Using Metacognitive Training with Kinesiology Students

As future healthcare practitioners, kinesiology students must become expert learners who choose strategies resulting in deep and durable learning. Metacognitive instruction goes beyond the use of study skills as it focuses on student reflection and evaluation of their learning success, and ultimately establishes effective learning skills, a requirement for professional practice. To examine if an intervention in a kinesiology course affected metacognitive awareness and use of metacognitive strategies, a quasi-experimental research design utilized a convenience sample of 89 upper division undergraduate occupational therapy students and master’s level athletic training students enrolled in kinesiology courses. Using an online survey including the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (Schraw & Dennison, 1994) and three Likert scale questions about perception of study skills, pre-test and post-test data were collected over three years, and 6-month follow-up data were collected during the final two years of the study. The intervention included information about metacognition and key study tips, five learning activities, and teaching techniques to promote metacognition. Treating the pre-test group as the reference group, the results showed that the post-test and 6-month follow-up test groups were significant predictors of students’ scores on the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory, indicating an improved and sustained metacognitive awareness after completing the course. The intervention was found to have a positive association with scores of planning, information management, comprehension monitoring, and evaluation. These results indicate the value of metacognition instruction. Considering that not all students come equipped with metacognitive skills, instruction in this area could be beneficial to students

Postural control in 13-year-old soccer players

To evaluate the effect of early systematic soccer training on postural control we measured center-of-pressure (COP) variability, range, mean velocity and frequency in bipedal quiet stance with eyes open (EO) and closed (EC) in 44 boys aged 13 (25 boys who practiced soccer for 5–6 years and 19 healthy boys who did not practice sports). The soccer players had better stability, particularly in the medial–lateral plane (M/L); their COP variability and range were lower than in controls in both EO (p < 0.05) and EC (p < 0.0005) condition indicating that the athletes were less dependent on vision than non-athletes. Improved stability of athletes was accompanied by a decrease in COP frequency (p < 0.001 in EO, and p < 0.04 in EC) which accounted for lower regulatory activity of balance system in soccer players. The athletes had lower COP mean velocity than controls (p < 0.0001 in both visual condition), with larger difference in the M/L than A/P plane (p < 0.00001 and p < 0.05, respectively). Postural behavior was more variable within the non-athletes than soccer players, mainly in the EC stances (p < 0.005 for all COP parameters). We conclude that: (1) soccer training described was efficient in improving the M/L postural control in young boys; (2) athletes developed specific postural strategies characterized by decreased COP frequency and lower reliance on vision

The vaccination of 35,000 dogs in 20 working days using combined static point and door-to-door methods in Blantyre, Malawi

An estimated 60,000 people die of rabies annually. The vast majority of cases of human rabies develop following a bite from an infected dog. Rabies can be controlled in both human and canine populations through widespread vaccination of dogs. Rabies is particularly problematic in Malawi, costing the country an estimated 13 million USD and 484 human deaths annually, with an increasing paediatric incidence in Blantyre City. Consequently, the aim of this study was to vaccinate a minimum of 75% of all the dogs within Blantyre city during a one month period. Blantyre's 25 administrative wards were divided into 204 working zones. For initial planning, a mean human:dog ratio from the literature enabled estimation of dog population size and dog surveys were then performed in 29 working zones in order to assess dog distribution by land type. Vaccination was conducted at static point stations at weekends, at a total of 44 sites, with each operating for an average of 1.3 days. On Monday to Wednesday, door-to-door vaccination sessions were undertaken in the areas surrounding the preceding static point stations. 23,442 dogs were vaccinated at static point stations and 11,774 dogs were vaccinated during door-to-door vaccinations. At the end of the 20 day vaccination programme, an assessment of vaccination coverage through door-to-door surveys found that of 10,919 dogs observed, 8,661 were vaccinated resulting in a vaccination coverage of 79.3% (95%CI 78.6-80.1%). The estimated human:dog ratio for Blantyre city was 18.1:1. Mobile technology facilitated the collection of data as well as efficient direction and coordination of vaccination teams in near real time. This study demonstrates the feasibility of vaccinating large numbers of dogs at a high vaccination coverage, over a short time period in a large African city

Vaccinate-assess-move method of mass canine rabies vaccination utilising mobile technology data collection in Ranchi, India

BACKGROUND: Over 20 000 people die from rabies each year in India. At least 95 % of people contract rabies from an infected dog. Annual vaccination of over 70 % of the dog population has eliminated both canine and human rabies in many countries. Despite having the highest burden of rabies in the world, there have been very few studies which have reported the successful, large scale vaccination of dogs in India. Furthermore, many Indian canine rabies vaccination programmes have not achieved high vaccine coverage. METHODS: In this study, we utilised a catch-vaccinate-release approach in a canine rabies vaccination programme in 18 wards in Ranchi, India. Following vaccination, surveys of the number of marked, vaccinated and unmarked, unvaccinated dogs were undertaken. A bespoke smartphone ‘Mission Rabies’ application was developed to facilitate data entry and team management. This enabled GPS capture of the location of all vaccinated dogs and dogs sighted on post vaccination surveys. In areas where coverage was below 70 %, catching teams were re-deployed to vaccinate more dogs followed by repeat survey. RESULTS: During the initial vaccination cycle, 6593 dogs were vaccinated. Vaccination coverage was over 70 % in 14 of the 18 wards. A second cycle of vaccination was performed in the 4 wards where initial vaccination coverage was below 70 %. Following this second round of vaccination, coverage was reassessed and found to be over 70 % in two wards and only just below 70 % in the final two wards (66.7 % and 68.2 %, respectively). CONCLUSION: Our study demonstrated that mobile technology enabled efficient team management and rapid data entry and analysis. The vaccination approach outlined in this study has the potential to facilitate the rapid vaccination of large numbers of dogs at a high coverage in free roaming dog populations in India. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12879-015-1320-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Scoping review of indicators and methods of measurement used to evaluate the impact of dog population management interventions

Background: Dogs are ubiquitous in human society and attempts to manage their populations are common to most countries. Managing dog populations is achieved through a range of interventions to suit the dog population dynamics and dog ownership characteristics of the location, with a number of potential impacts or goals in mind. Impact assessment provides the opportunity for interventions to identify areas of inefficiencies for improvement and build evidence of positive change. Methods: This scoping review collates 26 studies that have assessed the impacts of dog population management interventions. Results: It reports the use of 29 indicators of change under 8 categories of impact and describes variation in the methods used to measure these indicators. Conclusion: The relatively few published examples of impact assessment in dog population management suggest this field is in its infancy; however this review highlights those notable exceptions. By describing those indicators and methods of measurement that have been reported thus far, and apparent barriers to efficient assessment, this review aims to support and direct future impact assessment