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The purpose of this paper is to determine the influence of different Specialized Physical Education (SPE) teaching programs on the level of students’ physical abilities.

In the Academy of Criminalistic and Police Studies (ACPS), one of the teaching program goals is an improvement of student's physical abilities level. Since the establishment of ACPS, three SPE programs have been implemented differing in number of class hours. Five different tests were used: “Isometric dead lift,” “Hand grip,” the Long jump (LJ), the Sit-up test and the Cooper test.

Multivariate analysis of variance results indicated a statistically significant difference between the programs in tests LJ, Sit-up and Cooper. The Bonferroni test showed differences between all three programs. The discriminant analysis showed that both discriminant factors are statistically significant. The greatest factor in the first function was the test LJ, while the greatest factor in the second discriminant function was the Sit-up test.

The importance of research was the fact that by determining the changes of students’ physical abilities level, the authors can evaluate the effectiveness of various SPE programs. Results could be used in planning standards, selection and control of the achieved physical abilities level.

Changes could contribute to the positive effects of the educational process on improvement of students’ physical abilities.

This is one of the few studies which examine the influence of quantitatively different teaching programs on the level of physical abilities within a period of 15 years.

This paper aims to determine the influence of physical ability on initial emergency response performance among emergency response teams.

In an emergency incident, emergency responders are involved in vigorous physical activities. Previous attempts have demonstrated that job performance of emergency responders depends a great deal on their ability to perform strenuous physical activity. This paper examines the influence of physical ability namely weight, height, and cardiovascular endurance on emergency response performance among fire fighting teams in Malaysia. Emergency response performance was defined as team member's speed in responding to emergency situations. Data on team member's physical ability and emergency response time were collected for the duration of five months. The distance from the waiting room to the fire truck in each selected fire station was used to measure performance.

This study found that the team with higher average weight and cardiovascular endurance level had better initial response to emergency situations, contrary to the research hypothesis. But it is speculated that the relationship could be further understood by considering the proportion of fat in the body. The relationship between cardiovascular endurance and initial emergency response performance further validates and justifies the use of physical fitness test as a criterion for job performance of fire fighters.

This paper offers empirical evidence of emergency response performance in Malaysia. Specifically, it presents findings on the influence of physical ability measures on initial emergency response performance from a team perspective. In addition, the emergency response performance was measured by the distance traveled by the responders, which serves as a meaningful performance indicator.

Selecting the right people for police work is not only important for the employer, but is also in the best interest of the public. Failure to screen out individuals who cannot perform the physical duties has a large human and economic cost. The present study investigated whether physical performance and anthropometric measures can predict recruits’ handgun marksmanship. While significant correlations were found between handgun marksmanship and dominant grip strength, combined grip strength, forearm girth and second ray length, significance was only found when the genders were analyzed together. A step‐wise multiple regression could not generate an equation to predict shooting score from the available data.

This study aims to explore social and motor impairments of children with autism through the perspectives of their caregivers. Social and motor deficits among people with autism are well documented. There is support to suggest a reciprocal relationship between social and motor deficits among people with autism, in that social deficits can act as a barrier to motor skill development and motor deficits can act as a barrier to social skill development.

This study explored social and motor impairments of children with autism through the perspectives of eight caregivers of children with autism.

Many salient findings emerged from the interviews conducted with caregivers, particularly concerning the social and motor development of their children. The relationships between their children’s social and motor deficits were also highlighted.

It is important that health-care professionals educate parents about the consequences of motor impairments or delays and their associations with the development of social skills. As such, routine motor skill monitoring and assessments by caregivers and health-care professionals should be encouraged.

To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper to investigate motor and social deficits of children with autism from the caregivers’ perspectives.

Parents are important agents in the physical activity socializing process in children. The present study aims to examine the parental mediatory role in children's physical activity participation via a youth physical activity promotion (YPAP) model.

A total of 872 Hong Kong Chinese children (aged ten to 13) in ten schools were invited to participate in the study. Their physical self‐perception, physical activity perception, parental influence, and physical activity level were assessed. Structural equation modelling was employed to examine the relationship among the variables.

The final model accounted for 18 per cent of the variance in children's physical activity participation. Parental influence imposed a direct (β=0.19) and indirect effect on children's physical activity participation through the children's physical activity perception (β=0.33) and physical self‐perceptions (β=0.19).

This study involved a cross‐sectional design and data were collected over a single time frame; a cause‐and‐effect relationship among variables could not be drawn.

The present study emphasizes how parental influence is related to children's physical participation. The information is useful for health professionals in the design of intervention programs to promote children's physical activity participation.

