Psychology of Movement Commons^™

The Assessment Of Swimming And Survival Skills: Is Your Programme Fit For Its Purpose?, Paolo Di Paola

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

Assessment of swimming and survival skills is a crucial part of any swimming and lifesaving programme. Unfortunately, quite often, it is also the weakest part of the programme itself. Inadequate skills assessment and verification might lead to ineffective skills acquisition and development, to a false sense of safety and over confidence in the water that can be extremely dangerous. Assessor experience and observation skills, assessment methodology, and criteria are all closely inter-linked and their interaction will somehow determine the assessment outcomes. Our paper analyses some of the current issues in these areas of the assessment process, such as assessor’s ...

From Treading Water To Swimming Uphill: A Comprehensive And Innovative Assessment Program For Teaching Swimming In Belgian Primary Schools., Filip Roelandt

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), every child should learn to swim as a recognised life skill. Which swimming skill or stroke to learn first is not the most important question. What is important is to teach children to learn tasks or techniques which allow them to they feel safe. Emphasizing foundational principles of motor development and focusing on safety in and around the water are paramount. Beginning in 2016 school swimming lessons in Flanders (Belgium) were given a new focus in all educational institutions. Foundational competence tasks replaced the focus on acquiring competitive swimming strokes as the primary ...

Its Skin Is My Skin, Bryan Page

Graduate School of Art Theses

This text examines the complexity of attempting to empathize with bodies that are vastly othered from my own. This broad yet nuanced subject crosses epistemological boundaries and complicates the dualities between both the mind and body, and between the corporeal and the virtual. My desire to better understand the conditions of another’s experience originates from a painful traumatic loss which caused me to feel isolated and incomplete. In response to this suffering, I long to emotionally connect with other beings and create artwork that attempts to bridge the qualia of individual experience.

I am interested in the capacity (or ...

Pkd1 Inhibits Ampk2 Through Phosphorylation Of Serine 491 And Impairs Insulin Signaling In Skeletal Muscle Cells, Kimberly A. Coughlan, Rudy J. Valentine, Bella S. Sudit, Katherine Allen, Yossi Dagon, Barbara B. Kahn, Neil B. Ruderman, Asish K. Saha

Rudy Valentine

Background: Diminished activity of the enzyme AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is associated with impaired insulin signaling.

Results: Protein Kinase (PK)C/D1 activation inhibits AMPK2 via Ser491 phosphorylation; PKD1 inhibition prevents this in skeletal muscle cells.

Conclusion: PKD1 is a novel upstream AMPK-kinase that phosphorylates AMPK on Ser491 and regulates insulin signaling.

Significance: PKD1 inhibition may be a novel strategy for improving insulin sensitivity.

Nutrient Excess And Ampk Downregulation In Incubated Skeletal Muscle And Muscle Of Glucose Infused Rats, Kimberly A. Coughlan, Thomas W. Balon, Rudy J. Valentine, Robert Petrocelli, Vera Schultz, Amana Brandon, Gregory J. Cooney, Edward W. Kraegen, Neil B. Ruderman, Asish K. Saha

Rudy Valentine

We have previously shown that incubation for 1h with excess glucose or leucine causes insulin resistance in rat extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle by inhibiting AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). To examine the events that precede and follow these changes, studies were performed in rat EDL incubated with elevated levels of glucose or leucine for 30min-2h. Incubation in high glucose (25mM) or leucine (100μM) significantly diminished AMPK activity by 50% within 30min, with further decreases occurring at 1 and 2h. The initial decrease in activity at 30min coincided with a significant increase in muscle glycogen. The subsequent decreases at 1h were ...

Meeting Point: Partner Dancing As Couple's Therapy, Rami Eckhaus

Expressive Therapies Dissertations

This dissertation research explored the experience of partner dancing as a therapeutic process that reflects upon the dynamics and interactions of couples who are in the process of couple's therapy. The research also aimed to gain insight on the ways in which the experience of partner dancing can support these couples' therapeutic processes. Partner dancing is a dance-form that is based on the interaction between two individuals. Such interaction requires the dancing couples to communicate on many levels that may uncover layers of their relational dynamics. In this research, five couples who were undergoing couple's therapy were asked ...

Evaluating Motivational Interviewing And Habit Formation To Enhance The Effect Of Activity Trackers On Healthy Adults’ Activity Levels: Randomized Intervention, Laura D. Ellingson, Jeni E. Lansing, Kathryn J. Deshaw, Karissa L. Peyer, Yang Bai, Maria Perez, L. Alison Phillips, Gregory Welk

Psychology Publications

Background: While widely used and endorsed, there is limited evidence supporting the benefits of activity trackers for increasing physical activity; these devices may be more effective when combined with additional strategies that promote sustained behavior change like motivational interviewing (MI) and habit development. Objective: This study aims to determine the utility of wearable activity trackers alone or in combination with these behavior change strategies for promoting improvements in active and sedentary behaviors. Methods: A sample of 91 adults (48/91 female, 53%) was randomized to receive a Fitbit Charge alone or in combination with MI and habit education for 12 ...

