Don't let this be your greatest adventure : extraordinary experiences and personal transformation

textSport providers should be concerned with the participant experience, and in particular extraordinary experiences, as they have the potential to shift participant behaviors and attitudes to those desired by sport organizations. Extraordinary experiences are characterized by interpersonal interactions, separation from the usual, and feelings of self-transformation or personal growth (Arnould & Price, 1993). Due to the power, intensity, and transformative effects of these experiences, they can generate lasting shifts in beliefs and attitudes (Schouten, McAlexander & Koenig, 2007). This research project examined the relationship between the extraordinary experience and the personal transformation by examining the characteristics of the experience and impacts on participants. Texas 4000 is a community of cancer fighters who “train, fundraise, educate, and bring hope to those with cancer” for one year before their experience culminates with a 4,000 mile bike ride. University students apply to participate, and once accepted they begin planning, fundraising, volunteering and training for their ride to Alaska. Along the ride, they interact with members of the communities they pass through to spread “hope, knowledge, and charity.” Over 400 individuals have completed the ride within the last ten years. For this study, alumni participated in in-depth interviews about their experience and how it impacted their life. Participant impacts included feelings of empowerment, new perspectives and appreciations, a sense of meaning and purpose, and strong relationships that resulted in a sense of community with other riders, the organization, and the larger cancer community. Importantly, participants’ history and backgrounds influenced how participants interacted with the community and the impacts that they felt. Additionally, the extraordinary experience of the ride created enduring change in participants; the preparation for the extraordinary experience was not as impactful and merely allowed participants to develop the necessary skills to participate in the summer ride.Kinesiology and Health Educatio

Leadership Styles of Educational Leaders in Healthcare & Academia

This study sought to determine the main leadership style used by clinical professors and other educational leaders in academic settings as well as the leadership style they used when teaching in clinical settings. There were eight (n = 8) voluntary interprofessional educational leaders who took part in this study. It was determined that the servant leadership style was predominantly being practiced among these clinical professors in the healthcare setting; whereas, the coaching leadership style was preferred for educational purposes. This research demonstrated that there was a consistent pattern among professors who practiced in the health sector relied on the servant leadership style predominantly and this stemmed from their clinical background and experiences. It was unanimous that while teaching and interacting with a student in the academic environment, all participants practiced the coaching leadership style

Savannah Hockey Classic Attendance Motivation

The Savannah Hockey Classic has become a very successful annual university club hockey team tournament. The 21st edition of the tournament was held in January 2020 in Savannah, Ga. featuring the Georgia Institute of Technology, University of Florida, Florida State University, and University of Georgia club hockey teams—the same teams that have comprised the tournament for many years. This study utilized Personal Investment Theory (Braskamp, 1986) and the SPEED scale (Funk, Filo, Beaton, & Pritchard, 2009) for attendance motivation assessment. Social interaction motivations were significantly higher for county residents, spectators attending with friends, spectators attending with family, and past Savannah Hockey Classic attendees. Motivations related to athlete performance were significantly higher for those who had attended the event in the past. Excitement based motivations were greater for those who had attended the event in the past as well as for those who identified as a fan of one of the teams. There were significant differences related to the esteem and diversion constructs for those who had a team rooting interest. The article fills a gap in the literature by providing the first study of club hockey attendance motivations

Cause-Related versus Non-Cause-Related Sport Events: Differentiating Endurance Events Through a Comparison of Athletes' Motives

This article compares the motives of athletes to participate in cause-related or non-cause-related sport events

Status as a factor affecting decisions of members of a youth basketball team

It was the purpose this study to examine the influence of teammates of high and low status upon the decisions of fellow members of a basketball team. Status was defined in terms of athletic ability as determined by all of the members of a team. The influence was examined under two conditions, relevant and irrelevant. The relevant condition was defined as being related to basketball. The irrelevant was defined as a non-basketball related condition. It was hypothesized that there would be no difference between the responses made by the subjects to relevant and irrelevant questions after having been made aware of the responses made by high and low status members. It was also hypothesized that there would be no difference between the responses made by the starters and the substitutes. The subjects were 75 boys aged eight to ten years. They were drawn from a basketball league sponsored by the Central YMCA of Greensboro, North Carolina. A league rule required that the five poorest players play together in the entire second quarter. Therefore the responses of the starters and the substitutes were examined to determine if an intragroup influence existed. This was the rationale for the second hypothesis

