Adjusting athletes' body mass index to better reflect adiposity in epidemiological research

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to identify when body mass index (BMI) is unlikely to be a valid measure of adiposity in athletic populations and to propose a simple adjustment that will allow the BMI of athletes to reflect the adiposity normally associated with non-athletic populations. Using data from three previously published studies containing 236 athletes from seven sports and 293 age-matched controls, the association between adiposity (sum of 4 skinfold thicknesses, in millimetres) and BMI was explored using correlation, linear regression, and analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). As anticipated, there were strong positive correlations (r = 0.83 for both men and women) and slope parameters between adiposity and BMI in age-matched controls from Study 1 (all P < 0.001). The standard of sport participation reduced these associations. Of the correlations and linear-regression slope parameters between adiposity and BMI in the sports from Studies 2 and 3, although still positive in most groups, less than half of the correlations and slope parameters were statistically significant. When data from the three studies were combined, the ANCOVA identified that the BMI slope parameter of controls (5.81 mm · (kg · m^?2)^?1) was greater than the BMI slope parameter for sports (2.62 mm · (kg · m^?2)^?1) and middle-distance runners (0.94 mm · (kg · m^?2)^?1) (P < 0.001). Based on these contrasting associations, we calculated how the BMI of athletes can be adjusted to reflect the same adiposity associated with age-matched controls. This simple adjustment allows the BMI of athletes and non-athletes to be used with greater confidence when investigating the effect of BMI as a risk factor in epidemiological research.     

The moral obligation to preserve heritage through sport and recreation facilities

The preservation of heritage through renovation projects of sport and recreation facilities is a recent phenomenon. We are not generally prompted to think of sport and recreation venues as cultural objects to preserve or as hosts to heritage, yet, they appear to be significant sources of heritage for communities and fan nations (Mason et al., 2005, Rosentraub and Ijla, 2008). Noting facilities have the ability to preserve heritage, the aim of this paper is to review contemporary philosopher Peter Singer's (1993) perspective on moral obligation to highlight the potential to protect heritage through sport and recreation facility management practices. We argue that communities and constituents may have a moral obligation to preserve heritage through sport and recreation facilities due to the value they possess. Appropriately, preservation is defined and framed as a managerial activity to assure the survival social, political, and cultural records.     

The effect of childhood bereavement on secondary school performance

This paper reports on a UK survey of GCSE examination results for children from schools throughout England who had lost a parent (n = 73) or sibling (n = 24) through death to establish whether this had a long‐term impact on school performance, levels of anxiety and self‐esteem, and school attendance. Participants were matched for school, age, gender and ethnicity, and a smaller group for socio‐economic status. The Speilberger Anxiety and Coopersmith self‐esteem inventories were administered alongside a customised family history questionnaire.

Bereaved participants underachieved significantly depending upon age, gender, and parents' employment history. There was also a significant rise in anxiety among the parentally bereaved group. School attendance seemed unaffected. Childhood bereavement appears to be a robust factor in underachievement. The totality of the survey findings is discussed prospectively in this paper.     

Behavior Problems and Social Skills in Preschool Children: Parent-Teacher Agreement and Relations with Classroom Observations

The goals of the present investigation were to provide basic psychometric information about the use of the Preschool and Kindergarten Behavior Scales (PKBS: Merrill, 1994) with a sample of normally-developing preschool children, to assess agreement between parent and teacher ratings of children on this instrument, and to assess concurrent, criterion-related validity of these instruments in terms of their relations with observations of children's behavior in the classroom. Parents and teachers of 47 preschool children completed the scales and these children were observed naturalistically in the classroom setting. Overall, agreement between parents and teachers was modest (-.09 to .38). Cross-informant correlations were poor (-.09 to .27) for social skills, low (.15 to .36) for internalizing behaviors, and modest (.29 to .38) for externalizing behavior. Both parents and teachers rated boys as having more externalizing behavior problems than girls. Parents perceived their children to have more externalizing, and more overall, behavior problems than did teachers. In general, teacher reports, but not parent reports, were significantly associated with children's independently observed goal-directed activity, sustained attention, inappropriate behavior, peer affiliation, expressed negative affect, and proximity to a teacher in the classroom. Results argue for the clinical utility of the PKBS for teacher-report assessment of child behavior problems and social skills in the preschool years, and suggest the need for cross-contextual assessment. Also, it is clear that children's behavioral and social competence are crucial for optimal functioning in the preschool setting.     

