Content and Quality of Motor Initiatives in the Support of People With Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities

Motor activation is rarely integrated into the support of people with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD), which might be the result of the limited evidence‐based knowledge in this field. Practitioners have recently been developing several motor initiatives for people with PIMD, but it remains unclear about what core elements the motor initiatives actually consist of and to what level of quality it is implemented in practice. This study aims to offer an overview and analysis of the content and quality of motor initiatives actually in use for people with PIMD. Motor initiatives were explored by asking practitioners to complete an online inventory form. Documents, expert knowledge, and observations were used to collect data about the characteristics of the motor initiatives. The quality of the motor initiatives which met our eligibility criteria, was analyzed on the basis of the level of evidence for their effectiveness. The inventory yielded 118 motor initiatives of which 17 met the eligibility criteria. We identified four motor initiatives reflecting an approach to motorically activate people with PIMD within various activities, three including power‐assisted exercises, three with aquatic exercises, two frameworks which integrated motor activities into their daily programs, two methods which included small‐scale activities, two rhythmic movement therapies, and one program including gross motor activities. We found limited indications for descriptive evidence from 17 initiatives, limited or no indications for theoretical evidence from 12 and five initiatives respectively, and none of the initiatives provided a causal level of evidence for effectiveness. A wide variety of motor initiatives is used in current practice to activate persons with PIMD, although their effectiveness is actually unproven. Science and practice should cooperate to develop an evidence‐based understanding to ensure more evidence‐based support for the motor activation of people with PIMD in the future

Attitudes of Greek physical education teachers toward inclusion of students with disabilities

The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of Greek physical education teachers toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in regular education settings and to compare the results with the findings of similar studies. The sample consisted of 93 participants, all physical education teachers working at different schools of Athens. Each subject completed the Teacher Integration Attitudes Questionnaire (Sideridis and Chandler, 1997), which assesses scores for four factors: skills, benefits, acceptance and support. The results of the study showed that the attitudes of physical education teachers toward the inclusion of students with disabilities in their regular classes are related to the level of knowledge that the teachers believe they have for the special needs conditions; in addition, they doubt that inclusion could be workable, due to the lack of appropriate support services. In the light of the findings, the concept of inclusion was further analysed

Students' goal orientations, perceived motivation climate and their relation with the selection of a specialty

The purpose of this Study Was to examine goal orientations, motivational climate and the relation of these factors with the students decision to decide on a physical education specialty in a Sports Sciences Department. The sample consisted of 97 third year physical education students (57 men, 40 women). Thirty-two participants were from the area of competitive sports, 20 from pedagogy of sports and 45 from recreation. The results revealed a clear difference between the three specialties in terms of goal orientations and motivational climate. Furthermore, the results showed that the selection of a specialty by the students could be satisfactorily predicted by the factors of learning and performance as well as the factors of task and ego

Verbal aggressiveness of physical education teachers and students' self-reports of behavior

The purpose of this study was to develop a test for describing verbally aggressive behaviors of physical education teachers as perceived by secondary school students. The sample of 130 students (70 boys and 60 girls) were students in the second year of secondary school in Greece. 12 items designed for students were structured to describe possible verbal aggressive behaviors of physical education teachers as perceived by students and students' intention to respond. Exploratory factor analysis using the principal components method and varimax rotation yielded three factors, namely, (i) personal insults, threats, irony and their effect, (ii) intention to respond, and (iii) insults and threats toward others. Eigenvalues were greater than 1.00 for each of three factors which accounted for 69% of the total variance. Values of Cronbach alpha were .86, .88, and .78 for the three factors, respectively

Exercise, supportive group therapy, and mood profile of Greek cancer patients: intervention effect and related comparisons

