The Health Related Components of Physical Fitness in People with Visual Impairment: A Systematic Review

Visual impairment is becoming progressively more common in America’s aging society. Physical inactivity contributes to the development of chronic health conditions. Therefore, it is important to understand the relationship between visual impairment and its impact on health related physical activity and fitness. The purpose of this systematic review is to examine the prevalence of physical activity and the five components of physical fitness in the visually impaired population. This review was limited to articles addressing individuals with “visual impairment,” as defined by the National Eye Institute. The data abstracted included documentation of visual impairment, physical activity rates, physical fitness measures, gender, age, number of participants, and sample size. Results confirm that persons with visual impairment tend to participate in physical activity significantly less than their sighted counterparts and are often less physically fit, especially in regards to body composition, cardiovascular endurance, and muscular strength. Consensus within the research attributes this decreased physical fitness to the lack of sufficient physical activity within the population. The observed lack of physical activity warrants intentionally improving upon the many physiopsychological and social factors which prevent visually impaired children and adults from having equal access to opportunities to engage regularly in physical fitness activities

CASE STUDY OF GRAVITY-FED MOUNTAIN SPRING TAP SYSTEM IN HA LERONTI, LESOTHO, AFRICA

Water security has been declining rapidly in Lesotho, Africa in recent years. Lack of water has led to food insecurity, livestock deaths, and the spread of disease. Rural Basotho depend on rainfall to sustain their livelihoods; however, precipitation variability has recently increased due to climate change. For those who reside in the highlands of Lesotho, mountain springs can be a clean source of water. The tap system in the village of Ha Leronti relies on gravity to distribute water from two mountain springs to the ten village taps and nearby school campus. However, it is incapable of transporting the basic daily water amount that the Lesotho government says every citizen is entitled. The mountain springs alone cannot accommodate both the demands of the village and school campus, except during times with excessive precipitation. Furthermore, even if there was enough water to provide for the demand, the system would be unable to meet it. This report provides two scenarios in which modifications to the existing tap system are proposed. The scenarios were created with a 10-year design life taking in account the district’s population growth. To ensure the system could handle peak demands, it was assumed the school residences are at full capacity, both schools are in session, and a 24-hour event with an attendance of 600 people is occurring at the auditorium. Once the demands of the school campus and village were calculated, the tap system was modeled in EPANET, a water distribution network solver. New pipe diameters were calculated to accommodate both the peak demands of the school campus and the basic daily water amount of 30 liters per person for the village. Scenario 1 is the ideal solution with pipe diameters ranging from 16 mm to 90 mm. Scenario 2 is a more economical version of Scenario 1, with pipe diameters ranging from 25 mm to 90 mm. Since the existing system is constructed from 25 mm pipes, only the larger pipes would need replacing to modify the current system to fit Scenario 2. Although Scenario 1 is preferred when comparing water velocities and pressures during peak demand, Scenario 2 is feasible if washout valves are installed downstream of the pipes with low water velocities to prevent sediment accumulation. Additionally, valves should be installed upstream of junctions with high pressures to ensure they can be reduced to safe levels. In both scenarios, Pipe 16 should be monitored for damage due to its high water velocity during peak demand. If the pipe deteriorates, it could need replacing before the 10-year design life is complete. However, there is still the question of where to source the additional water to meet the demands for an updated system

Factors relating to the acquisition of computer literacy and computer science skills in California high schools

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to identify factors that related to the acquisition of computer skills in California high schools. Procedures. The first part of the study was examination of data from a sample of 63 California schools: scores from computer skills tests, achievement tests, and other pertinent information. The second part was an in-depth study of four schools taken from the sample of 63 schools with high or low scores on computer skills tests. Case study methodology was used with the sample of the two high scoring and two low scoring schools to examine other factors that may have contributed to the differences in scores. Findings. Significant statistical relationships were found between the high scores on computer skills tests and parents\u27 educational attainment. High percentages of recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) showed a negative correlation with the test scores. Significant statistical relationships were also found between scores on reading and math tests and computer skills tests. The case studies revealed differential access to computers based on ability, and a lack of integration of computer skills into the curriculum in the low scoring schools. The importance of teacher training, and the commitment of school and community to computer programs with high quality hardware and software were important factors in schools with high computer skills scores. Recommendations. (1) Districts desiring to implement successful comprehensive computer programs should secure involvement of, and commitment from all aspects of the school and the community. (2) Administrators of programs should utilize additional resources in computer classes for those who have low reading and math scores. (3) Districts need to be wary of the relationship between sources of funding for computer programs and their classroom utilization, as this study indicates that categorical funding tends to result in narrow categorical use. (4) A recommendation for further study is the extent to which there is a division among the school districts of the state into have and have-not districts with regards to access to computer literacy courses for all students. Such a division, if it exists, might be of interest to the legislature as a matter of State Policy

