14,478 research outputs found
Relationship between personality and academic motivation in education degrees students
p. 327-341The present study aims to understand the relationship between the big five factors of personality and academic motivation. In addition, the following variables are taken into consideration; sex, age and type of educational studies. A quantitative methodology is used, in base to a not experimental, correlational study. The sample is composed of 514 students of the Faculty of Education
of Leon’s University, between the three education degrees. To gather the information, participants were asked to complete the Learning and Motivation Strategies Questionnaire (CEAM) and the Personality Questionnaire Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). The results show the significant relationship between personality facets and motivation variables. It should be noted that female results were higher in the values of intrinsic motivation, motivation towards teamwork, neuroticism, and kindness, and the
male results were higher in self-efficacy. Additionally, it was observed that intrinsic motivation decreases progressively from the first to the fourth year of the degree, the need for recognition decreases in the two last study years, and the openness to experiences is higher in the last year of the degree. Finally, Social Education students are those that show a higher intrinsic motivation, self-efficacy, total motivation, openness to experiences, and neuroticism, while Primary Education students’ results were higher in the need for recognition.S
The Genetics of Pain: An exploration of gene-by-environment interactions and their effects on pain
The findings presented in this dissertation are part of the bigger SYMBIOME project which aims to use the biopsychosocial model of pain to develop a prognostic clinical phenotype for people that experience musculoskeletal (MSK) trauma. Chapter 2 presents an exploratory analysis to assess the relationships between genetic polymorphisms and pain severity and interference. Early childhood trauma was also explored as a moderator between genetic polymorphisms and pain outcomes. For pain severity, major allele carriers (A/A and G/A) of FKBP5 rs9394314 reported significantly higher scores than minor allele carriers (G/G). Further, major allele carriers who had at least one adverse childhood experience (ACE) reported significantly higher scores than minor allele carriers with at least one ACE. For pain interference, minor allele carriers (G/G) of CNR2 rs2501431 scored significantly higher than major allele carriers (A/A and G/A). Chapter 3 presents a cluster analysis that combines genotypes of FKBP5 rs9394314 and CNR2 rs2501431 to explore meaningful relationships with pain and trauma-related distress. ACE was also explored as a moderator of these relationships. Three clusters were identified where the second cluster characterized by major allele carriers of rs9394314 and minor allele carriers of rs2501431 reported significantly higher pain-related functional interference scores. Participants in the second cluster with at least one ACE reported higher pain interference and traumatic distress scores compared to the third cluster, while participants in the first cluster with at least one ACE reported higher pain severity compared to the first cluster. Chapter 4 presents genomic structural equation models (SEM) that explore the relationships of genotypes with trauma-related distress using the traumatic injuries distress scale (TIDS), ACE, and recovery outcomes. The results demonstrate a relationship between TIDS and recovery outcomes, and an indirect relationship between FKBP5 rs9394314 and recovery outcomes exist which is mediated by TIDS. Major allele carriers of FKBP5 rs9394314 reported higher TIDS scores, which was also demonstrated for participants that had at least one ACE. Major allele carriers that scored higher on the TIDS were predicted to be in the none-recovered category. These results support the notion that gene-x-environment interactions may play an important role in pain and recovery
Visualisation of Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS): An Iterative Process Using an Overarm Throw
Fundamental Movement Skills (FMS) are precursor gross motor skills to more complex or specialised skills and are recognised as important indicators of physical competence, a key component of physical literacy. FMS are predominantly assessed using pre-defined manual methodologies, most commonly the various iterations of the Test of Gross Motor Development. However, such assessments are time-consuming and often require a minimum basic level of training to conduct. Therefore, the overall aim of this thesis was to utilise accelerometry to develop a visualisation concept as part of a feasibility study to support the learning and assessment of FMS, by reducing subjectivity and the overall time taken to conduct a gross motor skill assessment. The overarm throw, an important fundamental movement skill, was specifically selected for the visualisation development as it is an acyclic movement with a distinct initiation and conclusion. Thirteen children (14.8 ± 0.3 years; 9 boys) wore an ActiGraph GT9X Link Inertial Measurement Unit device on the dominant wrist whilst performing a series of overarm throws. This thesis illustrates how the visualisation concept was developed using raw accelerometer data, which was processed and manipulated using MATLAB 2019b software to obtain and depict key throw performance data, including the trajectory and velocity of the wrist during the throw. Overall, this thesis found that the developed visualisation concept can provide strong indicators of throw competency based on the shape of the throw trajectory. Future research should seek to utilise a larger, more diverse, population, and incorporate machine learning. Finally, further work is required to translate this concept to other gross motor skills
Gamification in E-Learning: game factors to strengthen specific English pronunciation features in undergraduate students at UPTC Sogamoso
Appendix A Characterization survey (104), Appendix B. EFL Students’ questionnaire (109), Appendix C. Characterization survey: data treatment question (113), Appendix D. Informed consent letter, English version (114), Appendix E. Carta de consentimiento informado, versión en español (117), Appendix F. Time Schedule (120), Appendix G. Sample Challenges at Moodle (126), Appendix H. Participants’ questionnaire results (128).La gamificación es un término que suele denotar el uso de componentes del juego en situaciones no relacionadas con el juego en sí para crear experiencias de aprendizaje agradables, divertidas y motivadoras para los estudiantes (Werbach y Hunter, 2012). Por lo tanto, el análisis de los factores básicos de los juegos se convierte en algo esencial a la hora de definir y utilizar la gamificación como estrategia de mediación del inglés como lengua extranjera para fortalecer rasgos específicos de pronunciación en los estudiantes de pregrado de la UPTC Sogamoso.