The motives of endurance athletes to participate in cause-related or non-cause-related sport events

textMany non-profit organizations in need of funding have turned to using endurance athletic events as fundraisers. These events, also known as cause-related sport events, can fulfill the many needs and desires of athletes. This study was designed to compare the motives of athletes in cause-related and non-cause-related sport events. Using the Motives of Marathoners Scales (MOMS), participants were asked to rate their motivations for attending either a cause-related sport event or non-cause-related sport event. Multiple motivations were found for attending both cause-related and non-cause-related sport events. Being associated with a cause provided cause-related sport events with an attribute that attracted participants for self-esteem, recognition/approval, personal goal achievement, and competition reasons. Non-cause-related events attracted participants motivated by general health motives. Overall, motives to attend events can be affected by the event’s attributes, such as affiliation with a cause, and these event attributes can fulfill more than one motive.Kinesiology and Health Educatio

In Our Element: Outdoor Recreation as a Tool for Female Empowerment and Community Building

honors thesisCollege of HumanitiesCommunication StudiesRobin JensenThis research investigates the meanings of outdoor recreation in the lives of college-aged female-identified and non-binary individuals. Qualitative, semi-structured interviews with 16 current students and recent graduates of the University of Utah generated rich narratives on the themes of challenges to involvement, benefits of participation, and negotiation of gender identity through communication. The participants in this research displayed a high level of awareness for how their intersecting identities affect their experiences outside. The findings from this study suggest multiple directions for future research and strategies for advocating the outdoors to diverse audiences

Nurses\u27 understanding of microbiological concepts and computerized surveillance data: Enhancing professional practice

The purpose of this research study was to explore whether Registered Professional Nurses, when exposed to an experimental educational intervention, retain the concepts of microbiology from this intervention and can apply these concepts in clinical practice situations. This research also investigated if Registered Professional Nurses understood the data generated by computerized infection control surveillance reports that are based on the McGuckin Method of surveillance. The design of this research was quasi-experimental. A qualitative dimension was also triangulated into this research project. A convenience sample of 32 Registered Professional Nurses from Shore Memorial Hospital, Somers Point, New Jersey were randomly assigned into one of two different groups. The control group consisted of 15 participants. These participants were given a pretest and posttest with no intervention, at the same time as a comparable experimental group. The experimental group consisted of 17 participants. These participants were given a pretest, an experimental educational intervention that consisted of a simulated patient environment with staged microbiological concepts relating to reservoirs of infection and BOSS surveillance data information, and a posttest. Both groups were also administered the posttest 4 weeks after the initial session in order to determine retention aspects. Computerized surveillance reports were utilized 4 weeks prior to the experiment and 4 weeks after the experiment. These reports were utilized as outcome measures. As the experimental educational intervention is the only medium through which knowledge leading to changed behavior could be acquired, it can be assumed that a noted decrease in the number of positive isolates demonstrated the possible effect of this knowledge intervention. The questionnaire utilized as the pretest and posttest was designed by this researcher. All participants from the experimental group were interviewed at the conclusion of this study. Results from these interviews are reported in a narrative fashion. Implications concerning nursing curriculum and inservice education programs in health care facilities are discussed

Nurses\u27 understanding of microbiological concepts and computerized surveillance data: Enhancing professional practice

The purpose of this research study was to explore whether Registered Professional Nurses, when exposed to an experimental educational intervention, retain the concepts of microbiology from this intervention and can apply these concepts in clinical practice situations. This research also investigated if Registered Professional Nurses understood the data generated by computerized infection control surveillance reports that are based on the McGuckin Method of surveillance. The design of this research was quasi-experimental. A qualitative dimension was also triangulated into this research project. A convenience sample of 32 Registered Professional Nurses from Shore Memorial Hospital, Somers Point, New Jersey were randomly assigned into one of two different groups. The control group consisted of 15 participants. These participants were given a pretest and posttest with no intervention, at the same time as a comparable experimental group. The experimental group consisted of 17 participants. These participants were given a pretest, an experimental educational intervention that consisted of a simulated patient environment with staged microbiological concepts relating to reservoirs of infection and BOSS surveillance data information, and a posttest. Both groups were also administered the posttest 4 weeks after the initial session in order to determine retention aspects. Computerized surveillance reports were utilized 4 weeks prior to the experiment and 4 weeks after the experiment. These reports were utilized as outcome measures. As the experimental educational intervention is the only medium through which knowledge leading to changed behavior could be acquired, it can be assumed that a noted decrease in the number of positive isolates demonstrated the possible effect of this knowledge intervention. The questionnaire utilized as the pretest and posttest was designed by this researcher. All participants from the experimental group were interviewed at the conclusion of this study. Results from these interviews are reported in a narrative fashion. Implications concerning nursing curriculum and inservice education programs in health care facilities are discussed