Utilizing the "Experience Sampling Method" to Monitor Communicative Quality of Life During Treatment for a Single Subject with Chronic Aphasia

Research in chronic aphasia typically incorporates Quality of Life measures to determine functional outcomes of treatment. This single subject study utilizes the Experience Sampling Method (ESM) in which the 75 year old, one year post CVA subject responds to 4-5 questions on a Palm Tungsten Personal Data Assistant (PDA) at the end of each activity during an intensive treatment program. Comparison of responses to the 10 treatment activities suggests that responses regarding the perception of communication and stress were the most negative, but, that less structured activities were more stressful than those communicatively focused. Theoretical and clinical findings will be discussed

Qualitative Findings from an Experientially Designed Exercise Immunology Course: Holistic Wellness Benefits, Self-Efficacy Gains, and Integration of Prior Course Learning

Experiential education is a well documented approach to engaging student learners. This manuscript presents findings from a qualitative inquiry, specifically focus group discussions, investigating the perceptions of 28 student participants in a learning opportunity provided to a kinesiology class involving structured group exercise (marathon training). Findings revealed participants’ gains in holistic wellness development, general and specified efficacy, and understanding and integration of course content

Qualitative Findings from an Experientially Designed Exercise Immunology Course: Holistic Wellness Benefits, Self-Efficacy Gains, and Integration of Prior Course Learning

Experiential education is a well documented approach to engaging student learners. This manuscript presents findings from a qualitative inquiry, specifically focus group discussions, investigating the perceptions of 28 student participants in a learning opportunity provided to a kinesiology class involving structured group exercise (marathon training). Findings revealed participants’ gains in holistic wellness development, general and specified efficacy, and understanding and integration of course content

The Lyot Project Direct Imaging Survey of Substellar Companions: Statistical Analysis and Information from Nondetections

The Lyot project used an optimized Lyot coronagraph with Extreme Adaptive Optics at the 3.63m Advanced Electro-Optical System telescope (AEOS) to observe 86 stars from 2004 to 2007. In this paper we give an overview of the survey results and a statistical analysis of the observed nondetections around 58 of our targets to place constraints on the population of substellar companions to nearby stars. The observations did not detect any companion in the substellar regime. Since null results can be as important as detections, we analyzed each observation to determine the characteristics of the companions that can be ruled out. For this purpose we use a Monte Carlo approach to produce artificial companions, and determine their detectability by comparison with the sensitivity curve for each star. All the non-detection results are combined using a Bayesian approach and we provide upper limits on the population of giant exoplanets and brown dwarfs for this sample of stars. Our nondetections confirm the rarity of brown dwarfs around solar-like stars and we constrain the frequency of massive substellar companions (M>40Mjup) at orbital separation between and 10 and 50 AU to be <20%.Comment: 32 pages, 11 figures, 2 tables. Published in the Astrophysical Journa

The Application of an Implementation Science Framework to Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs: Be a Champion!

Comprehensive school physical activity programs (CSPAPs) have been endorsed as a promising strategy to increase youth physical activity (PA) in school settings. A CSPAP is a five-component approach, which includes opportunities before, during, and after school for PA. Extensive resources are available to public health practitioners and school officials regarding what should be implemented, but little guidance and few resources are available regarding how to effectively implement a CSPAP. Implementation science provides a number of conceptual frameworks that can guide implementation of a CSPAP, but few published studies have employed an implementation science framework to a CSPAP. Therefore, we developed Be a Champion! (BAC), which represents a synthesis of implementation science strategies, modified for application to CSPAPs implementation in schools while allowing for local tailoring of the approach. This article describes BAC while providing examples from the implementation of a CSPAP in three rural elementary schools

Implementation Evaluation of a Professional Development Program for Comprehensive School Physical Activity Leaders

The purpose of this study was to conduct an implementation monitoring evaluation of a yearlong comprehensive school physical activity program (CSPAP) professional development program across eight multi-state physical education (PE) teacher cohorts. Mixed-method data were collected during a three-year implementation period via workshop attendance sheets and evaluations, post-workshop implementation plans and artifacts, and follow-up phone interviews to enumerate and evaluate the program’s process of recruitment, reach, dose delivered, dose received, fidelity, and context. Recruitment strategies reached a total of 234 PE teacher attendees across eight workshops, with 77 PE teachers (primarily female, elementary, public school teachers) completing all program requirements. Facilitators among full program completers were participation incentives and network opportunities, while common inhibitors were difficulty with online technology and perceptions of added workload. Completers submitted implementation plans with at least three action steps, ranging from 4 to 7 months to accomplish, that predominately commenced with securing administration approval as the first step (81%), focused on implementing student physical activity initiatives beyond PE (76%), and evidenced with mostly picture artifacts (78%). Implementation was facilitated by the presence of multilevel support at school and an elevated image of PE and PE teachers at school, and was inhibited by scheduling constraints, unrealistic planning, and conflicting perceptions of physical activity and PE. Overall, this evaluation reveals unique perspectives of PE teachers regarding schoolwide PA promotion and informs future efforts to target and effectively support CSPAP leaders

The Application of an Implementation Science Framework to Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programs: Be a Champion!

Comprehensive school physical activity programs (CSPAPs) have been endorsed as a promising strategy to increase youth physical activity (PA) in school settings. A CSPAP is a five-component approach, which includes opportunities before, during, and after school for PA. Extensive resources are available to public health practitioners and school officials regarding what should be implemented, but little guidance and few resources are available regarding how to effectively implement a CSPAP. Implementation science provides a number of conceptual frameworks that can guide implementation of a CSPAP, but few published studies have employed an implementation science framework to a CSPAP. Therefore, we developed Be a Champion! (BAC), which represents a synthesis of implementation science strategies, modified for application to CSPAPs implementation in schools while allowing for local tailoring of the approach. This article describes BAC while providing examples from the implementation of a CSPAP in three rural elementary schools

Systematic Review of the Relationships Between Objectively Measured Physical Activity and Health Indicators in School-Aged Children and Youth

Moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) is essential for disease prevention and health promotion. Emerging evidence suggests other intensities of physical activity (PA), including light-intensity activity (LPA), may also be important, but there has been no rigorous evaluation of the evidence. The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the relationships between objectively measured PA (total and all intensities) and health indicators in school-aged children and youth. Online databases were searched for peer-reviewed studies that met the a priori inclusion criteria: population (apparently healthy, aged 5–17 years), intervention/exposure/comparator (volumes, durations, frequencies, intensities, and patterns of objectively measured PA), and outcome (body composition, cardiometabolic biomarkers, physical fitness, behavioural conduct/pro-social behaviour, cognition/academic achievement, quality of life/well-being, harms, bone health, motor skill development, psychological distress, self-esteem). Heterogeneity among studies precluded meta-analyses; narrative synthesis was conducted. A total of 162 studies were included (204 171 participants from 31 countries). Overall, total PA was favourably associated with physical, psychological/social, and cognitive health indicators. Relationships were more consistent and robust for higher (e.g., MVPA) versus lower (e.g., LPA) intensity PA. All patterns of activity (sporadic, bouts, continuous) provided benefit. LPA was favourably associated with cardiometabolic biomarkers; data were scarce for other outcomes. These findings continue to support the importance of at least 60 min/day of MVPA for disease prevention and health promotion in children and youth, but also highlight the potential benefits of LPA and total PA. All intensities of PA should be considered in future work aimed at better elucidating the health benefits of PA in children and youth