El procedimiento de estudio se basa en la investigación acción mediante la implementación de la estrategia de gamificación para la mediación en la pronunciación del inglés, orientada a treinta estudiantes de diferentes programas de ingeniería, administración y tecnología con niveles heterogéneos de dominio del inglés. Las actividades se centran principalmente en la producción de sonidos, el ritmo, el acento y la entonación, los rasgos de pronunciación segmental y suprasegmental.
Los resultados arrojaron una evidente mejora en las características segméntales y suprasegmentales de la percepción en la pronunciación de los participantes así como la contribución del objetivo de los juegos a la instrucción fonética y fonológica, la sensación en el juego a la motivación para mejorar la pronunciación, el reto establecido en los juegos a la actitud positiva de los participantes, y la sociabilidad a la exposición practica de la pronunciación inglesa.Gamification is a relatively new term that often denotes the use of game components in situations unrelated to the game itself to create enjoyable, fun, and motivating learning experiences for students (Werbach and Hunter, 2012). Therefore, analyzing the games' basic factors becomes essential when defining and using gamification as a strategy for English as Foreign Language mediation to strengthen specific pronunciation features in UPTC Sogamoso undergraduate students.
The study procedure is based on action research by implementing the gamification strategy for mediation in English pronunciation, oriented to thirty students from different engineering, management, and technology programs at heterogeneous levels of English proficiency. The activities mainly focus on sound production, rhythm, stress, and intonation, segmental and suprasegmental pronunciation features.
The results showed an evident improvement in the segmental and suprasegmental features of the participants' pronunciation perception as well as the contribution of game goals to phonetics and phonological instruction, the game sensation to the motivation for pronunciation improvement, the game challenge to the participants' positive attitude, and the sociality to the English pronunciation exposure practice
Building body identities - exploring the world of female bodybuilders
This thesis explores how female bodybuilders seek to develop and maintain a viable sense of self despite being stigmatized by the gendered foundations of what Erving Goffman (1983) refers to as the 'interaction order'; the unavoidable presentational context in which identities are forged during the course of social life. Placed in the context of an overview of the historical treatment of women's bodies, and a concern with the development of bodybuilding as a specific form of body modification, the research draws upon a unique two year ethnographic study based in the South of England, complemented by interviews with twenty-six female bodybuilders, all of whom live in the U.K. By mapping these extraordinary women's lives, the research illuminates the pivotal spaces and essential lived experiences that make up the female bodybuilder. Whilst the women appear to be embarking on an 'empowering' radical body project for themselves, the consequences of their activity remains culturally ambivalent. This research exposes the 'Janus-faced' nature of female bodybuilding, exploring the ways in which the women negotiate, accommodate and resist pressures to engage in more orthodox and feminine activities and appearances
TOWARDS AN UNDERSTANDING OF EFFORTFUL FUNDRAISING EXPERIENCES: USING INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS IN FUNDRAISING RESEARCH
Physical-activity oriented community fundraising has experienced an exponential growth in popularity over the past 15 years. The aim of this study was to explore the value of effortful fundraising experiences, from the point of view of participants, and explore the impact that these experiences have on people’s lives. This study used an IPA approach to interview 23 individuals, recognising the role of participants as proxy (nonprofessional) fundraisers for charitable organisations, and the unique organisation donor dynamic that this creates. It also bought together relevant psychological theory related to physical activity fundraising experiences (through a narrative literature review) and used primary interview data to substantiate these. Effortful fundraising experiences are examined in detail to understand their significance to participants, and how such experiences influence their connection with a charity or cause. This was done with an idiographic focus at first, before examining convergences and divergences across the sample. This study found that effortful fundraising experiences can have a profound positive impact upon community fundraisers in both the short and the long term. Additionally, it found that these experiences can be opportunities for charitable organisations to create lasting meaningful relationships with participants, and foster mutually beneficial lifetime relationships with them. Further research is needed to test specific psychological theory in this context, including self-esteem theory, self determination theory, and the martyrdom effect (among others)
Exploring the effects of spinal cord stimulation for freezing of gait in parkinsonian patients