The first aim of this review article is to systematically summarise, synthesise, and critically evaluate the research base concerning the use of two art forms, namely, dance‐based exercises and Tai Chi, as applied to people with arthritis (a chronic condition that results in considerable disability and, particularly in later life, severely impacts the life quality of the individual with this condition). A second is to provide directives for health educators who work or are likely to work with this population in the future.

The material specifically focuses on examining the efficacy of dance therapy and Tai Chi as intervention strategies for minimising arthritis disability and dependence and improving life quality. The paper includes a review of all relevant articles published in the English language on the topic.

Collectively, these data reveal that dance‐based exercises and Tai Chi – practiced widely in China for many centuries as an art form, as well as a religious ritual, relaxation technique, exercise, and self‐defence method – may be very useful rehabilitation strategies for people with different forms of arthritis.

While more research is indicated, health educators working with people who have chronic arthritis can safely recommend these two forms of exercise to most people with arthritis with the expectation that both will heighten the life quality of the individual with this condition.

The article's aim is to introduce the papers contained in this special issue of the Journal of Managerial Psychology.

Specifically the present article starts by discussing the meaning of the factor age and by considering who is actually termed an older worker. Next, the consequences of cognitive, physical and mental changes during the aging process for work and organizations are being discussed. Before presenting a general introduction to the research contributions that are included in this special issue, a plea is made for a more positive approach to older employees. The article presents a literature review, a discussion of the main topics and suggestions for future pathways for research and HRM.

It is indisputable that some cognitive, physical and mental changes take place while people grow older. However, what is less certain is how these changes impede on employees' well‐being. Recently, scholars seem to agree that the picture is not as negative as one used to think.

The implications are: use different conceptualizations of age; focus on the process of aging instead of on age as a factor; shift the focus from managing threats to creating opportunities.

It is in both employers' and employees' interest to make the best use of employees of all ages and to manage employees in accordance with individual attributes and capacities rather than by making assumptions based on age.

The article frames the issues and sets the stage for a more positive approach towards older workers.

This systematic review, following preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis guidelines, rigorously investigates the emergent role of virtual reality (VR) technology in human movement training. The purpose of this study is to explore the effectiveness and evolution of VR in enhancing movement training experiences.

Acknowledging its pivotal role in diverse applications, such as sports and rehabilitation, human movement training is currently experiencing accelerated evolution, facilitated by the proliferation of wearable devices and mobile applications. This review conducted an exhaustive search across five different electronic databases, such as Web of Science, PubMed and ProQuest, resulting in the selection of 69 eligible articles published within the past five years. It also integrates 40 studies into a narrative summary, categorized based on the level of immersion offered by respective VR systems.

Enhanced immersion in VR potentially augments the effectiveness of movement training by engendering more realistic and captivating experiences for users. The immersive and interactive environments provided by VR technology enable tailored training experiences accompanied by precise, objective feedback. This review highlights the benefits of VR in human movement training and its potential to revolutionize the way training is conducted.

This systematic review contributes significantly to the existing literature by providing a comprehensive examination of the efficacy and evolution of VR in human movement training. By organizing the findings based on the level of immersion offered by VR systems, it provides valuable insights into the importance of immersion in enhancing training outcomes. In addition, this study identifies the need for future research focusing on the impacts of VR on learning and performance, as well as strategies to optimize its effectiveness and improve accessibility.

Exercise has the potential to provide benefits for people living with dementia, yet the balance of evidence is uncertain. This paper aims to provide an evidence synthesis to determine whether exercise improves their health and well-being and what exercise should be recommended.

Structured search for existing literature reviews on exercise for dementia. Relevant articles were selected and critically appraised against systematic criteria. The findings from 15 high quality reviews were collated by using a best evidence synthesis approach.

The evidence is convincing for improving physical health, promising for cognitive benefits, mixed for psychological benefits and limited for behavioural outcomes. No evidence of harm was found. Overall, exercise can improve physical and mental health for people living with dementia: there is sufficient evidence to recommend multimodal exercise.

The potential beneficial outcomes are of significant importance both for people with dementia and their caregivers. In the absence of more specific findings, the current recommendation for older adults in general is pragmatically justified – some activity is better than none, more activity provides greater benefits. Adding social interaction may be important for psychological and behavioural outcomes.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to encapsulate the literature to date on exercise for dementia. Combining the findings from previous reviews enabled a novel synthesis across the range of relevant interventions and outcomes.

Increasing emphasis is being placed on integrated thinking in business decision making. Part of that emphasis requires a better understanding of the basic concepts that are used to add value to products and services that are consumed in the channel system. Presents a conceptualization which can be used to integrate concepts from production/operations management and logistics management for the purpose of understanding the linkages that exist between these two applied disciplines. The conceptual structure is based on an understanding of the management of capacity and movement at both the firm and channel levels which can help the academic and practitioner view the commonalities between their responsibilities and those of other channel members.