Academic literature on the topic 'Hockey sticks'

Figure skating and hockey are two sports that currently are gendered as feminine and masculine, respectively. This study originated in my concern that gendered sports may be a discouragement to youth participation. This research project was undertaken in order to understand how figure skating and hockey are gendered in a community arena in rural British Columbia and how this might impact youth involvement. My methods included participant observation, interviews, and focus groups. The data from these ethnographic techniques are interpreted according to the concept that people both actively reinforce and resist the gendering of their sport. As a result of the study, I found that gendering hockey as masculine was often contested by female hockey players. Although females in recreational hockey seem to be largely accepted and welcome on mixed teams, the opposite was the case for females pursuing hockey competitively alongside their male peers. Gendering figure skating as feminine was largely uncontested, in part due to the lack of males participating in the sport. In addition, the interactions between hockey players and figure skaters frequently served to reinforce the gendering of these two sports. The key recommendation from this study is for both groups to be aware that the gendering of their sports seems to be a subconscious deterrent and they should take steps to counteract this trend.

Within the climate science research community there exists an overwhelming consensus on the question of climate change. The scientific literature supports the broad conclusion that the Earth’s climate is changing, that this change is driven by human factors (anthropogenic), and that the environmental consequences could be severe. While a strong consensus exists in the climate science community, this is not reflected in the wider public or among policymakers, where sceptical attitudes towards anthropogenic climate change is much more prevalent. This discrepancy in the perception of the urgency of the problem of climate change is an alarming trend and likely a result of a failure of science communication, which is the topic of this thesis. This paper analyses the visual culture of climate change, with specific focus on the data visualisations comprised within the IPCC assessment reports. The visual aspects of the reports were chosen because of the prioritisation images often receive within scientific communication and for their quality as immutable mobiles that can transition between different media more easily than text. The IPCC is the central institutional authority in the climate science visual discourse, and its assessment reports, therefore, are the site of this discourse analysis. The analysis tracks the development and variations in the IPCC’s visual culture, investigates in detail the use of colour and the visual form of the “Hockey Stick” graph. This work is undertaken to better understand the state of the art of climate science data visualisation, in an effort to suggest the best way forward to bridge the knowledge gap between the scientific community and the public on this important issue. The thesis concludes that a greater emphasis on the information aesthetics of their data visualisations could benefit the IPCC’s pedagogical reach, but that it may also be argued that it is not the IPCC’s role in climate change discourse to produce the most visually persuasive images. That they exist as a tone-setting institution that provides authority to entities that are better geared towards wider communication, such as journalism and activism.

This thesis was to examine the interaction of players' skill level, body strength, and various types of stick construction and stiffness on the performance of the hockey shots. Forty subjects were tested, and each subject performed the slap and wrist shots with different stick shaft constructions and stiffness. Shot mechanics were evaluated by simultaneously recording of ground reaction forces, stick movements and peak puck velocity. Data analyzed with a 4-way ANOVA for several dependent variables. The results indicated that: (1) the slap shot was faster than the wrist shot corresponding to greater vertical force, stick bending and hand placement; (2) the puck velocity was influenced by skill level and body strength not stick type; and, (3) the skilled players generated greater vertical force and stick bending by adjusting their hand positions. Further studies are needed to address the specific stick material and construction properties.

