Walking for Weight Loss, Really? But Surely Celebrity Exercises & Personal Trainers are the Panacea!

Alasdair Wilkins lost 45kg in a year without having to nibble on kale salads or battle through spin classes in expensive Lycra. He reckons his weight loss “secret” is actually “pretty dumb”. “Basically, I just went to the gym and I walked. On a treadmill, uphill, at a brisk pace, for about an hour every… Read More

US Army: Captivating Virtual Instruction for Training

The Captivating Virtual Instruction for Training (CVIT) project, instigated in 2013, was a two-year research effort seeking to produce a blueprint for mapping effective instructional techniques used in a live classroom setting to core enabling technologies, which may then be used for the design and development of engaging virtual and distributed learning (dL) applications. This research was funded by the… Read More

Got Back Pain, Get Paracetamol: Really?

Research Paper Title Efficacy and Safety of Paracetamol for Spinal Pain and Osteoarthritis: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Randomised Placebo Controlled Trials. Objective To investigate the efficacy and safety of paracetamol (acetaminophen) in the management of spinal pain and osteoarthritis of the hip or knee. Design Systematic review and meta-analysis. Results 12 reports (13 randomised… Read More

US Army Instructors to Army Facilitators – Practical Considerations

With the change from an instructor-centric to a learner centric pedagogical model, the role of the US Army instructor must also change from one of transmitting knowledge to learners to one of facilitating learners’ acquisition of knowledge through problem-solving events. To support this role change, the Army must also institute changes in the processes for identifying, selecting, and preparing instructors. This paper… Read More

Older People, Fish Oil & Muscle Volume: Any Connection?

Many claims have been made for the benefits of fish oil derived n-3 (or w-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), though none appears to have strong evidence (BMJ, 2015). A new addition to the list is the prevention of muscle loss in older people. 40 healthy people aged 60-85 were randomised to n-3 PUFA pills whil… Read More

Australian Institute of Sport turns to SAS Commando Training to Select Future Cycling Gold Medallists

The Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) has turned to the brutal selection processes of the SAS and special forces commandos to inspire the next generation of women cyclists to gold medals. Sports scientist David Martin designed the program after briefings on secret army techniques for picking and nurturing their best and brightest. “They were very… Read More

US Army Instructors’ Use of Mobile Devices in the Infantry Advanced Leaders Course

In contrast to investigating the educational effects of mobile devices on students, this research aimed to investigate the potential utility of supplying instructors (rather than students) with mobile devices to be used in conducting training. Following a review of the state of mobile devices development and potential mobile applications, a suitable tablet was selected and provisioned with apps.… Read More