BIRTH, GROWTH AND CHALLENGES OF "KINESMETRICS" IN THE USA

Abstract

The term "Kinesmetrics" was coined by Weimo Zhu in 1999 when he created a new doctoral program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), USA, with a focus to "develop and apply measurement theory, statistics and mathematical analysis to the field of Kinesiology." Since then, a number of Ph.D. scholars in Kinesmetrics have been trained at UIUC, which also regularly hosts visiting scholars from all over the world. In fall 2008, a new Kinesmetrics program was established at Middle Tennessee State University by Minsoo Kang, a UIUC Kinesmetrics Ph.D. graduate, and the <em>International Forum of Kinesiometrics</em> was held at the University of Primorska in Koper, Slovenia, in 2009. Meanwhile, Kinesmetrics scholars/programs in the USA are experiencing many challenges, e.g., reduced faculty positions, limited funding resources, a variety of data characteristics and measurement issues due to the interdisciplinary nature of Kinesiology, etc. After a brief review of the historical background and foundation of Kinesmetrics, this paper focused on the current challenges faced by Kinesmetrics, as a subdiscipline within Kinesiology, and how these challenges can best be addressed. Future directions of Kinesmetrics were also outlined.