Can You Float? Part I - Perceptions And Practice Of Unsupported Flotation Competency Among Young Adults, Kevin Moran Ph.D.

International Journal of Aquatic Research and Education

The capacity to maintain the airway through buoyancy control when immersed in water is critical in preventing drowning (Stallman, Moran, Quan & Langendorfer, 2017). In this first phase of the Can you Float? study, perceived and real unsupported flotation competency of a group of students (n=37) with known water proficiency was examined. Using a modified version of Borgs Rating of Perceived exertion (RPE), participants were asked to estimate exertion levels before and after a practical test of five stationary floating tasks of increasing difficulty ranging from treading water to motionless floating. Most participants (82%) were able to tread water for ...

Walking For Object Transport: An Examination Of The Coordinative Adaptations To Locomotor, Perceptual, And Manual Task Constraints, Avelino Amado

Doctoral Dissertations

The goal of this dissertation was to understand how the intrinsic dynamics of gait adapt to support the performance of an ecologically relevant object transport task. A common object transport task is walking with a cup of water. Because the water can move relatively independent of the cup, the cup and water system is classified as a complex object. To model this task participants carried a cup with a wooden lid placed on top. On the lid there was a circular region with the same circumference as the cup and a ball. The object of the task was to keep ...

Do Humans Prioritize Time, Energy, Intensity… Or Something Else Altogether When Making Decisions About Walking On Level Vs. Uphill Surfaces?, Helena Gabrielle Meyer

Undergraduate Honors Theses

During daily life, people walk from one point to another. Sometimes they choose to walk along designated paths; other times they take shortcuts. To determine how humans weigh costs like time, metabolic energy expenditure, and metabolic intensity, I studied subjects making walking decisions about walking up a hill vs. along a level surface for various distances. I hypothesized that subjects would be indifferent to walking uphill at an 8.5% grade vs. on the level when the two options required the same time or the same amount of metabolic energy.

Further, I hypothesized that subjects would walk at speeds such ...

Handwriting At Different Paces And Sizes With Visual Cues In Persons With Parkinson’S Disease, Andrew Zaman, Elizabeth L. Stegemoller

Elizabeth L. Stegemoller

Background: Persons with Parkinson’s disease (PD) typically have small handwriting, especially when writing faster and/or larger. However, visual cues can help persons with PD increase their handwriting size. This study tested if lined paper would improve handwriting in persons with PD, even when writing faster and/or larger. Secondarily, we wanted determine if persons with PD perceived handwriting as stressful, and if perceived stress was associated with writing performance.

Methods: The study included 22 subjects with Parkinson’s disease and 11 age-gender-matched controls. Participants completed eight trials (2 × 2 × 2) of printing a “P” and “d”, at a ...

Handwriting At Different Paces And Sizes With Visual Cues In Persons With Parkinson’S Disease, Andrew Zaman, Elizabeth L. Stegemoller

Kinesiology Publications

Background: Persons with Parkinson’s disease (PD) typically have small handwriting, especially when writing faster and/or larger. However, visual cues can help persons with PD increase their handwriting size. This study tested if lined paper would improve handwriting in persons with PD, even when writing faster and/or larger. Secondarily, we wanted determine if persons with PD perceived handwriting as stressful, and if perceived stress was associated with writing performance.

Methods: The study included 22 subjects with Parkinson’s disease and 11 age-gender-matched controls. Participants completed eight trials (2 × 2 × 2) of printing a “P” and “d”, at a ...

Changes In Sedentary Time Are Associated With Changes In Mental Wellbeing Over 1 Year In Young Adults, Laura D. Ellingson, Jacob Meyer, Robin P. Shook, Philip M. Dixon, Gregory A. Hand, Michael D. Wirth, Amanda E. Paluch, Stephanie Burgess, James R. Hebert, Steven N. Blair

Kinesiology Publications

Excessive sedentary time is related to poor mental health. However, much of the current literature uses crosssectional data and/or self-reported sedentary time, and does not assess factors such as sedentary bout length. To address these limitations, the influence of objectively measured sedentary time including sedentary bout length (i.e. < 30 min, ≥30 min) on mood, stress, and sleep, was assessed in 271 healthy adults (49% women; age 27.8 ± 3.7) across a 1-year period between 2011 and 2013 in Columbia, SC. Participants completed the Profile of Mood States and the Perceived Stress Scale, and wore a Sensewear Armband to assess sedentary time, physical activity, and sleep for ten days at baseline and one year. A series of fixed-effects regressions was used to determine the influence of both baseline levels and changes in daily sedentary time (total and in bouts) and physical activity on changes in mood, stress, and sleep over one year. Results showed that across the year, decreases in total sedentary time, and time in both short and long bouts, were associated with improvements in mood, stress and sleep (p < 0.05). Increases in physical activity were only significantly predictive of increases in sleep duration (p < 0.05). Thus, reductions in sedentary time, regardless of bout length, positively influenced mental wellbeing. Specifically, these results suggest that decreasing daily sedentary time by 60 min may significantly attenuate the negative effects of high levels of pre-existing sedentary time on mental wellbeing. Interventions manipulating sedentary behavior are needed to determine a causal link with wellbeing and further inform recommendations.

