The Pilates Method And Its Relationship To Physical And Mental Awareness: A Phenomenological Study

This is a phenomenological study based on a daily practice of the Pilates method. The Pilates method, originally known as Contrology, was created by Joseph H. Pilates in the 1920s. The research question, “Will a daily practice of the Pilates method and journaling before and after each daily practice increase my awareness of my physical and mental body?” To record my experiences with the Pilates method, I journaled before and after each daily practice. I also kept track of my mindfulness using the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, which showed a gradual increase throughout the process. The analysis of my journal led to four main themes, a decrease in lower back pain, an increase in body awareness that, in turn, led to a change in body image, an increase mindfulness and an increase in maintaining a present state of mind

The relationship between load and elasticity in the power squat

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between load and musculoskeletal elasticity in the power squat. Eight male subjects experienced in the power squat participated in this study (mean height: 1.756±0.072 m; mean mass: 77.5±10.4 kg). Subjects were videotaped performing a countermovement squat (CMS) and a purely concentric squat (PCS). Both the CMS and PCS were performed at four load percentages (40%, 55%, 70%, and 85%) of the subject's tested one repetition maximum (mean maxima1 166.9±51.9 kg). Segmental data were digitized, reduced to selected mechanical variables, and analyzed with repeated measures ANOVAs (a=0.05). Results for concentric time indicated significant main effects for condition (CMS or PCS) and load percentage and a significant interaction between condition and load. Lifters required greater amounts of concentric time in the PCS and at higher loads. The interaction indicated that the subjects required exponentially greater amounts of time at heavier PCS loads than heavier CMS loads. Average concentric work and average concentric power had significant main effects for both condition and load percentage; average work and power were greater in the CMS condition and less at the heaviest load. A significant main effect for load percentage was found for maximum concentric velocity, net concentric work on the system, and energy; velocities decreased with increased relative loads; network increased as load percentage increased; and energy increased with increasing load

Source Evaluation and Information Literacy: Findings from a Study on Science Websites

An essential component of information literacy is the evaluation of information resources. Integral to evaluation are users’ judgments about which web sources might prove reliable when learning about a particular topic. Past website quality studies have used research methods that involved asking participants to recall quality factors without the benefit of concurrent web searching. Users in this study evaluated websites during live searching on the “open” web to determine the quality factors they valued and how these relate to gaining knowledge about a particular topic – genetically modified (GM) food. Two weeks later, participants answered questions about the websites they visited and what they had learned via an email survey. The participants then reported factors that allowed them to remember a website or the information contained within it. The effect of the quality evaluation on memory for a particular resource is examined and its relationship to information literacy is explored

Information literacy for the workplace: a review of the literature and research proposal [Chinese Translation]

*Chinese translation of abstract and keywords are in document* Information literacy related research and standards are mainly used in academia. However, the concept of "information literacy" was born in the front line, especially in the fields of science, technology and medicine. By the impact of globalization, information and communication technology, and for teamwork, both the workplace and the workforce are changing. The research of information literacy is rooted in the workplace. On this basis, this paper draws up the results and puts forward a new feasibility perspective that may promote Sino-US cooperation

Sport motivation among three levels of high calibre soccer players

Although motivation theorists have sought to improve the predictability of human behavior by testing notions of achievement motivation, nAch, variability in the notion remains. With the relationship and appropriateness of nAch to sport being obvious, Berlin began in 1971 investigating the theoretical structure of the nAch motives of athletes based on accepted ideas from personality theory and sport literature. Berlin's research was unique in that the strategy was directed toward model building. Stephenson's Q-technique forced-choice procedure was used to generate the data. The Q Sort encompassed a multidimensional theory which acknowledged three major motive categories: self-regard, mediational, and mastery. Successive inquiries and supportive studies carried out by Smith (1975) and Fodero (1976) endeavored to describe, specifically, the motivational tendencies of athletes in terms of a consistent integrated structure

Information literacy for the workplace: a review of the literature and research proposal

Information literacy research and standards were developed primarily for use in the academic disciplines. The concept, however, was born in the world of work, especially in science, technology, and medical fields. Workplaces and workforces are changing to due to the influence of globalization, use of information and communication technologies, and the reliance on teamwork. Information literacy research has examined the workplace and this paper presents the results of that work while posing possible new research avenues that might prosper with Chinese-American cooperation

Assessing website quality in context: Retrieving information about genetically modified food on the web.

Introduction. Knowing the credibility of information about genetically modified food on the Internet is critical to the everyday life information seeking of consumers as they form opinions about this nascent agricultural technology. The Website Quality Evaluation Tool (WQET) is a valuable instrument that can be used to determine the credibility of Websites on any topic. Method. This study sought to use the WQET to determine the quality of Websites in the context of biotechnology or genetically modified food and to seek one or more easily identified characteristics, such as bias, commitment, use of meta-tags and site update-access interval (length of time between last update of the site and the date reviewed) that might be used as a quick discriminator of a Website's quality. Analysis. Using SPSS, analysis of variance and regression analyses were performed with the website variables of a population of one hundred Websites about genetically modified food. Results. Only the site update-access interval was found to be a shortcut quality indicator with an inverse relationship. The longer the interval the lower the quality score. Conclusion. The study established a model for Website quality evaluation. The update-access interval proved to be the single clear-cut indicator to judge Website quality in everyday information seeking

Effects of differential text formats on adult conceptualization of science: Evidence from three disciplines.

The World Wide Web (Web), the largest multimedia system in existence, has been heralded by many as the perfect tool for lifelong learning. One topic mentioned in this regard is science, since many adults have little prior knowledge about it and the field is constantly changing. Yet little empirical research has been done to examine how web documents may actually affect the learning process. This article looks at learning theories that point to the importance of affective attributes of messages that may be particularly applicable to the mixed medium that is the Web and then focuses on the effects of textual elements on the learning of science from both static and interactive texts

Reporters see indifference on genetically modified food.

Interviews with journalists indicate decreasing public opposition to genetically modified food and the perception that U.S. consumers do not understand these products. Journalists continue to be skeptical about sources and experts on GM food

The flow of scientific knowledge from lab to the lay public: the case of biotechnology food.

This article reports on a study of how scientific knowledge about genetically modified (GM) food flows to the American public, focusing on language and message genres in the scientific literature, newspapers, and popular magazines. A comprehensive search of these literatures from 1992 to 2002 revealed a publishing pattern of scientific communication that contrasted with that found in the lay press. Examination of this difference led researchers to a scientific study on the effect of GM corn pollen on the Monarch butterfly. The case study of the discourse surrounding this event demonstrates how press releases affect what is published in the popular press. The role of this event in generating subtle repercussions in the perceptions of U.S. consumers, similar to the ripple effects found in Kasperson’s social amplification of risk theory, is analyzed and reported