Middle and elementary school students’ changes in self-determined motivation in a basketball unit taught using the Tactical Games Model

Studies examining student motivation levels suggest that this is a significant factor in students’ engagement in physical education and may be positively affected when teachers employ alternative pedagogical models such as game-centered approaches (GCAs). The aim of this study was to investigate changes in self-determined motivation of students as they participated in a GCA-basketball unit taught using the Tactical Games Model (TGM). Participants were 173 students (84 girls), 79 middle school (45 girls) and 94 (39 girls) elementary school students from four seventh and five fourth/fifth grade co-educational classes. Two teachers taught 32 (middle) and 33 (elementary) level one TGM basketball lessons. Need satisfaction and self-determined motivation data were collected using a previously validated instrument, while lesson context and teacher behavior data were recorded using systematic observation instruments. Repeated measures MANOVAs were employed to examine pre-posttest differences. Results revealed a significant main effect for time in need satisfaction for both middle (relatedness increased) and elementary school students (autonomy decreased) and a significant main effect in self-determined motivation for middle school students only (introjected regulation, external regulation, and amotivation all increased). Approximately 48%/42% (middle/elementary) of lesson time was game play, 22%/22% skill practice, 17%/17% management, and 13%/19% knowledge. The primary teacher behaviors used were instruction, management, specific observation, corrective feedback and modelling. Results indicate that it is important for future research to pay greater attention to the contextual factors associated with the application of the TGM, such as the students’ previous exposure to TGM lessons, and the teachers’ training and experience in utilizing the TGM. Indeed, results of the present study demonstrate that a longer-term commitment to the TGM is necessary to reduce controlling teacher behaviors, which will lead to positive changes in students’ need satisfaction and self-determined motivation. Future research is therefore needed to embrace this challenge to provide an increased evidence-base for GCAs such as the TGM

SELF CENTER: ADDRESSING TEEN PREGNANCY IN WOLFE COUNTY, KY

Teen pregnancies and births are at an all-time low across the United States. Despite this decline in rates within the last decade, the teen pregnancy rate in Kentucky remains significantly higher than that of the overall United States. Additionally, teen pregnancy still has significant economic and health impacts on both teen parents and their children. In rural communities, such as Wolfe County, KY, teen birth rates are approximately one-third higher than the rest of the country. Self Center is an evidence-based teen pregnancy prevention program that involves school-linked reproductive health services and provides participants with education, counseling, and healthcare services. The original program was found to be effective at increasing student knowledge, clinic attendance, and contraceptive use and decreased teen pregnancy by 30% in the intervention group related to the comparison. In order to reduce teen pregnancy rates in Wolfe County, the Self Center program will be taught to students in grades 7 to 12 at Wolfe County Middle School and Wolfe County High School. School-linked healthcare services will be provided through the Wolfe County Health Department. A team made up of a nurse practitioner and social worker will be assigned to the middle school and another will work at the high school to provide education and the included clinic services. Overall, the program seeks to increase knowledge, change behaviors, increase access to healthcare, and decrease the teen pregnancy rate in Wolfe County

Hamstring to Quadriceps Ratio in Female Collegiate Lacrosse Players

Decreased hamstrings strength relative to quadriceps strength (H:Q) is a potential risk factor for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries. PURPOSE: To determine the H:Q at varying angular velocities in female collegiate lacrosse athletes. METHODS: Twenty-three female collegiate lacrosse athletes volunteered for this study. Concentric peak torques were utilized to determine H:Q for both legs by isokinetic dynamometry at 60°/s, 180°/s, and 300°/s. RESULTS: There was no significant interaction for H:Q between legs at different angular velocities. There was a significant main effect for angular velocity. CONCLUSION: Hamstrings peak torque relative to quadriceps increases significantly across all angular velocities in female collegiate lacrosse athletes. This may result in lower ACL injury risk as higher velocities more closely mimic sporting activities

Improving our understanding of the influences of the environment on physical activity

