The Effects of Attentional Focus Cues and Feedback On Motor Skill Learning In Children

Considerable research over the past decade has produced overwhelming evidence to support the motor learning advantage associated with an external focus of attention. Despite this robust finding, very few studies have investigated attentional focus effects with children. This is surprising given that considerable information processing differences exist between children and adults that have the potential to influence motor performance and learning. Therefore, two studies were conducted to determine the effect of attentional focus cues and feedback on motor learning in children. In the first study, 42 children ages 9 to 11 were recruited from an afterschool program and randomly assigned to one of three gender-stratified groups: (1) control, (2) internal focus, or (3) external focus. Following initial instructions and task demonstration, participants performed 100 modified free throws over two days while receiving additional cues respective to their attentional focus condition and returned approximately 48 hours later to perform 20 additional free throws. Results revealed no significant learning differences between groups. Although responses to retrospective verbal reports suggest that treatment manipulations were somewhat effective, aiming cues used by the control group and goal directed content used across groups could have potentially negated some treatment effects. In the second study, an additional 28 children ages 9-11 were recruited from the same afterschool program and randomly assigned to one of two gender-stratified groups: (1) internal focus feedback or (2) external focus feedback. The task and procedure were identical to the previous study with one exception. In lieu of attentional focus cues, participants received one of four feedback statements respective to their attentional focus condition following every third trial during practice. Results indicated a significant learning advantage for participants receiving external focus feedback. When compared to the first study, possible explanations for these findings include the external focus group\u27s greater reported use of feedback and aiming content and the additional benefits of feedback over cues (e.g., frequency). Future research should continue to expand this body of literature to other tasks and age groups as well as investigate explanations regarding potential commonalities between mechanisms underlying aiming content (e.g., quiet eye) and attentional focus

First contact: Early English encounters with natives of Russia, West Africa, and the Americas, 1530-1614

In recent years, the field of comparative history has enjoyed a resurgence of popularity as scholars attempt to understand the past in a global context. This study examines the early period of English exploration of the Atlantic world and the confrontation of English men and women with natives of geographically distinct regions. By comparing English interactions with Russians, West Africans, and North and South Americans during the contact period, this dissertation argues that the mutually constructed dialogue between the visiting English and the natives of each region was a struggle for power and control. In their efforts to construct the natives as being both recognizable and inferior, the English utilized contemporary notions of class and gender not only to understand the people they encountered, but as a strategy to make the natives submissive.;While the English noted that the natives of each region had different skin color, notions of racial hierarchy were not fixed in the sixteenth century. In fact, the English were more threatened by similarity than by difference during their early encounters. Convinced that they were a unique and superior people, the discovery of Russia as a distorted image of English society was cause for great consternation among the English visitors. In an effort to distance themselves from the apparently barbarous Russians, the English suggested that despite their outward signs of civility, the Russian people had a fundamental flaw that allowed them to accept tyranny and oppression.;Despite their belief in the superiority of their society, the English focus on economic matters above all else during the first-contact period forced them to act within the parameters of native cultures. Not only did the English have to come to terms with the demands of unfamiliar environments, but they often had to meet the demands of native peoples. Natives in each region held considerable power based on their military prowess and their monopoly on local trade and information about the area. as vital allies, trading partners, and informants, the natives recognized their power and manipulated the English visitors at every opportunity

A Qualitative Inquiry of a Three-Month Virtual Practicum Program on Youth with Visual Impairments and Their Coaches

Research has shown that the practicum experience for professional preparation students in physical education teacher education programs related to teaching youth with disabilities can improve self-efficacy. It is not currently known if a virtual program can be effective for the professional preparation students or the participants. The objective of this study was to determine the experiences of the participants of a three-month virtual practicum program. In this phenomenological study, thirty youth with visual impairments and 1:1 professional preparation students (coaches) took part in a three-month virtual physical activity program. A total of 11 coaches took part in 2 focus groups, and 10 of the participants were interviewed about their experiences in this unique practicum. Findings in this three-month program revealed four themes: (1) friendship, (2) self-determination, (3) goal setting, and (4) barriers. The results of the qualitative inquiry indicate that a virtual practicum program can have a positive effect on both the participants and the professional preparation students. Virtual programs should also be aware of barriers to implementing an effective program to benefit all parties

