Brief Therapy at a University Counseling Center: Working Alliance,Readiness to Change,and Symptom Severity

The authors investigated whether students receiving short–term individual counseling at a university counseling center showed progress as evidenced by perceived client and counselor outcomes and the roles that client readiness to change and working alliance played in this setting. The results indicated that the counselor reports, not the client reports, reflected statistically significant change in client symptoms. Changes in symptom severity were not associated with working alliance and readiness to change.     

Differential effects of endurance and resistance training on central fatigue

The effect of long-term endurance and resistance training on central fatigue has been studied using transcranial magnetic stimulation by exercising the biceps brachii to exhaustion and recording motor-evoked potentials from the non-exercised homologous biceps. Three groups of eight healthy individuals took part: two groups of individuals who had more than 8 years of athletic training in either an endurance or resistance sport, and a group of controls. The size of a motor-evoked potential (area of averaged rectified response) was significantly depressed in all three groups in the non-exercised arm after exhaustive exercise of the opposite arm. Recovery of motor-evoked potentials occurred earlier in endurance athletes (20 min) than in control participants (30 min) and resistance athletes (>30 min). Dexterity and maximum voluntary contraction of the biceps for the non-exercised arm were not depressed in any group. In a separate session, the limit of endurance time for the biceps was reduced significantly following exhaustive exercise of the biceps of the other arm for resistance athletes and control participants, whereas there was no change in the endurance athletes. Our findings suggest that athletic training has an effect on the mechanism of central fatigue that may be specific to the nature of training.     

The sub‐culture of music and ICT in the classroom

In this paper the authors utilise findings from the Economic and Social Research Council‐funded InterActive Education project to present a characterisation of the sub‐culture of school music with Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in England. They consider the opportunities and challenges ICT presents to the teaching of primary (ages 4–11) and secondary (ages 11–18) classroom music through an investigation of the perceptions, personal philosophies and pedagogical styles of seven teachers with whom they worked over a period of three years. Their work is underpinned by Goodson and Mangan’s definition of subject sub‐culture and they draw on Shulman’s notion of ‘knowledge bases’ in order to categorise and discuss the data. Through the identification and elaboration of key themes, the authors provide a snapshot of the emerging sub‐culture of music and ICT in schools.     

A review of models of vertical,leg, and knee stiffness in adults for running,jumping or hopping tasks

Abstract

The ‘stiffness’ concept originates from Hooke's law which states that the force required to deform an object is related to a spring constant and the distance that object is deformed. Research into stiffness in the human body is undergoing unprecedented popularity; possibly because stiffness has been associated with sporting performance and some lower limb injuries. However, some inconsistencies surrounding stiffness measurement exists bringing into question the integrity of some research related to stiffness. The aim of this study was to review literature which describes how vertical, leg and knee stiffness has been measured in adult populations while running, jumping or hopping. A search of the entire MEDLINE, PubMed and SPORTDiscus databases and an iterative reference check was performed. Sixty-seven articles were retrieved; 21 measured vertical stiffness, 51 measured leg stiffness, and 22 measured knee stiffness. Thus, some studies measured several ‘types’ of stiffness. Vertical stiffness was typically the quotient of ground reaction force and centre of mass displacement. For leg stiffness it was and change in leg length, and for the knee it was the quotient of knee joint moments and change in joint angle. Sample size issues and measurement techniques were identified as limitations to current research.     

Changing the way people think about health-enhancing physical activity: do mass media campaigns have a role?

Mass media campaigns are conducted to influence community norms around health behaviours, including physical activity. Campaigns can reach large populations at relatively low cost, to influence awareness, knowledge and beliefs through to intention and behaviour change. We reviewed 15 campaigns with an explicit focus on physical activity, and explored impacts upon a range of proximal and distal variables. Campaigns achieved high recall, with a median of 70% of the target group aware of the campaign. Increases in knowledge or attitudes to physical activity were found among half the campaigns that reported this measure. Few campaigns reported other proximal variables, such as saliency, beliefs, self-efficacy or behavioural intention. Increases in physical activity were reported among motivated sub-groups of volunteers, but few campaigns reported population increases in activity. Campaigns increase awareness of the issue of physical activity but may not have a population-level effect on behaviour. Campaigns should focus more on influencing proximal variables, such as social norms, to bring about long-term behaviour change. This should be seen as part of a broader strategy, including policy and environmental change. Evaluation designs that measure the full range of variables are preferred to an over-concentration on behaviour alone.     

Out of this World: Theme Parks' Contribution to a Redefined Aesthetics and Educational Practice

There are few links between art education and popular entertainment. Major attractions, such as theme parks, have come to question the relationship between the everyday and the aesthetic. These parks have become sources of ‘calculated hedonism’ where visitors enjoy physical experience in elaborately designed sets. But young people, in particular, approach this experience in varying ways. This paper explores the several options that they may adopt to become aware of the ‘visual ideology’ at work in the entertainment, as well as the stratagems employed. Hopefully, visitors to such parks may become accomplished critics of the politics of display.