Physical activity reduces the risk of many chronic diseases, and much of the population would benefit from being more active. Public health strategies increasingly identify the environment as an important influence on activity and therefore a target for intervention. However, it is difficult to draw conclusive evidence from the existing literature as the range of environments and spaces individuals are exposed to are rarely accounted for. This thesis aims to further develop our understanding of the ways in which environmental characteristics influence physical activity. The first part examines cross-sectional associations between environmental characteristics such as street connectivity, air pollution, and deprivation, and self-reported and objective measures of physical activity. Data are used from the national multicentre UK Biobank study. The findings suggest environmental characteristics have the potential to contribute to different physical activities but interventions which focus on a single environmental attribute may not have the greatest benefits. The UK Biobank study uses measures of environments around residential addresses which may not capture all locations where participants are active. The second part of my thesis provides a more representative picture of environments that people are exposed to by focusing on activity spaces: locations accessed by an individual as a result of their daily activities. I systematically review literature which uses the activity space concept, and discuss research questions that have been answered, the spatial and temporal methods used, and the implications for causal inference. Included studies used variable methods to assess the features of spaces themselves (such as shape or size) or features within spaces (such as density of destinations). Informed by the conceptual work of the review, the latter section of the thesis uses quantitative and qualitative data from the Commuting and Health in Cambridge study to understand how new transport infrastructure might give rise to changes in use of space. The development of a replicable process to clean and prepare GPS data is presented and findings show how the infrastructure provides a new space for physical activity. The final project explores the applicability of different spatial methods for assessing population levels of activity and how changes in the location of physical activity might contribute to overall levels of activity over time. By developing and applying scalable methods to show how the spatial patterning of behaviour and physical activity changes in the context of an intervention, this thesis provides methodological and scientific contributions to the field of physical activity and public health. Future research in this topic area should aim to strengthen the basis for causal inference and develop evidence to effectively inform public health policy and action.Funding was provided by the Medical Research Council (MC_UU_12015/6) and Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR), a UKCRC Public Health Research Centre of Excellence. Funding from the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Economic and Social Research Council, Medical Research Council, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), and the Wellcome Trust, under the auspices of the UK Clinical Research Collaboration, is gratefully acknowledged (grant numbers 087636/Z/08/Z, ES/G007462/1, MR/K023187/1)

Training Traditional Birth Attendants in Sub-Saharan Africa

Even after many adjustments, recommended practice regarding traditional birth attendants (TBAs) and their contribution to lowering the maternal mortality rate (MMR) continues to be disputed among various stakeholders. Sub-Saharan Africa continues to see high maternal mortality rates, despite various attempts by the World Health Organization (WHO) and others at utilizing the formal health care system (Prata, et al., 2011). Considering all factors and variables behind the reason for this problem in Sub-Saharan African, it is reasonable to conclude that training traditional birth attendants (TBAs) in evidence-based practice, in conjunction with developing longer-term strategies, is an appropriate approach for the short and intermediate-term

Gender and school-level differences in students' moderate and vigorous physical activity levels when taught basketball through the tactical games model

The Tactical Games Model (TGM) prefaces the cognitive components of physical education (PE), which has implications for physical activity (PA) accumulation. PA recommendations suggest students reach 50% moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). However, this criterion does not indicate the contribution from vigorous physical activity (VPA). Consequently, this study investigated: a) the effects of TGM delivery on MVPA/VPA and, b) gender/school level differences. Participants were 78 seventh and 96 fourth/fifth grade coeducational PE students from two different schools. Two teachers taught 24 (middle) and 30 (elementary) level one TGM basketball lessons. Students wore Actigraph GT3× triaxial accelerometers. Data were analyzed using four one-way ANOVAs. Middle school boys had significantly higher MVPA/VPA (34.04/22.37%) than girls (25.14/15.47%). Elementary school boys had significantly higher MVPA/VPA (29.73/18.33%) than girls (23.03/14.33%). While TGM lessons provide a context where students can accumulate VPA consistent with national PA recommendations, teachers need to modify lesson activities to enable equitable PA participation

Just one more: An examination of the prevalence, correlates, and consequences of concurrent alcohol and medication use in older adults

Research suggests that the concurrent use of alcohol and medications can lead to a number of health problems. This is of importance for older adults, who take more medication than any other age group. Despite older adults' increased risk of alcohol-medication interaction there has been limited research focused on the patterns and correlates of simultaneous alcohol and medication use in older adults. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and patterns of concurrent use among community-dwelling older adults by gender, race and age. The impact of group membership on health status was also examined.Data from the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), a population-based longitudinal study of older adults, were analyzed for this study. The CHS cohort consists of 5,888 individuals ages 65 and older. Participants completed a series of face-to-face and telephone interviews along with clinical examinations. This analysis utilizes CHS data from waves 1 through 6. Univariate analyses were conducted at baseline to determine the prevalence rates and correlates of concomitant use among older adults. Group-based logit modeling was used to chart longitudinal patterns of use over the course of the study. Finally, multinomial logistic regression analyses were employed to assess the relationship between various patterns of concurrent use and health outcomes.Results demonstrated that concurrent use is fairly common among community-dwelling older adults. Men, Whites, younger individuals and problem drinkers were significantly more likely to concurrently use than women, African Americans, older respondents and low to moderate alcohol users. Furthermore, group-based logic analysis revealed four distinct patterns of concurrent use: a no to low use group, a decreasing use group, an increasing use group, and a high use group. Males and Whites had the highest probability of being in the high use group. Group membership was found to be related to physical and mental health. Furthermore, concurrent use was found to increase the risk of mortality among study participants.These findings indicate a significant need for social work and health care professionals to educate older adults about the dangers of concurrent alcohol-medication use. Additionally, it appears that there is a need for health campaigns that focus on the promotion of safer use of alcohol and medications by older adults