Effect of Mental and Physical Practice on Clinical Skill Learning in Kinesiology

Purpose: The amount of information required for an allied health professional has increased dramatically. In-class practice time and large amounts of practice materials may be difficult for instructors to acquire. Mental practice is a method of practice that does not involve physical movement or materials. This study investigated the effect of mental practice, physical practice, and a combination of mental and physical practice on kinesiology students learning three manual muscle tests. Method: Fifty-six students aged 18 to 26 years (M = 20.09, SD + 1.58), pursuing a degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in either athletic training or kinesiotherapy participated in this study. Participants underwent two days of practice that included either mental practice, physical practice, or a combination of mental and physical practice for three Manual Muscle Tests (MMTs). Approximately 48 hours later, participants completed a post-test of the MMTs that was evaluated by two trained examiners. Participants also completed a survey related to demographics, difficulty of the MMTs, and intentions for using mental practice. Results: The MMT post-test ANOVA revealed no significant learning differences between groups for all three Manual Muscle Tests. There were no significant differences in Manual Muscle Tests difficulty ratings between groups; however, there was a significant difference in participants’ difficulty ratings across the Manual Muscle Tests. A majority of participants indicated they would use mental practice in the future. Conclusions: The results indicated that kinesiology students seemed to learn equally well regardless of practice type. Utilization of mental practice in or outside of the classroom may be a strategy to supplement student learning in situations where class time and/or resources for physical skill practice may be more difficult to obtain

Exploring the Experiences of Runners with Visual Impairments and Sighted Guides

: Running is a popular sport, and, with simple modifications, it can be accessible for individuals with visual impairments, particularly with a sighted running guide. The purpose of this study is to examine the experiences of runners with visual impairments and sighted running guides. Adopting a descriptive qualitative approach to guide data collection analysis and interpretation, seven runners with visual impairments and four sighted running guides were recruited and interviewed. The analysis identified four major themes: (1) benefits, (2) barriers, (3) advocacy, and (4) communication. The identified themes illustrate the influence of participation in running on the health and relationships of the runners with visual impairments, the barriers that exist to participation, and the advocacy and communication needed to overcome those barriers

The effectiveness of Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) on intercultural competence development in higher education

In this study we measured the effect of COIL on intercultural competence development using a quasi-experimental design. Our sample consisted of 108 undergraduate students from two universities, one located in the Netherlands (NL) and one in the United States (US). Students’ self-reported intercultural competence was measured using a pre-post survey which included the Cultural Intelligence Scale (CQS) and Multicultural Personality Questionnaire (MPQ). Qualitative data were collected to complement our quantitative findings and to give a deeper insight into the student experience. The data showed a significantly bigger increase in intercultural competence for the US experimental group compared to the US control group, supporting our hypothesis that COIL develops intercultural competence. This difference was not observed for the NL students, possibly due to the NL control group being exposed to other international input during the course

Constructing ordinary places: Place-making in urban informal settlements in Mexico

Observers from a variety of disciplines agree that informal settlements account for the majority of housing in many cities of the global South. Urban informal settlements, usually defined by certain criteria such as self-build housing, sub-standard services, and residents’ low incomes, are often seen as problematic, due to associations with poverty, irregularity and marginalisation. In particular, despite years of research and policy, gaps in urban theory and limited understandings of urban informal settlements mean that they are often treated as outside ‘normal’ urban considerations, with material effects for residents including discrimination, eviction and displacement. In response to these considerations, this article uses a place-making approach to explore the spatial, social and cultural construction of place in this context, in order to unsettle some of the assumptions underlying discursive constructions of informal settlements, and how these relate to spatial and social marginalisation. Research was carried out using a qualitative, ethnographic methodology in two case study neighbourhoods in Xalapa, Mexico. Mexico offers fertile ground to explore these issues. Despite an extensive land tenure regularisation programme, at least 60 per cent of urban dwellers live in colonias populares, neighbourhoods with informal characteristics. The research found that local discourses reveal complex and ambivalent views of colonias populares, which both reproduce and undermine marginalising tendencies relating to ‘informality’. A focus on residents’ own place-making activities hints at prospects for rethinking urban informal settlements. By capturing the messy, dynamic and contextualised processes that construct urban informal settlements as places, the analytical lens of place-making offers a view of the multiple influences which frame them. Informed by perspectives from critical social geography which seek to capture the ‘ordinary’ nature of cities, this article suggests imagining urban informal settlements differently, in order to re-evaluate their potential contribution to the city as a whole

Coding Variation in ANGPTL4, LPL, and SVEP1 and the Risk of Coronary Disease.

