Exercise and Fitness Guidelines for Elementary and Middle School Children

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://www.jstor.org.In 1986, the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sport released results showing that American youth were not in good physical condition and that schools needed to reemphasize physical education. Within the last 15 years, researchers have obtained reliable data on the effects of physical exercise and activity on the physiological functions (including cardiorespiratory fitness) of children. As a result, basic guidelines for exercise and fitness have been developed in the following areas: exercise prescription, alternative fitness activities (walking and aerobics), considerations for teachers and principals, and testing. In this article, we discuss those guidelines and some of the research on which they are based

Comparing the Effect of Rational and Emotional Appeals on Donation Behavior

We present evidence from a pre-registered experiment indicating that a philosophical argument––a type of rational appeal––can persuade people to make charitable donations. The rational appeal we used follows Singer’s well-known “shallow pond” argument (1972), while incorporating an evolutionary debunking argument (Paxton, Ungar, & Greene 2012) against favoring nearby victims over distant ones. The effectiveness of this rational appeal did not differ significantly from that of a well-tested emotional appeal involving an image of a single child in need (Small, Loewenstein, and Slovic 2007). This is a surprising result, given evidence that emotions are the primary drivers of moral action, a view that has been very influential in the work of development organizations. We did not find support for our pre-registered hypothesis that combining our rational and emotional appeals would have a significantly stronger effect than either appeal in isolation. However, our finding that both kinds of appeal can increase charitable donations is cause for optimism, especially concerning the potential efficacy of well-designed rational appeals. We consider the significance of these findings for moral psychology, ethics, and the work of organizations aiming to alleviate severe poverty

Covid-19 Prevention Behaviors in a Cooperative Extension Audience: Findings from a Nutrition Education Study

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically impacted the delivery of nutrition education through Cooperative Extension. This study aimed to identify a Cooperative Extension audience’s attitudes towards virus prevention behaviors, preferred sources of information regarding COVID-19, and nutrition education preferences during the pandemic. We distributed an online survey to 477 potential nutrition education participants including questions about behaviors like mask wearing, preferences for virtual nutrition lesson delivery, and attitudes towards sources of information about COVID-19. Attitudes towards mask wearing and preferred sources of information differed significantly by race, income, and age. These differences have serious implications for future outreach and program delivery