Purpose: This exploratory study examined the notion of Seefeldt's (1980) hypothesized motor skill "proficiency barrier" related to composite levels of health-related physical fitness (HRF) in young adults. Method: A motor skill competence (MSC) index composed of maximum throwing and kicking speed and jumping distance in 187 young adults…

Points out the high percentage of African-American boys that believe that they can make a living playing professional sports and presents an activity that addresses the probability of a student athlete becoming a professional athlete. (YDS)

Nowadays, people have a lot of time for leisure during which they try to engage in sports and recreational activities. Various activities are described which are specially devised for children, old people, the mentally ill and other special populations. Examples of career opportunities in recretion and a description of the duties that are…

The utility of a quantitative model depends on the extent to which its fitted parameters vary systematically with environmental events of interest. Professional football statistics were analyzed to determine whether play selection (passing versus rushing plays) could be accounted for with the generalized matching equation, and in particular…

Part of a series of four pamphlets providing real-life problems in probability and statistics for the secondary school level, this booklet shows how to organize data in tables and graphs in order to get and to exhibit messages. Elementary probability concepts are also introduced. Fourteen different problem situations arising from biology,…

This paper reviews the development of attribution theory as it relates to sport from Fritz Heider's original model of attribution theory in 1958 to the present. The original model explains that individuals use four attribution factors to interpret and predict the outcome of an event--ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck. Bernard Weiner built…

This note examines some statistical features of the major league baseball World Series. We show that, based upon actual historical data, we cannot reject the hypothesis that the two World Series teams are evenly matched. Yet, we can also calculate the relative strengths of the teams that would best match the actual outcomes, and we find that those…

When the stimulus to be intercepted traveled at slow or moderate speeds, subjects' (N=18) expectancies did not modify choice reaction time (CRT) and movement time. However, when the stimulus traveled at fast speed, CRT was reduced as a function of event probability, at the cost of more response initiation errors. (IAH)

In baseball, it is believed that "hitting is contagious," that is, probability of success increases if the previous few batters get a hit. Could this effect be partially explained by action induction--that is, the tendency to perform an action related to one that has just been observed? A simulation was used to investigate the effect of inducing…

The Wyden amendment to the National Science Foundation (NSF) Authorization Act of 2002 sought to determine whether federally funded educational programs other than sports comply with Title IX, which prohibits gender discrimination. At the request of NSF, this report analyzes administrative data from fiscal years 2001 through 2003 describing the…

It is widely reported that physical education (PE) is less popular among girls than boys. This is sometimes accounted for with reference to puberty-related physical changes associated with growing awareness of gender stereotypes. When it comes to societies which are conservative regarding women's role, such as the Muslim Arab-Israeli society, a…

The Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) is located behind the kneecap (patella) and connects the thigh bone (femur) to the shin bone (tibia). Stabilizing the knee joint is the primary responsibility of the ACL. Injuries that affect the ACL are three to five times more common in females than males. This is a result of anatomical, biomechanical,…

Results from a national survey of the physical fitness of the nation's school children are presented in this monograph. The research was conducted to: (1) assess the physical fitness status of American public school children and youth ages 6-17, and establish national norms for this age group by sex and age, in 5 percent increments; (2) compare…

The Wyden amendment to the National Science Foundation (NSF) Authorization Act of 2002 sought to determine whether federally funded educational programs other than sports comply with Title IX, which prohibits gender discrimination. At the request of NSF, this report analyzes administrative data from fiscal years 2001 through 2003 describing the…

This article describes the variety of strategies that can be used to determine the probability that a player wins a tennis game, given a probability of 60 percent that he or she wins each point. The article suggests strategies for using the problem in 9-12 classrooms.