Dopaminergic replacement therapies (e.g. levodopa) provide limited to no response for axial motor symptoms including gait dysfunction and freezing of gait (FOG) in Parkinson’s disease (PD) and Richardson’s syndrome progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP-RS) patients. Dopaminergic-resistant FOG may be a sensorimotor processing issue that does not involve basal ganglia (nigrostriatal) impairment. Recent studies suggest that spinal cord stimulation (SCS) has positive yet variable effects for dopaminergic-resistant gait and FOG in parkinsonian patients. Further studies investigating the mechanism of SCS, optimal stimulation parameters, and longevity of effects for alleviating FOG are warranted. The hypothesis of the research described in this thesis is that mid-thoracic, dorsal SCS effectively reduces FOG by modulating the sensory processing system in gait and may have a dopaminergic effect in individuals with FOG. The primary objective was to understand the relationship between FOG reduction, improvements in upper limb visual-motor performance, modulation of cortical activity and striatal dopaminergic innervation in 7 PD participants. FOG reduction was associated with changes in upper limb reaction time, speed and accuracy measured using robotic target reaching choice tasks. Modulation of resting-state, sensorimotor cortical activity, recorded using electroencephalography, was significantly associated with FOG reduction while participants were OFF-levodopa. Thus, SCS may alleviate FOG by modulating cortical activity associated with motor planning and sensory perception. Changes to striatal dopaminergic innervation, measured using a dopamine transporter marker, were associated with visual-motor performance improvements. Axial and appendicular motor features may be mediated by non-dopaminergic and dopaminergic pathways, respectively. The secondary objective was to demonstrate the short- and long-term effects of SCS for alleviating dopaminergic-resistant FOG and gait dysfunction in 5 PD and 3 PSP-RS participants without back/leg pain. SCS programming was individualized based on which setting best improved gait and/or FOG responses per participant using objective gait analysis. Significant improvements in stride velocity, step length and reduced FOG frequency were observed in all PD participants with up to 3-years of SCS. Similar gait and FOG improvements were observed in all PSP-RS participants up to 6-months. SCS is a promising therapeutic option for parkinsonian patients with FOG by possibly influencing cortical and subcortical structures involved in locomotion physiology
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Evaluation of a Remote Implementation of the Well-Being Promotion Program with Middle School Students during COVID-19
The COVID-19 pandemic and pivot to emergency remote teaching changed the way in which many students access school-based mental health interventions. Furthermore, the effects of the pandemic heightened distress and decreased life satisfaction amongst many youth, increasing the need for schools to provide targeted mental health supports (Lazarus et al, 2021; Magson et al., 2021). Empirically supported Tier 2 mental health interventions exist (i.e., the Well-Being Promotion Program; Suldo, 2016), but little is known about how these interventions can be adapted and feasibly implemented in remote school contexts. This retrospective case study evaluated the implementation of a remote version of the Well-Being Promotion Program, a targeted positive psychology intervention, with eighth grade students during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study aimed to (1) to describe the co-design process through which a research-practice partnership modified the WBPP for remote delivery and (2) to explore the implementation strategies that influenced the feasibility of implementing the resulting digital version of the WBPP. The study used qualitative data (e.g., meeting notes, interviews and written feedback from providers, students, and caregivers) and quantitative data (e.g., pre-/post-measures, intervention integrity, attendance) to evaluate the co-design process and the feasibility of the adapted WBPP. Through co-design, the intervention was modified to be facilitated via videoconference, to use digital versions of WBPP materials, to use email to share with caregivers the handouts and a recorded version of the information session, to add additional sessions for data collection, and to adapt language to align with school vernacular. Using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006; Braun et al., 2019), themes were constructed from the data to provide insight into the implementation strategies used by the research-practice partnership to influence feasibility. Findings suggest that (a) maintaining the structure of the WBPP, (b) using technology for remote implementation, (c) collaborating through the research-practice partnership, and (d) recognizing the effectiveness of intervention efforts influenced the feasibility of the remote implementation. Lessons learned from this case study suggest that research-practice partnerships can be critical for influencing the feasibility of intervention implementation in local school contexts, especially during novel situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic
Community, autonomy and divinity: studying morality across cultures
Moral rules are an important aspect of culture. Yet, to date no published scale exists to measure the endorsement of different moral codes. This thesis report the development of the CADS (Community, Autonomy and Divinity Scale), based on Shweder's (2003a; Shweder et aI., 1987) anthropological theory of moral codes, as a means to measure cross-cultural, sub-cultural, and individual differences in the contents of morality. Scale development, confirmatory factor analysis, convergent and discriminant validity are reported in Studies 1, 2, and 3, as well as analysis for structural invariance and meaningful differences across British and Brazilian cultural contexts. Findings suggest the CADS to be a reliable and valid scale, thereby enabling the cross-cultural quantitative study of similarities and differences in endorsement of moral codes. Following CADS' development, this thesis presents one experiment (Study 4) investigating the relationship between moral judgement and emotional reactions, suggesting that emotions act as mediators of the relationship between perceptions of moral code violations and moral judgement. Finally, Study 5 studies the power of the moral codes to predict honour concerns, and Study 6 replicates these findings, and most importantly, tests the CADS in six different cultural communities (Brazil, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, the UK, and the US). The variation of the moral codes endorsement across cultures, here operationally defined as nations, genders, and religious groups, is also investigated. Limitations of this work, as well as its theoretical and empirical implications for research in social psychology are discussed
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