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of exercise program and a group psychotherapy program on mood profile of Greek cancer patients as well as to make the necessary comparisons. Methods: The sample consisted of 39 cancer patients (10 males and 29 females), randomly assigned to the three following groups: control, exercise and psychotherapy groups (13 patients in each group). The duration of the training program for the individuals of the exercise group was 10 weeks with two sessions per week, lasting 60 min each. The patients of the psychotherapy group received 10 weeks of supportive–expressive group therapy, once a week, 90 min long. The Profile of Mood States (POMS) questionnaire was administered to examine the short-term effect of both programs before and after intervention in terms of distinct mood states. Control group individuals did not participate in any program and they just filled in the POMS questionnaire before and after intervention. Results: Post hoc analysis revealed an anger reduction, as regards the supportive therapy group presenting statistically significant results from both the control group (− 6.91 units drop in anger subscale score, p <.001) and the exercise group (− 4.75 units drop in anger subscale score, p =.007). Regarding total POMS score, results also favored the supportive therapy group as compared to the control group (− 28.95 units drop in total POMS score, p =.001). Post-intervention values were also improved for the exercise group, but not to the extent to produce statistically significant results. Conclusions: The findings of this study strongly support the beneficial effect of psychological intervention on anger and total mood score of patients with cancer, followed by the positive effect of the exercise program but not to the same extent as in the case of supportive therapy intervention. © 2018, Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature

Technical skills leading in winning or losing volleyball matches during beijing olympic games

Volleyball is included in sports where individual success of final efforts such as a successful attack or an effective block, is achieved by the harmonious collaboration of the preceded players' efforts. The purpose of this present study was to evaluate the importance of technical skills that led to the success of the national teams that took part in the Olympic Games of Beijing 2008. The sample was constituted by all the matches of the volleyball men teams that participated in the Beijing Olympic Games. Overall, 29 games were videotaped and evaluated. Collection of data included the use of the statistical recording program Data Volley 2. The parameters that were evaluated were: a) service, b) service reception, c) attack, and d) attack blocked. The statistical treatment of data was realised through non parametric statistical analysis. The results showed that, service points, reception errors, and attacks blocked emerged as important factors that were decisive for wining or losing a match. © JPES

The effect of exercise on improving quality of life and self-esteem of inmates in Greek prisons

The purpose of the study was to examine the effect of an exercise program on the quality of life and self-esteem of inmates in Greek prisons. Sixty male inmates randomly assigned in two groups (control and experiment). The duration of the training program for the exercise group was 12 weeks. Control group individuals did not participate in the exercise program. SF-12 quality of life questionnaire and the Rosenberg self-esteem scale were administered to both groups prior and after exercise intervention. The findings of this study support the beneficial effect of exercise on quality of life and self-esteem of inmates in Greek prison settings. © Faculty of Education. University of Alicante

Motor developmental delays of institutionalised preschool-aged children

The aim of this study was the examination and the detection of differences in the motor developmental profiles between preschool-aged children living in conventional institution facilities and in natural family environment. The psychomotor development of 50 children, aged four to six years, was assessed using the two motor subscales (A, locomotor; and D, eye-hand coordination) of the Griffiths Test No II. It appears from the results that the family-reared children had better performance in both motor scales compared to children living in conventional institutions. The findings reinforce the need for the evaluation of motor performance in preschool-aged children raised in institutions, in order to change institution environments into more supportive ones for the most benefit of children's fine and gross motor development. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Teachers' perceptions toward education of gifted children in Greek educational settings

The purpose of this study was to examine the attitudes of school teachers regarding the education of gifted students in Greek educational settings and to identify the factors affecting such perceptions. The sample consisted of 245 teachers (70 men and 145 women) of primary (N = 85) and secondary (N = 150) education who completed the questionnaire «Opinions about the gifted and their education» of Gagné & Nadeau (1991). The results showed that the perceptions of teachers concerning gifted children and their education are influenced by factors such as prior teaching experience with gifted students, knowledge in pedagogy and special education issues, and the area of teachers' expertise. Overall, attitudes of educators in this sample seem consistent with similar studies conducted in other countries with any differences attributed to cross-cultural and educational differences between states and the early transition period of recent Greek legislation concerning gifted students and their education. © JPES

Volleyball technical skills as winning and qualification factors during the Olympic Games 2008

The purpose of this study was to examine the technical skills that emerged as round, semi-final and final in the Beijing Olympic Games of 2008. Collection of data included the use of the statistical recording program Data Volley 2 Professional (2005) for games evaluated. Additional statistical analyses included the use of SPSS 15.0. Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test use revealed er Mann - Whitney U test showed statistically important differences between the teams playing in each semi-final and the final with the qualification round between qualification round teams and teams playing in the final (Brazil-USA