Effects of Proximity on the Choice to Be Physically Active or Sedentary

The link between physical activity and weight loss has precipitated interest in interventions to foster adherence to exercise. It has been suggested that treatment effects, when significant, should be analyzed to determine theory-based mediators. This research assessed possible mediation of changes in Physical Self-Concept, Exercise Self-Efficacy, Total Mood Disturbance, and Body Areas Satisfaction scores on the relationship between exercise session attendance and participation by obese women in a 6-month treatment based on tenets of social cognitive theory (n = 73) or a control condition (n = 64). Participation in the treatment was associated with significantly greater exercise session attendance and significantly greater improvements in Physical Self-Concept, Exercise Barriers Self-Efficacy, and Body Areas Satisfaction. Overall, changes in the assessed psychological factors demonstrated significant mediation of the association between group membership and exercise session attendance, R² = .23, with only change in Physical Self-Concept scores providing a significant unique contribution. Extensions of this research across different sample types, and with longer durations, were suggested to refine theory and, ultimately, improve exercise adherence treatments.     

‘Muscles for Motherhood’: A Genealogical Analysis of Medicalized Ways of Knowing Female Footballers in New Zealand, 1921 and 1973–1975

ABSTRACT

Michel Foucault argued that females gradually became integrated into the sphere of medical practices through a process which he termed as a ‘hysterization of women’s bodies’ (Foucault, The History of Sexuality, Volume One: An Introduction, New York: Pantheon Books, 1978, 104). In this article, we draw on Foucault to examine how women’s bodies, exercise and motherhood impacted on the historical development of female football in New Zealand within two time periods (1921 and 1973–1975). Employing his genealogical framework, we analyze newspaper reports, historical documents and conducted in-depth interviews to demonstrate how medical/scientific discourses both constrained and enabled the participation of women in football. We conclude that while medical knowledge was used to publicly disqualify the legitimacy of the female footballer in 1921, and hence her abrupt disappearance from the sporting realm, the absence of such medical knowledge in the early 1970s, combined with societal changes associated with second wave feminism, paved the way for the eventual ‘normalization’ of female football in New Zealand.     

A methodological approach in the evaluation of the efficacy of treatments for the dimensional stabilisation of waterlogged archaeological wood

The aim of the work is to set up a methodological approach to verify the effectiveness of the treatments of decayed waterlogged archaeological wood and to point out the proper thermo-hygrometric conditions for its preservation after treatment. The treatments were performed on wood samples of maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Aiton), oak (Quercus sp. caducifolia), elm (Ulmus cf. minor) and strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo L.), obtained from stems pertaining to the original vegetation found in the excavation site of the Ancient Ships in Pisa (Italy), and dated from seventh century BC to second century AD The utilised products were: Polyethylene Glycols (PEG) of various molecular weights, a Polypropylene Glycol (PPG 425), Trehalose (α-D-glucopyranosyl-α-D-glucopyranoside), and their mixtures, and also a Hydroxypropylcellulose (Klucel). The main objective to be pursued by the treatments was considered the stabilisation of the original size and shape of samples. The various steps of this approach were: the execution of a preliminary diagnostic survey on untreated samples; the characterisation of treatment solutions ‘as such’ to establish the property to be monitored during the treatment; the evaluation of the main physical characteristics of wood after the treatment were determined. Among the latter, the coefficient of dimensional stability during the exposure to a series of selected thermo-hygrometric conditions and the retention of consolidants after the treatment. These two measurements allowed the definition of the ‘efficacy of a treatment’, φ_T, a new parameter firstly utilised in this work. It measures the stabilisation capability of the percent unit of retained product, and its value permits to put in evidence the consolidants that stabilise wood with the lowest amount of product. Conversely, it was not possible to measure the Anti-Shrink Efficiency (ASE), one of the most utilised parameters for the evaluation of treatments, because of the serious distortions and fractures observed in all the heavily degraded untreated samples.     

Economics of cultural tourism: issues and perspectives

The special issue aims at exploring, with an economic perspective, the interconnections between cultural participation, in all its expressions, and tourism organization and patterns with the purpose of understanding economic effects, emerging trends and policy implications. The expanding notion of the cultural consumption of tourists makes the definition of cultural tourism increasingly elusive. Empirical investigations of the relationships between cultural participation and cultural heritage and tourism offer interesting hints in many directions. This introduction briefly overviews the premise of this special issue, the literature and the several perspectives taken by the included articles. Aside from their cultural topics—general, intangible or temporary—these essays all tackle some important economic dimensions of tourism. We encourage cultural economists to invest more in these fascinating areas as more than just intellectual tourists.     

Exploring Sign Use in Two Settings

Nicola Grove, speech/language therapist, and Sine McDougall, psychologist, from the Division of Psychiatry of Disability, Department of Mental Health Sciences, St. George's Hospital Medical School, London, explore use of Makaton signs in teacher-directed and free play settings by children with severe learning difficulties.     

The effects of anxiety and strategic planning on visual search behaviour

The past decade has witnessed increased interest in the visual search behaviour of athletes. Little is known, however, about the relationship between anxiety and eye movements in sport performers or about the extent to which athletes' planned and actual visual search strategies correspond. To address these issues, we conducted two studies. In Study 1, eight expert female gymnasts were presented with three digital slides of a model performing a skill that is known to be anxiety-provoking in this sport--namely, the 'back flip' on the beam. By varying the height of the beam and the presence or absence of safety mats, the slides differed in the amount of anxiety that they elicited vicariously in the viewer. In the study, the gymnasts were asked to imagine themselves in the position of the depicted model and to describe the anxiety that they felt. As they viewed the slides, their eye movements were recorded. As predicted, anxiety was associated with an increase in the number of fixations to peripheral areas. In addition, the more 'threatening' slides elicited significantly more fixations than the less feared images. In Study 2, the plans of 15 equestrian performers (5 expert, 5 intermediate and 5 novice) were elicited as they engaged in a virtual 'walk' around a computerized show-jumping course. Contrary to expectations, the congruence between intended and actual search behaviour was not significantly greater for expert riders than for the less skilled groups. Also, the fact that the top riders allocated more fixations to slides than the less skilled performers challenged the prediction that expertise would be associated with economy of visual search. Finally, as expected, the expert riders were significantly less dependent on the overall 'course plan' than the intermediate and novice equestrian performers when inspecting the fences.     

Extending Responsiveness to Intervention to Mathematics at First and Third Grades

Responsiveness to intervention (RTI) is an innovative approach to the identification of learning disabilities (LD). The central assumption is that RTI can differentiate between two explanations for low achievement: poor instruction versus disability. If the child responds poorly to validated instruction, then the assessment eliminates instructional quality as a viable explanation for poor academic growth and instead provides evidence of a disability. For children who do respond nicely, RTI serves a critical prevention function. Most of RTI research has been focused on early reading. In this article, we describe two ongoing programs of research on RTI in the area of mathematics: one on a comprehensive mathematics curriculum at first grade and the other focused on word problems at third grade. For each research program, we describe the sample, explain how students are identified as at risk for mathematics disability, provide an overview of the interventions to which responsiveness is gauged, and describe some results to date.