A Grounded Theory of Elite Male Table Tennis Players’ Activity during Matches

International audience; This article describes the main features of a collaborative project involving researchers, coaches, and elite table tennis players. The project was carried out between 1997 and 2002 with funding from the French Ministry of Youth and Sports, in response to a request by French Table Tennis Team coaches to improve the training of table tennis players. Matches were videotaped during international meets and followed by interviews during which the players described and commented on their activity as they viewed the tapes. A grounded theory of players' activity emerged from the data collected and the ensuing theoretical issues that were raised. The findings on table tennis …

A geological field trip to the Côte d'Ivoire-Ghana transform margin

Abstract During the Equanaute survey (June 1992), fourteen submersible dives were performed between 4950 and 2250 m water depths across the southern slope of the Cote d'Ivoire-Ghana Marginal Ridge (CIGMR), in the eastern Equatorial Atlantic. The CIGMR, a high-standing topographic marginal ridge along the Cote d'Ivoire-Ghana transform margin, is believed to result from a complex structural evolution due to the specific wrench-related rifting between Western Equatorial Africa and Northeastern Brazil, in Early Cretaceous times. In this paper we report and discuss geological observations made during dives, and sample analyses to resolve the lithology, paleoenvironmental conditions, age and orig…

Palaeoecology of non marine algae and stromatolites: Permian of France and adjacent countries

Abstract Some Permian, continental basins from Algeria, Morocco, France, Italy, Germany and Poland reveal algal remains and stromatolites, mainly during Lower Permian, but also during Middle and Upper Permian. The algae belong to 8 morphogenera and 12 morphospecies. Two species are new. The taxonomic attributions are difficult, even if some species resemble living species. The algae make unorganized masses, or laminated builtups (stromatolites, oncolites, oolites). Algal masses and stromatolites are contained in fluviatile sediments (active or abandoned channels) and lacustrine deposits (playas, ephemeral lakes shorelines, lakes several meters or decameters deep). Considering the sedimentol…

Permian continental environnements in the Autun basin - Pre-symposium fieldtrip guide.

Un programme de recherche articulant analyse de l'activité en situation et conception d'aides à la performance : un exemple en entraînement sportif de haut niveau

A research program combining the analysis of situated activity and the development of training tools: an example from elite sport This article presents an original program that combines research and This article presents an original program that combines research and training development. Between 1997 and 2002, several studies of the activity of expert table tennis players during matches were carried out within the framework of course-of-action theory (Theureau, 1992, 2004). These studies had been formally agreed on by coaches, athletes and researchers and responded to both sports needs and scientific interests. Matches were videotaped during international meetings and followed by self-conf…

Tetrapod footprint ichno-associations from French Permian basins. Comparisons with other Euramerican ichnofaunas.

21 pages; In order to take into account the studies of the European and American (USA) collections carried out by one of the authors, and of the recent nomenclatural revisions from new footprint discoveries, which have occurred during the last decade, the authors present a critical review of the French Permian palichnofauna. The distribution of the ichnospecies in the stratigraphy of the Lodève Basin, taken as a reference, is outlined. The ichno-associations are then compared with those of other French (Provence), European (Italy, Germany) and USA basins. Based on the ages of different ichnofossiliferous formations, three successive ichnofaunal units can be distinguished in the Permian of E…