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act at Fifty: A Changing Federal Role in American Education

For this first History of Education Quarterly Policy Forum, we invited participants in the special Plenary Session at the 2015 Annual Meeting of the History of Education Society (HES) in St. Louis to publish their remarks on the historical significance of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) at fifty. Organized and introduced by HES vice‐president and program chair Adam R. Nelson, the session consisted of presentations by three expert panelists from the fields of History and African American Studies, American Law and Politics, and Political Science and Public Policy: Crystal Sanders of Penn State University, Doug Reed of Georgetown University, and Susan Moffitt of Brown University, respectively. What follows are the texts of Adam Nelson's introductory remarks—including his introduction of the three panelists—followed by the panelists' remarks.     

Taking stock of sustainability in higher education: a review of the policy literature

Abstract

This paper provides a review of the current literature that examines the uptake of sustainability policies in higher education. Articles were retrieved from both ERIC and Scopus databases and then manually reviewed to ensure that they focused on each of: higher education; sustainability; and policy. A total of 91 articles were analysed using a multi-stage process that involved sorting data according to typologies (i.e. temporal, terminology, methodology, geography), coding the text of the articles based on topical content, and an indexing method used to label data for further analysis and the development of broader code categories. Results suggest that drivers and barriers associated with the integration of sustainability policy in higher education are well known; yet increased research is needed to understand best practices and processes by which sustainability can be furthered through higher education policy. In addition, findings demonstrate the need for future research to focus on various aspects of the policy process, including policy development and enactment, and on implications of policy for practice. While there have been some reviews of sustainability policy in higher education research to date, this review contributes to this literature by highlighting research primarily focused on sustainability policy within higher education.     

Systemic ecological illiteracy? Shedding light on meaning as an act of thought in higher learning

Research on ecological literacy often takes for granted that participants understand, and can construct the meaning within, the complex concepts involved, simply because they are able to use the appropriate terminology in a ‘fluent’ manner and/or can select the correct option on multiple choice tests. In this study, and in the larger two-year study it is part of, a trend has been unearthed regarding the ecological literacy of university students entering into a Bachelor of Education program. An analysis of the meaning contained in participant definitions has revealed that the vast majority of teacher candidates, graduates of many different universities, are unable to explain the meaning of key integrating ecological concepts at even a minimal level of maturity, alluding to a possible systemic problem. The findings, though preliminary, suggest that until we inquire into the meaning that teachers possess for key concepts rather than accepting fluent but shallow use of these concepts, we may be taking too much for granted.     

Attitudes toward Face-to-Face and Online Counseling: Roles of Self-Concealment,Openness to Experience,Loss of Face,Stigma, and Disclosure Expectations among Korean College Students

This study examined attitudes toward face-to-face (f2f) and online counseling among 228 Korean college students. In addition, it tested a hypothesized model proposing that general propensities (i.e., self-concealment, openness to experience, and loss of face) would influence counseling-specific expectations (i.e., self-stigma and disclosure expectations), which, in turn, would predict attitudes toward f2f and online counseling. Findings mirrored the results of earlier studies revealing that self-concealment was negatively related to attitudes toward both f2f and online counseling, while openness to experience and disclosure expectations were positively related. However, whereas self-stigma was associated with negative attitudes toward f2f counseling, it was not related to attitudes toward online counseling. In addition, disclosure expectations accounted for f2f attitudes more than online attitudes.     

Cosmopolitan tensions: religious diversity in an Australian university

This paper examines ideas of cosmopolitanism, particularly social theorists’ interests in a cosmopolitan ‘disposition’, to consider how religiously diverse students experience campus life in a multi-faith Australian university. We draw on data from focus-group interviews conducted with students from Muslim, Christian, Spiritual, and Atheist student-groups to contribute empirical insights into theoretical debates about cosmopolitanism. We show how students understand religious relations in a university campus in multiple ways; moving back and forth between relations of religious openness and tension in different institutional scenarios. In light of these findings, we reflect on the possibilities of fostering ‘cosmopolitan religiosity’ in higher-education settings and demonstrate the limits of a liberal multicultural approach to religious diversity.