BACKGROUND: The discovery of low-frequency coding variants affecting the risk of coronary artery disease has facilitated the identification of therapeutic targets. METHODS: Through DNA genotyping, we tested 54,003 coding-sequence variants covering 13,715 human genes in up to 72,868 patients with coronary artery disease and 120,770 controls who did not have coronary artery disease. Through DNA sequencing, we studied the effects of loss-of-function mutations in selected genes. RESULTS: We confirmed previously observed significant associations between coronary artery disease and low-frequency missense variants in the genes LPA and PCSK9. We also found significant associations between coronary artery disease and low-frequency missense variants in the genes SVEP1 (p.D2702G; minor-allele frequency, 3.60%; odds ratio for disease, 1.14; P=4.2×10(-10)) and ANGPTL4 (p.E40K; minor-allele frequency, 2.01%; odds ratio, 0.86; P=4.0×10(-8)), which encodes angiopoietin-like 4. Through sequencing of ANGPTL4, we identified 9 carriers of loss-of-function mutations among 6924 patients with myocardial infarction, as compared with 19 carriers among 6834 controls (odds ratio, 0.47; P=0.04); carriers of ANGPTL4 loss-of-function alleles had triglyceride levels that were 35% lower than the levels among persons who did not carry a loss-of-function allele (P=0.003). ANGPTL4 inhibits lipoprotein lipase; we therefore searched for mutations in LPL and identified a loss-of-function variant that was associated with an increased risk of coronary artery disease (p.D36N; minor-allele frequency, 1.9%; odds ratio, 1.13; P=2.0×10(-4)) and a gain-of-function variant that was associated with protection from coronary artery disease (p.S447*; minor-allele frequency, 9.9%; odds ratio, 0.94; P=2.5×10(-7)). CONCLUSIONS: We found that carriers of loss-of-function mutations in ANGPTL4 had triglyceride levels that were lower than those among noncarriers; these mutations were also associated with protection from coronary artery disease. (Funded by the National Institutes of Health and others.).Supported by a career development award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health (NIH) (K08HL114642 to Dr. Stitziel) and by the Foundation for Barnes–Jewish Hospital. Dr. Peloso is supported by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the NIH (award number K01HL125751). Dr. Kathiresan is supported by a Research Scholar award from the Massachusetts General Hospital, the Donovan Family Foundation, grants from the NIH (R01HL107816 and R01HL127564), a grant from Fondation Leducq, and an investigator-initiated grant from Merck. Dr. Merlini was supported by a grant from the Italian Ministry of Health (RFPS-2007-3-644382). Drs. Ardissino and Marziliano were supported by Regione Emilia Romagna Area 1 Grants. Drs. Farrall and Watkins acknowledge the support of the Wellcome Trust core award (090532/Z/09/Z), the British Heart Foundation (BHF) Centre of Research Excellence. Dr. Schick is supported in part by a grant from the National Cancer Institute (R25CA094880). Dr. Goel acknowledges EU FP7 & Wellcome Trust Institutional strategic support fund. Dr. Deloukas’s work forms part of the research themes contributing to the translational research portfolio of Barts Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit, which is supported and funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Drs. Webb and Samani are funded by the British Heart Foundation, and Dr. Samani is an NIHR Senior Investigator. Dr. Masca was supported by the NIHR Leicester Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit (BRU), and this work forms part of the portfolio of research supported by the BRU. Dr. Won was supported by a postdoctoral award from the American Heart Association (15POST23280019). Dr. McCarthy is a Wellcome Trust Senior Investigator (098381) and an NIHR Senior Investigator. Dr. Danesh is a British Heart Foundation Professor, European Research Council Senior Investigator, and NIHR Senior Investigator. Drs. Erdmann, Webb, Samani, and Schunkert are supported by the FP7 European Union project CVgenes@ target (261123) and the Fondation Leducq (CADgenomics, 12CVD02). Drs. Erdmann and Schunkert are also supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research e:Med program (e:AtheroSysMed and sysINFLAME), and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft cluster of excellence “Inflammation at Interfaces” and SFB 1123. Dr. Kessler received a DZHK Rotation Grant. The analysis was funded, in part, by a Programme Grant from the BHF (RG/14/5/30893 to Dr. Deloukas). Additional funding is listed in the Supplementary Appendix.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from the Massachusetts Medical Society via http://dx.doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa150765

