Effects of acute 60 and 80% VO2max bouts of aerobic exercise on state anxiety of women of different age groups across time

The purpose of this investigation was to study the effects of an acute bout of aerobic exercise on state anxiety of women while controlling for iron status (hemoglobin and serum ferritin). Participants were 24 active women, ages 18-20 years (n = 12) and 35-45 years (n = 12). In addition to a nonexercise control condition, participants completed one exercise bout at 60% maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max) and one at 80% VO2max. Each exercise session consisted of a 33-min bout in which participants exercised at their target intensities for a 20-min segment. Immediately before each exercise trial, participants were given the Spielberger State Anxiety Inventory (SAI). The SAI was again administered immediately following the exercise session and at 30, 60, and 90 min postexercise. Data were analyzed using an Age x Intensity x Time (2 x 3 x 5) repeated measures analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) with iron status serving as the covariate. The ANCOVA on state anxiety yielded significant effects for time (p < .0001, eta2(p) = .48), the Intensity x Time interaction (p = .0006, eta2(p) = .19), and the Intensity x Age interaction (p = .04, eta2(p) = .15). All three exercise conditions (including control) showed a decline in state anxiety across time, but the 80% VO2max condition showed a sharper decline. Intensity of exercise conditions did not differ in state anxiety at baseline or immediately after exercise, but a difference favoring the 80% VO2max condition over the control condition emerged at 30 min postexercise. After controlling for iron status, older women who exercised at 80% VO2max exhibited lower SAI scores compared to the control condition.     

Brazil: Is this Nation of Non-Readers the Land of Opportunity?

After settling in to his second term, Brazil’s president Lula da Silva has pledged to improve on his country’s woefully inadequate education system. This means addressing illiteracy, which is one of Brazil’s most serious development issues. While Brazil has the potential to be one of the world’s largest economies, it is hampered by high rates of functional illiteracy. Furthermore, those that can read are non-readers. Consequently the Brazilian government has pledged to resolve illiteracy and launched a nationwide reading program in 2005 with the optimistic goal of increasing the national reading rate by 50%. The article analyzes the political risk in Brazil in light of the da Silva administration’s stated objectives. It will also assess the impact of state literacy campaigns will have on the publishing industry and the potential for investment in the country. Finally, it will discuss the importance of foreign investors in Brazil’s development goals.     

Points of convergence: seamless long-term access to digital publications and archival records at library and archives Canada

In 2004, Canada’s national library and national archives merged to form Library and Archives Canada (LAC). LAC has become more than the sum of its parts, creating synergies between library and archives collections and services, realizing efficiencies and satisfying user demands for seamless access to all holdings. LAC has already created and launched Fed Search, an online search tool that provides clients with single-search access to library, archives and online collections. LAC is in the process of building a Trusted Digital Repository that will combine ingest, preservation, management and dissemination services for archives and library collections.