Alexander Sievert

Importance of sports during youth and exercise barriers in 20- to 29-year-old male nonathletes differently motivated for regular physical activities.

Abstract Leyk, D, Witzki, A, Sievert, A, Rohde, U, Moedl, A, Rüther, T, Löllgen, H, and Hackfort, D. Importance of sports during youth and exercise barriers in 20- to 29-year-old male nonathletes differently motivated for regular physical activities. J Strength Cond Res 26(7): S15–S22, 2012—The number of sedentary young adults has dramatically increased in past decades, and sedentary lifestyles are adopted at an increasingly earlier age. Little is known about barriers or predictors to (re)initiate regular physical activity in this group. The purpose of the study is to (a) identify subgroups in nonathletes differing in their amenability to physical exercise, (b) to analyze them for differences in barriers and intention to exercise, and (c) compare importance of sports during youth in nonathletes to trained peers. Using a health and fitness questionnaire 589 nonathletes were queried in the cross-sectional survey and compared with 270 trained peers. Athletic abstainers (A), lower (L), and higher (H) motivated nonathletes were separated based on previous engagement in sports. Of the nonathletes, 54.7% reported only 1 barrier to exercise. Although this feature was most prominent in H (71.5%), the other groups showed significantly more barriers and a broader distribution. Similar characteristics but minor differences were observed for perceived importance of sports during youth. The most significant differences between athletes and nonathletes emerged enquiring the attitude and activity of the parents. The majority of nonathletes (72.8%) indicate their intention to exercise in the future. Their intention differed significantly in H (88.1%), L (76.1%), and A (59.1%). However, there are good reasons to doubt that most of those intending nonathletes will actually become physically active. Even in the analyzed narrow age range of men different motivated groups of nonathletes were found. Because of the differences in receptiveness and approachability health promotion policies may not only consider the often recommended tailored interventions but also carefully designed incentive programs.

Validation of a short-term memory test for the recognition of people and faces

Memorising and processing faces is a short-term memory dependent task of utmost importance in the security domain, in which constant and high performance is a must. Especially in access or passport control-related tasks, the timely identification of performance decrements is essential, margins of error are narrow and inadequate performance may have grave consequences. However, conventional short-term memory tests frequently use abstract settings with little relevance to working situations. They may thus be unable to capture task-specific decrements. The aim of the study was to devise and validate a new test, better reflecting job specifics and employing appropriate stimuli. After 1.5 s (short) or 4.5 s (long) presentation, a set of seven portraits of faces had to be memorised for comparison with two control stimuli. Stimulus appearance followed 2 s (first item) and 8 s (second item) after set presentation. Twenty eight subjects (12 male, 16 female) were tested at seven different times of day, 3 h apart. Recognition rates were above 60% even for the least favourable condition. Recognition was significantly better in the ‘long’ condition (+10%) and for the first item (+18%). Recognition time showed significant differences (10%) between items. Minor effects of learning were found for response latencies only. Based on occupationally relevant metrics, the test displayed internal and external validity, consistency and suitability for further use in test/retest scenarios. In public security, especially where access to restricted areas is monitored, margins of error are narrow and operator performance must remain high and level. Appropriate schedules for personnel, based on valid test results, are required. However, task-specific data and performance tests, permitting the description of task specific decrements, are not available. Commonly used tests may be unsuitable due to undue abstraction and insufficient reference to real-world conditions. Thus, tests are required that account for task-specific conditions and neurophysiological characteristics.

Utilization and implementation of sports medical screening examinations: survey of more than 10 000 long-distance runners.

INTRODUCTION Preventive medical checkups may help to lower the health risks incurred by participation in sporting activity. However, there are no epidemiologically relevant data on either utilization or implementation of such checkups. METHODS An internet questionnaire (www.dshs-koeln.de/pace) and personal interviews of long-distance runners were used to obtain information on the acceptance and realization of medical checkups. RESULTS Only 50% of 10 025 runners had undergone preventive medical screening. Beginners and returnees to long-distance running are significantly less likely to have themselves checked than performance-oriented athletes (42.0% vs. 59.9%; p < 0.01). Moreover, the survey revealed deficiencies in many sports medical tests; for example, over 15% of runners screened stated that their checkup had not included physical examination. Resting ECG was performed in only 67.4% of cases. DISCUSSION The findings underline the need for qualified pre-emptive sports medical screening. If current public health campaigns are successful, higher numbers of overweight, untrained persons of all age groups will have to be examined and advised.

Concept for a Predeployment Assessment of Basic Military Fitness in the German Armed Forces.

