertial Measurement Units embedded in them. We then calculated several statistical features based on linear acceleration and angular velocity data to train machine learning classifiers to identify these behaviors. All classifiers identified the behaviors with a substantially higher accuracy (average accuracy = 84.95 ± 4.16%) than chance level (33.33%). Of all models tested, Support Vector Machine Quadratic, Support Vector Machine Medium Gaussian, and Narrow Neural Network were the best models in classifying the three behaviors (average accuracy = 89.34 ± 0.12%). This classification method shows potential for automating movement characterization of exploratory behaviors, thereby may aid early assessment of neurodevelopmental disorders.

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Exploring an Alternative to Record Motor Competence Assessment: Interrater and Intrarater Audio–Video Reliability

Cristina Menescardi, Aida Carballo-Fazanes, Núria Ortega-Benavent, and Isaac Estevan

The Canadian Agility and Movement Skill Assessment (CAMSA) is a valid and reliable circuit-based test of motor competence which can be used to assess children’s skills in a live or recorded performance and then coded. We aimed to analyze the intrarater reliability of the CAMSA scores (total, time, and skill score) and time measured, by comparing the live audio with the video assessment method. We also aimed to assess the interrater reliability using both audio- and video coding on a sample of 177 Spanish children. We found moderate-to-excellent inter- and intrarater video–audio intraclass correlation coefficients for the CAMSA score, time measured, time score, and skill score. Nonsignificant differences were found between video and audio recordings in the CAMSA score, time measured, and time score. Our findings support the rationale that different raters and scoring methods can accurately assess the participants’ motor competence level using the CAMSA Spanish version.

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Bidirectional Relationship Over Time Between Body Mass Index and Fundamental Movement Skill Domains Measured by a Process-Oriented Method in Childhood: A 3-Year Longitudinal Study

Maria Kasanen, Arto Laukkanen, Donna Niemistö, Asko Tolvanen, Francisco Ortega, and Arja Sääkslahti

The worldwide increase in childhood overweight and obesity underscores the need to study variables like fundamental movement skill (FMS) levels from early childhood. This study investigated the bidirectional longitudinal relationship between body mass index (BMI) and process-oriented FMSs, including locomotor skills and object control skills in 675 Finnish children, aged 3–8 years at baseline (50.5% female, mean age 5.5 years) over 3 years. Standardized BMI-for-age SD scores (BMI SDS z-scores) followed Finnish national standards. The FMS assessment comprised four subtests from the Test of Gross Motor Development, third edition. Age-adjusted standardized residuals of FMS or skill domains and BMI SDS z-scores were used in a two-level, cross-classified, cross-lagged regression analysis, accounting for gender, and baseline value of the dependent variables. The results showed no statistically significant longitudinal relationship between BMI and FMS or its skill domains for either gender in either direction. This suggests that BMI and process-oriented FMS, encompassing locomotor skill and object control skill, develop independently, possibly influenced by unexplored variables. These findings contradict earlier results based on product-oriented measurements, which may include a physical capacity component. The outcomes further underscore the importance of monitoring weight status from early childhood, given its significant association with later-life weight conditions.

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Coordination Dynamics in Motor Learning: Acquisition and Adaptation in a Serial Stimulus Tracking Task

Matheus M. Pacheco, Natália F.A. Ambrósio, Fernando G. Santos, Go Tani, and Luciano Basso

The dynamics of mastering the degrees of freedom in motor learning are still far from being understood. The present work explored coordination dynamics in a redundant task, relating it to performance and adaptation in a serial stimulus tracking task. One hundred and sixty-three children (10–14 years of age) continuously responded to sequential stimuli (containing five stimuli) by pressing the respective sensors before the next stimulus presentation. Participants performed 120 trials with a fixed sequence (4–2–5–3–1) and a fixed interstimuli interval (800 ms) to learn the first pattern (practice phase). Then, a changed sequence (4–2–5–1–3) with a shorter interval (700 ms) was presented for 40 trials (adaptation phase). To measure coordination and its change, we calculated the correlation matrix of the stimulus–touch interval between the five sensors in blocks of 20 trials of the practice phase and classified individuals in terms of clusters. We found associations between coordination dynamics, performance curves, and adaptation in both coordination and performance. Furthermore, using network analyses, we found a tendency for all groups to increase the clustering coefficient. We discuss the possibility of this result representing a process of progressive segregation.