Structural Behaviour of Mechanical Connections in Weld-Free Modular Aluminum Bridge Decks

This research was done in collaboration with MAADI Group Inc. who designs and fabricates aluminum bridges. Aluminum in bridge engineering is effective since it is a lightweight and highly corrosion-resistant material. MAADI Group Inc. recently unveiled a new bridge deck product called GuarDeck®, which was designed for installation on steel girder bridges for pedestrians and occasional maintenance vehicle use. The structural behaviour of this new deck product is the focus of this research and in particular, the mechanical connections. The mechanical connections distinguish GuarDeck® from other aluminum deck products, which typically have welded components while GuarDeck® has none. GuarDeck® is composed of long extruded beams that are placed perpendicular to the flow of traffic and girders. The extruded beams are connected to form a continuous surface using tongue and groove connections that are part of the extruded cross-section. The deck is held in contact with the girders using stainless steel T-bolts and extruded aluminum clamps. The tightened bolt forces the deck and clamp to \sandwich" the top flange of the girder. No on-site drilling or welding is required. An isolation layer is applied to the clamps and beams to prevent galvanic corrosion between aluminum and steel. Experimental testing of the deck components in a laboratory setting under static loading was conducted. Two types of tests were performed: beam tests and clamp tests. The beam tests consisted of testing one or multiple simply supported, extruded beams with a point load in the middle of the span. The point load was representative of a small truck tire and smaller than the width of an extruded beam. The location of the tire load on the middle cross-section was varied. One beam tested by itself failed due to the rupture of the tension flange. Two beams connected resulted in either rupture of the tension flange or failure of the tongue and groove connection depending on the location of the tire load. Three beams with the load in the middle resulted in connection failure and a short beam held between two normal beams also failed due to the connection. A short beam was lastly tested by itself, which did not have a typical slender beam failure and failed by rupture of the top flange due to shear stress. The clamp tests were designed to test the deck-to-girder (DG) connections. Since the girder is sandwiched between the deck and clamp, friction between these components provide the resistance to applied forces such as longitudinal thermal expansion and vehicle braking. The tests determined the capacity of the connection in this direction. Additionally, isolation layers are applied to aluminum/steel interfaces which is nearly every interface in the DG connection. Two surface finishes on the steel plate were tested. The finishes were mill scale and sandblasted. The results showed that the connection reached a peak load then decreased gradually. The isolation layer was worn down and dust was observed beneath the specimens. Sandblasted specimens resulted in higher peak loads than the mill scale specimens. The beam test results were compared to predictions made using theoretical structural analysis methods. The tests were first compared to predictions made using the Canadian design code for aluminum structures (CSA S157) and then two types of finite element (FE) models. The first FE model was a three-dimensional model of the experiment made with two-dimensional shell elements, where only the overall shape of the extrusion was modelled. The second was also three-dimensional, but made with three-dimensional brick elements. This model represented the extrusion in nearly its entirety, including the tongue and groove connections. The design code calculations were found to be conservative. The shell models were effective at determining the peak load when the failure mode was tension flange rupture and the brick models were effective in predicting the peak load when tongue and groove connection failure governed the capacity. The clamp tests were compared to mechanics-based, design calculations and an FE model with brick elements, which were based on several design considerations including torque-wrenching for tightening bolts and an assumed friction coefficient. The peak loads from testing were all higher than the calculated and FE model results. Thermal expansion is particularly important to the design of a bridge with GuarDeck® or a similar deck product because the aluminum deck will expand approximately twice as much as the steel girders. Generally, the deck will either need to resist the forces caused by restricted thermal expansion or the DG connections must allow the change in geometry but resist other forces such as vehicle braking. An analytical parametric study was conducted to determine how geometry, temperature, and vehicle braking affect the DG reactions using a linear-elastic FE model of a steel girder with an aluminum plate, representing the deck, connected using linear spring elements. The goal was to develop a means to determine DG reactions as a function of the linear connection stiffness and the various parameters mentioned using empirical equations. The results of the preliminary study showed that geometric changes to the bridge cross-section have a non-linear influence on the DG reactions. In contrast, the effect of changing the temperature parameters is linear and changing the value of the temperature gradient have practically no effect. The braking force results in the highest DG reaction when the vehicle is entering the bridge