Abstract Rohde, U, Sievert, A, Rüther, T, Witzki, A, and Leyk, D. Concept for a predeployment assessment of Basic Military Fitness in the German armed forces. J Strength Cond Res 29(11S): S211–S215, 2015—Military fitness is defined as a hierarchical 4-level construct in the German armed forces: (a) “Fundamental/Baseline Fitness,” (b) “Basic Military Fitness,” (c) “Task Fitness,” and (d) “Mission Fitness.” “Fundamental/Baseline Fitness” is assessed with the “Basic Fitness Test.” However, this test alone is not sufficient to assess readiness for the physical demands of deployments. The first part of the article describes the development of a tool mirroring the specific physiological requirements of military operations on a joint forces level. The “Basic Military Fitness Tool” (BMFT) combines 4 crucial military demands into one single timed test run performed with field uniform (5 kg), body armor (13.4 kg), and helmet (1.6 kg): (a) maneuver under fire: 130 m run with changes in direction, velocity, and body position, (b) casualty rescue: 40 m of dragging a 50 kg load, (c) load carrying: 100 m carrying of two 18 kg loads, and (d) load lifting: lifting a 24 kg load on to a 1.25 m high rack 5 times. The second part covers the first assessment of BMFT selectivity between high- and low-performing groups. Muscle mass and strength are important factors for working with loads. Thus, female soldiers are expected to need more time to complete BMFT because of their on average lower muscle mass. Eighteen female (age = 28.5 ± 6.6 years, lean body mass [LBM] = 45.0 ± 4.5 kg; mean ± SD) and 104 male soldiers (age = 30.0 ± 8.4, LBM = 64.3 ± 7.1) completed isometric strength testing (hand grip = 344.3 ± 51.4 N and 547.3 ± 79.1 N, elbow flexors = 118.9 ± 16.9 and 235.1 ± 42.0, knee extensors = 433.2 ± 87.4 and 631.4 ± 111.4) and BMFT (259.2 ± 44.0 and 150.0 ± 21.1 s). Except age, all variables differed significantly (p < 0.01) between groups.

Reliability and Validity of Low Temporal Resolution Eye Tracking Systems in Cognitive Performance Tasks

Eyetrackingexperimentsareanimportantcontributiontohumancomputerinteraction(HCI)research. Eyemovementsindicateattention,informationprocessing,andcognitivestate.Oculomotoractivity isusuallycapturedwithhightemporalresolutioneye trackingsystems,whichareexpensiveand notaffordableforeveryone.Moreover,thesesystemsrequirespecifichard-andsoftware.However, affordableandpracticalsystemsareneededespeciallyforappliedresearchconcerningmobileHCI in everyday life. This study examined the reliability/validity of low temporal resolution devices bycomparingdataofatable-mountedsystemwithanelectrooculogram.Gazepatternsoftwenty participantswererecordedwhileperformingavisual reactionandasurveillance task.Statistical analysesshowedhighconsistencybetweenbothmeasurementsystemsforrecordedgazeparameters. Theseresultsindicatethatdatafromlowtemporalresolutioneyetrackersaresufficienttoderive performancerelatedoculomotorparametersandthatsuchsolutionspresentaviablealternativefor appliedHCIresearch. KEywoRdS Cognition, Electrooculogram, EOG, Eye Movement, Fixations, Gazing, Oculomotor System, Saccades

Berührungslose Augen- und Blickbewegungsmessung

Fur die Untersuchung ergonomischer Fragestellungen bietet sich der Einsatz beruhrungsloser Blickerfassungssysteme an. Am FKIE wird zurzeit das System SmartEye Pro verwendet, um Kopfstellung, Blickrichtung und Bewegungen des Augenlides von Probanden in Echtzeit zu erfassen. In zwei Vorstudien wurden die Auswirkung verschiedener Kalibrierungseinstellungen auf die Trackingqualitat und die Qualitat der Messung von Sakkaden und Fixationen evaluiert. Es zeigte sich, dass das System geeignet ist, statistische Aussagen in Bezug auf Blickbewegungen und Lidschlussverhalten zu generieren. Jedoch ist die Bestimmung von Sakkaden- und Fixationsparametern nur eingeschrankt moglich. Unter Berucksichtigung dieser Restriktionen wird das System zurzeit in einem Verbundforschungsprojekt mit der Deutschen Sporthochschule Koln und dem Zentralen Institut des Sanitatsdienstes der Bundeswehr Koblenz zur Erfassung der psycho-physiologische Leistungsfahigkeit von Soldaten verwendet.