John Batten

From management to prevention: the new cure for sports concussion.

A case for directing attention away from concussion management and towards the prevention of concussions in sport.

The influence of reputation information on the assessment of undergraduate student work

The present study employed an experimental design to examine the influence of knowledge of a student’s previous performance and the general quality of their writing style on the assessment of undergraduate student work. Fifteen sport and exercise physiology academics were asked to mark and give feedback on two final year undergraduate student essays. The first student essay that participants marked was a control essay. The second essay was the target essay. Participants read one of three student reputation profiles (positive, negative or neutral) prior to marking this essay. Kruskal–Wallis tests for difference indicated that the marks awarded to each essay did not significantly differ between the three student reputation conditions. Thematic analysis of the target essay also revealed no apparent differences in the way in which feedback was presented across the three student reputation profiles. It was therefore concluded that non-anonymous marking did not induce marker bias in this instance.

An exploratory investigation examining the cues that students use to form initial impressions and expectancies of lecturers

The aim of this study was to examine the informational cues that students perceive to be influential when developing initial impressions and expectancies of a lecturer. Undergraduate university students (n = 452) were required to rate the extent to which 30 informational cues (e.g. gender, qualifications) influence their initial perceptions of a lecturer. Following exploratory factor analysis (EFA), a five-factor model (i.e. appearance (APP), accessories (ACC), third party reports (TPR), communication skills (CS), nationality/ethnicity (NE) was extracted. Inspection of mean scores identified that students rated TPR (e.g. teaching experience) and CS (e.g. speed of speech) to be influential factors in forming initial impressions and expectancies of a lecturer. The findings identify the potential for expectancy effects within student–lecturer interactions.

The influence of student gender on the assessment of undergraduate student work

The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of perceived student gender on the feedback given to undergraduate student work. Participants (n = 12) were lecturers in higher education and were required to mark two undergraduate student essays. The first student essay that all participants marked was the control essay. Participants were informed that the control essay was written by Samuel Jones (a male student). Participants then marked the target essay. Although participants marked the same essay, half of the participants (n = 6) were informed that the student essay was written by Natasha Brown (a female student), while the remaining participants were informed that it was written by James Smith (a male student). In-text and end-of-text feedback were qualitatively analysed on six dimensions: academic style of writing; criticality; structure, fluency and cohesion; sources used; understanding/knowledge of the subject; and other. Analysis of feedback for both the control and target essay revealed no discernible differences in the number of comments (strengths of the essay, areas for improvement) made and the content and presentation of these comments between the two groups. Pedagogical implications pertaining to the potential impact of anonymous marking on feedback processes are discussed.

The influence of coach reputation on the behavioral responses of male soccer players.

The present study examined the impact of reputation information on athletes’ behavioral responses to coaches within a naturalistic, field‐based setting. Using a between‐group design, male soccer players (n = 35) were assigned to one of three experimental conditions (i.e., experienced reputation, inexperienced reputation, no reputation) prior to taking part in a coaching session delivered by an unknown coach. Participants’ behaviors indicative of attention to coach instruction, effort and persistence, and willingness to participate in demonstrations were video recorded throughout the coaching session. Multivariate analyses of variance revealed that participants in the experienced reputation condition exhibited significantly greater attention to coach instruction, and greater effort and persistence during free practice than participants in the inexperienced reputation condition. Results related to participants’ willingness to participate in demonstrations failed to yield any significant differences. The results provide further evidence to support the contention that athletes use reputation information as a basis for their initial expectancies of coaches, and such expectancies have the potential to influence athletes’ behavior during coach–athlete interactions. The findings also indicate that expectancies based on positive information may be more powerful than negatively framed expectancies, and can be harnessed by coaches as a means of developing effective relationships with their athletes.

Tackling in physical education rugby: an unnecessary risk?

Since 2016, we have been strong advocates for the removal of tackling from rugby (League and Union) played in school physical education in the UK.1 This is because (A) tackling is the leading cause of injury in rugby, (B) rugby has a level of risk that is higher than non-contact sports, (C) there is no requirement or need for tackling as part of the school physical education curriculum, and (D) many children are compelled to participate in contact rugby.2 In response to this call, the Chief Medical Officers and the Physical Activity Expert Group commented: ‘The Committee reject the call to ban tackling, as they do not feel rugby participation poses an unacceptable risk of harm.’3 Yet, the notion of risk (un)acceptability is a construct that needs further discussion, which we will start here.4 What makes a risk acceptable or not is somewhat contextually subjective.4 Molcho and Pickett, however, have attempted to define some boundaries of unacceptable risk for children. Specifically, they suggest that: ‘the following are deemed non-acceptable: (1) intentional injuries; (2) severe or disabling injuries; (3) injuries …

Preventing penalty corner injuries and head trauma in field hockey: time to consider the power play?

In an effort to pre-empt serious injury in field hockey, this editorial examines the penalty corner in the sport. Specifically, the potential risk of serious head injury is highlighted, with structural changes that could make the sport safer also discussed.

An exploratory investigation examining male and female students' initial impressions and expectancies of lecturers

The aim of this study was to examine the informational cues that male and female students perceive to be influential when developing initial impressions and expectancies of a lecturer. University students (n=752) rated the extent to which 30 informational cues influence their initial perceptions of a lecturer. Following exploratory factor analysis (EFA), a five-factor model (i.e. appearance (APP), accessories (ACC), third-party reports (TPR), communication skills (CS) and nationality/ethnicity (NE)) was extracted for male students and a five-factor model (i.e. ACC, TPR, APP, interpersonal skills (IPS) and engagement (ENG)) extracted for female students. Inspection of mean scores identified that male students rated CS (e.g. clarity of voice) and TPR (e.g. qualifications) and female students IPS (e.g. control of class), ENG (e.g. eye contact) and TPR to be influential factors in forming initial impressions and expectancies of a lecturer. The findings further identify the potential for expectancy effects within student–lecturer interactions.