Maximal Responses to Treadmill and Deep Water Running in High School Female Cross Country Runners

Abstract

Seven untrained, nonathletic women 19–42 years of age participated in a daily five-minute rope skipping program during a four-week period. As a result of this training program, there was a significant improvement in physical work capacity as judged by pulse response to a standardized submaximal work load, or by the estimated maximal oxygen uptake based upon the pulse response to submaximal ergometer work according to the Åstrand nomogram. It is suggested that rope skipping can be adopted as a simple method of improving the physical work capacity of a large segment of our population.     

Muscle Dysmorphia,Gender Role Stress,and Sociocultural Influences

Abstract

Our study explored the contribution of gender role stress (GRS) and sociocultural appearance demands to symptoms of muscle dysmorphia (MD) in a college sample of 219 women and 154 men. For women, five GRS subscales, sociocultural appearance demands, age, and frequency of aerobic exercise predicted MD symptoms (model R² = .33; F(8,210) = 12.81, p < .001); for men, only one GRS subscale, age, and sociocultural appearance demands predicted MD symptoms (model R² = .40; F(3,150) = 9.52, p < .001). Post hoc analyses revealed that a small number of items explained a substantial portion of the variation, suggesting that MD may be more related to specific perceptions of pressure to attain an attractive body than to global gender role stress.     

Performance in a prematriculation gross anatomy course as a predictor of performance in medical school

The University of California at Davis School of Medicine offers a prematriculation program to nontraditional students. As part of the program, students take a 7‐day course on the gross anatomy of the upper limb that concludes with a written examination and a practical examination based on prosections. Here, the performance of students who took the course from 2002 to 2004 (n = 48) is compared with their performance in the medical gross anatomy course as well as their performance on Step 1 of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE). Both rank in the prematriculation program's anatomy course and the score on the examination were correlated (significant at the 0.01 level) with performance on the medical gross anatomy midterm and final examinations, the overall final grade, and class rank. Performance in the prematriculation anatomy course was also correlated with the score on Step 1 of the USMLE (rank significant at the 0.02 level; examination score, significant at the 0.05 level). Students who took the prematriculation course who eventually withdrew, were dismissed for academic reasons, or who failed the first attempt at the Step 1 of the licensing exam (n = 5) had a significantly lower score (77.6 ± 11.1; P < 0.05) on the prematriculation examination than did successful prematriculation students (86.2 ± 7.9). Thus, a gross anatomy examination following a short prematriculation course can be a predictor not only of medical student performance in anatomy, but also of performance on a standardized licensing examination. Anat Sci Ed 1:224–227, 2008. © 2008 American Association of Anatomists.     

Revisiting a year in the sand: An HPT‐style after‐action review

This is a retrospective analysis of the performance of a large training program in a combat environment looked at through the lens of human performance technology. Van Tiem, Moseley, and Dessinger's performance improvement/HPT model and strategic, operational, and tactical levels are used to describe effective and ineffective applications of human performance technology in a complex, multinational operation. While some interventions or projects at the training center showed marked improvements in targeted areas, there were numerous opportunities to do even better work, and the ultimate analysis of the effectiveness of the training center remains to be determined.     

The Journey from Telling to Being: Narrative Ways of Understanding Applied to South African Children’s Hero Stories

Children are raised hearing stories of local and mythic heroes in every society (Campbell, 1968). Parents and teachers have used tales surrounding the lives of heroes to teach children about courage, honor, and integrity for thousands of years. Yet, in spite of this rich history, there is astonishingly little research about the impact of hero stories on the lives of children. In this study, data were obtained from children in a South African primary school exploring the uses of hero stories in the social construction of the self as hero. Implications for counseling children are discussed.