Transcending the \u27Tragic Mulatto\u27: The Intersection of Black and Indian Heritage in Contemporary literature

The supposed plight of multi-racial persons is widely depicted in modern American literature, including the works of William Faulkner, whose stories follow the lives of multi-racial characters such as Joe Christmas and Sam Fathers, who, reflecting characteristics of tragic mulatto figures, search for acceptance in a racially polarized Mississippi society. Yet more contemporary literature, including works by Michael Dorris, Leslie Marmon Silko, Toni Morrison, and Clarence Major, reference the historical relationship between African Americans and American Indians, featuring multi-racial characters that more successfully fit the fabric of current American culture than do more traditional works such as Faulkner\u27s. While an outdated black-white binary still lingers in American perceptions of race, increasingly, racial identity is now informed by self-identification, community recognition, and acculturation. As a result, black and Indian characters, as well as multi-racial authors, provide varied and insightful glimpses into the complexity of America\u27s racial landscape

Evaluation of first year university students' digital apprehension, problem-solving appraisal, and transition to higher education

This research was designed to discover the presence and prevalence of a new concept Digital Apprehension in first year higher education students. The first year is seen as the year students begin their undergraduate degree at a tertiary institution (higher education). Higher education (university) in the current age of technological advances, has adopted communications technologies as they become available, leading to innovations in the way that tertiary education is delivered. University study requires students to confidently use different types of technology to complete their courses. However, students’ desire to interact with technology is often underpinned by their understanding and experience of technology, and this experience is not equal for all. Some students may feel apprehension around the use of digital technology (Digital Apprehension) and this can negatively affect their studies. Digital Apprehension has, as its foundation, the psychological literature into learning and motivation. The presence and prevalence of Digital Apprehension was explored, using the newly created psychometric instrument measuring Digital Apprehension, problem-solving appraisal, and transition expectations (DAPSET), also examining if it was a unique first year phenomenon or university wide. There were three phases to the project, the first phase was qualitative, the next two phases were quantitative. The qualitative aspect of the project enabled a deeper, richer understanding of students’ thoughts and experiences, while the quantitative examined and confirmed reliability of the findings. The first phase of the project involved thematic analyses of transcribed answers to the focus group questions, individual interview questions and written answers via email (N = 30), to understand the concept of Digital Apprehension (DA) and create the questionnaire. The second phase involved an initial survey (N = 766) comprised of 54 items, including the DA, a short problem-solving appraisal questionnaire (PSI-12), and an expected transition questionnaire (the Student Transition Scale - Revised - Adapted; STS-R-A). This phase then created the final measure, the DAPSET psychometric instrument. The third phase (N = 1407) used the DAPSET, and indicated that Digital Apprehension was experienced by 36% of students in their first year, and 40% across the University. Digital Apprehension can become a catalyst for a downward spiral, and be involved in the lack of insight, capability, and resourcefulness. The ability this measure brings to recognise Digital Apprehension would help the recognition of those struggling, and therefore enable crucial support before difficulties occur

Difference in Participation in Club Volleyball Prior to College and Receiving Collegiate Volleyball Athletic Scholarships in the Midwest

Club volleyball participation has become a popular method in gaining exposure in order to reach the collegiate level. Obtaining a collegiate athletic scholarship is very competitive in today’s globalized world of sports, especially in volleyball as youth participation continues to climb. Volleyball is becoming increasingly more demanding at younger ages, with longer seasons and more specialized hours in elite training. The forecasted product are elite athletes who stand out above the rest, but at a certain cost. Not only are club volleyball programs time-consuming, but very expensive, preventing equal opportunity to athletes. The hypothesis is collegiate volleyball players who participated in club volleyball in their youth received more athletic scholarship dollars on average than those who did not. The purpose of this study is to determine if club volleyball is necessary to receive a collegiate athletic scholarship. This study will give truthful information about club participation and hopefully alleviate economic stress and give more opportunity to athletes to diversify in other sports. Through surveying 110 collegiate volleyball athletes, obtaining information about their club participation prior to college and their current athletic scholarship, there was no significant difference in scholarship dollars between athletes who participated in club and those who did not, concluding that club volleyball participation does not influence the potential amount of athletic scholarship one can receive