Carrying Asymmetric Loads While Walking On An Uneven Surface., Junsig Wang, Jason C. Gillette

Kinesiology Publications

Background Individuals often carry asymmetric loads over challenging surfaces such as uneven or irregular terrain, which may require a higher demand for postural control than walking on an even surface.

Research Question The purpose of this study was to assess postural stability in the medial-lateral (ML) direction while carrying unilateral versus bilateral loads when walking on even versus uneven surfaces.

Methods Nineteen healthy young adults walked on even and uneven surface treadmills under three load conditions: no load, 20% body weight (BW) bilateral load, and 20% BW unilateral load. A Pedar in-shoe pressure system (Novel, Munich, Germany) was used to ...

Femoral Neck Stress In Older Adults During Stair Ascent And Descent, Chen Deng, Jason C. Gillette, Timothy R. Derrick

Kinesiology Publications

A detailed understanding of the hip loading environment is needed to help prevent hip fractures, minimize hip pain, rehabilitate hip injuries, and design osteogenic exercises for the hip. The purpose of this study was to compare femoral neck stress during stair ascent and descent and to identify the contribution of muscles and reaction forces to the stress environment in mature adult subjects (n = 17; age: 50–65 y). Motion analysis and inverse dynamics were combined with musculoskeletal modeling and optimization, then used as input to an elliptical femoral neck cross-sectional model to estimate femoral neck stress. Peak stress values at ...

The Four Minute Mile----And The Entire Sport World Is Changed, Paul Olsen

Celebration of Learning

Roger Bannister died recently, and he should be remembered as the man who changed sport----as well as an understanding of human possibility---forever. In 1954 this medical student at Oxford University navigated a world full of both hope and fear, of perceived physical limitation, historical "proof," physical exhaustion, naysayers from all angles including the press, coaches, and fellow athletes. Throughout that journey, Bannister grasped at what he called "rhythms arising from nerve impulses and contracting muscles which interact . . . with a feeling of beauty . . . which might otherwise remain locked away inside ourselves."

Transitioning Out Of Sport: Perspectives Of Student-Athlete Support Or Development Services, Alison Ohashi

Boise State University Theses and Dissertations

Introduction: Despite the substantial amount of literature on career transitions in sport, there is insufficient research examining the social support system within college athletics as it is an important resource for student-athletes, especially for their success later in life. Likewise, there are currently no studies exploring athletic retirement from the perspective of student-athlete support or development services, a section of athletic departments that provides programming for the success of their student-athletes. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the implications of athletic retirement from the perspective of directors and/or associate directors of student-athlete support or development services ...

Anxiety And Alternative Facts: An Arts-Based Critical Social Improvisation Project, Rebecca Zarate, Nancy Beardall, Talaye Zarafshandardaky, Brooke Rutstein

Lesley University Community of Scholars Day

According to Grayson and Meilman (2011) the stakes are too high in current campus culture to not acknowledge the social roots of mental health issues such as anxiety, and concerns of students as related to campus safety. This arts-based, music performance project responded to concerns on campus from recent political and social events. More specifically, it aimed to explore the concept of “alternative facts” and how this idea plays with the collective concepts of truth and falsifications. It explored applications of clinical improvisation and the concept of collective anxiety as a social phenomenon expressed through arts including music, dance, and ...

Examining Anxiety And Achievement Goal Theory In Physical Activity Settings, Timothy Michael Dasinger

LSU Doctoral Dissertations

In the United States (US), a majority of adults do not meet the recommended guides of physical activity despite the many benefits. One benefit of activity is the reduction of anxiety. Although there is robust evidence demonstrating the anxiolytic effects of physical activity, the mechanism is not fully understood. Some psychological explanations are related to a lack of confidence in one’s ability. Because of this, Achievement Goal Theory (AGT) may be a viable framework to explain the anxiolytic effects of physical activity. The focus of this dissertation is to examine the efficacy of AGT as a mechanism and to ...

Relationships Between Throwing Velocity And Selected Kinematics In Youth Baseball Players, Nick Hedgecock

EWU Masters Thesis Collection

Research investigating baseball position players has been limited primarily to pitchers. The current study examined several kinematic variables and their relationship with ball velocity in middle and high school-aged baseball players using two-dimensional (2D) motion analysis. The purpose of this study was to investigate these relationships using 2D motion analysis and compare these results to those reported in the literature using 3D analysis. Thirteen baseball players (15.31 ± 1.25 yrs., 72.29 ± 10.79 kg and 177.09 ± 5.59 cm tall) participated in the study. A video camera was used to record three throwing trials for each participant ...