The purpose of this study was to identify the movement patterns of the ice hockey stick from a wrist shot that corresponds to the accuracy of puck trajectory. A total of twenty five subjects participated in this study; each performed 10 successful wrist shots on four targets. Performances were evaluated by simultaneously recording the movements of the stick's shaft and blade and of the puck with infra-red based motion capture (Vicon®) system (240 Hz) Kinematics of the shaft and blade of the hockey stick were examined using a multiple regression analysis using the accuracy score as the dependant variable. The results indicate that accurate shooters tended to alter release parameters (puck release orientation and velocity), loading mechanics and blade orientation to achieve proper puck trajectory explaining 40% and 76% of the accuracy variances for the bottom and top corners respectively. Shooters were more accurate shooting at bottom corners than at the top corners (67% vs 45%). These analyses helped to identify key stick usage variables that predict accuracy during the execution of stationary wrist shots. Further studies are needed to identify the whole body kinematic patterns associated with the hockey stick kinematics.<br>L'objectif premier de cette étude était d'identifier les mouvements caractéristiques du bâton de hockey correspondant à la précision de tirs du poignet stationnaire à travers différents niveaux d'habiletés. Un total de vingt-cinq sujets ont fait parti de l'échantillon. Chacun d'eux ont dû réussir correctement dix lancers dans chacune des quatre différentes cibles. La performance des sujets a été évaluée en mesurant le déplacement du bâton et de la rondelle à l'aide de marqueur réfléchissants qui était filmé à l'aide d'un système d'analyse du mouvement composé de caméra infrarouge (Vicon®), le tout étant enregistré à 240 Hz. La cinématique du manche et de la palette du bâton de hockey ont été analysées par le biais d'une analyse de régression multiple en utilisant le niveau de précision comme étant la variable dépendante. Les résultats démontrent que les joueurs les plus précis ont tendance à modifier les paramètres de projection (orientation et vitesse de la rondelle), le mécanisme de mise en charge du bâton ainsi que l'orientation de la palette pour obtenir la trajectoire de rondelle désirée avec des modèles de prédiction pouvant expliqué respectivement 40% et 76% de la variabilité de la précision pour les cibles inférieures et supérieures. Les sujets étaient plus précis pour les cibles inférieures que pour les cibles supérieures (67% vs 45%). Cette analyse a permis d'identifier les variables clés pour effectuer un lancer du poignet stationnaire précis mais d'autres recherches doivent être effectuées pour identifier les mouvements du corps qui sont associés avec la cinématique du bâton de hockey.

This thesis examined the 'recoil' effect of the ice hockey stick shaft during a stationary slap shot. Nine subjects were tested. Four were classified as 'elite' and the remaining five as the 'recreational' group. Their performances were evaluated by simultaneously recording stick movement and bending from high-speed video capture (1000 Hz) and puck acceleration from a triaxial accelerometer positioned inside the puck. Data were analyzed with a one-way ANOVA for several dependant variables including final puck velocity, stick shaft bending, blade-puck contact time and stick kinetic energy. The results indicated that: (1) the puck velocity was influenced by skill level, blade-puck contact time and stick bending energy but not puck acceleration. Further studies are needed to address the influence of events before and after blade-puck contact as well as the strength of the player on the mechanical energy and impulse given to the puck.

The purpose of this study was to quantify the contact forces between the lower and upper hands to the stick shaft during the ice hockey slap and wrist shot. Four cohorts (male/female x high/low calibre; HC, LC) of ice hockey players were tested using three sticks of different shaft bending stiffnesses (77, 87, 102). Forty-one subjects (21 male, 20 female) performed seven slap and seven wrist shots with each of the three stick types. Force at the stick-hand interface was recorded at 1000 Hz using 32 piezoresistive sensors about the shaft at the upper and lower-hand grip locations. The results demonstrated the feasibility for direct measurement of forces at the hand-stick interface while executing shooting tasks in ice hockey. As anticipated, peak forces acquired during both the slap and wrist shot differed by calibre and by gender, with males exhibiting higher forces than females, and HC players demonstrating higher forces than LC players, within each gender; however, stick type was not a significant factor. Notably, each player displayed unique, repeatable "force signatures". In general, for both slap and wrist shots, grip force patterns demonstrated typical bimanual coordination patterns pertinent to understanding the mechanical dynamic control of the stick for effective performance.<br>Le but de cette étude était d'examiner les forces de contact entre les mains et le baton de hockey pendant l'exécution de lancers frappés et de tirs du poignet. Quatre cohortes (homme/femme x haut / bas calibre; HC, LC) de joueurs de hockey sur glace ont été testés en utilisant trois bâtons de rigidités différentes (77, 87, 102). Quarante et un sujets (21 hommes, 20 femmes) ont effectué sept lancers frappés et sept tirs du poignet avec chacun des trois types de bâton. La force de pression a été enregistrée à 1000 Hz en utilisant 32 capteurs piézorésistifs aux interfaces entre la main et le bâton. Les résultats ont démontré la faisabilité de la mesure directe des forces à l'interface main-bâton lors de l'exécution de tirs au hockey sur glace. Les forces de pointe atteintes au cours de lancers frappés et de tirs du poignet différaient en fonction du calibre et du sexe, les hommes présentant des forces supérieures comparativement aux femmes. De plus, les joueurs de HC ont démontré des forces supérieures par rapport aux joueurs LC. Par contre, le type de bâton ne représentait pas un facteurs significatif pour la production de force qui plus est, chaque joueur a affiché une 'signature' de force reproductible et constante. En général, les modèles de forces pour les lancers frappés et les tirs des poignets ont démontré des pattrons de coordination bimanuelle à la compréhension du contrôle mécanique dynamique du bâton et possiblement a l'évaluation de la performance.