FEEDING ALKALINE TREATED AND PROCESSED CROP RESIDUE TO FEEDLOT CATTLE

Chemical treatment and decreased particle size are methods used to improve digestibility and utilization of the available nutrients in low quality forages. Previous research has indicated that chemically treated corn residue can take the place of corn when included in finishing rations containing distillers grains. Also, decreasing particle size utilizing methods such as pelleting has been shown to improve DMI and ADG. However, limited research has been completed on use of chemical treatment and pelleting in growing and receiving rations. Also, an ideal distillers inclusion has not yet been identified when including alkaline treated stalks in finishing rations. Therefore, a finishing study, a receiving study, two growing studies, and a digestion study were completed to evaluate the effects of alkaline treatment and pelleting on cattle performance, carcass characteristics, and diet digestibility. For the finishing study, data suggest that feeding 10 or 20% treated corn residue with 40% modified distillers grains plus solubles (MDGS) gives comparable performance and carcass traits compared to a corn based control diet. However, if 20% MDGS is fed no more than 10% treated residue should be included. Growing studies indicated that chemical treatment improved DMI, ADG, and G:F when compared to untreated equivalents. However a greater G:F improvement (8%) was noted with treated wheat straw, while a 2% improvement was observed for treated corn residue. For the digestion study, chemical treatment was not shown to improve residue digestibility in growing calves. Pelleting was shown to improve DMI and ADG, however better G:F was noted with unpelleted diets fed to growing calves. When a pelleted complete feed was tested as a receiving ration, DMI was improved due to pelleting however ADG and G:F did not surpass observed performance paired with the unpelleted control. Advisors: Jim C. MacDonald and Galen E. Erickso

Hatchetations: Carry A Nation’s Sober Defense for Kansas

Steffi DippoldIn 1904, the infamous, hatchet-wielding prohibitionist Carry A. Nation published her autobiography with the humble title The Use and Need of the Life of Carry A. Nation. The book, printed by F. M. Steves & Sons of Topeka in 1904, stands as a bookish monument to Midwestern patriotism. Bound in a rich sunflower-colored cloth, the book spells out its title in sparkling golden letters. The bright yellow binding showcases Nation’s love for Kansas, the Sunflower State. In the frontispiece, you see Nation for once without her hatchet leaning over her Bible. Nation believed that God had called her to rally against the evils of alcoholism and to physically smash saloons. In fact, the almost six-feet-tall Nation liked to preface her destructive raids or “hatchetations,” as she came to call them, with the exclamation: “Men, I have come to save you from a drunkard’s fate.” In the autobiography, Nation recalls her baptism by the Holy Ghost alongside frequent metaphysical visitations. “God showed me in a vision two men crouched on each side of the door ready to either catch or slug me,” she testifies, “if the door was opened.” Nation’s mother Mary Moore, who believed for a time that she was Queen Victoria, was found to be of “unsound mind” by a jury in 1890. Carry A. Nation, whose first husband Charles Gloyd died in 1869 of alcoholism, however, turned out to be a highly effective leader of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). After moving with her second husband, David Nation, from Texas to Kansas in 1889, she opened a local chapter of the WCTU in Barber County and became a mouthpiece for many Kansas women, who witnessed alcohol destroy their families and communities. Between 1900 and 1920, Nation was arrested over 30 times for her hatchetations, yet she managed to pay jail fines from her lecture-tour fees and the sales of souvenir hatchets, the curious symbol that shaped her public perception as a half-crazed domestic “home-defender.

Responsibility for refugee education: education by the state but not for the state?

Monday 20 June is World Refugee Day. Sarah Dryden-Peterson draws from her recent book, Right Where We Belong: How Refugee Teachers and Students Are Changing the Future of Education (Harvard University Press), to argue for the need for collective responsibility in refugee education. Responsibility for refugee education: Education by the state but not for the state

Personality and Learning Predictors of Adolescent Alcohol Consumption Trajectories

In a sample of 1897 youth studied across the last year of elementary school to the second year of high school, we (a) characterized different developmental trajectories of drinking frequency and drinking-related problems and (b) tested an a priori risk model that predicted variation in trajectory group membership. Analyses revealed five separate trajectories for both drinking frequency and drinking problems. Wave 1 scores on impulsigenic traits, expectancies for the reinforcing and stimulating effects of alcohol, and early pubertal onset differentiated among the trajectory groups, in some cases before the groups differed in drinking behavior. We also found substantial covariation between membership in high drinking frequency groups and membership in groups experiencing problems from alcohol consumption. The findings suggest that (a) youth vary considerably in the development of drinking behavior, and (b) trajectory groups can be distinguished by specific biological, personality, and learning risk factors

Early Maturing Out of Problematic Alcohol Use

Most research suggests that alcohol use peaks in the college years then declines into the mid-thirties (Jochman & Fromme, 2010). However, there is evidence that some individuals mature out earlier: downward trends for some individuals begin in college, with as many as one third of students decreasing their drinking (Baer et al., 2001). It is crucial to identify factors that differentiate those who decrease their drinking early from those who persist in high levels of consumption; doing so would clarify risk for college-related alcohol problems and perhaps subsequent alcohol use disorder, and aid in earlier targeted prevention and intervention. This study emphasizes two possibilities: 1) perhaps those who mature out early have adult-like responsibilities such as paying for their educations (i.e. financial burden) and/or 2) perhaps those who persist have higher levels of personality (i.e. urgency or sensation seeking) and learning-based (i.e. alcohol expectancies) risk factors. A sample of 591 college students were assessed four times across two years. Five trajectories of drinking frequency were identified. Three displayed stable drinking patterns across the two year period at low/infrequent, moderate and high levels. A fourth group displayed an increase at wave 4, and a fifth group decreased their drinking at wave 4. The latter two groups could be differentiated by sensation seeking and positive social expectancies, but not urgency or financial burden, before their patterns diverged. These results emphasize heterogeneity in alcohol use development across emerging adulthood, as well as the integration of contextual and individual difference risk factors